Chapter 15
Lian
I didn't know what to expect from the herb garden Pepper mentioned.
Mostly because surely it was just a herb garden?
I'd been to plenty of them in my life, and while some had been noteworthy thanks to the way they'd been laid out, or that they grew something interesting that I hadn't learned about before, they were mostly just herb gardens.
They were useful, and full of even more useful things, but that was it.
Everything I expected was blown away when we came to the large enclosed garden, within which there were neat rows of patches of herbs, all neatly labelled and well maintained.
The stone walls shut out the rest of the bustling village and created an oasis of greenery inside, giving it a calm and pleasant atmosphere that soothed my mind and almost made me want to spend all of my time here.
But I knew that would be selfish and that I couldn't do it.
"Welcome to Purple Oak's herb garden," Pepper said, leading me in by hand. "This is where I get most of my herbs but there's all sorts. Don't ask me to name it all because I wouldn't know."
I laughed. "I don't need you to tell me what everything is," I assured her.
"I'm glad. But if you want to know, then I'm sure one of the gardeners who tends to it would tell you. Most of them are dryads, but not all."
"Did they come from Growe's Cove like the dryads who tend the tea garden?" I asked curiously.
She shook her head. "They're from dryad families who already lived in Purple Oak before that."
I raised an eyebrow. "Tea witches, wards, and dryads. That's a lot of different magic types living in one place."
"It's not all either," she responded as we walked through the garden. "There are empath mages, keepers, sound mages, a mer family who sometimes live here."
I nodded. "The Shipmans. We came here on their boat."
"Of course, I forgot. But yes, that's Purple Oak. It's home to anyone and everyone. We pride ourselves on being welcoming."
I turn to her with a small smile. "I think you're very welcoming."
She beamed at me in response.
Silence fell over us as we made our way deeper into the garden.
It was wonderful, and everywhere I looked, it was like one of my herbology books had come to life.
The plants looked just like the drawings but more vibrant.
I couldn't believe this was hiding away here.
It was a treasure trove of all things useful.
I darted towards a small green bush with a lot of leaves. It smelled so fresh and the leaves were so soft, I wanted to rub them on my face. "Sage!" Another plant grabbed my attention, one with long stems. "Purple chives! And they're flowering."
This was amazing. I fluttered through the plants, excited to see some that I had only read about. There were so many types of plants and bushes and herbs. I even spotted a pond where they were growing a variety of things that needed water.
Besides plants, the garden was teeming with all sorts of butterflies and bees, all making their way home and gorging themselves on the delicious pollen. I felt like I was one of them, dancing on the breeze and tasting the promise of freedom.
"I thought you'd like this place," Pepper said, looking at me with a soft smile.
"I do, this is extraordinary. This must take a lot of time and effort to keep," I said.
She nodded. "We take a lot of pride in the quality of our produce here," she said. "And that goes for the herbs too."
"I can tell when I eat them," I responded. "They always taste fresh. Sometimes when we've been travelling, there is only the ability to have dried herbs and they're not the same."
"They're not," she agreed. "I would always try fresh unless I had to. But I don't imagine they transport very easily when travelling long distances."
I shook my head, remembering some of the longer journeys we'd been on as children, and even the one that brought us here which included travelling to the coast and then on by ship.
We turned a corner and came upon a man watering a bed with small plants in it. They were too young for me to recognise what they were, but I was sure once they'd grown I'd be able to identify them.
"Hi, Earl," Pepper said brightly.
He looked up from his work and raised his hand. "Hello. Back for more herbs already?"
"No, I'm just showing Lian around," Pepper said, her hand briefly touching the small of my back. "She came with the weather witches and is just getting familiar with all the wonders of Purple Oak."
"Welcome," the man called Earl said.
"This is Earl Brewster," Pepper said. "He's the one in charge of the herb garden, and the tea garden next door." She waved vaguely in the direction that I assumed the tea garden was in.
I bowed to greet him. "Nice to meet you. Your herb garden is beautiful."
"Thank you, but it's a little neglected at the moment. My attention has been needed elsewhere," he said while pruning some twigs off a bush. "It's a mess in here."
That was a surprising thing to say when the herb garden was flowering and looked like something straight out of my dreams. To create a place like this, it would take years and years of cultivation. Years of consistency, one of the few things I had yearned for my whole life.
"I can't believe you're growing so many different varieties here," I said, looking around the garden as I did.
It was filled with all sorts of specimens that weren't native to the region but had made themselves at home.
They were thriving. There was even a glass house at the back of the herb garden that I assumed was being used to grow things that needed a hotter climate.
Maybe I could be like that too. Maybe Purple Oak could be the place where I planted roots and grew wild instead of keeping myself small and pruned.
I looked at Pepper, feeling a lot of affection for her. I didn't know if this had been her intention or if she simply wanted to share something that aligned with my interests. Whatever it was, I was grateful.
"Lian is a collector of medicinal remedies and cures," Pepper told Earl, bringing me back to the conversation and not my own thoughts of how I was like the herbs.
"You are?" Earl asked, his gaze going up to my face.
"I have a small collection, but I wouldn't say I'm a collector," I replied, not wanting him to get the wrong impression. Not when he was clearly the expert between the two of us.
"So you have an interest in plants and medicine?" Earl asked.
"I find it fascinating. I know some people might find my interests odd because I'm a tea witch, but there are so many more ways to stay healthy than visiting a healer when something is wrong.
" I paused, remembering I was in the presence of someone from the Four Families and that Purple Oak's prosperity was built upon the tea witch infirmary.
He was a Brewster too, which meant that he was a tea witch.
I should be more careful about sharing my opinions on my magic.
To my surprise, Earl nodded. "That's how I feel. There are all sorts of plants and herbal concoctions that help prevent colds and illnesses. We have healers who specialise in herbal remedies so we can help residents without always needing to rely on tea."
"You have healers who aren't tea witches?" I asked, constantly surprised by Purple Oak.
Earl nodded. "Anyone can work in our infirmary. Tea witches, wards, empath mages, nymphs. We don't want to be there simply to patch people up, we try to keep everyone healthy and strong so they don't need us to do that. We don't want people to be reliant on tea witches."
That seemed like a contrary thing coming from a Brewster, but I wasn't going to question it. I didn't know much about running a town, but it was clear that they were doing a great job around here and that people were finding purpose doing a variety of things.
A small voice inside whispered that I could be one of them, all I had to do was let it happen.
Earl left to tend to another plot, and I turned back to Pepper, who was looking at me and smiling widely. She looked beautiful standing between the plants and flowers, a vision that was quickly etching itself into my memory.
"I can see you're having fun," she said, chuckling when a butterfly landed on her hair.
"I am," I agreed. "It feels like you're seducing me by showing how wonderful Purple Oak is."
Pepper chuckled. "Oh, you saw right through my plan. Purple Oak is a place of possibilities, and even if you don't stay forever, I hope you'll still give it a chance. Give us a chance."
To my surprise, there was a lightness to my body that I hadn't felt in a long time. I wasn't about to throw all my duties to the wind and forget about looking after Eva and Max, but it felt like there was space for me to be me here too.
I touched the side of her arm, feeling more comfortable with how the connection between us was growing stronger.
I was still worried about the future, but these new experiences were making me understand that it could be different.
I was no longer a child pulled along by adults like a helpless leaf in the wind.
I could choose what to do with my life, I could choose stability.
When Pepper leaned down to kiss me, I didn't feel any dread or worry. Instead, it felt like a world of possibilities was opening up to me.