CHAPTER 23 #4
“It’s beautiful,” she said in awe. She gingerly took it from his hand and carefully brought it close to her face. “Can this really be used for tea?”
“So I’ve heard,” Edmund said. “You can always double-check with the werewolves at the apothecary.” He knelt down once more to gather more of the blossoms.
Lenore followed suit as soon as she dropped the flower into her basket. She placed the basket between them and reached out to pluck more of the velvety-soft stems. The small blooms quivered gently as she twirled the stems in her hand.
“Um,” Lenore started. “Now, to fulfill my side of the deal, I didn’t get myself into more trouble.
I thought it was better to stay at the clinic for a bit, and after asking, I spent most of the time helping out.
” She dropped a few serebells into the basket, and smiled to herself as memories of the afternoon came to her mind.
“Nox’s family—they’re funny, but in an endearing way, I think. ”
“Sounds about right. I don’t know any other family that sings when they’re stitching other werewolves up.”
“I didn’t get to see that,” Lenore said with a grin.
“Just Nox and Nisa bickering over their choices of recommended medicines for different conditions.” She conveniently left out the sly looks they shot her, or the occasional teasing that followed.
Nisa’s purposeful dreamy sighs along with Nox’s eyebrow waggles remained fresh in her head.
Her face turned thoughtful. As she poked at one flower, her eyes darted to the side before she slowly said, “They... also mentioned how much they missed their father.”
“Beren. He’s been assigned to personally help heal Auden for the past couple of weeks now.
He’s been busy working on this, so I can see how his family hasn’t seen him much.
” Edmund’s eyes narrowed, the only sign that hinted at his discontent.
Lenore waited for him to say more, but to her disappointment, he didn’t.
She tried again. “Is he... trying to gather the ingredients to cure Auden from Simurgh’s Blight right now?”
Edmund grunted. “Yeah. I told him he had better get it done by tonight. This has been dragging on for long enough. We’ll see if it really is Simurgh’s Blight.”
Lenore nodded slowly. “I hope the Caernith will be okay soon. He really seems important to everyone.”
“Which is why he’d better pull himself through.” He grimaced. “He’s always been better at engaging with everyone than me. I can’t wait for all the werewolves to go back to complaining to him about their problems.”
She laughed. “Good job, you. Maybe you’re giving them all a refreshingly different perspective.”
He snorted. “Refreshing isn’t how I’d put it,” he said, his lips curling into an amused smile. “But it’s getting the job done.”
The serebells soon became a bountiful amount nestled among the rest of the collected plants and herbs encased in the basket, like drops of moonlight twinkling upon a dark sea of green.
As Lenore nearly finished harvesting, she felt tempted to slow her pace and drag out the minutes before the impending finale.
She inwardly sighed at her childishness and placed the last serebell into the basket.
“Lenore.”
She looked up. “Yes?”
“I...” Edmund pretended to look busy as his voice trailed off. He flicked a serebell. The cluster of bells swayed back and forth as it swung downward and back.
“What is it?” Lenore gently pressed. Her eyes remained on Edmund as her curiosity grew.
Another beat of silence passed before Edmund spoke. “I wanted to ask you, more of—agh, well, more about your life back in Arkhaven.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Your family... they must miss you.”
Her smile wavered. “Ah,” she murmured softly. “I’m sure they would’ve.”
Edmund stared at her inquisitively before it dawned on him the implications. He pursed his lips. “I’m... sorry,” he quietly said.
Lenore shook her head. “Don’t be. It’s fine, really.
” Her eyes grew distant, mind wandering back to old memories.
“Before I lived at Arkhaven, I was with my parents and sister, in one of the many villages near Bellfair, out in the western valleys. And then, that horrible redbloom plague broke out around the time I was thirteen...”
She rubbed at her arm, taking a second to take a breath and swallow down the painful emotions she long thought were buried deep.
The cold air stung her exposed skin. “Eventually, after it all settled down, I was sent to Bellfair with all the other children, and spent my life between the local orphanage and school, and... well, decided to make the move to Arkhaven for better opportunities when I turned eighteen. So that was four years ago now.”
“You’re two years younger than me, huh? You spent a long time on your own.
” Edmund tightened his lips. “That’s... that’s not too far from my own story,” he murmured.
“My parents lost their lives to the plague as well.” He stared at her in a way that made her feel so vulnerable under his worry.
“I can’t imagine the struggle you went through all that time. ”
The concern warmed her heart. “I could say the same for you,” she replied in a soft whisper.