Chapter 5 Stay
Diego jerked. “Someone’s coming—” he said, wincing in pain at the sudden movement.
“How did you know?” Aeon said, cocking her head. “I don’t hear anything…”
“Trust me,” he said in a whisper.
Socrates barked twice.
“You’re right…” she muttered. “Don’t move… I’ll take care of it.”
She rushed out of the shed and immediately saw her mother, approaching with a small earthen pot in her hands.
“Berion is dozing off… so I stole half of the remaining stew for you… and Socrates,” her mother said, flashing a weak smile. “I’ll fire up the brazier so you can heat it up—”
“No— I’ll do it… thanks, mother,” she said, snatching the pot’s handle from Phaedra’s hand. “And please… never say you stole it… it’s yours. I caught the fish from marshes, I plucked the mushrooms from the forest, and you cooked it over your hearth… Berion’s coin had nothing to do with that stew at all. He can go on busting his ass and shove his hard-earned gold down his damned throat.”
“Don’t take it against him, child… his work is exhausting…”
“Exhausting?” Aeon let out a cackle. “He chose to become a traveling merchant, so he gets a reprieve from toiling under the sun in the farm. Besides, being away from home gives him the freedom to indulge in non-work-related activities like visits to the taverns and brothels in town. The storm last night was just another lame excuse. I’m sure you know that—”
“I do… but all I ask is a bit of consideration from you. You didn’t have to say it to my face,” Phaedra hissed. “I’m actually glad that he spends most of his time away from us…”
“I’m sorry…” Aeon let out a harsh breath. “I just can’t stand being in the same room with that man—”
“I understand, and apology accepted…” Phaedra said, glancing at the door of the shed. “Can you show me that project you’ve been working on?”
Aeon thrusted a hand to stop her. “No— not yet… I— I cannot show it to you until it’s ready. Please, mother… don’t jinx it.”
Phaedra retreated a step and crossed her arms over her chest. “Alright… I just hope all this secrecy will prove productive in the end. Have you started reading your grandfather’s journals?”
“Not yet… but I’ll start tonight, after I’m done here…” Aeon said.
“I’ll see you later, then… don’t stay out too late.”
Aeon nodded and watched her mother meander her way around the garden, back to the house.
Socrates wagged his tail, staring at the pot Aeon carried as she walked in.
Diego shot her a narrow-eyed glance. His eyes bored into her.
Aeon looked away, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “You can stop holding your breath now… she’s gone.”
“Who is Berion?” he asked.
“My mother’s utterly deplorable husband…”
“Your father—”
“Certainly not… my father was an honorable and wise man… Berion isn’t worth a dirt in my father’s fingernails.”
“So, he’s your stepfather…” he chuckled. “Why are you so worked up about him?”
Aeon blew a sharp breath. “Don’t get me started with the countless reasons he’s the most despicable creature who had ever set foot in our house—”
“I get it… you don’t have to—”
“There must have been a big mistake when the queen made the match in that scum’s favor… my mother never wanted to remarry, but—”
“Your mother could petition for a divorce…”
“She couldn’t… I don’t know why, but Berion had some hold on her,” she chuckled, scratching the back of her neck. “Can we talk about something else? The thought of him makes me want to throw up.”
“Okay… let’s talk about you. What do you do? What do you grow in the farm?”
“Some vegetables… but mostly medicinal herbs. My mother is an apothecary… she makes medicines—”
“I know what an apothecary is,” he said. “And you? What’s your expertise?”
“I tend the farm… and I’d like to consider myself a botanist, albeit without a diploma. I know every tree and plant that grows around this place. I can tell the difference between the edible and the poisonous ones… I know their health and medicinal properties, and which parts of the plants are most effective to use. We have a large patch of cannabaceae in the garden… and it’s our most lucrative crop so far.”
“What does it do?”
“Oh, it’s got a number of benefits. For one, physicians prize it for its potency in pain management for their patients, especially during delicate surgeries.”
“Impressive… which means you source out and cultivate the ingredients your mother needs to make medicines.”
“Exactly… I’m surprised someone understands my work without too much elucidation…”
“I’m more impressed at the person right in front of me, doing that kind of work… I’ve never met a woman who knows that much to call herself a botanist. Most of the botanists I knew were men. You are one of a kind, Aeon,” he said, shooting her a warm smile. “I’m a man of letters and science myself… although I have some knowledge in the field of medicine, it was not my area of study.”
“What did you study, exactly?”
“Almost everything under the sun, but I focused on philosophy and zoology… my favorite subjects.”
“Zoology, the husband of botany… we’ll make a nice pair, won’t we?” she said, letting out a titter. “Just kidding.”
He winced. “Please… don’t make me laugh. I think I broke a rib, and it’s poking at my lung when I laugh.”
Her heart fell, seeing him writhe with pain. She could easily fix a broken bone with magic, but she wouldn’t dare with someone she barely knew.
“Whoops, sorry,” she said. “I was just trying to make you feel better. My mother always say, laughter is the best medicine.”
“That may be true… but perhaps not for someone with a broken rib.”
“Okay… I’ll just heat up this stew so you can eat and regain your strength, and get that broken rib to heal faster,” she said as she crouched by the brazier, throwing in a bunch of firewood into the pit. “You are welcome to stay here for as long as you need, Diego…”
“No. You don’t have to do this…” he said.
“Which one? Heating up the stew or nursing you back to health?”
“Both… I have to leave as soon as possible… you and your family are at risk if the palace soldiers come this way and find me here. If someone in the palace wanted the Crown Prince dead… then they’d rather see me dead, too.”
Her heart sank lower. She didn’t want him to leave so soon… or ever.
“Don’t leave… I promise to keep you safe,” she said. “As I recall, none of the palace soldiers had ever gone this way. Because nothing happens around these parts, except for the occasional scare of mountain cats.”
“Doesn’t matter— there is always a first time for everything.”
“Where would you go?”
“I don’t know yet… far from here to keep you safe, and some place I couldn’t be found.”
“Is there such a place in the realm where the palace’s claws can’t reach?” she scoffed.
“You say it with such a tone of contempt for the palace…”
“You would understand if you’ve lived in an unjust regime like I have. The former alpha king may be an effective ruler… but not without hurting his people,” she said, peering into his deep amber eyes. “And our hopes for a better future just went up in smoke upon news of Prince Herrick’s death. You’re not from Augurria, are you?”
“I was born here… in the capital… but have spent most of my life away to study,” he said. “I wish I’d stayed, though… I didn’t know it was that bad…”
“Then why reverse such good fortune? What you don’t know can’t hurt you. You were better off far away than here…” She bit her lower lip. If she were being honest, she wished he’d stay and walk with her in the forest every day, for the rest of their lives… but what was she thinking? “Honestly… I’ve met no one I could talk to like this. I got no friends, either. It had always been just my mother and me… until you floated along the marshes…”
“The feeling’s mutual, Aeon… I don’t have many friends, either. And besides owing you my life, I find it refreshing to be in your company. I enjoy hearing you talk about your plants, like they’re your family. However, I’d be putting you at risk if—”
“Stop saying that… I just want you to stay until you’ve fully recovered, okay? Can you promise me you won’t leave till then?”
He looked away, shaking his head. “I think your stew is boiling.”