“Aurelia, is everything all right in there?” Forrest asked, worry in his tone. “Do you need my help?”
He had no idea how desperately I needed his help.
Flustered by the interruption, I said the first thing that came to my mind. “Apologies, Forrest. I’m all right. I just got to an interesting part in my book. That’s all.”
I immediately cringed as the words left my mouth. I had always been a terrible liar, but I never imagined that I’d betray myself in this way so marvellously.
“Ah, I see. All right. I’ll leave you to it.”
I could hear Forrest laughing on the other side of the door.
How was I supposed to get out of this room and face him after that?Please, someone, come kill me now.
*
After the bathroom incident, I spent the rest of my day sitting in the living room, reading my book in awkward silence. Forrest, on the other hand, had been taking great pleasure in my pain, laughing at me anytime I accidentally made eye contact with him. When I’d initially come out of the washroom, he’d tried to stop me in the hallway to talk about the book and what I had read that was so interesting. The humiliation was indescribable.
Darkness had just settled over the village. The sky was covered by rain clouds, hiding the stars from sight. With the cloud cover came an ominous foreboding that I couldn’t shake. Violet would be here anytime now to discuss a plan for assisting Fiona. I was looking forward to having her over, if only to give me a slight reprieve from the mortifying embarrassment I had been enduring all day.
The evening started off quite busy, as far as my work was concerned. Villagers began venturing out toward the Nightwood one by one, just as the sun set. Concealed by hooded cloaks and the darkening night, they risked coming to see me for all manner of things: mundane cold remedies, arnica salves, and peppermint tincture. Many of the people who came to see me were women, and it wasn’t a stretch of the imagination to say that their nights were made once they all laid eyes on Forrest in his new clothing and stylish hat. Once a few of the women had gotten over their nerves in seeking my help, they began to proposition Forrest. He graciously and politely declined each one over the course of the evening. It was obvious that he was having a good time, and I was happy for him. I also had this weird jealousy whenever he flirted with the women,but I was ignoring that, because it was none of my business. Forrest was a free fae, and he could do as he pleased.
Finally Violet made her way over. I decided now was a good time to shut down shop for the night. I locked the front door and closed the shutters, hoping anyone coming by to visit would get the hint and go away.
“Wow, Aurelia. You weren’t kidding. He really is a big guy,” Violet exclaimed as she walked in the front door.
Any hope I’d had of being relieved of my earlier embarrassment quickly evaporated. Forrest laughed and offered to hang up her cloak.
“Where did you find him again?” she asked.
“Out back in the woods,” Forrest quickly replied. “Took me down just like a tree.”
My head turned on a swivel toward him, my eyes narrowing while I took in his mischievous grin.So he has jokes now? Wonderful.
Violet thought it was quite funny as well, judging by her laughter.
“All right, let’s get this going.” I gestured toward the sofa, inviting Violet to sit down. “So, what is your sister’s daily routine like? Does she have time to herself to take care of this?”
“Fiona has no time for herself at all. When she isn’t looking after their seven children, she’s cooking or cleaning. That husband of hers has such a firm grip on her daily routine. She is chained to her home and family. She doesn’t go anywhere without the asshole knowing. He’s definitely going to pose an issue, more so than he already does.”
“Do you visit Fiona often? Do you go over to each other’s home at all?” I asked.
“I avoid their home, because I am not welcome there. Anytime I ask to visit her, she has to run it by him, and he makes sure he’s present the entire time. Fiona does not come to my home. I’m an unmarried woman who prefers the company of other women. I am not to be trusted around his precious little wife, lest my ‘lecherousways’ influence her at all.” The contempt Violet held for her brother-in-law flowed from her unfettered.
“I wasn’t aware that the Children of the Celestial Mothers had adverse feelings regarding relationships between two women or two men. Is this new?” The Cult of Children were many awful things, but as far as I knew, they didn’t care who anyone loved, just as long as it included the Celestial Mothers.
“The Children don’t have an official stance against them, but Fiona’s husband—Maxx’s eyes and ears—does,” Violet replied tersely. “The only time she is ever free of him is when he’s at the sanctuary, assisting Maxx with rewriting scripture, and that’s normally in the early morning hours. She’ll come into the village square during that time to take care of errands and such, and that’s when she spares a moment to see me. She’ll then meet up with him at the sanctuary, and they head home together.”
The pain and exasperation were evident in the way Violet described her little sister’s life. Unfortunately, it sounded no different from the lives of many other women in the village who were part of fanatical religious families. They were raised to be mild and obedient little servants to their husbands. It made my blood boil, and judging by Violet’s reaction, I wasn’t alone in that regard.
“Let me think about this for a moment,” I said. “We need to figure out a way to get the tea to your sister that doesn’t involve her and me ever meeting face to face, because that would be too obvious. Magda is also out of the question, because they have their eyes on her as well. You also can’t be seen going over to her place, because that would raise suspicions with the husband, and vice versa: she can’t come over to your home on her own.”
I sat there with my head in my hands, mulling over the various ways in which we could get caught or tip off the husband. There really was only one viable option.
“The only way we can do this is if I give you a double dose of the tea to keep in your store, and the next time your sister comes byto visit, make sure you have a spare glass available and use it to offer her a drink. That way, if she has her children with her, they won’t see a medicine bottle and will have nothing to say to their father. With a stronger dose, it usually takes a day, maybe two, to take effect, so it should give you enough time to distance yourself from the situation. There are a couple of things to know, though. With a stronger dose, it will be more painful for Fiona. I will leave pain medicine with you to give to her—should she want to risk having it in her possession. She will want to take a few drops six times a day for the first few days to manage her pain. There is also the issue of the shelf life of the tea. Because I have to steep it, once I give it to you, it must be used within two days. Waiting any longer than that will affect its efficacy.”
Violet looked at me warily, her voice wavering a touch. “What does ‘efficacy’ mean? What will happen if she doesn’t drink it within two days?”
“If Fiona doesn’t drink it within two days, then it won’t work,” I replied.
