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“For the time being,” Elwyn said mildly as she poured tea. “Things didn’t end well with the last one.”
“So, see, you have nothing to worry about,” Mair said to Nesta. “Don’t you feel better?”
Nesta finally laughed. More of her tension drained away after she drank the tea, and by the time she left, she had lost the anxious look she’d had when she arrived.
Mair lingered after the others had left. “You’re doing a lot of good with this, you know,” she said to Elwyn. “Did you notice young Hana?”
Elwyn tried to remember all the women who’d been in the shop that afternoon. “The quiet one?”
“Yes. This is the first time I’ve managed to coax her out of her house. She’s a weaver and she claims she needs to work, but I think it’s more that she’s afraid of others. She found her way to us during the winter. I get the impression that she was fleeing something, perhaps a bad employer. Having somewhere safe to go made a big difference for her.”
“That’s good to hear.” It appeared Elwyn wasn’t the only fugitive in the village. Again, she had to wonder if it was merely a place situated where people trying to stay off the main roads would find it or if there was something else about it that drew people in need of safety. That was a pretty fantasy, but she feared she couldn’t count on being entirely safe from the outside world. She’d probably have to move on eventually, but every coin she made in the shop improved her chances of surviving when she had to flee.
One afternoon before Elwyn opened the shop, Lucina came by with that day’s buns and cakes. Instead of just dropping them off and taking her share of the previous day’s sales, she paused, taking a few deep breaths, as though working up the courage to make a request. “I need your help,” she blurted.
“Yes, of course,” Elwyn said. “What do you need?”
Lucina closed her eyes, as though in deep pain. “I need to sleep,” she said, her voice heavy with weariness. “Your teas make me feel better, and I wonder if there’s anything else you can do for me.”
Lucina truly appeared to be in distress, and even though she no longer considered herself a healer, Elwyn had sworn an oath to help those in need, and Lucina was a friend, so she couldn’t turn her away. Besides, this wouldn’t truly require her to use the gift she couldn’t trust. It was merely an extension of what she did with teas.
“Let’s have a seat,” she said, guiding Lucina to one of the tables. “What kind of trouble are you having with sleep? Do you have difficulty falling asleep, or do you wake during the night? Is it because your mind is restless, or is it your body?”
Not meeting Elwyn’s eyes, Lucina stared down at the table and whispered, “I want to sleep without nightmares. Can you give me something that will give me deep, restful sleep without dreams?”
“Dreams are a part of restful sleep. You can’t block them entirely for long without suffering ill effects.”
Lucina’s shoulders sagged. “Oh. So you can’t help.”
“I can’t take the nightmares away for good. But sometimes just a few days of the body getting good rest can help the mind heal. You still need to address the source of your nightmares to have a long-term cure.”
“How would I do that?” The baker’s voice was rough with emotion.
“Talk about it with someone you trust.”
“I can’t do that,” Lucina said, shaking her head violently.
“Then talk to thin air. Just saying it aloud may help. Or write it down. That may help you look at your worries objectively. I assume that your nightmares are based on something real. It’s not a monster under the bed or walking through the village naked.”
The slightest hint of a smile crossed Lucina’s face, lighting her countenance for a moment. Then the shadows returned. “Yes. They’re real. I keep reliving the worst day of my life.”
Based on her name, her darker coloring, and her accent, Elwyn guessed that she was from Tufana, where there had been a great deal of unrest in the past decade. A refugee who’d escaped the violence would have plenty of fuel for nightmares. She seemed to be yet another person who’d found refuge in Rydding.
Elwyn stood and went behind the counter to her shelves of herbs. “I can give you something that will help you rest and that will take away some of your anxiety,” she said. “A few good nights of sleep may help give you the strength to face your fears so you can do better in the long term. First, a brew that may help you now while I prepare the blend that you’ll drink an hour before you go to bed.” She mixed the right herbs and spooned them into a small teapot, then poured hot water over them. “This may make you a bit drowsy, but it should relax you. It’s even stronger than some of the calming teas I’ve made for you before.”
How had she missed the depth of Lucina’s distress? She was clearly exhausted all the time and had dark hollows under her eyes, but Elwyn had assumed it was merely due to her schedule, which required her to be up hours before dawn. If she’d been thinking like a healer, she would have noticed it had to be more than that. It seemed that even when she wasn’t trying to be a healer, she still failed at it.
“I’ve already done the day’s baking,” Lucina said. “I start very early, so I’m ready for a nap by this time. I would be delighted to fall asleep soon.”
While waiting for the tea to brew, Elwyn mixed a blend of herbs in a clean jar. She wrapped a ribbon around it. In a second jar, she put one of the herbs without the others. She strained the tea into a cup and added a few drops from small vials and a spoonful of honey. This blend should help Lucina relax and put the past behind her. She brought the cup to Lucina and said, “Drink this now. Then an hour before bedtime, make a cup of tea using one spoon of this blend with a cup of boiling water and steep for five minutes.” She indicated the jar with a ribbon around it. “When you’ve used that up, continue making a nightly brew with this other jar. You’ll have a few nights of deep sleep. Over time, you may rest more regularly.”
Lucina took a sip of the brew and sighed. “I feel better already.”
With a smile, Elwyn said, “The scent is relaxing on its own, but it can’t have done much for you yet.”
“Having hope helps a great deal, as does knowing someone cares.” That sent another stab of guilt through Elwyn for not having noticed a friend’s suffering.
“Well, you just sit and relax and drink that. Breathe the scent and take deep breaths.” Elwyn had to admit that it felt good to be back at her old trade. There was something about knowing exactly the right combination of herbs and essences that would address a particular problem that was not only satisfying, but actually a little thrilling. She’d missed it. But she also feared it. What if she failed again? Worse, what if word got out that there was a healer, and that word spread beyond the village? Someone might recognize her description and she’d be caught.
