Page 122 of The Knights of Gaia

I latched on to the fence and peeked over it again. A woman with a tight bun—and an even tighter face—stood on the other side, glaring back at me.

“Get down at once, or I’ll report you for trespassing!” she snapped at me.

What a pleasant woman.

“How am I trespassing if I’m standing on this side of the fence?” I asked her calmly.

“Your fingernails are trespassing.”

I retracted my fingers just far enough so they were on Rane’s side of the fence. “Happy?”

The woman scowled at me.

“What do you know about this tree?” I asked her, keeping my tone pleasant, like I was just making small talk.

“Is this some kind of joke?” she growled. “Do you think you’re being cute?”

“Well, I always try to be cute?—”

“That tree was a menace when it was alive, and it’s even more of a menace now that it’s dead. Do you know how inconvenient it is to remove all of those leaves? And they’re useless! I can’t even use them in potions.”

Rane popped her head over the top of the fence. “I’m sorry that the tragic, terrible death of our beloved tree is an inconvenience to you,” she hissed.

The woman met Rane’s eyes, and there was nothing but contempt in hers. “Apology not accepted.”

Wow. I was really glad this woman wasn’t my neighbor.

“When are your parents going to remove that dead tree?” the woman demanded. “It had better be before it falls on my shop.”

The woman shot us one final, menacing glare, then turned and stormed off.

“See what I mean?” Rane said after we jumped back down to the ground. “She’s awful.”

“She really is,” I agreed. I broke off a piece of bark, then scooped up a handful of soil from the base of the tree.

Rane watched me. “What are you doing?”

“Gathering evidence.” I stood up. “Could you show me to your supply cabinet?”

“There’s one in the greenhouse.”

So I followed her there. I grabbed a few vials from the closet.

“What are you doing?” Rane watched with great interest as I set the vials and the dirt down on a work table.

“Testing the soil around the tree for signs of poison.”

“How do you even know how to do this stuff? Did the Knights teach you?”

I snorted. “So far, they haven’t really taught us anything. They’ve just been testing us. And putting us to work setting up for the Summit.”

“So where did you learn Alchemy?”

“It’s chemistry, actually. And I learned it from my mom. She’s a chemist.” I frowned. “Hmm. I don’t see any sign of poison in either the bark or the soil. Are you sure poison killed the tree?”

“What else would it be?” replied Rane.

“I’m not sure. Is there anyone else who would have any reason to kill your tree?”

---