Page 25 of Thief of Roses
“Y shall do my utmost to complie wyth thy request.”He brushed the pads of his hands over the salved scratches of his arm.“Y thank thee for thy begrudgyng cyvylytie yn thy tendyng.”
“If you have wounds, come to me sooner with them, please.I can do more the fresher they are.”When he stood without saying anything else, she panicked.“Where will you go?”
“North,”he said.“Thou wilt be safe here wythout me.The forest creatures knoweth my scent on thee and avoideth thee.”
She eyed his injuries.She would be safe.The real worry was, would he?
XI.
She stayed productivethe time Baró was away so that she would not notice his absence.She nattered to herself and to the house, to her flowers and berries and herbs, to her knife and to the goblet.She talked so much to fill the silence that the pitcher refilled itself many times.Days flowed into each other and she lost track of time, often dropping to sleep at the kitchen hearth because she did not wish to drag herself upstairs to her room.
One whole day she devoted her efforts to collecting all the beeswax candles she could find and then did a second sweep when the Magic replaced them.Beeswax and animal fats made the best bases for her concoctions but she did not have to ask for the candles.
For her diligent efforts, she filled one kitchen cabinet with boarberry salve.She had not intended to start with the boarberry, but after seeing the injuries Baró presented the day he left, she did not think they should be without it.She even made julica creams too if Baró again wore impressive bruising in the near future, even though the julica was not as plentiful.Her other medicinal forays resulted in some questionable jars of what she had intended to be soreness soothers and ache relievers but ended up as sweet-smelling nothings.Even the plant poison balm which she made dozens of times before came out suspect since she tried adding some of the willetvine in for scent, which had only succeeded in fouling up the texture.
On the food front, she experimented with the meat that had been kept below, obliged to cut it off areas that she could reach.Without any salt stores or proximity to the ocean, she tried sun baking, which only attracted insects.Dehydration in the oven proved more effective.She lamented her first attempts, but improved until she had one jar filled with tasty preserved meat bits.
She worked herself to exhaustion so often that one day when she woke, a mushroom that dwarfed the food platter greeted her along with three large speckled feathers arranged a little less meticulously than the meal.She marveled over the offerings.The mushroom would make several magnificent portions of dried slices and a few fresh helpings for both of them.The feathers she could not identify, but they were larger than her hands and shone blue when she twirled them in the hearth light.
She intended to thank him for his gifts when he next requested her company, but she had no chance, not that day and not the following days.Her discontent came back ten-fold with the new knowledge that he was here and yet still did not attempt to seek her out.
The scent of hormonesfilled the fortress and tore him away from his intentional distance from her.The siren call of her blood clouded all logic and reason, luring him through the passageways until the perfume overwhelmed him at the entry of the kitchen.
Rivani’s soiled linens bubbled in the cauldron while she busied herself with sorting clothing for the next batch of washing.When she noticed him, her manner closed up.She glowered at him impressively.
“You leave for days, for my own benefit according to you, return, but avoid me.Tell me, Baró, do you regret agreeing to me as a companion?That can be fixed.If you intend on staying away, there’s no point in keeping me here.”
He hoped they might be able to resume where they had left off and eagerly anticipated his return to her company.She had touched him last time, which made him feel daft for the amount of pleasure such a simple gesture inspired.He hoped that they would continue their comfortable living arrangement with the possible development of friendship.Her unexpected surliness caused him to take a step backward and question if perhaps he had returned a little prematurely in her cycle.
“Y do mooste humblie apologyse,”he offered her, a little confused by the reason she wanted an apology, but nonetheless willing to offer it.“Y meant no ynsult by long absence.”
“You won’t even argue with me!”She ripped the scarf from her hair and threw it down on the table.“And that’s it then?You apologize, everything is great, life goes back to normal?”
“Y am attemptyng to express syncere contrytionne.Yf thou needest more of me for yt, thanne please say for Y am unpractyced when yt comes to expressyng my acknowledgment of wrongdoyng.”
“Not at all, Baró,”she scoffed.“In fact, you do it rather too well.Nothing seems ‘unpracticed’ with you — your words, your movements, your gestures, all a little too practiced!Careful with our words, careful with our time away, careful not to overstay our welcome, careful with our manners so as not to send the Rivan woman vomiting on your feet again!”
