Chapter 15

Weeks had passed since their meeting in the cabin and Lily was growing restless. Toame had sent word with Jacque that he would be unable to get away for awhile as his mother had restricted him to the castle for a time. She wanted to see him for herself to make sure he was safe, but the old elf advised against such an idea.

Harvest was upon them and so the three of them worked hard to bring it in. It had proven to be a good year for corn. They loaded the wagon for the trip to the village. Lily had gathered more of the quilts she had made for her father to sell. She helped him team the horses and pack rations for the journey. The old elf would remain in the cabin as he shouldn't be seen for fear rumors of his death would prove to be untrue.

Her father climbed in the wagon and sat for a moment, thinking to himself. "Lily," he called.

"Yes, Papa?" she replied as she approached the wagon.

"Climb aboard. I think it best you accompany me today."

She could hardly believe her ears. "Seriously? I can go?" She didn't allow him time to change his mind. She climbed aboard the wagon and sat next to her father.

"You should wear this, my lady." The tutor had offered her a cloak similar to the one given Toame. "It will help keep you safe from harm. Be careful not to reveal yourself to many people. You don't know where their loyalties lie."

"I will, Master Elf. Thank you." She draped the cloak around her, concealing her appearance as her father ushered the horses into movement. She had so desperately wanted to visit the village most of her life, but now that she was, she was a bit fearful at what she may see.

The road to town was nearly identical to the road in her dreams. Only the trees were larger. As they passed over a small culvert she recognized the area as where her mother had been killed. Her father had sped the horses up to get through the spot quickly. She knew how hard it must be for him to have to travel that way all these years. She could feel her own tears begin to form.

The town itself was small, quaint and somewhat inviting. The main street was lined with merchant shops and taverns. The caravan travelers had pitched their tents in the center of town making it difficult to travel through without stopping to see what they had to offer. At the far edge of town a little shop caught her eye. She read the sign that hung over its door. 'Medicines and Tonics'. She would visit that shop today. She needed to see it for herself. Her father stopped at one of the caravan's tents to barter with its keeper. He delivered to them six bushels of corn and two quilts in exchange for six pints of honey and one hundred sheckles of gold. He had moved on to one of the local shops with some more of the corn when Lily seized her opportunity to explore the medicine shop.

She entered the little shop slightly bent over as to not attract attention to her height. Humans seemed to be rather a small race. The bell rang as she eased the door open on squeaky hinges.

"Good afternoon, ma'am. How may I be a service to you today?" the man behind the counter asked her.

"I wish only to look around for a moment while I contemplate my need, sir," she responded without removing her cloak. The man appeared to be about her father's age, short, stalky with blonde hair and green eyes. 'Must be Amri's brother or cousin', she thought to herself.

"Very well. My name is Sevren ma'am. Please holler if you need me."

"Yes. Thank you; I will." She panned the small shop to find it in the order it had been in her dream. Her eyes met the door in the rear she recalled seeing Amri through. She moved closer to it pretending to look at the tonics on the shelves. She could hear voices in the back room discussing the traders who had come through this time. One voice she recognized as Sevren's, but other sounded older and a bit tired. She was trying to listen to their conversation when she accidentally knocked a bottle of tonic off the shelf. It smashed on the floor causing her to jump back and yelp. The men burst through the door at the sound of the crash and found her trying to clean up her mess with her bare hands. "I am so sorry, sir. I will pay for my damages." She said not looking up.

"Come now," the old one said. "We have no need of that." He reached down and offered his hand. "My son can clean that up, miss. Come on up and I will get you something to wash your hands with."

She took his hand and rose to her feet. She had forgotten to stay bent a bit and rose to her full height. The old man looked full in her face. She watched the color drain out of his skin. She realized her mistake and stooped down a bit before the younger saw her. She pulled the cloak down to cover her face more and apologized again for the damage.

"Back from the grave you be," he muttered almost under his breath.

"I'm sorry. I know not of what you speak," replied Lily.

"Excuse the ramblings of an old man, ma'am," Philip reassured. "Sevren, my boy; take the Childer's order to them now."

"But I thought they were coming in to get it this afternoon." protested Sevren.

"I said, take their order to them. Now please." The old man was insistent so his son obeyed without argument. It took him several minutes to gather the supplies and load his wagon.

Upon his departure, Philip closed the door and locked it and closed all the shutters. Lily became nervous at the old man's actions. "What, pray tell, do you have in plan for me?" she asked through the fearful lump in her throat.

"Fear not, my lady. I bid you no harm."

"Then why have you locked me in here?"

"Please, forgive me. I knew not what else to do. Are you in this village alone?"

"Nay, I have accompanied my father to sell our harvest."

"Your father? Would your father be the farmer from Elvin Ridge?"

"That be him sir. You know him well?" she queried

Philip put his hand to his chest as if he couldn't catch a breath. "Be still my poor heart. I'm afraid I do at that."

"You knew my mother as well; I presume by your statement of the grave."

"That I did. She was a beauty. Looked just like you. Her face haunts me every night. Such a bad thing to have happened."

"I was told that the village held no memory of her. How is that you carry her memory?"

"I am the village medicine man, which is the closest thing to a magic weaver a human will ever be. I can take any plant or animal and make potion to either cure or kill. I can concoct a tonic to make people fall in love or tear them apart. I can make you sick or make you well. It is a craft I know well. And I taught my children my craft. Both of them excelled in their learning, but my daughter held a dark heart. She took what she learned and used it to benefit herself rather than her fellow man. She tried to poison me once for punishing her and since I have not consumed anything she may have touched. I am positive she created a potion to clear the memories of the villagers of that fateful night, though I'm not sure how she did it; or why."

Lily knew why, but it was clear to her the old man was innocent of her mother's blood. "I beg of you sir, tell no one of my visit today. I fear your daughter may find my presence a great discomfort."

"Your secret is safe with me, though I have not seen my daughter in over sixteen years. She left when your father refused to marry her. I told her she should let him grieve his wife's death, but she insisted on pressing him. It was too soon, I told her. She didn't take my advice and suffered his rejection. She left right after that vowing to never return. I fear I may never see my little girl again."

"I am afraid I must bid you farewell. My father may be looking for me for I did not tell him where I would be." She touched his hand and looked deeply into his eyes.

"Then I must bid you leave." He arose from his seat and opened the door for her. She escaped into the street unnoticed and returned to the wagon. She had seated herself upon its bench just as her father exited the last tent. He climbed aboard the wagon, snapping the reigns on the horses to go home.