We're counting on you, you know.
It kept repeating in her mind over and over. People's expectations. What they needed her to do. Who they needed her to be. But without Meira...the whole place was empty. There was no morning clinking of pots, no asks for eggs, no directions for mixtures. There was nothing. And yet, there was everything.
Elowen looked from the old bread and cheese in her lap to the room in front of her. She was sitting cross legged on the pallet that had always been her bed. Tucked in the right back corner, it was a place were there wasn't much light and she liked it that way. It helped her to sleep since Meira sometimes spent late breaks by the cooking fire. But now, the hearth laid cold for days. The ashes still heaped from where the woods had burned.
Her eyes travelled further to the left where the herb corner laid diagonally opposite her and right of the door. That was their work station. Everything they did for the people of Mistral Village, it happened there. There were jars upon jars of dried plants, barks, berries, tinctures and whatnots. The workbench was neatly cleaned, tools put away. It was Elowen's responsibility to put things in order at the end of each trial. It took her a long time to get it just right so that Meira did not have to come and check it. The older woman would only inspect the cleanliness if she was in a foul mood but rarely found anything amiss. She would probably have a pop at the girl now though for dust started to settle there.
Dust...it was everywhere. Elowen moved very little over the past trials. Any more and there would be a distinct trail between her pallet and the pantry and the main door for whenever she needed to relieve herself.
She looked back at the food. The bread was already hard around the edges and the cheese accumulated moisture on its surface. Hard to believe she had been living on that since the burning.
But they are counting on me, she told herself and shivered.
Meira counted on her too, but she never told Elowen so. It was an unspoken admission between the two because more often than not, it was obvious that without the young girl, the local apothecary would have been in a pickle.
But those trials ago...when the village girl told her that she is expected to take over after Meira. That was a whole new ball game. That was out in the open. That was...something Elowen wasn't used to. Not in this way at least. What would Meira have done?
She'd look at me...she'd look at me with that blunt surprise and then she'd scoff, waving her hand. "Get it together, girl. No time to be wasted on nonsense like this. You got a task to do? Then do it. And do it well." Elowen did not realize she was speaking out loud until after the words had left her lips. A pang of pain shot through her body. That was exactly what she would have said. No sympathy, pure business.
She tightened her hands around the food. Her imaginary Meira was right. There was a task to be done. A village to take care off. Could she do it? Elowen did not know. She never prepared any of the medicinal plants without supervision. But that was a task for another day. And she wouldn't be able to perform it if anything was out of place.
With a nod, she put the food back on the plate that was on the floor next to her pallet. She brushed her hands off, noting to sweep the floors first and foremost. Then she reached for her headscarf. It was time to get to work.
It kept repeating in her mind over and over. People's expectations. What they needed her to do. Who they needed her to be. But without Meira...the whole place was empty. There was no morning clinking of pots, no asks for eggs, no directions for mixtures. There was nothing. And yet, there was everything.
Elowen looked from the old bread and cheese in her lap to the room in front of her. She was sitting cross legged on the pallet that had always been her bed. Tucked in the right back corner, it was a place were there wasn't much light and she liked it that way. It helped her to sleep since Meira sometimes spent late breaks by the cooking fire. But now, the hearth laid cold for days. The ashes still heaped from where the woods had burned.
Her eyes travelled further to the left where the herb corner laid diagonally opposite her and right of the door. That was their work station. Everything they did for the people of Mistral Village, it happened there. There were jars upon jars of dried plants, barks, berries, tinctures and whatnots. The workbench was neatly cleaned, tools put away. It was Elowen's responsibility to put things in order at the end of each trial. It took her a long time to get it just right so that Meira did not have to come and check it. The older woman would only inspect the cleanliness if she was in a foul mood but rarely found anything amiss. She would probably have a pop at the girl now though for dust started to settle there.
Dust...it was everywhere. Elowen moved very little over the past trials. Any more and there would be a distinct trail between her pallet and the pantry and the main door for whenever she needed to relieve herself.
She looked back at the food. The bread was already hard around the edges and the cheese accumulated moisture on its surface. Hard to believe she had been living on that since the burning.
But they are counting on me, she told herself and shivered.
Meira counted on her too, but she never told Elowen so. It was an unspoken admission between the two because more often than not, it was obvious that without the young girl, the local apothecary would have been in a pickle.
But those trials ago...when the village girl told her that she is expected to take over after Meira. That was a whole new ball game. That was out in the open. That was...something Elowen wasn't used to. Not in this way at least. What would Meira have done?
She'd look at me...she'd look at me with that blunt surprise and then she'd scoff, waving her hand. "Get it together, girl. No time to be wasted on nonsense like this. You got a task to do? Then do it. And do it well." Elowen did not realize she was speaking out loud until after the words had left her lips. A pang of pain shot through her body. That was exactly what she would have said. No sympathy, pure business.
She tightened her hands around the food. Her imaginary Meira was right. There was a task to be done. A village to take care off. Could she do it? Elowen did not know. She never prepared any of the medicinal plants without supervision. But that was a task for another day. And she wouldn't be able to perform it if anything was out of place.
With a nod, she put the food back on the plate that was on the floor next to her pallet. She brushed her hands off, noting to sweep the floors first and foremost. Then she reached for her headscarf. It was time to get to work.
