Chapter 7: Miss Elara.
The village was boring and poor, but he didn't want to leave because he feared something else more frightening was hiding outside, the last thing he wanted was to leave his mother alone.
"We don't need to talk about this. I'm not going."
He saw the exact moment she gave up and was finally glad. The fight just drained out of her, leaving her looking small and defeated. He made his voice softer.
"Look, it's fine. I promise I won't ever complain about our financial situation, if a girl won't marry me because of money then it's her loss."
"Tomorrow, I'll get up early and head deeper into the forest. The good herbs grow there. I'll get a whole bunch, and we'll go straight to Mr. Miller. He'll know what to do. He'll take care of your illness, You'll see."
Huff.. Huff... Huff..
" Get..."
" G-Get..."
" Get away from me!
Adrian jolted awake with a gasp, his heart trying to beat its way out of his chest. For a split second, he didn't know where he was, the images of a snowy blizzard and a bleeding pale skinned figure chasing after him were still fresh on his mind.
Even till now, Adrian hadn't gotten over the unnatural sight of his own dead remains.
He sat up, his thin blankets tangled around his legs, and ran a hand over his face. his hand was suddenly covered in cold sweat which he wiped off his face.
He took a few deep, shaky breaths, the familiar sight of his small, cramped room slowly pushing the nightmare away. It was just a nightmare. Except he knew, with a cold certainty in his gut, that it wasn't.
It took him a few minutes just to get his breathing back to normal, the chilling sensation of cold earth below his feet as he sat upright at the edge of the bed, at least helped calm down his beating heart.
The grey light of the sun that was hindered by fog, was just starting to filter through the single window, meaning he hadn't slept long, but there was no chance of getting more rest with how things were at the moment.
" Let's try to get some fresh air, maybe that'll set my mind at ease..." He said to himself, trying to reassure his mind.
He pushed himself off his bed, his body aching all over, presumably sleep cramps or whatever it was.
His body went to work and began his morning routine as if on autopilot. First he grounded a pinch of salt between his fingers and scrubbed his teeth, the gritty, sharp taste helping to wake him up properly.
He poured water from a bucket into a small pot and warmed it by the embers of the fire, just enough to take the worst of the chill off before he washed up, the warm water soothed his aching muscles.
After his quick bath, Adrian pulled on the same fur-lined cloth and trousers from the day before, surprisingly, his clothes had also been respawned just like his body.
They were the only warm set he owned, so he couldn't change into anything else.
Carrying his quarter full wicket basket of herbs on his back like a backpack, he stepped out into the biting cold just as the sun began to color the horizon.
The village was still mostly asleep, smoke only just starting to curl from a few chimneys. He started his rounds, trudging through several inch deep snow, moving from one log house to the next, knocking gently on doors.
" Yes, I have that, it's right here."
" Don't worry, I didn't forget to get as much as you asked for."
" I picked them yesterday so they're still pretty fresh."
"Just came to see if you needed any medicinal herbs or a little pick me up."
His herbs, ended up being sold faster than he'd expected. Winter was always a hungry time for medicine, and people were eager to have something, anything, to ward off the season's sicknesses. The comforting weight of a few more copper coins in his pockets was a small relief.
His last stop was a neat log house at the edge of the village square. He knocked, and after a moment, the door was opened by a woman with kind eyes and hair as dark as a raven's wing. She was tall, and she had to lean down a little to smile at him.
"Adrian! Up with the sun, I see." she said, her voice warm.
"Morning, Miss Elara." he said, holding out his last bunch of herbs. "I've got some silverleaf here. It's my last bunch so I'm not sure if you'd be willing to take it off my hands."
" Its pretty good for soothing a sore throat."
" I'm not currently feeling under the weather but I wouldn't mind taking them off your hand's."
She took them, her fingers brushing his.
She pressed a few coins into his palm. He closed his hand around them, secretly relishing over the cool metal feel against his skin.
To be honest, he was worried he wouldn't be able to sell them since this was the last house he expected to buy herbs from. As far as he could remember, Miss Elara wasn't one to spend money so easily, perhaps she was in a good mood or something?
"Thank you," he said, tucking them safely away.
"It's me who should be thanking you," she replied, shaking her head. "Working this hard in this freezing weather, going out into those woods for all of us. We should start calling you the village's little hero."
Adrian felt his face grow warm. He let out a short, embarrassed laugh and scratched the back of his head. "Hero? I think that's a bit of a stretch."
" I just know where the herbs frequently grow, that's all there is to it. It's not exactly fighting off a bear."
"Well, it's heroic to me," she said with a warm smile. Then her expression turned a bit more thoughtful.