the drying rack once more, she then motioned for us to stay as she wandered into the back room.
“Auntie?” Gaven asked, stepping forward to pull the crushed leaf out of my fingers and sniffed himself. “I was led to believe you had no blood relatives.”
It took control to not snap at him. “I am adopted, yes, but among the hedge witches, it is courteous to call our elders ‘aunt.’”
“So you are a witch?” His eyes gleamed with distrust and he stepped back, his hand dropping to his sword hilt.
If he could only see my ugly glare under my veil. “What is a witch? A woman who brews a tea to relieve a headache? Someone who understands the ancient arts of pressure points, who can relieve a pregnant woman’s pain, or even a woman of faith who prays for healing? All have been cast out of villages and deemed witches whenever results are not understood. I believe a witch is nothing more than what people are afraid of and do not comprehend.”
During my speech, I had moved to the other side of the table and began to point to different plants. “This plant right here, cardix, if steeped for two minutes can relieve a fever, but if steeped for five becomes a poison. Mellinon, if harvested in the spring, causes welts to break out among the skin, but if harvested in autumn cures rashes. Do you understand the difference between each of these outcomes?”
Gaven and Pru shook their heads.
“Patience. Waiting is the tipping point between life and death, a cure or an ailment. And women are known to be very patient,” I said slyly.
“I see no reason that you couldn’t have sent along the list with your servant,” Gaven chastised, obviously uncomfortable with my quiet threat.
“For my medicine to work, I need to know that the herbalist knows their plants, knows what they’re doing, and that they keep a clean and orderly shop. Otherwise, how can you trust them?”
I pointed between the two tables and two very similar plants, one on each.
“Can you tell me the name of this plant?” I gestured to the plant on my right.
“Hellion’s kiss.”
“Are you sure?” I challenged.
“Yes?” He wasn’t.
“What about this one?” I pointed to the plant on my left.
“It’s the same,” Gaven said confidently.
“Actually it’s not,” I corrected. “All of the plants on the right table are poisonous; the ones on the left are not. You’re lucky we have come to a very organized auntie, or she may give you a few leaves of this, and you would be dead by morning.”
Auntie Agress came out with a small bag from the back room and began to wrap some of my items in pieces of silk, others in paper, and a few bottles.
“Excuse me, Auntie,” Gaven mimicked me. The hedge witch’s eyes filled with barely controlled laughter. “What would cause, um… someone to change drastically?”
Her shrewd eyes narrowed. “Their mind, body, or temperament?”
Gaven shifted his weight from foot to foot and leaned in close. “How about all of the above?”
“It’s probably a curse,” she said solemnly and beckoned him closer. He leaned in, clearly eager for the answer. “It’s called the moon cycle. Give her a week and she’ll be back to normal.” Auntie Agress cackled, elbowing him in the stomach.
Pru sputtered, and I covered my mouth to muffle the laughter, thankful my veil still hid my expression.
Gaven’s face burned red; he obviously didn’t appreciate the joke. “What about a girl who likes you and then doesn’t?” He looked off in the distance and then frowned. His shoulders slumped in dejection. “Never mind, you wouldn’t understand.”
“It could be a curse,” she said again, seriously this time. “Of course, one brought on by a powerful sorcerer or enchantress. Anger any of those lately?”
Gaven looked directly at me. “Yes.”
“Then you’re doomed.” She guffawed again and slapped his arm. After a few minutes of embarrassing him, she settled down and gave him a warning. “Listen, you might just need to woo her, or you can try this.” She handed him a small bottle, and he opened it and took a sniff.
“It smells nice. Is it a love potion?”
“Might as well be,” she chuckled. “It’s perfume, a special blend. Sure to make the ladies fall for you if you give it to them.”
He nodded and clutched the bottle to his chest protectively, and I wondered who he was thinking of the gift for. I became uncomfortable in the store and was grateful for my veil to disguise my true