Page 21 of Mushy Stuff
“Can I get some new clothes and a couple of soaps to wash my body and my clothes with?”
Wold is quiet for a minute or two. I look up at him to see if he had fallen asleep. He hasn’t. Instead, he has the saddest look on his face. I haven’t seen Wold look this sad before. He sighs. “Lydia, you will not need them after tomorrow. We will get the supplies to send you home.”
“Wold, I don’t want to leave. Can’t I stay here with you?” I ask.
He stares at me without answering. I can see the pain in his eyes.
“Please, Wold. I want to stay here with you. I want to be here.” I beg, and I can tell I’m on the verge of tears. Tomorrow is the last day. We will go to the fae market and get the things he needs to send me home. I’ve tried to push it out of my mind and pretend like it wasn’t coming, but now it’s almost here. Tomorrow. Tomorrow, he will send me away.
He sighs. “Lydia…it’s too dangerous in my world. The Elven—”
“No…please, Wold. I’ve been safe with you here. I will be safe here. This is what I want. I want to be with you.” Hot tears are running down my cheeks now. “I don’t want to go back. Please Wold, let me stay.”
He uses the back of his knuckles to wipe my tears away. “Lydia…I don’t want you to go, but I can’t keep you safe. Not even Guardians are safe from the Elven. How will I keep you safe when I can’t even keep myself safe?”
He curls me into his chest and holds me while I quietly cry myself to sleep.
Chapter 13
MyheartbreaksatLydia’s tears.
I want to keep her. I want her bound to me as my mate. I want to spend my days with her like we have spent the past few days.
No matter how much I want to, I cannot keep her. It’s just not safe. What if she stayed and one of the Elven took her? I could not live knowing she was trapped like that, bending to the whim of some arrogant Elven master.
My father and the other male Guardians that my birth mother imprisoned could not even keep themselves safe. Once one of the Elven decides they want something, they will stop at nothing to get it. If they knew a human was here with me…I would not be able to keep them away.
I ache at this thought. I want her to stay with me with every piece of my soul. I know deep down inside that she was meant for me.
I hold her as she falls asleep. Tomorrow we will harvest mushrooms to sell, then we will buy the ingredients for the spell. Tomorrow, we will send her home.
***
The next morning, I wake earlier than normal because I know I have much work to do. I am in a terrible mood. I do not look forward to anything today. The sun is still up, but the whole world just seems dark. It feels like those first days after my nursemaid left me; those first years alone.
I wake Lydia beside me. She seems to be much more subdued today too. She has none of that happiness that normally radiates from her.
I tell her the plan for today. It is mid-afternoon so we will have extra time, but we still have a lot to do before the market tonight.
I hunt for us and check on my mushrooms as therabbitscook. Lydia accompanies me just the way she has on the other days, but I can see that instead of excitement, she has only sadness. She does not gasp in surprise and wonder atmushrooms. Today, she sniffles and wipes her eyes. I stop and hold her several times throughout my work.
Once I am done caring for the mushrooms and we eat our food, I weave a bag out of my vines. I leave the vines attached to my head so I can make it bigger if I need. Then I begin harvesting the mushrooms that I can sell. I take a lot of them. I don’t really know how much the ingredients are going to cost.
If I thought Lydia was sad before, harvesting my precious mushrooms has made it even worse. She helps hold the bag for me, but sniffles and whimpers the whole time.
It is getting dark as I finish harvesting all of the mushrooms I will need. By this point my bag is huge, and has turned into more of a sack. I cut the ends of the vines with my claws and tie off the sack.
I look at Lydia’s sad face, then I hug her to me. She presses her face to my chest, and I can hear her muffled crying. I pet her hair. “Shhh, my little sprite. You will see. It will be okay.”
She sniffs and wipes her tears. “Wold, it won’t be okay. I want to be with you. How will it be okay if I am not with you?”
“Because you will be safe.” I tell her, and I hear her sigh.
“It doesn’t matter if I am safe if I am broken. Wold, it’s going to break me to leave you. I’m meant to be here withyou, and I think you know that. The wall let me through so that I could be with you. How else do you explain this force that draws us to each other? The spell that binds you to this land also let me live. It didn’t make you kill me. I am supposed to be here with you. Please don’t send me away. You feel like home to me.” Tears are running down her cheeks again.
Seeing her pain nearly breaks me. What she says makes sense, but none of that matters if the Elven gets her. I have to keep her safe, even if it means sending her back to the human world. I remember the Guardians that my birth mother kept captive. They were big; bigger than me. They were strong, and they were powerful. But none of that helped them. None of that kept them safe in the end. My magic and strength will not be enough to keep her safe.
There is nothing I can say to ease her pain. I feel the same pain. So I just hold her instead. We stand there for a few minutes holding each other, then I say, “We should get ready to leave for the fae market.” She looks heartbroken, so I continue. “I think you will love the market. There are going to be so many things for you to see.”
