Page 67 of Of Potions and Honey
“Now, this fresh taste of the mountains comes to us from a spring in the Honeywood foothills.” Mr. Sheffield took one of the bottles strategically placed all over the stack and held it aloft. “A unique, and dare I say uniquely healthy, source of water that we wish to share with all of you today, and soon with all our valued customers! As of today, these will be sold in our stores everywhere, and you will have the privilege to receive a taste completely free of charge!”
Mira took a deep breath, heart in her throat. Now or never, while she’d have everyone’s attention.
“I would love a taste!” She quickly pushed forward until she was able to step up onto the platform, a smile on her face, before anyone could stop her. “That sounds so good!”
“Uh.”
Clearly, Mr. Sheffield hadn’t anticipated this. Nor had the crowd, who were murmuring again, this time with a little confusion mixed in. Perhaps they thought she was – badly – acting for promotional purposes. Just as well.
“Miss… Gardener. I would of course be more than happy to provide you with a sample.” Mr. Sheffield’s smile never faltered, though he clearly didn’t quite know what to do. He waved at the employee still holding the yellow fabric. “Ah, if you would…?”
The nervous teenager flinched, then grabbed a bottle with shaking hands, nearly dropping it in the process. He handed it to Mr. Sheffield, who made a show of twisting off the cap.
“There you go, Miss Gardener! Please, enjoy!”
Mira’s smile was wide, even though she was screaming internally. This was a lot more visible than she had anticipated. “Thank you!” From the corner of her eye, she saw Kayden at theedge of the platform. She held the bottle out to him. “Would you hold this for a second?”
He did, watching her intently as she took the bottle out of her pocket and leaned towards the microphone.
“See, I know I will enjoy this. And let me tell you all exactly why!”
Mr. Sheffield moved closer, pulling the microphone sideways. “What are you-”
“I know I will enjoy it,” Mira continued, loud enough for the microphone to still pick up and amplify. She grabbed the bottle back from Kayden. “If you’re wondering why, it’s because I drank this before. Most of you have.” She tipped the small bottle and dripped three drops of lavender essence into the Golder River-labelled one, holding it up high. “Because this is our water!”
Flecks of red appeared in Mr. Sheffield’s face. “This is unacceptable!” He made a move as if to grab Mira. “You need to-”
“Woof!”
All four ears up, Poppy shoved herself between Mira and the angry manager. Eternally grateful for her presence, Mira turned back to the crowd, who were now openly whispering and muttering.
“In a moment, this will turn pink. The long and short of it is that the water from the Sweetwater Spring currently contains large amounts of glykis. I just added lavender essence. This causes a reaction that will dye this bottle pink if it is indeed drawn from our wells.”
“What is the meaning of this?” Now the mayor was getting involved, too, shoving his way back onto the platform.
“Miss Gardener, you cannot just come up here and ruin-”
“Theyare ruining our town!” For a moment, Mira forgot the eyes on her. The uneasiness coming off the crowd. How dare he.How dare he still pretend that nothing was wrong? “They are siphoning our water. Draining our wells! You know this has been a problem for months, and this is why!”
Mira thrust the bottle at him – still clear. Her stomach dropped. Both Mayor Lloyd and Mr. Sheffield were staring at it – and a smug smile appeared on Mr. Sheffield’s face.
“Now, I don’t know what this young lady thinks is happening. Perhaps thisglykisbusiness is in fact your problem. However, we at Golden River-”
Mira never learned whatwe at Golden Riverdid or did not do. Because as he was speaking, something bloomed inside the bottle, tiny at first, but soon it was unmistakeable even from a distance. The water inside was turning bright pink.
“Hah! See?” She gave the bottle a little shake in the mayor’s direction. “I told you! Do you believe me now?”
“What in the-”
There was an odd squeak from Mr. Sheffield’s direction. “Preposterous, whatever this is, I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
“Really.” Mira shook the bottle again, spilling a little water at her feet. “Then why’s the fountain on the label?”
“Branding, you silly girl!” Mr. Sheffield huffed. “Of course you would not know how this works. Hardly anyone here does, do they.”
Mira raised an eyebrow, and a wave of whispers went through the crowd. For a moment, she felt oddly bolstered by that; big mistake, insulting the local shopkeepers like that.
“Mumford, I need you to explain yourself.” Mayor Lloyd sounded uncertain. He had grabbed a bottle for himself, opened it, and was now squinting at the label. “This does taste just like my water at home.”
