Page 68 of Between Sun and Moon

“It’s okay,” I said warmly, knowing she was trying to be as gentle as possible. I offered her a smile of my own.

She eyed it for a moment before she said, “You have very pretty teeth, ah.” She lowered her hands, scooped up the bottom of her apron, and wiped the remaining salve on the stained cotton.

“Thank you,” I said, watching as she screwed the lid back on to the tin. Her compliment didn’t feel out of place or weird to me—I imagined that if I were her, I’d probably say the same thing to someone who still had a full set of chompers.

After all, it was human nature to want what we didn’t have, wasn’t it?

“You are quite welcome,” she said, her curved shoulders bouncing from side to side as she waddled over towards a wall of shelves full of various salves, tinctures, ointments, tins, and vials—Ezra would have been in her glory.

Ezra. Oh, how I missed her. What would Aurelius think of her? What would she think of him? I imagined she’d have a few things to say about him living under the same roof as the king. I could only imagine how that would go.

I nibbled on my bottom lip. Had I jumped into this too fast?

Probably.

My heart punched at my ribcage, reminding me that Aurelius and I had been married in our past life. I should trust in that.

“Can I do anything else for you?” she asked.

“That is all,” Aurelius said at the exact same time I said, “Yes.”

His eyes met mine, a white brow raised. “Sorry, I didn’t realize there was something else.”

“It’s alright,” I said, looking to the healer as she wobbled her way back towards me.

“What is it dear?” she asked, her eyes regarding me with nothing but kindness.

I looked at Aurelius. “May we have a moment—alone?”

He opened his mouth to say something but then cut himself off. Respectfully, he tipped his head. “Of course. I’ll be outside if you need anything.”

When the door was closed, I turned to the healer. “I was wondering if I could get some herbs . . . to ward off pregnancy.”

The healer nodded in understanding, knowing this was a sensitive subject. “You, too, ah? Sixth girl this week.” She cackled. “I don’t blame you lasses one bit.” She waddled towards her shelves, her fingers dancing over a row of clear jars, their labels nearly worn off.

Her remarks struck me a bit odd.

“What do you mean by that?” I inquired, leaning forward, one hand propped on my leg.

“I’ve had a lot of younger women coming in lately to request the same thing as you,” she said as she plucked a jar, a smallsquare cloth, and a short piece of yarn from the shelves, then started back towards me, her feet set at a slow-paced shuffle. “They say they are fearful of the new plague going around, that it searches only for younger women that are with child.”

“A plague?” I said, recalling the conversation the man at the dinner table had had with Aurelius—about his brother’s pregnant wife and her worsening condition.

“That’s what they say it is, but I know better. It’s not a plague,” she scoffed. “The Creator is angry with us, for killing—” she nodded to me, “—your kind.” She began to dish a spoonful of herbs out onto a cloth. “I know saying that out loud is considered treasonous to the king because it looks like I’m siding with the Cursed, but I’m old and I don’t really give a damn anymore.”

Warmth bloomed in my chest. Since my time here, it had been hard to find someone who was not prejudiced against the Cursed, but every once in a while—I glanced at her—I’d find someone who wasn’t and that gave me hope. Hope for a better future.

“I appreciate you saying that,” I remarked softly, the sappy part of me fighting the bulge in my throat.

She scooped up my hand and placed the small cloth sack in it, gently closing my hand around it. “Steep a pinch in your tea, twice a week. Should be enough there to last you a little over a month. I’d give you more, but my stores are running a bit low, and I need to save some for the other girls.”

I clasped my free hand over hers. “Thank you.”

“You are quite welcome, dear,” she said with a wink. “Besides, us women must look after one another, ah?”

“I need to discuss something with you,” Aurelius said, breaking the silence that had settled between us since we left the healer’s quarters. We were walking down a lengthy hallway, its walls filled with massive portraits of royals who had once ruled over these lands. “It’s about your conversation with the healer, after you asked me to leave.”

I became all too aware of the cloth sack I had shoved into my dress, and how uncomfortable it felt squished between my breasts—the living quarters for the girls wasn’t exactly spacious, at least, not when Brunhilde was at the helm of tying a corset.

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