“It’s not him.”
“Then where did this come from?”
“We have furs and hides and methods for making clothes and blankets that don’t involve me toiling with threads for long hours.”
“Just as we have jennlenut milk, water, bone broth, intoxicants, and athelial bloom tea to sip upon. We do not get rid of the tea because we have broth. We drink them all?—”
“But my time would be better spent elsewhere.”
“Does this have anything to do with the village chatter regarding you and Ramsey?”
My cheeks flush with heat.
“You know, just as I do, it’s typical for maidens to talk. I may not be noble-blooded, but I grew up in a castle, the same as you, and every single one is full of whispers.”
“Imagine how Ramsey will react when he gets wind of what’s being said.”
“I imagine he’ll just continue to act like Ramsey,” she says with a chuckle.
“I suppose he will, but it’s more than that.” I take a deep breath and force myself to say what I’d been dreading. “Apparently, he’s courting Amber.”
Her brow skews. “No, he’s not.”
“Then why is she moving into his hut?”
Her face pales. “But he had sharp words for her upon returning to the village.”
“Perhaps him having to live with the weakest of us gave him some perspective.”
“Stop saying things like that,” she snaps.
“Regardless, since he’s now courting her, it would be inappropriate for me to continue living with him.”
Elena sighs, bowing her head. “And here I thought things would get easier.”
“Perhaps Ramsey will be happier now that…you know.”
“Oh, I’m sure he will be, but it’s not that I’m worried about. Even after being humbled, Amber craves power and has already started to act up. Now I have to worry what she’ll whisper into Ramsey’s ear.”
“He wouldn’t betray Grixis, would he?”
“After getting to know him a little better, I’d say no, but if he thought for a moment that Grixis wasn’t a proper leader, he’d demand he step down.” Her eyes scan up to mine. “Which could divide the tribe.”
“I understand your concern, but despite how much I loathe her, she’s not the same as she was before she stormed off into the forest. Though the way she threw me out of Ramsey’s hut makes me wonder if that is true.”
“What do you mean, threw you out?”
“She grabbed my weaves, ripping one, threw them in a basket, and hauled them to the longhouse.”
“Amber did that?”
“Yeah.”
Her head cocks to the side. “Don’t you think that’s a little odd?”
I shrug. “I guess, but after yesterday, I don’t think Ramsey wants to be around me.”
“When you doused yourself in spice?”
