“I am here, and you are safe,” I assured her.
As soon as we got outside, I dropped to the ground, coughing. My lungs felt thick from the smoke. I looked at the girl whose face was streaked with tears and ash lying beside me.
“Are you well?”
She rubbed her eyes and throat. Her once strawberry hair was caked with soot, and she had burns on her hands. “Thank you,” she choked out.
“Emily!” A panicked voice cried, and a woman rushed over. She scooped the girl into her arms and hugged her tightly, tears streaming down her face. “Thank you, thank you!” she rejoiced, looking at me with gratitude.
I got up and wiped my arms on the front of my dress, now covered in black soot.
Vail came over and hugged me. “Oh Rosie! I cannot believe you did that!” she exclaimed before slapping my arm. “You scared me, never do that again.”
I continued coughing; my throat was dry, and my lungs felt like they were on fire.
“Come along,” Vail said, linking her arms with mine. “Let’s bring you to my grandmother’s.”
My heart swelled with joy as we arrived at Agne’s house. I had only been there a handful of times in our friendship, and the sight of it always filled me with awe and wonder. Surrounded by trees and bushes, the charming black house was overgrown with flowers and herbs of every kind.Smoke rose from the chimney, and a tantalizing scent of cinnamon and cloves wafted from the windows. The garden was always something I admired.
Three figures in dark cloaks emerged from the front door. The women moved with urgency, their cloaks trailing behind them, and I froze, startled by their sudden presence. One of the women, whose hair was black and curly, had a bird’s lifeless body hanging loosely from her hand. With a quick motion, she tucked the bird behind her back, hiding it from view.
The oldest woman looked at us. “Vail.” She nodded, and the other two women vanished around the side of the house, their cloaks disappearing into the shadows of the trees.
“What was that about?” I asked, trying to shake the odd encounter from my mind.
Vail pulled me toward the house. “Don’t trouble yourself with that. You need something to eat.”
Vail led us inside the welcoming warmth of the house. Knick-knacks and artwork covered the walls, and stacks of books and clothes were piled around the floor, creating a small labyrinth of items to navigate through. Herbs and dried flowers were hung up all around the house, their fragrances filling the air.
Despite the house’s many rooms, only Vail’s room was used as a bed chamber. Her grandmother often just slept in a chair by the fire as piles upon piles of her belongings filled the spaces. Trinkets, gifts from travels, and items I was told were cursed or were off-limits for some other mysterious purpose. I knew that her grandmother struggled with a deep-seated attachment to possessions.
I entered the kitchen and Agnes’s long grey hair swayed behind her as she walked.
“Please, sit down.” She indicated to the table set for three. “Here, Rose, this will help your throat,” she said, pouring me a cup of tea.
“Thank you, Agnes. How did you know?” I asked, surprised.
She winked at me and gave me a warm smile. “You appear as though you ran through a house on fire, and I could see the smoke from here.”
I sat and took a sip of tea; it soothed my throat and coated my tongue with a sweet taste. I reached out to touch a bottle on the table filled with an amber liquid and what looked like teeth.
“No touching,” Agnes warned as she swatted my hand away from it. “I am still working on that.” She took the bottle and shoved it into her pocket. Vail gave me a look as if to say,you should know better.
“I will get you something else to wear,” Vail said, slipping past me into her room at the back of the house.
Agnes handed me a damp cloth and wiped the soot from my face and arms. When I pressed the cloth to my face, it was warm, and a comforting herbal scent emitted from it. I couldn’t quite place it, but it made me feel melancholic as I lifted it from my face and looked out the window.
“You appear as though your mind is much troubled.” Agnes sat next to me at the table.
“I am thinking about my mother, about my home.” I smiled weakly at her.
“Your mother is well looked after,” she assured me, though the meaning behind her words was unclear. Vail came over and offered me a dark blue dress.
“This might be a tad tight, though the colour is lovely,” she said, and I followed her into the back room. I slipped on the dress and a hint of lavender from Vail’s scent lingered in the fabric. I smoothed the front, noting that it wasn’t as fineas the dresses I had at Draven’s house. Vail did up the buttons and lace on my back, her gentle touch sending a rush of goosebumps along my arms as she laced me into the dress.
“Sorry,” she said. “My hands are cold.”
“No, it is fine, they are nice.” I looked in the mirror. The dress was tight across my chest and hips, but it did look lovely. “Thank you,” I said, giving her a small smile.
