Maddox shook his head.
“Perhaps they’ll be in the fields tomorrow morning.Everyone comes here to start off Harvest season.”
Maddox grew contemplative.“Perhaps.”
12
Witch Village, despitenot having seasons, still had an autumn harvest.It was the only thing we celebrated—other than birthdays, of course—meant to honor the founding of Witch Village.It was a reminder that we still had plenty despite being contained underground.
The first day began bright and early at the farming fields, where the field witches would have already harvested that month’s produce.Pumpkins, gourds, squash, potatoes, beets, cabbage, and carrots would lay on tables in a brilliant array of autumnal colors.Witches came by and took their pick, and by the end of the week, everyone would gather in the village square where a great celebration took place.Most everyone brought a homemade dish to share.There was dancing and eating.At the end of the night, everyone would go home at a reasonable hour, and that would be enough community celebrating for the rest of the year.Witches were notoriously reclusive, after all.
Today was coincidentally the first day of the Harvest.I figured it’d be safe enough to show Edmund around after the crowd thinned.
I gazed out the little square window in my room as the temperature slowly warmed.The sunrise was just as I remembered.The sky started off a hazy purple, then peach, then a golden yellow as the sun peaked out from the horizon.Except, there wasn’t really a horizon, and there wasn’t really a sun.The morning was silent.Aboveground, there would’ve been birds chirping, carriages clattering, and murmurs of morning conversation.
There weren’t any birds here.How had I survived my entire life without birds?
I blew a breath and drew the yellow curtains closed.I would have to take Edmund out closer to noon.Ma preferred going at the crack of dawn to get the first pick of the crop.She always had to be the first.The rest of the village awoke to the sound of her slapping every gourd to determine the ripest.
After braiding back my hair, I rummaged through the clothes in my trunk.Pin tucked cotton shirts.Fine wool skirts.Tailored waistcoats.A short-sleeved muslin dress.
None of them were quite suitable for Harvest day.Ma always wrestled me and Christabella into matching pinafores that were an offensive shade of goldenrod yellow.This was the first Harvest I could wear what I wanted.
With a satisfied smirk, I dressed for the day.
***
“WOW,” MADDOX SAID.The cup of tea he was holding sloshed over the side, and he quickly righted it.“That’s a new look for you.”
I straightened my lapels in the hallway mirror.“Nice, right?”I turned my heel, admiring the gleam of my polished leather shoes and the way the stockings hugged my calves.Breeches were rather handsome on women, I decided.
“Is dressing like a rich gentleman the new fashion for ladies aboveground?”Alexander asked from the kitchen.
“It’s about to be,” I said, taking my seat at the dining table.
He dusted his hands on his apron.“We’re having biscuits for breakfast, by the way.They should be ready in a minute.Then we can head out to the fields.”
