mavka [d.m]

01.

mavka
———

Mavka is living on borrowed time.

It's no secret, of course — she's known since the first year she decided not to pay the ungodly amount of money that the Shadow King demands as annual tax.

But still, it hits her like a ton of bricks the morning she spots the Royal Guard incapacitate one of the Earth Nymphs down the street from her shop.

Mavka watches from behind the thin drapes covering the window as the Nymph is dragged off, pleading for mercy even as one of the guards reads off the crime she's being arrested for — tax evasion, of course.

That only means Mavka is running out of time.

The door to her shop opens, the chime above it tinkling and she quickly lets the drapes fall back into place, turning to find another Nymph stride in.

A Celestial Nymph, by the looks of it. Her hair glitters like someone has wound stars into it, her eyes bright and a deep blue — so dark they resemble the night sky.

"Good morning," she says and Mavka offers her a small smile in return, moving to slide behind the counter.

"What can I get you?"

"I've had a terrible rash for days now," the Celestial Nymph tells her, maneuvering her long dark hair over one shoulder so she can turn and show Mavka the irritated skin between her shoulder blades. "I don't know why — Mother says it might be the weather."

Mavka frowns, reaching out a hand to gently trace the outer edges of the rash. "Have you been up in the mountains lately?"

Celestial Nymphs tend to live on higher ground, closer to the elements they can control best: air, wind. The occasional Celestial can even summon a shooting star — although it's not much help, save for a nice party trick.

"We live here in Elysia," the Nymph replies, looking out the window as Mavka inspects the rash on her dark skin. "But we went up to the Andovian Mountains to visit a few relatives a couple weeks ago."

"Dragon Nettle then." Mavka draws her hand back. "It's native to the Andovian Range and in full bloom during the summer months. You probably scraped against it and never realised."

The Nymph turns, looking worried. "Is it — Will it be okay?"

"You'll be fine." Mavka is already turning to look through the countless vials, jars and bottles arranged along the shelves behind her. "You'll just need..."

She pushes herself up onto her tiptoes— she's already quite tall but her rack of shelves is taller — and plucks a jar off. "Here. Pine Tealeaf Salve." She sets it down on the counter in front of the Nymph. "And..."

Mavka pads into the backroom. It's practically overflowing with tonics and potions, all stacked along the shelves that line all four walls. She kicks aside a carton she'd just unboxed this morning and hops onto a stool to snag a small vial off the top of one of the shelves.

She keeps all the more dangerous concoctions back here — the ones she usually can't sell unless they've been prescribed. But she knows the rash the Celestial Nymph has and knows what will help heal it faster — so she disregards the rules and heads back into the main room.

"For the itching," she says, handing the small vial of dark brown liquid over. "Just a drop on your tongue every morning before you get out of bed."

The Nymph nods, looking relieved. "And this will help it go?"

"Within the week," Mavka responds with a smile.

"Thank you." She rifles through the small pouch she'd been clutching in her hand. "How much do I owe you?"