Tasteful Darkness

Chapter 5

Peter - Four years ago

Peter has never spent the time to think about love. He grew up in a family that provided it to him up until he moved away in hopes of becoming a successful scientist. He always knew of their love, but romance was never a common occurrence.

There was a man once. Elias. A fellow student at the university Peter attended to study chemistry. He was there to study the history of art—a decision Peter would make fun of him for.

"Art?" Peter once asked. "What is there to study?"

Elias smiled. The very thing Peter could never forget about him. The way it made the skin around his blue eyes wrinkle and the way he always looked down whenever it happened. As if he thought being happy was the same as being vulnerable.

He didn't look away when he smiled at Peter.

"There is more to know about art than you can ever imagine," Elias said. "There are secrets hidden in every piece of art that I will find one day."

Elias meant more to Peter than anything. Up until the day Elias was chosen to work at a famed art museum in the heart of France. An offer he couldn't decline.

Peter remembers the day Elias told him he was leaving.

"Peter," he said, his eyes glistening. "I have to go."

Peter was too shocked to respond. He said nothing as Elias cried at his feet for him to say something—anything. Then he left without so much of a whisper from his lost love.

This is not that, Peter tells himself as he steals a glance at Althea. The two of them walk side by side as they make their way back to her apothecary. She insisted that he didn't need to walk her home, but he kept telling her that he wanted to.

"What are you thinking about?" Althea suddenly asks.

Peter has to blink to snap back to reality. "No one—nothing."

She raises a brow. "So someone."

"He is not important."

"He, you say?" she says then smiles. "I'll stop now. How long have you been working at the tavern?"

"A few years. I needed the money after university."

"You went to university?" Althea asks, her eyes lighting up. "What did you study?"

"Chemistry."

"Many hate me for saying this, but I have always loved learning. The idea of going to university to study something is... wonderful."

"So what do you do?" Peter asks. "What do you love learning about?"

She thinks for a moment. "Medicine. How to help people. Those have always been my calling. It is what my aunts did and why they taught me to follow in their footsteps."

The conversation ends as they approach the apothecary. Peter goes to open the door when he notices a slip of paper nailed to the front door. He barely manages to read it before Althea rips it from the wood.

Peter looks at her. "People are saying these things about you?" he asks. "Calling you a witch?"

Althea keeps her eyes on the ground. "It's nothing."

He doesn't blink and feels the anger inside of him burning. "May I see that?"

She looks up. "Why?"

"So I can burn it."

"What?" she blurts out. "These are my problems to deal with. My family has had to deal with people like these for years. This is nothing."

"I don't care. Don't those things make you angry?"