Tasteful Darkness

Chapter 11

Peter - Four years ago

When Peter spots the apothecary down the street, he realizes something is different. Even from so far away, he can spot multiple people inside, searching over the shelves and purchasing goods. He's not sure whether to be happy that Althea's business is doing well or disappointed that they won't be alone.

The bell that chimes as Peter enters can barely be heard over the ruckus inside.

"I'll be with you in a moment," Althea says, not looking away from the man in front of her. He hands her some cash which she hastily places somewhere underneath the counter.

The man leaves, a small bag in hand.

Peter nods at him before making his way to the counter. Althea is preoccupied with rummaging through a basket filled with small bags of assorted herbs.

"Good afternoon, my lady," Peter says, arm resting against the counter.

Althea snaps her eyes in his direction. Her shoulders seem to relax at the sight of him.

"Peter," she says.

"Althea."

She steps forward, resting her elbows on the counter. "It's madness here. It hasn't been this busy in weeks. I don't think I'm going to have time to teach you today."

Peter tries to hide his frown. "Can I help with anything?"

The gold in Althea's eyes light up. "Hold this," she says, pushing a jar into his arms. It nearly slips from his grip but somehow he manages to get a hold of it and it doesn't go crashing to the floor.

"Come back here," Althea says, opening the gate that separates the rest of the store from the counter.

Peter listens and places the jar on whatever empty horizontal space he can find, which ends up being a minuscule space between two other shelves. Something inside of Peter desperately wants to organize the space, but Althea's voice draws him away before he can.

"Can you hand me two pouches of elderberry?" she asks just as someone else enters the building.

Peter nods and begins scanning the assorted shelves. He quickly realizes that each label has an intricately drawn image of the plant to the left of the name.

"Did you draw these?" Peter asks as he grabs a small bag of dark berries.

"Yes," Althea says absentmindedly. She takes the pouch from him and hands it to a woman with hair cut above her ears. She smiles politely before leaving.

A while after, there's a pause in the chaos. The last customer exits and Peter and Althea are left in a comforting silence.

Althea lets out a deep sigh. "I need a break," she breathes out.

Peter, who has also grown tired after only working for so long, steps up beside her. "I didn't know this place got so busy."

She nods. "It doesn't happen very often. Usually it's a good thing, but today I only wanted to read."

"What's your favorite book?"

"You can't ask me that. There are too many."

"I would appreciate a list."

She raises a brow. "Why?"

"So I can read them. Isn't it obvious?"

Althea stops leaning against the counter and stands. Her eyes are narrowed in a way Peter doesn't understand.

"Have I offend—"

"No," Althea says, her voice curious. "No."

Peter, his heart buzzing too loudly—too much—looks down at his feet. "Can I help you with anything else?"