The Wandering Lost

Chapter 3 ~ Parting is Sorrow

The next few days passed all too quickly, each one like the tick of a clock counting down to Juliethe's departure. She hadn't mentioned anything more regarding her plans, but Ellenora had been paying attention.

She'd noted the stash of dried food in a large basket beneath Juliethe's bed, and the extra care her friend had taken while mending her clothes, when usually she couldn't be bothered to make sure her stitching was even.

A part of her was almost afraid that Juliethe would simply vanish. That she'd wake one morning and find her gone without even a goodbye. The thought was almost too much to bear, so Ellenora shoved it aside and wrapped her fist around a particularly stubborn weed.

She heaved backwards and the root came up abruptly, knocking her onto her ass. Harley and Juliethe burst into laughter and Ellenora just rolled her eyes. "Don't laugh! I've tried to pull that one six times already!"

"Well done," Harley chuckled. "It never stood a chance."

"I should hope not. At the rate these things are growing, we'll barely get anything out of the garden."

Ellenora gazed across the plots of earth where dozens of leafy greens had begun to shoot up. Most of them were the Abbey's main supply of medicinal herbs, while others were fruits and vegetables that would help keep them fed.

"Speaking of which, I have to go down to the market tomorrow. Hestia was running low on a few things for her personal research."

The laughter dropped from Harley's face and Ellenora's stomach clenched at the look. "Be careful when you go," he warned. "Some of the Kingsmen said they'd caught Guild members hiding out near that area."

Juliethe's eyes widened, mirroring the same surprise that set Ellenora's heart racing. "What would assassins be doing in Abbatia?" Her friend asked.

"Probably the same thing pirates are. Raiding homes, robbing businesses, and killing innocents."

Ellenora and Juliethe exchanged wary glances. Only yesterday, Harley had been called away during the evening meal to help another healer answer an emergency message from the city. Judging by the tension that locked his shoulders and pulled at his mouth, it now wasn't hard to guess why.

"Who was it?" Juliethe urged.

"I don't know their names. It was a family of three. The man was already dead when we arrived. The woman was hiding in a cabinet with her child, but it was dead too. She didn't realize it at first."

Harley closed his eyes and his shoulders slumped under the weight of his next words. "We didn't have a chance to help her after she found out. She'd had a knife with her and..." He trailed off. "Two Guild members were captured only a block away, still covered in fresh blood."

Ellenora and Juliethe each laid a hand on Harley's shoulders and gave them a comforting squeeze. He pursed his lips, then spoke again faintly. "The capital suspects a larger attack is coming because there's so much Guild activity closing in. Kingsmen escorted us back last night and Hestia was informed that I'm being summoned to start training as a combat medic within the next two months."

Cold dread clutched Ellenora's chest with sharp talons. The Abbey's healers had only ever been drafted into Valence's fighting forces in times of great need. If they were doing so now, then an attack was surely coming.

And Harley would be forced to fight against the lethal force of mercenaries who had been ravaging the lives of Valencians for years. He was no warrior. He was a healer! He would have to train for months, maybe even years, before he could hold his own against one of the Guild's assassins.