I Will Hold Your Hand Gently

Chapter 55: Shatter Figurine

Hunter opens the door to the clinic, and there, a young girl with freckles was smiling as she gave a customer their remedies. Her vibrant hazel eyes meet his, smiling. He couldn't help but smile back at her.

"Welcome back, Hunter," she smiles brightly at him.

"I'm back, Tanya."

Tanya noticed someone with wavy green hair standing beside Hunter. She walks out from the counter and walks towards that person. With a bow, she greets them warmly, "Welcome to GraceField Clinic, Duchess Sigma."

"Thank you, Tanya," Cielle smiles back, somewhat relieved that Tanya was treating her the same as before, "Today I just came as Cielle."

"Cielle..." Her name rolled down on Tanya's tongue, happy to have finally known her name, "It's good to see you again, Cielle."

"Likewise," Cielle glances around, looking for that small figure that was nowhere to be found.

Tanya turns around, "Follow me. Lucia is in the Herbal room."

With a nod, Cielle and Hunter follow after Tanya.

"What's the Herbal Room?" Cielle asked.

"It's where we collect the herbs that are to be created into medicine for our customers. Lucia says that she can concentrate better in that room due to the scent of the herbs," Tanya respond back.

They walk down the hallway, and on the second right door, Tanya places her hand on the doorknob and opens it. The smell of herbs fills the air as different types of herbs hang from the ceiling. There were also piles of ready-made herb medicine, equipment to make the herbs, orders, and receipts.

In the center of all the chaos, a young girl was writing with intense focus. Lucia sits at a wooden table, books and bundles of dried leaves surrounding her. Her posture is a little too straight, too careful. Tanya knocked on the door as she announced, "You have a guest, Lucia."

She takes Hunter's hand after announcing and leads him out of the room, leaving Cielle alone with Lucia. Cielle took a few steps towards her, carefully. She didn't want to disrupt her concentration. Lucia doesn't look up immediately, even when she hears Ciella's footsteps. The silence around them was filled with Lucia scribbling away while flipping through the book.

"Did you know, feverfew reduces swelling when mixed with honey and boiled for ten minutes?" Lucia suddenly said, breaking the silence while still looking down, "It also helps with migraines as well."

"No, I did not know."

"I thought so."

Silence again.

"But if a pregnant woman were to consume it, it would cause miscarriage... Scary how not knowing what a herb that helps with swelling and headaches can be poisonous to others."

Ciella looked at the herbs on the table, dried, curled, neatly bundled, then back at Lucia's small, unmoving figure.

"You're right," she said quietly, a sad smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, "Something meant to help... can still hurt, if you're not careful."

Her voice was steady, "Sometimes you don't realize what's bad for you until it's too late."

The scratching of the pen stopped.

Slowly, Lucia looked up from her notes. Her eyes met Ciella's for the first time, and they were cautious, but not cold. Ciella stood there delicately holding the bundle of sugar candy in her arms.

"What's that in your hand?" Lucia asked, smelling the waft of sweet sugar among the herbs.

Cielle gently takes out the Crane sugar figurine and hands it to Lucia, "I saw one of the vendors making these. They looked cute and tasty, so I brought some. Tanya told me that you were studying. Sugar is good to take when one uses their brain to study, is what I've heard."