The Soft Glow in the Dead of the Night (Part 1 - History Unedited)

Chapter 8 - Little Red

"Are you going to tell me about the book?"

Mars smiled and called Rue over to the table. She closed the book gently.

"This book is priceless, it was handed down to me by my mentor, and it was given to them by their mentor. I have no idea how many hands this book has passed through. I'm not even sure I could date it. "

"Is it magic?"

"Oh yes. It's so powerful, even I don't understand it."

"What does it do?"

"Well, it tells stories and secrets. It also has spells in and information about magical items. Why don't you open it?"

"Really? What page?"

"Go ahead, any page you want. See this book is clever, it's different for each reader. But it always contains the same things." Mars smiled, clearly enjoying the riddle she had set out for Rue.

Rue gently took hold of the front and some of the pages. She turned to a random page and stared at the title.

"What does it say?" Rue asked, her eyes bright with curiosity.

"Saporem Tea." Mars smiled. "It's the tea I make for us."

"Can we make some now?"

"Why don't I teach you how to?"

Rue ran to the kitchen and Mars smiled.

"What's first?"

"Well, first we need a fire. Which we have. But we need to pot in the fire." Mars flicked her hand towards the fire, and a pot appeared and sat firmly in the flames. "Then we need water. Rue, if you feel this jug with water to the top."

Mars pointed to the counted and a jug flew out from the cupboard and sat on the surface.

"Magic is so cool." Rue shouted as she filled the jug with water from the bucket. She took it over to the fire and poured the water into the pot. "What's next?"

"Well, we take some small pieces of dried fruit. From the pot over there, and you also need to grab some dried herbs in the green pot."

Rue walked over and bought as many pots as she could to the fire.

"What do I do?"

"Okay, so take the herbs. You want to add a handful into this bag."

Mars held up a white netted bag. "I'll hold, you place stuff in. So first the herbs. Good. Then you want to do a mixture of all the fruits, only about half a handful. Little less than what you have. Good. Then we tie the bag up, and do you want to place it in the pot?"

Rue threw it into the pot of boiling water.

"We leave it to brew for about half an hour. But before we leave, we just need a little magic."

Mars walked over to the pot and placed her hand over the steam.

"Does it not hurt?"

"Not for me. I don't want you doing this part though."

"I can't. I'm not magic."

Mars laughed warmly. "But at least you can still enjoy the tea later on."

"Did your mentor teach you how to make the tea?"

"No. This one was my own recipe after years of experimenting and perfecting it. Every person this book passes to has their own stories to add to it. Their own spells and their own knowledge. That's how it grows and how things are passed onto the next generation. Our wish is that knowledge gets passed on and used. If the next generation is smarter than our own, then we have done our job correctly."

"Will you teach me more things from the book?"

"As long as you want to, I'll teach you what I can. But first, I want you to sort out these stacks of books. Organise them by the first letter of last name, like I showed you."

Rue ran eagarily towards the piles of books. "Do you want me to put them on the shelves?"

"Only if you can. Don't stretch too far if you are too short, and there is no shame in asking for help if you need it."

Rue looked at the first book for a while before placing it onto the side. With Mars' help, she knew what order letters came in. It was more than her parents had cared to teach her.

Mars sat down on the chair by the fire and opened the book to her bookmarked page. The book had a sneaky habit of not keeping the same page of information on the same page number, but a little enchanted bookmark helped with that. A trick her mentor showed her.

She wished her mentor was here now. She had no idea how to look after a child and teach her. Her mentor had been the only parent she had apart from the harsh parenting of the streets. She had been told that she would cross paths with a young girl who needed her. But she had been young and foolish, thinking that her mentor would be around to help. She should have asked all of the questions while they were still alive. Now she only hoped that the book held some information as to what she was meant to do.

She skimmed the last thing her mentor wrote before their death. But it was mainly a lot of things that didn't make sense.

'The one to see the shadows in the dark, will be the one to bring about their downfall.'

Rue hadn't mentioned any shadows. So maybe this wasn't something in Mars' lifetime.

'Don't judge appearance, the smallest flea can start a plague.'

Mars could guess what that meant, but it would probably be wrong.

'Find the girl, who is a reflection of yourself. Who only wishes for the least that she deserves. She will be more than she first appears, not only to you, but to herself.'

Mars read the message over and over. Was this for her mentor about her? Or was this to her, about Rue?

Mars closed the book and held it to her chest. She wished things had a time stamp on or even some indication for who the messages were meant for. But instead she was left with riddles and questions that she had no answers to.

But the good thing about riddles is that they often have more than one answer. Mars just had to find the answer that works best for her and right now, that means looking after Rue.