Asmeen, an aspiring Flower Child, has spent her entire life trying to live up to her mother's reputation and become part of the respected organization of the Flower Children. This is the last year she can try, her last chance.
But as she grows close...
THE next day, when Asmeen arrived for training again, her gut was churning. The other trainees kept throwing her sympathetic glances. At least Aven was there, smiling at her for a change.
"No fighting?" Asmeen said, as she approached. "Oh, right—Alda's scarf." She handed him the fully complete scarf, which he took with a low whistle.
He passed her the coins and let out a breath, raising his eyebrows. "I certainly hope there won't be any fighting."
She grinned at him, sitting down. "We'll see how today goes, then."
As it turned out, they didn't have much cause to worry. When Dara and Osoric came, they made a very pointed comment about everyone who'd been hurt to not strain themselves, and then announced that they'd be doing individual essays. In runes.
As if that wasn't enough, they couldn't even take help from their partners. To make sure this would happen, the trainees for the Flower Children and those for the Children of the Night were given separate essay topics.
Well, at least she and Aven wouldn't end up fighting today. Asmeen would stay away from them to make sure they didn't argue about elbows bumping—something that had occurred in the past. Maybe Aven was thinking the same thing, because when they parchment and ink was passed out, he scooted an arm's width away from her.
Asmeen caught Wylla's eye and grinned, bending down to write her essay.
The field quickly became quiet. The essay topic was difficult, and writing in runes made it even more so. Asmeen switched between several positions, from sitting with a hunched back—horrible posture—to fully laying down, ignoring the fact that she was getting dirt all over the front of her dress.
They were allowed to take breaks, to eat and drink from the tables at the side, but they weren't allowed to talk to each other to prevent them from exchanging information, so it was rather lonely and awkward. Asmeen sat near her sisters while eating, but as they couldn't say much, the meal was over rather fast.
Asmeen had never thought she'd spend so much time on an essay in her life. But she could barely remember which runes meant what, because there were so many of them. She was sure she'd made multiple mistakes when she handed the essay in.
When all of them were done, Dara and Osoric were apparently of the opinion that they hadn't worked enough for the day, because they decided to have an oral quiz until the sun began to set.
By the time the day was over, and they were allowed to leave, Asmeen was thoroughly tired, and she thought that maybe staying in the infirmary for a few more days wouldn't have been so bad.
Aven bid her goodbye and made a quick retreat from the field, while Asmeen and Elyn waited for Wylla, who'd somewhere found the energy to talk to members of her ever-increasing group of friends. Honestly, the two of them knew no one in the entire field, but Wylla seemed to know a good half.
When Wylla finally came, they began walking, and they'd barely left the forest when Asmeen spotted Nara waiting ahead.
"Nara!" She called, speeding up her steps.
Nara's head whipped for her, and she began walking as fast as her leg would allow. "Asmeen!" She grabbed Asmeen's hand when she reached. "I'm so sorry I couldn't visit in the infirmary. The twins said you were asleep most of the time, anyways."
Asmeen shot the twins—particularly Elyn—a dirty look and turned back to Nara. "It's fine." She knew that going to the infirmary was hard for Nara, with how many times she'd had to go there herself. "And how are things going at home?"
Nara shrugged as they began walking. "As usual. I heard you finished Alda's scarf?"
"Spending all that time in the infirmary, I didn't exactly have anything better to do," Asmeen said. "I'm glad I had it, to pass the time. It was so boring in there."
"I can imagine," Nara sighed. "Nana misses you, by the way. When will you be allowed to leave the house again?"
"We honestly don't know," Wylla interjected. "Father's coming back from a business trip tomorrow, and Papa's still sick."
Nara grimaced. "Bad luck, isn't it? And all at once."
"Exactly," Asmeen sighed. "Well, now that I'm healed, and father's coming back, it should be easier."
Nara nodded. "Best of luck, then. And I've got to leave you here." She took off when they reached their house, leaving the three of them to enter alone. Wylla checked on Azol, and reported that he was asleep, so the other two didn't go see him.
"Elyn, where do you keep the money you've earned?" Asmeen asked as they walked into their room.
"Why?" Elyn asked. She answered the question herself. "Ah, from Alda's scarf."
"And Saira's later," Wylla said, grinning.
"Give me the money," Elyn said, holding out a hand. "I'll put it somewhere safe."
Asmeen shrugged and pulled the coins out of her pocket. Out of them, the best one to trust with money was undoubtedly Elyn. And what was she going to do with it, anyway? She'd been working for years, she'd definitely found a place to stash money. It would be better if Asmeen didn't know, in fact, given she was a terrible liar.
They changed and went straight down for dinner. Elyn had taken leave from her job because of the Flower Children, and they'd been too happy to grant it to her. According to Elyn, this left her with more time to study. Which was why she took her notes down when they went for dinner.
This was ridiculous, as Asmeen knew the difference between pushing herself and overworking herself most of the time, and she was too tired to focus in any case. So she, and Wylla, engaged Elyn in conversation while they heated up the food they'd prepared in the morning.
It worked, a bit. Elyn's notes were still open as they sat down on the table to eat, but she glanced at them less and less. Asmeen counted this as a victory.
It was late when they finished, so they cleaned up in silence. Elyn went to check on Azol, who was still asleep, so they trudged upstairs and collapsed on the bed immediately.
"No, don't study," Wylla groaned, looking at Elyn, who'd been about to sit at their desk.
Elyn opened her mouth, but even Asmeen gave her a warning look, and she set her notes down. "Fine." She climbed into bed on Asmeen's left and spread the blanket over the three of them. "Wylla, we're tired, and if you snore today I will smother you to death."
Despite the viciousness of the threat, Wylla only laughed. "You know I can't help it. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Asmeen murmured back, turning onto her side. She let out a yawn as Elyn snuffed out the candle.
It was all too easy to fall asleep after that.
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