Wraithwood Botanist-Chapter 213 - 159 - Reta

Seeing them interact was wholesome. Yet the more I thought about Malo, the darker my mood became until I had a heart-wrenching wince etched onto my face.

"It's okay to smile, you know." Trigan walked up and stood beside me. "It's been good for him."

"So you know what I'm thinking?" I said.

"I doubt you'd be wincing at your brother's growth."

"I suppose," I said. "It's just… Malo…"

His smile collapsed, and the lines on his face showed his age. "You looked?"

"I cried," I said, taking a deep pause as I watched Malo. "You know what his desires are?"

He panned his gaze on the other buildings in the vicinity to avoid looking at Malo and shook his head. "I haven't looked."

"To die without killing himself," I said. "He didn't even want to escape the Dante. To him, it doesn't matter what he does or who he works for. It's all the same."

Trigan searched for words that wouldn't sound cruel, but found none.

"The irony is that soul meat here is destroying him," I said. "It's just adding years to his life."

Trigan snapped his eyes on me. "Mira."

His voice was stern, so I turned to him.

"Everyone wants to live," he said. "If Malo could find happiness and break his shackles, he would. And right now, you've put him into that position."

I studied Malo helping Tyler. "By making him a teacher?"

"By placing him with a kid who doesn't even understand this world." Trigan set his gaze on Tyler. "I know you think you're sinking into this world's cruelty—but you're wrong. The way you see the world is different. The way you feel about the world is different."

"Compared to who?" I asked. "Felio?"

"Felio's parents ordered her to stay here this year," Trigan said. "She wouldn't've had a choice. Think about it, Mira. Who would send their child to live here at all? They gambled her life for profit. You should never forget that."

His words stabbed my heart with a rusted needle.

I looked at Felio. She was all smiles as she helped Cassain with construction.

"You and Tyler are different," Trigan said. "You see the world differently. And in the last month, everyone has felt that. Tasted that. Enjoyed that. Mira—I don't think it'll just be Malo. In a few years, I think you'll heal us all. So stay alive, yeah? We may survive without you, but that's not the same thing as living."

He patted my head and walked away when the mood was at its highest, leaving before I could talk him out of it.

I watched Tyler and Felio with a complex expression. If they needed me—if my village needed me—dying wasn't an option. I'd need to come home.

—-----

I confronted Felio and Cassian at dinner that night. I didn't know what to say, so I just said what was on my mind.

"Trigan said your family gambled you for financial gain and then ordered you to live here."

Felio's face drained of color.

"And I think that's awesome, 'cause you're living with me forever. I've never been so thankful for terrible parents."

Her terrified face cracked a smile, and she burst into giggles and then tears as she rubbed her eyes with her palms.

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"Awesome, seems like that burden's been lifted for both of us," I said as I sat down. "Anyway, you're our princess now. So get used to it."

I didn't think much of it, but that night, as dozens of women bathed, she came out without a bathing suit. She was mortified, though, so she ended up bringing the whole towel into the water. Once it happened, dozens of women giggled uncontrollably.

It was symbolic—and people loved it.

Later that night, as we enjoyed the late-night bonfires before winter, I treated everyone to a story I had been practicing with my illusions.

It was a story of guardians. I showed them the memory of the River Guardian letting me live, and of me saving her in turn. I was not the best storyteller, but the story told itself. It was a touching tale of trust and respect, and at the end of it, when I traveled with her into the forest, a trip that would take me to Serenflora, I ended the tale and said:

"This forest is wonderful—and being a guardian is a privilege. Cherish your position because you are one of the few that have been granted access to this forest's beauties."

I got a standing ovation.

That was the mark of the winter—and I felt it wasn't right to leave when everything was so high, so I waited until the next morning.

There was thick frost on the ground that morning, and the wind chill made it within our clothes, so we had a ceremony for the opening of Wraithwood Village's Community Hall.

It had seating for two hundred and fifty, so there was plenty of space for the wallflowers to spread out, but no one did. We were tight-knit, and anxiety was low. It was warm to see.

After speeches and ceremonies, we ate a feast of stew and bread as Tia played music as we danced and sang, and had a fun time. Once it was over, everyone felt the great times would last forever—but I couldn't delay my departure any further, so I stood and clanked a spoon against a mug.

Kline turned to me. He was on a table, sneaking up on someone's stew bowl like a mountain lion on the hunt, but once he saw I needed the support, he jumped off the table, releasing his active camouflage as he took my side. The area fell silent—as I rarely made formal announcements.

"I'm not one for speeches, so I'll make this quick," I said. "I'm going on a journey."

A tidal wave of silence crashed throughout the room. People dropped their utensils; dancers separated from their partners. Tia put down her instrument.

Aiden and Kyro captured my gaze.

Many knew what was coming—but there was one whom I didn't tell.

"Wait, what?" Tyler cried.

"Calm down," I said. "For those who didn't know, I have a patron god, and I earn her patronage through collecting resources in the forest. These trips are mandatory, and they always take me to places that no one can follow. That said, you don't need to worry for your health.

The lurvine are family, and Aiden has confirmed that they will protect this village so long as it keeps its way. One alone can keep you alive—and you have seven. And Aiden… Dante guards, Diktyo water, Felio. Most importantly, you have Ferna, who will create relationships with Drokai. They alone have protected this forest for tens of millennia without issue. You're safe."

I paused and looked around the room. The reaction wasn't relieved—at all. So I changed tactics.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that you're fine, so don't freak out and annoy me every time I need to leave. Two weeks, two months. All winter. Doesn't matter. This is normal—so get used to it."

Kyro broke the silence. "Mira, there's nothing normal about you."

Laughter.

"That's right—coming from a fuckin' pixie," I said.

The laughter intensified.

I smiled and turned down Tyler's requests to join me or at least know where I was going, said my goodbyes, and told everyone that I would leave the next morning.

I didn't wait that long.

I left at midnight, leaving behind a note that said, "I didn't want to hear whining," before hitting the water in a boat that the Drokai had made for me.

"This is much nicer than the last boat," I noted.

"Everyone wants you to survive this time," Kyro said.

"Even Zyphrael?"

"Even Zyphrael. He cares about his people, and after all your bluster about our weaknesses, he demanded Nethralis fight him and not hold back." Kyro took a swig from his flask. "Well, that was that."

I looked up, gazing at the pink and purple moons. "Well, at least one of my problems is gone. What about the vraxle? Do you think this trip will solidify me as a guardian?"

Kyro put down his flask and watched the pink fog drift past us in the moonlight.

"You're talking like this trip's a given—and you need to stop that."

"You don't think so? I can walk through Harlock Forest and the guardian—"

"Is a witch." Kyro said those words with the sharpness of snapped fingers. He was talking about Reta—the guardian of Harlock Tunnel. She wasn't from Serenflora. She wasn't a teacher. She was Brindle's acquaintance and the guardian of the hidden passage to Lake Nyralith.

"Reta's not your friend, Mira. She's not your teacher. She's not even one of us. And while you probably thought we had bad blood or simple disagreements in methods—you're wrong. I hate Reta because she slaughtered all my students."

A penetrating silence shook the forest, and I didn't breathe until Kline rubbed his head on my arm to wake me up.

"W-What did you just say?"

Kyro lifted his flask, but then put it down and screwed on the lid, as if he didn't want to numb his hatred.

"Reta was born in Lake Nyralith—and her loyalties are to Brindle and Nyralith alone. She doesn't care about this forest. She doesn't care about its wars. Nothing. The only reason she came out to 'train' you was to meet Brindle's pupil. That's all."

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"So the reason that you asked her to be my teacher—"

"Was in hopes she wouldn't kill you like my students."

I hugged Kline to my body, feeling cool waves of anxiety pass through me.

"I don't like talking about this, but I think you need some context. About forty thousand years ago, a multiversal army known as the Kangla Empire sent over ten thousand third evolution neophytes to collect a certain flower Brindle wrote about. They burned the forests, and every year, when the Harvest's gates would close, we came out and warred with these people. We always won, but they cut Serenflora's army to thirds, and there was no end in sight.

"So I took my students to Brindle's Tunnel, hoping Reta would give them passage.

"She refused. She and Brindle created the tunnel as a means to help soulmancers they judged worthy to obtain power to move through the forest—and my students didn't meet that standard. I helped them through the first trial, so she claimed it was null and void. But I begged her, so she said she would make an exception and grant them access—if they made it through her trial.

"I agreed."

Kyro laughed bitterly, unscrewing his flask absent-mindedly. He didn't drink. He just said, "I thought she'd push 'em hard. She was always rather cruel in that way. Been that way since she was young. But I thought she'd give way. We were both born in Nyralith. We were both friends of Brindle. And in a way, we were both guardians. So I genuinely thought she would."

He shook his head. "She didn't. She put my students through hell, judged them guilty, and killed them." He looked me in the eye. "Children. Kids your age. That's why we took the risk to seek her out. To get her to know you—but it's told us nothing.

"No one knows what Reta wants. We don't know her criteria for passing the test because no one's ever passed it, and she gave us nothing during your apprenticeship. She acted like a clown, but she wasn't. She was studying you, stalking you, watching how you reacted to things—pushing you. Whether she was satisfied or not is unclear, so you shouldn't assume you have any rapport with her. For all we know, she'll take this opportunity to kill you."

I thought back to Reta, the woman who snuggled and slept on my breasts during the nights. She was so gentle—until she wasn't. She was always watching, learning how I reacted to things, changing the forest to learn how I saw it—using my feelings against me. She pushed my limits in Misty Row. If Kyro wasn't there, it probably would've been worse.

I never liked Reta. I respected her. I learned a lot from her. But I didn't like her. And now I was getting a clearer picture of who she was and what bothered me about her.

And then it occurred to me—Brindle showed me Reta. He didn't show memories of people I knew because it could split my personality. Yet he showed me her, anyway. Was it a warning? Or a hint? I didn't know—and that was unnerving.

"This test…" I said. "Is it illusions?"

"Not illusions. Well, not exactly." He finally lifted his flask and drank. "You're going to learn how real ancients do battle."