Chương 25: Chapter Twenty-Five

I felt boneless as I soaked in the bath Mom had all but demanded I take. My things had been brought in by Gaven as Mom and I were 'discussing' it. He left with a smirk on his face that made me want to kick his shins again. Instead, I relented and took the bath. Inside. With hot water. The wonder of it was doing a remarkable job of keeping my mind off my meager belongings and how most of it simply didn't look like they belonged in a purple and pink house pretending to be a bedroom. My bedroom. And my bath.

I sunk deeper in the water until my mouth was covered and blew bubbles, letting them tickle my nose. I've already been in the bath long enough that my hands are as pruned as they were when Mrs. Leatherskin had me spend all day washing her households' clothes for a single… Stop it. I berated myself. The comparison wasn't fair. But trying to get it out of my head wasn't working. I sighed accepting that I couldn't relax any longer and started searching for the plug Mom had shown me before leaving me to bathe.

The tub was large enough for an adult to sprawl in. Nearly three Lyra's long. And I for the life of me can't remember which side the plug was at. Found it! The towel was new. Not new as in I didn't know it was there. New as in, I've never experienced something made exclusively to dry things. Normally it's just an old rag, or clothing that no longer had a use. But this? This was soft. So wonderfully soft.

I'm able to completely cover myself with the towel, but as it stopped blocking my sight, I saw it again, through the open doorway into the main area of my room. My stuff. Sitting on a bed that had never brushed against something so low in quality before. It didn't fit. And it broke my heart. I looked away, and I was drawn to a small collection of cloth next to it that wasn't there when I entered the bath. A piece of paper rested on top. I moved over and read it quickly.

Lyra, I had the maids, your third cousins, dig out some of Eva's old clothes. They're used, but clean. And should get you through until your own clothes are ready. We'll be in the family lounge (by the stairs) when you're ready to join us. Mom I read the note twice then looked at the dress that was waiting. It was a sundress, it wasn't fancy… I think it wasn't fancy. It didn't have any lace, or sparkly things on it. But… it was more than the dresses I've seen before. More than what I ever saw Beth or Stella wear.

More than the girls at ho… where I grew up. It was more, but it wasn't fancy. I shimmied into the clothes. It was loose. I'm apparently smaller than Eva was when she wore this. I frowned at the thought. And looked at my stuff. Eighteen years wrapped in two blankets I could see through when held up to the light. Layered together. A satchel, currently empty, that was held together with mismatched stitching that looked like a ten-year-old stitched with a nail. Because that's what I did. It's what I had to do.

Eighteen years of life. Eight years of life on my own. Unfolding the blankets I found the only other two items I brought with me. A rusty knife with a broken tip and a handle made from a branch and a rotting piece of leather I had found in one of the villagers dump piles. My hands shook as I lifted the last item. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. A pampaw fruit. The absolute worst tasting food in the world. At least, I haven't found anything that approaches it yet.

Even when Neera tried to cook and burned the soup, which I didn't know was possible, I was able to eat it without issue. It simply didn't compare. And yet, I owed this sweet-smelling dumpster of a fruit my life. I sat my things on the small table, the potion making supplies had already been moved to the desk on the far side of the room, and decided I would ask Mom to get rid of it. I still had the memories… I almost wish I could throw those out too. Everyone's waiting.

I headed out, deciding that it was time to trust Mom and Dad. To truly leave that place behind and look forward to the future. Which would have me moving again. My stomach churned as I left my room, headed towards the lounge. The pampaw fruit was still in my hand. I was wondering if there was something I could do to make it taste better while maintaining its effect as I entered the lounge to find Mom sitting in a love seat with Boyan playing on the floor in front of her.

Some colorful blocks were thrown about him in a semi-ordered disaster. Gaven was sitting on the seat across from her, sipping on a glass of something. I walked around him, turning the pampaw fruit in my hand as I smiled a greeting at Mom, when my hands suddenly emptied.

"What's this?" Gaven said looking at the fruit before putting it up to his nose.

"Smells sweet."

"Hey, that's mine!" I complained reaching for it. But he didn't wait. As my hands reached for the fruit, he took a large bite out of the worst tasting fruit the world had to offer. I froze at the crunch. Gaven froze as the flesh of the fruit reached his tongue. Mom laughed. Boyan copied Mom. And I pulled away from the pampaw fruit that was now Gaven's as he opened his mouth and an unchewed piece of fruit fell out.

"I'm not cleaning that." I said as Gaven's face shifted through various stages of shock, disbelief, and disgust. I quickly moved to Mom, who was still laughing, to make sure I wasn't anywhere near Gaven if he decided to puke. It's bad enough knowing exactly what he was going through. Gaven drained his drink and a I grimaced.

"That's not going to help. That's just going to spread it in your mouth and when it hits your stomach…" Gaven bent over making a sound I usually associated with the healing shack. Or perhaps, perhaps, I had sounded like that before pampaw fruit became a daily occurrence. I shook my head. No, I never sounded like that. Mom was bent over laughing. I sat next to her as Gaven filled his cup from a bottle.

He went through this several times, each time reacting less when the liquid brought the pampaw fruit to his stomach. Finally, he cleared his throat.

"Lyra." He said calmly.

"I think your fruit went bad." Mom was trying to calm herself down, even Boyan knew she was over-committed and was patting her leg wondering why she was bent over wheezing.

"Oh, no Gaven. That's what it's supposed to taste like." I kept my face blank as I went through the teasing leading up to me kicking his shins when I first arrived, and watched his face lose all emotion.

"That disg…" He stopped himself and tried again.

"The horrible taste is normal?! Who in the world eats these things?" I tilted my head and patted Mom's back.

"I don't know if I've ever seen anyone eat one." I smiled at him cheerfully.

"You're the first! And honestly, you're too old for it to raise your magic so it was kind of a waste…" Gaven sat the fruit down on the table, a large bite missing out of it. He was still swishing his mouth as though trying to get rid of the lingering taste. But it wouldn't leave. It would take hours. I nodded to myself. I think we're even now. Gaven caught the motion.

"You think this is funny." He stated.

"No." He sat back relaxing at my answer.

"It is funny. And it's your fault, so I don't have to feel guilty about it. Pampaw fruit…" I scowled.

"I wish I had thought about putting it into the townsfolk's food back in Hindor. But I'm just not that mean." He grumped at the smile I sent his way and Mom sat back with a big breath.

"Okay. I'm good now." She said, and I bit my cheek to keep from saying something about Gaven and his still swishing mouth that would cause her to stop breathing again. That's not fair. I know her better then that. But she's been stressed since Tenoth, and by the way her shoulders sagged at least some of her tension has left. Maybe I should make the joke anyway. I shook my head immediately.

"I put my old stuff on the table. Could you have it thrown out? Not the stuff on the desk. The table." Mom nodded picking Boyan up as she leaned into the love seats thick padding.

"It'll be gone by morning. You look beautiful in Eva's old dress. I thought that color would suit you." My ears heated and drooped to the sides low enough I could grab onto the tips if I wanted.

"Oh, that's cute. Eva's old stuff? I thought I recognized it. She was a bit chubbier than you though."

"Gaven!"

"What?" He asked surprised.

"She was. It took her a while to burn off that baby fat. That's all. Anyway." He looked me over.

"It looks good on you. Or you do in it." He waved his hand.

"But brothers are a bad judge of things like this."

"Tomorrow we'll go shopping. Put in orders for clothes, and pick up your necessities." I nodded.

"Can I sell some of my potions?"

"Oh, right." Mom snapped her fingers.

"I almost forgot. We need to get that potion you made identified to. We can do both at the same time. How many potions are you going to sell?" I thought about it.

"I'm thinking eight. It would leave me with four." Mom nodded and took a sip from a glass Gaven filled up when she reached for it. I wondered if he would do the same for me, but quickly threw the question away.

"I assume you don't want to sell direct to people. So, you'll only be offered half of what they're actually worth. That's pretty standard practice with potions." Mom explained taking a sip.

"That's fine. One of them will give me more money than I expected to make in my lifetime. So, I'm fine with it." Gaven froze for a moment and looked at me, before his gaze shifted to Mom. Then he relaxed back in his chair, obviously deciding not to ask or say whatever came to his mind. Or perhaps, to ask Mom about it later. Which was fine by me.