Chương 34: Chapter 33: The Little Lady Witch

Tessa dropped a folded cloth beside Ren.

"This can be the pouch." Ren looked at it, then pinched one corner and tugged.

"It needs a string," Lysa said. She pointed toward the wooden horse.

"The red one."

"No," Tessa replied.

"That belongs to the horse!"

"The treasury needs it more."

"Nuh uh, the horse already owns it." Tessa searched through the folded clothes until she found a spare ribbon. She wrapped it around the cloth, pulled the knot tight, and held up the crooked result.

"The Snack Treasury is here now!" Ren let them argue while Tessa finished tying the spare ribbon around the folded cloth. She slung the crooked pouch over her shoulder and immediately resumed debating its rules with Lysa and Niko. He stopped following the argument when another swallow scraped against his throat. Several days of deliberate speech practice had begun catching up with him. Clear words demanded careful breath and tongue placement, and the meeting had pushed his infant mouth harder than usual.

By evening, even swallowing hurt. Who knew his actions had consequences? … Ren didn't know why that surprised him. The soreness remained the next morning. At breakfast, Ren was sat on the floor beside the bench while Tessa wore the empty treasury pouch across her shoulder. Elna spread soft cheese across a piece of bread, and Bren tied one boot near the door. Ren swallowed and felt the same rough scrape. Pain dragged along the back of his throat. He touched his neck and made a low, unhappy sound.

Elna looked down immediately.

"What is it?" Ren touched his throat again. Tessa crouched beside him.

"His throat hurts." Elna set the bread aside and knelt.

"How do you know?"

"He kept touching it last night, and his noises sound scratchy." That answer came close enough to the truth without exposing the actual reason. Elna placed two fingers beneath Ren's jaw, then lightly felt along his neck. She asked him to open his mouth. Ren obeyed. She checked for heat and watched him swallow. When she encouraged him to make another sound, he gave her a hoarse baby noise.

"You may be getting sick again," she said. Tessa leaned forward.

"Little Yara makes the mint throat drops Mara carries." Elna glanced at her.

"Those are not for babies." Tessa's face fell.

"Yara may have something Ren can take," Elna added, touching his forehead again.

"But Mara is closer, and I have work to finish here."

"We can go to Yara."

"No."

"I know the way."

"That does not make you old enough to carry your brother there."

"I would not carry him alone. We can take turns watching him!" Elna stared at her. Tessa tightened her grip on the empty pouch.

"I can bring everyone!"

"That is hardly any better."

"It is safer with everyone!"

"Corin and the others would have to promise to be very careful, and I'm not sure if their parents would agree–""Deal!" Tessa hurried from the room before Elna could stop her. Ren watched the doorway. That had not sounded like permission, but his sister knew better than to stay and listen. Ha! His sister was great! Elna sighed, lifted him from the floor, and settled him against her shoulder. Whatever argument Tessa intended to assemble would have to wait until Ren completed the morning requirements of infancy.

He was cleaned, changed, wiped again after objecting to the cold cloth, and fed while Elna continued checking his forehead between tasks. Ren endured the entire process with the resignation of someone whose medical expedition with ulterior candy-getting motives had been delayed by his own breakfast. By the time he finished, voices crowded the yard. Tessa returned with Lysa, Corin, Pella, Davi, and Niko gathered behind her. The whole assembly was here, and excited to go!

"We can all go," she announced. Elna looked past her at the assembled children.

"Absolutely not."

"We know the way, and we will be careful," Corin said. Pella nodded.

"And we will stay together."

"We can watch the road," Lysa added. Davi raised one hand.

"And me and Corin can take turns carrying Ren!"

"Oh, me too, me too! I can carry Ren too!" loudly announced Niko from the sidelines.

"Niko is not allowed to carry Ren, unless it's an absolute emergency," Elna said. Niko stepped forward.

"Uh, oh, okay then! I am good at emergencies! And I can watch someone else carry him too!" The other children left that claim unsupported. Tessa moved closer to Elna.

"Please, Mama. Ren needs medicine, and Little Yara might have something made for babies. We will go together, stay on the path, and come straight back after!" Elna looked from Tessa to the children, then down at Ren. He swallowed, and the rough scrape remained. Her mouth tightened. [Skill Level Increased: Expression Lv. 11 -> Lv. 12]"You stay together," she said at last.

"You do not leave the path, you do not stop anywhere else, and you come directly home." Tessa's whole face brightened.

"Yes!"

"Elna," Bren began from near the door.

"They will be visible from half the village," she said, though she sounded as though she were still trying to convince herself. Then she looked at Tessa.

"You keep both hands on Ren whenever the road is uneven."

"I will."

"And Yara decides what he can have. Not you." Tessa touched the empty pouch.

"This Treasurer understands!" Elna closed her eyes for one patient breath, and Ren sighed against her shoulder. At least the journey had finally been approved. It had only required assembling a small child procession before breakfast. No small feat, but Tessa and the promise of candy did wonders indeed. The children argued over who should carry Ren before they had even left the yard, until Tessa ended the dispute by lifting him herself.

"I am his sister."

"But you are also carrying the Treasury," Lysa said.

"I can carry both!" The empty pouch hung across Tessa's chest while Ren rested against her shoulder. She hitched him higher, braced one arm beneath him, and started toward the edge of the village before anyone could object. Ren expected the usual result: confidence first, fatigue shortly after. But Tessa kept going. Her grip shifted whenever his weight dragged against her arm, and her breathing deepened as the road climbed, but she never stumbled or asked someone else to take him.

By the time the last houses began to thin behind them, Ren had stopped waiting for her strength to give out. Yet his amazement remained. She was just six years old. His memories insisted that carrying him this far should have been a much greater struggle. Those memories came from a world without levels, attributes, or skills quietly strengthening people from childhood.

Apparently, even children could do more than their size suggested here, and Tessa had been growing stronger too while Ren was busy measuring his own progress. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Ren looked at her with renewed respect. Beyond the final houses, the road narrowed between the fields. Crops shifted gently beneath the breeze, and the sounds of the village softened behind them.

He noted how, without frightened adults preparing defenses or watching the tree line for goblins, the place looked completely different. Peaceful. So very... idyllic. He wished it could remain so, just a little longer. Or never has to be sullied at all. Yes. Ren would do his very best to ensure that vision comes to pass. Corin claimed his turn once they reached the fields. Tessa handed Ren over reluctantly, then remained close while Corin carried him farther along the road.

He watched the fields pass, the stress he didn't even know his baby body was capable of leaving him, bit by bit. But it could not last. There was training to do, and he wouldn't waste even a single opportunity if Ren could help it. So as soon as Corin's turn ended and they were well away from the village proper, and Tessa took Ren back, he leaned toward her ear.

"Down," he managed to whisper out, despite his throat giving him trouble. Tessa stopped.

"What?" Ren pointed toward the road.

"Walk." She stared at him, then lowered him carefully until his feet touched the packed dirt. The others had continued several steps before noticing that Tessa was no longer following. Corin turned first.

"What are you doing?" Ren steadied himself against Tessa's hand, placed one foot forward, and shifted his weight onto it. Every child went quiet. He took another step. Pella's mouth opened.

"Ren can walk?"

"Walk and talk?" Niko picked up.

"He is not supposed to walk that much," Tessa said, although pride had already entered her voice.

"But babies don't walk at all!" exclaimed Corin.

"It's a secret!" Tessa insisted again, to the collective hush. Davi hurried back and crouched to watch from closer.

"Do it again." Ren ignored him and took a third step. Niko pointed.

"He walks like a tiny old man." A shallow rut crossed his path. Ren shortened his step, planted his foot before the uneven ground, and walked around it without slowing.

"He is still little," Tessa said sharply. Lysa studied his feet.

"Babies do not usually learn this early." Ren could say the same about most of his life. Tessa looked around the group and pressed one finger to her lips. Corin lowered his voice.

"Another secret?"

"Yes." Pella leaned toward Davi.

"He has lots." Ren continued his highly prestigious Athletics training, that really was just walking. Then again… Even in his old life, walking was something recommended for everybody to do often. Maybe… Maybe he really was doing athletic things? [Strength +1] Even the System was saying so now… Nah, couldn't be! The surprise lasted until Niko remembered where they were going.

"Right, the candy! Little Yara has candy!" That restored the expedition at once. The promise of herb candy made the walking baby much easier to accept. Corin charged ahead to lead, Lysa kept him pointed in the right direction, and the others crowded around Ren as they followed. Ren walked while the road stayed firm beneath his feet. His steps were steady now, even over the occasional rut, but his short legs still had to work much harder than theirs. Tessa stayed near without reaching for him.

He made it farther than he could have just a few days ago. Hell, he couldn't even walk during the last loop. This progress was exhilarating! And felt so liberating after months of just crawling. But he still knew his limits, and when the strain began to build, Ren stopped and lifted both arms toward her before exhaustion could ruin the visit. She smiled as though this proved she had been right all along.

"Hehe! I knew you would need carrying!" Ren allowed her the victory. The village proper was barely visible by the time they arrived at their destination. The open road narrowed, fields disappearing behind hedges, with the road curving into a small copse of trees. Branches crowded overhead, breaking the sunlight into shifting patches and hiding what waited beyond. Little Yara's home appeared near the center of the copse. The narrow house sat inside a large garden that seemed determined to swallow it.

Herbs crowded the path, vines climbed the walls, and pale flowers spilled beyond their beds. And Ren could see an even larger garden hiding further behind. Colored bottles filled the windows, drying bundles hung beneath the eaves, and small charms stirred among the surrounding branches. It all looked too purposeful to be purely decorative. Everything looked useful in some way Ren did not yet understand. The whole place screamed witch. Tessa's pace quickened.

"There!" The garden path twisted between raised beds instead of running straight to the door. Lysa warned everyone not to touch anything. Niko immediately asked which plants were poisonous. Corin claimed the ones with purple leaves probably caused visions, while Pella argued that pretty plants could not be trusted. But that wasn't what caught his attention. His Mana Sense reacted long before they reached the house! The household ward above his crib carried a cool, quiet presence. The charms here felt far more…

varied. And far more active. One near the garden entrance held a thin pressure that pushed outward in brief pulses. Another, hanging from a low branch, carried a warmer thread wrapped around its carved center. More presences waited among the clutter, overlapping without becoming identical. Ren could distinguish the differences without understanding any of their purposes. The children crowded onto the step. Tessa knocked, but nothing happened. She knocked again, harder.

A jar clinked somewhere inside, followed by a scrape and several quick footsteps. The door opened, and a slight teenage girl greeted them. Little Yara looked about fourteen. That was Ren's first conclusion. His second was that she might be an apprentice witch, an unusually confident young herbalist, or a girl who had made medicine her entire personality. Dark hair had been tied behind her head with red thread. Her sleeves were rolled above both elbows, and green stains marked two fingertips.

A small knife rested in one hand. She looked over the gaggle of children filling her doorstep with a raised brow.

"Yes?" Tessa stepped forward.

"Lady Witch!" Little Yara accepted the title without correction.

"We brought Ren," Tessa continued. Yara's gaze moved to the baby in her arms.

"He has a sore throat," Lysa added.

"And we need candy! Pretty please!" Niko said. Tessa turned on him.

"Medicine first."

"Medicine candy," he corrected. Little Yara looked from one child to the next.

"Does anybody know you're here?" The group hesitated.

"Mama said we could come," Tessa said. That was true enough, although it omitted the length of the argument required to achieve permission.

"She said you might have something safe for babies," Lysa added. Little Yara's attention returned to Ren, and her gaze settled on him too quickly. Ren softened his expression and leaned against Tessa's shoulder with ordinary interest. The performance lasted one breath before Little Yara's eyes narrowed slightly. Expression had failed. Or it had given her a better mask to examine. He didn't know what was worse. Little Yara stepped aside.

"Bring him in." The workroom smelled of mint, wax, bitter roots, smoke, and dried flowers. Herbs hung from the ceiling beams in tied bundles. Shelves held narrow jars, stoppered bottles, folded packets, carved charms, colored thread, small knives, bone needles, and tools Ren could not identify. A dish of pale green sweets sat beside a row of medicine jars. But behind them he spotted jars with even more candy. The treasury had found civilization!

The other children noticed the dish at the same time, and Niko stepped forward first.

"Are those the cold ones?" Little Yara set her knife aside.

"Floral mints, yes." Pella leaned around him.

"Do you have red ones?"

"Not today."

"Yellow?"

"No." Corin pointed toward one of the jars.

"What is in that?"

"Something you should not open." Davi peered up at a bundle of dried flowers, while Lysa tried to read the labels on the nearest shelf. Tessa remained beside Ren, holding him securely against her chest as questions filled the room. Little Yara looked over the children crowding into her workroom, and the guarded line of her mouth softened.

"You came all this way for medicine," she said, "and somehow found enough energy to ask about everything I own."

"We are helping," Niko said.

"You are touching nothing."

"I can help without touching."

"That would be a rare skill." Niko looked pleased rather than insulted. Then his hand crept toward the nearest jar. A wooden staff tapped the top of his head with a small bonk before his fingers reached it. Ren had not even seen Yara pick it up. Niko snatched his hand back and rubbed his hair.

"Hmph. You were warned," Little Yara said. She crossed to the dish and gave each child one pale green sweet. She patted Pella's head when the girl thanked her, then did the same to Davi and Corin as they came forward for theirs. Niko accepted his without attempting anything further.

"One each," Yara said. Tessa opened the treasury pouch.

"They should go in here." Every child immediately objected.

"They are ours," Niko said.

"The treasury keeps them safe," Tessa replied.

"From you?"

"From you." Little Yara watched the argument develop, amusement warming her face.

"I may have more later," she said. The room went quiet. Niko swallowed the sweet he had barely begun tasting.

"How much later?"

"That depends on how quickly you can gather what I need from the garden." She pointed toward the open back door. Beyond it, the garden crowded close to the house in rows of herbs, flowering plants, climbing vines, and leaves in more shapes than Ren could count from Tessa's arms.

"I need broad mint leaves from the bed beside the stone basin and the small white flowers growing near the back fence. Take only what I showed you. Bring them here without crushing them, and there may be another sweet for each of you. And perhaps a few more for your 'Treasury'." The children erupted at once.

"I know mint," Corin said, already looking toward the back door.

"I'll check," Lysa said, pushing ahead of him. Niko moved before either of them reached the doorway. Little Yara caught the back of his shirt before he escaped.

"You listen to Lysa, you stay inside the garden, and you touch nothing hanging from the trees." Niko twisted to look at her.

"Why?"

"Because I said so." That answer seemed good enough for him. She released him, and the children poured into the garden. Corin and Pella hurried toward the stone basin, Davi followed Lysa, and Niko tried to reach the back fence first without appearing to run. Apparently, the possibility of another sweet had accomplished what rules, titles, and repeated arguments could not. The entire treasury operation had become efficient.

Ren was just trying to establish such efficiency himself, and here was the master at the craft showing him the ropes already! Tessa started after them. Little Yara rested a hand lightly on her shoulder.

"You stay." Tessa looked from the garden to Ren.

"But they will put everything in the wrong place." Yara ruffled Tessa's hair.

"I think they will survive without their Treasurer for a few more minutes." Tessa hesitated, then shifted Ren higher against her chest. Little Yara waited until the others had moved beyond the doorway before closing it most of the way. Their voices still carried through the gap, loud enough to prove they had not wandered far. Ren watched her hand leave the door. The candy had sent every other child running into the garden, while Yara had kept Tessa behind because she was carrying him.

With the room finally quiet, Ren turned his full attention to her. He had come here hoping for medicine, information, and perhaps a chance to learn something about magic. Now he waited to see what came next. She turned back toward them and held out both hands.

"Let me see him."