The next day, Xilutaiya went to the Apothecary Guild and bought the Medicinal Herb Identification Guide, and the clerk thoughtfully threw in a complimentary Blood-Staunching Medicine Recipe. The Gardener Guild, by contrast, was rather shabby. Burnt Stone City was not a wealthy place, and few people cared about planting and gardening; it sold only common flower seeds—no cornflowers—and its books on gardening were thin as well.
She set a wooden chair in the little courtyard behind the house, sat down, laid the Medicinal Herb Identification Guide open across her knees, and began leafing through it.
The courtyard was especially quiet in the afternoon. A little sunlight made its way in and fell on the empty ground by her feet, bright without being dazzling.
The yellowed pages, with their crisply printed text and herb illustrations, gave off a faint scent of ink each time she turned one, making her feel that such a steep price did have something to recommend it.
In the nearly ten days since coming to this world, Xilutaiya had met something new almost every day, stepping into one strange, unfamiliar setting after another. Only now could she relax a little, leaning quietly back against the chair and passing an afternoon of perfect calm.
The sunlight in the courtyard shifted slowly. At first it missed her entirely; then, little by little, it crept onto Xilutaiya's calves, bringing wave after wave of warmth.
Her slender fingertips drifted gently over the pages. She turned one, finished reading the introduction to another chapter, then raised her head. Looking out at the small courtyard bathed in sunlight, she felt a light, quiet happiness rise inside her—she wanted nothing more than to nap through this breezy afternoon.
She marked the page, set the book on the small table beside her, drew her legs back a little, rested her feet lightly on the chair's crossbar, tipped her head against one side of the chair back, and closed her eyes.
In all that stillness and ease, a few strands of hair swayed softly at her cheek without waking her from her nap. Her brows smoothed out, and her soft face took on a hint of childlike sweetness in the afternoon glow.
Insects went on chirping in the trees. Beneath leaves of tender green and pale yellow, the girl slept on soundlessly as time drifted slowly by.
…
Several hours later, a key turned in the lock and the door pushed open. A lively figure came bouncing inside, made a circuit of the house, and only then found Xilutaiya dozing in the back courtyard.
"Tiya, I'm back!" Taliel came up beside the sleeping girl, propped both hands on the chair's armrests, and studied her with curious eyes.
Asleep, Xilutaiya lacked her usual quick-witted look, but she had a cuteness all her own—so the thought suddenly came to Taliel.
The girl beneath her then opened her eyes, gave her head a light shake that stirred her hair, and sat up.
"So Taliel's back." Her soft voice carried a trace of drowsiness, unusually sweet and mellow, as if this were the voice she had been meant to have all along.
"Mm-hm, up you get, Tiya!" Taliel helped Xilutaiya sit up properly, then trotted off to the front room and came back cradling a pale-green melon, about the size of the watermelons in Xilutaiya's memory.
"Uncle Huke gave it to me—I helped out at his place this morning!" Huke had once been a resident of Linden Village too; these days he sold fruit in Burnt Stone City and ran a few small businesses on the side.
"I thought of Tiya right away, and brought it back so we could eat it together." Taliel made a point of showing she was a good friend indeed, one who would never forget Tiya.
"Thank you, Taliel," the girl answered with a smile. Taliel's artless warmth had scattered the unease and tension of having just arrived in a strange world.
"Let's cut it—it won't taste good if it sits around too long." Taliel couldn't wait a moment longer.
"Mm." Xilutaiya thought for a moment, found a kitchen knife in the kitchen cupboard, and the two of them rinsed the rind with stored water and wiped it clean before cutting the melon open.
Inside, the pale-green melon held tender yellow flesh studded with plenty of white seeds. Each girl cradled a wedge, and they ate standing in the back courtyard—no outsiders around, after all, so there was no need to stand on ceremony.
When she bit into the flesh, sweet, refreshing juice flooded her mouth, and Xilutaiya's spirits lifted; she felt much more awake.
It was delicious. Not as sweet as a watermelon, but with its own woody sweetness that lingered on the tongue.
"What kind of melon is this?" she couldn't help wondering.
"It's a Downy-Leaf Melon. People grow it on the sunny slopes around Burnt Stone City and haul it into town to sell, but it spoils easily, so it's hard to find anywhere else." Taliel had guessed Tiya would be interested and had made a point of asking Uncle Huke before she left.
"Eh?" At Taliel's answering before she could even ask, Tiya tilted her head slightly—and then quickly understood.
This child must have prepared the answer in advance.
"Thank you." She said it as she smoothed the hair falling before her, a faint warmth flowing through her heart.
"Heh heh." Taliel patted her chest with pride, showing that she was quite useful after all.
"Come on, there's still plenty left. Uncle Huke says it can't be kept long—we'd best finish it today." The two went back to the kitchen to cut more.
"Ah, but I can't eat any more."
"You have to. We're finishing it." Taliel pushed the resigned Xilutaiya onward.
In the end the two still couldn't finish it, and they decided to save the rest to enjoy that night.
At dusk, the two came to Wenni's home again. Wenni had expected them today, and she had prepared a lavish dinner.
While they ate, Anqie'er told them what he had learned from his inquiries at the merchant association.
"There's a courier and messenger position at the association—running letters, parcels, and notices around the city day to day. The pay isn't high, just 2.4 silver coins, but it's relatively easy work."
"Ooh, I like that one!" Taliel raised her hand.
Wenni and Anqie'er were not the least surprised; they had known Taliel would like exactly this sort of job.
"Then there's Scholar Aidesen. Sadly, he says he can't spare the time to teach. But I did pick up another piece of news: Scholar Aidesen's teacher, Mr. Haide, who retired some time ago, will most likely reopen his classes next month and take on a new batch of students."
"Ah, Teacher Haide is holding classes again?" Wenni covered her mouth in surprise.
"When I graduated, he said he was going to settle into a quiet old age and teach no more. Why would he change his mind now?"
"I don't know. There may be some other reason."
"Since Scholar Haide is teaching again, that should be the best chance Miss Tiya could hope for. He's the most learned man in Burnt Stone City—there's no better mentor than him."
"It's next month. I can ask him whether this intake has any conditions for admission," Wenni mused. "In the meantime, I'll test Miss Tiya's fundamentals and see where she stands."
Though she had been educated in her past life, she was still very much a stranger to this world, and Xilutaiya agreed at once.
"Good. Then starting tomorrow, you two are to come here every morning for lessons." Wenni held up a finger.
"Ah, do I have to come too? Didn't my brother-in-law say he'd found me a job?" Taliel protested.
"He did, but you don't start for a few days yet. Don't go thinking about sneaking off to play." Wenni brought out all the authority of an elder sister.
"Uh, I haven't been sneaking off to play—I went to help Uncle Huke just yesterday," Taliel protested.
"Yes, I know. But you understand—these days you can't be willful like a little child anymore."
"Fine." Knowing her sister meant well, Taliel could only duck her head and agree.
Watching Taliel get the worst of it again and again in front of Wenni, Xilutaiya found it both funny and heartwarming, and thought of the friends she had grown up with.
Were they living well now, too?
Chapter 11