Chapters tagged herbalism

by pwizdelf

Chapter 45

===9 Spring 1386========== When I woke for a second time that night to the sound of Curry coughing in the next room, I slipped out of bed and padded barefoot into his room in my pajamas. He sounded much worse than I’d expected for it only being a few hours, and his lungs had tak...

by pwizdelf

Chapter 47

It was cool out when I opened the side door that led to the walk, so I ducked back inside and got my cloak from where Curry had left it on the settee, then shut the door behind me and set out walking, buttoning it around my shoulders as I went. The guard kiosk was only a ten minu...

by pwizdelf

Chapter 48

Much as I didn’t want a protracted eyeful of his private parts, I quickly figured out that if the point was not to make a mess, I did have to watch the whole time, to make sure the jar didn’t tip and wasn’t getting too full for its current angle—_yeah_. Well. When he seemed done...

by pwizdelf

Chapter 49

When I came back from looking for something to read I checked on him, and he was still awake, a little, so instead of taking the armchair I climbed onto the bed with the book I’d picked out. I leaned against the headboard with the fat tome on my lap, holding the book with one han...

by pwizdelf

Chapter 50

A few hours later I woke again to Curry shivering so violently it vibrated the bed. He was too cold to answer me when I inquired what was the worst of it, so I repeated everything I’d done the night before—building up the fire, hot-water flasks, heaping on the blankets, cough rem...

by pwizdelf

Chapter 51

When my surprise kept me from answering right away, he said, “How are we ever meant to get over you if you keep coming back and getting our hopes up, only to dash them every time?” in a tone of such openly plaintive despair that I felt immediately guilty, which was ridiculous, wh...

by pwizdelf

Chapter 52

I woke with a start to the now unpleasantly familiar sound of Curry coughing, more feebly than before, and understood I had slept much longer than twenty minutes. I rubbed my eyes and stood up, squinting at the clock in the dim firelight. One in the morning. “Are you yourself aga...

by pwizdelf

Chapter 53

===10 Spring 1386========== Out of nowhere I shuddered awake, completely awake, unsure what had roused me. Not a dream—I was pretty sure I hadn’t been dreaming. It took me a moment, while my eyes adjusted to the darkness, to realize that in my sleep I’d turned over and curled up...

by pwizdelf

Chapter 54

A long, terrible moment passed, during which nothing at all happened other than my eyes began to water from the sharp, biting stink of fumes, and then Curry’s eyelids fluttered and he made a faint, groggy sound of displeasure. I almost began to bawl again, just from sheer relief,...