Amentia

Chapter 45 - Drifting

The next morning, the walls were only thicker. It was easier to talk, but it was harder to say things that actually mattered. Addressing the fight from the day before was out of the question. And as long as Zoe was in the room, there were no mentions of the play they'd been trying so hard to write. It felt like any small comment might trigger a war, and it was imperative that they avoided that. If the Theater of the Sacred Lotus fell apart, then Amentia as it was would be lost, regardless of any mysterious dark entities slithering in the ground. But most importantly, a beautiful family built on years of stories and hard work would be broken, and for that reason alone it was important that they held their ground and fought through it.

Az forced the morning conversation of the duties of the day and Ruvyn checked the inventory list to see if anything needed restocking. Zoe was still not speaking, and it was hard to tell if this was a kindness or a further instigation to conflict. Anna had her hopes on the former, but the wind was being purposefully unclear about it.

The performance that night would go on as planned. As long as they didn't have a proper new play, they would keep doing the comedies that everyone enjoyed. If they couldn't give the audience life lessons directly applied to these particular circumstances, then at least they could make them laugh for an hour or two. So most of the troupe went outside to rehearse.

Maylin left the caravan carrying two axes on one shoulder and pulling from Zoe's forearm with her free hand. Zoe was reluctant to follow but evidently had no choice in the matter. The troupe watched them enter the woods, away from the town.

Maylin and Zoe walked for an hour in complete silence before they stopped in front of a tree. Zoe didn't need to look up at it to see it, but she did regardless. It was a curious tree. Its trunk was barely two hands wide and it didn't have any low branches whatsoever, but it grew taller than most of the trees around it. The top was wide and so bushy that almost no sunlight peered through the violet leaves, and yet the tree stood solidly in place, its roots expanding widely around the area and deeply too. Zoe knew that not even a full-blown storm could topple this guy down.

"This," said Maylin patting the trunk with gusto, "is a drehming tree. This is the most stubborn tree you will find in this forest. Drehmings are mighty strong and don't like to be chopped at; took me three days to bring one down once and I never wanted to try it again. They are a powerful adversary, and you only win if they let you. Sound like anyone you know?" she finished, handing Zoe an ax.

Zoe absentmindedly weighed the tool in her hands and let out a sarcastic laugh. On a better day, Zoe would've been bright-eyed standing in front of this tree, but what Maylin saw in Zoe's eyes was nothing of the sort. There was no spark, only a defiant colorless expression, only a shadow.

Zoe lifted the ax and was about to take her first swing before Maylin grabbed her hands and stopped her. The look in her student's eye when she turned her head up was unnerving.

"You must say the prayer first," said Maylin, letting go of Zoe's hands gently.

Zoe scoffed and rolled her eyes, lowering the ax and taking a step back.

"Do you really think this Radix person cares if you chop down one tree without telling her?" Zoe asked, her tone lower than usual, as she swung the ax loosely at her side.

"Of course she cares: every root, branch and leaf are a part of her. You wouldn't like it if someone pulled a hair out of your head without at least asking first."

"I mean, what can she do about it if she's not here to stop you or punish you?"

"What makes you think she's not here, child?"

"Well, do you see her anywhere? Because I sure don't."

"She won't show herself if there is no need, Zoe. That is why we speak to her first, so we can ease her worry and she doesn't need to bother with something like this."