The Cursed Heir

Chapter Fifteen

Cassie was functional, and really, that was the best that she could hope for. Every morning she dragged herself out of bed, plagued with nightmares that left her more drained than when she had fallen asleep. She exercised the horses, she ran errands for Aldine, and she even took bread to Wynne's uncle when her friend asked her to. Leora stayed with her constantly, but not even that ray of sunshine could bring out a smile or warm the ice weighing her down.

There was a hole in the middle of her body, and nothing she did made it possible to forget. It seemed to have a life of its own, constantly trying to expand, sending sharp ragged pain everywhere when it fought for more room. It was all she could do to encase it in ice, to prevent it from spreading more, from consuming her entire body, until all that was left of Cassie was this evil, voracious hole.

She did everything that she could to please the people around her. So she could not understand why it was that James was constantly frustrated, why Wynne always wanted to "talk," and why, although the tasks she performed were perfectly adequate, Aldine would only look at her sadly and shake her head.

Really, it didn't make sense for them to be displeased with her. She did careful work—if anything, better than she had before. She knew for a fact that she was more help with the nut-picking than she had been with the berry harvest. By focusing entirely on the task at hand rather than wasting time talking with Wynne or playing with Leora, she was able to fill multiple baskets a day by herself. Thomas certainly had no complaints with her behavior now.

Yes, if one just looked at the situation objectively, the town was better off. She did her work, was willing to help others, and the rest of her time she spent sleeping. She was always so tired. Cassie kept to herself, and she would have appreciated it if the villagers would just return the favor. Instead, they were constantly trying to force her to talk.

Leora, oddly enough, respected Cassie's new attitude the most. She never pressed her to return to the meadow and tell stories or play, and never even asked what had happened in the weeks Cassie had been gone. Instead, she sat at Cassie's side during their morning stitching work, as she always had, and filled their days with endless, one-sided conversations.

Cassie's relationship with James was slightly more confusing. She would have understood if he had simply avoided her. James had enjoyed her company in the past because he found her amusing, and she had returned from that battle as anything but amusing.

Instead, however, he had taken to spending a good part of his mornings at Aldine's. Cassie had no idea when he woke up, but somehow he was always sitting in the workroom by the time she came down for breakfast. For the most part, his company was as silent as her own, but his presence was enough. His silent, steady support helped Cassie to pretend she was whole.

But a week after her return, Cassie learned that she would have to make do without James' help. The morning began routinely, with her sitting in Aldine's workroom as the seamstress took care of small repairs. Leora had yet to join them but James was in her place, although his silent company didn't have quite the same effect as Leora's bright chatter. Still, Cassie didn't mind. She always breathed a little easier with him at her side.

A man calling out Aldine's name disrupted the house's peaceful quiet. When Aldine went to the door to greet the visitor, she sounded relieved.

"George," she exclaimed. "I'm glad you're back safely."

He didn't pause to exchange pleasantries. "Is James here?"

"Yes," Aldine said, and let him in.

George stepped ahead of her into the workroom and immediately dropped into the remaining available chair. He looked like he had been dragged through a marsh, and smelled twice as bad.