The Last Healer (A Witch's Tale)

Chapter 7: Black, Straight-Haired Lady

Chapter 7

The next day after the tea with the royal couple, the search for the basket, and the first meeting as well as the first escape from Edward, yesterday was so exhausting.

After she left Agnes and Anna's house, she went directly to the back of the house where she grabbed her other basket just outside the window. She carried the basket with medicines on her right arm, the basket with foods on her other arm.

It was not actually the day that she should visit Mrs. Lincoln for her supplies of medicine, but just as to make her reason for escaping not totally a lie, she went to visit her, gave her medicines for the next couple of weeks and took the chance to check if the seventy-year old widow was doing well. Valen was so happy that Mrs. Lincoln was looking better and stronger; she said that his son, Philip, is taking good care of her and the medicines that she is giving her really works. After her business with Mrs. Lincoln, she hurriedly went home.

Valen is having a tea made from fresh, young ceetone leaves that she harvested just outside her shack. It is so early in the morning that it is still dark outside, but she woke up early as this is a perfect time and day to collect morning dews and other ingredients for medicine.

After drinking the tea and eating the last piece of cake, she changes her garments and wears tight, black pants, and then puts on an old brown tunic over a white smock. Her straight, shiny black hair reaches her waist which she lets untied and loose. She grabs her bow and arrows and hangs them on her right shoulder. She grabs two old satchel that she hangs to either side of her shoulders, then puts in a piece of bread for her to eat later to one of the satchel together with a clean, small mortar and pestle that she will use to prepare ingredients as some require to be prepared immediately after harvesting; then lastly, she puts pieces of clean cloth and five small, empty bottles, where she will put collected dews and other ingredients.

She no longer wasted further time as she goes straight outside afterwards, bringing a lighted torch with her, leaving the vial of oil and her cloak as she will only be collecting ingredients.

She went deeper into the forest as she will need to get a full bloom nightling first, which only blooms during summer and only blooms at night but will wither in the morning, that is why she brought the mortar and pestle to prepare the medicine out of nightling flower right away; then afterwards, she will need to find and collect eggs from an ill-tempered bird called giborette, its eggs can heal different kinds of illnesses from yolk to the shell. Then, if she is able to get those hard-to-collect ingredients in no time, she will just collect those other not-so-difficult-to-gather ingredients.

-------

It is already morning; the sun is already up and bright, Edward is still lying on his four-poster oak wood bed. He was only able to sleep a little as he was thinking of Valen as she did not return from Mrs. Lincoln's house yesterday to escort her home and even found out that the basket of food was no longer in Anna's house where in fact, he was sure that Valen only had the basket of medicines with her when she took off yesterday. What somehow maddens him was that he did not even realized that she will escape from him. Though, what infuriates him most was why is he even thinking about her?

He gets up and changes his clothes. Lord Thomas and Lady Melinda already finished eating their breakfast when Edward enters the dining room.

"Good morning mother, father." Edward greeted his parents.

"Good morning Edward." Both greeted Edward back. "You woke up late today Edward. Overslept? By the way, you escorted Valen home yesterday right? Where does she live?" His mother asked him.