Katherina was born into nobility. Being the youngest daughter of Andrei, she was admired by all who laid eyes on her. When her father decided it was time for his daughters to get married, many suitors lined up and drowned the family with exotic gift...
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Forget-Me-Nots
Can be used for respiratory problems, healing wounds and nosebleeds.
...
Katherina
I woke up to the sound of birds chirping at my window. Stretching in my bed, I rolled over and ran to the window, pulling open the doors and swinging my legs over the edge. The wind tickled my messy hair and the sun stung my eyes. I sat there for a moment, admiring the view of the green fields while listening to a song echoing from the distance. Admiring the warmth of the day, I closed my eyes as excitement flowed through my veins. I jumped off the windowsill and ran towards my sister's, Alexandra, bedroom. On my way down, I passed her slave, Freya, who was just about to wake her. I embrassed Freya with a welcoming hug and skipped into my sister's darkroom.
Freya began to slowly open the curtains letting gorgeous rays animate the dresser and her collection of ceramic dolls. Being the annoying little sister, I jumped onto Alexandra's bed and started to tickle her awake. After realizing what was happening, she began to push me off, screaching at Freya to close the curtains and let her sleep.
I looked over at Freya's fearful eyes and nodded at her with a sad and concerned grin. We both respected my sister's wish and exited the room with a heartbreaking stroll. Freya looked at me and whispered, "I'm sorry miss. Alexandra might be having a bad day. Do you need help getting into your dress?".
I looked down at my nightgown and giggled to myself. I turned around and began to skip towards my room shouting back at Freya with a delightful smile "Don't worry! I can take care of myself".
I quickly wiggled into one of my favorite dresses admiring its soft stitches. It was nothing fancy and easy to run in. After brushing my hair, I ran downstairs towards the kitchen. Mariana, the house chef, was one of my closest friends. She was the only one who knew about my love for healing.
Mariana greeted me with a warm hug as I smelled the aroma coming from the pot behind her. I gave her a light kiss on the cheek, grabbed an apple, and ran out into the fields.
Running as fast as my feet would carry me, I passed the fields of working slaves straight into the dark mysterious woods. I instantantly relished the foresty smell and the crunching of the leaves under my feet. I slowed down as I glimpsed over to the roots of a tree growing wild forget-me-not flowers. I picked a few of the stems and carefully braided them into my tangled brown hair. As I bent over to look at my reflection in a nearby stream, I admired the vibrant blue pedals and how they matched my turquoise eyes.
I continued my walk towards Ester's small, cozy cottage that was buried deep within the forest. I was greeted into her healing room by an old oak tree door with an intricately carved door knocker that resembles a badger. Her cluttered room was lit by a large chandelier with thick wax candles held by bronze rims. Underneath, sat an old wooden table with glass bottles and antique pots. Assorted herbs hung from every corner of the ceiling providing a pleasant mix of fragrances. The walls were decorated with animal bones and feathers that varied in color and size.
In the eyes of an outsider, they may fearfully think that dark magic and witchcraft was performed here. But after years of exposure to Ester's teachings, I learned the purpose and property of every object that rested in her home. My appreciation for her knowledge flourished my desire to become a healer of all life.
With Ester's radiating love for nature, I felt She once told me of her past life spent with her loving husband and daughter. Unfortunately, they passed away in a fire which left her heart broken for many years. She gradually learned how to care for herself through the teachings of many books that contained the secret power of healing and even cared for the wound that cracked her heart in two. After that incident, the village blamed her for the fire and condemned her as a witch due to her practices. She has been shunned by her close friends and was threatened numerous times by fearful individuals that seek her beheading. However, she knew at heart that she was not a witch and decided to focus the rest of her life on making medicine.
In the spring, when I was seven years old, I was running through the forest dreaming that I was flowing through the wind, softly touching and smelling every flower and branch in my path. I then stumbled into Ester and scrapped my knee on the bark of a tree. She gracefully handed me an unusual leaf and guided my hand placing it on top of the cut. After that day, she has taken care of me as if I was her daughter.
If my parents ever learnt about my frequent visits to Ester's cottage, I would be disowned and sent away to a distant relative. My secret life is hidden from all and painfully torments my inner yearning to cure and aide the sick and disabled.
---
Ester was leaning over her wooden table with a large candle illuminating her figure. I walked over to observe what she was working on. Laying on the table was a small rabbit with a cut on its shoulder.
"What happened to him?" I asked.
She looked at me with a smile and said "He might have been cut during a hunt".
I frowned and began picking leaves from her medical garden and mashing them into a paste. I carefully applied it onto the small rabbit's shoulder. At first, the little criter was frightened, but after a while it calmed down to my touch.
Ester looked at me and said, "You truly have a healers touch".
She picked up the little rabbit and placed him in a cage to rest. "In a couple of days once he is well again and the cut has healed, we can release him back to his home. But for now, I collected some herbs to grind up to make tea. Would you like to help?"
I almost jumped up with joy. I grabbed her cutting board and began to chop the herbs in very fine strips. I handed them to her she grinded them and placed them into specially labeled containers. As we worked, she was teaching me about the different herbal teas and the various illnesses they treat.
"Ester, would any of these herbal teas help with moodiness?" I asked.
She sighed regretfully and said, "Is this for your sister?"
"Yes" I answered. "Lately, she has been very upset and everything I do makes her even more sad."
Ester looked at my hair and then said "Maybe if you bring her some flowers and talk to her about what's going on then you could cheer her up."
I gave Ester a kiss on the cheek and ran out the door to go find some flowers for my sister. I picked a hand full of forest flowers and as I was arranging them and walking back, I found a bush full of wild berries.
From Ester's teachings, I knew that they were edible, so I picked a few and placed them in my pocket.
As I began to sprint home, I collided with something hard and we both tumbled down the small incline. I lost hold of the flowers trying to protect my body from the rough roll down the slope.
