THE FLOWER CHILDREN

Chapter 4

WYLLA had, indeed, stolen a bottle of her father's wine.

Asmeen hadn't expected her to actually do it, and she didn't think Elyn had either, but nevertheless when they came up from dinner, Wylla pulled out a large glass bottle from inside their cupboard.

Asmeen only stared, wide-eyed, as Wylla pulled out two cups—thankfully, not made of glass.

"Elyn already said she won't take part, so this is for us," Wylla said, looking quite smug.

"I'm quite thankful for that," Elyn said, laying down. Still, she kept her eyes open.

"Are you serious, Wylla?" Asmeen asked. "Won't they find out?"

Wylla rolled her eyes. "Haven't you seen how many bottles they have in the cellar? They won't notice a thing. If they do, I'll say I accidentally broke one."

"A weak excuse," Elyn muttered.

Wylla shot her a glare. "Besides, we deserve it, after today."

Asmeen sighed. Dinner had been...complicated. Obviously, their fathers had been proud, but—well, dinner had involved less congratulations and more a thorough dissecting of why they hadn't made it in years past. For her, it was a simple lack of skill. For the twins, it was a series of misfortunes—illness, injury, and, of course, that lack of skill that seemed to run through their blood.

All in all, Asmeen found that she wasn't as averse to the idea of drinking from a pilfered bottle as she might have been on another day.

Elyn rolled her eyes. "Just keep it down. Tomorrow will be even worse than today, most likely."

"Why are you always so dark, El?" Wylla asked, sighing. "Leave tomorrow in tomorrow. Right now, I am going to focus on this." She held up the bottle in front of the window, moonlight making it look like blood.

"Just don't overdo it," Elyn advised. "It won't do well to show up tomorrow with a headache."

"Of course not." Wylla scoffed, pulling out the cork with a soft pop. "It's not the first time I've drunk, of course. I can handle it."

There was a short silence.

"What?" Wylla asked, looking at them wide-eyed. "Didn't I tell you?"

"You did not," Elyn said, her lips pursed.

"When?" Asmeen asked. How had Wylla gotten wine? That she would drink it, Asmeen had no doubt, but she lived with Wylla. She would've noticed if Wylla had snuck something in.

Wylla just shrugged, looking unrepentant. "With friends, once. I didn't drink too much."

Elyn blew out a long breath and pulled the blanket over herself, turning onto her side, her back to them. "Good night," she said decisively.

"Goodnight," Asmeen said, shaking her head. Who would have thought that of Wylla? She was a bit of a rule breaker, but she'd never gone that far. More amazing was the fact that she hadn't told them. Not even Elyn.

"Don't hog the blanket!" Wylla called to Elyn. Then she turned to Asmeen, holding up the bottle. "Ready?"

Asmeen bit her lip.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm your elder sister, I'll take care of you," Wylla said. When Asmeen didn't respond, her face softened. "You don't have to if you don't want to. I can go and get some of the apple cider from downstairs. I mean it."

Asmeen pondered over it. She'd been ready to before, but the more time passed, the more she felt unsure. How disappointed, how angry would her father be if he found out? They'd be in such big trouble.