THE FLOWER CHILDREN

Chapter 23

SHE turned back to Kinal. "I'm sorry to disturb you—"

"Not at all," Kinal said easily, nodding at her. "One of the reasons we are here is to help the trainees, and to tell them about our life. It helps you make a decision, after all."

"Right," Asmeen said, twisting her lips together. That made sense. "Well, thank you for helping me."

"Of course," Kinal said politely. "Now, do you mind if I ask you a question first?"

"Not at all," Asmeen said, looking at him and waiting.

"Why do you want to join the Flower Children?"

Asmeen bit her lip. "My mother was one. Well—she was the leader, in fact." Kinal arched an interested eyebrow, but other than that he said nothing. Asmeen flushed slightly, remembering what Aven had said. "And, I mean, my father does want me to get in, and I don't want to disappoint him, but I want to make it as well. I've worked for it for the past five years."

Kinal nodded, not showing any judgement. "That's perfectly alright. We have many people whose parents were once part of the Flower Children. So, what do you want to know?"

Asmeen twisted her fingers together. "I—just, like, what do you do? What is it like?"

If Kinal was annoyed by her incredibly vague question, he didn't show it. "It's a routine, really, but it's fun. We all live in the same place, so everyone gets up at the same time and goes to work. Basically, if you join, the Flower Children will become like family."

"So—do you have to live with all the others?" Asmeen asked.

Kinal pursed her lips, tilting his head to the side. "Well, no, not if you live nearby. Some of us who's homes are very close live there and come to work from there."

"And—there's no rule against, say, courting? Or marriage?"

Kinal shook his head. "It's all allowed, but generally, when a Flower Child gets married, they'll want to quit, as we have a full day of work, and it's quite hard to maintain a good relationship if you're away from your partner all the time. Especially in marriage, you know."

Asmeen nodded. She did know, indeed. "So, what is the work you do?"

Kinal's eyes seemed to light up as he gazed into the distance thoughtfully. "Generally, we wake up and do a ritual for Bjóll. And after that, work varies for the day. Sometimes—quite of ten, actually, we make potions for the infirmary, as they are always in need of new medicine. We're also in charge of just cleaning the town, hearing complaints and solving them, things like that. "

"So—you don't get tired, or anything, doing the same thing every day?" Asmeen asked carefully.

Kinal, to his credit, didn't look offended. "Of course doing the same thing does become a bit monotonous at times, but Dara always keeps things light. She organizes activities like this ball, and other Flower Children nights, so that there's a bit of change."

Asmeen nodded slowly. She couldn't imagine Dara Segast being fun, but perhaps Dara had to maintain a certain image in front of the trainees, being a leader and all.

"And of course, if things get too bad, you can always leave," Kinal said lightly. "It's not a big deal. We all understand that once it's time to move on, moving on is the best choice."

"When someone leaves—what will they do then?" Asmeen asked.

Kinal's eyebrows furrowed as he thought. "Well—there are certain provisions in place. Trading, tutoring, and you can always get a place at the infirmary. Dara helps you with all that. It's not really something I've thought about much, to be honest."