“I'm going to head this way now,” I point towards the market and Melodiana looks down the street as well.

“Will you be fine on your own?” she looks back at the bandage peeking under my hood and I nod.

“I'm just going to have a chat,” I reassure her, “Let the others know I'll be back later.”

“Alright,” she nods after a second and turns to head home and I stare down the street with a sigh.

“Lets go get this over with,” I pull the letter out of my pack, wrap back up, and start to hunt for the address.

I find it on one of the side streets and I glance around the area but don't find anything out of the ordinary.

“Even if it isn't the main street it is at least a clean looking one,” Shiva comments on the area and I nod my head.

“Just enough out of the way to avoid the main crowd, but close enough to not be a long trip out of the way to visit,” I spot another side alley that should offer a quick escape deeper into the district and I make sure to remember it.

As much as I doubt she will actually do anything to me it doesn't hurt to have a plan at the ready.

The storefront is mostly thick looking glass with a large dark wood door in the center of the building. The wooden sign above the door reads Thistle Do and I ignore Shiva's chuckle.

I pause in front of the door for a moment, take a breath, and push the door open. The bell above me jingles to announce my arrival, and the scent of damp earth and flowers chases the heat out of the door. There are more large windows set in the ceiling to let in even more sunlight into the storefront.

Sariel peeks her head around a shelf full of decorative flowers as I step in and shut the door behind me. “Ah there you are,” she smiles and tilts her head causing her brown ponytail to fall over her shoulder.

Now that my first instinct isn't panic I take a moment to properly examine her Elf like features, and there isn't even the slightest hint of decay to be found on her face. Her green eyes look full of life, her hair has a healthy shine, and her skin looks smooth and tight. Well maybe her cheeks are ever so slightly sunken, and a bit pale. That could be easily explained away though, and covered up even more easily.

“If I recall,” Shiva sighs, “The vessel already looked like that.”

“Likely a result from having been locked in that cell,” I shake my head, “Here I am.”

“Kaede,” She turns her head and calls back into the store, “Lily is here.”

It sounds like someone hops down onto the floor before they run in this direction and a second later the little girl rounds the corner at full speed and she rushes over to me. “It's the pretty lady,” she looks up at me with a big smile as she comes to a halt right in front of me.

“Hello Kaede,” I kneel slightly in front of her.

“The pretty lady has a name,” Sariel sighs with a slight chuckle.

“Um,” Kaede nods, reaches up, and takes my hand in hers, “Come look at the flowers I've grown.”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Alright,” I nod and she pulls me farther into the store.

“Mama grew all of these,” She points at all of the pots in the store excitedly.

“Is that so?” I hum.

“Yep,” she puts both of hands in the air, “Mama's amazing.”

“That's good,” I nod at her and she smiles again before continuing her tiny trek.

We go through a door in the back of the store, and towards another window with a few planter boxes, full of pink flowers, set up in front of it. Kaede pulls me over and squats down in front of the peonies and points at them.

“These are the ones I grew,” she looks back up to me expectantly, and I kneel next to her and nod my head.

“They are very pretty,” I praise them and she smiles as I reach out and brush a flower with my finger, “and they look like they are growing healthy. You must have worked hard.”

“I wake up and water them everyday, but not too much,” she shakes her head, “Because that can hurt them.”

“That's right.”

“And I help Papa make the shell water.”

“Do you?” I don't know what shell water is but I nod along with her as she starts pointing out the different flowers and telling me their names.

“Oh Kaede,” Sariel speaks up and I look over my shoulder at her. Her husband is standing next to her as well and he nods his head at me and I return the gesture, “Papa is home.”

“Papa,” Kaede jumps up and runs at him before throwing herself into him. He catches her and lifts her up in a smooth motion.

“Hello baby,” he laughs and hugs her, “Did you get to show her your flowers?”

“Yesh,” she squeals with a laughs as he tosses her slightly into the air.

“How nice,” he laughs, “Why don't we go play and let Mama and Lily have their chat.”

“Kay,” she nods, looks back over her shoulder, and waves at me, “Bye for now pretty lady, come back again.”

I wave back at her and watch her papa carry her away.

“I wont let you have him even if you stare,” Sariel laughs and beckons me to follow her.

“I didn't want him,” I bark at her before calming myself down, “Watching fathers with their children is somewhat interesting.”

“Oh,” She looks over her shoulder and leads me into a side room that has two couches facing each other over a table.

The table has a tray with some pastries and a tea kettle already on it. Sariel takes a seat and starts to pour the tea so I take a seat opposite from her and take a look around the room. Their are a few paintings on the walls, and a big woven rug is stretched across the expose brick at the back of the room.

She pushes a small plate with a cup and pastry on it towards me before leaning back with her own. I take a sip from the cup and lean back as well. The cushion is soft and comfortable, and the tea is a good quality as well but it has a bit of a sharp aftertaste.

She takes a sip from her own cup and looks across the room at me, “You look much better than when we separated from one another.”

“Eight years is a long time to recover,” I shrug.

“That's true,” she tilts her cup to her lips again.

“So Kaede sells flowers on the street?”

“She wanted to help us,” she smiles gently, “And she is only allowed on that small section of the street every couple of days. My darling works there as an assistant. Also everyone knows us and keeps an eye on her while she is out.”

“Is that so?”

“You can't keep circling around like this forever,” Shiva cuts in and I purse my lips.

“Are you sure?” I reach for the pastry and nibble at it, “I'd rather just keep doing this.” The pastry is a bit bland but it does offset the tea nicely.

“Do you think she'll just let us leave without saying what she wants to?” She sounds tired as she complains.

“Probably not,” I sigh and I settle my gaze on the being across the table.