"I just want to look," Addison said, managing to keep her tone almost neutral. She could hear the bite behind her words, despite the statement being sincere. Almost. She wanted to touch one or two as well. She would love to have the chance to buy or play.

But she patted her pants and realized she had no bag. She had no money. With a sigh, she knew that her time away from the witch was limited, as she would eventually need shelter and food, and materials. She would need a base of operations to hunt.

Or find some other way to handle things.

Lori had shaken her head and walked away from the counter — off to unpack or plant or do whatever it was an herbalist did when they weren't behind the counter. Addison had no idea. She had never asked — she didn't have that kind of relationship with anyone in the village.

Having the hesitant permission to be inside the shop, she ventured further inside, moving towards the far corner. Jars of herbs and clay pots lined the majority of the walls; all three had some except the counter, which had boxes behind it. Her destination, however, was the only place with a color that wasn't green, brown, or black. There was a small table with pots of flowers on top.

Addison didn't know much about natural plants. She knew names of the herbs Mathilda needed, and most of them she hadn't bought fresh or even seen live except for the one trip during her last stint on Earth. The pots of violet and pink flowers drew her attention and focus so strongly she forgot herself and reach out to slide a finger along some of the petals. A single one fell off and floated to the ground.

Air coming from somewhere moved it back and forth, lifting it once before settling down onto the floor. She bent over and picked it up and set it in the palm of one hand. The petal was silky — velvety — so bright in color her lips pulled outward.

She didn't spend nearly enough time just… looking at things.

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Even in the fairy realm, where bright colors spread in every direction, she didn't spend time just looking. There had always been more errands transporting waiting around the corner. The Queen acted the best of them all, but humans under her care were intelligent laborers, especially as they got older. Addison wondered briefly, as she turned the petal over in her hand, why the Queen would find a way to let her go.

She'd have to find someone new, wouldn't she? Some new deal for some new child.

"So?"

The voice startled her and interrupted her thoughts. Her hands formed fists, crushing the petal and catching it inside.

Lori was back at the counter, staring in Addison's direction.

"So?"

"Find what you were looking for?" Lori asked. She reached behind her, and a scraping sound filled the spaces between the jars and plants before she sat down on what was assumably a wooden stool.

"Not really looking for anything in particular." Addison glanced at the flower pots before taking a step away from them.

"Coming into the herbalist for the sights?"

Addison let out a chuckle, knowing the image she must be giving off. She could only imagine how strange she appeared to the villagers, even though she hadn't given it much thought before that day. "You had the live plant last time."

"I have more now," Lori said and gestured at the flower pots. "Branching Out."

Addison walked up to the counter, realizing the flower petal was still pressed in one hand once she stood in front of the wooden block. She hovered her fist over long enough for the violet ball to float down between the two women.

"Is this you not breaking or stealing things?" Lori asked and raised an eyebrow. She looked down at the petal and then back up to make eye contact.

Addison's heart beat faster. She looked down at the innocent, now dying, petal, and then back up, wondering what ruckus the store owner might cause. If she got into deep enough trouble in the village, she wouldn't be able to run errands for Mathilda. If she wasn't as useful, would she be set free, or would she somehow be called to another task — another clause of the contract that her mother had made with her guardians.

Would she be homeless or just made to be live in worse hell while she was there?

Would it matter, now that she was on a mission to free herself entirely of all the realm hopping and restrictions of her life?

Would she really need to find out over a single petal? All of her new resolve crumbled as she looked at Lori in the face, suddenly feeling like a small child caught lying. "I didn't… it's not —"

Lori smiled and sunk a little in her stool, her posture relaxing. "I'm kidding, girl."