The scent of fresh ink and soaked leather filled the air as Sophie worked, her tongue poking out in concentration.

‘Maybe that’s why he lets her stay,’ Helena thought - allowing a smidgeon of hope into her heart.

There was no denying that the girl was industrious. Talented, even.

There was a careful precision to everything she did. From the way she punctured perfectly aligned holes into sheets of paper - to meticulously smoothing down the leather as she glued it to boards. And all of that she did working in the dim light that came through the single window in the shops’ back room.

“Can you teach me?” Helena asked, hoping she didn’t sound as desperate as she felt.

“What, how to work a printing press and bind books? Why would you want to learn that?”

The younger girl busied herself with peeling dried glue off her fingers.

“It’s super boring, and you have to be super focused. Like, that’s the worst combination!” She said, then paused, taking stock of Helena’s injuries. Her expression turned serious.

“Are you even well enough? Elbert would kill me if he knew I let you out of bed. He would be even angrier if he knew I was making you do my chores for me,”

“I’m fine. And he doesn’t need to know, I won’t tell if you don’t,”

Helena had it all planned out.

She would learn how to print and bind books - even better than Sophie, and then when the time came and he decided she was well enough to leave - she would dazzle him with her knowledge. He would surely let her stay then, or at the very least hire her.

She knew she could do it. She had to do it. Opportunities like that never presented themselves twice.

“Ok, I guess. But you have to wear one of those first,”

Sophie crossed to the other side of the room and retrieved an old apron, which she dusted with her free hand. She then returned and gingerly slid it over Helena’s head.

“Lucky this doesn’t have sleeves,” She added as she tied it around Helena’s waist, being careful not to touch her injured arm. Her injured right arm.

She was going to have to be extra careful not to mess anything up.

“Ok! I think it’s best if you watch me first,”

Sophie took her through the whole process. She explained how the printing press worked, where to insert the paper, and how to switch up the letter stamps.

Then, while the paper they printed was drying, she moved on to the binding process. How to make glue from boiling animal bones, how to evenly cut the wooden boards that served as base for the covers. Despite insisting that the process was boring, she spoke every word with enthusiasm.

She even allowed Helena to jot everything down on a scrap of paper that didn’t pass Elbert’s quality inspection - pleasantly surprised that she knew how.

“I couldn’t read or write when I first started, Elbert taught me.” She said, then frowned.

“He’s a pain in the ass when he teaches though. Everything has to be perfect.”

She led Helena back to the massive wooden printing press, waiting patiently as Helena limped after her with the help of her crutches.

“Alright, your turn”

‘I can do this.’ Helena repeated the words like a mantra in her head. ‘I can do this.’

Even though she had a decent idea of how the thing worked now, the sight was still intimidating. There were so many moving parts, and each letter stamp had to be placed just right or the entire page would have to be discarded. The words ‘Everything has to be perfect’ rang through her mind.

She took a deep breath and glanced at her reference - an already printed page of the book she was going to be working on. She picked up her first letter stamp.

Her hand shook.

“Want me to show you how to slot it in again?” Sophie asked, eyebrows creased in concern.

Helena nodded, and the younger girl took the stamp from her and repeated the process.

“Like that. Don’t worry, I’m not Elbert. I wasn’t born with a stick up my ass,”

If the nuns at the orphanage had ever heard Helena speaking in such a manner, she wouldn’t have been allowed to leave her room for weeks. They weren’t here though, so she allowed herself a quiet giggle.

“Doesn’t Elbert mind when you talk like this?”

“He minds.” Sophie replied, but didn’t elaborate.

Helena picked up the next letter stamp, her hand steady.

They worked in tandem for a while, Sophie correcting her mistakes and stepping in to help with any action that required the use of a second hand. It was the most pleasant afternoon that Helena had spent in - probably ever, if she was honest with herself.

“You’re a really good teacher,” She told Sophie as she was locking up, struggling with the heavy iron padlock on the back door.

She wanted to say much more than that, but the words were stuck in her throat.

“I know,”

It didn’t feel like her gratitude was properly conveyed, so Helena laid her hand on her shoulder.

“You’re a really good teacher,”

“I know,” Sophie repeated.

Xxx

Elbert inspected Helena’s leg for signs of inflammation or misalignment. All in all, it seemed like it was healing well. He gently pressed along the length of the leg.

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“Pain level?” He asked, raising his eyes to meet his patients’.

The girl’s expression changed from slight discomfort to exaggerated hurt in seconds.

“Nine out of Ten,” She said, scrunching up her face.

He raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t appreciate being lied to,”

Back on the field, soldiers only ever lied about health related issues to avoid their duties. Helena had no duties other than staying put until she was healed, and she didn’t seem the type to manufacture drama for sympathy.

He observed her face for clues and was surprised to find sudden, full-blown panic.

“Hey, deep breaths. What’s the matter?” He asked.

She didn’t reply, but her sharp, uneven breathing told him all he needed to know. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“I need you to do something for me,” he said, meeting her eyes. “Can you tell me five things you can see in the room?”

He could tell his words confused her, but still she did as he asked. Her pupils dilated as she surveyed her surroundings, her breaths coming in quick, shallow bursts.

“You,”

“Yes,” He smiled. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. What else?”

She took a deep breath, her eyes darting to the wooden table near the window. “Table,” she whispered, her voice gaining a bit of strength.

“Good. What else?”

Her eyes moved to the old wooden chair by the table, then to the embroidered pillow on the couch. “Chair, pillow,”

“Excellent,” he said. “One more.”

She looked at his old blade, mounted on the wall. Her heart rate must’ve slowed down enough, because her eyes had a glint of curiosity in them.

“Sword,” She said, but it sounded more like a question as her eyes flitted from it and back to him.

Elbert tried not to feel hurt that the thought of him wielding a sword seemed shocking to a teenage girl. Then again, he had lost a lot of muscle over the years - something his old comrades never failed to point out whenever he risked meeting with them.

“Good, you’re doing very well,” He said, trying to keep the bitterness from his voice.

His praise, he noticed - seemed to work even better than the exercise. ‘Ah,’ he thought, ‘That’s what caused it.’

“I’m ok,” Helena said after a long moment.

She put a hand to her chest, feeling her own heartbeat. Elbert allowed her to calm down fully before giving her a cup of water. She gulped it down in seconds.

“You know,” he started, thinking of how to phrase his next sentence. The last thing he wanted to do was send her spirling into another panic attack.

“Sophie lies too sometimes,” He met her gaze. “And while I don’t appreciate or encourage it, I don’t think it makes her a bad person.”

Helena looked at him incredulously.

“Do you think it makes her a bad person?”

“Lies are from the devil,” Her words seemed to have come out on instinct.

Elbert sighed. He knew exactly who taught her that.

“What does that mean, exactly - from the devil?”

“To speak untruth is to dance with the devil in the shadows of sin.” She answered without pause.

Elbert’s heard that one before.

“Try again.” He insisted.

“A lie is the devil’s snare, ensnaring the soul and leading it to eternal darkness?”

When he shook his head her face fell.

‘That might be a good sign.’ He thought to himself. ‘She doesn’t want to disappoint me, but it doesn’t seem like she truly believes in this nonsense.’

“I’m back!” Sophie’s voice rang from the foyer, cutting their conversation short.

She made her way over to them, balancing a variety of different potted plants. When Elbert’s eyes caught the bright yellows of the dandelions his mood immediately improved.

Most of his garden consisted of herbs for medicinal uses, but dandelions had a special place in his heart.

“Here, let me take these off you,” he said, rising from his seat.

Xxx

Elbert poured a bucket of water over the headstone and took a step back.It gleamed in the afternoon sun, standing out from the rest. ‘Just like she did,’ he thought. Kneeling, he arranged the dandelions on the grave.

“I’m sorry, my love. The past few weeks I have been so busy, I didn’t find the time to come and see you,”

Talking to her grave always helped ease his longing. Despite the years that had passed, part of him refused to let go. He spent the next few minutes with his eyes closed, sharing recent events as if she could hear him. An unexpectedly warm gust of wind tickled the back of his neck, and he imagined it was her gentle touch.

A sudden rustle from behind him brought him back to reality. He opened his eyes.

The sound wasn’t loud, but it was distinct. He got back on his feet and dusted off his trousers.

“Can I help you?” He asked.

A surprised gasp came from the bushes behind him. Then a feminine grunt as his not-so-stealthy observer got herself tangled up in some vines.

“Sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to - that is, I only wanted,”

When he turned to take a proper look at the girl he realized he’d seen her before. ‘From the orphanage. What is she doing following me?’

The girl glanced cautiously around, her dirty hair staining her cheeks with mud. When she deemed it safe enough, she took a few more steps towards him.

“Do you know a girl called Helena?” She whispered.

Elbert kept his expression neutral. “Is she your friend?”

“Her friend? Yes, uh, of course. I’m her friend. Can you tell me where she is?”

She nervously scratched a spot on her wrist, peeling off a thin layer of skin.

“Did the nuns send you?”

He tried to keep his tone non-accusatory - he didn’t want her to run off. The girl didn’t seem to find the question alarming, however.

“No. I’m here because I’m her friend, of course. I just want to see how she’s doing,”

“Oh, well in this case I can tell you she’s fine. No need to worry,”

He watched desperation spread across her face as he turned to walk away.

“Wait!” She grabbed the edge of his sleeve. “Won’t you let me see her?”

‘It doesn’t seem like she was sent by the nuns, but she’s clearly not Helena’s friend.’

Elbert studied the girl’s face more closely. He might have misjudged her age at the orphanage. Despite her bony figure, her face still had a bit of chubbiness. ‘Maybe six, seven years old?’

“Well, I’m sure Helena would be happy to have a friend over,” The girl’s shoulders relaxed a little. “Follow me, I’ll take you to see her,”

He led the way through the large metal gates marking the entrance to the cemetery, with the girl trailing a few feet behind. She was jumpy, her wide eyes darting around nervously. The vine-covered gravestones seemed to make her nervous.

“What’s your name?” He asked.

“Clover,”

“I see. How did you end up an orphan, Clover?”

Clover’s eyes were glued to the path leading back inside the cemetery. “Dad didn’t return from an expedition, and Mommy,”

She paused, her hand subconsciously rubbing her stomach. ‘Died at childbirth, maybe?’

“How close is your house?” She asked, changing the topic.

“Only a couple of minutes away,”

He never admitted it to anyone, but proximity to the cemetery played a major role in choosing the land he’d built his home on.

They were at his front door before long, and Clover peeked curiously through an open window at his side. He turned the handle.

Sophie was busy transferring another dose of Yinroot into a syringe, but she turned to face them when she heard the door creak open.

“One of Helena’s friends is here to see her. Would you let her know?”

Clover hesitantly stepped over the threshold, making a concentrated effort to avoid Sophie’s gaze.

“Sure,” Sophie replied.

Xxx

Helena was memorizing the steps to making binding glue when Sophie burst through the door and shut it behind her.

“Elbert says a friend is here to see you,”

The ingredients Helena was repeating in her mind instantly disappeared.

“I don’t have friends. Is it a boy?”

She tried to suppress her panic, but some of it must’ve shown through because Sophie was quick to shake her head.

“A girl. She’s coming up the steps now. Do you want me to-”

Before Sophie could finish her sentence, three steady knocks came from the door.

“May we come in?” Elbert asked.

Sophie gave Helena an uncertain look, as if asking whether she should send them away. ‘Whoever it is, I can’t just say no. It’s his house, I’m just a guest here’.

Still, the gesture gave her a bit of courage. For a moment, she didn’t feel like she was alone.

“Yes,” She said.

The door opened to reveal Elbert and a young girl she couldn’t quite place. She had familiar features, so she must’ve been from the orphanage. ‘Why is she here?’

“Who-” She started, but the young girl’s eyes widened with fear, so Helena replaced the rest of the sentence. “Who told you I was staying here?”

The girl gave her a grateful look and flicked her eyes between Elbert and Sophie.

“Can I tell you in private?”

Sophie looked like she wanted to protest, but Elbert placed a firm hand on her shoulder and smiled reassuringly.

“Of course, we’ll let you guys catch up,” He led Sophie out of the door.

Helena turned around in her bed to face her visitor properly.

“I have a message from your father,”