Later on that week, after it had been confirmed that Thera was completely recovered, and not contagious, Laura came to visit, a basket under her arm.

As soon as Laura entered the room, she rushed to Thera and gave her a big, long hug.

“Thank God, you’re back among the living!” She cried.

Thera awkwardly patted her on the back. “It’s good to be back…I think.”

Laura laughed, and drew back, looking at Thera. “You know, I thought you’d look deathly pale by now, and you’d be so thin that your ribs would show through your dress. But here you are, looking the very picture of health!”

Thera showed herself. “Well, here I am? Why’d you think it was something like that?”

“Well, that’s what they all look like, after catching the sickness. It wastes them away to little more than skin and bones. Most die because they can’t eat anything for two whole weeks. Are you sure you were sick not five days ago?”

Are you sure you’re just a six year old? You shouldn’t even want to know things like that right now! Thera thought.

“Why don’t you just ask your doctor, then? He’s the one that examined me.” Thera replied.

“Yes, but I’ve already heard it from him. That’s how I knew what to expect.” Laura said impatiently.

“Really? Then why don’t you tell me what happened instead? I feel the only one left out of the loop.” Thera asked. She didn’t recall any of it, and the mother and the maids scarcely told her much of what happened while she was ill. Laura launched into a dramatic narrative.

The doctor didn’t even need to examine Thera. Once he saw the symptoms and heard that healing magic didn’t work on it, he pronounced that Thera had come down with a mortal case of Hades fever.

Mother had all but thrown him out of the house in grief, where he betook himself to retreat to the Murlough Estate and give warning.

Knowing how long it takes for the illness to show up, Mrs. Murlough knew that Thera had caught it on their estate, and the whole place, top to bottom, was examined with magic lenses built to catch traces of such things.

“It was surely quite suspenseful!” Laura added. “A whole army of magic sweepers came in, looking at things with their magic lenses. Really, it was quite exciting!” Thera had a different idea of what Laura called ‘exciting’.

The culprit was eventually found: the cake fork which Thera had used. A pair of gloves and a vial in the garbage also turned up positive for the stuff. After a fuller investigation, it was apparent that Laura had been the main target.

When Thera had gone to eat the cake, she had accidentally taken the fork from Laura’s place setting, only later discovering her own and making the switch. If Laura had used that fork, she would most positively be dead right now, no question.

So, you could say that Thera’s misfortune ended up being fortunate after all. Her blunder had saved the life of the Murlough Estate young lady.

But, in the end, who could want to have Laura catch a near-mortal illness? This was currently under secret investigation, but it seemed like there were no ready answers so far.

 “Now why aren’t you skinny as a twig right now?” Laura asked,interestedly.

Thera laughed. “Why, because I became a pig~! Only for a short term, though.” And she told Laura all that happened, minus the part where she used meditation to absorb the food as energy.

“I get the feeling there’s something you’re not telling me…but it seems to be the case. Your maid, Martha was telling us in the hallway just now about the pantry thief.”

Then, why did you want to ask me about it!? Thera wanted to tsukkomi. But she didn’t. She sipped at her tea and replied, “Oh yes. It’s such a dreadful business, what with starving people and looking for food thieves.”

Laura giggled. “I didn’t know you were funny! Just think how much fun we’re going to have today! What is that big dome in the garden for, by the way? We saw it from the drive. It’s most impressive! Is it perhaps, for your mother to practice magic inside of?”

Thera smiled, wryly. “No.”

“Then, is it some sort of fancy domed off garden, or maze?” (Laura)

“Nope.” (Thera)

“Is it a kind of living storehouse for rare and costly goods?”(Laura)

“Yet again, no. Stop asking. A surprise is meant to stay a surprise until it is time to surprise.” Thera tired of the impromptu guessing game, refused to answer.

“Oh bosh! You’ve no need to be all mysterious on me, come on! Tell me what it is…please!? I’m dying of curiosity!” Laura pleaded.

“Curiosity killed the cat.” Thera replied.

“I BEG your pardon!” Laura said, shocked, and drew her basket, kitten inside, close to herself.

“It’s a saying.” Thera explained. “It means that sometimes it’s better not to be so curious. You may not like what you find out.”

“Well, I think it’s a horrid saying! Don’t ever use it again!” Laura frowned. Thera just shrugged. It didn’t really matter to her either way.

Thera glanced at the basket, and fidgeted. “Did you bring Sarhan?” She asked, looking at the basket, pointedly.

Laura’s face took on a mystifying grin. “Hu hu hu! Wouldn’t you like to know?” Just then, Sarhan stuck her head out of the basket, and mewed, ruining Laura’s fabricated mystery.

“Oh, so you did bring her! Can I hold her again?” Thera begged.

“All right, but we must keep the door shut while she’s out of the basket. Look at this! She was playing with the feather the whole way up here, and was only quiet until now because she was taking a little nap, see? She often takes naps. I wonder if it’s because she’s still a kitten.”

Laura chatted as she placed the kitten on the bed, in Thera’s lap.

The kitten stared about the unfamiliar room, wide-eyed, and curious. It tried to peer at everything around Thera’s arms. Thera let it look, but didn’t let it leave her arms.

It was much larger than it had been the last time Thera had held it. While it had been a cute little fluff ball, earlier, now it was longer, sleeker, and just beginning to awaken its curious, roaming nature.

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Thera stroked Sarhan’s tiny pink nose with a finger, then tickled it behind the ear. It leaned into her hand. She petted Sarhan in the manner she remembered the cats in her previous life liked to be petted. By the time she was finished, Sarhan was purring with contentment.

“How did you do that?” Laura asked. “She usually doesn’t purr for me unless I play with her, or feed her milk.”

Thera smiled, a small troubled smile. “I was just petting her. How should I know?”

Just then, Jean came in and said that the tea was ready. Sarhan was once more placed inside her wicker basket. Then Jean led them to the tea.

Instead of the dining room, however, Jean led the two girls down the garden path to the bamboo play area.

Thera watched as Laura’s eyes grew wide with delight when Jean opened the doorway to get inside. Her face became bright with a huge grin as she looked upon the new tea set, furnished with small cakes, scones, and cucumber sandwiches.

The tea was in a magic teapot that kept the tea nice and hot, so that it would not cool until it was served.

Then her point of view broadened as she took in the swing, and the newest addition of a play structure for the kitten, complete with downy white chicken feathers, set up at intervals.

“It should be safe to let Sarhan roam about here.” Thera explained. “Mother has it magicked so that small animals can neither come in, nor go out except through the door.”

Laura immediately set the basket down on the grass, and unlatched the basket to let Sarhan out.

Sarhan jumped out of the basket, and immediately commenced to checking out every tiny blade of grass and flower in her vicinity.

Mother had also added a few catnip plants here and there, as was suggested by James, the gardener.

The two girls gravitated towards the tea, with its cakes, scones, and sandwiches. Thera poured the tea. 

“Cream? Sugar?” She asked.

“Both, please. And put an extra lump in it. I like my tea a bit sweeter than usual.”

Thera placed the desired amounts within the tea, and handed Laura her cup before pouring her own. Now, having settled down on a comfortable chair, with a cup of tea in her hands, Thera was free to muse by her-self in the nice atmosphere. There was a long pause as both the young girls sipped tea and enjoyed the breeze blowing through the bamboo walls.

“Laura, what do you want to be when you grow up?” She asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

Laura looked at Thera, mildly surprised. “Hmm? Well…I don’t really know what I want to be, yet. All I know is that I want to be strong: really strong.” She said, then took another sip of tea.

“Do you want to know my secret?” Thera asked. “The reason why I survived?” She was watching Laura’s face, studying her.

“Well, I sure am curious, all right, but if you aren’t willing to tell me, then I don’t want to hear a bit of it.” She replied, sincerely. “It could very well be that you aren’t allowed to tell your secret to anyone. Most of the other nobles all have their own secrets too. I want you to tell me when you’re sure you can trust me.”

Thera hesitated. She had no intention of revealing that she was from another world. But someone had tried to assassinate Laura. Chances were, most likely, that it would happen again. Thera didn’t want Laura to die. So she was contemplating telling Laura how to cultivate. Even a year ahead in cultivation would give her the edge that she needed to survive.

Thera sipped her tea for another minute, then placed her cup down on the tea table. “The truth is,” She said, “I’ve already begun cultivating.”

Laura stared, wide-eyed at Thera, nearly choking on her cake. “Already?!”

Thera nodded. “Yes. I think that perhaps it’s because I had cultivated enough that I survived the Hades fever.”

“Who taught you?! When? How? Will you teach me?!” Laura launched yet another barrage of questions at Thera, making her raise her arms in defense.

“I learned it from watching my dad.” She said. “Although he doesn’t know it yet. You’re the first person I’ve told this to, okay? So, please don’t mention it around mother or the servants.”

Laura nodded.

“As for teaching…” Thera said, “Why of course I’ll share. I don’t know how long it’ll take for you to understand it, but I’ll try my best!”

And so, Thera spent the next half an hour, trying to explain how to cultivate to a five year old girl in simple terms.

Laura frowned in concentration, her eyes squeezed shut. “Hmmm. I…think I see something! Say, does your energy look like a sparkly liquid?” She asked.

“Yep. That’s what it’s supposed to look like.” Thera replied. “Now, try to move it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time an hour had passed, Thera had started Laura down the path of cultivation. But, she cautioned Laura not to condense all of the energy into her bones, otherwise she would collapse for an hour or so, until she restored enough energy to move. But, extra foodstuffs like cake or sweets could be treated as extra energy.

Laura nodded, and promised to cultivate every day.

“Say, how long have you been doing this, actually?” She asked. You’re father’s been gone for four years, right? So, doesn’t that mean that you started all of this four years ago?”

Thera grinned. “Even if I saw what needed to be done, do you think I could so easily do such a thing as a baby? Babies don’t really know anything. But I’m not a baby anymore!”

“Oh.” Laura replied, chagrined. She had been trying to discreetly figure out where Thera’s level was. Thera had deftly sidelined the conversation again.

Laura pouted. “No fair! You’ve already got yourself a head start! As things stand, you already outrank me!”

Thera blinked. “It’s a good thing too, else I’d have died.”

Laura remembered that Thera had suffered the illness intended for her, and shivered. “That’s right! I’m glad you’re not dead, though. Life would be terribly dull without you, you know.”

Thera laughed. “Yes, I know.” She replied, a twinkle in her eyes.