~ Chapter One ~

“Did you hear, there are bandits in Eden’s Forest,” I say.
Mother continues to her work. Mixing potions is not an easy task for someone not blessed by the spirits. She has to focus all her energy into the job. Even though I have offered to make the supplies of potions we sale, she refuses my off and insists that we rotate chores. It doesn’t make sense to me, for I can make ten times the amount she can make in a single hour.
The spirits blessed my father. He could travel through the shadows and darkness was his ally. We don’t speak about him much if people found out he could manipulate shadows they would come for us. He left us long ago. I believe I was four when he went away. Since he left us, we scrape by mixing and selling potions. Our business does okay. We make enough stock to live comfortably; with a roof over our heads and food in our stomachs. Now and then we can afford a new dress or coat.
“Don’t worry about the bandits, just stay away from the forest,” she says.
Easier said than done. Recently, I have become aware of the night around me. I find myself wanting to be out at night and learning more about my strange powers. Powers my father likely had and should be teaching me how to use. Abilities that allow me levitation, night vision, and visions of the future. The forest calls to me, promising to tell me all the secrets I want to know about myself and more.
Mother picks up a towel and pats her head dry. She looks over at me.
“Lilica,” she says. “You won’t go near the forest will you.”
“N-no,” I say. “Not without out you, we have to gather the luminescence blue moss for the potions tomorrow. Under the full moon.”
She sighs and shakes her head, “I forgot about that…you stay here. I’ll get it myself.”
Now I frown, “you want to go out there by yourself, what if the dragon man comes to get you or you run into the bandits.”
“I’ll hire some of the young men in the town to come with me,” she says. “That will set us back, but I’ll trade you some potion days so we can make it back up.”
“Why don’t you want me coming with you?” I ask.
She begins labeling the bottles of potions she created. Her back is to me. Her long curly black hair bounces as she transfers the containers to the crates.
“You’re my daughter. I don’t want you out there with bandits walking about,” she says. “I was once a champion sword fighter you know.”
“I wish you would teach me,” I mumble.
“You don’t have to learn those skills, and you’re going to live a normal life,” she says. “Normal. You’ll marry a merchant’s sons. Start a small shipping business. You will give me at least three grandchildren.”
She looks back at me, smiling. Her coca brown skin flawless, it is hard to believe she is in her forties.
“Stop thinking about my future,” I say. “I won’t meet any good man around here. We would need to move to the city.”
She takes the crate and places on our wagon — the little bottle clink against each other before settling in their new spot.
“Don’t start that again,” Mother says. “We are not moving to a big city. We would have to compete with other more experienced mixers, and we don’t have established business relations there.”
She is right, and I hate it. The only thing this town offers is an early grave — cause of death boredom or demon attack. The capital offers a school for individuals blessed by the spirits. There is also one for the individuals who aren’t blessed but yearn to become scholars. There are far more opportunities in the capital. I long to travel there and set up shop. If we do well, I could be in school before I’m seventeen. It wouldn’t matter which school, I want to learn.
“We can talk about this later, but you will not be going into the woods,” Mother says. “That is final.”
I huff and put down my needlework. My stitching is uneven. I will have to start over tomorrow if I want to make a shirt that will fetch a reasonable price.