Elsa stumbled back into a counter, the rough wood of a counter bit into her hand as she caught herself to keep from falling to the floor. Bulda, an elderly healer, rushed forwards in an attempt to assist her, but stopped just shy of touching her. She quickly retracted her hand from the woman's space and stepped back.
"It's getting more frequent... " The healer commented, her voice morbid.
"I'm fine." Elsa replied in a clipped tone, brushing her off "The tonic, please."
The elder woman gave a disapproving sigh before moving past the blonde, to where a strange assortment of liquids sat in different containers by wood stove. As the elder woman worked, Elsa let her blue eyes roam the store; as they usually did when she visited. Shelves lined the two walls of the room, filled with dusty bottles of who-knows-what. Candles, books, and a strange collection of insects took up space on a small table in the corner and the counter was full of a surprising, and mildly disturbing, amount of unidentifiable body parts, seeming to come from some sort of zombied creature. Small pots, crates, crystals, and barrels of interesting and unidentifiable things took up the rest of the space, and a hidden door led to a tiny back room. Bulda moved quickly, combining different types of the liquids together and adding nauseating ingredients to the cauldron. It reacted angrily each time she dropped something into the liquid, and Elsa eventually had to look away.
A few moments later, the woman was done and moved back towards the girl holding a cup full of dark brown sludge in her outstretched arm. Elsa felt a familiar twist in her gut at the sight of it; fear. However, that did not stop her from taking the cup and quickly downing it. The drink was bitter tasting, like battery acid, and it burned all the way down her throat. She retched and willed herself not to completely throw it up, knowing the taste was worth what it gave her; life.
The girl grimaced as she gave the empty cup back to the woman, who tossed it immediately into the fire, and leaned over the counter, breathing heavily as the mixture started taking effect. After a few minutes, her stomach settled and she straightened her back, smoothing her blouse. A voice broke the silence.
"You need to tell her." Bulda started, but was soon cut off by the blonde.
"No." She stated, finality in her tone. "She doesn't need to know, it would only upset her."
She moved to head towards the door, but was blocked by the short and sturdy woman.
"She needs to prepare. The tonic is working less and less each day." She insisted. "Sooner or later it's not going to work anymore. Then where will she be?"
"Anna will be- Anna!" She startled, jumping slightly as her sister popped into the shop.
"Hey, I've been looking all over for you! C'mon, I wanna show you something!" She said, moving to grab her sister's arm as she came into the shop.
Anna's hand closed around thin air, causing her to look back with confusion and up at her sister. Elsa cleared her throat and side-stepped around her sister, her gaze anywhere but her sister's face.
"I don't have time, Anna." She said, moving to the door then stopped. "How much longer, Bulda?"
"Three months." She replied,
Anna stood there, confusion on her face at their exchange, but before she could question her sister, she was gone. She stared at the closed door, willing her sister to come back. Suddenly a warm feeling spread on her shoulder and she turned to see that Bulda had put her hand on her. She gave the woman a small smile and turned back towards the door, wanting to feel something but winding up not feeling anything at all; just an empty feeling in her heart.
"Your sister means well… just give her time." Bulda said gently, leading the girl towards the door.
She nodded quietly before continuing out the door and onto the dirt road. Looking left, she could see the Runners and a few guards returning, as the sun was beginning to set, and to the right she could just make out her sister's silver-blonde head bobbing through the crowd. With a sigh she dropped her gaze to the ground before turning and heading back to their home.