Hello everyone! Thank you so much for commenting on my fanfic. You can't imagine how happy it makes me that someone else is enjoying reading my story as much as I enjoy writing it! -Hitomi

Chapter Ten

Winter, Year One

The news of Madam Eda's death traveled quickly; flower arrangements and condolences were already being made long before Ms. Veronica officially announced the old woman's passing and Minori's subsequent inheritance of her land. A dark cloud was cast over each member of the usually cheery town, though no one took the news of her death worse than Fritz who, orphaned at a young age, was an unofficial adoptee of Madam Eda.

The inheritance was no consolation to Minori, who had made it a point to visit her mentor every morning. She trudged through three sad and guilt-ridden days before reminding herself that the little old lady would have wanted her to succeed, not mope. After all, on her deathbed she had bequeathed her land to Minori with the belief that the young woman would become a victorious and renowned farmer. Once Madam Eda's riverside memorial was built, Minori made a promise over it that she would make the lady proud.

Winter, however, was not a season of abundant harvests or working to exhaustion so Minori decidedly spent most of her time in Oak Tree Town. Now that the town was a well-known source of commerce, people of every age and occupation came from all over to buy, sell, and trade goods. The strangers tended to converge in the foyer of the Guild so Minori had taken to visiting Veronica's keep so that she could interact with the strange newcomers. When trade was slow or no vendors were in the market square, Minori liked to visit Marian, whom she had become very fond of.

Marian, she learned, held an interesting array of "philosophical" ideas that he liked to share and in Minori, he found a willing and patient listener. By proxy, Angela was usually privy to the conversations. Angela, Minori noticed, had two primary objectives in life: to worry over her mother's health and to keep Marian focused. Despite a tendency toward passive-aggressive behavior, the nurse had grown on Minori and she found that she actually liked Angela.

"Minori, darling, have I told you about my theory on lipstick shades for men?" The doctor asked as Minori entered his office. The morning had begun with a thick snowfall and, by the time Minori and Pinot trotted into town, the streets were deserted, the visitors having never made their usual trip into Oak Tree Town.

"No, you haven't," Minori replied, taking her usual seat directly across from the doctor.

"Well," Marian said, pulling a nail file from a nearby drawer, "there are only two acceptable shades of lip color for men and that depends all on the-"

"Excuse me, doctor. Don't you have patient files to go over?" Angela was standing at a bookshelf nearby and she turned to face the two, a heavy book in her hands.

"I am working with a file, Angela, my darling, "Marian held up his nail file and laughed loudly, his fuchsia colored lipstick painted in a perfect bow around his mouth.

Angela showed no signs of amusement. She slammed the book closed, the loud thwack! echoing in the small room. "That's perfectly fine, doctor. We don't have to accomplish anything today, I suppose." With the volume still in hand, she strode from the room, the door slamming behind her.

Minori winced at the sound of the door shutting and looked at Marian. "What was that about?"

The doctor shrugged, rolling his eyes and resuming his manicure. "Oh, I suppose I can tell you. You see, Angela wants to take over as Guild Master one day when her mother isn't able to work. Don't think for a second that she's organizing files all day or reading books about medical jargon. Oh no. She is secretly studying trade and accounting and all those other boring types of things."

"I had no idea Angela had such high ambitions…"

"Enough about Angela. I haven't finished telling you about my lipstick theories," Marian began, but a knock at the door made him pause. "Who is it?" he called.

Angela poked her head through the door and announced, "Wolffe-san is here. Shall I send him in?"

"Oh! yes, but Angela, be a darling and wait half a minute before you do. I have to preen, you know." As soon as Angela disappeared and the door shut, Marian stood, grabbing Minori's hand and pulling her to her feet. "A handsome knight approaches," he told her, pushing her toward the back of the room. Ignoring her protests, Marian directed her to sit on one of the infirmary beds. The beds, six in total, were separated from the main office area by two wide shelves filled with books and various colored glass bottles.

"Marian, I don't-"

"Shh!" Marian put a finger to his lips in a silencing motion. "I'm doing you a favor, honey," he said, the other hand on his hip. He winked. "So stay put and don't speak."

Minori remained seated, listening to the click, click sound of Marian's heels on the tiled floor as he returned to his desk. She waited, her hands folded in her lap. She then noticed a thin strip of yellow light on the floor in front of her feet. Following its origin, she saw that a narrow crack between between two boards on the back of one of the bookcases allowed her a slender view of the front of the office. She leaned forward, careful not to make the mattress springs squeak, and pressed her face to the crack. She could see the doctor, his back to her. He held a hand mirror and was fussing with his short, pink bob, pulling and pushing stray hairs back into place.

Knock, knock.

"Come in-n-n," Marian called in a singsong voice. Minori, still peering through the crack, looked toward the door.

Klaus entered, one hand in the pocket of his trousers, the other swinging loosely by his side. The visible hand, she noticed, was heavily bandaged.

"Uh oh," Marian said, rising from his chair and disappearing from Minori's pane of vision. When he reappeared he carried a small white box with a large red plus sign painted on the lid. From it, he pulled a bottle of iodine and a rag. "Sit, sit, darling. Now what did you do?" The perfumer took the chair that Minori had previously occupied and laid his large hand on the table. Marian lifted his friend's hand and carefully began to unwrap the bandage.

Marian hissed through his teeth at the sight of Klaus's knuckles and announced, "This is infected." He picked up the bottle of iodine and pointed it at Klaus. "Well? What did you do?"

Klaus's eyes were trained on the window pane, leery of meeting the doctor's. "Marian, I was thinking about my father and-"

"Let me stop you right there," Marian said, slamming the bottle of iodine down, which caused Minori to jump, the springs of the bed emitting a slight squeak. Klaus immediately turned his attention toward the sound but Marian grabbed the perfumer's chin, directing his friend's gaze back to himself. "That man had the spine of a sponge. He was a coward! I know what he did your mother and you and I, for one, won't-"

"Marian, please." Klaus laid his uninjured hand on Marian's thin shoulder and squeezed. "It's been twenty years. If I can forgive him, surely the same can be said of you?"

With a heavy sigh, Marian shut his eyes and tilted his head sideways, laying his cheek on top of Klaus's hand. "You're right. You're a wise, foolish, senile old man." He shrugged away Klaus's hand and stoppered the iodine bottle with a rag before turning it over. With the soaked rag, he began to clean the cuts across the back of the perfumer's knuckles, stopping occasionally to pluck small pieces of bark from the sound with a pair of thin, sharp tweezers.

Klaus smiled, his eyes fixed on the window behind his friend's head. "Careful of calling me old, my friend. I do recall you by my side on the day we graduated school."

"I'll cut your damn tongue out!" Marian shrieked. From his medical bag, he retrieved a small tube of numbing cream which he brandished at Klaus, like a knife. Klaus, without turning his head, looked at Marian, a smile playing over his lips. "You keep that to yourself," Marian continued. "You may not have a line on your face but this type of perfection requires a little more work." He turned the tube on himself, motioning to his heavily made-up face."

From her hiding spot, Minori had to suppress a giggle. Something about the camaraderie between the two men made her heart skip a beat. In particular, Klaus's lighthearted teasing and kind smile created an ache in her chest which she recognized as a desire for his attention.

From a slender kit inside the box, Marian produced a needle and thread. "Oh, darling, you're going to need stitches, and quite frankly after the age quip, I don't feel the least bit bad for you." With the numbing paste applied to his patient's skin, he threaded the thick needle. "Now, your little friend came by this morning," Marian commented offhandedly, his head bent over his work.

Though he made no verbal response, Minori saw the perfumer's eyebrow raise. With her breath bated, she waited to hear her name.

"Mmmhm. Your little friend, Minori." Through the crack in the bookcase, Minori could see the needle dipping up and down as the doctor skillfully sutured the cuts. "She's an absolute doll, you know."

Klaus rubbed his chin with his free hand, his golden eyes again fixed on something beyond the window pane. "Yes, she is a very talented young woman," he commented, appearing to be deep in thought. Several minutes passed in silence and Minori began to grow impatient. She was waiting for Marian to speak, to draw more details from his friend. The doctor, unbeknownst to Minori, could read his old friend like an open book; he knew Klaus had something on his mind, though as he'd learned in the past, prodding seemed to only make the perfumer quieter.

"I warned her about...about men like…" He cleared his throat, brows coming together in a frown. "About men like me."

Minori frowned, not understanding. What kind of man did Klaus used to be? She thought back to the warning he'd given her in the forest but could devine no clue as to his past. In all honesty, when she'd described the evening in her journal, she'd been much more focused on detailing the warmth of his body so near hers and the feeling of his teeth on her earlobe.

Marian was admiring his handiwork, intentionally taking no notice of Klaus's discomfort. "You mean, of course, men like you used to be," he corrected. The wound was again cleaned with the iodine soaked rag.

A self-deprecating smile spread across the perfumer's lips. Marian lifted his purple eyes, studying his friend through a fringe of long, mascara-coated eyelashes. "Listen, dear, you've punished yourself far more than has been necessary. You are a protector now, not a predator."

"If you could have been inside my head that night, you would not have thought so," Klaus muttered under his breath.

Marian had begun to wrap the stitched wound with clean gauze. Though he'd clearly heard Klaus's reply, he made no comment. The good doctor was trying not to smile as he thought, I know you too well, old man. You have quite the crush! With the wrapping secured, he leaned back in his chair and, with a pout, said, "In repayment for the free doctor's visit, you can tell me why you're beating yourself up over this. You think of Iris as just a good friend but I've never seen you so guilt-stricken over her."

As Klaus flexed his bandaged hand and collected his thoughts, Minori's mind was scattered. Her face was pressed against the bookshelf, every cell of her being focused on the perfume maker's words. She watched as he aggressively rubbed his face with his un-bandaged hand. "Dammit, Marian, she's beautiful." Minori's heart began to vigorously pound.

"And?" Marian unconsciously asked, remembering only after the words had left his mouth that Klaus didn't respond well to prodding.

"And I will protect her honor as her brother, just as I said before." He stood and adjusted his coat. "Dinner at my place on Saturday evening, Marian? I have a lovely bottle of Chianti from the city." With that, he turned on his heels and strode from the room before Marian could protest. Klaus knew that he had to think of the pretty farmer in as platonic a way as possible...or else.