Chapter 55
It had been a week, and Frank was still stuck on stable duty, though he was optimistic that it would be over soon. People were still coming to ask him for advice with animals, including the horses. Even if they did keep him in the stables indefinitely, Frank couldn't bring himself to be completely disappointed. He was still around the horses, but mostly it was because Hazel had taken to spending part of her day in there with him.
From what he understood, Hazel had stood up for herself to Miss Dodds, and as a result the woman had decided she wouldn't give Hazel anything to do. Something about if Hazel wasn't on her staff than she shouldn't be helping. Whatever the details, Hazel now only had her duties to Piper and a lot of free time, which she often occupied with him in the stable.
About half the time Hazel helped him with whatever task he was doing, and half the time Frank managed to convince her to just relax while he worked. Now they were sitting in one of the backrooms, and despite Frank's protests Hazel was helping him clean off some of the gear. They had fallen into a rather quite stretch, which Frank didn't really mind. It wasn't an awkward silence, just the two of them sitting together and working.
However, as Frank finished off the bridal he was cleaning, he glanced up and noticed that Hazel had stopped working. Instead she had pulled her sleeve up and was looking at her wrist. At the mark burned into the skin.
Frowning a bit, Frank set down the bridle "Are you alright?"
"What?" Hazel blinked a bit with surprise as she looked up, before quickly nodding "Of course, sorry I was just thinking-"
"It's alright," Frank assured, giving her a small smile "What were you thinking about?"
"Nothing," Hazel said, probably a little to quickly, and her hand pulled the sleeve of her dress down over the scar on her wrist "I mean, nothing interesting just…"
She trailed off, and Frank continued to give her a small smile as he picked up what he assumed she had been about to say "About Leo?"
"No," Hazel replied, taking Frank by surprise. When he saw her look at the scar he assumed it had to be about the other boy, what else would it be? "Well, a bit, but in a broader sense than just Leo."
Frank looked over at her curiously, trying to understand what she meant, but finding he didn't "What do you mean broader sense?"
"I mean-" Hazel sighed, and Frank could tell she was wrestling with if she should be saying this or not. Her hand rubbed at her wrist, even though the fabric was over the mark now. After a moment she finally continued "Thinking about druids in general, and the group my mother was a part of- that I was a part of."
Slowly Frank nodded. For a moment he wasn't sure what to say, then settled on, "What about them? I mean, you said you don't even really remember them, right? And what you said about your mom-"
"I know," Hazel nodded slightly, finally looking at Frank properly "But she was still my mom, and even if I don't really remember them, those were the people that took care of me until I was six..."
"And?" Frank prompted gently when she trailed off again. She was still hesitant to be talking about this, which made sense. Hazel had been not talking or thinking about it for years from what he understood, and the circumstances surrounding talking about it now were less than friendly. Knowing that she trusted him enough to be talking about it made him incredibly happy, and Frank felt the need to encourage her to keep talking. To prove that he didn't just not mind hearing about it, that he wanted her to tell him. If she wanted to of course, which it seemed like she did.
"And- after what happened to Leo, and hearing how much the druids had done for him, and meeting some of them, I've started to feel guilty about how adamant and quick I've been to claim I'm not one," Hazel glanced up at him, he he could tell she was trying to read his reaction.
"It's not your fault-" The reply was more awkward then Frank would have liked, but he wasn't completely sure if he was actually reassuring her of the right thing "I mean, you saw what happened to Leo. Telling people is really dangerous."
"I'm not really talking about other people. I know just telling people would be dangerous. But even when people do find out, like you or even Piper, I admit that it's a druid marking, but I'm always adamant that I'm not one," Hazel's eyes had darted away from him again, hand rubbing at her wrist "And- I've spent a lot of time denying it to myself, convincing myself that I wasn't a druid."
"Like you said, you barely remember that part of your life," Frank tried again to reassure her, though he was still a bit lost "You shouldn't have to be tied to a part of your life you don't even remember."
"I am though. This mark means that I am. It means I'm a druid, and that's the way people will see me as soon as they know it's there. I can't just ignore it for the rest of my life," Hazel hesitated, taking a deep breath "And I'm not sure I want to ignore it. It's a part of me, and I think I want to learn more about it."
For a long moment Frank just looked over at her, making sure she was done, and not sure what to say in response. Hazel didn't say anything either, seemingly waiting to see what his response would be. One look told Frank she was nervous about it.
"Okay," Frank finally said, a little awkwardly as he looked over at her "How do you do that? Learn more about it I mean."
"I'm not really sure," Hazel admitted, seeming slightly relieved "It's just something I've been thinking about lately, I don't have any plans for it yet or anything."
"Right," Frank nodded in agreement, giving her a small smile "Well, if you do come to any conclusions and there is a way I can help, let me know."
"I will," Hazel assured, returning the small smile as she looked over at him "Thank you Frank."
"Of course," He shrugged, trying to act like it was no big deal despite the swell of warmth he felt at having apparently said the right thing, and being able to listen even if he didn't fully understand. "It's the last I can do after all the help you've been giving me over the last week."
"Then I suppose I should get back to it," Hazel teased, moving to pick up the towel she'd set down.
"I suppose you should," Frank teased in return, though he spent another moment just smiling over at her, before finally going back to his own work.
