Chapter 7

"Karen, I'm pregnant!" Ann, completely ecstatic, nearly danced in her seat.

Karen felt her stomach drop. She felt sick, though she wasn't surprised. Ann had been complaining of the obvious symptoms for weeks.

She masked her despair with a smile and hid her anger with a hug. She squealed in feigned glee. Be happy for Ann, Karen pleaded to herself. Please be happy for Ann.

"Congratulations!" she said, trying desperately to maintain the fading smile on her face.

"Oh, Karen, isn't it wonderful?" Ann began, who was fortunately too caught up in her own excitement to notice the anger behind Karen's expression. "Imagine me, a mother! I never would have thought... I wonder if I'll be a good mother?"

"You'll be great," said Karen half-heartedly, but Ann was already continuing.

"I don't have to read up on maternity books now, do I? No, of course not. I mean, animals have babies all the time, and they don't read any books on how to take care of their kids! If they know how to do it naturally, then so should I. Sheesh. This means I can't really come to the bar now, can I? Well, I suppose I can, but I just can't drink..."

Karen felt like throwing her glass onto the floor and stomping it into tiny, microscopic bleeding pieces. She wanted to watch the liquid seep through the floorboards, she wanted to stain it with the blood red of the wine. She felt like smacking Ann, she felt like screaming at the entire world. She wanted to break something, she needed to see something as broken as she was. "See how it feels?!" she wanted to holler. "See how much it hurts?!"

Ann was still talking. Karen could have gone out to buy lunch and Ann wouldn't have noticed. She'd still probably be talking when I got back, she thought cruelly.

She loathed everyone, everything. Everyone who refused to see how much she suffered, everyone who ignored her misery. No one was that blind.

Here she was, watching her best friend and the man she loved live their wonderful lives together, and it killed her. No one wanted to notice the gash it left, no one wanted to see how much it hurt.

In fact, they all seemed elated in spite of it.

It was an early Fall day when Mint finally worked up the nerve to visit the vineyard.

It turns out Kai knew little about Heaven's Gate, and after Mint had asked him what he would do if he were able to obtain any, he laughed, loud and hard.

"Mint, sweetheart," he'd said, "If there was any of that stuff left in the world, I'd have my hands on it."

Mint giggled sheepishly.

On her way out, she saw Sonya and Rune working between the vines. Or, rather, she saw Rune working between the vines and Sonya staring at a handful of tiny grapes disappointedly.

When Sonya saw Mint passing by, she called out to her. "Hey, Mint?"

Mint turned. "Yeah?"

Sonya stirred the grapes in her hand. "Mint, does my hair look... different to you?"

"Did you do something to it?" Mint leaned forward to get a better look. "Did you cut it or something?"

"No!" Sonya tugged a front strand of her hair, jabbing it in Mint's direction. "Doesn't it look sort of lighter to you?"

"Ohhh!" Mint regained her posture. Sonya was right: that particular strand seemed tinted with gold. "Well, now that you mention it, I suppose it does... maybe. Why?"

"It wasn't like that before..."

"It's probably because you've been spending so much time in the sun," said Mint, nodding knowledgeably. "Your skin looks a little darker, too."

"My skin's always been a little darker than yours, though."

Mint shook her head. "No, I think the sun just bleached your hair and tanned your skin, that's all."

Sonya frowned. "You're sure it's not because it just looks darker against the hair?"

"Positive," Mint assured.

"'Kay then, just checking."

"Don't worry, it'll go away by Winter." With that, Mint left.

Sonya's hair was the least of her worries. As far as she could tell, it was another poor year for the vineyard: the grapes had hardly turned purple. She made her way back to the vines, plucked a grape off of one, and held it between her thumb and index finger, trying to squish it. It was as hard as a pebble.

"C'mon, it's not so bad," said Rune from behind. "I think it's better than last year. And besides, we're not harvesting for another two or three weeks."

Sonya sighed and tossed the grape onto the ground. "I'm going for a walk," she said.

"How's the vineyard?"

"Terrible," Sonya answered, slumping against the cave wall.

"Why am I not surprised?" Cliff tossed a stone up and down, up and down.

"Dad should stop it," Sonya remarked. "The grapevines are hardly even rooting into the ground. You should see the grapes. They're so tiny I could stuff every single one of them on every single one of those vines into my mouth."

"I've seen worse," said Cliff. "Can you ever recall a good year?"

Sonya hugged her knees and rolled her shoulders. "Once, the year before Grandma and Grandpa left. I don't know why, but they just decided to grow big that one time."

"That happens." Cliff sighed. "I betcha the Harvest Sprites would know what we could do."

"Harvest Sprites..." Sonya rolled her eyes. "I should introduce you to Rune. He won't shut up about them lately."

Cliff seemed interested. "What's he saying?"

"'Did you know that the Goddess gave life to the Harvest Sprites before the forest?'" Sonya imitated in a buttery, high-pitched voice. "'The Harvest Sprites are the Goddess's vessels! The Harvest Sprites are the guardians of the forest, you know! The Harvest Sprites know everything about the spirits!'"

Cliff chuckled. "Smart kid."

"Crazy's more like it," she said.

"Do you believe in the Goddess?" Cliff asked suddenly.

Caught off-guard, she didn't know how else to respond but by shrugging.

"You should look into it," Cliff advised. "Like your friend was saying, there's supposed to be a spirit for everything. A spirit for power, weather, love – and even a spirit for grapes, I believe."

Sonya snorted, she couldn't help it. "Grape spirit!" She threw up her arms. "Well then, I suppose our little grape spirit's been on vacation for a real long time, now hasn't he?"

Cliff laughed. "Look into it, Sonya. It should help."

"I'd sooner drown myself in the Goddess pond," Sonya said, rising to her feet. "Tell me when you're feeling normal. I'll be glad to talk once you've come to your senses." She cast one more look at him before she slipped through the crevice and left.

"Kids..." Cliff stood up. "Now what did Duke say he did with that wine...?"

"He knows nothing," said Mint irritably. "He thought I was crazy for even mentioning the wine."

Rune shrugged. "Well, there's our answer. So we can't give it to Kai, then?"

"No." Mint tapped her toes on the floor of the bakery.

"Say, Mint..."

Mint turned to face him. "Yes?"

"Do you mind taking the wine for a while? I think my mom's onto me. Who knows what she'd do to me if she caught me hiding wine."

Mint pouted. "Rune..."

"Seriously, Mint. Please? Just for a little while?" Rune folded his hands together childishly, a little boy begging for a treat.

"Fine, fine." Mint sighed. "But you should know that I hardly trust myself with it."

"Look, that's fine, I just need you to take it for now."

Mint held out her hand, impatient. The bottle was in it within ten seconds.

"Okay, now go before Mom sees you!"

Mint scowled. "Don't act so eager for me to leave."

"Mint..."

"Fine, I'm leaving," she said, beginning her march out the door. "Have a nice day."

As she stepped out the bakery, Mint observed the bottle in her hand. She hardly trusted herself with it. She may break it, she may lose it, she may even drink it, for all she knew. She scowled, knowing Rune had made a huge mistake.

Mint stopped at the crossroads, contemplating. Why did the wine have to be such a big secret? So what if people knew? She observed the bottle again. The wine was identical to the color of grapes, very sweet, very natural looking. She thought of uncorking the bottle. A little sip wouldn't hurt, right?

...Right?

No. Wrong. Mint shook her head, clearing her mind of any such thoughts. No, no, no. It isn't yours, Mint, it isn't yours, it's Kai's...

Darn it, Mint, what have you gotten yourself into? Mint looked down the path, looking pointedly at the large, impressive manor that was but a few minutes' walk away. She was going to pay a visit to a friend tonight.

Mia stood precariously at the door, her hand wrapped tightly around the warm metal of the door handle. The door stood ajar ever so slightly, and the light from the room on the other side spilled out into the hallway in a sliver of gold. Inside, Mia's mother and her grandmother conversed in harsh, albeit hushed voices, and Mia was straining her small ears to listen.

"She's turning out to be just like you, Maria," said her mother, brutally frank, as per usual. "She'll never marry at this rate."

"She's twelve, mother!" Maria protested in a hiss. "Give her some time."

"You were just like her when you were twelve," her grandmother insisted, her tone feminine and proper. "Hesitant, uneager, constantly lulling about in your own little dream world..."

"Mother, don't..."

"She'll be marrying in but a few years," she continued primly. Mia grimaced, knowing fully that she was exaggerating, but it stung all the same. "And with so few men her age in the village..."

"Mother, I'm sure we shouldn't be discussing this yet."

"The Harvest Festival is but days away," insisted her grandmother, tossing her head, horse like, so that her billowy hair glinted silver in the lamplight. "Mia and the other girls will be taking your place in the dancing, dear."

Maria was silent, defeated. Her daughter egged her on mentally: No, no, tell her marriage is years away! Tell her I'm not interested in any of the boys here! Tell her...

Before giving Maria a chance to respond, her grandmother spoke once more. "And besides, one girl's bound to be left out. There are three girls, but two boys. Mint's personality is positively entrancing, you know, and even aside from that, she's gorgeous. Kai's daughter, resistant as she is, inherited her looks from Karen." Mia scowled as she listened. Sonya wasn't that pretty. "And I'm almost positive that John is taking an interest—"

"There aren't two bachelors, there are three," Maria cut in offhandedly, jumping back to her mother's earlier comment before she'd begun to analyze the girls. She was desperate to win at least one battle with her mother. "Kent's still a bachelor."

Mia's grandmother shook her head discontentedly. "He's a decade older than all of them."

"Jeff was fifteen years older than Elli, and their marriage was beautiful." Maria challenged her mother to outdo that with a bold look in her dark eyes.

"Still." Maria's mother shrugged her thin shoulders and sipped her glass of water, and though her chin was still held high, her eyes were noticeably glued to her lap, avoiding her daughter's. Maria grinned victoriously, a glimmer of triumph in her eye.

Maria rose graciously to her feet and spoke. "And even if she turned out like me, I'm married, and I couldn't be happier."

Mia stood joyously behind the door, silently celebrating her mother's triumph. She had a certain new respect for her, and a certain tiny grudge against her grandmother... But this last bit delighted her. She doubted she would marry in this town, anyway, and it wasn't up to her grandmother to decide whom.

There came a quick knock at the door, and Mia was all too happy to answer. She scurried to the front door and opened it to reveal Mint, a green bottle of wine in her delicate hands.

"Mia?" Mint asked sweetly, her eyes sweeping the room behind her to make sure no one was listening. "I need you to do me a favor..."