1nF3cTeD

Hello again! I've been a little lazy— oh, sorry, I meant busy— lately, but here I am! Enjoy!

"Hey, Trixie, do you remember what dragon blossoms are supposed to look like?" I asked my friend, thumbing through a book full of brightly colored pictures of plants. Trixie looked up from the chest she was rummaging through. Shaking her mane of wild red hair, she shrugged. "No clue. I'm not the herbalist here." I sighed, scratching the back of my head. "Apparently, the dragon blossom looks really similar to the poisonous snapper, so I'd be taking a risk if I— aha!"

I'd found the page with the right plant on it, and I began scrutinizing the flowers I stood near as Trixie returned to digging through the chest. "Honestly, Ellie," she groaned. "You don't even know your own plants and you call yourself a healer?"

I huffed. "I'd like to see you do any better". She rolled her eyes. "I dodo better. At the job I'm supposedto do."

"And what is that, exactly?"

"Getting rich. Duh."

I snorted, turning my gaze to the sky. Trixie and I had come upon some castle ruins an hour ago, and we'd found a lot of cool things during our exploration. Trixie found her prized gems and gold, while I was busy gathering something much more important: herbs and plants to add to my collection at the apothecary. I considered myself an herbalist and brewer, while Trixie fancied herself to be a daring explorer. The only daring I'dever seen her do was poke her ex boyfriend in the eye while he was sleeping, which was entertaining, to say the least.

I squinted at the horizon as the setting sun lit the sky up in a fiery display of colors. The back of my neck prickled, and I frowned as an uneasy feeling prodded at the back of my mind. "Hey, do you feel like we're being watched?"

"...No? Is somebody else here?"

I glanced around the ruins. We were alone, as far as I could tell. I gathered a few more dragonblossoms into my bag before straightening up.

"I don't see anybody. It's probably just me," I shrugged, not sure I meant it. "But we've been here a while, and the sun is already setting. I say we head home."

"But we haven't even got to the good stuff yet!"

"Really? Ten bars of solid gold, some silver, three whole emeralds and two actual diamonds aren't enough for you?!"

"Uh... is the correct answer 'no'?"

"No! Let's just go home. I'm tired of getting caught in the dark! We can always come back another day!"

Trixie frowned, blowing a strand of curly hair out of her face. "Fine." I sighed, oddly relieved as I walked over to our horses. They were both busy munching away at the long grace surrounding them, still tethered to an old fence post we'd found. Grabbing the ropes keeping them there, I smiled at Parsley, my Appaloosa. "Good boy," I cooed. Parsley snorted and stamped his feet, skittishly eyeing the bag resting against my hip. "Nothing poisonous this time, I swear!"

Trixie laughed as she followed me, her bag jingling as it bounced at her hip. "Remind me what happened last time, again?"

"I might've accidentally given him horse hives."

Seeing the look on Trixie's face, I hastily added, "I didn't know those even existed, for the record." Trixie shook her head, laughing.

"Creepers, Ellie, you're going to end up killing somebody."

I scratched my head sheepishly. "Well, let's get going." Ignoring Parsley's unease, I hopped on his back, waiting for Trixie to mount her thoroughbred before I dug my heels into his side. The way back took only two hours to traverse, given that we stuck to the main road. We passed the time joking and telling stories to each other, and the trip only felt like a few minutes before our city, Evercry.

The uneasy feeling had vanished a half hour ago, despite the dangerous nighttime arriving. When we came to the fork in the road where we parted ways, I waved my goodbye to my friend.

"See you tomorrow, Trix!"

"Later, Ellie. Don't get eaten by a three-legged boar!"

Shaking my head, I urged Parsley on, scanning the terrain for any monsters that might cause in issue. Trixie always had such bizarre sayings and phrases for every occasion. She's a fun person to be around, I thought. Parsley slowed to a stop, and I looked up from the saddle, admiring the humble home before me.

I'd made it myself, back when Evercry was just a tiny little village run by the few citizens who lived there. Nowadays, you wouldn't be able to tell it was the same village. It had expanded to nearly the size of one of the Capital cities within but seven years, and now it bustled with traders and merchants, making it one of the wealthiest cities in Warrendale.

While most of the original villagers had updated their homes to large, fancy mansions to boast their wealth and high status, I opted to keep mine the way it was. I'd built it as soon as I'd laid eyes on the patch of land it sat on, spending hours of work and pain creating its wooden walls. Smiling, I patted the doorframe of the house, reminiscing about the good times.

Then Parsley blew snot in my hair, reminding me that he wanted dinner. "Thanks, Parsley."

Leading him to the small stable I had built back when I'd first found him, I began mixing him his dinner, which consisted mostly of oats and molasses. "Here you go." Then I lead him into his stall, and he nickered as I rubbed him down, cleaning him of sweat and foam. Leaving a blanket on his back to help with the cold, I gave him a last pat and left the stable, making my way to the house.

I live alone, with the exception of Hunter, my wolf, and a baby creeper I called Sizzle. Obviously having a creeper around is dangerous, but he was so young he couldn't even explode, and he was half dead when I found him. He'd been caught in a flash flood that came through here only two months ago, and his mother had been killed by a Crafter. I took pity on the little guy, so I healed him and took him in. Now he's just as loyal as Parsley and Hunter, and it's nice to have the extra company.

Normally, I would work on my potions once the sun set and the two animals kept watch for threats. Tonight was no different, and I stayed up until three in the morning, organizing and studying plants I had collected during my excursion with Trixie. When I finally went to bed, it was to a thunderstorm that shook the house, making me drowsily wonder if whoever's up there was angry about something.

§ § § Ꮘ § § §

"Hey, have you heard about Seacrest?" My friend Peter suddenly spoke up, causing me to look up from my work. I was currently mashing a mixture of herbs in a clay pot, preparing it to make into a soothing cream.

"What?"

Peter's light blue eyes widened, and he sat up in his seat eagerly. "So Seacrest is this really important city in Prismine, right? The one that gets the crystals and exports all the fish and stuff." I nodded my head in recognition. "Well, not even a week ago, they had a really important shipment due to come to their docks, and nobody ever went out to meet it. So that's kind of weird, right?"

"Yeah?"

"It gets weirder. They had this peace meeting two days ago with Glister, and the representative, who lives in Prismine, didn't even go! Who doesn't go to an extremely important, official meeting to protect their country?"

I frowned. "That is weird." Peter nodded. "They haven't been responding to outside contacts, and their gates are closed to visitors! I heard a rumor that something evil is going on there. One lady said her barber told her son that it might have something to do with—" He glanced around furtively— "Herobrine!"

I shook my head, making a scoffing noise. "Rumors are just that: rumors. It doesn't mean anything. Herobrine isn't even real. They're most likely dealing with something economical. Maybe some of the water was bad and they all got sick."

Peter looked at me skeptically. "The whole city?"

I shrugged, not knowing what else could cause it. "It's weird, that's for sure." I returned to grinding the herbs, making it into a thick, rich-smelling paste. "Can you get that glass jar for me?"

Peter grabbed the requested item, handing it to me. "Whatcha making?"

"Burn cream."

My apothecary was usually a popular place, as I was one of the few healers who actually knew what I was doing, but business was slow today. Big and open, the apothecary was well ventilated, with huge, arched windows that I left open to let fresh air flow in and out of the room. The building was lit almost entirely with natural light, and I always left the two front doors open during the day. Plants in pots hung from the ceiling everywhere, and a fresh, earthy smell always filled the air. I loved the place.

Frequently, my friends would come and hang out there when they had no work to do. Heck, I spent time there even when I didn't have work to do. Peter came more often than everyone else, as he was a fast worker and always woke up early to get his farming done. "So, anything else new?" I questioned. The guy was always the first to tell about what was going on, share the latest stories and rumors, and, in general, inform me about things. Peter shrugged. "The only other thing I can think of is actually sort of related. I heard that Mac was attacked by Herobrine him-freaking-self."

I laughed. "Seriously? No offense, but I think everybody's just getting excited over some old wives' tale. Knowing Mac, he probably heard the same story you did and got anxious about it."

Mac, a friend of ours who lived in a smaller village about a day's ride from here, was a nervous kind of guy, always jumping to conclusions and panicking over nothing. Last month, he said he saw the Wither, but it turned out to be a runaway scarecrow being blown around by a storm. Then just last week, he told us he thought he was dying of dragon pox when he just had a few ugly bug bites.

It was hard to trust someone like that, and though we all loved him, we didn't really take his words seriously. Shaking my head, I began checking up on the vibrantly colored dragon blossom, making sure it was taking to its new pot well. "Did he tell you what happened, exactly?" Peter shook his head. "He was pretty vague, as per usual. I thought we should ask him together. It'd be nice, you know, to go riding again. I miss when we did that more often."

I frowned, ignoring the voice in my head suggesting that that was an excellent idea and that I should agree immediately. "I suppose," I replied. Peter's expression brightened. "Great! Let's do it today! Business is slow right now, and no one's gonna miss you!"

I sighed. "I wasn't finished. Pete, I'm a healer. That's not the sort of job you can just take off from. People depend on me to take care of them, and besides, I would have to find someone to water my plants, and we both know what would happen if Trixie did it." Peter hid a grin. Last year, I had decided to go on a vacation, and Trixie volunteered to take care of the plants. I'd returned to find the apothecary flooded.

"Yeah... Trixie's not the one for the job." Peter frowned. "When can we go? It's not that far."

"It's a three day trip, and I don't have time for that sort of thing right now."

"Please?"

"We can talk about it when new moon comes around."

The week the new moon occurred on was the time I'd chosen to take the opportunity to go get supplies and things I needed to run the apothecary. I knew full well it wasn't for another three weeks, and so did he. Peter flopped on one of the five chairs I had placed around the room, his blond hair falling down in his face. "Why are you being difficult?"

"Why are you being difficult?!"

"Because I'm bored."

"Then go be bored somewhere else."

"I didn't mean it like that!"

I scowled at him, swishing my long brown hair over my shoulder. "Then stop being a pest." Peter stuck his tongue out at me, and I resisted chucking some potting soil at him. Then he laughed, and my expression lightened. "You look so funny when you're mad."

Immediately, the scowl was back, and he just laughed harder. Scooping my hand into a pot, I flung the dirt at him, and he leapt up, laughing and protesting at the same time. Then I chased him out of my shop, chucking dirt at the guy the whole way. "Get out!"

He simply laughed and ran away, promising he'd be back come dinner time. Once he was gone, I put a dirty hand on my hip, leaning against the doorframe. Peter could be so infuriating sometimes, but he made me laugh, too. I returned to my counter, sweeping it clean of leaves and bits of mashed plant. Then I pulled out another bowl, ready to fix yet another remedy for when someone hurt themselves.

§ § § Ꮘ § § §

That night, Peter, Trixie and I all sat around a table outside Trixie's home, picking at the food on our plates. Peter, of course, was wolfing it all down, but I wasn't as hungry, content to just sit and watch my friends. Trixie was picking her teeth with a little wooden splinter, and after a minute, she flicked it away.

"You guys hear about Mac?"

"Yes," we responded in unison.

"How much you wanna bet two fireflies scared him?"

I shrugged. "You know, it could've even been a guy just rolling his eyes really dramatically as he walked by. With Mac, literally anything is a threat."

"True enough."

Peter laughed. "I feel so bad for the guy, honestly. He doesn't know the difference between a creeper and some tall grass."

"Be nice," I scolded. Peter shrugged, spreading his hands apart. "Hey, just being honest." Trixie shook her head reprovingly.

"You shouldn't say that sort of thing. You never know what happened to make him like that."

"What, you think he was traumatized?"

"Maybe."

"Let's ask him."

"Peter!"

"What? I'm just saying, if we want to find out why he's such a wimp, then why don't we ask?"

Trixie stood from the table. "Enough about that, ok?" Silently, I agreed with her. I just wanted to go home and do nothing tonight. Absolutely nothing. Peter huffed, finishing off his food. "Sheesh. I wasn't trying to ruffle your feathers."

I got to my feet, too. "Tonight's been nice, but I want to go home."

"Aw, you guys are abandoning me?!" Peter whined. I spread my hands. "I'm tired. I didn't sleep much, ok?"

Despite Peter's protests, I began walking home, as it was only five minutes from here. "Tomorrow, Pete," I called over my shoulder, ignoring the pouty face he was giving me.

When I got home, I noticed that the door was cracked open, as if it hadn't caught the last time I shut it. Walking up to the door, I eased it open, then narrowed my green eyes at the muddy bootprints on the floor. Someone came in my house! How dare they! What if they're still here? I slipped off my shoes, sliding into the house on my bare feet. Noiselessly, I grabbed a dagger resting on a shelf near the door, stalking deeper into the house. It was a wreck; my couch was squashed and muddy, and the chests full of my possessions were turned over, contents strewn about across the floor. Rage filled me at the carelessness of the intruder, and I kept my eyes peeled and my ears perked for any sign of them. I searched the house top to bottom, but I never found anyone, luckily for them. Whoever it was was long gone. I ended up finding Hunter and Sizzle in the basement, and they both seemed unharmed, except for a large bruise on Hunter's rib cage. He was most likely kicked out of the way when he tried to defend my stuff, but it could've been worse. As I began going through the stuff flung across the floor, my bewilderment grew. Nothing was missing. Every gem was accounted for, and every knickknack was there. It's like someone just came in, made themselves at home, and left. The only thing I found missing was a large portion of my food, but it wasn't enough to be a huge concern. "What in the world?"

Once I finished fixing the damage done to my house, I went upstairs, crawling into my bed. A thought occurred to me. What if they come back?

I ran back downstairs, locked all five locks on my door, grabbed my pets, and ran back upstairs, barricading myself in my room. That night, I stayed up late for a different reason than normal, my tired eyes roving the window, searching for anyone making their way up to my house. Nobody came, and eventually, I fell asleep.

Not much of this chapter needed rewriting or fixing, so I kept the majority of it the way it was. Any reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome! I want to know what you guys think and how I can make my stories more enjoyable! Thank you for reading, and have a nice day!

-M.B.