Mother's weight grew heavier with each step. The antidote kept the mastiff's venom from spreading, but her skin burned with fever, her breath coming in shallow gasps. The sun had fully risen by the time we staggered into Willowford, our clothes caked in mud, our faces streaked with exhaustion.
Elias looked up from his counter as the shop bell jingled violently. His eyes widened at the sight of us. "Green Mother's mercy—"
"Need a room," I gasped. "And yarrow. And fresh bandages."
He didn't ask questions. Just pointed to the back staircase. "Up there. I'll bring supplies".
---
The attic room was small but clean, with a narrow bed and a window overlooking the village square. I eased Mother onto the mattress as she groaned through clenched teeth.
"Should've left me in the woods," she muttered.
"i can't afford to loose you again" I peeled back her sleeve, revealing the angry black veins spidering out from the claw marks. My stomach twisted. "This is worse than I thought."
Elias arrived with a basin of water, herbs, and a bottle of something that smelled like turpentine and hope. "For the pain," he said, pressing it into Mother's good hand. She took a swig and coughed violently.
"Tastes like donkey piss," she wheezed.
"That's the good stuff." Elias winked at me. "I'll fetch more bandages."
As he left, I crushed yarrow into the basin, the water turning murky green. "This'll sting I'm sorry."
Mother grabbed my wrist before I could start. "Listen to me. Those hounds weren't just tracking us. They were herding us."
A chill ran down my spine. "What?"
"Agatha doesn't want me. She wants you. And if she can't have you..." She let the words hang. "I can feel them again , you have to go ,stay away for some days to stray them and get them off your path ", but mom I said " Now! " She said impatiently. Lord, bow long do I have to do this for, I thought wearily
--------
The river spat me out miles downstream, my lungs burning, my body numb with cold. I dragged myself onto the muddy bank, coughing up water and exhaustion.
I was alone.
But not for long.
---
Three days later, I found them.
Briar's Hollow was smaller than Willowford, just a cluster of cottages nestled between rolling hills and a dense forest. The villagers eyed me warily as I trudged into town, my clothes still damp, my hands shaking from hunger.
And then I saw it, a newly painted sign swinging above a narrow storefront.
"Hollow's Remedies - Herbs & Healing"
Through the window, I could see Mother moving behind the counter, her arm in a sling, her face drawn but determined.
I nearly collapsed with relief.
The bell jingled as I pushed open the door. Mother looked up, and for a heartbeat, she just stared, as if I were a ghost. Then her good arm was around me, her grip fierce enough to bruise.
"Took you long enough," she muttered into my hair.
I buried my face in her shoulder, breathing in the familiar scent of rosemary and stubbornness. "Had to keep those hounds of my trail "
I know, I know she muttered under her breath, sounding relieved.
She pulled back, her eyes scanning me for injuries. "And Agatha?"
"Still looking, but not here." I glanced around the shop—the neat rows of dried herbs, the small cauldron simmering over a low fire. "How did you—?"
"Elias," she said simply. "He had friends in Briar's Hollow. Got us out after you left.
A shadow crossed her face, and I didn't press further. Some debts could never be repaid.
---
That night, as we sat by the hearth in the small living quarters above the shop, Mother handed me a cup of tea laced with something bitter and fortifying.
"We're safe here," she said, though we both knew it was only half-true. "The village needs an apothecary, and we need a home."
I wrapped my hands around the warm cup. "What if they come looking?"
"Then we run again." She shrugged, as if it were that simple. Maybe it was. "But for now, we heal. We live."
Outside, the wind rustled through the trees, carrying the scent of damp earth and new beginnings.