Page 19 of A Yulean Sister’s Guide to Getting Kidnapped

I looked to the bed down there. “Sounds good.”

“I’ll dig the new plots if you can get the rest of these out.”

“Can do.”

She looked me over one more time, as if she couldn’t believe she was going to leave this idiot to do this delicate work, but she did. I continued working. There were quite a few. Flutora did grow like weeds, their long, almost spindly vines weaving around the other plants nearby, to the point that I had to untangle some of them before I pulled them from the ground, but it wasn’t horrible work.

Night shifts on dish duty after a feast were much, much worse.

By the time I was done the sun was a bit higher in the sky, enough to make the air warm. Sweat formed on my brow and I quickly wiped it away. I longed to take this constricting top off, but that wouldn’t be very noble of me. Was rolling around in the dirt considered noble either?

People at this point had to be moving around, getting ready for the morning, but she seemed to pay no mind to anyone who might see her working in the dirt.

Sage had come by a few times, grabbing some of the plants and bringing them to her space. Each time she looked them over, as if expecting something to be wrong, but she never had anything to say. Just looked them over before carrying them away wordlessly.

I stretched, letting my hands reach above my head and leaned back to lengthen my spine. My hands were dry from the dirt, feeling strange as they cracked above me. I was used to them being wet as opposed to dry. The problem with land; the sea was much more my preference.

As I did, I caught a set of pretty blue eyes locked on me. Did I flex my arms just the tiniest bit more than I had to? Maybe, but I’d never be honest about it. Not even to myself.

I grabbed a few of the plants carefully and carried them to the bed she was working in. I was surprised when I reached the bed she was working on. It was only partially done, but Sage had managed to trim back the longer viny parts as she planted them, leaving them look fuller and less like an invasive weed.

“Those can go in those holes,” she said, pointing to two vacant spots. Her glance caught on me for a few moments before looking away. Mine held a bit longer than necessary too, but I just did as she asked.

Wisps of her hair flew away from her face as she did. The rows she completed neat and lined up, the plants covering a good amount of the bed.

“You are quite knowledgeable about plants,” I said.

She shrugged. “As much as anyone else.”

“I don’t think so.” I sank down. “Anyone else would have pulled these as weeds, as you said.”

Sage kept quiet. I didn’t know why I was hanging around. Hell, now would be a good time to do basically anything else, but here I was, creating shade so the sun wouldn’t beam against her.

“There you are,” a shrill voice said, approaching behind us.

It was another woman with darker brown hair. I’d seen her the night before briefly… I think. She had sharp features and round eyes that were memorable.

“I’ve been looking for you all morning,” she continued. “We have afternoon plans. And you now need to bathe.”

She reached for Sage, pulling her up. “Excuse us,” she said, barely looking at me. It was obvious whatever she wanted to do was important.

“I’m almost done,” Sage said, trying to pull away from her.

“I can finish up,” I said. “You seem… busy.”

The irritation at my offer was clear, but it seemed she wasn’t going to get a choice in the matter. “Perfect, let’s go then.”

Paige all but dragged her off, pulling her close to scold her further. Sage turned back for only a moment, our eyes meeting, her glare at being forced away heavy, but she quickly whipped back around. I watched until they disappeared into the manor.

I stared down at the few plants left to go in the dirt, and then looked behind me again. There was really no need for me to plant these, it’s not like she would be out here to check. And the almost summer day was inching on scalding.

Going inside would make the most sense. And most of them were planted, so there was really no need. I started slithering towards the door, ready to get inside.

Moons.

I turned back around, grabbed the trowel, and finished planting the remaining bulbs.

Chapter 7