Page 12 of The Tea Witch’s Secret

The sharp smell of burning wood and smoke was irritating my nose, but I liked the atmosphere. It would've been better if there weren't so many people out on the field, but it seemed like half of the village had come out to drink, eat, sing, and dance.

"Now this is wonderful," Eva said, looking very happy about the event. This was just her kind of thing.

I tugged on the collar of my robe where it brushed against my skin. "It's a lot of people."

"I didn't realise Purple Oak was this big," Max added, sounding a bit nervous. "I thought we were starting with a small village as our first independent assignment. This is a lot of people to be responsible for."

Eva reached out and put a comforting hand on her brother's arm. "We'll be fine."

"It's still a lot of people," he muttered. As expected, he was daunted by the crowd for a very different reason than me. He had always been very conscious about the importance of their duties and how it would impact the people around them. If Eva and Max messed up, they could ruin the harvest and doom the village and the surrounding area.

It was a lot of responsibility to carry, and I really didn't envy them for that.

Eva seemed more confident about their outlook, which wasn't a huge surprise. "We've been practising for this our entire lives. We know what we're doing."

"I hope so," Max responded a little shakily. "I'm just worried we're going to mess it up and all these people will hate us."

"They won't," she assured him, ruffling his hair as if they were still little children. "Let's have a drink. That'll help with your nerves."

"I'm on it," I responded, knowing that it was my task to assist them, especially when our attendants were off duty, and Eva had insisted that they all had the evening off so that they could enjoy the bonfire too. She was always kind like that. And aware of others, but not made nervous by them like Max and I were.

I left the twins by themselves and ventured through the crowd to one of the stalls that was selling refreshments. They had plenty of people gathered around with drinks, while also turning a pig on a spit over a metal grate with a wood fire underneath. It smelled good, but it didn't look anywhere near done. If I had to guess, it would be another hour or two before the pig was ready to carve, which meant the Purple Oak residents were planning on being out here for a while. It did go along with everything I'd learned about the village, but it was still interesting to be faced with it right in front of me.

Luckily, nobody spoke to me while I waited in line and ordered three drinks from a woman with a grey cat sleeping on the barrel. No one seemed to think that was strange, yet another thing I was still growing used to about the village. There were animals everywhere. Some of them followed their wards around, but others seemed to have more range. It wasn't that the other places I'd lived in had been free of animals, they'd had plenty, it was just that it seemed as if in Purple Oak almost everything was built in order to live in harmony with other creatures.

I handed over a few coins and picked up the three tankards of beer from the woman behind the stall, almost bumping into someone as I turned around. Beer sloshed over the edge of one of the tankards, splashing against my silk sleeves and making me grimace. Not only was it going to be unpleasant while it was wet, but it was going to take me ages to clean.

"Sorry! Oh. Lian. Hi!" a familiar voice said, making something in my stomach flutter as I recognised the owner.

I looked up, staring directly in Pepper's face. She was standing a lot closer than I was used to, and she looked different without her apron. Her brown hair was loose and falling on her shoulders in elegant waves. She wore earrings too, and her lips looked redder. Darker.

How had I spent enough time looking at them to notice that?

"Hello," I said once I realised I was staring in silence. "I didn't expect to run into you here."

Pepper chuckled. "I know. I don't leave my kitchen very often, but when I do, it's to let my hair down."

"I can see that," I said, wondering if that was a requirement for the bonfire and if I should've gone for a loose hairstyle instead of a bun with one of my ornately carved hairpins. Then again, a lot of people were wearing their hair up, so maybe it was just a Pepper thing.

She pointed at the three mugs in my hands. "Feeling thirsty?"

"They're for Eva and Max," I responded, not wanting her to think I was going to drink all those by myself.

"No, I figured. I was joking, an attempt to make you smile," Pepper elaborated.

"Oh, of course. Sorry," I said, frustration spiking up in me. It wasn't just the language barrier, sometimes I didn't get Eva or Max's jokes either. It had to be me.

Pepper didn't seem upset that I wasn't laughing at her jokes at least. "So, how are you finding Purple Oak's...vibes?" she asked, fluttering her hands around as if she was trying to encompass something invisible. Maybe she was trying to present the vibes to me, whatever vibes were.

"I don't know the word," I admitted.

"Oh, right. Erm, I guess it's how the village feels," she said.

I nodded. That made sense considering what she was asking. "It's loud for such a small settlement," I said, wondering if that was an appropriate answer. "But the people are nice, and I like all the animals running around even if it is unusual for me."

"Yes, there are a lot of wards here," she replied with a smile. "What's your favourite animal?"

"Rabbits and hares," I blurted out without thinking.