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With tense shoulders, Matthias paid the merchant for the fruit and headed off to another booth. As they strolled along, not quite side by side but close enough to speak, Matthias brought up the obvious. “That is very dangerous, not only for the both of us but for what might become of this town if I do not break free from this…” he trailed off.
The word ‘curse’ would turn a few heads. Matthias looked up at the sky, scanning the trees and the tops of the merchant carts, then looked relieved. Ana wondered what he was looking for; in the meantime, she glanced at faces, hoping no one would recognize her.
“He will not return.” Ana knew Blaez’s habits and patterns well enough.
“When?” Matthias asked. “When should I be there?”
Ana bought a bar of soap, the cost making her stomach clench in protest, but she needed to leave with something. All around them, townsfolk she recognized glanced over at the duo, whispers already starting to arise. Though she herself was often reclusive at best, Matthias was a face that sparked conversation. Even ten years after Riina’s death and his departure, she worried he would once again be the talk of the town. The infamy would do them no good. They could not meet in public again.
She slipped the soap into her skirt pocket and smiled at the merchant but didn’t look at Matthias again. The whispers grew louder, so she told Matthias, “Stay in the market for another quarter hour, purchase one more item, then take the long way around town. I live on a small acreage at the west end. I will leave a flower on my doorstep.”
Without another word, Matthias strolled along to another booth while Ana deftly moved back in the direction of home. Arriving at her door fifteen minutes later, she plucked a winter rose from the garden. She placed it on the doorstep and noticed blood on the stem. Turning over her finger, she saw the blood beading and dripping from it, this time landing on the white petals. Surprised that she did not feel it, she stuck her finger in her mouth, the coppery flavor making her grimace.
She headed inside, disappearing into the warmth. Anxiously, she awaited the knock on the door. To distract herself, she boiled water for some tea over the fire. The hot drink steamed before her, the heat seeping through the clay mug and singeing her fingertips. Despite everything happening—Matthias, Blaez, moon curses, witchcraft—I’m prepared for anything that comes my way.
The knock came a half hour later, and she darted to the door after placing the mug on the table. Matthias greeted her with a nervous smile, the discomfort of being in another man’s home, alone with his wife, etched onto his face. He did nothing to hide it. That was the difference between men and women—women could hide everything if they wished, taught at an early age that they had to listen, be obedient, and accept what they had. Matthias must hate the fact that he wants a woman who is already married.
“Tell me,” Matthias demanded softly, his voice more desperate than commanding.
Ana saw how hopeless he was and faltered for a second. She appreciated this; he needed her. She beckoned for him to sit in one of the chairs surrounding the hearth, the warmth of the fire reaching out its hands and guiding them along like the pied piper. She took a seat, forgetting about her tea, and felt a nervous twist in her stomach. If this doesn’t work, I will have nothing left. Matthias will be cursed, and I will be trapped here.
“Your mother, she is well-known for her skills in witchcraft. She must have a skillset in potions and tonics, yes?” Ana asked, revealing her minimal knowledge of witchcraft.
“I do not doubt it.” Matthias nodded. “She has phials, tonics…there is always something awful brewing in her cauldron.”
“Then she will be capable of making me appear ill, yes?” Ana leaned forward in her seat, only inches away from Matthias.
Matthias frowned, his thick eyebrows pinching together. “I believe so… But Ana, how will this help?”
She raised a palm, fingertips still red from concocting the tea. “Blaez will return in a few days. When he returns, I will appear seriously ill. If I have gauged my husband correctly, he will seek a healer. We have little coin but not enough to spare for a doctor. It is my understanding your mother does not exclusively take coin but is willing to barter or trade, as well. A gentle suggestion from me, and he will go to her.”
“In exchange for your life, he will give his…” Matthias trailed off, unconvinced.
“Yes,” Ana confirmed. “He would do anything I asked of him.”
Matthias tensed, leaning back in the chair so he was not so close to Ana. His fingers folded together in his lap as he considered her suggestion. Blaez was the best chance he had at getting the curse out of him. A sudden, deep sigh came from his lips, and he shook his head. “No, it’s not enough.”
“Not enough?” Ana repeated.
“This is Azalea we are talking about. She won’t buy it for a second. She won’t understand why you want to leave a husband so devoted to saving your life.”
“Then I’ll tell her I wish to leave this town, to be free of my husband. As a woman, she should understand.”
Matthias stood up and walked to the window overlooking the fields. His fingers spread like spiderwebs against the sill as he leaned into his hands. Turning again, this time leaning against the window, he told Ana, “I have no doubt she will think you have fallen in love with me, and I… And I, with you. If we have something between us, if she even has an inkling of that, be it true or not, she will realize that I would want to leave to keep us both safe. She will not let me leave her again.”
Ana kept her face composed and calculated, giving nothing away. “Then we will say he beats me and that I need to escape for my life.”
“Tell me, Ana,” he said as he pushed himself off the window frame, “Then why would he sacrifice his life for yours?”
“The curse is not death; the curse is power. The power-hungry will kill for such a curse; they consider it a gift. Your mother will believe Blaez will want both—to keep me alive and to have that power.”
He nodded as he grasped her idea. Ana knew it would work so long as they both played their parts well enough to fool Azalea. Matthias’s eyes revealed his grief, the loss of Riina still eating away at him like maggots under the skin. It was easy to see he was already infatuated with her. Ana could see it the moment he laid eyes on her because she looked so much like Riina. This likeness put a target on her back; Azalea would believe what she wanted to believe.
I can be convincing enough to trick her.
“She will need proof,” Matthias choked out the sentence.
Ana rose from her chair, brushing non-existent crumbs from her skirts, and stood an arm’s length away from Matthias. He smelled of herbs and spices, the essence of witchcraft absorbed in the fabric of his clothing. Ana made sure to meet his eyes so her words would be stronger, to show that she would not back down. “Hit me.”
