Chapter 5: My Study Partner

*Lena*

Abigail was running her fingers through my hair, her fingers twisting my pale golden locks into a tight braid.

"I’m going to miss doing this for you," she whispered, her voice catching in her throat as she tied the end of the braid with a ribbon.

"I won't be gone forever. Just six weeks, maybe less," I replied, turning to face her. I wrapped her in an embrace, taking a deep breath as we sat on a bench on the train platform in Morhan. We'd spent the last three days packing up my meager belongings into a trunk and saying our goodbyes, which had included one last night out along the strip of bars that lined the street below our apartment.

Heather and Viviene were back at home, studying for their finals this upcoming week and preparing for their field studies. Abigail should have been studying too, but she’d insisted on walking me to the train station.

"I'm going to Mirage for my study," she breathed, leaning against the bench with her feet propped up on the trunk. I smiled at her, arching my brow. She met my eye and smirked, rolling her eyes. "The florist who makes the arrangements for the castle asked for a student from Morhan, and I applied."

"I’m not surprised you got it," I grinned, nudging her with my elbow.

Abigail, always oozing with confidence, was mum about her studies. She came from a family of flower farmers in southern Findali, and grew up poor, but she hadn't let that stop her. She was incredibly gifted and could name a type of flower just by touching the petals, or by smell, even if she had her eyes closed. Her flower arrangements that often littered our apartment had always been insanely extravagant.

But being a florist was something most students at Morhan thumbed their noses at, often putting more stock into being a biologist or climate scientist. I often thought that chipped away at Abigail, especially with Heather, Viv, and I being her roommates.

But Abigail's creations added beauty to our mundane, textbook-filled world.

"Maybe you'll make arrangements for the Luna Queen to fawn over while she sips her afternoon tea," I teased, nudging her again.

Abigail smiled, shaking her head. "I am excited about it, you know, despite how I act.

Maybe I'll catch a glimpse of one of the princes of Poldesse. I heard they come to Mirage quite often."

I shrugged, leaning back against the bench and looking out over the train tracks.

"Or, maybe I'll see the princess. I don't think I've ever even seen a picture of her."

"Me neither," I said, twirling my braid around my finger. "I've heard she's quite reclusive."

to you about everything I see and do, I promise." Abigail

and slinging a duffle bag over my shoulder. "Maybe I'll find the missing

joke about that, Lena," Abigail warned, motioning for the station attendant to help us with the trunk. "And don't go out alone, okay?

in front of us. "I don't know who, but I'll have a partner to work with during the

the train, watching as her bright, red

I slipped in and out of sleep. It was a six- hour journey to Crimson Creek; one of the last stops on the tracks that were woven into the hilly countryside of the massive western continent. Past Crimson Creek, as

I'd taken my final, barely paying attention as my pencil worked across my last true assignment of my college career. I’d said my goodbyes

hadn't seen even a glimpse

Whatever happened in Crimson Creek, well, that

bumpy and incredibly narrow, paved with broken cobblestone. It was a balmy Sunday afternoon, and a small market was visible in the distance as I stood on the train platform. The town was quaint, with little more than two or three rows of stone buildings

the black, gnarled

engine approaching and turned my head,

train tracks and turning its lights off. A figure stepped out, calling

one of the farmhands at the Radcliffe farm. This all you got?" she said, motioning toward the trunk and duffle bag sitting on the ground next to me. I nodded, and she arched her brow, chuckling a

the platform and down the stairs. "I didn't know they'd gotten here

last night. We didn't even have a room set up yet. I felt

truck. Bethany shrugged,

with him and started bossing all

I breathed, sliding into the passenger's seat with my duffle bag on

under her breath as

my grandfather,' she laughed, patting the steering

"Sure," I said, smiling.

and green things, which sent a thrill through

if you miss it, too bad.

asked, glancing over

head. She was also very petite, though likely an inch taller than me, but her voice betrayed her size. She had a whiskey voice,

last year, it’s a near failure. Nothin's

I asked, narrowing

to test the soil today, see if he can pinpoint exactly

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