Interlude 1
Plumeria
Plum, for her part, had never had an easier time making a decision.
Fleeing to Algaran had been an obvious choice. It wasn’t safe for Addie at the Keep anymore, and even though Plum didn’t trust Laszlo’s motivations, Addie trusted him. That was enough for her, so it would be enough for Plum. Finding refuge with his organization was a way to keep Addie safe and give her the chance to stop hiding. More than anything, though, Plum knew that it meant they could be together.
Plum would do anything for that.
Plum and Addie were walking along the eastward road away from the Keep towards the city of Algaran. The rain had come and gone, and the clear evening air felt wet and heavy. Plum had packed her own bag very loosely, and she’d worn black and purple trousers and a matching tunic. It felt strange to not be wearing a skirt, but not uncomfortable. She’d also swiped some food from the kitchens, hopefully enough to keep them for the several day journey to the city, and a modest supply of money that she’d been saving for months.
Plum looked over at Addie as they walked. She’d expected her to be anxious, afraid, maybe even terrified. But instead, there was a bounce in Addie’s step and a smile on her face that gave Plum the impression that maybe everything really would be alright. She was almost able to ignore the gaping pit she felt at the bottom of her stomach every time she thought about the events of the past few days.
Addie glanced at Plum and met her eyes. Plum realized she’d been staring a bit, and Addie must have realized too, because Plum watched the color rise to her cheeks. Addie turned so bright red at the slightest provocation. Plum found the way that the color spread under her freckles, and the way it made her eyes seem an even darker red, fascinating in a way she couldn’t describe.
“What is it?” Addie asked, her smile faltering slightly.
Plum grinned in response. “Nothing, love.” Addie pouted slightly in that way that she did when she didn’t quite believe you. The way her lip curved made Plum think about the kiss, and she felt the pit in her stomach pulse. She added, “‘Tis good to see you smiling again.”
Addie turned an even brighter red, and Plum’s heart did a somersault.
“Well,” Addie said. “I am frankly terrified. But, at the same time, I have to admit that I am excited.”
“Excited?”
“Excited! There is a whole new world for us to explore together, Plum!” Addie’s grin had returned. “And we may have found someone who will actually accept me and let me be myself!” She glanced over at Plum and smiled, and Plum felt her heart skip in her chest. “And we are together.”
Addie’s enthusiasm was infectious, and Plum found herself grinning right back.
“I am glad to see you happy again.” Plum looped her arm through Addie’s, the gesture familiar and warm, almost enough to banish the cold feeling that threatened to consume her.
Addie continued chattering, and Plum did her best to keep up. They made good time, and before long the sun began to set. Plum found herself stealing glances at Addie’s face as the setting sun painted it. At some point, Meeks reappeared from wherever he had wandered off to, and greeted the two with a mrrp.
Just before sunset, they came across a small, sleepy village. Barely big enough even to call a village, it was more or less a collection of huts, a windmill, and a modest inn. Plum got them a room at the inn and then they headed upstairs.
The room was small, and cozy. The single bed was tucked under a small window, and a small fireplace occupied the corner. A partitioned off washbasin occupied another corner. Addie shucked off her pack and threw herself onto the bed. Plum set her own pack down and sat next to her, Meeks jumping right up to curl beside her. Addie rolled over and looked up at Plum, and Plum’s heart fluttered in her chest.
“Can I ask you something?” she asked suddenly.
“Of course, love,” Plum answered, almost instinctually. “Anything.”
“What about Millie?”
Plum felt like her heart had been stabbed through with an icicle. Just like that, reality had come crashing back in, and Plum felt the pit in her stomach grow deeper.
“Adelaide, ‘twas a tryst, nothing more.”
“If she is special to you, I would not have wanted you to come with me, and I-”
“She is not special to me,” Plum snapped, and couldn’t keep a note of bitterness out of her voice. “And clearly I was not special to her,” she added softly.
“Oh,” Adelaide replied, and then her eyes widened with realization. “Oh, Plum, I-”
“‘Tis nothing,” Plum interrupted. “As I said, she meant little to me.” Adelaide’s face made that little pout again, and Plum’s heart wrenched.
Plum stood abruptly. “I am going to have a wash,” she said, gesturing to the partitioned-off washbasin in the corner. She watched Adelaide try and fail to hide her flush, and forced a smile.
Plum rang the service bell next to the basin. She sat silently on the chair next to the basin, hoping that Adelaide would let her be. She did, and a few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Plum unlocked the door and greeted the servant, a girl of maybe 16 with mousy pale hair and a generous smattering of freckles. Plum was reminded of Addie when she was younger. The girl held a pitcher of steaming water in one hand.
“Um, hello ma’am,” she said meekly. She glanced over Plum’s shoulder at Addie. “Um, ma’ams,” she added. Plum glanced back at Addie and saw her already bright red. Plum smirked and turned back to the girl.
“Thank you, love,” Plum said. “I can take that from here.”
“Um, the marm says I’m s’posed to fill the basin for you.”
“I am sure, love, but I can handle it. Thank you.” She smiled brilliantly at the girl and gently took the jug from her. The girl protested meekly once more, but Plum waved her on gently and closed and locked the door once she was gone.
Plum set the jug on a table in the corner and turned back to Addie, who was still bright red and seemingly too stunned to speak.
“Are you alright, love?” Plum asked softly, placing a hand on Addie’s shoulder.
“Yes, I… yes, more than! She called me ‘ma’am!’”
“She did,” Plum said with a nod and a soft smile. “As I have said, you look the part.”
‘Twas the first time a stranger has ever done that!” Addie was beaming, and Plum found herself smiling again too.
“I am happy for you, love,” Plum said, and squeezed Addie’s shoulder. “I am going to wash up now.”
“Okay! I shall be here,” Addie replied. Plum could practically feel her buzzing in excitement, and she chuckled past the knot that was still in her throat.
Plum stepped behind the partition and washed her body. She changed into a soft, silky nightgown she had brought with—a deep, shimmery purple with black lacing at the fringes—and stepped back around the partition.
As Plum stepped around the corner, Addie yet again turned bright red. She’d changed, too, and wore an oversized white tunic and loose fitting trousers. The book she’d been reading sat half-open next to her, seemingly instantly forgotten. Plum was again struck by how easily Addie got flustered, and this time the pit in her stomach was accompanied by a strange pang of something that she couldn’t quite identify.
Meeks had curled up in front of the fireplace, basking in the warmth. Plum sat down on the bed next to Addie, who was pointedly examining the cover of her book. Plum let out a deep sigh and flopped backwards onto the bed. She looked over at Addie.
“Addie,” she said, and Addie looked back at her. Her face was still red, and her eyes were wide, but she met Plum’s gaze unflinchingly, and Plum felt that pang again.
“I am sorry,” she said, and felt her own cheeks go red in shame. “I was reckless and selfish and irresponsible, and I never meant to hurt you with Millie, but clearly I did-” she was rambling, and she knew it, but now that she’d started, the pit in her stomach had become a yawning void, and she felt herself falling down, down, down. “I should have thought of you and what Laszlo showed us and I am sorry-”
“Plum,” Addie tried to interrupt, but Plum kept going.
“-and she came to me and I knew it was wrong but I did it anyway-”
“Plum!” Addie said again, more urgently, but Plum couldn’t stop the words.
“-and then I kissed you and I hate myself for what I have done to you and I-” she stopped as Addie threw her arms around her and squeezed. Plum took a shaky breath and slowly hugged Addie back.
“‘Tis alright, Plum,” Addie said softly. “I am sure this has been hard for you too. I forgive you. I only wish you had talked to me.”
“No, Adelaide, you do not understand,” Plum said, and realized that there were tears falling down her face. She pulled away from the hug and tucked her legs up to her chin.
“Then help me understand, Plum,” Addie said, and the earnestness and warmth in her voice only made Plum’s tears fall faster. Adelaide’s hand still rested on Plum’s shoulder. Plum wanted to pull away but just as much wanted to collapse into her arms again, so she settled for leaving it there.
“Adelaide, I…” Plum swallowed hard. “I resent myself.” Her voice was shaky. “I resent the way that I sleep with any pretty girl and the way that I hide from my feelings and the way that I treat you but I do not know how to stop.”
“I do not resent you.”
“I know, and that only makes it worse.” Plum tried to breathe slowly, but it still hitched in her throat. “I do not know why you even tolerate me, much less seem to care about me-”
“I do care,” Adelaide said vehemently. “You are my closest friend and the only person I have ever deliberately trusted with who I really am. Of course I care, Plum.”
“But you should not,” Plum said quietly.
“But I do!” Adelaide exclaimed, her hand tightening on Plum’s shoulder. “I do, and I always will. No matter what happens, I will always care about you.”
“I do not deserve it.” Plum practically spat the words. It felt like acid dripping off of her tongue.
“I do not care,” Adelaide replied. She put her hand on Plum’s cheek and gently turned her head to look in her eyes. Plum could barely make out her features through the blur of her own tears.
“If you are mine,” Adelaide began. “Then I am yours, too.” She wiped Plum’s cheeks dry with her thumbs. “Let me be yours, Plum.”
Plum choked out a sob and threw herself back into Adelaide’s arms. She gave up on fighting the tears and let them flow freely, and before long Adelaide’s nightshirt was soaked through.
Nestled in her arms, Plum felt as though her heart were cradled in Adelaide’s hands like one would hold a finely crafted glass sculpture. She felt safe and treasured, but also fragile: as though if Adelaide let go, Plum would shatter. She clutched at Adelaide’s clothes like they were her only lifeline, and cried until her tears ran out.
Eventually, Plum pulled away and sat upright. She avoided Adelaide’s gaze, but could feel her eyes on her as surely as her touch.
Plum took a deep, shaky breath and closed her eyes. She gathered up all of her pain, her guilt, and her fear, and she tightened it into a little ball in the base of her skull. She envisioned herself standing at the edge of the yawning pit in her stomach and tossing the ball into it. She could almost see it falling down and out of sight, and with it, she could almost tell herself that her feelings went with it.
“Sorry,” she said eventually. “You did not need to hear all of that.”
“Plum-”
“I am alright, love,” she interrupted. “I promise.”
“You can talk to me, Plum,” Adelaide practically begged. “I want you to come to me if you need me.”
Plum smiled, but she knew the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“I know, love,” she said, still avoiding Adelaide’s eyes. “Come,” she continued, moving to the other side of the bed and climbing under the covers. “We should rest. We have a long day’s journey ahead.”
Adelaide’s face made the little pout again, and Plum felt a roil from the pit. She pictured herself casting a spell to grow vines over the entrance, sealing it away forever, and she nodded silently to herself in satisfaction. She would be her best self. No more tears. For Adelaide.
Adelaide crawled into bed next to Plum, and her hand snaked through the sheets to find Plum’s and squeeze it tight. Plum rolled over and wrapped all of her limbs around Adelaide and held her tight. Adelaide squeaked in surprise, but then held Plum right back. Within minutes, Plum felt Adelaide’s breathing slow as she drifted off to slumber. Plum let herself feel the warmth of Adelaide’s body and enjoy the smell of her hair, and eventually she felt the exhaustion overtake her as well. Plum drifted off to sleep, the pit in her stomach sealed over, and let herself believe that she would be okay.
END OF PART ONE
Cambria's Corner 
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