“So, Jasmine, she goes off and tells Nathaniel, ‘I wouldn’t mind being bent over YOUR anvil,’ and that blockhead doesn’t even realize she’s trying to court him!” Melissa laughed, her hand grazing my shoulder. I laughed with her, watching her eyes, and then darted to Jasmine. She was also laughing, as if this was scandalous news of some sort.

  It kind of was, yet as an Academy dropout, a lot of what they were saying had no immediate context for me. Might as well have told me the old hog was trying to marry a goose.

  “What have you been up to, Ash…ley.” Jasmine tested. She was as pretty as Melissa, the same blonde hair and blue eyes. I was the only one of the three with red and green, and not wearing an outfit for a tea party.

  “Ash is fine,” I said and raised my cup to my lips. It was… “coffee,” as Melissa called it, mixed with oat milk. It tasted like burnt hay that someone poured the worst part of oats into. Nothing like the pekoe they served at the Academy, but I had been press-ganged into joining the two on my way back from selling off my second crop of blood carrots.

  That was 27 gold added, and while I was tempted to make some common blood carrots, a part of me hated the odd number that came with it. I instead sold six of the common carrots from the harvest (for 40 silver each—a grand total of 240 silver), used three of them in the town’s seed makers (three at 50 silver each, 150 silver), and planned to make two plots of nine common blood carrots. I’d use the third plot to acquire three again, and sell the six remainder, to at least pretend that all my money was clean.

  People would hopefully assume I was selling the other carrots at a farmers’ market for a better return, but I knew at some point I’d have to figure out a more plausible story for the tax collectors. All in all, I made 27 gold and 90 silver, and planned to spend some of that silver buying compost so I could stop hunting rabbits.

  “Sorry, Ash—” Melissa said, and her voice made my skin crawl. However, the sour face I made came after I sipped the coffee, so I overdramatically stuck out my tongue.

  “Gross, what is this...” I interrupted. I glanced at their faces as they laughed. Hopefully, they bought it!

  “—Coffee, but I mean, we both just saw you walking by, and Addy—” I controlled my face this time, but my eyes narrowed. That was my name for him. “—said you were just having a bad week with your folks passin’ and all. Lots of work being dumped on a [Farm Girl]! But hey, you’re Level 2 already, meanin’ you must’ve had some other [Novice] class that’s letting you speed by it.”

  “[Student]. I was about to pass my [Quest] to become a [Scholar], but then this happened,” I responded.

  “Oh, your [Quest]? I betcha it was something like—”

  “Pass the finals.” All three of us said it together, making us laugh. They looked at me, and I shrugged.

  “Sorry, can’t say what I needed exactly, you know—‘Amaril’s will for you is His Will alone.’” I nodded. The other two nodded as well as we gazed down. It was taboo to ask explicitly, and most people kept it vague enough—or believed if they didn’t use the exact wording, it was “allowed.” That taboo was only for people undertaking, not for those who had passed.

  “Yeah, some of those mystical things are obvious. Though… Ma thought my [Expert] [Advancement] was gonna be like hers, but no, I’m tasked to make a wedding dress! Ma didn’t believe me at all, so when she made me make what she had too and nothin’ happened, I swear, she’d have kicked Old Henry to the moon and back,” Melissa said. Her voice was so singsongy and catchy, I could tell why every guy in school wanted to hear her talk.

  “Aye,” Jasmine continued. “Thankfully, my [Expert] [Advancement] from [House-Servant] to [Maid] was just applying to any noble’s house. Glad it wasn’t like Mary, who needed it specifically from Duke Birchigold’s house—made Mary run so fast to the temple of Amaril and beg for an [Interdiction] and get it changed. Cost her a tithe and a half! She says she’s now tasked to take over the cleaning at the Griffon, and by Amaril, she might’ve had it easier to work for Duke Birchigold than to get her Ma to hand over the reins.”

  “The Duke?” I asked, turning to Jasmine. She nodded. “Wow...”

  “I know, right? Imagine being tasked by Amaril himself to work for THE Duke? I’d say Elora herself wanted them wed!” Jasmine gossiped.

  “Elora must hate her then. The Duke beats his servants and barely pays them. My Addy-boy—” I sipped my coffee to stop my face from cringing. Adrian had asked me to try, and clearly asked Melissa to try, since NEITHER of us wanted to talk about what happened last time. “—talked to Mary and set her straight. Glad he did, wouldn’t want to see Mary Marlow being abused by that bastard.”

  “You know, Missy,” Jasmine began, and I knew what was coming. I put the coffee cup down and let my fingers grip the apron of my dirty farm clothes. “...I thought that Skye boy was gonna marry he—”

  If looks could kill, I wasn’t sure whether Melissa or I was the one giving Jasmine the death glare. She immediately shrank. “Begging your pardons, ma’ams. Just a lowly [Maid], speakin’ out of turn. I’ll get back to cleaning. I will.” She smoothed out her dress and bowed.

  Melissa and I stared at each other for a moment. I then shrugged and picked up the disgusting hay-burnt coffee again.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “Elora willing, the lace won’t pucker...” she began, all of us ignoring what Jasmine was about to say. “...It’s funny, though, I wasn’t expecting a proposal from a [Hero]! Our little [Farm Boy] does the impossible, jumps from the [Commoner] tract, and forces himself into the [Adventurer]...” Her voice was too dreamy.

  Wait. While the two talked, I looked at my own class.

  [Acolyte]/[Adventurer]

  That made me grin as well, as I used [Inspect] on Melissa. Melissa noticed but shrugged it off. It was just tacky, but not taboo, to do that.

  [Tailor]/[Commoner].

  I then used [Inspect] on Jasmine.

  [Maid]/[Expert].

  Jasmine beamed. “I got you both down by the knockers, finishing my [Advancement] first!” she cheered.

  “Ashley is only a [Farm Girl] because her parents died before she passed the exams, Jazzy. Don’t be cruel,” Melissa said for me, giving me a smile and offering me her hand.

  I looked at her and placed my hand in hers. She squeezed in support. I didn’t know if she was supporting me or taking Jasmine down. Either way, I was okay with it.

  Jasmine frowned and turned to me. “Begging your—”

  “You’re fine, Jasm—Jazzy. We all return to Flora eventually,” I muttered.

  She nodded, patting my shoulder. “Amaril will see them happy.” But that was odd to me.

  “Why do we think Amaril makes the rules, anyway?” I began.

  Melissa smirked and lowered her head. She raised the cup of coffee and placed it by her lips. She was doing that thing horses do when they’re led to water but ain’t thirsty, yet their master thinks they are. Jasmine, however, paled.

  “You can’t be askin’ that, Ash! Questionin’ the will of our Creator is...” Her voice lowered. “Blasphemy. You’d be inviting the enemy.”

  “What, Rhe—” I began, but Jasmine panicked, picked up her coffee cup, and threw it at me.

  “OW! WHAT ON FLORA’S GREEN EARTH ARE YA THINKIN’, YOU DENSE—” I shouted, but breathed in. Melissa laughed as Jasmine again bowed her head.

  “Beggin’ yar pardon, ma’am, but I had to save your immortal soul! You can’t be talkin’ about the enemy.” She bowed again and did the sign of Amaril to “bless” me.

  “That’s superstition!” I tried to counter. “Invoking any of the gods’ names does nothing!”

  “[Interdiction] works. And Addy can heal wounds,” Melissa quietly interjected.

  I frowned. “That’s not the same thing.”

  “Ugh, Academy-girl thinkin’. Next thing you’re telling me is you’re gonna break a taboo, like telling your class [Quest], breaking a sacred oath of union, or mixing live blood with your crops!” Jasmine chanted. She looked down for the first taboo; at Melissa—Elora—for the second; and at me—Flora—for the third.

  Melissa and I looked down. “Point made, Jazzy,” I muttered. “Wouldn’t want to do that...”

  Jasmine just smiled. “No problem, ma’am! Just doing my bit to keep you lovely ladies safe. Ash! It’s so nice to finally talk to you, I had always wanted to...” She began chatting about whatever was in her head. I tried smiling, but Melissa caught it and grinned.

  “Not used to gossip, Ashy?” she asked me, as we both ignored Jasmine chattering about… I think it was silverware now?

  “Not at all, Missy,” I said, watching her. “Jazzy there just talks a lot.”

  “I know, it’s exhausting,” she smiled. “Look, I just want to get this out of the way—I’m still sorry for treating you so badly when we were younger...”

  I took a deep breath. “Look, it’s fine... we were both kids. Sorry ’bout the other day.”

  “I know it won’t happen instantly, but let’s try to be friends?” she offered.

  I wanted to frown. I had no interest in being friends with this woman at all. Hell, doing so would go against my goals.

  But if I did, people would suspect me of having even less of a motive—they’d think I was trying to fix the bad blood. So when she went missing, no one would say “Ashley hated her.”

  I swallowed and watched her eyes.

  “...I’ll try,” I said, offering her my hand. She did not take it.

  She launched forward and hugged me. She didn’t smell overtly sensual like Madeleine did, or earthy like I assumed I did. She smelled like coffee, and that was even more irritating.

  Jazzy noticed, and she clapped her hands in glee. “Elora, bless you both! I am so happy you want to be the Chief Brideswoman! I’ll be in your care, Ashy!” she added happily. Melissa looked dumbstruck and glared at Jasmine.

  “...Chief Brideswoman, Missy?” I asked. She pushed away and stared at Jasmine, who immediately shrank again.

  “...Addy and I were told to swap who’d be the best man and brideswoman. Otherwise, we’d never be one family, but two. He’d pick someone for me, and I’d pick someone for him. My brother is his guardsman. His... sister... as he put it, is his preference.”

  I turned to Jasmine, who mouthed something akin to please say yes.

  I then turned to Melissa, and a smile formed on my face. This was getting too easy. Everyone would honestly think I was trying too—for Adrian’s sake—if I accepted this request. I blinked, and then forced myself to break character.

  I wrapped my arms around both of them and pulled them into a hug. Melissa squirmed but eased into it, and Jasmine hugged me too. “I accept. Does that mean I get to call you Sissy, Missy, Sister-in-law?”

  She smiled, but I could see it didn’t reach her eyes at all. Jasmine’s did. “Sissy! You’re so lucky, Ashy! Okay, but now comes the hard part of bridal planning. I don’t mean to overstep my bounds, but I know all about it... the correct number of spoons, how to polish, how to plate, and how to do all of it. So I know you’re the chief brideswoman, but I’d love to be involved if you’d let me...” Jasmine rattled.

  Melissa and I stared at each other with a smile across our faces. Neither of our smiles reached our eyes as we watched each other. She broke out of the hug and stare-down and dropped a few gold coins on the table.

  “That’s great, then! I’ll go tell my husband the good news!” Melissa said quickly. “Thank you for joining us, then. It has been an enlightening and productive evening. Don’t be a stranger, Ashy. I really must be going to inform Inquisitor Skye about the development.”

  Jasmine waved her off as she continued to talk at me. I turned to face her and put a finger on her lips. She stopped talking.

  I stood up and left. I’d buy the compost (10 silver a bag, 27 bags, 270 silver), and then head home. I had a wedding to ruin.