A Mother's Determination System

Chapter 33

"Not just lotus seeds?.." 

"Take a guess honey." Susan smiled, nodding her head as if she tried to soothe her into it. Her hands were poised and placed on her navy blue hanfu, interlaced in front of her straight back. The pose was both energetic yet stern, making it seem effortless. 

"I'm... I'm not sure... We rarely use lotus seeds anyways. I can't imagine putting anything else in it. Is it a foreign plant, if it's a plant?" Elizabeth scratched the side of her neck, not sure what to say. She didn't really want to play this game of chase. 

"You're sharp. One of the Louis's friends came over. It was one of the merchants, I think. The man, the jolly fat one? You know him. The one that comes over, and has the children piling around his cart? That one. Yes, he brought a gift. It was... A bag of these yellow looking things. I think he called them lemons." 

"Lemons?" 

Lemons... Well, I shouldn't be surprised over it. This world and the one I came from are pretty similar after all. A lemon wouldn't be much of a jerker.

"Yes. They're yellow, like those dandelions, but much paler."

"Look, I'll get them for you." Susan enthusiastically got out of her seat, and bustled out of the house. She lifted the cotton rag above the door hole, and disappeared around the corner, behind a row of stick fence. She left as fast as she came, not allowing Elizabeth to say one word of refute. Susan really didn't need to go get the lemons, Elizabeth would have felt satisfied with a simple description of it. Though, she supposed that her idea would take more time than the latter. 

Her eyes wandered about the room, stopping by the dangling door rag, the table she sat by, the opium bed by the other side of the room, and a meditation chair by the open window. 

Her ears heard the last patting of Susan's footsteps hallowed out on the dirt road, following it until her presence was no more. In its turn, another's became louder. They were heavier, thicker, and dulled like soot, coming from the hallway Louis left from earlier. With a pleasant and steady pace, it calmly grabbed the opportunity upon, and soon Louis appeared. One leg stretched out, then the other. His head slowly slid from the mud wall, but hitched. He turned, a bit overwhelmed as if not expecting to see Elizabeth there. His body froze and, upon realizing his unfitting reaction, awkwardly looked away. 

"Here's a dagger. It may not fit you." Louis quietly said, holding a clandestine, straight dagger by its clothed hilt. Holding it still, he let Elizabeth's prying eyes have a good look, even occasionally changing the angle. 

The unsheathed blade glimmered a ray of light a few centimeters in front of itself, almost sparkling from the fluttering rays of sunshine by the "door." There was no refracted light whatsoever, funnily enough. It barely was distinguishable from the shadow Louis stood in, if it were not for Elizabeth's good eyes, and the sparkling outline from dagger's edge. The silver looked like liquid under that mirage.

"How much is it? (N/A: Hah). Now that you show me, I can't say I think the price will be affordable." Elizabeth admitted, laughing a bit. 

"Oh-h, well... Not much... Just a few silvers." Louis embarrassingly said, though it wasn't clear why he was embarrassed. Maybe it was a way of personality expression, or a simple habit that he picked up from an experience. 

He had his rag clumsily stuffed a pouch by his waist, his eyes shining and gleaming despite the dirt by his jagged, black hair.  Strands of hair stuck out from his then, somewhat tidy hair-do, and he flushed a bit around the neck. 

"Awe Louis. You don't have to be so kind to me. That looks like it's worth more than just a few. Tell me the price, I can definitely pay for it." Elizabeth walked over and placed her hands on his. She stared into his eyes with a reassuring glare; Her eyebrows were engrossed, curved and raised.

"It'll be free, Elizabeth. If you don't break it in 10 years, it won't have any effect on me, at all." Louis gently explained, his thick calloused finger gliding across the polished blade. He wore a small smile. 

"... Thank you Louis... I... I..." 

"I can't-" 

Elizabeth stopped as Louis's face suddenly turned serious.

She looked at him, waiting for a physical reaction. 

After a moment of silence, his pursed lips softened and he looked down in horror. "SHh, quickly, in your pocket."  He hastened Elizabeth to the door, carefully placing the blade and the sheath into her hands. His hands then went to dust off his clothes, patting and slapping his belly. 

"Why?" A flabbergasted Elizabeth asked, asking as this huge man hushed her. 

The old man stopped, glanced at Elizabeth, then said: 

"Susan's going to start about her lemon pastries again, go, go before she sees you." His eyebrows squeezed, his expression souring. 

"Ok, ok, ok, thanks again." Elizabeth smiled, then leaped down the street, disappearing over the corner she came by. Louis sighed in relief, rubbing his eyebrows as if a rock had been lifted off his shoulders. 

No longer after Elizabeth leave, did Susan return. Her hands held a tray of little flowers, and a porcelain blue vase. She appeared very interested in the vase, staring only at it as she walked into the room. 

"Elizabeth dear, I couldn't find the lemons, but look what I've gotten..." Susan raised her head, finding not only the table empty, but her husband dashing out the door in an unprecedented speed. 

"... You..." Susan's mouth slowly worded, watching the door cloth flap in Louis's escape. 

"You..." 

Susan closed her eyes, sighing in annoyance. She composed herself, for sure-

"YOU BASTARD. COME BACK HEREE. I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU."