Snakes In The Grass

20

"I know, baby. I know," I said as I scrapped the scrambled eggs onto her plastic plate and cut her strawberries. I smiled at her and marvelled at her mused curls. As her hair grew, the curlier it got. While her hair was closer to Dimitri's in colour, but mine in texture and style.

I looked away from her when there a knock vibrated against the screen door behind me. I stood up straighter and Nancy smiled sadly at me through the screen.

"Can I come in?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I guess," I said as I set the plate on the tray for Briar. Nancy opened the door and slipped inside the kitchen, licking her lips as she looked at me.

"I'm sorry."

"You should be, I trusted you," I said quietly as I turned back to the sink, washing the pot and plates that were in the sink.

"I know," Nancy said and I spun around, gripping the counter behind me as I looked at her.

"Then why? I told you things that I was terrified to tell anyone. Did you know who I was? Or just Dimitri? Did you know all of the things I told you about already and you just, played along with it all?"

Nancy shook her head and sat down at the table. "No. I knew who Dimitri was, and I knew you by photo, but other than that, I knew nothing. I had heard about the situation in Spokane, but nothing else," she said earnestly, "I swear."

I pressed my tongue against my molars and turned back to the sink, finishing the dishes.

"Thank you for what you did for Dimitri," I said as I set the dishes on the drying rack.

"Of course," Nancy said immediately and I dried my hands and sighed quietly.

"You mentioned to Dimitri that the property was warded?"

Nancy nodded. "Yes. While I'm not an Alchemist, I still take precautions. Remember when I helped you build the garden in the back? The little white fence?"

I nodded.

"The stakes are inside the posts," she said, "Hidden so that they can't be removed. I also strategically put a second layer just inside."

"How?"

"They're buried. I did it at night," she said with a shrug, "I just knew that with a newborn, the two of you were barely sleeping, and it gave me a little bit of peace of mind knowing I did what I could to keep you safe."

I scoffed quietly and sat down next to her at the table. "That's funny. I've only met one other Alchemist that didn't completely hate us," I said as I ran my hand through my hair.

"Oh? Who? Not that I'll tell anyone," she said with a chuckle.

"Sage. Sydney Sage," I said as I stole a piece of strawberry from Briar's plate, happy to see that she was enjoying her breakfast.

"The black sheep of the family," she said and I raised my brows at her.

"Pardon me?"

"Her and I, the black sheep. Abigail Sage. Her cousin. According to everyone, I also died, but of a heart condition. One that I was very fortunate to survive. My surgery to fix my heart was paid for anonymously, but I have an idea of who paid the bill," she said with a raise of her brows. I snorted a laugh and got up and went to the coffee pot, filling two mugs and bringing them and cream to the table. Nancy said a quiet thank you and took a sip with a happy sigh.

"Abe is a man of many surprises," I said, "I told him I was going to slit his throat."

Nancy sputtered and laughed. "What?!"