Chapter 19
“W-what?!” Samuel gapes down at his youthful apprentice’s frown from his spot in the front doorway, and slowly shakes his head in disbelief. After sharing a large, filling meal with the entire O’Malley clan in addition to his Master, he was now seeing his family off for the night as they returned to their homestead. “Y-you can’t be serious! In my condition?”
“Hmph!” Katherine folds her arms across her slight chest as she glares up through the fading daylight. “Condition or NO, you still remember the contents of every one of those books, as well as how to properly combine everything! So I’ll be here in the morning, whether you like it or NOT!”
“Best –hic– do as… as she says, lad…” Lucas wobbles against the side of his eldest daughter as he treats the boy to a drunken, lop-sided smile. “The O’Malley women al-hic-ways gets what th-hic-ey want.”
“B-but!” The long-haired doctor looks between his aunt’s pained smile and the older cousin’s expression of amusement. “I-I can’t teach her! I don’t know anything about doing that! And seeing patients?! I don’t even remember any of them!”
Lenora issues a soft giggle and waives off her nephew’s concerns. “Don’t worry so much, Finnigan. Katie’s just going to read a reference book and ask questions. And as for your patients, there’s only two people in Serenity that need some treatment… ol’ Joe Crocker will need some arthritis aides, and Murial Templeton is, uh… having trouble coping with her hot flashes.”
“Kitten’ll make you some breakfast in the morning, Finn… and I’ll be by around mid-day to cook you something edible.” Sarah throws a grin down to her sister before starting to haul her weak-legged father away. “See you tomorrow, sweetie… it’s nice to have you home.”
The flame-headed teenager levels a finger of warning up to her professor, and stares in silence for a half-dozen seconds before whirling on her heel.
Issuing a heavy sigh of dejection at being soundly defeated, the wiry aide brings a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose, and starts to lament ever coming to this damned little hamlet. “Son of a bitch…” not even back a full day, and he was going to get tossed right back into what might have been his daily routine. Teaching his definitely-not-a-fiancée, according to the eldest cousin, the art of being a decent apothecary, and having random townsfolk dropping by to get medical advice…
Dropping his hand back to his side as he gazes to the O’Malleys walking slowly down the laneway, he can’t help but feel conflicted. They were all nice people… obviously the caring sort… but he held absolutely no affections for them. Perhaps in time, he might be able to look on them as his family-members… but how many years would that take? Ten? Twenty? His care-free youth was apparently well behind him now… key years that would allow the deepest feelings to set in. But he was turning twenty seven after the harvest, damnit. He was rapidly on his way to becoming an old man.
Serenity, huh? The name of this place. Certainly seemed peaceful enough. Contented. Perhaps even a happy little town. But he could only see some old stone buildings and a bunch of wheat. Hell… this was more an area to sit down at the top of one of the hills and wait to die. ‘Living’ to these people was synonymous with ‘surviving’. All they needed was steady harvests, trade with neighbouring villages, and a bit of entertainment as provided by home-made wine and a dozen or so good friends…
VOCÊ ESTÁ LENDO
Aegis and Order: First Light
Fantasia"It’s shoulders were wide and powerful. At four metres in height, it was almost as large across as it was tall. The arms of the hulking beast hung nearly all the way to the ground, and were thick with rope-like muscles that bulged with even the sl...
