The Book of Trials || ONC 2019

Chapter Four

It was back. The book was back. Right there in front of me when I quite clearly remembered burying it last night in the dead middle of the woods.

My hands shook as I tromped across the yard and to the cursed book, then I screeched in frustration and threw it into my knapsack. I would take it to town and "accidentally" lose it somewhere on my way looking for jobs. I never found the things I lost, so it seemed like an excellent idea.

That's right. Just because it didn't work yesterday didn't mean it wouldn't work today. With anything less than this mindset, I would never get rid of the book.

The town had already woken by the time I'd come far enough down the path to see it. The early cold had fled from the air, replaced by a cloudless sky and a bustling urgency as the townspeople began their work for the week. It was the perfect peaceful day.

If only I could say the same about my circumstances. No job, no friends, and a cursed book trying to kill me. A perfect day, clearly.

"Veia!" a high-pitched voice called from a nearby shop. My brows scrunched and I walked faster. "Miss Veia Phelde! Hello? Veia!"

Before I had a chance to cross the square from her shop, Tremie Tervor grabbed onto my wrist and swept me inside. "It's just wonderful to see you again, darling! How are you doing? Have you talked to Deivan yet?"

Allow me to explain. Tremie Aluisse Tervor was the owner of the first shop that hired me when I came of working age at the orphanage. At the time, I only worked a few hours each week hemming old dresses, but Tremie treated each of her employees like adorable little children—like tiny elves that helped her with her work, basically. She had a very strong first impression, to say the least, and it explained why she had one of the busiest dress shops in town. Everyone came to hear the talk of the town from Tremie, but that was just the problem I was faced with. Talk.

I didn't want anyone talking about the book in my knapsack.

"Tell me how it went!" Tremie continued, singing in my ear while she danced around the glamorous storefront. "You and him would just be dreamy, don't you think? Oh, just imagining it is exciting! I wonder what your children will look like..."

That was the other problem I had with Tremie Tervor. She was a born love nut. I swore she knew the names, faces, and birthdays of every male in town—especially the ones around my age. Half of me thought she enjoyed tormenting me with my awkwardness around boys, but every time I saw her, I had to remind myself that that was just Tremie. It was just who she was.

Precisely the more reason to avoid her.

"Veia!" She peered at me suggestively as she released my shoulders, drawing my name out with a dramatic lilt. "Did you finally find the man you've been waiting for? Is that the silence? You simply must tell."

"Miss Tervor—"

"Just Tremie, dear, I don't know how many times we've gone over this."

"—I'm just not looking for love."

She blinked, caught off-guard for a split second, then her smiled played again as she wiggled her eyebrows and wrapped her arm around my shoulders. "Why, that's just the thing, isn't it? Love always finds the ones who aren't looking."

I resisted a grimace. "Miss Tervor, that's mawkish."

She laughed heartily and gave me another glance, then walked behind the counter and gestured to the elaborate dresses filling the store on racks and laying over mahogany chests and on shelves. Her shop was extravagant, as it always had been. "Why don't I help you find a new dress, dear? The one you're wearing is sure to impress the grandparents, if they're your crowd."