THE FLOWER CHILDREN

Chapter 9

THE next day, Asmeen reached the field with a hope to resolve her conflict with Aven. He hadn't reached yet, and there were no additional props, so she simply sat down at the back, near Wylla and Elyn, whose partners had already arrived.

When Aven arrived, he saw her and frowned immediately. Asmeen forced a smile onto her face as he sat down. "I've been thinking," she began.

"Good job," Aven said, staring ahead.

She glared. "We agreed to be civil to each other. Let's just...try to put all this behind us."

Aven was silent for a moment. Then his shoulders slumped, and he gave her a wary look. "Alright. Let's."

Asmeen nodded, her smile not so forced anymore. Perhaps Aven wasn't so bad after all.

This was immediately proven wrong as soon as the first task was announced.

It was an essay. On the properties of certain roots. They were supposed to do it together. But as soon as Aven saw her write the first word, he shook his head. "Your handwriting is atrocious. I'll do it."

Asmeen gaped. "My handwriting is perfectly legible!" She hissed, careful not to let Dara or Osoric hear.

Aven raised a long, skeptical eyebrow at her. He didn't say anything, though, only took the quill and parchment, writing out the rest of the title.

Asmeen was beginning to go red, but she let out a long breath. Whatever. If he wanted to write, he could do so. It was more work for him, in any case.

"Now," Aven said, looking up at her expectedly. He'd stretched out, laying on his stomach on the grass, the parchment in front of him. His clothes would get dirty. Well, good. "What should we cover?"

Asmeen sighed. "Let's just explain in categories—roots for medicine, for nutrition, fertilization—and explain in detail."

Aven nodded, beginning to write, and Asmeen thought that it'd be fine after that.

She was wrong. Almost immediately, she noticed Aven writing echinacea for medicine.

"Echinacea isn't a medicine plant!" She hissed, her eyes widening. She started, leaning forward so fast that Aven's hand jerked, leaving a long line of ink across the page.

She could see his jaw clench. Aven turned his head, very slowly, to face her. "Yes, it is."

Asmeen's fingers curled. "No, it's not."

Aven shook his head sharply. "It is, I'm sure of it. You must not have heard of it. It's rather obscure."

Asmeen inhaled sharply. She was a Flower Child. Or, well, she wanted to be. She knew what the uses of plants were. She said as much. "You think I wouldn't know if it was used in medicine?"

"Yes," Aven said simply.

Asmeen let out a snarl, deep in her throat. "You are infuriating, you know that?"

"I could say the same to you," he said, his face almost blank. Still, she could see the irritation.

She glared. "I won't let you mess up our chances here."

"Neither will I," Aven said, his glare deepening. "I know what I'm doing. And now, thanks to you, I have to rewrite this entire page."

Asmeen scowled at him. "You chose to do the writing, didn't you?"

From there, it only deteriorated.

They bickered, but quiet enough that Dara and Osoric wouldn't hear. Asmeen knew Wylla and Elyn both did, for they gave her multiple warning looks. But even she couldn't hold herself back. She insulted his handwriting, he sniped at her knowledge of plants, and it only continued. How they got through that essay, even Asmeen didn't know.