"Cousin, I am the only one who knows what the berries look like. I shall go. Perhaps you should take someone to explore the area with you."
He tried to give me what Meghan calls a 'staredown,' but I would not have it. He sighed and nodded. "Fine. How about I bring all of them, and you can have peace once you find the berries."
"I'd actually prefer to stay with Lilly, if that's okay with you, Hanan," Marshall offered, leaning against a tree.
"He would be useful to me," I added, hoping to persuade him. His look seemed hesitant.
"Well...if you're sure he'd be helpful..."
"Positive. Now go; attempt to have fun."
They all left, slowly and constantly looking back. I looked to Marshall as soon as they were out of sight. "Have you ever heard of a Sicoja berry?"
"I have not."
"That is fine. I did not expect such. But I do believe that you will be helpful in preparing the medication. You know what simple blackberries look like, of course?"
"Yes. They're delicious."
"Good. Would you find a handful for me?" He nodded. "We'll meet back here, and be careful; I know not what lurks here."
We separated, perhaps against my better judgment, but I let it happen anyway. I kept a careful eye out for the berries, but listened even more carefully for Marshall. He was my responsibility out here.
I checked my watch, and it told me I had been searching for over an hour. I was about to turn back, defeated, when the Sicoja Berry Bush appeared in my view. I ran to it, quickly filling my pack with the berries. Then I sped back to Marshall.
He was anxiously pacing across the camp we had established, ignoring all of Nightshade's pleas to sit down. When he saw me, he ran over and grabbed my arm, coughing a little.
"Lilly, I thought something had happened! Don't ever be gone so long!"
"I am perfectly fine, Marshall, and able to take care of myself. But I found the berries! Being gone for so long paid off!"
"Good! I found an abundance of blackberries, so I took two trips. I thought the others would like some too."
"A fine idea, Marshall. I am positive that they will appreciate it. Now, have you any empty pill bottles?"
"Yeah. I have three," he replied, pulling the empty canisters out of his bag.
"Good. I shall use them, if you do not object, for the new medication."
He allowed me to use them, and finally sat. I remained standing, grabbing the needles from a nearby pine tree. I instructed Marshall to take one of the Sicoja berries and eat it, despite its bitter taste. He did, making a horrified face.
"I'm going to have to eat that everyday?"
"No. That is the use of the blackberries. When combined with the Sicoja berry, the taste is supposed to be quite wonderful. Would you be willing to try them together?"
Hesitantly, he put them both in his mouth. His eyes widened and he exclaimed at how delicious it became. I nodded in response, relieved that he enjoyed it.
I mixed the blackberries with the Sicoja berries, adding in an even ratio. When I had mashed the berries, adding a little water, I threw the pine needles into the mix. He looked at the dark, gooey mess and made a small noise of disgust.
"Do not worry, Marshall. It will look better once it becomes less like paste. The needles will be removed soon, too."
"If you're sure..."
"Of course. While we wait, perhaps you would like to exercise your mathematical knowledge?"
"Yeah, I'd like that a lot, actually."
We talked about math for hours. One of us would invent a problem, and after solving it ourselves to be assured of the correct answers, we would present them to the other. He was far superior in both creating and solving the problems. I did not hesitate to tell him so.
"Thanks, Lilly. I had a lot of time alone once the Empress took over our town. I figured I might as well do something useful."
"Marshall, if you do not object to my asking, how did you manage to escape the notice of the Empress?"
"My dad had a bad feeling about all the commotion happening in our neighborhood. He told us all to hide, but my mother kept watch. Both of my parents were naturally gifted when it came to intelligence, so it took my mom no time at all to figure out that it had something to do with women. She tried to warn my dad, persuade him to come back and hide with me, but he was already in a fight with one of the Women guards..."
"So you managed to stay hidden, and because of your mother's ingenuity, you were able to pretend that you were under Her power?"
"Yeah. It was risky, but it was better than losing me in her opinion."
"But...not in yours?"
He chuckled wistfully. "I'm dying anyway, Lilly. What's the difference of when? I could have helped my dad. Maybe between the two of us, he wouldn't have..."
He paused, beginning to choke on his words. Observing him more closely, I could see tears gathering in his eyes. How could I have been so blind?
"The Women took your father's life," I said quietly. He nodded, biting his lip.
"That's why I'm here, Lilly. I knew this trip would probably bring me to my last days. But a chance to avenge my father? I couldn't care less about death."
"I am at a loss for words. I do not understand how you could put aside your own life, in order to risk it for another's."
"First of all, that's not true. And second, what I was doing back in Virginia? That was not living. Not at all. I'm having fun here, with you and everyone else."
"How can you say that something is untrue when you do not know that as a fact?" Then I quickly added, "But I do understand your reasoning concerning living. In a completely illogical view, of course."
He laughed. "Well, thanks. But what you did with the Unicorns was selfless. You made a deal that could have cost you your life, in order to save ours."
"I was arrogant, and certain I could win. I would not have challenged her if I was uncertain of that."
He looked at me, staring intently over my facial features. He considered my scar, my eyes, my lips. He shook his head slightly, bringing his eyes back to mine.
"What?" I asked.
"I don't know. I can't seem to figure you out."
"Why are you trying? I am actually a very simple person. Being without feeling helps me to be objective and as plain as possible."
"But you're not! Because sometimes you do things that make it seem like you feel."
"I do what I believe is right at all times. Now, perhaps you perceive that as having feelings, but I do what I do out of duty."
He was silent. I waited a minute before getting up and checking on the medication. I examined one of the needles I had placed in the mixture, and judged it to be ready. So, I removed the needles and sealed the containers.
"Thanks," Marshall said from behind me. "Thanks for doing this."
I turned to him, handing him the bottles. "And Louis thought I was wasting my time reading my books of medicine."
He laughed, which caused him to begin to cough. I shook my head, but he just shrugged and calmed himself down.
"So...I saw you talking to Cam earlier. Did he tell you about his dad?"
"Yes, he did."
I began to unfold everyone's bedrolls, as they had left them all with us. Marshall got up, and I assumed it was to help me, but instead he ran to a cluster of bushes and started coughing up blood. When he was finished, I handed him some water.
"Thanks...again." He paused to take a sip. Then he looked back at me, clearing his throat. "I don't want to sound like I'm babying Cam, but I thought you should know that he's self conscious about how behind he is in intellect. And maybe, if you wanted to help him learn some stuff..."
"Behind in intellect? What do you mean?"
"Well, because he ran away when he was eight years old, and he was already a year behind when he left, so his skills don't really go passed the second grade."
"But he was so resourceful in the desert," I said. "Why was he a year behind?"
"He, uh, he didn't focus on his homework well because of his dad. And his teachers were jerks because they didn't even think about abuse happening, so no one did anything."
"I can understand how that would make focusing difficult. How could I help?"
"Well, I've been helping him with Math and Science, because I have extensive knowledge on that, but I lack in other subjects. I thought maybe you could help, and Cam wanted me to ask..."
"I will help as much as I can. It is good that Cameron is pursuing an education. Has he been an able pupil?"
"Oh, definitely! He seems to get it right away, and he remembers it perfectly the next day. It's actually kind of remarkable."
I nodded, beginning to think of all the things I could teach Cameron. But my thoughts were interrupted by a loud roar, and the sounds of animals coming through the bushes. They looked angry.
"Marshall! Can you handle a sword?"
"I can try! I have my pistol here, too," he replied, getting it out and loading it.
"Then get ready, because here they come!"