Vom and Hettie set out early the next morning. They would have set out the same night but they found it close to impossible to leave Ettrian while he filled their cups with wine and kept their plates covered in delicacies they'd never tasted.

Around midnight the guards distracted the prince long enough for the duo to slip away. They stayed in Vom's house that night since it was considerably closer to the forest they would need to trek through. Vom rarely had company over and his biggest business rival would never have been his first choice on his list of people to invite. Seeing her wandering about his home just felt right at that moment.

Having her walk in to sneak a slice of apple from his plate the next morning just made sense.

"Do you think he'll be alright?" Vom looked back over his shoulder towards the city they'd left behind hours ago. The well worn forest road stretched ahead of them, disappearing deep into the trees. A few other travelers had passed, both on their way to the city and at crossroads headed for other destinations.

Hettie rubbed at her tired eyes. "I'm sure he'll be just fine. The distance will be hard at first but the effects will lessen without either of us there. By the time we're back it should only be a lingering and confusing attraction." Her long braid trailed the length of her spine down to her waist. It looked so calm, nothing like the wild cloud of lightning it had been the day before.

Vom fought an urge to untie it.

"What about us?" he finally asked.

"We are not going to have a terribly fun time," she answered, looking back over her shoulder. The way her eyes traveled over him head to toe was almost missed in the dim light. "Or a very fun time." She winced. "Sorry, that was supposed to be an inside comment."

"Should I have even brought two tents?" Vom noted the way her ears turned pink and noted the color trailed down into her neck.

"What we're looking for is an herb called pineshot," she said suddenly. There was a strange pitch to her voice as she continued talking. "It usually clings to the sides of northern mountains. Usually I use it to make charms for warding off unwanted advances and attacks on long trips. The problem is I need it fresh to counteract the effects of the Cordis Desiderium and sellers only bring the dried powder. When they bother to bring it fresh they mark it so high it would put me out of business to keep it stocked."

"If it's only a couple days to where it grows and back, why not pick them yourself and save the money?" Vom paused to pick up a stick which he used to tap the trees as he went by. He recalled their names easily: oak, cedar, maple. Most weekends he spent his early mornings combing the woods nearest to his home looking for herbs he would need. Unlike Hettie he almost never sold them fresh. There was barely a demand for his product with her a few stores over.

Herbs and flowers dotted the space between the trees and he knew those too. It took effort not to pick the fresh yarrow and echinacea where it was overflowing. Between his and Hettie's packs they had enough to deal with anything that might impede their journey. She'd sewn three charms into his coat and boots before they left, as a precaution she told him.

"I'd be running back and forth so much I'd never be in the shop to sell anything," Hettie sighed. "I thought about hiring some help but their payment would cancel out any extra revenue. How do you keep up?"

Vom shrugged and took a few longer strides to catch up and walk by her side again. There was a time he'd also considered hiring someone with the same passions he had. "I have a stillroom in the back where I store herbs but no one is exactly breaking down my door for remedies so it's easy to keep stocked."

Up ahead a cart forced them to walk single file. Vom reached over Hettie to lift a branch out of her way.

"You know what would have been amazing?" She glanced back over her shoulder. "If our shops were just connected we could share herbs and the work. Plus it would be nice to have someone to talk to through the day."

For a second, Vom could picture it. He could see his remedies lined up alongside Hettie's charms and potions in The Cedar Scroll. He stood behind the counter while she coerced and charmed the customers into spending their money. He'd spend some days foraging deep into the woods and return with armfulls of herbs to where she would be waiting with a hot bowl of stew. Then they would go home and-

Vom shook the thought from his head and busied himself with breaking the stick he still carried into smaller and smaller pieces. "Too bad they aren't so I supposed we'll just have to hope everyone still needs things from us separately forever."

They walked in silence until the sun was coasting towards the western horizon. Golden light flooded the space between the trees. Large clearings were out of the question so far from the city but they eventually found a space where two bedrolls and a small fire would fit. Hettie stayed silent while she positioned an armload of stones and sticks into a small campfire.

"I had a question," Vom finally broke the silence that hung heavy in the air between them.

Hettie looked up, hands still poised to strike the flint that would start their fire. "Is it going to explain why you've been acting so weird the last few hours?"

"I have not been acting weird," he argued.

An over exaggerated eye roll was her only reply to his denial.

"It's about the potion. You said the longer we were around each other the worse it would be. Do people ever decide not to undo the effects?" The ground was still warm from the sun where he sat and he briefly understood cats at that moment.

A spark hit the kindling and flared up with a little extra help from Hettie's magic. She slowly built the fire until it was a big enough size to fit a small cooking plate over. In all that time Hettie kept silent. The sunlight was a sliver across the camp when she answered. "That's why I only give it to people who are already in a committed relationship. It's only meant to enhance the feelings they already have. For them, the effects are minimal, more suited to lust and romance rather than out of control feelings."

Her eyes flicked to him. "Even if they experienced the effects for a few extra days it wouldn't be any harm because they could willingly act on their desires whenever they wished."

"And if people can't act on their desires?"

"Then the feelings build and those are typically the people who come running for the antidote. They also aren't usually exposed to as strong a dose as we were," Hettie admitted.

"I have a follow up question." Vom waited for a second, only continuing when she waved him on. "You also mentioned it only works on people who already have an attraction to each other."

"That wasn't a question," she pointed out. Shifting light from the flame flickered over her face. The soft lines of her face shifted into sharp angles but the warmth from her eyes softened them. She angled her body towards him when he took the spot next to her.

"I think you know what I want to know, Hettie." Had her name always been so hard to say? Had he ever said it out loud before? Vom leaned down, his arm behind her. ""If the potion doesn't work without that initial attraction, why did it work on you?"

"On us," she corrected. Sparks flew from the fire like fading fireflies. "And the prince, of course. Which is really the weirdest part of this if you think about it because that was the first time he and I had met. Don't you think we should have-"

Vom cut her off with a finger against her lips. "Hettie, I need you not to think too hard for a few minutes," he whispered. The space between them shrank and he dropped his finger from her mouth.

Chapter WC: 1400
Overall WC: 6955