May 17, 2016
Cast anew
"If there is so much pollen around, how come all bees are dead? They eat the stuff, right?"
Younger than the plough-boy by two winters, Tolla casts his broken arm in gypsum-cloth, quieting the dozen expletives that crossed her mind. How, unlearned, can he really be? Tolla herself knew all that is to know about beekeeping two springs past. And last summer, Anna got her started on sheep-rearing. Old as an oak, Anna.
Tolla's life as a grounds-keeper is no more: gone with Anna's death, cleared with sending fire, helped by Junel.
"You're a healer now. That means helping villagers, common folk. They don't expect us to talk much, and I'm happy to oblige," Junel told her just this morning.
Tolla begins to understand why.