| |
When the next supply trip came around, Saffron very nearly missed it. Just as the wagon pulled out of the town square, she ran after it, yelling and waving at Frau Mueller for her to stop it.
“You’re late, Saffron,” she said, offering her a hand up into the back.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been in the forge with Papa.”
“Yes, I’ve noticed you spending a lot of time in there lately. Is everything alright?”
Saffron offered the woman a small smile. “Perfectly fine.”
Thankfully, Frau Mueller didn’t push the conversation any further. Saffron had wanted to stay in the forge with her father. She’d actually been crafting her very first piece of metalwork—a horseshoe, but it was something at least. However, she felt she owed Sam an explanation as to why she hadn’t read his books yet, rather than just not turning up and making him worry he’d incorrectly trusted in her.
Nerves churned around inside her as she thought about his reaction to her not bringing the books back. Would he be angry? Would it get him in trouble? Saffron chewed her lip the whole ride there, anxiety taking control of her. The journey there seemed to take forever and by the time the wagon finally stopped, Saffron was a jittery mess.
She walked into the library, sheepish, and her mind spinning with ways to word her poor excuse.
“Hi,” Sam said, giving her a beaming grin. “How are you?”
“I’m good, thank you. How are you?”
“All the better for seeing you,” he said, looking at her empty arms. He raised an eyebrow. “Did you forget something?”
Saffron’s cheeks flared with heat. “I’m really sorry, I just haven’t had time to read as much these past few weeks. I’ve been really busy preparing for a big event and my reading has just taken a backseat. I’m so sorry. Can I keep them another month? Please?”
“Of course you can. I’ll just move the due date on the system so it doesn’t flag up. Plus, the fact you didn’t bring them with you kind of leaves me with no choice...” He flashed her a cheeky grin.
“I’m sorry,” she said, pressing her hands to her cheeks in an effort to calm the burn of her skin. “I kind of had a feeling that you wouldn’t mind...”
“You’re right, I don’t mind at all. So, this big event, what is it? Tell me more.”
Saffron jerked her head back, completely taken aback by his interest in her town’s goings on. She hesitated, not sure how much she could say. “It’s just this stupid thing we do every once in a while to honour our forest gods.”
Well aware that gods were a ‘thing’ in the City, Saffron figured phrasing it that way instead of as forest spirits would be better received.
“Nice,” Sam replied, nodding his head. “So what do you do to honour them?”
Saffron cleared her throat and said, “We have a...there’s a monument in the middle of the forest to them. We take gifts out to it.”
“Cool. What sort of gifts?”
Folding her arms over her chest, Saffron suddenly felt rather defensive and really didn’t want to answer too many questions on the subject. “Just food and things.”
Sam pursed his lips and looked away, disappointment settling over his dark features. Saffron couldn’t help the wave of guilt rising in her. He was a nice guy and she knew she’d just cut him down with this conversation. He was only showing an interest, after all.
“I...I err need to go. The wagon will be leaving soon.”
“See you next month?”
Saffron nodded and fled from the library like a scolded cat. The wagon wouldn’t be leaving for at least another half an hour. She suspected Sam knew that, but it severed the questions about the Offering, saving Saffron some awkward moments.