No Rest for Us
No Rest for Us
No Rest for Us
No Rest for Us
Snow had just started to fall when Gil stopped me on my way out of the workshop, handing me a few letters with a dark, clouded expression. He stressed that I needed to be extremely careful with them, and that I should only read them in the presence of people who were “in the know.”
He didn’t need to explain what he meant by that; Gil only ever became this emotional over things to do with Myne, which was why I always went straight to her place when he gave me letters like these. I raced all the way to the stairs to her home and up to the front door, all the while wondering what they might say.
“Hey. It’s Lutz. Is everyone home?”
“Uh huh. Oh, wait... Is this...?”
I nodded at Tuuli, who had answered the door, and showed her the letters in my bag. Her blue eyes instantly lit up, her braid swishing behind her as she spun around to those inside the house. “We have letters!” she cried, the excitement clear in her voice.
To nobody’s surprise, Gunther was the first one to react. He burst out of the bedroom, still wearing his bedclothes and looking a little sleepy—he had probably just gotten into bed for a nap before his night shift. Meanwhile, Effa wiped her hands, having finished up something in the kitchen, before coming to join us.
Seeing everyone gathered around the kitchen table, Kamil reached out his arms and went, “Up! Uuup!” I waited for Effa to heft him up before spreading out the letters for everyone to read.
The letter for me started with, “I’m going to use the potion that’ll make me healthy, which I think will put me to sleep for about a season. Take care of the workshop and the Gutenbergs for me.” It was written in a very casual, Myne-like tone, and went on to give some more detailed instructions for the Gutenbergs.
There was also a letter for her family, which opened with a message addressing them all: “I’ve made a potion that’ll make me better, which means I’ll finally be a normal girl. I’m going to be asleep for a while, but don’t worry—everything’s going to be okay.” Below it were more personalized notes, one for each of them.
“So she’s finally gonna be healthy, huh?” Gunther said.
“I can hardly believe it...” Effa added.
“Lutz, what’s with this other letter?” Tuuli asked. “It’s written by Fran, and while I can read the words, I don’t really get what they mean...”
Fran’s letters were always so rife with noble euphemisms that it was little wonder Tuuli was struggling. Meanwhile, I studied noble euphemisms in the store, and my recent trip to Illgner had given me some valuable experience, so I could understand them better than most. I took the letter and started to read it.
“No way...”
“What is it...?” Tuuli asked, tilting her head quietly. Gunther, in contrast, must have noticed my expression stiffen, as he leapt up from his chair with a tense look on his face.
“What happened to Myne?!”
“She was attacked by someone at the castle and poisoned...” I explained. “The High Priest thinks she’ll survive, but now the potion will put her to sleep for over a year...”