Matters Of The Heart

As Shanna began her emergency rehabilitation for the Atristus flower, a comment from her past, from her old childhood friend floated to the forefront.

"You take everything for granted."

Taking everything for granted… She was feeling every bit the weight of those words now.

Her Lyre, used to be her trusty companion, a tool that never once failed her. Now? Now it continued to fail at saving this flower. Her Rondy. Her rock, her pillar, the Moonlight to her Sunshine. Now they could barely communicate without a sigh, groan or snide comment.

She'd never had to consider how bad things could be, when things had never been bad for her even once.

As she trimmed the dead leaves and attempted to rejuvenate the soil with restorative compost, Rondy's last words worked in harmony with her friends in order to inflict the most woe upon her.

Fixing. Fixing Rondy.
What that meant.
What it meant if it wasn't possible.

A shiver ran down her spine as that last thought tugged at her for extra attention. It was dangerously close to an area she hadn't wanted to explore or consider since the accident.
And she desperately shunted it off to a corner of her mind again.

Night had fallen by the time she was finished.

With a sigh she looked over her handiwork.
The Atristus flower was essentially a single stalk now, dead branches removed in order to preserve its remaining strength. As a backup, she planted one of the seedlings in fresh soil, leaving the remaining seedlings sealed in a jar that preserved magical energy within their cellar.

What had he wanted this flower for anyway, Shanna thought with a glum look.

As she went to go place the two pots upon their usual perch, the scrapping sounds of metal on metal, and the smell of delicious food in the air beckoned for her attention.

Summoned by those same delicious smells, Shanna found her feet automatically exiting the house and shuffling towards Noelle's stall.
She sighed and sat in the same breath, elbows propped on the scant wooden shelving of Noelle's stall, as her chin rested in her hands. Noelle gave her a curious look in response.

"Where were you earlier?" Shanna asked, somehow unable to break off her stare from a single curious pattern of wood grain on the stall.

"What?" Noelle said.
"This afternoon. I noticed you weren't at your stall when the explosion went off. It was empty."
"Elsewhere." Noelle said with a raised eyebrow. "…Is that a problem, officer?"

Shanna tried to give both a shrug and a sigh, and neither action really came out as such.

"Investigation's not going well then?" Noelle inquired. At Shanna's glance, she clarified further. "Merridee came by earlier and told me that you think his accident has a criminal element to it." She shook her head dismissively. "It really does happen every day you know."

Shanna's mouth scrunched up in response. "Well, since you asked… The investigation's not going well, everyone tells me its an accident and Rondy… Rondy is…" She struggled to come up with words that could accurately complete the incomplete nature of her current feelings.

"So love troubles?" Noelle asked with furrowed brows.

"No. It's not love troubles." Shanna said waving a hand. "I would never not love Rondy. No, this is more like… Love quibbles. Love niggles, nitpicks, even. Trifles."
Shanna paused a moment.
"I could go for a trifle."

"Coming right up." Noelle said taking a large wooden bowl and pouring the contents onto her griddle.

Shanna took the brief lull in conversation as a chance to vent her current feelings.
"It's like before we were perfectly synced… If he forgot something he'd say sorry, and I'd say 'it's okay' and we would've been done with the whole mistake by the hour. But now…"

Noelle shook her head and chuckled darkly. "I knew this day would come eventually."

The light from the cooker emit a menacing glow, casting villainous shadows upon her face. "At first it's minor issues like not buying the asparagus… Then it's 'I've always hated asparagus, why do you keep cooking it', and then finally it's 'I'm leaving you for the vegetable seller's daughter'."
She looked up.
"Who SELLS ASPARAGUS."

"In your case, it sounds more like the issues are the asparagus than the boyfriend." Shanna said.

"It's the boyfriend!" She snapped. "I just find it mighty interesting that he cares sooo much about asparagus, right up until he up decides to elope with the asparagus seller. Let me tell you, I saw what she puts in her Caranaiya, and it'll be oh-so-interesting if mister HATES asparagus doesn't bring it up as a deal breaker."

It was clearly still a sore point.

"Well, my issues with Rondy are minor in comparison. Barely worth the conversation to be honest." Shanna said in too high a voice to be convincing. Noelle could detect the deceit immediately.

"You took it for granted." Noelle said.
Shanna's face wrinkled like a scrunched up puppet.

Once again, those annoying words. Only, this time there was a bit more oomph to them. Shanna gloomily sunk into her palms, cheeks pressing out as her elbows shouldered the full weight of her sinking frame.

"Okay, you got me." Shanna uttered listlessly. "I took my happiness and good times for granted and now the whole world wants to spite me just because I was enjoying my sixteen years of life on this miserable little planet…" She finished with a groan.

"You're crashing out hard." Noelle said with a raised eyebrow.
After a brief pause, Noelle shook her head and both her tone and expression turned softer. "Look here, Shanna..."

"Everyone is due their fair share of hardship when it comes to relationships. It's all give and take! It's truly rare that someone gets to be as fortunate as you, finding a soul mate that they connect with so intrinsically and perfectly. But even your perfect times still had fights, right? You were just able to get through them quickly."

Shanna turned to look her way as Noelle continued.

"Consider this, too." She said. "But there must've been a time when you didn't know absolutely everything about Rondy, right? It would've been back when we all met."

Shanna nodded slowly, gradually recalling memories from that briefly alien time in her life where Rondy and her hadn't been atrociously lovey-dovey in love.

What had he been like back then? Back when she didn't know absolutely everything about his likes, his dislikes? It was hard to remember...

She raised her head, layering her arms on top of each other.
Everything had been so easy when they'd met. Every present she'd given and received, letters she'd written and received, and rooms she'd decorated in celebration. And he in turn.

There hadn't been any rain after the rainbows. It'd just been perpetual, eternal, easy-going rainbows.

"Here's your trifle." Noelle said affectionately, placing two containers before her friend.

"These are crepes." Shanna said looking down.

"I!" Noelle chastised, nurturing presence cracking off her like a mask. "Grill! I Do Not Make Ice-cream! Understand!? I am a cook that grills and if I want to call them trifles, so help me, I will!"

Shanna nodded amicably as she set about devouring the crepes. Fresh off the pan, their warmth worked in exquisite harmony with the clotted cream and fresh strawberry jam Noelle had carefully placed into the folded and burgeoning delicious doughy pocket.

As the sweet flavour wrapped around her, her mind too seemed to envelope in a more positive one, aided by the warm and uplifting environment the crepes had seemingly created.

Maybe the investigation had been a quick fix solution to her problems. Same too with Norri, and the idea of an antidote being made. That maybe, the real problem and real solution had been in her face the whole time. That what was needed was reconnecting with Rondy.

And if that was the case…

"I've got it!" Shanna said mid bite.
"Don't speak with your mouth full." Noelle snapped.
As commanded, Shanna finished eating her bite.

"All I need to do is re-romance my boyfriend!" She said rising from her seat with a pumped-up pose. "Once I do that, he'll remember me right away! Or he'll fall in love with me all over again!"
Noelle, nay-sayer that she was had a doubtful look across her face.

Shanna powerfully gobbled her remaining crepe before giving Noelle a thumbs up, her overwhelmingly positive attitude returning in full force.

"Thanks for the love advice!"
"I didn't give any love advice." Noelle said turning her nose up, in fake apathy.
"How much is it?"
"20 Stral."

Shanna opened her side pouch for coins, before facing her again. "For the food or the love advice?"

"I DIDN'T GIVE ANY LOVE ADVICE!!"
Faux apathy had become faux anger.

Or maybe the very idea of giving Shanna advice in matters of love was seen internally as some form of betrayal to her love hating ways.

Shanna placed the coins upon the counter and Noelle snatched them up.
As she left she could vaguely hear Noelle grumbling to herself about how she definitely didn't offer any form of relationship help, no sirree.

Regardless Shanna found a skip in her step that hadn't been present since she'd stepped back into Floraleyse. This could work. This could really work!

"Let operation re-romance my boyfriend, begin!" Shanna said aloud, raising her first to the sky.