Chapter One
Southtown lay dreaming under a blanket of mist, and Helewise Dale dreamed with it.
She dreamed that she went about her daily business as usual, those familiar duties and tasks unchanged, though nothing that she attempted was quite as it had been.
The changes were not unsatisfactory, all told. When she cut sweetpeas and cornflowers from the gardens of Sevenleaf House, her joints did not set up their customary ache, and she was able to wield the shears for far longer than she was accustomed to. When she hefted the cans of water to feed her precious blooms, they did not seem to weigh as much as they ought. She did not tire as swiftly as usual, and was able to labour in the flower fields later into the afternoon. This last advantage she greeted with particular satisfaction, cons
