Present Day
Her father’s room had been visited by Arithen. The shutters stood open spilling daylight across the floorboards and catching the minerals in the dust, setting them to sparkling. Her father had been fed, his hair brushed, and his shirt changed for clean, and he sat propped against the pillows of his bed.
His cheeks were sunken, his skin grey, and his eyes shadowed. Although he smiled, there was a heavy weariness to the expression, as if it were almost too much effort to do.
“The chamomile did not help,” she said, her voice tight with her worry.
“I slept well,” he replied.
“That is something at least.” She added the silver ash to water and stirred until it dissolved. “This will not taste as nice as the chamomile,” she cautioned him as she brought it to him. “It i
