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“ Are you sorry?” Era snarled. She jerked Julep's hair, exposing her throat for the knife.

“I'm sorry! I didn't know! My family was raided by goblins, too!” They were back in the bathroom, and it was darker and larger, more like a basement.

“Lying whore! My family’s dead because of you.” Era yanked Julep’s hair, whipping her head painfully.

“They fed my dad Loose Tongue! He talked and talked and they killed him anyway. It's your fault! You made that poison. You wanted this to happen!”

“It's a painkiller!” Julep screamed. “Anything powerful enough to kill pain has side effects. I'm not smart enough to make one without it.”

It was a stupid conversation to be having during a knife fight. Part of her realized that, but the danger felt very real. She felt around for a weapon...

“You're sleeping with a goblin! Dirty slut, you'll rut with the enemy...” Suddenly Era gasped. Her grip slackened as she staggered.

Julep had just stabbed her with a pen.

Julep spun around, using her elbow to knock the knife away from her side. She lost hair and cut her arm and back, but she didn't care. It was better than dying.

Her arm burned. She wondered if it would fall off. She was too scared to look.

As was the way with dreams, her attacker had a big knife and all Julep had was a stupid little pen. Typical. At least it wasn't dull scissors.

Tired of being attacked, she snapped, “I didn't make anybody abuse it!”

Era slashed at her. Julep fought back with the poisoned pen.

The dream blurred. Era was on the ground, incapacitated but spewing threats and venom. The pen’s poison had finally kicked in.

Julep crouched, just out of arm's reach. “If you escape, you’ll come back to kill me. Is that right?” She already knew what would happen. In dreams it was possible to be certain.

“Yes! I’ll kill you and everyone you love. I’ll kill your pets. Torture them first...”

Julep held up a hand. “That'll do.” She turned her hand so that Era could see a small vial with a pill. “This is the antidote.” She carefully put it away in her belt. She turned to go.

“Wait! Come back! Give me that.” Era crawled, reaching weakly for the vial.

“You told me that if you lived you'd kill me.” Julep felt anger so dark it was black. She had no mercy left.

“I changed my mind.”

“No you didn't.”

Julep woke up.

For a minute, she just lay there, her heart pounding. The dream felt so real, but that's not what happened. She clung to that thought and she slowly eased into rational thought.

As was his custom, Artur had gotten up a while ago and his side of the bed was cool.

It was just her and her thoughts.

She thought about why she’d created Loose Tongue. About her father, suffering from bone cancer. She'd seen a drawing of a skeleton once, covered with bone spikes and tumors. That was what had happened to her father's body. There had been no escape from the pain. No way to sleep.

The herbal mixture had been a blessing. She would never regret discovering it.

She finally shook off the dream and got up, but she didn't feel like getting dressed. Instead she put on her slippers, added a housecoat over her nightgown and went to Noemi's room.

The little girl was still in bed, her hair sweaty from restless dreams. She looked at Julep with sad eyes.

“Would you like me to snuggle with you for a little bit?” Julep asked. “I had bad dreams, too.”

Noemi nodded and scooted over, making room for Julep under the covers. “Were you scared?”

“Really scared,” Julep admitted. “I didn't like it.”

“I get scared too,” Noemi admitted. She was quiet for a little while.

“Mama is dead. She's not coming back.”

Julep stroked her hair and thought about what she needed to say. “I know. We're going to take care of you now.”

Noemi sniffled.

“You know what we need? We need to go to a tea shop. It has amazing little cakes and sandwiches. Very fancy. I think you would like it. We can take Gal, and you and I will wear our prettiest dresses. Maybe we can get Artur to go. Do boys like tea parties?”

Noemi looked doubtful. “I don't know. I think they like beer.”

Julep laughed.

??

The tea shop looked the same. Peaceful, elegant and orderly. Julep still felt edgy as she settled into a seat.

Artur had come along, of course. He wasn't going to miss a chance to be supportive.

He thought it was an excellent idea for her to come back. “If the battle ram bucks you off, you should get back on,” he’d said.

So Julep had faced down the tea shop. So far, it hadn't fought back.

“We’ll take some of everything,” Artur told the manager, who had greeted them personally. “I’ll have my usual.”

“Of course!” the manager said. “It's a pleasure to see you again, Madam. Again, my deepest apologies.”

Julep waved him off. She appreciated the gesture, but she could only handle so much groveling.

Noemi's eyes got big when she saw the towers of tiny snacks. “Wow! We can eat all that?”

“We can try!” Gal said, loading the little girl's plate. “Too bad my brother didn't want to come. Oh well, more for us.”

Julep exchanged amused smiles with Artur. This was fun. She wanted to do more things like this, with less poisoning and stabbing.

Yes, she would like that very much.

“Noemi, we have a surprise for you. We found a teacher for you. He will be coming to the house, along with some other children your age, starting tomorrow. You will have your own school, just like Gal.”

“Will you be coming?” Noemi asked Gal anxiously.

“No, but you can read to me when you practice,” Gal offered. “Sometimes you get to color in school, too, especially when you learn how to read maps.”

“What's a map?”

They took their time, and the girls ate until they were stuffed. Inevitably, Neomi had to use the bathroom.

“I can take her,” Gal offered.

Julep shook her head. “No, it will be good for me.”

Brave words, but it took an act of will for Julep to go in the bathroom door, even after her husband made sure it was safe.

“I'll wait out here,” he offered, and leaned against the wall.

She sent him a grateful look.

It was hard. She couldn't bring herself to close the door all the way, counting on Artur to keep anyone from coming in.

The garbage can was difficult. She stared at it, feeling her heart accelerate. She forced herself to look away, to wait quietly while Neomi finished in the stall.

Gal came in and helped Neomi wash up, and Julep hurried and took care of her own business. It was the scariest bathroom experience she had ever had, but she wasn't going to change her routine. Era wasn't going to win.

Gal winked at her when she came out. She didn't say anything, and she didn't need to.

That wink cheered Julep right up. She felt like she had passed some kind of test.

To celebrate, they took Neomi to Mushroom Park. She had never been, and she loved the giant mushrooms and the pretty fish.

“Can we catch them? The girl asked.

“No, but I can take you fishing someday,” Gal said. “Even my brother will go along with that.” She was surprisingly good with children. She had always wanted a sister, and had taken to Neomi right away. “Gog makes tasty fried fish. Sometimes we make it into sandwiches.”

Artur made a face behind Neomi's back. He didn't care for fish, and he thought fishing was boring, but he didn't mind if the kids went.

Amused, Julep said, “I'd like to try fried fish. When would you like to go fishing?”

Artur gave her a dark look, because she had just made it a family event. If she was going, he would go.

He glanced at the kids and reluctantly smiled. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.