“Elise! You should come study with us tomorrow!” Lena said as they left their final review session together. “I can’t” Elise replied, “I’m going home for the break before finals.” “Going home? Are you crazy, when will you study?” “I’ve got the whole ride back, it’s nearly eight hours you know.” “You are crazy, you can’t pass senior exams with only eight hours of studying on a cart ride!” “You’re forgetting the ride back” Elise said. “Sidsel is going back too I hear. I don’t understand you Bindiners, leaving at a time like this.” Lena said. “Family is important to us.” Elise said, not wanting to get into details that most people didn’t understand or believe. “Well me too, but I don’t risk my entire education just to go see them!” “It’s more of a risk to not see them” Elise muttered, but Lena had already moved on to another topic and didn’t hear.
After parting from Lena and reaching her room, Elise changed quickly out of her student robes and into her traditional Bindin clothes. Then throwing a few other essentials into a bag she hurried to the college gates. Sidsel was already waiting there beside her father’s wagon. He had come to the city to trade and had offered to bring Elise back to Bywater with them. She had at first decided to decline the offer. Senior exams were rumored to be nearly impossible to pass, the medical herbs section alone was said to have reduced students to tears. She didn’t want to fail, to waste all the sacrifice and effort it had taken to get into the Healer’s College, because she had spent the time at home instead of studying. But then she had reviewed her bindings. Her tie with Liesel had been fraying when she left, but when she pulled on it suddenly a few months back in the midst of a tense dispute with some hall mates, it had nearly snapped. Her tie with Len was fraying from overuse of his amazing memory, and there was no way it would last through finals without rebinding work. Even her ties with her parents were weakening, and she barely had a thread going to Rose, since she had left almost immediately after her birth. And there were the twins, constantly drawing on her for help with injuries too numerous to count. Even Becca and Tom could use some rebinding. And then there was Micah. Elise decided to go. She couldn’t afford not to. But she would have to make every minute of study time count.
It was late afternoon of the following day when the cart at last pulled into Bywater, and seeing it’s thatched roofs begin to appear Elise replaced her books in her bag. She was too antsy to study any more anyway. “I’ll just walk from here” she said, loudly enough that Sidsel’s father could hear her. “Are you sure? I don’t mind taking you all the way.” he said, glancing back towards her. “I’ll be fine, I want to see the woods and fields again anyway.” she said, jumping down as he slowed the horses for her. “Thank you so much for the ride!” she said. He just nodded in response, and Sidsel waved goodbye as Elise turned and headed towards the fields that led to her parent’s farm. She walked slowly, taking in the beautiful scenery that she had missed so much in the noise of the city that surrounded the College. She was over halfway there when she saw a bunch of wild Thortin and bent down to examine it. It was late in the season, but it might still be harvest-able, and its roots were one of the best treatments for fever. In fact she believed it was primarily Thortin that had saved Liesel’s life from the horrible fever that had left her blind. It was that illness that had convinced Elise to seek further training at the college, she had hated wondering if something she didn’t know might have helped.
Elise was still examining the plant, lost in thought, when she heard the sound of movement in the grass and looked up. Micah was standing several feet away from her, staring. Elise found herself blushing. She stood up, hoping the fading light would hide her flushed cheeks. It had been over a year since she had seen him, that awful night by the pond when she had told him she was leaving. They hadn’t communicated since, and Mother had barely mentioned him in her correspondence, probably thinking that it was best to leave things be. For all Elise knew he had taken her advice. He might even be married now. They stared at each other in silence for a moment, then Micah took a few steps towards her. Elise could see that he was just as red as she was, and she thought of Tom’s saying that some people grew to look like their pets but Micah grew to look like his work. It was true, his coal black hair and cheeks almost constantly reddened from the heat of the forge or of his embarrassment reflected perfectly the iron and fire he worked with. Elise had never met anyone as shy as Micah. Or as quiet. So she was surprised when he spoke first, in a friendly tone. “Welcome home. I see you too are delayed by your work. Do you think your mother will forgive us?” Elise laughed and said “She can be quite fierce, we should probably hurry.” and bent to pick up her pack. “Shall we trade?” Micah said, handing her a large bunch of wildflowers and slinging her pack over his shoulder. “Oh, thank you!” she said, surprised again. Since when was Micah more at ease in such a situation than she was? “These are beautiful!” she said, trying to fill the silence while she gathered her composure. “I brought them for your mother. They are her favorite and although most are gone now there is a late blooming field of them on my land.” “I’m sure she will love them. Do you still eat with the family often?” she asked, fishing for information. “Not like I used to. I am busy lately. But I go when I can. Now my grandfather is dead your parents are the closest thing to family I have left.” Elise let out a silent breath of relief. He must not be married then.
“I know my parent’s consider you like one of their own children.” she said, and he gave a soft, humorless laugh before saying “Yes, just as you do.” Elise winced at this reference to their last meeting, then said softly “Did you take my advice then?” “I did. I think I have danced with every girl within fifty miles of this place. Tom helped me.” Elise laughed at that. “You couldn’t have found a better teacher!” “Yes, I learned a lot, as you said. And relearned something I already knew.” “What was that?” she asked, but in the pause between his statement and her question an odd noise had begun. It was a strange mix between a squeal and a click. “I have a guess” he said, but before she could clarify what she was asking about there was a rustling in the trees and suddenly Ivan dropped seemingly from the air into the path in front of them. “Elise! I knew you would come this way, but Ian said we had to keep watch everywhere. Well, at least I found you first! I better give the signal” he said, rising from the crouch he had landed in and putting his hands to his mouth. He proceeded to make a loud hooting noise, similar to that of the owls native to that area. “I’m glad you’re here too Micah,” he said as he finished. “Did you hear that odd noise? Something has gone wrong with this slider. We were going to bring you out later to show you but since you heard it you can fix it faster. Do you want to look at it now?” he said, tugging on Micah’s partially rolled up sleeve. “Let me think on it” Micah said, removing Ivan’s hand gently. “Whatever is a slider?” Elise asked as they began moving forwards again. “Oh, it is the greatest thing. Tom thought of it, but Micah designed it, and built it. It’s a small wheel with these handles that you put on a rope and it lets you slide through the air! Micah made us several, and Ian and I set up ropes all round the farm, so now we can get round in no time at all! We added Micah to our secret band as an honorary member for inventing it.” Ivan said seriously. Elise saw that Micah was red again. “It was Tom’s idea” he said. “‘Oh, I know, but he always has crazy ideas, but you actually make them. Besides we made him a member a long time ago. Ian says we should make you a member Elise, as our physician, since you gave us such good advice after the wasps. He says it will make our bond stronger so we can get even more help, but it’s a bit tricky since you’re a girl…” A loud hooting was heard at that moment, and Ivan grimaced. “That’s Ian, he’s back at the house already, they’ll all know you’re here now. Bother. I was hoping to beat him back so we could surprise them all. Come on, Mom’s got chicken pie for dinner, so let’s hurry!” he finished, and took off at a brisk trot.
Elise smiled after him, amazed at how much he had grown in just a year. “I gather you have been saving the life of a few more siblings” Micah said, watching Ivan’s retreating form. “They do manage to get into scrapes with an alarming frequency. That’s partly why I came back, we’ve about worn out our bond with all the wasps and hidden pits and who knows what they manage to find. It’s amazing what just seeing him again does to rebind.” “Yes. That’s partly why I visit your parents so much.” he said. Elise nodded. Micah’s mother had died when he was ten years old and he had been sent to live with his grandfather, Bywater’s blacksmith. Micah’s grandfather had been a bitter, angry man, and Elise’s mother had been so worried about Micah living alone with him that she had offered to bond him into their family. He had practically grown up with them ever since. “Ivan’s not the only one who has grown. I think that you will find Liesel happy to see you again.” Micah said seriously. Elise looked up at him, startled. “Do you really think so? I have been so worried about our relationship, it’s been bad ever since her illness, well, you know. But I don’t know what to do, I don’t understand why she hates me!” Micah just shook his head. “She doesn’t hate you. I don’t think anyone could.” Elise stopped. They were nearly to the house, but she decided her family could wait a few more minutes. “Then you don’t hate me, for, for leaving?” she asked. He turned to face her. “I’m not going to lie, I did at first. But I have learned that you were right. Neither of us was ready. It wouldn’t have worked.” Elise laughed. “It’s funny that you say that, because I feel like I have learned that you were right. There really isn’t anywhere better than Bywater. I’m grateful for what I have learned, but I’ve decided against staying longer in the city after all. Once I have completed my internship I am going to come back here. Auntie is getting old, and she offered to let me take over for her before I ever left. I think I will accept, if she will still have me.” Micah was silent, examining her closely. “And what about my offer?” he asked quietly. Elise flushed yet again. She was getting worse than he ever was! “I think I will accept that as well, if you will still have me.” she said. And so it was that when Ian and Ivan discovered them a few moments later they instantly and unanimously voted to suspend Micah’s membership, pending further review, for the crime of being caught kissing a girl, a crime made even worse by the fact that it was their sister.
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| The Meadowbee Family, from left to right: Len, Liesel, Ian, Mother, Baby Rose, Elise, Father, Ivan, Micah, Tom, and Becca |
*Special thanks to my friend Janette for the amazing photography! We managed to pick the coldest day of the month I think but she still got amazing shots. Also to my husband for giving me the idea for this story. I was having a hard time coming up with Elise's history, but when I showed her to him for some reason in our conversation he asked "She has a family, doesn't she?" That question led me to make the Meadowbee family sketch, which then led to the story above.
**Elise's story is very loosely based on the life of Minerva Teichert, one of my favorite artists. You can read her biography by clicking
here.
