"What do you want?" Ellie kept the gate latched.

Zinnia Trotter blinked, not expecting that. "Nice to see you, too." Her long hair was free flowing, laying over her shoulders. Before she'd cut it, it had been long enough for her to sit on. She wore her work outfit, a pair of coveralls that had been stained to hell over the years. Gloves stuck out of her pocket.

She may have been a scholar, but she was still a farmer through and through. The Trotter family's pigs were an integral part of the town's economy. They were bouncing back from a heavy loss of their stock, which meant that the majority of Zinnia's free time was spent around the pig pens.

"Hurry up. I'm busy."

"I wanted to warn you about your mom." Zinnia gripped the wire. It shook, betraying her nerves. "She figured out that you haven't been going to class."

"Yeah, because you told her. Thanks." Sarcasm.

"It was better me than Gaurin. He thinks she's okay with you skipping." Zinnia mumbled, "I was trying to help you."

"Next time, don't. She practically screamed my ear off. I'm holding it on with glue, see?" Ellie said. She kept her tone crossed, despite her joke. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" She shifted the way she stood, the glass in her bag clinking together.

"No. I just got done with the pigs' morning feed." Zinnia said. "You're paying her a visit, aren't you?" All her nervousness had cleared up, replaced with bitter disapproval.

"Someone has to feed her."

"She can forage."

"And so can you, but no one makes you do that. You've got a nice house and all kinds of nice things. What if that all went away for you?" And that wasn't even half of the story. "Try being exiled on top of all that."

Zinnia said, "it's because of me that she has that shack of hers. If it were up to my father, she'd be dead." She let go of the wire. "Next time, learn all of the facts before you try guilt tripping someone."

"You never visit her."

"Why should I? I'm not her keeper." She yanked her gloves out of her pocket. "And can you really call her exiled if her exile is mostly self-imposed? We don't want her near our farmland, but she's free to go anywhere else."

Ellie held back laughter. "Yeah, sure, if she wants to disappear forever, she'll get right on that." She sucked in a sharp breath when she realized the weight of what she'd said. "I-I've got to go check on Sunflower."

"Yes, yes. I have to return home. I can't keep my mother waiting."

"Tell Ianthe I said hi."

"Okay!"

She wouldn't. They both knew it was better if she didn't mention Ellie's name to her. Zinnia hurried away. Ellie counted to sixty twice before finally retrieving the dried gourd. Away from the gate and hidden from view, she poured the thank-you gift into it. She'd found the wine bottle in their cellar, dusty and forgotten on the bottom rack. Someone had made it for her mother and they never got around to drinking it.

Even though she knew Hildegard wouldn't miss it, Ellie planned on keeping the bottle, filling it with water, and putting it back in its place. She'd gotten away with doing that before.

-------------

A/N: This is an interactive fantasy serial. Voting takes place on Thursdays through Sundays on the story's main site. The most up-to-date chapters can also be found there, but uploading will happen in parts on RRL as well.

The next post will be Chapter 3.3.

The latest chapter's poll is still active (as of February 28th at 12:20 AM EST). Voting will end by February 28th at 11:59 PM EST. This is the LAST DAY for voting on the latest chapter!