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Leona wasn’t sure if it was the sound or the smell that roused him from his nap in the greenhouse. He opened his eyes and emitted a low warning growl as a kid in a Pomefiore uniform almost stepped on him. He vaguely recognised him – Efel? Apel? Something like that. “Watch out!”
Epel was so engrossed in reading the piece of paper in his hand that he hadn’t noticed the Savanaclaw dorm president whom he was just about to trip over. He froze, then turned and started to run in the opposite direction. He only got a few steps before doubling over in obvious pain and letting out an agonised groan.
“Hey! Kid! Stop! Are you OK? Has someone hurt you?” Leona reached out to grab Epel’s wrist. As the younger boy turned towards him, the slight shift in the air wafted that odd smell to him again. Blood, certainly, but something else?
“It’s nothing. I’m fine.”
“You’re not. You’re bleeding and in pain.” Leona let go of his wrist. “What are you doing here, anyway? Surely class has finished for the day?”
Epel nodded, clutched his piece of paper more tightly, and tried to secret it in his jacket sleeve. “I’m gathering ingredients for a potion.”
“Detention? Or homework assignment?” Epel shook his head. “Ah! Personal use. You know that’s forbidden to first years?’ Epel bit his lip and looked down as tears started to glisten in his eyes. “I need it”, he mumbled, more to himself than Leona. “Grandma said it would help.”
Leona sighed and then, more gently, “Little cub, what’s the matter? If someone has hurt you…”
“No-one has hurt me. But I need these ingredients.”
Another sigh. He wasn’t going to get back to napping anytime soon, so he may as well help. And besides, he was a cub in distress. “Well, no-one knows these gardens better than me. If you show me your list, I’ll tell you where everything is, ok?”
Epel nodded and they worked their way to the back of the greenhouse, stopping as necessary to gather the items on the list.
“Well, that’s it. Everything else is in there.”
“But I…oh gods!” Epel bent over and sat down heavily on a stone wall as a wave of pain shot through him. “I…need…this.”
“OK, OK.” There it was again. There was something about that scent, but he just couldn’t place it. He looked again at the list, this time more analytically and suddenly it all fell into place. Probably? Maybe? “Hey, kid? When did it start?”
Epel was so taken aback by the question that he answered without thinking. “Last month. It was horrible! I never want it to happen again. But I know it will. That’s why I need this. Grandma said it would help. She’s the only one who understands; who accepts it. That’s why I live with her. My parents kicked me out. She calls me her Urania.” His voice trailed off as he realised that he’d probably revealed too much.
“With real and utmost respect to your grandmother, I assume she is a hedge-witch?”
Epel nodded. “So?” he said a little more defensively than he’d intended.
“As I said – no disrespect. It’s just that that’s an old Pyroxene term, and these ingredients are commonly used by the wise women of the Rose Queendom and Pyroxene. They’d be effective, but there are more – potent – things that you could use, depending on what you want to achieve.”
Epel looked blank.
“Do you want to reduce the symptoms, or stop it completely?”
“Stop it? I didn’t know you could stop it. I thought that this was just part of being born like this – bleeding and pain every month until I’m old, or until I can make enough money to have an operation.” Realising that Leona knew sort of made it better. It was good to talk to someone other than Grandma. “I hate being a girl. ‘Cos I’m not. I mean, I am, biologically. I’ve got a cunt and boobs.” Leona raised an eyebrow as his gaze shifted to Epel’s shirt. He blushed. “They’re pretty small, and I bind them and I got this thing online – it’s called a ‘limpy’ - and I put it in my trousers so it looks like I’ve got a dick and I do weight training to build muscles.” He stopped, out of breath and very red. “Please don’t laugh at me.”
Leona was smiling. Limpy?? How much did someone get paid to think up that one? Aloud he said “I can get you what you need. But what do you want?”
“Well…” Epel began slowly. “You said there was other stuff that might help more; be better? Could you…um…tell me how?” He blushed even more deeply as his voice trailed off.
“Got a pen and paper?”
He nodded and scrambled in his bag to find them.
Leona wrote out a list of ingredients and detailed instructions and handed the paper back to him, then turned to the warded gate that led into the restricted part of the garden. He muttered a spell and the gate swung open. “You can come with me, but don’t try to touch anything. The garden recognises me as being allowed here, and allows you here ‘cos you’re with me, but if you wander off or try to pick anything, you will be clamped and transported to Crowley’s office. Understand?”
Epel nodded and stuck close behind Leona as he made his way through the garden, gathering as he went.
“That’s everything on your grandma’s list and mine. Now it’s up to you what you do with it.”
Epel nodded and mumbled his thanks and started to bolt out of the garden.
“Hey, kid! Am I right in assuming that you haven’t told Vil?”
“Gods, no! He doesn’t like me much as it is; this would just confirm that I’m not the perfect Pomefiore student his wants me to be.” Leona gave a wry smile as Epel continued.” No-one knows, at least I don’t think so…”
“Hmm. You might find that more people do know, but just haven’t said anything. The smell of blood is quite obvious for beastmen as well as many of the merfolk and the fae. You’re lucky that most of the boys here have no idea what a woman smells like, so they probably don’t realise what kind of blood it is.” He stopped as Epel turned bright red again. “I’m not trying to embarrass you. It’s perfectly natural. In many countries, including old Pyroxene, people like you are considered very special indeed.”
Epel shrugged and smiled. “Thanks” he mumbled. “That’s what Grandma says.”
“Well, she’s right.”
Epel grinned. “Not bad, for a hedge-witch?”
Leona grunted. “Hmm. No, not bad at all” he conceded. “Look, if you need anywhere to – escape – from Vil or anyone else, you can come to Savanaclaw. The dorm will be told that you are under my protection. It might be nice to have some good luck around!”