Chapter Text
“Miss Hopps! May I trouble your presence for a moment?”
Judith Hopps stopped and turned back the way she had come, to see Father Joseph approaching her as fast as his legs could carry the portly old goat. She offered a faint smile in greeting. “Of course, Father. What may I do for you?”
“There… There’s a young ewe that has recently expressed interest in learning the healing arts. Her parents are agreeable to her ambitions, and have asked for the Church’s help in finding her a mentor.”
“That is certainly admirable, Father. The Lord will it, I’m sure she’ll make a wonderful healer, especially under the tutelage of Sister Margaret and Sister Mary.”
“I certainly hope so, Miss Hopps. But that is the heart of the matter which I came here to discuss with you.” Judy waited politely as the priest took a few more deep breaths, glancing around to make sure no one was in earshot. “Between you and me, Sister Margaret is beginning to get on in age and lacks the mobility of her youth. And Sister Mary is already feeling the strain of the extra work that she has had to take on, including training the girls who have come to live in the convent and devote themselves to our Lord.”
“Poor dears. I’ll pray for them tonight. I wish I could do more to help them, but I feel as if I would only get in the way, trying to work alongside so many other people.”
“Ah, but there is a way you could help them! I have discussed this with the girl in question, and with her parents, and they are all in agreement that you would be the best mammal to teach her!”
“M-me? I… I don’t know what to say…” One paw left the handle of the wicker basket she was carrying as Judy clutched at her breast, left reeling by the old goat’s words. While admittedly she was flattered by the thought that she was so highly regarded by both the church and the community as a whole to teach someone else how to save lives and cure illnesses, that offer was the last thing she was expecting to hear from the priest.
“Well, you could say yes… And if it helps to persuade you at all, the family have agreed to pay a small stipend for your services. Though I have no doubt a good Christian woman such as yourself would be glad to accept out of her own charity.”
“Forgive me, Father. Your request simply came as a bit of a shock. I wasn’t expecting for anyone to wish me to make an apprentice of their child, at least not so soon and with Madame Bushtail still as young as she is.”
“Madame Bushtail is very skilled, true. But she can be a bit brusque, and she is asking for far too much money to take on the ewe in question. Besides, her parents recognize you; they see you here every Sunday, after all! And if they would prefer to send their daughter off to the mammal who they know best… well, who came fault them for that?”
“Of course, Father. I understand now. I would be glad to take on this girl as my apprentice, especially if she has a passion for healing.” The old goat’s face lit up with a radiant smile, and Judy found she couldn’t help but return the expression with one of her own. “If I may ask, who is it that I will be accepting as my student?”
“Elizabeth Stonehorn, the daughter of Lord Alexander Stonehorn.”
“M-Miss Elizabeth Stonehorn? That’s… that’s… not what I was expecting you to say.” She clutched harder at her breast, fighting the nausea that had crept up under her fur. Apparently it showed in her features, because Father Joseph reached out his hooves to steady her.
“It came as quite a shock to me as well, but she was determined, and who am I to question the strength of her devotion to our Lord? I promised her when she came to me that if she wanted to act as a receptacle for our Lord’s divine will, then I would do everything in my power to help her attain her goals. Personally I am just thankful that her father readily accepted her wishes; convincing him would have been, um, anyway.” He seemed to realize he was about to spread gossip – something which he promised to never do in his oath to the priesthood – and finished rather quickly. “At any rate, I should return with all possible haste to give them your reply. I’m sure young Elizabeth will be waiting with bated breath for my return. The Lord bless you and keep you, Miss Hopps!”
“You as well, Father.” Judy barely had a chance to register the whole of the old goat’s words before he spun on his hoof and started bounding off again. Her ear twitched as she heard his laboured breathing start up again, but she managed to suppress the smile that was threatening to appear on her muzzle.
The young rabbit turned back to her path, both paws returning to their former position wrapped around the handle of the wicker basket. Her harvest had been plentiful, and Sister Margaret had readily exchanged Judy’s ginger root for lavender, some witch hazel leaves for alfalfa, and – Judy’s prize of the day – some goldenseal and moonlace for a Prickly Pear cactus, which she’d been trying to procure for months without much success.
Now, off to the Johnson’s house to deliver that ginseng and poppy seed tea that she had prepared for Mr. Johnson, Sr.