The Devil's Betrothed novel Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Berries

After Oriana ran away from her neighbors, she felt relieved at escaping that predicament. There was no way that the older woman would not discover she was a girl while taking her measurement, and exposing such a secret would only end up with Gwen asking uncomfortable questions.

Still, deep in her heart, she felt apologetic towards the older woman. Oriana preferred wearing dark clothes as they would minimize her chances of catching people's eyes. Gwen would only make her nice clothes she would never end up wearing.

'What a kind family...'

Holding onto her new pair of boots, a smile lingered on her face.

"Let's finish making medicine first."

She resumed her work and after concocting her grandfather's medicine, she began preparing herbal remedies for her fellow villagers who would often come to her to be treated for minor things like headaches, fevers or animal bites.

Within their little village composed mostly of hunters, Orian was the only herbalist, an existence loved and respected by the poor villagers who could not afford the luxury of apothecaries and physicians.

She never asked for payment, but as a show of gratitude, the villagers would bring her things like fruits, vegetables or spare meat from their hunts.

After she finished packing the medicines, she was ready to leave.

"I need to get these medicines to Aunt Lora first. She can't come to get it due to her sprained ankle." She then hoisted the sackcloth bag over her shoulder. "Next stop would be Uncle Joseph for his stomach ache."

After she left home, she threaded the footpath in between the other wooden cabins and small huts built on the sides. Oriana casually greeted the little children playing with a mud ball before entering a small thatched house where a woman a year or two older than Gwen was sitting on the chair while sewing clothes.

"Aunt Lora, I brought your medicines!" Oriana went to her and handed her over the small pouch. "There is also an ointment that you can apply on your ankle to lessen the swelling. It will be fine soon."

The woman smiled at the cheerful young boy.

"Thank you, Orian." She accepted it and pointed her towards one basket placed on the table in the corner. "Since you are here, why don't you eat? These are fresh jujubes your uncle brought this morning."

"Jujube?" Oriana got excited but then controlled herself. She needed to remind herself she was pretending to be a boy and she could not drool over these berries like girls do. "I mean, that's good, uhh, great."

The woman chuckled as she saw how Oriana controlled herself. It was an open secret among the villagers that not only does Orian the Herbalist have a sweet tooth, he also loves snacking on jujubes.

"Eat as much as you want. I know you like them. You can even bring some back with you if you want."

"No, it's fine—"

"Eating berries won't make you less of a man."

Oriana no longer refused and walked towards the basket, her eyes glittering at the sight of the tiny red fruits so small they were treated as wild berries. She loved them fresh and chewy, but also liked them dried as a candy. She could not wait to get her hands on them and stuffed handfuls in the pockets of her jacket.

"Thank you, Aunt Lora. Let me know once you finish this batch of medicine," she said and left with a little skip on her steps. Lora could not help but find the young lad adorable.

After she gave medicines to others, Orian decided to return home. In her arms, she was holding several loaves of bread and some common herbs the villagers stumbled upon while they were in the forest.

'Once I return home, I will divide the jujube—half I will turn into dried candy I can eat when outside, the rest I will eat today.'

She was craving to taste her favorite berries. As if triggered by her thoughts, she could feel the sweet and sour taste of those small round red berries on her tongue.

Being impatient, she pulled a few berries out of her pocket and started to eat as she walked.

"See how this guy is enjoying berries like a little girl."

A group of boys ranging from age thirteen to sixteen laughed at Oriana, making her frown.