The old oak door opened easily, unlocked and on greased hinges. She poked her head in. ‘Hello? Ester?’ The house was small and dark with the muted sound of rain hitting the sod roof. She shook as much water as possible from her cloak then stepped inside. ‘Ester? It’s Ashley, your apprentice.’ She glanced about the cold, dark room. No fire in the hearth and a stillness born from a place that had not been lived in for a small time. She hung her cloak by the door, placing her pack on the bench. She looked about the small house, simple furniture and only a few rooms that she could see from the doorway. The kitchen occupied most of the space of the room with rows of jars above and below filled with herbs, stones, different colored liquids. On the counter a mortar and pestle with a crushed brown herb. She took a pinch, rubbing it between her fingers to activate the oils - clove. Beside the mortar was a distilling device with the collection bottle nearly full of liquid. Within the still itself were wet herbs starting to mold. The counters and floor had a discrete layer of dust that Ashley wiped down as she made her way through the house. There was a windowless small bedroom with enough space for a bed and small armoire and adjacent was a slightly larger bedroom with a small window. She retuned to the larger room noting a lack of disarray or mess within. It looked as though her mentor has stepped out while making a tincture and simply not returned. Ashley hoped she had not gone looking for her. The rain had delayed her travels for almost two weeks as the ferries and bridges had been considered too dangerous to cross or washed away. She had sent a letter to Ester telling of her travels before departure but that was over 3 weeks ago. Perhaps her mentor had a patient to attend and had simply gotten stuck in another village due to the floods. Satisfied with the thought, she worked on lighting a fire, feeling the chill of the damp touch her bones. With the fire roaring she looked to the bedrooms again and deciding the larger of the bedrooms would likely be Esters. She unpacked and organized what little she owned into the little sturdy armoire of the small bedroom. She went to work in the kitchen cleaning the still. With the used herb in a bundle she shivered under her wet cloak sloshing into the rain around the back of the house where she had seen a small garden through the larger bedroom window. Digging a hole with a trowel she found, she buried the used herb from the still. She would find the appropriate compost pile later, but for now this would be respectful and quick. With her cloak soaked again she hung it by the fire, and stood letting the warmth tempt her soaked skin back to the living. She moved to the kitchen taking note of the herbs and preparations Ester had made when a loud knock came from the door. She turned - the door thrust open before she could utter a word. She stood cleaning her hands as a man stepped through, removing his large periwinkle cloak and shaking it. Her opinion of him mired as she watched the floor sprinkle with a decent amount of water. He locked eyes with her and visibly stiffened. ‘You are not Ester’ ‘No I’m not.’ She quickly added ‘she most likely left for the next village. I’m not sure when she will return.’ Wiping her hands she stepped towards him ‘ I’m Ashley her apprentice.’ She went to shake his hand but he made no move to accept the gesture. He looked at her warily. ‘ I didn’t realize she was taking on an apprentice.’ Ashley lowered her hand, feeling her socks becoming damp from the wet he brought in- searching his face if he had any intention of warming to her. The man stood staring her down with a faint look of disgust. She took a breath. ‘She is. I’ve studied at the herbal college in Bethel and have completed my training as one of the top in my class. I’ve come for my apprenticeship for the next year and will be completing my clinical training under her excellent expertise. I’ve been lucky to have her accept me as a mentor as she rarely takes students.’ She took a small step towards a dry spot to prevent any further damp from soaking what warmth she had gained. ‘I detest students, although with your training in Bethel you seem somewhat competent.’ He continued to study her, looking over the small room to the hanging herbs and clean still. Although still a jibe, she would take the compliment as a small opening of opportunity. Seeing if she could open it further she asked, ‘ if you will permit me to help, perhaps I can start the process of what you are here for, while waiting for Ester to return. I’m sure she won’t be long.’ He seemed to relax slightly, she continued ‘ I’m sure she will want you helped as quickly as possible. You do seem to be a person of fine standing with such a lovely cloak.’ He paused looking at her with surprise ‘ Yes I am. As deputy assistant to the council member, I am of dignified standing within the region.’ She made a small bow and motioned to two simple chairs close to the fire. ‘I would be honored to assist you on Esters behalf until her speedy return.’ She mentally hoped Ester would not be cross about her words, nor taking on a client unsupervised. He straightened, pleased with the flattery, and made his way to the chair. She took in a breath, steadying herself, turning and taking the opposite chair. ‘What can I help you with?’ He mentioned to his nose. ‘Do you see this here?’ Ashley had to bend closer in order to see what he was pointing to. There was a small bump that had been covered by flesh colored cream. ‘That small bump?’ She asked. ‘Small bump!’ He cried. ‘Small bump! This here has risen to an enormous size! I had to conceal it with use of an expensive concoction from a colleague. As a dignitary in my position such masses are most unbecoming and undignified. I have a reputation to uphold.’ She mustered as much sincerity as possible between her surprise and pure amusement ‘of course, that makes sense with a person of your standing. It would of course be extremely distracting.’ ‘Most definitely.’ He concurred. ‘Yes’ she continued ‘however in order to diagnosis the condition I am obligated to see the lesion without the concelor cream.’ He paused and she added ‘I promise that all diagnosis and treatment here will be confidential.’ ‘ I hope that will always be the case.’ ‘Absolutely sir.’ She stood straight in her chair giving no sign of doubt in her expression. With great care he removed the concealer and she could see a hard fleshy colored lump. She gently touched it after obtaining permission and felt it to be hard and shallow. Swallowing her laughter she sat and made eye contact, saying as seriously as possible ‘it is a wart, sir. A small one and not yet deep.’ He groaned loudly, touching the mass again. ‘ It has been growing so quickly, I need this to be taken care of swiftly. When can you make the remedy?’ ‘I can make preparations straight away, although I must warn you, the treatment may take some time to have the full effect.’ Impatiently he waved his hand at her ‘Yes, yes, I understand. Do you need to look at it further?’ ‘No sir, I have a diagnosis.’ He nodded and produced a small tin in which was a flesh colored cream and applied it to the wart. Satisfied he stood, collecting his cloak. ‘I must take my leave, they will be wondering of my absence. Please deliver as soon as possible.’ Clasping his cloak around his neck he stroad off in the rain shutting the door decidedly which made Ashley blink at the sound. Chuckling she started looking through the jars of herbs, seeing if the ingredients were available to make a remedy. Her laughter stopped when she realized she had forgotten to ask the gentleman his name and where to drop off the remedy. She groaned, rubbing her eyes. Oh, what had happened to Ester?