Distraction Read Online Free

3
Poppy

    The afternoon and supper passed peacefully. Wavering
candlelight added to the warmth of the fire. After the dishes were
cleared, Nonni walked into the small windowless room at the back of
the cottage where she mixed tonics and elixirs. She stayed there
for the remainder of the evening. Unfamiliar fragrances seeped
beneath the doorway. She had not told us what she was working on
and we dared not ask.
    Mari sat at the table working on a sampler, and I’d
relaxed enough to pull out some parchment and stick of graphite.
Sketching was my favorite hobby, and I had to admit that I was
quite skilled at it.
    I’d been working on a particular drawing for weeks.
The thread I’d wound around the stick of graphite pressed into the
tender tips of my fingers. The laundry had taken a toll on my
hands, but I was determined to finish the sketch this evening. As I
shaded the lines of my drawing, Mari left her sampler to come sit
with me by the fire. We nibbled on leftover gingerbread as I put
the finishing strokes on my picture.
    Up until now, I’d not let Mari see the sketch. I held
it up and admired it in the yellow light of the hearth flames. I’d
purposely left the face shield of the knight open so his pale eyes
could gaze back at me from the parchment. He was nearly as handsome
as I’d imagined and in my mind’s eye, I could picture a crooked
smile beneath the chin of his armor.
    “Well, you look as pleased as a child who has just
successfully stolen a pie from the windowsill,” Mari quipped. “Can
I please see it now?”
    “Yes, I think it is time to unveil him.” I turned the
parchment. “May I present to you, Sir Blade, the
dragon-slayer.”
    Mari’s eyes widened and she grabbed the parchment
from my fingers. She stared at the sketch and her blue eyes
sparkled. “Why can’t there be boys like this here in Salem. He’s
wonderful, Poppy. And the dragon beneath his sword looks so real it
frightens me to hold the parchment so closely.” Belying her
previous statement, she brought the sketch closer to her face. “Who
is this?” She lowered the picture and smiled at me over the top of
it. “You’ve drawn yourself in the picture. You are the maiden in
danger.”
    I shrugged. “Naturally.” I plucked the picture from
her grasp. “He’s my hero, after all.” I dropped the picture onto my
lap and leaned back on my hands with a sigh. “Somewhere out there
is my hero, and I have every intention of finding him. He’ll have
pale green eyes and a mischievous smile that steals my breath.
He’ll ride a tall horse and never leave home without a sword at his
side. And he’ll be even more in love with me than I am with him,
although that will be difficult because I will love him to
distraction.”
    “Seems rather farfetched,” Mari said. “Perhaps you
should have Nonni conjure a hero up for you.”
    “You have no imagination, Mari.”
    “And you, dear sister, have too much.”
    The door to the back room opened and a dense, bitter
smelling steam followed Nonni as she walked out. My stomach
tightened. I was not an expert in magic but I knew that the clammy
moisture swirling around our small house was not the residue of
white magic.
    Nonni looked weary. Without a word she walked over
and blew on the embers beneath the kettle on the hearth. They went
out immediately. She touched one candle and the rest extinguished.
The only light that remained was the starlight through the window
and the flames in the fireplace.
    My grandmother’s tiny figure cast a long shadow on
the wall of the cottage as she stood over us. We’d had a pleasant
supper and the evening had been perfectly uneventful, but Nonni’s
lips were still pulled tightly. “Off to bed with the both of you,”
she said with a waver in her voice. The sound of it blackened my
mood again.
    I climbed beneath the quilt and curled up next to my
sister for warmth. Nonni’s powers allowed her to sense impending
doom, but in this case, I truly hoped she’d lost