The Enchanted Greenhouse(120)
Marin shook her head. “Can’t see that being a problem. Laws are changing right and left, and no one is going to flinch at a little spellwork on a sparsely populated island, so long as it doesn’t cause any harm. Causing harm is still illegal. But the law that got you statue-ified—”
Terlu took a step back. “You know about that? About … me?”
“Who do you think brought you here?”
“I…” She hadn’t known. But if Marin had been the sailor who transported her as a statue, then of course she must have known instantly who she was the second she saw a living, breathing person on the dock who exactly resembled the wooden statue she’d had in her hull. She’d chosen not to say anything. Unsure how she felt about that, Terlu gawked at the sailor. “You knew all along?”
“Sure.” Marin shrugged as if it was a minor detail, not the most pivotal （and traumatic） event of Terlu’s life. “I don’t blindly agree to transport criminals without knowing what they did. I knew, and I sympathized. Anyway, the law that got you turned into a statue has been struck. Thought you might like to know.”
It … What?
All her worry. All her fear …
And the law had been struck down miles and miles away? If she hadn’t talked to Marin, she might never have known and continued to live in anxious fear of an imperial investigator swooping down on her island and ripping her away from everything and everyone she’d grown to love. “The imperial investigators…”
“Disbanded,” Marin said.
“And who … How…”
Marin flapped a hand in the general direction of Alyssium. “Laws are being rewritten. The provisional government is still figuring out which foot to put which shoe on, but yeah, the empire fell, which means a lot of changes, for better or worse, but this is one change for the better that I think will stick. You’ve heard about the magic storms plaguing the outer islands, haven’t you? Or have you? You’ve been pretty sheltered, first in the library, then on Belde.” Marin paused for her to reply, but Terlu was too flabbergasted to do anything but stare at her. “Well, anyway, as it turns out, one of the side effects of the emperor’s hoarding magic has been an increase in terrible storms. So everyone’s happy to not return to the old ways. Less death and mayhem, you know?”
She had no idea there had been death and mayhem while she’d stood frozen on her pedestal, but less … Yes, less sounded good. Terlu felt as if her mind was whirling. Marin knew all along that she’d been a statue? And she’d approved of Terlu not being a statue, even though there had been a trial, complete with judgment and sentencing? “You were willing to risk…？ For me?”
“Yeah, well, what’s the point of sailing free, choosing your own horizon, if you won’t choose what’s right over what’s easy?” For an instant, Marin’s smile faltered, and she looked out at the horizon.
Terlu opened her mouth and then shut it, unsure what to say.
Ree swung on a line, holding on with his branches, and then released, soaring in an arc off the boat and landing on the dock with a thump as his root ball impacted on the boards. “Hey, Marin, did you see that? I did it!”
Marin cheered. “Flawless. Like always.” Lowering her voice, she said to Terlu, “First dozen times he tried that, he overshot.” She mimed a bush sailing over the dock and splashing into the water.
“Luckily I’m—”
“—a halophyte,” Marin finished with him, fondness in her voice. “Yes, we know.”
“Welcome back, Ree,” Terlu said to him. “Where’s the other sailor who was with you?” She didn’t remember his name, but he’d had diamond horns. He’d looked at home on her ship; she’d assumed he was a permanent addition.
Marin shrugged. “He’s back on land, where he belongs. Not everyone’s made for the sea like Ree here.” She smiled affectionately at the shrubbery.
Ree fluttered his leaves like a bird preening.
“Your friends will be happy to see you,” Terlu told him. “Glad you made it back for Winter Feast.”
“Ooh, speaking of…” Marin dug into the bag at her side and pulled out a thin book with a green cloth cover. “I brought you a feast present. Happy solstice!”
A present. Terlu felt as if she’d already been gifted with the greatest present she could have ever imagined: her life, free of fear. And a letter from her family, which she was still clutching to her heart. “I didn’t get you anything.”
“You gave me a very big ruby, remember?” Rolling her eyes, Marin handed the book to Terlu. “It’s a new spellbook that’s circulating, written for ordinary people. Supposed to have a lot to do with plants and gardens and such, and since, you know, the whole greenhouse thing … I thought it could be useful. Found it in an adorable jam shop, and I couldn’t say no.”
“The laws have changed that much?” Terlu gawked at the book. It was titled simply Spells from Caltrey. She wasn’t sure where Caltrey was—it wasn’t an island name that she recognized.
“Yep,” Marin said.
This was proof, here in her hands. A spellbook for an ordinary person.
“Brand-new world out there. A second chance for a whole lot of people, not just you.”