Linnea's Arc

Chapter 6 of 14

Linnea slept little. Mia's last words hung over the barn all night. Tomorrow the roads will be full. By first light Linnea stood at the door and saw she was right. People filled the field. Wagons. Tents. A cow with a strange purple and black hide grazed at the edge, brought by a family who'd traveled days. And near the road stood a wooden board, freshly painted. On it, in tall letters: THE LEGENDARY HEALER OF HUSBAND COVE. Below that, smaller, sat Linnea's true name. Soraya came running from the road, breath short. "Mia's men are handing out cards," they said. "Your name is on every one. She's telling the whole province you never turn anyone away." Soraya gripped Linnea's arm. "This isn't a shop anymore. It's a fair. And she's charging people to stand in line." Linnea's chest tightened. They had wanted a quiet door. A place where a sick neighbor knocked and left well. Now their name was paint on a board, and Mia owned the crowd. If the name stayed, the quiet was gone for good. Linnea walked to the board. A soft-leaved plant sat by the barn door, blue and purple blossoms among small caring green leaves. Linnea plucked one bloom and turned to the people. "Listen," they called. "I have no legendary name. I'm just a neighbor with a plant." The crowd murmured. Then a shape moved between the wagons. A purple panther, its coat marked with faint glowing signs, stepped into the open. People scattered back. The panther walked straight to Linnea and sat, calm, its eyes on the painted board. A small winged creature, round and soft, fluttered down and landed on the panther's back. The same creature that had brought the endless bloom. Soraya stared. "They came with the plant. They're yours." Linnea understood then. The magic that fed them had also sent guardians. Linnea faced the crowd again. "My name isn't for sale. Anyone who's truly sick, come. Anyone who paid Mia to stand here, take your coin back from her." Linnea tore the board down. The panther set a heavy paw on the fallen wood and it split under the pressure. Mia pushed through the people, pearls swinging. "You're ruining it," she hissed. "That name is worth a fortune." "It was never yours to sell," Linnea said. The panther rose and stepped between them. Mia stopped. She looked at the beast, the winged creature, the rows of endless plants inside the barn. Something in her face changed. She turned and left without another word. By dusk the paying crowd had thinned. Only the truly sick remained, and Linnea healed them one by one. The board was gone. But so was the quiet. Word of a healer with a magic panther would spread now faster than any card. Linnea had kept their name. They had not yet made it safe.