“That’s—” she began.
“An Apple Spritzer,” he said evenly. “You need to take a break.” He placed something else flat on the table next to the pleasantly fizzing drink, but Demi was still wholly occupied by the appearance of the Apple Spritzer.
“How did you know to make that?” she asked, confused. Apple Spritzers were her drink of choice when the choice allowed, but she hadn’t had one since her arrival, nor had she mentioned them to anyone. And there was another reason she was surprised and confused by the mere existence of the drink.
She moved to take the drink, but just before she did, he glanced sidelong at her and then dropped two sugar cubes into the already sweet drink.
“Your predilection for consuming massive amounts of sugar has not escaped me,” he said. “Just try it. I think it will suit you.”
Demi complied with no further prompting. She had to see for herself whether or not this was what she thought it was.
She took a sip through the charmingly loopy straw and she had her answer, and it was an answer that triggered a long string of ararara.
“How did you know how to make this?” she asked again. “Have I been talking in my sleep?”
“No?” Aelfric answered incredulously, his brows drawing together. “Of course I know how to make it. I invented it.”
“No,” Demi insisted. “I invented it!”
And she had, when she’d been eight years old. It had been her favorite drink ever since.
And she had to admit, the one that Aelfric had made for her was the best one she had ever tasted. She was already feeling less exhausted and dry.
Aelfric made a quiet huffing sound. “Then the rational explanation is that we both invented it independently,” he pointed out. “It has only a few ingredients. Surely many people have invented it besides ourselves.”
“I, I suppose you’re right,” Demi said hesitantly as she sipped at her drink. But still, to have the same name, she thought. That felt very strange.
But the drink was very refreshing, and as Aelfric had promised, it did suit her.
I’m going to have to start adding extra sugar cubes to mine! she resolved, because she was a person who defied limitations. (Most especially limitations on the amount of sugar she ought to consume.)
He tapped the small flat item that he had laid on the table next to the glass. Now that she looked at it she could see that it was rectangular. It looked something like a bandage about the length of her hand and the width of three of her fingers.
“Put that on your forehead and finish your drink,” he ordered. “Then go lie down. You need to rest for a while.”
When Demi curiously pulled the wrapper away from the bandage, she recognized what it was. It wasn’t a precise replica, not in the way the Apple Spritzer was, but she could still tell what it was. It was a cooling strip to help with fevers or headaches. The lab had bought them by the trainload.
What an incredibly powerful item, Demi thought in awe. Surely worth its weight in gold for headaches that come from reading and game binges!
Aelfric truly was a Great Sage to offer such a thing to her.
When she put it on her forehead she felt cooled and refreshed, much the same as when she had taken her first taste of the Apple Spritzer. It was as if they were melting her fatigue away. She felt reenergized and motivated.
“Ah, I feel so much better,” she said. “I feel like I can work for a few more hours now!”
But this optimistic statement caused Aelfric to bring one of his hands down on the table in a very impressive “don!” sound. He leaned in over her and gave her an intense, menacing look.
“Go. Lie. Down. And. Rest,” he said, his voice low and rumbly.
“But—” she protested.
He leaned down further, causing the worktable to creak ominously in protest.
“Go. Lie. Down. And. Rest,” he repeated even more forcefully.
Demi shrank down a little and acquiesced. “All right, all right,” she relented. “I’ll go lie down.”
Aelfric leaned back, apparently at least somewhat satisfied. But then he further clarified his words.
“No reading,” he ordered flatly.
“No reading?!!!” Demi yelped. “You can’t be serious! What is more restful than reading? Nothing, that’s what! My whole essence will be healed by reading!”
“You are exhausted, and you need to rest quietly in the dark with your eyes closed,” he explained matter-of-factly. But then his aura became very intense again. “No. Reading.”
“No reading,” she agreed, raising her hands in surrender.
While you’re looking! she completed in her mind. I’ll just wait until you’ve gone.
“Good,” he said, standing back up straight. Even the worktable seemed to visibly relax after he stopped being so menacing. But his next words chilled her to the bone and cut off all hope. “I intend to keep an eye on you from the other side of the bed, so unless you want your books confiscated, you should do as you’ve agreed and rest.”
Oh no! No reading for real! She felt certain that he would make good on his threats. That was the kind of person the Shadowstep Alchemist was. Only the absolutely foolish or the absolutely deranged would want him as an enemy.
“Ah, but don’t you have work you’d like to continue?” Demi began half-heartedly, knowing what his answer was sure to be.
“No,” he said flatly, then crossed his arms as he looked at her very shrewdly. “After all, I’m still recovering. I also need my rest.” He paused weightily and the very silence exuded pressure. “Don’t I?”
All at once Demi sincerely regretted all of the times she had bullied Aelfric to rest.
But then she didn’t, because it was clear that he had needed all of that rest. He needed rest now. That was obvious to her.
And her need of rest was probably obvious to him.
I guess he is a doctor, after all. If he says I need to rest, then I probably should rest, she decided.
But books—
She could read some books after she rested.
I probably wouldn’t be able to enjoy what I’m reading right now anyway, she realized.
So they both went to rest.