The day after the mass worm-charming event, Demi returned to the daily rhythm of her life. She worked in her garden. She cared for her chickens. She went on a short walk through the woodlands near the farmhouse. She worked on refining her synthesis techniques in her atelier. She did paperwork and she met with Izar, who brought her a series of schematics to look at, and with Seri, who came with information about the water volume that was passing through the extreme east end of the course the Rosebrook took as it continued on its way.
It was late evening by the time she finished most of what she considered to be her daily work, and she was looking forward to some well-earned reading for pleasure. She was at a very exciting part of the story in The Shadowstep Alchemist. He was in the midst of a daring plan to spirit away the kitsune princess Yuki-hime and her retainers to liberate her from the machinations of her uncle, Noboru the Snake Eater.
She was so focused on thinking about what was likely to happen in the story that she didn’t notice immediately that Aelfric had quietly moved around in front of her as they crossed the wooden bridge over the Rosebrook. He had stopped at the other side of it and turned around so that he was facing her.
They had been walking back from the chicken coop together as Demi mused over the possible plot developments in the book. At first she had felt a little strange, continuing to read a light novel series at least ostensibly about a person she was sleeping in the same bed with, but ultimately, she had decided not to worry about it. He didn’t seem overly perturbed by it, and she was very involved in the story now! She couldn’t help but feel thrilled by the exciting happenings, and she was absolutely invested in all of the characters (especially her favorite alchemist).
Her last chore of the day had been making sure that Heidi and Harriet were safely inside of their chicken coop for the night: that it was warm and tidy, that they had plenty of food and water, and that they were comfortably settled in.
Demi was so engrossed in thinking about the light novels that she did not immediately realize that Aelfric had stopped and was seemingly waiting to speak to her. Fortunately, she looked up in time to keep from walking straight into him.
It made a striking picture.
The sky behind him was golden orange as he stood silently looking at her.
She had stopped just on the lip of the quaint wooden bridge. Rose petals were raining down on both of them, carried by the whispering breeze, and the plunging waterfall was so close at hand that it caused a fine mist in the air that was refreshing, but also made it feel slightly chillier than it might have otherwise.
Demi cocked her head to the side curiously, and the light breeze caused the hair around her face to dance.
“What is it?” she asked, because he obviously had something to say.
“Does the world outside of this place exist?” he asked her flatly.
Because the sun was setting behind him, he was rimmed in golden light, but that meant that by contrast, he was almost entirely in shadow, making it very difficult to read his expression. He seemed hazy, almost like a phantasm.
“What do you mean?” Demi asked playfully, her voice colored by a giggle that rapidly trailed off as she realized that he was not teasing her.
Even if she could not read his expression well, his body language felt grim. He was serious.
“What I said. Does the world outside of this place exist?” he repeated, unblinking. His words felt ancient, ominous, as if he were revealing some great and terrible secret of the cosmos. He was staring at her hard.
“This place?” she asked with a nervous laugh, opening her arms to indicate the world around her, almost as if she intended to give it a hug. “That’s a pretty esoteric question. Do you mean this world? I mean, I suppose so. It appears to be the case based on my investigations, so I assume so,” she said with a shrug. And it was true. As strange as this world felt at times, it did seem to materially exist, and that material existence seemed to connect to other material existences, even if some of them still felt very strange to her, like Hollyhope’s “divine realm.”
I guess he’s figured me out then, to ask a question like that, Demi thought to herself sheepishly. Unless this is a bait to get me to admit something. But even if it is, then that means he already suspects, which is the same thing in the end.
But his next words gave her such a shocking chill that it felt as if someone had thrown a bucket of ice water over her in midwinter. Somehow it was a question that seemed to threaten her very survival, and because it had been such an unexpected blow, it was that much more shattering. She was filled with deep existential dread.
“No,” he denied, a short, sharp word. He was so still that it almost felt unnatural. “I mean this farm. Does anything exist outside of this farm?”
At that moment, it was as if the entire world suddenly fell absolutely silent. Demi could no longer hear the sounds of the birds in the trees or the evening insects. She knew that the waterfall still had to be falling, that the brook under the bridge still had to be rushing by, but she could hear none of it. All she could hear was the sound of her own blood roaring in her ears.
She tried to laugh, because she had to do something, but it came out quivering and strange. An uncomfortable shiver had crept its way up the length of her spine, causing her to tremble slightly, squirming. She did her best to force her body to obey, to be still. Everything was fine. His question had simply been unnerving because it was so ridiculous. Of course the world outside of Rosewood Farm existed.
And she said so, plainly, as if saying it aloud would make it even more true.
“People come and go from the farm every day,” she pointed out. “Animals come and go. If there isn’t any place apart from this farm, then where do they come from and where do they go?” she demanded, planting her hands on her hips.
“If there are other places, then why have you never left this farm?” he shot back with terrible accuracy.
Demi shivered again, suddenly wrapping her arms around herself. “I—” she began, uncertain. “I— Surely, I’ve—”
“People come here every day and they do talk about other places. You spend a not inconsiderable part of your time creating and filing paperwork about these other places,” he said quietly. “And yet, I have never seen you leave this farm.”
“I’ve, I’ve been busy,” she began, trembling. “I’ve had a lot to do. I do intend to—”
But she trailed off, because she knew he was right.
I haven’t, Demi thought, panicking inside herself. He’s right! Why have I never left the farm? Does any place other than this actually exist? I don’t know! What if it doesn’t? What if this place is the only place that exists...
She had entered into full paranoid panic mode inside of herself. She was so lost, struggling to make sense of her decisions, of her actions, of her experiences, that she didn’t realize that he had come upon her until he put both of his hands firmly on her shoulders and gave her a sharp shake.
“Demeter,” he said, his voice low and direct. “Calm down. You’re fine. You’re safe.”
She looked up, her face flushed, tears at the corners of her eyes. She didn’t know what to do or what to think.