Chapter 74: Temporary Balm
Derek Haven did not like herbalist shops. He would have liked to claim full ownership of that hate. But really, such places had brought his dislike on themselves.
Modern medicine existed for a reason. The beneficial aspects of plants were extracted from them and then people got to swallow them down in a simpler form, like a pill or a teaspoon of medicine. Herbalists just decided to go back on all that. Side-stepping convenience in the name of keeping things pure.
Derek could not get behind that at all and it had been the topic of quite a few discussions over the years. Especially during functions where he was bored out of his mind, and one of his fellow attendants decided to come out with the fact that they no longer took certain meds because they were drinking some juice each morning.
It had always used to bother him, and he had made no secret about it. Which was why he felt like a complete hypocrite as he walked through the doors of a herbalist shop that he had found online.
He might have been a hypocrite, but he was a desperate one, if any one of the people that he had ever had the herbalist debate with saw him, he would find the nearest hole and throw himself into it.
Walking in, Derek had fully expected to be assaulted by new-age decorations. All high ceilings, and clear glass displays filled with herbs and spices from all around the world, all of them with ridiculous names. Artificial waterfalls, electronic fireplaces, strangle-looking sculptures that looked like beat-up cans. Anything and everything that just spoke of how ’out there’ the place was.
But there was none of that. What there was though, was green, lots and lots of green. The inside of the store looked like one of the greenhouses back at the manor, and despite all of the unkind things that Derek had been thinking, he was quietly impressed.
Despite all of the live plants, there 9was a surprising lack of insects, which was also a point in the place’s favor. He turned in a slow circle, inspecting the place. When he made his final turn, ending up in the place where he had started, Derek nearly jumped right out of his skin.
There was an old woman standing right in front of him. She had a head full of white hair, not a single colored strand in there, the color standing out against her dark skin. Her pupils were milky, but she seemed to have no problem seeing, her eyes were fixed right on him.