It was difficult for Mercy to not slip into her talent. She had to keep up a banter with Helena and those that stopped by to admire her work and take in the magic of the invisible spinning wheel to break her concentration. It made her somewhat sad; it was a perfect day and she'd have liked nothing more than to get lost in the fiber and light.

Helena would direct the onlookers into the store if they showed particular interest in the bracelet. Laura was more than delighted at the number of sales she was making because of the thread. Mercy estimated Laura was selling the spools at about half the rate she was making them. She was glad Laura would have a small stock when she left.

"You must be Mercy," she heard a pleasant voice say just before noon. She turned to see a thin woman with mousy hair about Helena's age carrying a picnic basket approaching her. "I'm Glendin, the blacksmith's daughter. Lance said that you might have gotten so involved that you'd forget to eat, so I brought lunch."

Mercy smiled, "He's a wonderful, thoughtful man. I almost wish I loved him."

Mercy paused the wheel as Helena jumped up to take the basket from Glendin's shaking grasp.

Glendin gave her a weak smile, before turning back to Mercy. "He seems to be nice. And he's very talented, too."

"He is! I hope that he'll be able to make you all something worthy of the time at the forge."

Helena leaned in to catch Matt's attention who immediately offered his chair to Glendin. The young woman sat with obvious pain, but her face soon fell into a comfortable smile. "Oh, he already has. And, he's showing Da a trick or two."

Matt grinned, "Yeah, that sounds like my brother." He helped Helena unpack the basket, being careful of his work, and hortlyn they were all chatting and eating scones with peach jam.

"Oh my Gods!" Mercy moaned, "these are amazing!"

"Thank you," Glendin said with an incline of her head. "I started with my Grandmother's recipe..."

"Well, we can tell where your talent lies!" Mercy said, taking a large bite and washing it down with some milk Helena had fetched.

"Yes. I enjoy baking," the woman said wistfully. "I'd love to have my own shop."

"Why don't you? You'd make a small fortune just on scones alone," Mercy said.

"Glendin doesn't have a bakery because her mother is a jealous bitch," Helena responded with such venom that it stunned the group into silence.

"Now, Helena, you know Ma only..."

"Only what? Is looking out for you? She treats you like an invalid, Glendin! When, instead, she could support you and your talent." Helena turned to Matt and Mercy to explain. "Glendin's mother isn't talented. She's been jealous of Glendin ever since her talent manifested. She uses Glendin's health as a reason Glendin can't have a shop of her own. It's infuriating; she could stop using all the energy she puts into trying to control Glendin and start using it to help her run a bakery."

Glendin sighed, "Helena, we've been through this before..."

"Yes, I know, Glendin. And every time, I tell you I wish your father would put his foot down about it."

"Well, he's not going to, Helena, so there's no reason to fight. I'll never have a shop and that's that."

"You know that's bullshit, Glendin Helmson! Everyone knows full well that I would be your partner in a heartbeat.

The table lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Not knowing what to do, Mercy went back to her wheel and began to spin.

It was Glendin who changed the subject. "So, Mercy, is it true that you and Lance are betrothed?"

Mercy smiled and said, "It is. But, I'm on a quest to end the betrothal."

"Why in the world would you want to do that?" Glendin asked in surprise.

"Oh, don't get me wrong," Mercy explained, "Lance is a prize. I could do so much worse and, if I fail my quest, I'll go through with it, But, I love someone else."

"I see. So, if everything goes as planned, he'll be single. He's near the end of the eligible age..."

"I know. I think the Marriage Council would take into account that he's on a quest with me though."

"Hmm. Yes. Perhaps you are right," Glendin replied. "Well," she said after a moment, "I best be getting back before Ma worries." She stood carefully and Helena gave her the now empty basket. The two friends exchanged glances before parting.

Helena plopped into the unoccupied chair with a sound of frustration. "I swear, the best thing that could happen to that family is that her mother drop dead."

Mercy was taken aback, "Surely, you don't mean that!"

Helena sighed. "You're right. Honestly, I'd not wish that on Glendin. She adores her mother."

"It sounds like a tough situation to be in," Mercy said.

"It is. I wish it would change. I have always hoped that Glendin's husband would be someone of strong character who could stand up to her mother, but now I'm thinking the Marriage Council will never send her a letter."

Seeing the chance to change the topic, Mercy asked, "What about you? Are you betrothed yet?"

"No," Helena said. They heard Matt cough in surprise behind them. Apparently, it hadn't occurred to him to ask. "Honestly, being married or not doesn't really have any bearing on my plans. I'm not talented, much to my mother's dismay. My younger sister is the magic one."

The bitterness in Helena's voice was palpable. "I would give almost anything to help Glendin do whatever it is she wanted to do with her talent. I know that she would appreciate me."

"You two seem to be excellent friends."

"Yes. We've been close ever since childhood and especially after her accident."

"What happened?" Matt asked, spreading his work out once more.

"She fell from her horse. Her back has never been the same."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Mercy said.

"I am, too," Helena agreed. After a moment of staring into the crowd, she sighed. "Well, let me return to work on the bracelets."

Matt and Mercy both returned to their tasks, too, and the afternoon passed by talking to late shoppers until Matt caught Mercy's attention.

"Hey, Mercy, I think this document might be more for you than for Teresa. It's another weaving pattern, I think."

He brought the sheath of papers to her and she studied them, excited to find that it would create one that very much resembled moons. "Oh! Yes! This is for the moonlight dress!"

She quickly dug a generous amount of coin and sent Matt in to bargain for the pattern. She didn't even care when he had no change to give her when he came back out. Happy, she returned to her spinning and the time began to pass again.

Mercy smiled as she spotted Lance coming to them from across the square carrying a heavy bag. His hair was disheveled and he was sweaty, but his grin and swagger said all that needed to be said: he'd had an excellent day. Once again, she almost wished that she was in love with him; he was a stunning man with an amazing disposition. But, he didn't hold a candle to her Jasmine.

"Good day, huh?" Mercy asked him.

"Very," he dropped the bag heavily with a rattle of metal. "Here's more nails than Dadus will ever use."

"It was kind of the blacksmith to allow you to make them."

"True, true, but I gave back plenty. I shared some techniques and made some wares; William will be set for some time."

"Did you meet Glendin?" Helena asked.

"William's daughter? I did. She was nice. Her scone was even better," he said with a laugh and patted his stomach. "Speaking of, when are we having dinner?"

"Actually, now is a good time to stop. We can head to the Inn any time you two want."

"I'm starving, so I'm ready now," Lance said, glancing at his brother. Matt, having finished the translating some hours ago, was staring at Helena like a lost puppy.

"Who's that?" Lance bent down to whisper to Mercy.

"That's Laura's daughter, Helena. He's looked like that all day!" she whispered back.

Lance grinned as he stood, "Yo, Matt, we need to head to the Inn. It's time for dinner."

"Already?"

"Yes."

Matt looked forlorn and Helena appeared just as sad. "Well, let me at least help put the table away," he said. They all knew it was a stall tactic much more than it was a desire to be helpful.

The entire process was rather pitiful and it took at good ten minutes for Matt and Helena to say goodbye. But, at last, they were heading back to the blacksmith to fetch Dadus before going to the Inn.

"Here, I packed you a few things," Glendin said, handing Lance a basket of baked goods. Mercy could tell that she was almost as smitten with him and Matt was for Helena. Lance, being the dimwit that he sometimes was, was oblivious.

"Oh! Thank you! Your scones were amazing! I bet everything in here will be, too."

"It'd better be!" Glendin said, "I poured every bit of talent I have into making them."

"Well, thank you for that," Lance said. "It was very nice to meet you."

Glendin blushed. "It was nice to meet you, too, Lance. Da says you can come back any time."

"I appreciate that," Lance said, before turning from her. "Are we ready?" he asked Dadus.

"Aye! I'm worn out. I'm looking forward to that bed at the Inn," the old man said.

They walked back to the Inn, each sharing their day with the others, talking over dinner. Both Lance and Mercy had made a tidy sum. Matt, who hadn't bargained very hard, had made a few coins. He, on the other hand, had someone to talk about for hours. And talk he did.

~~~

The morning came quickly and Mercy was eager to get back to the loom. She was thankful that not everyone on the road wanted to talk to Dadus on the return trip and they made good time, even though it seemed to Mercy as if they'd never arrive. Johanna joined them when they left the bumpy ruts of the main road and turned down the long lane that led to her and Dadus' home.

After a very long morning to an impatient Mercy, they were finally back to the house and she was standing by the loom. The beginnings of the fabric she had left in place shimmered and shone as she gazed on it. With a sigh, she sat and started weaving.

She began slowly enjoying the motions... Press the treadle, throw the shuttle through the shed, bring the beater forward then release and repeat, over and over again. She was delighted to see the pattern she had set come to life into alternating sun motifs. Soon, the loom was singing along with her weaving and she found she could easily hum to the tune.

On through the day she wove, breaking only when she needed, until the light had faded from the room and she could no longer properly see her work. To her surprise, the men had already eaten, but Lance jumped to quickly scoop up some of the stew they'd left near the fire to keep warm for her.

"How goes the trellis building?" she asked as she ate.

"We're almost done!" Matt said. "We've created a tunnel of sorts. Johanna says that we should be able to grow enough of the flowering vines to make the fabric you need in one go. Otherwise, we'd not have made it so large."

"Oh, wow! That's amazing, guys! Thank you." Mercy found she was swallowing past a lump in her throat as tears formed. "I don't know how I would have done this without you," she said, voice hoarse.

Lance poked at the fire. "We couldn't let you go off on your own, Mercy. theyce we us were allowed to travel with you. What kind of friends would we be?"

She jumped to hug him before pulling Matt to his feet for an equally enthusiastic squeeze for him.

Once settled again, Johanna appeared. "Mercy, do you have any idea what the poem meant when it told you

to weave stardust?"

"No," she said, turning to her new friend. "I had just been assuming that you knew. I mean, you know about sunshine and moonlight... I thought you would know about stardust."

"I don't. We're going to have to work it out as we go."

Mercy fell silent as the men discussed how to finish the trellis. Before she knew it, she was being shaken awake by Johanna. "Mercy! Come on, head to bed. You can get started again in the morning."

She stretched and did as she was told.