The new group moved into two small houses recently built. Lily saw the apprentices by the well. Like Crag, they wore gray robes with red thorns embroidered over their hearts. They looked almost as miserable as he did, but they didn’t realize the benefits they had. At least they were assigned to the new buildings that didn’t reek like the old longhouse, and there were two of them to Crag’s one. Of course, Lily heard them argue that though Sir Wood had divided his time between the settlements, he had lived at Crag’s station and was therefore more readily available. Lily stood nearby as the two new apprentices expressed this view to Crag. His reply had been a loud, humorless laugh before returning to the hovel most everyone called home. Over the following days, Lily busied herself with cooking, sewing, sharpening weapons for the Knights, and making arrows. She did anything that allowed her mind to remain numb to the inconsolable pain of Vina’s loss. She often saw Crag in passing.
