Apothecary Diaries Ch 1 Novels & Stories

Apocalypse I felt satisfied that I had showed him. I don’t let anyone restrain me, even if it is for my own good. Smiling at my reflection in the mirror as I get my makeup done, I reminisce to this morning. I could still see him displayed on the bed, bound by his own black ribbons and those diamond designs on his torso. I could feel my body reacting to the memory, desire awakening in my core. I sighed and stood up from my dresser chair, walking over to the full mirror on the wall and looked myself over. I saw a loose strand of hair and I pushed it back in place with my fingers while checking my ponytail.

Then, he walked to a shelve in his chamber and took out a diary. A green diary with a royal seal on it. I could tell that wasn't just an ordinary book, and whatever that is written on it must be of high value. Gently, he laid it on the glass table in the center of the room, gesturing on me to open it. Reluctantly, I picked the book and began to turn the pages. "What is this?" I asked, as my eyes scanned the pages. There were reports, but at first, I wasn't able to make sense of what it was talking about. Until I got to the page that reported the number of deaths.

I count the turns, the doorways, the side halls until I find the small service door tucked between the storerooms. The cold hits me as I step outside and I make sure to press close to the palace walls, moving quickly until I reach the delivery gate. I don’t hesitate. I climb the low wall and drop into the street beyond. The apothecary is still open and I send up a quiet prayer to the goddess as I step inside. I pull my hood low, keeping my voice quiet as I explain why I’m there. The shopkeeper doesn’t speak. He simply supplies what I need and holds his hand out for payment. I take the vial.

The room was dim until Cain moved past her to light a lamp on the heavy central worktable, and the light spread outward to catch on shelved jars, leather book spines, copper instruments gone green with age. A healer's workshop. She'd never seen one — she'd been too young when the Ashford home burned, and whatever her mother had kept had burned with it. But she'd read about them in the books she'd stolen during her years at Blood Moon. She'd memorised the descriptions: the worktable, the drying racks, the journals, the apothecary organisation of a hundred small jars. This was that. This was exactly that. "How long has this been here?" she heard herself ask.

Lily controlled it all now, which meant she controlled who came and went. It was too obvious that Lily just wanted her close. She wanted to watch her. Callie crumpled the notice in her fist. The apothecary smelled like dried lavender and crushed mint, sharp and earthy too. Callie reported the next morning with her shoulders squared and her expression blank, determined not to give Lily the satisfaction of seeing her rattled. The main workroom bustled with activity, omegas grinding herbs with mortar and pestle, others carefully measuring tinctures into small glass bottles. A beta woman with graying hair stood at the front, directing traffic with brisk efficiency.

The door opened. Alex stepped in. He was holding something behind his back, and for the first time in days, his expression carried something close to softness. “You’re awake,” he said. “I couldn’t sleep.” He stepped closer and revealed it. A book. Old leather binding. Faded gold lettering. The Complete Compendium of Rare Herbs and Their Lost Properties. My breath caught before I could stop it. I had been searching for this for two years. Every archive. Every merchant. Every rumor.

He’d made that very clear when he left me drunk in bed, refusing my advances like it was the easiest thing in the world. Face still burning, I extracted my foot from his lap as casually as I could manage, muttering something about needing a different reference text. I slipped away behind the nearest shelf and exhaled. The herbal medicine section was three rows over, blissfully quiet. I took my time perusing the shelves, not really looking for anything in particular. Halfway down the aisle, something caught my eye. A textbook on herbal remedies, titled: Herbal Remedies of the Old World.

Naturally, she had no choice but to return to her room. - Frank soon reached the address Abel gave him. It was an apothecary at the inner reaches of North Morhen. The signboard 'Loggins Apothecary' that hung overhead was very conspicuous, and one could smell the scent of medicinal herbs down the street. It stuck out against the modern architecture of the towering buildings around it but somehow it appeared more peaceful than the rest. It was noon at the moment, and there were plenty of people working inside and out busily.

Not a veteran like me but an actual DVM. Chapter 1:2 Onto the Next Disaster, Xoxo Nyx

he encouraged, taking a seat across from me at the kitchen island. I carefully untied the twine and peeled back the paper. Inside was a stack of worn leather journals, their pages yellowed with age. On the cover of the topmost journal was a familiar symbol—a snowflake-like design that made my heart skip a beat. "These are..." My voice trailed off as I gently opened the first journal. Inside, written in a flowing script I somehow recognized despite never having seen it before, were detailed formulations for healing herbs combinations. At the top of the first page was a heading: "Winter's Remedy – Primary Formulations."