Rowan's change

I made a few plans for my journey. The first was being honest and telling my parents while expecting the best. The second was being dishonest and blaming it on someone. The third was not telling them at all and running away. The fourth was convincing my siblings first and then collectively urging my parents to allow me.

After I considered my alternatives, I firmly rejected any plan that revolved around running away, firstly, because Uncle Albert wouldn't take me along with him that way, secondly, because I wouldn't be able to pack my stuff for the journey, and thirdly and most importantly, it would upset my parents and devastate my family.

After everything I had already put them through, I wasn't going to make a decision that would devastate them.

Therefore, I could only try to persuade my parents and for that, Rowan was my safety cushion and help.

In the evening of the first day of the second week after Uncle Albert agreed to take me along, I decided to meet Rowan and talk to him about this. But as I walked inside his messy room, I found him crouching in our backyard and fiddling with some saplings.

I didn't know what they were other than the fact that they were green and fragile. I didn't want to embarrass myself before I could even announce my presence and therefore let him do his thing.

He was intensely focused on his task and I had tiptoed there and stood behind his back, which made it impossible for him to realize my presence.

He would look at the movements of the wind on the sapling, then touch and feel each part of it. Occasionally, he would pause to take notes or sprinkle some white powder on the sapling and continue studying its changes, which weren't apparent to me.

I was sure that this was a part of the potioneering thing he was trying to do. If it wasn't obvious enough from his movements, then the book I had given him and the notebook that he was just scribbling on sitting beside him made it glaring.

I was quite a patient young lady back then because I was afraid of disappointing people's expectations, but I could never be half as patient as my elder brother.

Therefore, I could only stand still for around 10 minutes before his slow and 'natural' actions started giving me an urge to yawn and close my eyes.

"Rowan, how's your potioneering going?" I said to him and started walking towards him.

His hands flinched as he instinctively attempted to hide his actions. When he turned around and realized that it was me, he was visibly relaxed.

Perhaps, he was afraid to tell our parents of his actions or his potioneering hobby, but it was understandable since it was really a very frowned upon art.

"Good." came his succinct and precise reply.

"Um, do you know that Uncle Albert will be leaving Silvermore in two weeks?"

I baited him to express more interest in the journey after hearing the shocking news.

"What? Why?"

And as I had predicted, his expression didn't change but his shock could be perceived from his questions.

Satisfied with me, I continued, "Yeah, he told me that he'll be leaving for the capital. You're learning potioneering from him, right? What are you planning?"

He put his chin in his hands, slightly frowning. I waited for him to reveal his thoughts but it seemed like his head was blank as his expressions.

A few minutes later, he replied in a soft voice, "...I don't know,"

Suddenly, it dawned upon me that I was just being stupid. It wasn't like Rowan's mind was dull or something, just incredibly simple.

When he told me that he didn't know, he really must have had no idea about it. It was a decision that involved too many things though I was willing to bet that he wanted to travel with Uncle Albert to the capital as well.

Recognizing that, I asked, "I've asked him, and he has agreed to take me there with him. Can you come along with us? I'm sure I'll have an easier time convincing papa and mumma if you make your decision. What do you think?"

"...I need to think. I'll ask Mr. Albert first." His reply somehow showed his calm mind, his patience, and uncertainty at the same time.

I couldn't say anything to him after that. I knew that if I continued to pressure him, he would become evasive of me.

So, after that, I stopped going out and started helping at home. I would help my mother with the dishes, help with the cleaning of the house, and casually chat with her whenever I found time. As a very talkative lady, she naturally loved my company very much.

When the night came, and along with it my father, I would massage his shoulders and ask him about his day's adventures.

I would also talk to Chloe patiently and suggest some romance fiction books while discussing some that both of us had read and help Rowan watch out for our parents while he practiced potioneering.

Like that, I gave all my time to my family for the next week. I tried my best to etch each moment in my deepest memory, hoping that their faces wouldn't blur out in the coming months or years when I was going to be away from home.

My father only thought that I was thanking him for his guidance but my mother quickly grew suspicious of my bootlicking and perfect virtuous daughter attitude. She tried asking me but I only replied with a silent smile.

When around a week or so passed, I received another great shock. It subverted all my expectations and made me recognize that everyone had layers beneath their surface that we couldn't see most of the time.

Rowan, who had been quiet and reclusive for as long as I could remember, showed me that if he was determined enough, he could open himself as well.

For the first time in my life, I felt the powerful presence of my big brother, who would protect me for the next few years. It was a comfortable feeling, knowing that I had someone to depend on.

It happened at the dinner table. Unlike his usual laid-back stance, he was leaning forward as he ate his food, and he was biting rapidly. Perhaps, because he was feeling nervous or because he just didn't notice, but he released an entirely different aura, one that made him stand out, instead of his usual neglectable presence.

He was done first and waited for everyone else to finish eating. When mother and I were collecting dishes to put in the sink, he stood up with a clap of his hands and said, "Uncle Albert is leaving for the capital in a week. Tiffany and I have decided to go along with him."

At this revelation, both of my parents and Chloe were stunned. My mother was the first to respond,

"Why does it look like you're informing us rather than asking for permission? And why do you need–"

Rowan answered her question before she could complete it, "He's recommending me to the Potioneers guild in the capital. They would give me a fixed stipend every month and allow me to use their resources to learn, which I'll be doing under him."

While my parents' shock was overlapping, I was amazed as well. When I had told him of Uncle Albert's departure last week, he wasn't even aware of it but during that interval, he had worked his way to that rock of a man recommending him to the Potioneers Guild.

I knew how difficult it was to get Uncle Albert to respond and to make him do something like that within a week, Rowan's mysteriousness only grew in my eyes.

Moreover, although potioneers were shunned for practicing an unverified art, those recognized by the Potioneers Guild would have an easy path to developing and earning in the future. This was the benefit of a regulated body that could take responsibility for any harmful potions their potioneers crafted.

Perhaps, Uncle Albert was already a senior member there, which gave him the authority to recommend people. Considering how Rowan wasn't learning potioneering for a long time. For Uncle Albert to be satisfied with his progress enough to recommend him meant that he must have had talent as a potioneer.

By this time, both of my parents had managed to know everything about my awakening, including Uncle Albert's crucial role in the process. Afterall, even though I could keep my mouth shut, Chloe was all too happy to answer everything they asked about me for some more pocket money and candies.

They didn't confront me though, and merely digested the information that they acquired. It might have reassured them that their elder daughter didn't take any other dangerous path to awaken herself.

When I began taking Rowan along with me to Uncle Albert's shop, they didn't even question us about our whereabouts as they knew that this 'Uncle Albert' could be trusted with their children. Although Uncle Albert naturally reflected trustworthiness in his grace and bearing, since both of them hadn't met him, their trust in him was a result of his mysteriousness, his inexplicable connection with the mayor that allowed him to help me, and his treatment of us, that made us visit his shop everyday.

Rowan also knew of this and he used their trust in his name to help with our cause. I was still a bit dumbfounded at his sudden change at that time to notice the use of such tricks though.