Princess (Wind Head) 王女様（風頭）

Baneberry (ベインベリー)

#FanFiction #TheApothecaryDiaries x #TearmoonEmpire
#Wss366

*** Mai Tearmoon ***

While Mao gathered Hou Tui Mo, Princess Mai walked ahead, talking to herself. “What a strange girl. I should ask her what country she’s from. If the famine there is so bad that she’d eat a squashed hedgehog mushroom, they might attack us for food. I’ll speak to Four-Eyes about it.”

“Oh, look,” the Sage Princess said, spotting the baneberries with their bright clusters of red berries.

“A wise person always checks for danger,” she said, looking around for any gray-hooded women in the shadows. “I guess the Norns aren’t here. That’s a good thing, because I’d give them a stern lecture if they were.” Fortunately for Mai, her resolve went untested.

Still talking to herself, she continued, “I’ll just wait for that lady to catch up. If I don’t warn her, she might eat them. She knows lots of big words but doesn’t have my foraging skills. I’m sure she could have found something more edible than squashed mushrooms.”

When Mao arrived #later, the Wood-wise Princess pointed at the berries and announced, “Baneberries. They’re poisonous; don’t eat them.”

The apothecary stared at them, mumbling, “Bright red, glossy-smooth skin like lacquer, in plain sight.” Then she asked the Great Sage of the Empire, “Baneberry, are you sure you don’t mean bugbane? Either way, it’s not a bad name. Bane implies danger.”

“Baneberries?” The Wood-wise Princess temporized. “Did I call them baneberries? It was a slip of the tongue. Of course, I knew they were bugbane. Baneberry is what my granddaughter calls them.” Mai believed in being agreeable, even if it meant crediting Miabel’s childish vocabulary, as any devoted grandmother would. After all she was sharelater as in if share the credit, you won’t get blamed later if something went wrong. Besides, Miable would never know about it.

Mao crouched beside a stalk, brushing aside a leaf to expose the root crown. “Some variety of ‘Sheng Ma.’ Sweet, slightly cold, excellent for boosting yang qi.” She crushed a sole berry between her fingers, describing what she found. “Slightly waxy; clear juice, watery, no scent.” She touched her tongue to the liquid and spat. “Bitter.”

And finally, gleefully announced, “Pretty little murderers.”

Turning her attention from the berries, she smiled up at the princess. “Congratulations, you did good. I would expect nothing less from the Mushroom Princess.”

The princess beamed. It was an honor to be recognized for her wisdom by another mushroom person. She resisted, just barely, the temptation to bow.

Part 5 of 8: To be continued

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Princess (Wind Head) 王女様（風頭）

Lion’s Mane (山伏茸) 4 of 8

#FanFiction #TheApothecaryDiaries x #TearmoonEmpire
#Wss366 8/8

*** Maomao ***

“That explains the wind in Her Highness’s head,” Mao thought, after hearing she was hunting Spirit-head mushrooms. “Too much spirit-travel has permanently disturbed her qi. I must try them, though. Risky, of course… but at least once.”

Once they were under the trees, the odd princess shook herself like a wet dog, confirming Mao's suspicion that the girl was not a noble. She was probably the spoiled child or wife of a wealthy merchant. Either way, her dowry must be huge; otherwise, no one would marry her.

“This way, I think?” The woman said, #starting down a path.

Was the woman a brilliant woodsman or an idiot? Mao wasn’t sure. Caution and observation led her to the latter conclusion, and she marked the trees as they went. “At worst, I wasted some effort. At best, they’ll get me back out of the woods,” she said to herself.

After five minutes, Mao stopped. A smile slowly spread across her lips as she gazed at an object beside the path. “Aren’t you a beauty,” she said, the tip of her tongue darting along her lips. She slowly stooped and stroked the object of her attention with a finger. “Hou Tui Mo, just like described. A fungus, like a white lion’s mane: noble and rare.” Her smile moved up to her eyes.

“What’s that?” The princess’s voice was right at her shoulder. “Eww, you can’t eat that! It will make you sick.”

Mao started then snapped back, “The uglier the fungus, the more useful it usually is, and this is very useful.”

“You can have all of it.”

Mao didn’t bother answering but thought, “Good. I wasn’t planning on giving you any.”

Part 4 of 8: To be continued.

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Princess (Wind Head) 王女様（風頭）

Mushroom Buddies Are the Best (きのこの相棒は最高)

#FanFiction #TheApothecaryDiaries x #TearmoonEmpire
#Wss366 #MastoPrompt

*** Mia Tearmoon ***

Mia Tearmoon, Future #Crowned Empress of Tearmoon, examined the woman, checking on her. “She sure dresses funny. A commoner with a funny name, like a cat meowing. Why couldn’t nobles have interesting names like that? What would they call me? Mushroom Mushroom? No, that sounded terrible. I know ‘The Mushroom Princess.’" Of course, no one would be so disrespectful as to call Mia that. Definitely not!

She repeated her name. “I’m Mia Luna Tearmoon, the Mushroom Princess.” Well, no one but Mia herself.

“Princess of where?” Mao asked.

“Oh, that’s not my actual title; it’s ‘Mia Luna Tearmoon, Princess of Tearmoon.’”

“I have never heard of Tearmoon. Is it to the far west or beyond the Eastern Sea?”

Mia blinked. “Never heard of Tearmoon?” Was the woman touched in the head or perhaps just simple? Not that it mattered—after all, not everyone could be brilliant like her. And besides, she was a mushroom person. Mushroom people were always trustworthy. “Well, except maybe the Norns, with their funny business.”

“I can show you all the best mushrooms,” she said. “But if you see some women in gray hoods, run. Those are the Norns and aren’t to be trusted. Even if their rabbit stew is tasty.”

Mao looked around, eyes lingering on the trail she had followed from the wagon, and Mia wondered, “Is she looking for the Norns? That would be silly; they’re in the forest. Or was she thinking of running? Maybe she was late for supper. I’d run home too then—if I knew the way.”

With a little more sugar, the Wisdom of the Empire might have arrived at the correct answer. Something like Perujin sweet #potato pie, with Equestrian mélange toasted a light brown. The princess’s mouth watered at the thought. It wasn’t this thought that derailed suspicions. Oh no, it was Mao who interrupted her sluggish speculation, asking, “Have you seen any Lingzhi or Zhu Ling? I’m especially looking for them.”

“I’ve never heard of those. Are they tasty?”

“No. Lingzhi boosts qi and calms the spirit. Zhu Ling is a water fungus born of rot. It helps regulate water flow.”

“She knows her stuff.” The princess was always on the lookout for talent to share her burden. “I bet Ludwig, that old four-eyes, would understand her. Or that Wandering Wiseman back at Saint Mia Academy. What was his name again?”

“I haven’t seen those, but there are red mushrooms with white freckles in the forest,” the princess said, eager to show that she too was forest-wise.

“Spirit-head mushroom,” Mao said, smiling as she rubbed her hands together. “I’d very much like to find some of those.”

“I thought she was going to run away for a bit. But we’re best friends now. Mushroom buddies are the best!”

Part 3 of 8: To be continued.

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Princess (Wind Head) 王女様（風頭）

Mao Rescues Mia (猫救助ミーア) Part 2

#FanFiction #TheApothecaryDiaries x #TearmoonEmpire
#Wss366 7/28

*** Maomao ***

“You’re not a Norn, are you?” the woman asked. “Never mind, I can see you’re not.”

Had she landed on her head or if she had wind in it, Mao wondered.

“Just Maomao. No clan, Norn or otherwise.”

“Are you hunting mushrooms? I was thinking of doing that, since my horse ran off,” the woman resumed. Then began searching her clothes. “#nuts I had some praline nuts. Nuts, I ate them.

“Mushrooms? You’re a mushroom hunter?” Mao left unspoken the more pressing question: “Who hunts mushrooms on horseback?” Still, if the woman truly knew her fungi, perhaps she was worth accompanying. People with Spirit Disturbance were seldom dangerous, at least to others. She eyed the woolly outfit again.

And if she really had struck her head, Mao could monitor her.

“Oh yes, I’m an expert. My name is Mia Luna Tearmoon.”

Sequel to: "The Norns" https://www.pixiv.net/novel/series/14017710

Part 2 of 8: To be continued.

#TootFic #Serial #NMPrompts #NMV366 #NMMP
#薬屋のひとりごと #ApothecaryDiaries
#LightNovel #Manga #Anime #Fantasy
@fanfiction