"Flower and Sword, which will last?" she said. "The flower will wither without love, while the sword will rust without attention. In the end, nothing is eternal except vengeance and hatred."
Elwyn's hand that grabbed her wrist not only felt stiff but cold as ice. Annica's hair stood on end. Too shocked by what was happening, she froze in place. For a moment, the silence in the room was only rivaled by the beating of Annica's heart in her chest.
Then, like sunlight filtering through the mist, the old woman's gaze slowly receded and returned to emptiness.
Annica withdrew her hand, this time easily freeing herself.
As if nothing had happened, the physician scooped up the coins on the table and put them in her pocket. Then, she turned and retrieved something from the wooden cabinet.
The physician wrote something on a piece of paper, which she then handed to Annica.
