Chapter Text
Jules felt off the next morning. She woke to the sight of an empty room. Rose wasn't beside her like she had been the other morning and when she had woken in middle of the night.
Instead, there was a note on the other pillow. The case wasn't even warm anymore when Jules found the yellow square.
"Mylene and I are switching places!
I will pick up some clothes for you while I'm in town.
See you later!
<3 -Rose"
Jules smiled at the little heart on the bottom and the neat, loopy signature. She had fallen asleep on top of the covers and someone left a soft knit blanket over her. A fresh dress was spread out on Rose's side of the bed with a scrap of paper bearing Jules' name tucked in the collar.
It was bright in the small room, possibly early afternoon. There was one cup with water and one with tea on the bedside table. Jules pushed the blanket aside and sat up slow. She turned until she could put her feet on the sun-warmed floorboards.
She pulled herself up to stand, using the table for stability. Her origami was piled up next to the cups, along with her pages from the other day and the written half of the conversation with Adrien.
It was much easier to get out of one dress than it was to get into the next but she managed by herself. She carefully folded her notes and stuck them under her pillow for safekeeping before making her way to the bathroom.
There was a tangible wave of humidity coming through the doorway of the kitchen. She peeked into the room, gripping the frame tight in case she needed to pull herself back out of view.
Mylene had every burner on the stove in use at the same time. There was a massive stock pot nearest the wall and several smaller ones around it. Mylene was throwing something into one of the smaller, steaming pots. Jules watched her move back and forth, going between piles of vegetables and a bunch of different leafy green plants that Jules didn't know the names for.
The first time she had seen Mylene, the woman wore a button up shirt with a headband and jeans, a versatile outfit that was strong enough to work around the farm in. That morning she wore a sleeveless shirt and shorts with an apron and a full bandana holding up her dreadlocks.
Mylene turned, wiping her hands on her messy apron. She smiled at Jules as though she knew her guest was there the whole time.
'Did she hear me on the stairs? How can she hear anything over all that bubbling and chopping?'
"Good morning sleepy head. Are you hungry?"
Jules blinked. She looked down at her empty hands then back up and shook her head.
As if on cue her stomach rumbled. Mylene laughed. She must have super human hearing.
The stocky woman came up to Jules and held on to her elbow to guide her to the table.
"Even if you don't feel hungry it's a good idea to eat something. You've lost some weight." Once Jules was seated Mylene went to a nearby drawer to rummage through it. "Do you mind if I check your throat? Rose tells me you still haven't said anything."
Jules obediently sat through another thorough examination though it wasn't as awkward at the table. Mylene changed her forehead bandage and partially dismantled her splint to clean the skin underneath. Jules' right arm was pale and her skin felt sensitive from having been covered for such a lengthy period of time.
While Mylene worked she kept up a friendly line of conversation about the store and what all she was cooking. She explained her usual cooking schedule: two big batches a week for herself and her husband, and working at the mess hall on the remaining mornings.
She also mentioned offhand that Rose preferred to go down the hill to join the employees. That fact didn't quite fit in with the rest, almost as though it was crammed in randomly but also conspicuously.
Mylene's voice was soothing but it wasn't enough to distract Jules from the pain of having her injured arm moved around and washed with odd smelling water and essential oils.
She decided to distract herself by thinking about the animals Rose had told her about and wondering what the blonde was up to in town.
Then Jules reminded herself to focus on the woman who was currently helping her, the one who was technically her true host at the house. By the time she refocused on Mylene's honey colored eyes the task was done and Mylene's freckled cheeks were bunched up from a smile.
"I'm sorry I've been scarce since you woke. As much as I love taking care of my farm and everything here I really wanted to have a day with my husband. We normally spend much more time together."
Jules nodded, unable to do anything more in response. Mylene frowned.
She stood to retrieve a small chalkboard that was hanging on the fridge. After a quick swipe with a damp towel she slid it over and placed the chalk between Jules' fingertips on her left hand.
"Rose accidentally slept in and had to run before she could give me an update. Has anything changed? Do you feel comfortable here or should we bring you into town?"
Jules tried not to write too hastily, securing the wooden frame with her useless right arm. She kept it simple and honest, explaining that she didn't know if anything had changed and that she was comfortable with staying put. Mylene read over her shoulder.
"If you still can't remember anything I don't see what more could be done in town. I'd hate to send you to a city where you could get lost in the system and labelled a Jane Doe." Mylene said. "I don't have anything against city people, but having so many people in one place makes it easy to lose track of things and leave problems unresolved."
Mylene left to stir two of the pots and click one of the dials off. Her words immediately brought Adrien's to mind from the previous day when he had accused her in jest of faking her amnesia. Jules picked up the damp cloth to make space for her next words. Mylene looked over when Jules held up the board.
"Does everyone here have some big secret?"
That brought a devilish grin to Mylene's face. She shuffled to the side, picking up a large knife and returning to chopping leafy greens.
"Not everyone, but those of us that do have a collection," She dumped more ingredients into the pot. "A lot of smaller secrets, things only the plants or animals ever hear about."
Mylene held up a thin, tubular plant with dark green leaves that faded into a single, snow white bulb with worm-like roots.
"Adrien, our second-most senior employee, likes to deliver our house vegetables every few days. I wouldn't be surprised if he tells them something new every time he harvests them."
She set the plant down among a pile of others and chopped.
"I don't even know if that's his real name but after the first week of working with him I didn't really care."
The roots and any withered parts of the plants were tossed into a bucket at the short woman's feet.
"He never answers my questions with any real detail. He's nice but so vague."
The bulbs were separated from the stalks at the point where the colors changed.
"And then one night I heard him talking in one of the greenhouses. When I looked in there was no one else there. He was holding up a tomato and talking to it. I won't ever tell what I overheard. All I know is, in a way."
Mylene held up the board with the tiny pieces in two piles, one green and one white.
"Whenever we eat the plants he talks to, like these chives and their onion roots, he is sharing something about himself with us. And that's what is important. Even if he is not sharing directly with his words, he is sharing in some way. He also works hard every day to keep his place here."
The chives and onions went into the pot.
Jules stared at Mylene for a solid minute as the woman filled two bowls from the pot that had been cooling.
There was something about what Mylene had said, specifically about sharing in ways other than in words, that struck a chord deep inside Jules. The strangest part was that it didn't even seem to affect her because of her current inability to speak. She couldn't figure out why it was so significant.
The thought circled through her mind, Mylene's words echoing until they lost their language-like feeling. It morphed until it sounded like music in her mind. No lyrics, just a melody that felt so familiar. Something that changed each time, but something she understood better than anything else.
A sturdy white bowl with green flower patterns with black stalks was set in front of her filled with a thick, golden cream. Jules reached out to trace the designs and pulled her hand back when the porcelain burned her fingertips.
"Let it cool for a while. Cheese and potato soup. Blended."
The savory smell brought Jules out of her momentary stupor.
The melody faded to silence.
Mylene left to turn down the heat on all of the stove pads and get two cups of water. she sat beside Jules at the worn table. They ate in silence, blowing on each spoonful before slurping it up.
It was a shame that Jules for the life of her couldn't remember the melodies that had been playing in her mind. The soup smelled and tasted great, but she mindlessly sipped at it while she glared at the chalkboard.
Mylene's touch on her wrist startled her. The spoon flew out of her hand and fell to the ground. Both women stared at it while liquid seeped between thin wood planks.
Mylene took a deep breath and nodded, leaning down to pick up the utensil. When she came back up she was smiling in the same caring way as before.
"Maybe just breakfast for now and then a walk? I've still got a lot of work to do here but I can call Adrien to give you a tour." She gave Jules a nudge with her elbow. "Not the nursery. Rose would be so upset if she didn't get the chance to introduce you to all her babies herself. But the rest of the farm is okay. Do you like gardening?"
Mylene went to wash the spoon so Jules had time to think about it. Her heart jumped with fondness at the image that came to mind of a pouting Rose clutching a piglet to her chest, aghast that Jules had met her itty bitty baby without his mother there to properly introduce him.
Jules cleared her mind and picked up the chalk. Mylene placed the clean spoon back into her bowl and turned back to her own food. The taller woman wrote again, feeling it was time for a real conversation without any encrypted messages or poetry. She hoped Adrien was capable of being straight forward, but she supposed she wouldn't find out until he arrived.
"A walk would be nice. Will this dress be suitable for the tour?"