After Larran's startling visit, Kiela calms herself and her sentient spider-plant Caz, who lost some of his soil ball in the surprise. They debate Larran's intentions, ultimately concluding he is more nosy than dangerous, and Kiela resolves to keep the smuggled spellbooks hidden, fearing others might steal, destroy, or misuse them.

Kiela hauls the heavy crates of books up the stone steps alone, improvising a ramp from her parents' off-hinge bedroom door. The work is exhausting, leaving her sore, but she gets all the crates and supplies into the cottage. Inside, Caz has swept and tidied the front room, revealing carved wooden chairs and a daybed beneath the years of debris.

Kiela tests the kitchen pump, which after effort produces clear, cold water. Washing herself, she finds soot from burning Alyssium on the towel and is briefly overwhelmed by grief for the lost library, her home, and her old life. Caz comforts her, reminding her they only have each other, and she steadies herself to focus on making the cottage livable.

The two take stock of the cottage's contents in librarian fashion, spreading everything out. They find Caltreyan clothes, quilts, dishes, kitchen tools, garden tools, and empty canning jars. Encouraged, Kiela begins cleaning: she washes clothes and quilts, hangs a clothesline, scrubs the kitchen and privy, and adorns the washbasin with lavender. Hope begins to grow.

At midday, eating her dwindling peaches and pecans, Kiela confronts the one thing missing: food. She has no skills in gardening, fishing, or foraging, and limited supplies. She also needs medicine, soap, and basic hygiene goods. Reluctantly, she concludes she must venture into the village, spend her coin on essentials, and break her plan to remain unseen—she will have to talk to people.