King of Hearts

7.

The shop has the same aroma as the museum's souvenir shop. The furniture is of maple wood. Plants are placed in almost every corner and flowerpots are hanging from the ceiling. At the back of the room stands a long wooden counter with paper scrolls, packages, and tiny bags upon it. Behind it hangs a shelf with jars and boxes, again, similar to the souvenir shop. On the right side of the room, a wooden bench with copper ornaments is situated under a window, which lets the beautiful colors of the sunset come in. On the left side, a brown shelf covers almost the whole wall. Various bottles, jars, and wooden bowls are stored. Next to the counter, a long emerald-green curtain with gold rhinestones hides a room in which Dánica has disappeared to.

Val allows the pretty flowers and plants, and the many soothing colors of nature to calm her mind, letting her take a break from this chaos. This place looks scarily familiar. Val feels nostalgic yet at ease as if after a long journey she has finally arrived home.
At this point, she is convinced that she is dreaming. Val knows how scary and realistic some dreams can be, although this seems to reach beyond reality.

Dánica has been gone for a while now, leaving Val at the door. No words can be heard from outside either. She is left alone with her dubious sanity. Val dearly hopes for it to be a dream. It's not smart to enter a stranger's house and have them disappear. Her feeling of serenity seems to gradually pass away and unease takes its place. Val wishes Dánica to return as quickly as possible. She's starting to feel insecure.

Suddenly, as if by command, Dánica darts out of the hidden room. Val notices that she has removed her shawl and a slight hint of uncertainty pictures her face, but she soon shakes it off.
"Alright. First things first, Garan has made some carrot soup while I was away. Oddly, yet fortunately, there is an additional portion, aren't you a lucky one", the friendly stranger giggles softly. "I say we could already start having dinner. Garan should come in any second and then you can tell us your name and where you're from, and perhaps we might help you in some way."
Dinner? Shouldn't it be around 1 pm now? That explains the sunset. Dánica gestures to Val to follow her through the hidden room.

The mysterious room turns out to be a small kitchen. The walls are painted in pastel yellow. On her right, four chairs encircle a round table upon which a boiling pot is set. Dánica instructs Val to take a seat as she pulls out three bowls and spoons from a white cupboard with yellow and orange flowers painted on it.

"Smells delicious in here", a deep voice echoes through the room as Val hesitantly takes a seat. Once again, she is startled by the shopkeeper's sudden presence who she assumes is called Garan. He smiles intently at the girls and also takes a seat opposite Val. 

During dinner Garan and Dánica talk about different types of medical recipes and people Val obviously has never heard about, ignoring her totally. They are so caught up in their conversation that they almost forgot her presence. The only thing she has said is her name and age.

"My name is Valencya but everyone calls me Val."

"Valencya. A beautiful name, it represents courage and strength. How old are you, may I ask?" Garan wants to know.

"I'm turning 18 in December."

"Oh, so you're the same age as Dánica." He smiles sincerely at both girls like a father would at his daughters. Dánica smiles back but Val doesn't. She shouldn't let down her guard. Garan and Dánica continue talking about stuff Val has no idea about and she is glad that she can't participate in the conversation. That way she can sort her mind.

What if they aren't so friendly as they appear. Should she actually trust these people? What is going to happen next? Are they going to let her go home if she asks them to?