Gretel

7

Gretel woke with a start.
Looking around the girl quickly became panicked. At first, she didn't remember where she was, but then the memory slowly dawned on her like a bad dream. Being swallowed by the whale, the strange house, the old woman, and Hansel- where was he? He wasn't in the kitchen where she last saw him. Getting up, though it pained her leg, the girl began to comb through the house to find him. Opening the kitchen door, rocking slightly from the waves and the movements of the monster she was in Gretel tentatively checked the sitting room.
It too was empty.
Now very nervous, and more than a little suspicious of the little old lady that had suddenly appeared when they had been swallowed, Gretel steadied herself and prepared to confront the woman. 

Gingerly, and with much pain she made her way to a wooden staircase that seemed to lead to some rooms upstairs. Hoping not to seem confrontational, as she was still at the woman's mercy, Gretel attempted to decide what to say ahead of time. Should she ask where her brother was right away? Or should she attempt to be friendly with her and wait until after she had warmed the woman up some to discuss the subject? 

Unfortunately, Gretel would not have long to make up her mind, because when she was about a quarter up the stairs, her hostess appeared at the top of the stairs. Visibly alarmed at seeing the girl awake, the woman didn't take long to recover herself.  "He's not here child." The older woman lied sweetly.

"What do you mean he's not here?" the girl asked incredulously before she could lose her nerve.

"He left in the middle of the night, dear. He woke me himself asking for a ship to row himself to shore. He said he wanted to find work as a woodcarver so he could make a life with you two." The witch feigned sadness. "I told him he had a place here with me, but he wasn't having it."

"He wouldn't leave me." Gretel protested stubbornly.

"But he has."

The little girl did not want to believe the old woman but his absence seemed to confirm the worst. If Hansel did go, he would come back for her when the time was right, wouldn't he? 

The peculiar woman seemed to read her thoughts. "Don't worry about your brother right now. He's a fine lad. I'm sure he'll make something of himself in no time. While your waiting come do some cooking with me." The witch's smile was reassuring, yet something inside Gretel felt cold, though she couldn't place the feeling. 

"I suppose you're right." the small girl relented though she wanted nothing more than to go after Hansel. "What are we making?"  Gretel asked half-heartedly.

"Well let me through and I'll show you." The woman made wild shoeing jestures, that made the little girl practically leap out of her hosts way. Lumbering down the stairs was difficult, with witch's old age and Gretel's injured ankle, but after a lot of effort both reached the landing and shuffled to the kitchen. 

"Put the kettle on dear." The hostess instructed immediately, as she fumbled through what appeared to be a cabinet of herbs, many of which Gretel had no knowledge of. "We're going to be making a healing tea to start." She sounded cheerful, and the small girl wished she could echo the sentiment. Doing as she was told, Gretel piled some firewood and got to work setting it alight. Finding an old copper kettle near the stove,  In no time at all Gretel was finished with her task and occupied herself with observing the old woman's work.

"What are we making the  for?" Gretel asked innocently, once she had completed her task.

The old woman looked even wilder than usual. Wide eyed and bewildered. "Why for that busted ankle of yours, of course! You can't expect to function like that for long you know." she commented as she turned back to the herbs. "Now let's see... We'll need some elderberry, stinging nettle," Gretel got the feeling that the woman was listing the herbs for her benefit. "Lavender of course, oh and St. John's Wart." All the herbs gathered, the woman grabbed what looked to be a deep bowl and what looked like a tiny club. Gretel recognized these to be a mortar and pestle- a set of cooking supplies designed to grind down herbs and spices.  Ushering her over to the counter the witch passed off the instruments over to the girl. "Start grinding these," She indicated the collection of assorted herbs on a small cloth resting on the table. "Make sure to do it in a clockwise position and focus on your intention while you grind." 

"Why?" the small girl asked, attempting to make sense of her instructions 

"You'll have to be more specific. Why clockwise or why focus on your intention?"

"Both." 

"It's all about mindset." the older woman explained. "When you focus on what you want, or what you are working towards you are that much closer to receiving it." 

"And grinding clockwise?" 

"People tend to associate clockwise motions with an increase in something. Again, this is all about mindset. You'll understand more as time goes on."

Leaning on the counter for support, Gretel grabbed the dry leaves and began crushing the leafy herbs down. It was hard work. It wasn't long before she could feel trickles of sweat beating down her neck while her hostess watched her intently. "That should do it," the witch told her after the herbs had been ground down into a rough powder "Grab the kettle, a cup, and a strainer." the older indicated the cupboard behind the girl. Turning slowly,  Gretel hobbled to the cabinet and grabbed what was requested and placed them on the counter. The tea kettle was whistling like mad by now, so the young girl took it off of where it was boiling. Placing it on a leather hyde cloth next to the other supplies, Gretel looked to the witch for what to do next. Seeing she wanted further instruction, the woman obliged. "Place the herbs in the strainer and place the strainer in your cup. Once you're done carefully pour water from the kettle into your cup." Gretel once again did as she was told. "Now let it steep." 

They waited for a few minutes, the young girl occasionally using the little chain on the end of the tea strainer to speed the process along. Once the tea had been sufficiently cooled, the witch incouraged her to drink. Suddenly feeling very hesitant, Gretek took a very small, cautious sip. She immediately felt a whole lot better. Her ankle even seemed to pain her less, which to Gretel was a miracle all to itself. Wanting to chase the feeling, she took a much larger, hastier gulp, making the old witch chuckle. "You like it I take?" a small smirk spread across the woman's face.

"Very much so!" 

"Well I'm glad. It should help your injuries to heal at a faster rate. While you continue drinking that, I've got some work to do outside. We'll do some more lessons and cooking when I get back" The woman told her, a strange quirk in her lip making the hairs on the back of Gretel's neck stand up on end, though she dare not question it. "I won't be long." the old woman assured her, though Gretel still felt unsure. Noticing her guardian grab a large carpet bag in the corner and then shuffle out of the room, the small girl continued drinking her tea, a bad taste in her mouth but not from her beverage. Her host was clearly acting strange and she had no idea why. What on earth did the woman have in her bag that was so important anyway? Hearing the door shut in the distance, Gretel decided to get the pressure off her broken ankle. It was still feeling better, but she had a feeling the less pressure on it until it healed the better.  Sitting comfortably, Gretel's thoughts constantly shifted back to Hansel.  Where was he planning to go? Would he get an apprenticeship as a woodcutter like their father? How long would it take for him to come back for her? Even further, how would he find her again? She was literally in the belly of a gigantic fish. It wasn't exactly an easy address to find.

The small girl could hope to God that he was okay. 

What she didn't know was that the boy was much closer than she thought and the Witch was carrying out her plans for him right under her nose.