Gretel

8

Gretel as it turned out, was a natural at many things. Cooking, baking, sewing, weaving, and in time, spell work. Under the expert tutelage of her guardian, she quickly began to blossom. At first, the little girl didn't realize the significance of what she was being taught, but as time went on,  Gretel began to realize that the woman who had adopted her was a Witch. Knowing better than to call the older woman out on it, she wisely kept her opinions to herself. Unfortunately meant she was subjected to ridiculous chores. Like now:
Cleaning the rediculosly dirty stables of man eating horses.
Yep.
Gretel had unfortunately learned the unusual nature of the beasts a few years before when she had been innocently exploring the grounds of her unusual new home. Packed with filth no one ever dared to clean, it was not a pretty sight. She had her back turned when one of the sharp toothed horses decided it would be a good idea to snack on her hair when her back was turned.
She felt lucky that was all that it was.
Waiting by one of the windows, Gretel was doing something she had only read  about in legends- waiting for the tide to get high enough that it would clean the barn. Apparently a guy named Hercules had done this at a similar stable somewhere in Greece thousands of years ago with great results. She didn't know if it was just a tall tale, but it couldn't hurt to try.
The massive fish that they lived in always opened his mouth around high tide. That was when Gretel would strike.
Seeing the water rise rapidly, the girl moved towards the stable doors and flung them open. A massive burst of water drenched the area, pulling up all the stuck hay and debris. It took a minute, but when the water finally cleared all the dirt was gone with it.
Gretel prefered not to think about how the fish felt about the situation. Nor the horses. Currently, all neighed horribly, screaming more like. There wicked sharp teeth grawling on the stall doors. Kicking at their stalls in an effort to escape and causing such a commotion Gretel was forced to cover her ears. Apparently the barn's occupants hadn't been pleased with the girl's way of cleaning up. In time, the water subsided and the fits stopped, though it seemed to take a while for things to return completely back to normal. That was when the stalls occupants began to speak. "Please ms," they cried 'Dry and towel us off and we will do you a good deed in return." the unusual beasts promised hopefully.

Tired and wet herself, Gretel politely refused, saying that they would dry up soon enough, for the stable was quite warm. "I'm sorry, but I have nothing to dry you with. Besides, the stable is quite warm. You will be dry soon enough." she told them.
Pleased that she was done with her chore, the task done the girl locked up, making sure that none of the horses had been left free. Smiling to herself, Gretel couldn't wait to see the look on the old woman's face when she saw that the girl had actually managed to complete the task in record time. Giddy, she decided to take a walk around the grounds. It was unusual how she had come accustomed to the strange place that had become her home. Still nowhere was quite home without Hansel. When would he be coming back? Why had he not said goodbye. The woman,   she called herself, had been extremely odd the night he had gone.
It made Gretel extremely suspicious and she feared she would never see her twin again. She could only hope that she was wrong. Passing by the old well another question filled her mind. Why did she never want Gretel to go to the well? It was very strange. Was she hiding something? The girl was almost certain that the old woman was. Normally, Gretel would investigate, but she feared what her guardian might do if she were to be caught. She had a feeling there was something not quite right about it.

Why did they need a well anyway? They lived under the sea after all.

That was when something truly strange happened. The strange well seemed to come alive, the crumbled old bricks seemed to contort into a rough face, which spoke in a grumbling deep, deep voice. "Please ms," the decrepit old well begged. "Make me clean and tidy and I will do you a good deed in return." the old well promised hopefully.