A Scarlet Flower

The dark lighting made it hard for the men to see the gravel path up to the door, but sure enough they knocked nicely on the little cottage door. The knock was loud and reverberated through Sophie's disheveled room. As her back straightened, she turned to face the hallway to the door. Sophie heard Caroline just outside her window, gardening gleefully, unaware of people at the front of the cottage.

"Caroline," Sophie whispered out the window, unsure of how loud to be. Caroline just kept digging.

Sophie felt terror rip through her heart. The two of them had been alone for as long as Sophie could remember, but Sophie thought for a second that-
No, she echoed to herself.

Her eyes turned to the blood red flowers Caroline was digging around. They seemed to crawl through Sophie's window, and into Sophie's precious space. Sophie angrily tore the curtains across the clear panes of glass.

The face at the door was red and blotchy.
"Good evening! This is the residence of Miss Caroline and Miss Sophie I believe?" His words melded together in Sophie's brain, causing her only to nod.

"So am I talking to Sophie or Caroline?" He stuttered, and Sophie frowned, reaching to close the door. "No! Please, we have nowhere else to go. We heard that we could stay at this little cottage," the man pleaded. Sophie's eyes shifted up towards the taller man behind him. Sophie looked at the man in full detail down to his shoes and blushed heartily. The man was tall and had dark features, his brows slinking over his eyes, his cheeks sculpted with age. The man stared back at Sophie.

"Caroline!" Sophie called, and in a flash Caroline appeared.

"My goodness!" Caroline exclaimed! Her face flushed red, and she stared at the new visitors. Obviously she had noticed the same things that Sophie had. "Why don't you come in?" she coaxed, "We'll get the house lit with some candles-" And so she did.

Within minutes, the four of them sat in the living room, both the strangers sitting on the settee, while Caroline and Sophie sat in their respective armchairs. During the time Sophie took to light the house, Caroline had made a nice introduction with the men. They learned that the recognizable stranger's name was Christopher, and the sultry companion was titled Fredric. Their names rang familiar in Sophie's ears, and she felt as though she knew where the strangers were from. They explained they had come from the same little town Sophie and Caroline and originated from. That was why they were slightly familiar. It was probably why they seemed to already know the situation Caroline and Sophie were in.

Sophie felt uncomfortable looking at the strangers from across the room. Fredric's eyes seemed to wander on her more than Sophie was comfortable with, but eventually his eyes settled on Sophie's.
"Have you ever left the woods?" Fredric asked, his voice deeper than what Sophie had expected.
"Everything we need has been available to us in these woods," Caroline responded, but she frowned when she noticed Fredric's gaze was still fixed on Sophie. "Things have a way of turning up." She finished, dissatisfied.

"What about you, Sophie?" He questioned with a whisper.

Sophie frowned. Of course she didn't leave. She barely left the cabin at all, let alone left the woods. Caroline was right, things had a way of turning up at the best moment. Some days a cow would wander into the field right as when the cheese supply had run out, and some days wild cats and dogs would accompany Sophie on a tour of the garden. Still, Sophie preferred the reliability of the old cottage. It was where she was safe. She had never been in danger there. Besides, you couldn't just leave.
"The woods are dense, I suppose. It makes it hard to get out." Sophie's voice softly rattled. She didn't really mean what she said. Her head down to avoid Fredric's gaze any longer.

The party had quieted down, and Caroline and Christopher had taken quite a liking to each other. Christopher offered to stay longer, and Caroline was ecstatic.