The Wolf's Den

Path 3: Tilli, Chapter 2: Part 1

        Still hugging the wall, Tilli studied everything around her, anything around her, for a way to find Adrieve and Ryland. How many hallways were there? Were they in any of the doors in her current location? Where had they gone and why did they leave without her? That was rather like Adrieve, but Ryland? Ryland never acted like that... They had to be forced away. That had to be it. Taking a right, she found herself in a new corridor, hidden in the darkness as her soundless steps kept her from being detected.

        After a moment, she found a little window, staring into what would seem to be a beautiful cottage, full of normal sized beds above the stair in an open alcove, a large table for eight, hearty looking chairs, a tidy, functional kitchen nearby the chairs and table, a large could connected a cover, and a bookshelf in the corner opposite the couch. Carefully staring in, she jumped backwards and slammed quietly into the wall, dark eyes wide as she saw a sweet, smiling face looking back at her. There was sudden light in the hallway from the window, and stepping closer, she discovered red, red lips, not blood but close in hue, black hair long and waved, and skin white as parchment.

        When the woman stepped away, dress swaying in circles after her, Tilli was about to step away until a door opened and the sweet smell of dinner entered the hallway. "Would you like to come in? You don't look like a six foot tall man, so if you hury, we can give you shelter for the night. However did you find us all the way out here?" The woman said, voice sweet at honey or sugar.

          "Are you sure I should--- I mean, I don't think---"

           "Oh don't be silly, come in, it's cold out there and it's warm in here."

            "Is it just you here, miss?"

             Upon stepping inside, the mysterious woman warmly smiled, shutting the door softly but not silently and humming to herself while setting the table for three. Oddly, the wood seemed worn, hand-made, but she couldn't have made in, despite her build being most likely strong.

              "Just me? Oh. no, there's my husband, too, but he's sleeping and he always sleeps so deeply. He'll take soon as the ham's ready... It's our first year here, and we've had... Perhaps some troubles, but my father's marriage never much worked for him. A shrug, she stopped setting the table to study over Tilli. "You've damaged your cloak, I can fix that before he wakes up."

             "Oh, but it's fine, really, I can patch it when I've got the time. I just saw a hallway and took it, though now that you mention it, it mirrors the hallway I was just in, minus all the doors."

              "Then you must have used the mirror! That's the only way to get here, you know, and it's so lonely here when I was so used to the forest. There, it was calmer, but this woman came, and this apple... Only, I took one bite and collapsed. It was how I met my husband, he save my life. That's a story for another time, though." A chuckle warmly, she carefully detached the cloak from her visitor, starting to mend it while the ham in the oven cooked. She'd locked the windows, right? That way, the man couldn't get in again.

              "Oh, thank you, miss."

              "It's Snow, well... Snow White, I suppose you can call me, but I prefer Snow. I think I hear my husband now, actually. And you are?"

               "It's Tilli... I'm looking for my sisters Adrieve and Ryland, though I don't much like Adrieve I still want to save her. It is the right thing to do, after all."

                "They sound like supportive siblings nonetheless. Both sound very sweet."

                "Well... We're not actually related, it was just treated like that at the orphanage, although, well, I wasn't supposed to say that."

                 "And who says you can't?"

                "Adrieve."

                "Then I'll try not to pry into that. Here we are, now, your cloak, Miss Tilli."

                Accepting the cloak, she placed it carefully over her shoulders again. "Thank you, Snow White. How can I thank you in return?"

                "Well, you can keep me company when my husband leaves for the evening tonight. Come, let's wait at the table for him when he comes down the steps."

                  After the ham was out from the oven and served on plates, the sound of thudding boots and a grumble under a man's breath could be heard. Upon seeing Tilli, her cloack on the coat hanger, stared at his wife before Tilli herself. "We didn't need a new guest," he said, not to Snow White, but to Tilli herself. "Get out, it's just my wife and I."

                    "Darling, sit, sit, the ham's ready and you have to get to work soon," his wife said.

                    Not acknowledging his wife, he shook his head fiercely, sat down, and started to eat, not paying attention to either woman in his presence. Both, he noted, were around the same age, and their guest seemed more attractive than his wife in her innocence. "Well, ain't you gonna eat? There's more than just my plate, girl," he finally stated, chewing loudly and staring at Tilli with disinterest.

                      In the silence that fell for that dinner, he'd learned that their guest was named Tilli, she was looking for her companions, and that Tilli came from an orphanage. When he'd left, and the dishes were finished, Snow White put the meal in the fridge, 'left over' food was always good, she said, for when her husband got hungry, there was a knock on the door. This was when Snow froze, turned off all the lightly, locked the windows more firmly, and shoed Tilli up the steps to hide under her bed, where Snow herself hid with her.

                      "You stay there, alright? Don't move, don't breathe too loudly, don't... Don't be seen," Snow finally whispered into her ear.

                        The man didn't leave for a half hour, and when he was gone, Snow carefully crawled out, helping Tilli out. "Well, you'd best stay the night, we can't send you away like that, now can we? I'll let you borrow something of mine for bed. After all, it's only fair I let you stay here for all your help earlier, keeping me calm with that man coming to our door again."

                         "Who is that man, though, Miss Snow?"

                          "He's.... I suppose you could say he's... Got seven personalities and six feet of height, and he wants to harm us. But that's also another story for another day. Come, let's get to bed."

                           Upon being settled, Snow insisting they shared her bed to protect each other in their sleep, Tilli resigned from using one of the five twin beds she'd seen through the window. And for once, sleep came easy to her.