Wolf In Women's Clothing

Three

Silently, Maaike sat outside while Jakob and Alvina put the food away. The mother made up something for Jakob since he offered to help. He politely took the handmade meal and ate every bit of it. Meanwhile, Alvina walked outside with a couple biscuits wrapped neatly in cloth.
"Here you are, Maaike. I thought you might be hungry." She held out the freshly baked treats to the stranger. Maaike looked at the biscuits before grabbing both and hurriedly shoving them in her mouth. Alvina stood, somewhat stunned by the woman's actions. But a laugh tickled at her throat.
"My, my, you must have been hungry! As if you haven't eaten any within days!" she exclaimed between laughs. Maaike felt the corner of her lips curl into a smile at her own embrassment.
"It's alright. I've just never seen someone eat like that besides maybe the pigs and hounds." Alvina sat down next to her guest on the wooden crate and sighed. As the woman continued to eat, Alvina quietly inspected her. She noticed quite a few things. Her hair was tangled in some places, there was dirt on her cheek and on her clothes, and she just looked like she crawled out of the forest after being held there so long.
"So where do you come from, Maaike?" Alvina asked, knitting her fingers together.
"No where important." She quickly stated. Alvina bit down on her lip, gently grinding against the soft flesh in thought.
"Do you have family?"
"No."
"Then how come your hair is so tangled and good enough for a bird's nest?" Maaike reached up to feel her knotted hair.
"Things happen." Alvina shook her head, frustrated that she was unable to get an actual answer out of her.
"Then let me help you comb it out. Trust me, it will hurt but you'll look much more presentable." Maaike gave her a side glance.
"Fine." She followed Alvina into the small house and into the room. Alvina gestured for Maaike to sit down on the bed and hestiantly, she complied. Alvina took the comb from her dresser drawer and went from the bottom up.
"Ouch!" Maaike yelped.
"Sorry! You just have so many knotts! How does someone get so many?" The loud sound caused the mother and Jakob to enter.
"Alvina! Who is this girl? She's all dirty and her hair looks like a rat's nest!" The mother questioned, her hands on her hips.
"This is the girl I told you about, miss. Alvina wanted to help her in good faith. She is simply going by the Lord's wishes." Jakob responded for the freckled woman. The mother, with her hair turning gray from old age sighed.
Stern, the mother stated, "She better clean herself and leave before your father gets home or he'll throw her out himself." Sadly, Alvina nodded before the mother left to finish her duties as a wife.
Jakob sighed in annoyance. "The sooner she's all cleaned up, the sooner we can get her out of here." He muttered, leaving the room. As Alvina moved over to the side, Maaike noticed the ornaments that were upon the comb. She stopped Alvina's hand and removed the comb from her hand. Gently, she let her finger tips feel the hand carved birds and vase-like object between the two birds.
Alvina watched as her assumed new friend was transfixed on such a simple object. Her finger movements were slow, taking in every bit of curve and edge. Ever so gently, Alvina grasped Maaike's hands and took the comb back.
"You can look at it later but right now, you need your hair combed." Alvina stated, returning to her task. Maaike sighed and looked around the room. She noticed the green fabric in the corner of the room. It was still in progress but it caught the eye of the curious woman. However, she did like the positive attention she was being given at the moment so she resisted her urge to run up and grab it.
Jakob came back in with a water basin and a scrub. He took one of Maaike's shoes off and dunked it into the cool water.
"Hey! Let go of my foot!" Maaike practically screamed at the blonde man. He fought her to keep her foot in the water while Alvina tried to reason with her.
"Hey, it may be cold but you'll be clean afterward. Won't that be nice?" Maaike huffed and stopped struggling.
Eventually, they managed to clean the woman up and made her look like a part of the scenry.
"How where will she go after this?" Alvina whispered to Jakob while Maaike was transfixed on her new clothes.
"Well my father has been wanting help help around the house since my mother passed. Perhaps she can work as a maid." he replied, watching the olive toned woman. Alvina nodded.
"Perhaps a good idea. And I need to get back to making that dress before my father comes home. He'd be off his rocker otherwise." Jakob hummed.
"Hey, uh, Maaike. Your coming with me." He stated, placing his hand on her back. She recoiled from the touch immediately.
"No."
"Yes, now let's go." Maaike quickly dashed over to Alvina and hid behind her. Jakob sighed in utter frustration.
"You have to go with him. You can't stay here." Alvina turned and grasp the other woman's hand. Maaike rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, looking quite like a pouting child. She made her way to Jakob and left with little to no incident.
Alvina looked over to the dress and immediately, her face fell. She sat in her chair and picked up the in-progress dress. Painstaking work that would make her hands cramp up or she would prick herself with the sharp needle.
She already missed having the strange woman over. As she began, she remembered her comb. And that it was still in Maaike's hands when she left. She shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose for being so oblivious.
'I'll just get it back tomorrow.'