WinterField

Chapter 6 - The Man in the Maroon Hood

"Yeah," Ash said as tears welled up in her eyes. "Would you like to meet your biological father back in Winterfield?"

"I would love to come back with you. Why don't you stay the night, and we can leave tomorrow morning."

"No problem. We'll find a nearby hotel to stay in for the night, and we can meet here in the morning." Ash said.

"No, I insist you stay with me. It will be nice to get to know my sister." Melonie said.

"Are you sure. There's a lot of us." Ash said worried for the small cottage.

"I have two extra bedrooms. You and Lord Sage can each stay in one." Melonie said without worry.

"No. I'll stay at my own house. Ash has some friends waiting outside, they can stay in the rooms." Sage said.

"Oh right! I forgot about them. Go ahead and invite them in, Ash. I'd love to meet your friends.

Ash went over to the door and motioned for Quinn and Sophia to come inside, they bombarded Ash with questions, but she waved them off and promised she'd fill them in later.

"Are you Ash's sister?" Sophia asked excitedly.

"Yes, and you are?" Melonie asked.

"OH. MY. GOSH. I am so happy to meet you my name is Sophia and I'm so glad you and Ash finally got to meet each other, and I'm so happy!!" Sophia said without taking a breath.

"Nice to meet you too," Melonie said as she was embraced in a very tight hug by Sophia. "So you and Sophia will share a room, and Your boyfriend over there can have a room to himself." Melonie teased.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Ash said as her face turned bright red.

"I'll grab some blankets for your rooms. I'll show you where they are, and you can get settled in for the night. It's getting late." Melonie said.

Ash and Sophia went to their rooms and Quinn went to his, while Melonie went to the small closet in the hall to gather some extra blankets. Sage walked down the hall to Ash and Sophia's room.

"I just wanted to say good night ladies. What time should I come over tomorrow?" Sage asked.

"How about 10:00 a.m tomorrow?" Ash replied.

"Sounds great. See you tomorrow!" Sage said cheerfully.

Melonie came in with the blankets a few moments later.

"I'm so sorry there is only one bed, but I brought extra blankets so you could make a bed on the floor if you wanted to," Melonie suggested.

"That would be great. I'll sleep on the floor and you can have the bed, Sophia." Ash said.

"Are you sure?" Sophia said.

"Yep. I don't mind sleeping on the floor; I actually enjoy it."

Ash took the blankets from Melonie and laid them down on the floor, so she would have one underneath her, and one as a blanket.

Ash went to the bathroom to take off her armor and change into her pajamas. When she came out Sophia was waiting to change after her. Ash brought her clothes into their room and set them down in the corner so they out of the way.

"Hey, Ash," Quinn said.

"Ahh! You scared me!" Ash yelled at him.

"Sorry." Quinn laughed. "I was just wondering if you needed any help setting up."

"No. I think we're good, but thank you for asking." Ash said.

"Excuse me, Quinn," Sophia said as she pushed past him to get into the room.

"Whoops. Sorry, Sophia. Well, good night guys. See you tomorrow." Quinn said.

"Good night." Ash and Sophia said at the same time.

Ash lay down on the makeshift bed and fell asleep quickly. She'd had a long day. Sophia, on the other hand, was having trouble falling asleep. She felt like someone was watching her, but she got up, closed the curtains, and fell asleep quickly.

Melonie was first to wake up the next morning. She went to the kitchen to make breakfast for everyone; she lit a fire in the fireplace and set a pan down in the middle to cook some bacon. The bacon was almost done when there was a frantic knock on the door.

Melonie walked over and opened the door. Sage rushed inside with sweat dripping down his face.

"Sage! What's wrong?" Melonie asked surprised.

"Someone broke into my house last night. My guards had already gone home for the night, so I was alone in my house. I had captured the man, tied him to a chair, put him in my basement, and locked the door so he couldn't escape. I didn't bother to look at his face because I was going to bring him to the prison in the morning."

By then, Melonie and Sage had sat down on the couch with a cup of rosemary tea.

"When I woke up the man had broken out of my basement and was rummaging through my potions. I quietly snuck up behind him and was about to hit his head, when he whipped around and punched me in my stomach. I stumbled backward and he threw a potion at me. It hit the wall and exploded into a cloud of yellow mist. I hit the man over the head with a vase, which exploded all over the floor, and ran out the door to here." Sage said.

"He wasn't following you, was he?" Melonie asked worried.

"No, I lost in the town square," Sage said.

"Help me wake the others." Melonie said.

"I'll get Ash and Sophia. You can get Quinn."

"OK," Melonie said.

Melonie went to Quinn's room and gently shook him awake, while Sage went to Ash first and brushed her hair out of her face to wake her up.

"Good morning," Sage said softly.

"Morning Quinn," Ash said sleepily without opening her eyes.

Ash then opened her eyes and was shocked to see Sage kneeling next to her.

"Sage!" Ash said with embarrassment.

Sage burst out laughing which then woke Sophia.

"What's happening?" Sophia asked with a yawn.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Ash said her face beet red.

An arrow shot through the window with pink mist surrounding it this time.

"Everyone hold your breath!" Ash yelled. "It's laughing gas!"

Ash, Sophia, and Sage all held their breath and raced down to Quinn's room.

"We have to get out of here! NOW!" Ash yelled at them.

They all ran to the front door only to meet a man masked in a maroon colored cloak.

"Hello." The man said in a creepy voice.

Word Count//1098