Modification || T. Riddle || Completed

Chapter 21: The Allure of Darkness

Chapter 21: The Allure of Darkness

There was a knocking at the bedroom door. "Get up, we're going soon," she heard Tom shout from the other side.

"Just a minute!" She replied with a groan, stretching where she lay.

"They've brought us breakfast."

Estela smoothed down her hair and rushed to the door when she stopped suddenly, seeing her reflection in the mirror. She was wearing her strappy midnight blue silk night dress, something she did not want Tom to see her in.

"Hurry up, Markorp!" She heard him call, the sound of impatience evident in the deep tones of his voice.

She huffed and grabbed her cloak, wrapping it around her quickly before she entered the living room. Tom was sitting by the fire in the armchair with a slice of toast in his hand. He looked up and an annoyed expression crossed his face.

"You're not dressed yet? I told you to be up early."

"When you said early I didn't know you meant this early!" She replied, gesturing towards the window through which the sun could just about be seen rising from behind the outline of the village.

"Well hurry up and get ready. We have important business to attend to today."

She made her way over to where Tom was sitting and grabbed a piece of toast. As she did so, however, her cloak slipped from her grip, revealing a bit of her nightdress.

Tom caught her eye and snickered. "What on earth are you wearing?"

She stared down at him, taking a bite out of the piece of buttered toast. "Are you sure that you have anything to say after those little jammies you were wearing last night?"

Tom's face went blank. He blinked once or twice as though he was completely oblivious to what she was saying. "What was wrong with them? Everyone wears pyjamas!" he said, and again that strange sense of normality about Tom came back. "I still don't know what on Earth you're wearing-"

She rolled her eyes. "It's a a night dress. Get over it. Would you rather I wear nothing at all?"

Estela instantly froze, as did Tom who was mid-way through biting down on a piece of toast. He arched an amused brow and the room instantly felt hotter despite the snow outside.

"I didn't mean it like that," she replied swiftly, wrapping her cloak around her tightly.

He finished chewing before he spoke, the silence dragging as Estela's cheeks began to redden. The corner of his lip twitched upwards ever so slightly as he spoke. "Of course you didn't."

She scowled at him, and with a piece of toast tightly secured in her mouth, she headed back to her bedroom as quickly as she could.

***

Estela returned to the living area later, dressed and ready to go. Her cheeks still became a bit hot at the thought of the night-dress situation, but she tried to push the thought away.

"So," Estela said, "Where are we going and why do we have to go so early?"

"Remember that little lane we saw on our way here? The one covered in hedges?" He said as they both made their way out of the room and down the stairs. Estela nodded. "There's a house there, and that's where we're going."

When they opened the door of the Inn, a cold wind tickled at her skin and she shivered. It must have been snowing all night, as the snow now reached half way up Estela's shin when she took her first step outside. The street outside was fairly busy, and Tom put on his hood and kept his head down, eyeing Estela as though he were telling her to do the same.