Taken

Chapter 12 (Part 2)

"I wouldn't suggest anything that would put you or us at risk," Hilda tried to reassure me as she began to open the paper package she pulled out of the fridge. Her words didn't hold much weight since she had already put me in danger to mitigate some of theirs. "This town is small and often overlooked by the neighboring courts. It's unlikely the Winter King will have his men lingering here when there are larger cities better suited for hiding so near, but I can understand the concern. There haven't been any official announcements put out regarding you and I have strong doubts that there will be since you are a human and the Winter court broke laws by bringing you here. This isn't something the other courts would turn a blind eye to. Plus," she continued, grabbing a basket full of eggs as she turned the stove on. "Your glamour has an added feature of making your face forgettable. No one here is powerful enough to bypass its effects, so if they were shown a picture of you, they wouldn't be able to place where they had seen you, even if they just had moments earlier. If you change your mind or grow bored, the offer is always open."

"Thanks, Hilda, but I don't plan on sticking around long enough to make friends."

"You don't have much of a choice in how long you'll be here, dear. Making friends might do you some good and help time pass by faster. Plus, it's always nice to have someone to talk to."

The pitying edge that entered her eyes had me clenching my teeth. It was one I was familiar with and always hated being on the receiving end of, but I shouldn't have been surprised to see it reflected in her eyes after my excessive reaction last night. It also made it clearer why she was suddenly so insistent that I socialize after her previous warnings that I wasn't to leave this house alone.

Who would have guessed that the woman who had placed a death sentence on my chest would be showing me concern? Though, it could be left up for debate whether she had ulterior motives, even if I couldn't see them at the moment.

"It's difficult to make friends when you're confined to a property you're not allowed to leave unsupervised," I dryly remarked as I moved to offer her my assistance with breakfast.

"You're more than welcome to invite them here."

"I'll think about it."

* * *

After breakfast, the rest of the morning and afternoon was spent helping Hilda with final preparations for the market taking place the next day while trying to get answers out of her again with no success. She kept changing the subject whenever I steered it toward Silas and what I had overheard them discussing. Eventually, I stopped trying when my constant efforts led to nothing but avoidance. 

The town market was open every day, but Hilda and Silas only rented a stall on the weekends to make enough to get through the following week while saving the rest to stock up for winter before the ground froze over. They were already behind, my unexpected arrival setting them back further. Hilda mentioned that typically they would be prepared by now, but needing to uproot and relocate a few months back came with a lot of unexpected costs that set them back, most spent on adjusting to the vastly different environment. It had been easier to account for food and not worry about the costs that came with keeping warm when they had resided between the borders of the spring and summer courts. Still, those lands came with their own struggles in the forms of droughts and extreme temperatures in the opposite direction.

When evening rolled around, Hilda scavenged up a few books I could read to keep myself occupied and left me with an extra portion of the dish she had prepared for the potluck that I just needed to pop into the oven and heat. She was going to be returning late and made sure I had everything I would need before leaving.

When she was gone, I gave the books she had left me with a once over before picking one that would help me learn more about this realm and headed upstairs to take a long bath to begin reading while trying to unwind in the moment of solitude I had. When the water that had my skin flushing red cooled, I made my way downstairs to pop dinner into the oven and enjoy the savory melody of vegetables, setting aside a portion three times as large as mine for Silas as per Hilda's parting request. It still sat on the kitchen table untouched two hours after I had set it aside and finished eating.