Hansel & Gretel [NaNoWriMo 2016]

CHAPTER NINETEEN: Hansel

           

After the king and queen sent Hansel and Gretel off so that they could discuss Hansel's proposition, he had to walk faster to keep up with his sister's brisk pace. Her braid was swinging with a momentum that spoke volumes of her current walking speed. Her staff hit the ground every second and its steady beat mirrored his heartbeat as he struggled to stay with her. He wasn't quite sure why Gretel seemed to be in a dark mood, but he could wager a guess.

"Is this because I volunteered us without asking you?" he asked with a subdued voice, his eyes flitting around in his skull to make sure that no one was listening in or could hear their conversation.

Gretel paused to hit Hansel's right side with her staff, the strength in her arms giving the object enough force to bruise his skin.

"Ow!" he nearly shrieked, rubbing his side as he glared at her. "Geeze!"

Gretel returned his glare and Hansel bent away a little from her.

"Shut up," she muttered, her eyes mimicking his earlier survey of their surroundings. "We'll talk in my room. There's less ears there and less of a chance of someone eavesdropping."

She then turned on her heel and resumed her brisk pace with Hansel merging with her shadow, his eyes constantly searching for any person in the halls with them. His lips thinned as he frowned, his mind swirling as he followed Gretel and spoke again.

"You really think there's someone listening to our conversations?" he asked her, his shoulders tense as her paranoid thoughts were affecting him.

Thanks to his sister, he was starting to question whether or not the twins actually had any privacy. They were royalty and it was quite common for kings, queens, and their children to be targeted. So, to Hansel, it was not much of a stretch to think that perhaps their parents had people watching and guarding them. After all, the twins had been "kidnapped" once before. Their birth parents might be a little paranoid about the twins' safety after all that has happened so far.

Gretel craned her neck to look at him for a brief moment as she continued forward. "I wouldn't doubt it. However, I have not seen any evidence that someone has been following us nor have I witnessed anyone listening to us. But that doesn't mean that there isn't. Just because we haven't seen or heard anyone doesn't mean that we don't have personal stalkers. It only means that we haven't caught them in action yet."

Hansel frowned. "Or it means that you're being super paranoid."

Gretel laughed, pushing her door open as she did so. "Oh, dear brother of mine. How naïve you are."

"I'm not naïve," he protested as he shut her bedroom door behind him, twisting his body to still look at her. "I'm just . . ."

"Trusting our dear birth parents even though they haven't done anything to gain our trust?" Gretel finished for him, sitting on her bed to rest her bad leg.

Hansel's frown deepened and he crossed his arms over his chest. "They're our parents. They shouldn't have to gain anything just as we shouldn't have to fight for anything from them."

Gretel's green eyes flashed with bitter anger, her lips curled in a cruel twist of a smile. "Then you don't remember Gryn."

Hansel bit his lip, casting his gaze away from his sister's face because he couldn't stand to look at her. He was upset that she would use their poor excuse for an adoptive father in this argument. Not every parent was like him and not every father had such a two-faced disposition. So it was unfair for Gretel to try to compare that situation to the one they were currently in. They had met their birth father only once. They knew nothing about his true nature.