Chapter 10

Winter's eyes shoot open. A roof meets her stare. A comfortable pillow is beneath her head, and a warm blanket covers her body.

"Oh, did I wake you, Winter?" Paul asks.

He had just gotten out of bed and started stretching when Winter woke up.

"I'm sorry, you can go back to sleep," he says, pulling on some clean clothes.

Sleep? Now? But she just woke up.

Winter rubs her eyes and sits up. She is wide awake now, so going back to sleep isn't an option. She cocks her head to the side with a curious glance, almost seeming to ask Paul 'What are you doing?'

"I'm just getting ready to go and gather some more firewood. Yesterday's haul got cut short, so I woke up early today to make up for it today," he answers, pulling on his boots.

She wants to help! She should get dressed so she can go too.

Winter moves to get out of bad, careful not to wake Matilda who is still fast asleep.

"What do you think you're doing?" Paul asks.

She wants to go with!

Winter has a beaming smile on her face. She's excited for adventure.

"Oh, Winter, you can't come with me. We don't have any shoes for you to wear, so your feet will end up scratched and sore," Paul says awkwardly.

Oh... Well, what if she rides on his shoulders again? Keeps lookout? Then they wouldn't need to worry about her feet!

She points excitedly at his shoulders, almost hopping at the idea.

"What? Ride on my shoulders?"

She nods enthusiastically.

"Well, that won't work either. I can't carry you around all day while also carrying the wood. Yesterday was an exception because you were lost."

Oh...

Winter's face loses its enthusiasm.

What is she supposed to do then?

Paul sighs. He understands how badly she wants to go, but it just isn't meant to be.

"I know it might seem boring, but you have to stay here with Matilda," he says sadly, but then an idea pops into mind. "In fact," he starts, "You can help keep an eye on her, make sure she stays safe while I'm gone. We wouldn't want her to end up surrounded by wolves like yesterday," he says with a smile.

Protect Matilda? But what about him. How will he stay safe without her?

Winter wears a genuine look of concern as she looks at Paul, and he immediately gets the message.

"You don't have to worry about me. I'll make sure I stay safe from anything dangerous, so you just focus on Matilda."

Winter nods, though hesitant.

She doesn't want him to get hurt just because she's watching Matilda...

"I'll be okay, so keep Matilda safe for me, okay?" Paul says, a charming smile on his face.

Maybe he will be safe.

She nods again, this time more confident.

"Alright then, I'll be off," he says, and with that he leaves the bedroom, and then the house.

Winter can hear his footsteps as they carry off into the woods, soon completely inaudible.

Okay, she needs to keep a close eye on Matilda!

Winter sits down on the bed, her eyes glued to Matilda's sleeping face. She looks beautiful passed out on the bed. Deep brown hair that's messy from sleeping, hazelnut eyes beneath their eyelids, a perfectly clear face with not a single blemish, and a curvy, attractive figure.

She's pretty...

Winter stares close at Matilda, her eyes absorbing everything there is to see.

Will she ever look as pretty as Matilda?

Winter looks down at herself. She's small, barely half as tall as Matilda, and her body has no curves to speak of in comparison to Matilda. She looks childish.

Well, she is a childish. She can't be older than ten, that's what Paul said. Maybe she will look prettier when she grows up? Maybe as pretty as Matilda is?

Winter smiles giddily at the thought.

She wants to grow up as fast as she can so she can be as pretty as Matilda is!

"Mhmm..."

Matilda stirs in her sleep. Her eyes slowly blink open and land on Winter as she moves to sit up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Good morning Winter," she says through a yawn. She stretches where she sits and yawns again.

She looks tired. Is she going to go back to sleep?

Matilda looks like she might lay back down at any moment and close her eyes, but she doesn't. Instead, she slowly slides her legs over the edge of the bed and stands up, though slouched.

"Mmm, I need coffee..."

She slouches out of the bedroom and into the main room of the house, and Winter happily follows behind.

Finally, Matilda's awake! Now they can do something together so she doesn't get bored!

Matilda clumsily sits by the fireplace and tries to start a small fire. After a few feeble attempts, a small fire manages to catch and crackles quietly in the room.

Next, Matilda boils two cups worth of water in the pot, and once the water is nice and hot, she moves it into a pitcher.

Finally, she grabs an odd brown powder and places it on a thin handkerchief that seems permanently stained brown. Once on the handkerchief, she then places the handkerchief over a cup and carefully pour the hot water over it.

The water absorbs the fine brown powder and seeps through the handkerchief and into the cup, resulting in a rich brown liquid.

It smells weird, but also good...

Winter can't help but be captured by the scent.

"Do you want to try some coffee Winter? Matilda asks in a groggy voice.

Winter nods.

Matilda repeats the process over another cup for Winter, and just like that, Winter has her own cup of coffee.

"Don't drink it just yet, it needs to cool off a little so you don't burn yourself," Matilda says as she cleans everything she used.

A few minutes pass and finally Matilda finishes.

"Okay, it should have cooled off enough to drink, go ahead and try it."