Getting out of the Cathedral wasn't difficult. They had to wait in a couple of different rooms to avoid detection, but they eventually made it back to the catacombs. Along the way, Dean tried to ask Cait about her circumstances, but she remained vague on the details.
"I grew up here, but I did something really bad, and they locked me up."
When asked to elaborate, she refused and apologized. Dean didn't press the issue. He could only assume it was a painful subject for her.
Dean distracted himself with thoughts of what to do next. Should he gather everyone he can and try to convince them to leave? But what of the blizzard? And would some others like Rosetta and Matin be willing to come with him in the first place? Could Cait even endure such a journey in her condition? A plethora of questions fueled his doubts.
They emerged from the cathedral shed, and saw that the snow had piled up considerably. Dean clicked his tongue at the snow's persistence. Cait, however, paused and looked up, holding her hands out wide.
"Been awhile since you've seen snow?" Dean asked.
"I've never seen snow before." Cait responded.
"Wait, didn't you say you grew up here in the mountains?"
"I did."
"Then you must have seen snow lots of times. These peaks are covered for six months of the year."
Cait tilted her head.
"This is my first time seeing snow."
Dean rubbed his forehead with his hands. He'd have to get her checked by a doctor as soon as possible.
"Come on. You're bound to freeze to death in those rags if we don't get you something warm soon."
He took her hand and led her away. She dragged her feet, her attention taken up by the snow.
When they reached the guest house, he pulled at the front door, but it refused to open.
"Hey, you gotta be kidding me here."
He struggled with the door for a few minutes and then began knocking and shouting.
"Hey open up, it's freezing out here!"
Who had locked the door all of a sudden? Was he going to have to break a window to get in? At that moment, he heard footsteps from the other side.
"It's Dean mother, surely we can let him inside?"
The voice on the other end belonged to Matin. Dean could feel himself relax. They'd be out of the cold soon enough.
He tensed up yet again when the door swung open. The first thing he saw was a long hollow barrel followed by a wooden handle and then, Marianne's suspicious face. She was pointing an actual gun at him! He took a step back and almost tripped in the deep snow.
"Who's this?" Marianne asked, gesturing with the rifle towards Cait.
"She's just someone I found locked up under the cathedral!" he said quickly, "Please. If she stays out much longer, she'll freeze to death."
"I'm not having a stranger in here." Marianne said sternly.
"Like hell we're leaving her out here!" Dean shouted, taking a step forward. He stopped again when Marianne raised the shotgun to his face.
"I'm not letting outsiders in here." She snapped back.
Dean gritted his teeth. He considered slapping the gun away but brushed aside the reckless thought.
"Mother, come on, let them in. Dean probably won't come in without her, and we need all the help we can get."
"It'll just be another mouth to feed, we... Matin dear?"
Matin stepped forward and put a gentle hand on the top of the shotgun, slowly lowering it. Marianne didn't resist but cast Cait a distrustful look.
"I'll be keeping an eye on her." Marianne said, allowing space for them to enter. Cait hunched her shoulders, trying to make herself smaller as they stepped inside. Marianne quickly closed the door behind them and locked it.
"So mind telling me what's going on here?" Dean asked.
Matin looked at his mother before speaking.
"A group of the younger servants started attacking the security guards and monks." He said with a shaking voice.
"What?"
Dean thought back to his infiltration of the cathedral. Those security guards had been heavily armed.
"Dean, they had guns. When we saw what was happening, we quickly locked the door." Matin said.
"What about Rose, Maria and Nick?" Dean asked quietly.
"Rose came back just before all that happened. She's gone to her room." Matin explained, "She hasn't said anything since. As for Nick and Maria..."
"That boy has downright lost his mind, I say. What's worse is that he's got some of the youths in an uproar. They keep chanting nonsense about him being their new leader. This is why I cannot abide the countryside." Marianne complained.
Dean thought back to the events in the cathedral. Both Nicolas and Maria had entered Oscar's office after them.
"Do you think they're going after Oscar?" Dean asked.
"It's hard to imagine." Matin said. "I mean, Nick's always been sickly. He wouldn't be able to overpower Oscar. At least not on his own."
Dean thought about Maria. He considered telling them that Maria was with Nicolas but decided against it. It would only agitate Marianne further.
"That Oscar's been digging his own grave for years. It was one of the servants, I reckon. What did you say her name was? Rosetta? Her behavior is suspicious. She probably has something to do with it." Marianne said.
"Rose wouldn't do such a thing!"
Someone spoke before Dean could speak up to defend his friend. It was Cait. Everyone in the hall turned to face the stranger.
"And what makes you so sure, girl?" Marianne asked coldly.
"I..."
Cait's face went pale as Marianne gripped the shotgun tighter.
"Don't speak out of turn, stranger. You're just as suspicious, appearing out of nowhere when all this is happening."
Cait lowered her head and said no more.
"Who is this girl anyway, Dean?" Matin asked. "It sounds like she knows Rosetta."
Dean hesitated. He knew little more about her than they did.
"She was chained up in the catacombs. She says she used to live here." Dean said. There was a lack of conviction in his voice. He also wanted to know more about this girl.
Matin gave Cait a suspicious look. It was a look Dean had never seen him use before.
"Don't you think she might have been locked up for a reason?" Matin asked.
"What's gotten into you?" Dean asked, his voice becoming loud, "You can't just tie someone up in an underground cave like that regardless of what they did."
Matin flinched slightly at Dean's words.
"I'm sorry." Matin said quietly.
He apologised but didn't take back what he said and continued to cast suspicious glances towards Cait. Dean felt a sudden surge of anger at Matin. He rolled his hands into fists to keep himself from voicing said anger.
"Matin and I are going to stay in the Salon. You can join us, but that girl stays within my sight."
Dean shook his head.
"I'm worried about Rosetta. I'm going to go see if she's alright. We also need proper clothes for Cait."
Marianne nodded.
"Knock gently if you decide to enter the salon. We wouldn't want any accidents to happen."
Dean eyed the shotgun uneasily as he nodded. Things really had a way of out of hand the moment firearms were introduced. Where had she even gotten the thing?
Dean and Cait made their way upstairs to Rosetta's room. Along the way, he caught sight of Mitch, who was keeping watch through a window. His suit jacket was open, and Dean saw the handle of a gun sticking out from a holster at his side.
He decided to move on without greeting or acknowledging him in any way. The pale, dark-haired man just gave Dean a bad feeling.
Once they reached the door to Rosetta's room, he knocked but was greeted only by silence.
"Rosetta, are you in there? I came to see if you were alright." Dean said as he continued to knock.
No matter how much he tried, an answer did not come. Maria's words had been harsh, and Rosetta had never been one to take verbal abuse well. He hoped that she'd recover later.
"I'll come back later." He said as he turned back to Cait.
"Come on, I think you need a shower and bed more than anything else."
Cait looked down at herself in surprise.
"Do I smell?" She asked.
"Well," Dean said, realizing he'd probably said a bit too much. "No," he lied, "but I'm sure anyone would want a shower or bath after being locked up in a place like that for so long, no?"
"Do you think so?" Cait asked.
Dean left his inner feelings on the matter unsaid. Truth be told, Cait looked as awful as anyone would after her situation. It just wouldn't do to call a lady dirty, though.
He led Cait to the opposite end of the second floor, where his room was located.
"I'll go find some clothes for you. You can use this room to relax in the meantime."
Cait looked around the large room, mouth hanging open.
"This room is for me?" She asked.
"Well, it's mine, but you can use it however you like. I'm sure we can find a room for you later."
Dean left the files he had taken from the cathedral in a drawer next to his bed.
"Can't I stay with you?" She asked. Her eyes were wide with fear.
Dean hesitated. He knew it would be better in normal circumstances for her to have her own room. Failing that, she could have shared a room with another woman. Unfortunately, Rosetta and Marianne were the only two in the guest house at the moment, and he didn't think it would be a good idea to leave her with either of them.
"Let's talk about it later. For now, enjoy your shower. I'm going to head out and fetch you some clothes."
Cait opened her mouth as if to say something but only nodded.
"Ok, thank you. Please hurry back."
"I will, don't worry."
He made his way out into the hallway and shook his head. Cait's behavior suggested she had gone through many traumatic experiences. How was he going to deal with this on top of everything else?
"Well, first things first. Where to find some women's clothes without looking suspicious?"
His best bet was to look for a laundry room. If memory served, there was such a room on the ground floor next to the stairs. Making his way down to the ground floor, it didn't take him long to find what he was looking for.
The room, in contrast to the opulence of the rest of the building, was very utilitarian, with washing machines, dryers and shelves for clothes being the only things there. Also, there was no heating. Dean shivered as he searched the shelves. Eventually, he found a few sets of staff uniforms that were washed and ironed.
"Surely they won't mind me borrowing some, given the situation." He said to himself.
Mindful that Cait might still be showering, Dean took his time on the way back to the room. While he was considering leaving the monastery, Marianne's idea of holding up inside the guest house and waiting out the blizzard was not a bad idea either. He spent some time checking the windows and exterior doors and making sure they were secure.
He also took a quick trip to the kitchen. The room was chilly and dark. He didn't want to linger too long. Opening the drawer, he found a knife and stashed it away. It wouldn't be of much use in a gunfight, but it was better than nothing at all. He'd have to ask Marianne later if she had a spare gun.
After some time had passed, he returned to his room and knocked on the door.
"Are you finished in the shower?" he called.
There was no answer.
"Hell, does anyone ever answer these days?" He grumbled, trying to stifle his growing concern. He slowly opened the door.
"Cait are you..."
Inside the room, he found Cait lying motionless on the bed. Dropping the clothes, he rushed to her side and felt her wrist. It was still warm. Her chest rose slowly as she breathed. Still alive.
He breathed a sigh of relief and felt his shoulders relax.
"Asleep." He whispered.
He was letting his paranoia get to him. Too much had happened today.
It was only then that he realized she was clad in nothing but a bath towel. She was still soaking wet from the shower, and the room had not properly heated up yet.
"Idiot will catch a cold like that." He muttered, shaking his head.
She must have been much more tired than she let on, collapsing like that. Dean turned up the dial next to the radiator and gently pulled the blanket out from beneath her. She barely stirred despite the disturbance.
He paused for a moment before laying the blanket on top her, his eyes lingering on her sleeping form. Then, shaking his head, he quickly lowered the blanket.
"Dammit, if there is a hell, there's surely a spot for me down there." Dean muttered angrily to himself.
He quickly closed the curtains, turned off the light and left the room, allowing Cait to get some much needed rest.
It was still early evening when he made his way downstairs to the salon. He knocked slowly.
"It's me, Dean. Can I come in?"
There was a brief silence.
"Sure come on in." Matin responded.
He slowly opened the door. Marianne was sitting in an armchair she had moved in front of the door. She still held the shotgun, but thankfully it wasn't pointed at him this time. Matin sat on the sofa, reading a book.
"How was Rosetta?" Matin asked.
"Cait, the girl I brought back, is sleeping now. I couldn't get any response from Rosetta."
Matin frowned.
"She looked devastated when she got back. Can you tell us what happened?"
Dean sat on the sofa next to Matin and leaned back, stretching. How was he going to explain? He thought about it for a moment and decided to tell the truth, leaving out the existence of the files on Oscar's desk and Nicolas being there.
"So there's really no way to contact the outside." Matin said, shoulders slumping.
"Such a backwards place." Marianne hissed.
Dean couldn't help but agree. It was unthinkable that such a large place relied solely on landlines to contact the outside world. A heavy silence fell on the trio. Dean decided to voice his next idea.
"I was thinking we should try to leave on foot." Dean said.
Both Marianne and Matin looked at him as if he were mad.
"In that blizzard? You'd freeze to death within minutes, dear!" Marianne said.
"Waiting around might be just as dangerous," Dean said. "All the phones are useless, and there's violent people around. At least one person has died already. We can't just stay here!"
Dean couldn't help but raise his voice as he spoke. He didn't like the idea of sitting around, even if Marianne was armed.
"The storm will pass soon, dear. It's warm and there's plenty of food here."
Dean knew that what Marianne was saying was quite rational for once. In weather such as this, climbing down a mountain was tantamount to suicide. And yet something was telling him that staying here would be even worse. Maria had also been pretty sure that the dead body in the fire had been Addi. No matter what decision they made, death was a possibility. If he had to choose, Dean would rather be in control than waiting patiently for the end to come to him.
"It's risky, I know, and incredibly dangerous. But it's better than staying here." Dean said.
Marianne shook her head and clicked her tongue.
"Don't be foolish, Dean. Wait here until the weather clears, and we'll leave together." Marianne said, using his name. Something she only did when angered.
Dean turned to look at his friend. He looked torn, looking to his mother and to Dean with a concerned expression.
"You never could sit still, could you, Dean?" he asked.
"Matin?" Dean asked.
"I don't think I'd be able to stop you even if I refused to go. If we go as a group, our chances of survival get much better."
Dean couldn't help but crack a smile in relief.
"You're just as mad as I am, even though you try to hide it. You know that?"
Matin smiled back.
"Without you around, my life would be dull indeed."
"Well, that's true. You can praise me with a pint once we get off the damned mountain."
Matin looked slightly apprehensive at the idea but slowly nodded.
"If you don't get us lost this time." He teased.
"Now wait just a minute."
An interruption came from Marianne as she cleared her throat. Both men turned to look at her as she got to her feet.
"Excuse me, don't even think for a second that I'll be letting my Matin out there in that blizzard." She said.
She raised the shotgun slightly. Her knuckles white with effort.
"But Mother, we really should call for help. If there's a crime, the authorities need to be notified, right?"
"No, dear. It's far too dangerous."
"They have appropriate equipment for traveling in heavy snow here, and it'll only take half a day to get to the nearest village. We can do it."
"No, means no, Matin!" Marianne yelled, her voice becoming shrill.
Matin gasped at the sudden outburst. Marianne's eyes were wide, and her teeth were showing in a vicious scowl. She raised the shotgun even further.
"Don't you dare even think about disobeying your mother, child!" She screamed. "You know what will happen if you do!"
Matin mouth opened and closed as he tried to form words.
"Hey, he doesn't have to listen to you. He's a grown man, for fuck's sake!" Dean shouted, his anger getting the best of his common sense.
"You shut up!" Marianne yelled, raising her gun at Dean.
"Mother, stop!" Matin yelled as he threw himself in front of Dean.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, OK, I won't go. Just please lower the gun. Please."
Matin was on the verge of sobbing. His voice trembled, and his hands shook violently.
Marianne scowled but eventually relented.
"Go to the study, Matin and think about what you've done. I'll be in there shortly to talk with you."
"Yes, mother." Matin said quietly before turning towards the study door.
"Matin?" Dean asked quietly.
Matin shook his head and looked down.
"Sorry, Dean, I'll stay here with Mother. She needs me here. But if anyone can get down this mountain and call for help, it's you. I'd only slow you down anyway." He said, sounding utterly defeated.
As Matin opened the door to the study, he looked back at his mother. His eyes were narrowed and his lips a straight line. He was gone before Dean could get a good read on his emotions.
Dean felt his heart sink a little. It was an expected outcome, but it hurt nonetheless. He wondered if going down the mountain with only Rosetta and Cait would be a good idea after all. Dean looked out the window at the darkening skies.
"No point leaving now." He muttered.
"Good, maybe you'll come to your senses after a good night's sleep."
"You can't keep controlling him forever." Dean hissed.
Marianne didn't even look at him. She stood up and made her way towards the study.
"Stay out of family business Dean. It's none of your concern. I suggest you find a safe room and remain there until the storm passes."
With that said, Marianne went into the office. Dean wasted no time in leaving the parlor. He didn't want to overhear anything that went on in that study.
The hallways were silent as he made his way towards Rosetta's room. He remembered that he had set Matin the task of finding more information on the structure of the monastery. He never had the time to ask about that. Well, it didn't matter much now.
As he approached the door to Rosetta's room, he thought he heard faint voices from inside. However, they had disappeared by the time he reached the door. Chalking it up to the silence messing with his head, he knocked on the door.
He was met with silence, as expected. This time he wouldn't walk away. It had been hours since they returned, and he was worried about her.
"Rosetta, I'm coming in."
He was ready to bash down the door if need be, but to his surprise it opened with a small creak. The room inside was dark. It was warmer than the hallway, and it felt stuffy.
"Rosetta?" he asked as his eyes adjusted to the dark.
He soon discovered that her bed was empty. Had she left her room at some point? No, Dean found Rosetta sitting at a nearby desk. She was awake and staring at what appeared to be a sock lying on the desk.
"Hey Rosetta?" Dean asked louder this time.
"It's rude to enter a woman's room uninvited, Dean." She whispered.
"I wouldn't have come in if you'd answered with a no." He muttered.
Careful not to step on the clothes and other objects that littered the floor, Dean made his way over to her.
"What are you doing sitting in the dark like this?" he asked.
Rosetta looked confused for a moment before shaking her head and looking down at the sock again.
"I didn't notice." She said.
"What were you doing?"
"Nothing."
"It looks like you're studying...a sock?"
The sock was the only thing on her desk. It didn't look any different from the collection of clothes strewn about her room.
"I think humanity has gained all the knowledge it can from socks. Have you tried books?"
Trying to joke his way out of an awkward situation, he reached out for the sock, but Rosetta slapped his hand away.
"Don't touch it!" She shouted. "It's...it's only a dirty piece of laundry."
Her voice lowered into a mumble as she finished speaking.
Dean was not sure what to make of it all, so he decided to change the subject. He bent over and tried to make eye contact.
"Look, I'm thinking about leaving this place on foot. I know it's dangerous, but I want you to come with us. It's not safe here anymore."
Rosetta barely gave any sign that she had heard his words. She might have sniffed, but Dean wasn't sure.
"Please, Rosetta. We can get away from this place, you can start fresh. It'll be tough, I know, but it's better than wasting away here."
"My only memories are of this place," Rosetta said. "You don't understand. I just can't leave."
"Why? Are they forcing you to be here?"
Dean spoke quickly, unable to hide the frustration in his voice. Rosetta shook her head slowly.
"I belong here. If I don't belong here, then I'm truly useless. No, I am useless, and that will be even more obvious if I leave."
Rosetta wasn't making much sense. She spoke as if in a daze. Dean realized this wasn't going to be as easy as he thought.
"Is this about what Maria said? Rosetta, she looked like she was out of her mind with grief. She hardly meant it."
For the first time since he had entered, Rosetta turned to look his way. Her hollow eyes prevented him from speaking further.
"Maria is my best friend."
What did she mean by that obvious statement? Dean felt entirely lost. How could he convince someone who couldn't even hold a coherent conversation? Rosetta had always been a little prickly, but now it felt like he was talking to a wall. If he wanted to get through to her, he'd have to speak on her level.
"If Maria is your best friend, then why don't we save her?"
"Save her?" Rosetta asked,
"Yeah, we can go and get help from outside, drag her out of this mess. Just please come with me."
"No, I'll only cause trouble like I always do. I'm staying here."
"By staying here, you'd be causing me even more trouble!" Dean shouted.
Dean wished he could have taken back those words the moment they left his mouth. He closed his eyes tightly and bit his lip.
Rosetta didn't respond at first. Her expression became pure ice. Then, in a cold, harsh voice, she spoke.
"Go away, Dean. Leave me alone."
Dean stood.
"Rosetta, I..."
"I said get out!" She screeched.
He looked down on her. She was staring daggers at him and panting. He swallowed deeply as his heart sank.
"Fine, be that way." He muttered, turning his back on her.
He left the room feeling like an utter fool. Could he not convince at least one person that leaving was a good idea? Well, he wasn't very convincing. He even struggled to convince himself. Only a fool would follow him down the mountain in this weather.
He was exhausted. Dragging himself back to his room, opened the door and stepped inside. He was about to turn on the light when he heard light breathing.
"Oh, right."
With all the stress, he had forgotten about Cait. She was sleeping peacefully in his bed as he had left her. Sighing and letting his muscles relax a little, he made his way over to the desk and turned on a small lamp. The documents on the table appeared before him. He'd taken these documents from Oscar's office on a whim. It time to check them out and see if he could find more information. He took a small black folder and opened it up.
The pages inside were divided into various sections. Dean scanned through the first few pages, which appeared to consist mostly of invoices and other financial documents. Building repairs, food shipments and electrical supplies. Nothing too out of the ordinary, Dean thought to himself. There were a few pages, however, that were less clear on their purpose.
"Grey's suppliers, an invoice for five hundred thousand...wow"
That was big money. It didn't go into much detail on what the purchase entailed and was only listed as "seven crates".
Another document listed the contact details and personal information of various mayors throughout the country, but only those of small towns and rural areas as far as Dean could tell. Attached to this were various letters. They appeared to be organizing meetings and political rallies.
"Oscar is a busy man, I guess," Dean muttered to himself.
Aside from the invoice from Grey's suppliers, Dean had trouble finding anything that seemed unusual for a campaigning politician. He browsed through various minutes from town meetings but found little of use in the black folder.
Dean turned his gaze to the brown envelope, which he had collected along with the folder. It was sealed so he gently tore it open, careful not to make too much noise and looked at the paper inside.
"What's this?" he whispered
Inside the paper envelope was a polyester sleeve. Within the sleeve was what looked like a very old piece of paper. He gently placed it on the desk, careful not to damage it. Luckily, the writing was legible, if a little old-fashioned. In long, winding cursive writing, the page detailed some sort of grant of land to the Durin family. Much of the words seemed to be inconsequential formalities and a long list of titles, but one paragraph in particular drew Dean's attention.
On this day the holy priestess, Tatiana Annette Davire blessed be her name does grant with wisdom the lands from Cathirmoor to the mountains of Moor to Oscar Durin...
"Cathirmoor. That's the capital, and Mount Moore is here...that's a lot of land." Dean said to himself. "Much more than what he holds today."
He continued reading.
...that he may shelter the people and act as their shield as the priestess is their guide, that he may, in the priestess' name, govern with kindness and devotion to the Goddess and in so doing, let the people prosper forevermore.
At the bottom of the page were a collection of signatures and a seal. Dean could just about make out the names. Oscar Durin, Marianne Evelyn, Morgan Kasanagh. Further below were two more names.
Tatiana Annette Davire and her Acolyte, Addi of Cathirmoor.
Dean must have read over those names at least ten times before he finally decided to stop and think. The document looked hundreds of years old. He'd seen similar things in a history museum. Had it simply been made to look like an old document? That made no sense to Dean whatsoever. It was possible that Oscar had simply been named after an ancient predecessor, but then what were Marianne and Addi's names doing there too?
One of the other names also caused him to grind his teeth. Morgan Kasanagh. That was his father's name. His father, whom he hadn't spoken to in many years. What did he have to do with Oscar? His father was an influential businessman with his own tech company, but he was hardly anything on the level of a national politician.
Then there was the last name.
Tatiana. He didn't know a Tatiana, but even so, she must have had some connection to these people. And she was the Priestess at the time while a person by the name of Addi was her acolyte? What did they mean by acolyte?
"Was this from just before Addi was the priestess?"
No, that was impossible. Addi was seventeen. There's no way this paper was that new unless it had been artificially aged somehow.
"I'm too tired for this shit." He mumbled.
Dean felt a presence behind him, a small creak in the floorboards. He spun around. Cait was standing behind him with bleary eyes.
"Cait." Dean gasped.
Cait tilted her head, apparently confused by his reaction. Dean took a deep breath.
"Don't sneak up on people like that."
"Sneak. I wasn't sneaking?"
Cait who seemed to be still half asleep, phrased her sentence like a question. Dean shook his head, realising that she hadn't really meant any harm.
"Don't worry about it. How are you feeling?"
Cait thought for a moment before answering.
"I feel good. How are you?"
"Uh, fine thanks."
Her tone felt like everyday small talk. He was referring to her health after being locked away in a dungeon, but that detail seemed to have gone over her head. She peered over his shoulder at the mess of documents on the desk.
"Ah, don't mind these." He said as he quickly gathered the documents.
"You shouldn't worry too much about that." Cait said quietly.
"What was that?" Dean said turning to face Cait.
"What?" she asked.
"What did you say just there?"
"I said you shouldn't worry about it." She said, furrowing her brow as if she were confused by her own words.
"You know about this?" Dean said, holding the sealed document up to Cait.
"I..."
Cait hesitated for a moment. She looked around the room back and forth quickly, as if she were lost.
"Oscar wanted to rule..." she whispered.
"Rule, you mean get elected, right?"
"Elected? Maybe yes or no, no, I...."
Cait wasn't making much sense. Though Dean was coming to realize that this was common trend with her. Well, she had only been rescued today. Who knew how long she was hanging there in complete darkness?
"Cait, do you know something about this old document?"
She stared at the document blankly for a moment before responding.
"No, I... I don't, sorry." She whispered.
"But you just..." Dean sighed. "No it's fine. I'll ask another time."
Dean shifted the chair so that he could comfortably face Cait who was standing behind him.
"I want to leave this place and get help. Tomorrow I'm going to try to get down the mountain. Will you come with me?"
Cait smiled.
"I'd love to." She said with all the cheer of planning a date. "You're going to get help, right? That's so like you."
"I couldn't get Matin or Rosetta to come with us though." Dean said, hanging his head.
"That's OK. Other people hurt me, so I'm happy it's just you and me."
Dean felt his concern about her mental state grow. He supposed it was natural she'd distrust others after what she went through. Had his friends known about Cait and her cruel situation? He didn't want to think they were that cruel, but remembering how Rosetta and Marianne had treated her, he just couldn't be sure.
"You'd go with me even knowing how dangerous it is in this weather?"
Cait nodded.
"It'll be no problem. You can do anything. You're my hero after all."
Who said things like that nowadays? However, despite his usual skepticism, it was hard not to feel a sense of pride after hearing those words.
"Let's leave tomorrow then, first thing in the morning." Dean said and got up from the chair.
"Ok!" Cait replied with child-like enthusiasm.
"You should go back to bed. I'll sleep on the couch over there."
Cait didn't respond. Instead, she went over to the shelf and picked up a leather bound book before making her way over to the sofa he'd just mentioned.
"I think I'll read for a little while." She said and opened the book.
"But I wanted to sleep there." He protested meekly.
Cait didn't respond. Dean looked at her for a moment as she read, her long black hair falling over her face. Entranced, he lost his train of thought for a moment before shaking his head.
"You don't want to sleep?" He asked eventually.
Once again, he was met with silence. She seemed completely absorbed in the book. It appeared to be an old classic children's fantasy book about a young girl waking up in a magical world and going on an adventure to find a way home. Dean remembered reading about it in school.
"Well, can't say I didn't try to be chivalrous." Dean whispered.
He got ready for bed, changing out of his daily clothes. He probably should have done so in the bathroom, but it didn't look like Cait would raise her head from the pages anytime soon. Soon after, he was under the soft, heavy blankets. An image of a girl who looked so much like Cait reading beneath a tree floated in his mind, but in his drowsy mind he couldn't discern its meaning. It wasn't long before a deep but uncomfortable sleep took him.