Chapter 13 – Two Siblings on the Couch
The door creaked as Cael pushed it, the old wood groaning as if the house were complaining about the visit. The interior was dark, stuffy, and far too quiet. Dust danced in the air, illuminated by beams of light escaping through cracks in the windows.
Critical zone detected. Strange... no immediate hostile presence, but everything here reeks of a trap.
The black-armored knight entered right behind him, as silent as ever. His heavy footsteps echoed on the floorboards, and Cael kept his hand close to the hilt of his sword.
On the couch downstairs, two children were sitting side by side. A boy and a girl. Blonde, well-dressed, eyes wide with unnatural stillness. As if they were part of the house.
The boy was the first to speak.
"Hi. Are you... new?"
The girl tilted her head, curious.
"We haven't seen you before. Are you one of the witch's new toys?"
Cael frowned. The children's tone wasn't malicious, but it carried something strange... out of place.
"Do you live here?"
"The witch lets us stay," the boy replied. "As long as we don't disobey."
"She doesn't like the disobedient ones," the girl added with a smile that was just a bit too sweet.
Alert. They speak as if it were normal. As if this were a home.
"Are you talking about Dorothy?"
"Yes. The witch," the boy said, as if it were obvious. "She went upstairs a little while ago. She doesn't like us to disturb her."
"And you stay... sitting here?"
"She told us to wait."
"Wait for what?"
"I don't know."
They really don't know. Fascinating. And deeply wrong.
Cael looked at the black-armored knight, but he remained motionless, observing the siblings with his usual impenetrable expression.
"Are you Hansel and Gretel?"
The two looked at each other. The girl blinked.
"Do you know us?"
"...Not personally."
"That's funny. No one ever knows us before they get here," the boy said, smiling. "But that's okay. You can call us that."
Cael felt a chill run down his spine.
Suggestion: continue the investigation with EXTREME caution. And preferably, get out of here. Soon.
"Right... just one more question. Do you remember anyone coming here before?"
"No. Only the witch," said the boy.
"Only the witch and the rats," added the girl, still smiling.
Cael took a deep breath. He knew well the kind of story that started like this. Nothing good came from a couch, two strange children, and a staircase leading up to the witch's bedroom.
Still want to go up?
"No... not yet."