Chapter 7

"Who is she!?" Matilda yells.

They are all back at Paul's house now. After quickly heading back to the house, both Paul and Matilda dropped off the firewood they had gathered, and now they were gathered by the table with the girl. The girl sits silently at the table, her head facing down.

Is Matilda mad at her?

"I don't know. In fact, no one does. I asked all around the village and everyone said that they've never seen her before," Paul answers.

"She didn't tell you either?"

"She can't. She's mute."

They both turn to look at her, but she doesn't look up to meet their gaze. Instead, her head stays down.

"And since no one knows where she's from, I'm considering letting her stay with us. Just for a bit, until I go to the city next week."

"Are you sure about this Paul? She has a sword, and she managed to intimidate the wolves even though she's just a girl," Matilda says, uneasy at the idea.

"But what did she use the sword for? Why did she intimidate the wolves? Matilda, she was protecting you," Paul answers.

"But she's just a girl-"

"Yes, she is. She is just a girl. Do you think we should take her back wherever she came from if those are the skills she picked up while there? Matilda, I can't begin to imagine what she had to go through."

What are they talking about? She doesn't remember anything, so why worry about it?

Her eyes peek up from the ground, unnoticeable to the pair. After hearing what Paul said, Matilda wears the same look of concern that he does.

Both are in agreement. Wherever she came from, it was not very nice.

"Thankfully, she has no memory. However I don't know why. For that matter, I don't know why she's mute either. Mabel took a look at her, and though the examination was... Brief... She did say that nothing felt wrong."

"What do you mean, 'brief?'" Matilda asks, clearly catching the fact that something was off about the examination.

"Well..." Paul says with a sigh, "... When Mabel went to touch the girl neck and examine it, the girl freaked out and jumped back, almost drawing her sword."

Matilda gasps.

"It's okay, she didn't really draw it," Paul says, raising his hands in an attempt to preserve the calm. "It seemed like the girl was reacting out of fear, but when we asked her about it, she just shrugged. She doesn't know."

Again, they both turn to look at the girl, and this time, they do catch her gaze.

"I don't know what she's been through, but whatever it was, we can take care of her. Just for a week until I gather firewood and make my trip to the city."

They turn back to each other.

"Okay," Matilda says.

"Okay?"

"Yes, okay. She can stay."

"Thank you," Paul says, taking Matilda's hands in his. He brings one of them to his lips and kisses them.

Interrupting the beautiful moment at just the wrong time, the girl's stomach rumbles. Loudly.

She's hungry...

"Well, I guess I should cook some dinner. How does a stew sound?"

"It sounds delicious," Paul says.

"And you? Do you think stew sounds good?"

she asks the girl.

The girl nods in response, but she doesn't really know what a stew is.

Anything that can make her hunger go away sounds good.

"Good. Paul, go ahead and get a fire going. I'll get the pot and fill it with water from the well."

Paul nods and walks over to the fireplace, just across the room.

Their house wasn't large. There were only three rooms in total. First was the main room of the house. In it was the fireplace, a table with some chairs, two bookshelves that were each half full and a chair next to each, and a small kitchen area that had cupboards and a sink.

This was where the front door of the house opened into. The other two rooms were next to each other on the opposite side of the house. The first one was the bedroom where Paul and Matilda slept, and the second one was a washroom with a tub.

It's so cozy here. Can she really stay?

As the girl sits quietly, admiring the house, Paul gets the fire started. Just as the flames begin to grow, Matilda walks in, having filled the pot with water.

"Alright, let's get this boiling," she says, hanging the pot above the fire.

She then goes to the cupboards in the kitchen area and pulls out an assortment of ingredients. Spices and vegetables mostly, but a small bit of dried meat as well.

As she debates which ingredients she wants to use, a quiet roiling sound can be heard as the water begins to boil.

"Waters ready dear," Paul says.

Paul sits down by one of the bookshelves and opens a book, reading as he waits.

"Okay, thank you."

Quickly, Matilda sets aside some of the ingredients while putting the rest away. She then takes the ingredients she set aside and drops them into the water.

Why would Matilda put the food in the hot water? Is it supposed to taste good? She doesn't know.

The girl looks confused as she watches, but she doesn't bother Matilda.

She probably knows what she's doing.

Matilda then grabs a wooden spoon from one of the cupboards and starts mixing all of the food and spices in the water, stirring slowly, careful not to accidently splash the boiling water on herself.

As Matilda stirs, the girl notices the delicious smell rising from the pot.

It smells so good! She feels even more hungry now.

"Dinners almost ready Paul," Matilda calls.

"Okay, I'll set the table," he replies, setting his book down and going to the kitchen.

He grabs three wooden bowls along with three wooden spoons and sets them next to Matilda by the fireplace. One at a time, she fills each bowl with stew, and when one is filled, Paul delivers it to one of the chairs, setting the last bowl in front of the girl.

Finally, all three of them sat down at the table.

"Okay then, let's eat."