The Dolls
Two pair of silent eyes stared into each other’s depths, twin pale faces moving in minuscule twitches. A glance of one pair to a piece of paper clutched loosely and the other's lips tightened before her head bobbed. Maddi and Sophie returned their eyes to each other, speaking without words in the language of the body. Their hands were clasped, each one having a hand on the paper, holding it up so they could read. Or attempt to.
A quite sigh left Maddi's lips before she handed the paper fully to her sister, dropping Sophi's hand and bending to grip the axe that had been resting against her leg. She cast curious eyes to the forest as Sophie deciphered as much as she could of the scribbles, both sets of hazel eyes focused intently on their task. It was a while, long enough for Maddi to get sufficiently bored and Sophie to find a seat among the underbrush, before Sophie made a soft sound in the back of her throat. One hand lifting towards her sister while her eyes stayed trained on the now crinkled sheet of paper. Maddi cast one last suspicious glance to the eerily silent forest before stepping to her sister's side and crouching, skirts pooling around her as their hands found each other once more. Lifting their intertwined hands, Sophi pointed to a word, Maddi's brows knitting as she read it over, then over again.
"Pa-.... Pa-trons?" She offered, voice thin and quiet. The slight confusion that had been clouding Sophi's expression melted slightly, the word's definition, or an approximate one, springing to the forefront of her mind. She nodded with a quiet hum of affirmative before sliding her delicate pointer further down the paper to another word. Again, Maddi's brows knit. "Fr-... Fii-... Friend? Find?" She offered, glancing to her twins features to see if she was right. The corners of Sophi's lips curled downward, her expression settling on dissatisfied.
"No." She murmured, voice like a gentle breeze, quiet and barely there. Maddi's response was a shrug, her memory for words exhausted on this one. Sophie, meanwhile, was struggling with the feeling that she'd seen the word before, but couldn't pin down where. In fact, she couldn't remember anything before her and her sister hand woken up, curled together in what appeared to be a grave. Pushing that from her mind, Sophie focused on the paper once more. The muscles in her jaw twitched as she clenched it, frustration coursing through her at the lapse in her knowledge, on this and all the other things. The hole in their memories was a bother to both sisters. A sigh left her finally as she looked away from the picture and to her twin, the pinch between her brows smoothing as she lowered the paper. "Fairy maybe, or like it." She murmured, twin hazel eyes trained on each other. "Nothing good though."
Maddi raised a brow at her and Sophie rolled her eyes in response. Sophie agreed, nothing seemed good about these woods.
The eyes of the shorter twin strayed to the slight gap in the trees that was just to their left, lips pursed. She lifted her free hand, tugging gently at Maddi's to get her attention before she locked her gaze with her sister's once more, resuming the silent communication. Maddi looked up at her, grip tightening on the handle of the axe before she followed Sophi's gaze and turned back to meet it. Her lips curled in an identical way to her sister's before she nodded, breathing a sigh through her nose before lacing their fingers together.
The man that had met them at their grave had wandered off that way before disappearing from sight, so Sophie assumed that was where they were supposed to go. It didn't sit right in either sisters guts to trust someone they knew nothing about, but it seemed the only choice they had. Still, both sister’s forms were tense as they followed the meandering path. Maddi's eyes would dance towards the left when sounds like footsteps seemed to crop up, they were in time with their own, but noticeable due to the volume at which they announced themselves. Neither of the girls had a heavy tread, so it couldn't be them crunching the leaves like that. Sophi's hand tightened on Maddi's, the taller twin not even turning to look before squeezing back. She was too focused on the forest.
Their trek continued unhindered though, the footsteps keeping up with them until a second or two before the twins abruptly broke through into a clearing. Twin hazel eyes blinked in surprise, having not seen the clearing through the trees. The large mansion was a surprise as well, Sophi's lips parting in awe as Maddi cast her gaze back towards the woods mistrustfully. Each girl examined their respectful fancies before their eyes locked again. Once more, the lines of communication were open, and each girl had a lot to say.
'I don't like it.' Maddi frowned, hazel eyes shaded as they flickered back to the woods once more. 'Too quiet, too strange.' Her brows pinched.
'A house though, better cover than the woods.' Sophi sighed, gaze solid and determined.
'It's strange too.' Maddi scowled, chin tilting down in displeasure as she eyed the house as Sophi watched the forest.
'It's the safer and more familiar of the two.' Sophi's hand tightened on her sister's. Maddi looked at her once more, gaze a little more uncertain.
'Still don't like it.' Maddi pursed her lips, but her stance had loosened. Sophi nodded and turned towards the ramshackle building, eyes determined as she tightened her grip on the piece of paper she had yet to fully explore. They were faced with what must have been an entrance at one point, but there was no chance of entering through it now. They'd have to find another way in.
At the muted sound of footsteps nearby, Maddi attempted to draw Sophi behind her. The shorter girl refused to comply though, withdrawing her hand from her twin's tight hold before standing next to her, stance wide and delicate fingers curling around a thick branch she'd picked up earlier. The paper was stuffed into a patched pocket on her simple dress. Twin hazel eyes stared intently across the clearing as a limping man made his way towards the chateau. Both girls were holding stock still now, hands tight on their makeshift weapons as they waited to see what would happen. Their stances mirrored each other, despite the fact neither twin had glanced at the other.
Both girls shifted so their stances were lower when another man came running from the forest behind the first. The twins shared a second-long glance before they decided to remain still, and see where it went from there. Neither was sure why, but they both felt there were great opportunities to be had here.
The Doe
Delicate hands trembled slightly as Alma clutched the paper she'd been given, the poor girl glancing fearfully around the dark and misty forest as she fretted about what to do. The man that had left. Wildcard, if she'd read the paper right, had gone through the trees to the rear of her. The willowy young woman felt she was meant to take a right though, something in her gut telling her that was the way to go.
Alma really didn't like these woods, they were far too quiet from what she felt they should be. There should be birds singing, squirrels chattering, something besides the dead silence that surrounded her like a suffocating blanket. For heaven's sake, she could barely hear the leaves rustling high up in the trees. The only thing she really could hear, and it made her twitch with the sound, was something like twigs breaking. It was almost a deliberate sound, something that seemed entirely purposeful and for the sole reason of scaring her. She tried to push the sounds from her mind, turning her attention to the paper she'd been given in an attempt to read it. Some words eluded her, while others she surmounted with minimal difficulty.
Her hair swayed with the suddenness of each movement, Alma turning her attention from the paper at the sound of every twig snap, pausing from her gentle steps with wide eyes and a quivering form. She was quite terrified now, the whites showing around her eyes and she clenched her jaw and desperately tried to find the source of the sounds. She was too terrified to speak, horrified at what might answer her back. It was all too much, the young woman's mind boiling down to the basest of instincts as she wandered further through the mist, the reading of the paper abandon and tucked into a pocket in her skirts.
A breaking branch to her left made her jerk in that direction, dark eyes flicking over the trees in a rolling desperation. Quiet sounds now escaping her clenched teeth in whimpers and soft sobs, the young woman gasped when a breath of air stirred the hair at her nape.
"Wandered far, have we?" Came the rasping voice from right behind her.
A shattering scream tore out of Alma as she started sprinting through the woods, skirts clutched high. Hair whipping out behind her like the tail of a comet as she bounded with surprising grace for the fear that drove her, Alma ran. Raspy laughter could be heard behind her, growing in twisted mirth the farther she got from its source. The young woman was crying now, eyes red and vision blurred as she ran blindly through the trees, just barely missing a few during the journey.
The jaunt through the woods ended abruptly as Alma suddenly broke tree cover, bursting through the tree line with a leap which she landed wrong. The young woman sprawled across the ground, rolling a foot or two with her momentum before she curled in on herself, crying and in small amounts of pain. A trembling hand went to her back, gently touching where she had a weapon tucked away, surprised she hadn't impaled herself on it during the fall. She was shaken, shivering in her place on the ground and so self-absorbed it took her a minute or two before she looked up.
A grand house stood before her, grand in its size, but lacking in it's upkeep. The building was a dark wonder, spiraling towards the treetops but crumbling on the outside, and most likely on the inside as well. It was a cold building, yet Alma found herself being drawn towards it. She wanted to go inside, explore more and discover the secrets of the mysterious looking mansion. Hopefully it would be somewhat less scary then the woods she'd just exited.
Wiping tears away with the heel of her hand, Alma stood. She brushed off her skirts, wincing slightly when she put pressure on her left ankle. Noting that it was nothing serious to worry about Alma started making her way towards the building. She could manage this small hurt, and had a strange feeling that she'd suffered worse before. Eyes puffy and cheeks colored softly, Alma made her way towards the manor, noticing an entrance on the side like a servant would use. She could see to her left the stones of what must be a courtyard, but decided she'd rather be inside a building then be outside any longer.
She approached quietly, unconsciously choosing each placement of her foot before taking the step. Creeping through the worn looking doorway, Alma was greeted by the warmth of a fire and the sight of a kitchen. She blinked in surprise upon noticing another person in the room, form tensing up as her hand twitched towards her back. She paused though, nose twitching as she scented out the grain he was cooking up, brown eyes flicking to the pot on the fire before looking back up to the man tending it. Her cheeks colored, and she tilted her chin down in shyness. Unsure what to
say, but feeling that greetings seemed a good start, Alma spoke up.
"H-Hello." She nearly whispered, voice quaking with nerves and everything she'd encountered so far in these woods. Her left hand stayed close to her back, her weight resting on her right foot as she steadied her stance. Trembling lips parted to say something more before sealing once again, unsure of how to continue the weak excuse of a conversation. So, there she stood. Skirts swaying softly as she shifted her feet, eyes falling to the floor in embarrassment and occasionally flicking up to glance at the stranger out of curiosity. She was at a loss.