It was very quite, inside Rose's room. The padding on the walls sucked up some of it, but there wasn't that much to make noise in the first place. Silent, serene, contained.

It was enough to drive a person crazy.

The walls were still white, to Hydra's annoyance, but she didn't say anything. Rose had, apparently, objected to any attempts to change it. Since it had invoked an actual reaction from Rose, they'd left it be, hoping it would help Rose get better.

And Rose did seem to be getting better. She screamed less, cried less, generally made less noise all together. She didn't attack everything that came through the door, nor did she try to hurt herself. Didn't even attack the invisible monsters these days. Rose spent most of her time sitting quietly, attention caught by something the others couldn't see, and probably wouldn't understand.

Today she was back against the wall, facing the door, rocking ever so slightly. Her eyes moved as though counting ticks on a moving belt. She'd stopped humming ten or so minutes ago.

Hydra sat nearly opposite her, to the left of the door. She watched the other Changeling, thoughts tumbling over and over in her mind.

It had been the worst Christmas present she'd ever received. Hydra had spent days wondering around, looking for clues and talking to every imaginable creature in the Hedge, making careful note of which knew Notch and which didn't. As time wore on, her hopes had started to solidify. Daniel had been worried over nothing.

But then she'd found her stall, found her seller, found out that Notch was a lying bastard. A life for a life. Hers, for a man she'd just met, on the orders of someone who'd dragged her out of one nightmare, and into one she didn't know and couldn't understand. She hadn't even asked why Charlie was in trouble. She'd trusted, something They had trained out of her.

Hydra dragged her fingers along the floor padding, gaze dropping to follow. It had been nearly two weeks since she'd found out about Notch. Two weeks of avoiding the Winter King - not that hard. Two weeks of thinking too hard and too much. Two weeks of looking Daniel in the eyes and acting like nothing was wrong. She wasn't going to last another two weeks like this, much less the rest of her time in Delaware.

A thought stole across her mind, making her grin at its wickedness. "I could scream myself hoarse in here and no one would come," she whispered. "I could do whatever, let it all out, and they'd think it was you." Red eyes flashed up, just missing blue. "And ye wouldn't even speak up to tell them it was me. Ye'd let them believe whatever I say."

Rose didn't respond, invisible ticks still flying by, still needing to be counted. Far more important than another person's pain.

Folding her hands in her lap, Hydra sighed. "But I wouldna do tha. It's wrong, and I can still remember what that means." Silence. "But maybe it's a good thing I never swore fealty to this place, these people. They're no who they say they are, none of them. I'd have to do what they said, even if it was wrong."

Silence crept back in. Neither Lost moved, both worrying through their tasks, trying to make sense of the world around them that was supposed to be so much better than the one they'd left.

Hydra tilted her head back against the wall. Did ye know Halley? Did ye send him to Notch because ye knew Charlie'd never come back? Did ye even care?

Hydra twitched as Rose squeaked and rolled over, resting her legs up the wall and tracing patterns in the air.

"Ye think so? Halley seemed nice, but no one is really that good, I suppose. No one here who stays."

Rose ignored her. Another minute ticked past.

"I got a place, finally. Monty wasn't going to last long in the Hedge, Hollow or no, and I wasna given him up. He's the only normal thing I have, and he loves me. In his own, fluffy, dog way."

Rose looked over at this, eyes clear for a moment. Then she blinked and was gone again. Hydra laughed.

"That ye understand, out of everything I've said?" Hydra shifted, pulling a knee up to her chest and wrapping her arms around it. "And there's Cat to worry about. I dunno what's wrong with her, but I haven't been able to help yet. Haven't even focused on it that much, honestly. I can't go through normal channels to get the help, either. King Notch would just take her and use her. She looks like a child, whatever she be, and I'll not let him hurt someone so small. Not after refusing her before."

Returning her head to the wall, Hydra sighed. "I've turned my life into one of those stories. Ye know the kind - ye're never sure if it's brilliant or pathetic, but everyone knows one version of another.

"There's deceit and treachery, maybe, and people who can't tell what's real and what they imagined. The King's a creep, the Witch hasn't picked a side, and the Hero keeps bumbling his way through until he wins, though no one's sure if it's by his own design.

"Well, King Notch is a creep, and apparently he cannae be trusted, neither." Her voice softened. "But Daniel doesnae want to move ye. He's happy here, with his life, and who am I to take that away? Who is anyone?"

Her eyes flicked back up to Rose's, meeting once more. The clarity was back, steadier this time.

"Ye love him too?"

A blink.

"We cannae save Tyler, if he's the one who did this. You don't deserve to pay for witnessing it, and that man deserves to have his killer caught. King Notch wont let this go." A beat. "I know he's Daniel's friend, but Daniel will heal. He's a strong lad; more than just in muscles. If Tyler did this, I'll tell the King I will."

Another blink.

"And I think… I'd rather Jeanette was Queen. The others will have more trouble attacking what the Wyrd chose, and it'll leave me out of the loop a little while longer." Hydra shifted her gaze to her knee. "I was meant to serve. Maybe not back home, back before, but that's what They made me. A Servant, in nearly every sense. I cannae serve bound to a group, to one I dunna wish to be obedient to. But I could serve Jeanette. I could look after this family.

"That's my freedom, ye ken. I'll never be any good in charge, but I can choose whom to be loyal to, who to work for. A dog I'll be, but I choose my Master." Red met ice blue once more. "I'll serve those I trust. I'll look after Daniel, till this is over, and yer family until I fall. But I canna swear to the monarchs. Not yet."

Another, slower blink, bleeding into what could have been a nod, if it needed to be. And it needed to be.

"I should go. The others'll worry, if I stay too long. And this room is making my head spin."

Hydra stood and walked the scant steps to the door. Facing the dark wood, she paused. "You'll keep my secret, won't you? That I'll be up to nae good for a while? I need my loved ones in good order, before I can be of use to strangers. I'll make sure none of it can be traced back to ye."

Rose didn't reply. The moment had passed, and the other couldn't hear her anymore. She waited a beat longer, the next part harder to get out.

"Ye should be nicer to him. He cares about ye very much, and I dunna think I'll be around for as long as ye. They don't write stories about my kind, and yer man is very much a Hero. The sort I only get to love from the shadows. Never touch…never have."

Cracking the door, Hydra could hear the other Fairest down the hall. They were in the kitchen, from the sounds of it, probably working on dinner.

"Dinner should be along shortly. I hope it tastes better than last night's - a charmer he may be, but Logan can't cook."

Rose stared at her, non plussed."

"Up side to being crazy, hm? Dunna care what yer food tastes like?"

Hydra slipped outside and closed the door. Paintings reminiscent of an primary school covered the walls. She hadn't realized how much fun it would be, finger painting after so many years.

Yellow was a prominent color among the images, red was the most sparing. Trees, houses, hills, dogs, cheese. Whatever they'd been thinking of, once they got past the initial awkwardness of it all.

Her smile faltered as she thought of how this wouldn't include her next time. King Notch needed to be brought under control, and she had to find Charlie. He didn't deserve whatever was happening to him, and it was her fault. Survivors guilt could be dangerous - more so when mixed with other things.

"Hydra, would you please come back me up! The boys are going to blow up the kitchen, I swear!" Jeanette's complaint was cut off as Logan picked her up and spun her out of the door.

"We're not blowing anything up. We're…experimenting."

Making sure Rose's door was closed, Hydra pasted on a smile and hurried down the hallway. She knew her place now, and she'd be better at it. Servants knew everything, after all, and their masters remained happily oblivious.

"Rule number one." The whip snapped down. "You do your job, and Master is never any wiser, you hear? I don't care what it takes, how it ends, or if you bleed. Your Master" snap "never" snap "hears. Got it!"