Authors note; Hi guys! Not many reviews last chapter Please comment this time. Anyway, this chapter is longer, so yeah. Enjoy!

I don't own Hansel and Gretel.

Chapter two

Choice

"Are you all right miss?" The shooter asked. It took awhile for me to actually realize that he was talking to me. They waited patiently for my response.

"Fine. I didn't need help." I said coldly. He raised his dark eye brow along with the girl while the boy frowned. I moved to the edge of the water and got out. The air kept me warm and helped dry my clothes and my hair.

"She would have killed you without our help." The boy commented. I didn't look at him; instead I placed my silver blade into its black holder on my hip. All my clothes were black. In fact, a lot like the woman's clothes, the only differences were the buttons and the belt. Her buttons were silver, mine black and her belt was a dark brown, and mine was black. These clothes had been my protector for many occasions. They always took a little longer to dry since they were leather, but it still dried quickly in that weather.

"I've killed witches before kid." I stated. He took insult at the name "kid" and crossed his arms.

"I'm not a kid. I'm 19 years old." He didn't really look that old. His messy, long dirty blonde hair, his tan and his light green and brown eyes made him look young but his size made up for that. He was quite tall. Either that or the other two were short.

"Good for you." I said grimly. There was silence for awhile so I started walking the way I came. They started whispering amongst themselves but I continued to walk away. I could hear the whispering had stopped and one of them now followed me. I reached for my knife and waited for an attack.

"I'm Gretel." A feminine voice sounded. It was relatively deep but it wasn't masculine.

"Nice to know." I commented sarcastically. She now walked next to me. We were about the same height. Her eyebrows were thin and dark like her dark brown hair. She had light hazel eyes with long dark eyelashes. Her cheek bones were prominent and her nose was small while her lips were pink and full. A beautiful woman with tan skin and an hour glass figure. She really was breath-taking.

"What's your name?" Kindness. She was being kind, she was being friendly. I was still very weary about this and I kept my hand on the knife attached to my hip. After a long while of my silence she to decide to leave it alone and speak again.

"You said you've killed witches before …" It was a mix between a question and a realization.

"Yes." I answered plainly, keeping my eyes in front of me.

"Are you a witch hunter?" She asked.

"You could call it that."

There was something different about Gretel and that shooter. I didn't care about that boy and the troll, but I knew there was something different about those two. I didn't know what, but I just knew there was something different. I knew it.

"We are too." Gretel stated. I said and did nothing. That sort of explained his aim, but not all hunters were good at their job. Then again there weren't many hunters. Only those who had no fear for witches were hunters. Well, that's a characteristic of a professional witch hunter. A strong stomach helps too. I could tell that she was beginning to feel uncomfortable and so she started speaking again.

"Where are you headed?" Why would she want to know that?

"No where in particular." I responded. It was true, but even if it weren't I wasn't going to tell her about it.

"Well, in that case, would you like to come with us? We're headed to town a few days east; it's the closest town to here." I didn't care about the information she was giving me. The only information I cared about was that that would help me find and kill a witch.

"So, what'd you say? Do you want to come with us?" She seemed very hopeful, something I didn't understand. Do I look like the type of person that would go a long with complete strangers?

"No." My answer was plain but it weighed a ton. It seemed that she wasn't giving up.

"Okay, fair enough. Can I just ask you to think about it?" I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at her.

"And why would I do that?" She still had hope in here hazel green eyes.

"We saved your life."

"No. He saved my life." The fire didn't even flicker slightly. She held a small smile on her face, almost smug. What was she planning? I probably knew the outcome of the plan but I wanted to know the details. Perhaps that would help with the outcome; the curiosity.

"Which means you owe him." Very clever move Gretel I commented in my mind.

"I didn't need his help." I stated, avoiding the fact.

"All the same, you owe him."

There was silence for awhile. I had been taught to repay all debts, no matter the person … or thing. I mentally shuddered at the thought of owing an evil witch.

"Fine. I will consider it. But only because I must repay my debts." She smiled at my words. How did she know I would listen if she brought up the matter in that perspective? Definitely strange. I stood there, just looking at Gretel. I tried to figure it out, but I had no luck so far.

"Let me introduce you to everyone." She suggested. I didn't have time to disagree before the other three came walking up.

"This is Edward." The large troll seemed to have a smile on his face. From my experience, trolls served witches. I was most definitely cautious about that one.

"This is Ben." The nineteen year old boy looked to be sulking. He acted like a child even though he claimed not to be one. She walked over to the shooter and smiled at him. I wondered if there was something going on between them …

"And this …" Why did she pause? "Is Hansel, my brother." That explained the look in her eyes. He really was gorgeous. His skin was tanned and he was tall. About a head taller than Gretel and me. His eyes were a mix between ice blue and ocean blue. His eyelashes were long and dark. His dark hair was cut down short; however his hair and eyebrows were lighter than Gretel's. He looked nicely toned, his muscles showed from under his shirt but his muscles weren't over doing it. His lips were a light pink and his facial bones were prominent. His eyebrows were raised as if he didn't get a joke or thought something was ridicules. I didn't say anything; I just turned and walked away.

My guess would that we were going to camp together tonight. It would be easy to get away from them if I walked through the night, but only an idiot would go wondering around in an unknown place at night. I would just have to deal with it. I wasn't looking forward to spending time with them or anyone else; no one could be trusted and there was no use in wasting tears on trust that would be broken. I didn't need more pain and more of a broken heart. No thank you.

The night came all too quickly and everything was dark, other than the fire they built. I didn't need a fire, I didn't want a fire. It caused attention; something I – we – didn't need. The fire was next to the river. They sat around the it and spoke willingly to each other about anything at all. I sat down on a log, looking over the water. The moon reflected off the water and the stars looked beautiful as a double too. The 'camp' was a little further into the field but was in another clearing that led to where I sat.

I could see myself in the water's reflection. My onyx black hair shone in the moonlight. It trailed down to the bottom of my back and was layered from my eyes. The waviness of my hair made the layers look better. My eyes were a light grey that looked white from certain angles. Ice blue outlined my pupils and my iris's. My eyelashes were long and dark while my eyebrows were dark and thin. My jaw bone was prominent and my nose was small and straight, balancing out my big eyes and my full red lips. My skin was a creamy olive and I was nicely toned as a girl and the perfect height. I had an hour-glass figure with small hands and feet.

My features – me as a whole – were considered perfect and beautiful, but they made me cry because they brought back memories. I hadn't noticed a single tear that made its way down my left cheek. I let the tear fall since it was the only tear that fell. It always happened; one tear would fall and I wouldn't shed another for weeks.

I started considering Gretel's proposal, as I said I would. I really didn't feel about it. I didn't, but something inside of me said otherwise. However, just because of a feeling, I wasn't going to give in that easily.

How did I know they could be trusted?

How did I know they would be good for me?

What did I know about them?

Would they cause me pain?

Were they worth trusting?

The questions were the first on my list. Those were few of my negatives.

I am capable on my own.

I have survived this far.

I am a professional witch hunter.

I know how to use weapons.

I know how to track, hunt, survive and gain information.

I didn't need friends or more pain.

More negatives added to my list.

Witches were becoming more powerful.

They were teaming up.

Finding new spells and putting them into practise.

Even with all of the negatives in my list, the positives seemed reasonable. I didn't need help; I didn't, but did they? Was that the reason they would have me come along? Were they capable of protecting the whole group? If I joined, did it mean that I would have to protect them? Thinking about everything, it took awhile to make my decision. It was a hard choice to make. I had lived most of my life alone, fending for myself. I didn't need them, but did they need me?

Upon making my decision and hanging with the unanswered question, I sighed. Was I making the right choice?

The truth was, I wasn't afraid of being with them – however I was cautious – or with going with them, I was afraid of getting hurt. All that happened when I let people in was pain. That's all I felt. I was happy for a short period of time and then I would feel pain for years. That's what I was scared of.

Before long, I could hear a snore. I didn't really care who it was, but I couldn't help but look toward the loud snore. It was the kid, Ben. The noise was awkward to me, I didn't snore and there was no one else around for me to hear snoring. He snored really loud. I didn't know how the others could sleep through it. Were they with his for so long that they were used to his exasperating noise making?

I turned back toward the river and just sat there, looking up at the sky. It was a beautiful, warm night with a slight breeze.

I didn't sleep that night. The boy's snoring kept me up and I was looking out for witches. It wasn't a new thing for me not to sleep so I wasn't affected by it, but I got really irritated with his snoring.

The first rays of dawn peeked in from the East and I stood from where I sat. I checked for my knife, it was there. I never took it off; it was just habit to look if I had it. I walked into the long grass and I hunted for my food.

By the time I got back, they were up and cooking their own food. I had already eaten my breakfast. All of their backs were turned to me. Gretel was cooking; Ben sat next to her, talking to her about something. Hansel was doing something with his bag and the troll just sat. None of them noticed me. They would all be dead by now if I were an enemy. Were they this unobservant?

I walked over to the river and Gretel was the first to see me.

"Good morning." She greeted. I looked at her with a straight face and said nothing. Ben looked seriously surprise.

"I didn't even hear her." He murmured in Gretel's ear.

"Being so unobservant can get you killed kid." I said. He looked up at me in bewilderment. I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes.

"I could hear you. I'm not deaf." I stated. His bewilderment was replaced with irritation.

"I didn't say you were. And once again, I'm not a kid." He spoke as if I were a stupid child that didn't understand a big word. How I wanted to walked up to him and punch him in the face. He would be too slow to block it, too stupid to realize it before and too slow to realize it after. I would have if Gretel hadn't interfered.

"Stop it Ben." She said – he frowned but kept quiet – and looked at me.

"Are you hungry?"

"I already ate." I said tonelessly.

"Okay …" She said slowly. "Did you sleep well?"

"I didn't sleep."

I could see she wanted to say something but obviously decided to not to. I didn't understand her. Was I the only one? They ate breakfast in silence while I sat, watching the sunset. I didn't like staying in one place too long and this was certainly too long for me. I had to get moving. I could hear someone approaching me but I didn't do anything.

"Have you thought about it?" She asked. Gretel remained standing behind me.

"Yes."

"Well? What have you decided?" She tried not to sound nervous.

"I will go with you." I could tell that she was happy by this. I stood up and turned to look at her.

"But only because I owe Hansel my life." She nodded.

"I understand. If you decide to split up with us by the time we get to the village, I won't hold it against you. You've kept your promise." She smiled gently at me and walked away. This day was going to be a long day.

Authors note; what do you guys think of chapter two? Please review and tell me what you think. Thank you to all my supporters.