The next morning (if it could be called morning being still dark outside). The cost of the farm she'd acquiesced to managed to became significantly more evident.
She must have slept deeply, because Lillian woke up extremely confused that the daylight was gone, and didn't know if it was the same evening, the next morning, or if she had slipped away from the real world again for a few more days.
Thankfully a small calendar in the corner helped her get her bearings- and randomly told her that a cooking contest was coming up soon- but didn't help her to decide what to do from here.
Being so dark out she didn't think it would be safe to go traipsing around the mountain looking for her brother, and even though it was the first thing she wanted to do- it would have to wait for a few more hours at least. She hoped when the time came she'd have the energy to make it all the way over, but she'd have to take her chances by traveling on foot as their pony was nowhere to be seen.
Her chest hurt to think of what was happening to Phillip in a place where she couldn't protect him, and despite all the friendly offerings of the earlier day she felt truly alone in the matter. Her breath became shallow when she realized the weight of her task; nobody over here seemed willing to go halfway up the mountain, let alone entirely over, and especially not for a complete stranger.
They had never been separated for more than a few days- Lillian and her brother had traveled together ever since their parents had passed away six or seven years ago- so they both relied on each other's company quite a bit, and had been forced to grow up quickly amidst the harsh realities of an adult world.
As they were only nine when it happened and they had been on a trip as a family, there was not really any local authority that would take care of them, and the two twins ended up in a homeless shelter for the first several months. After uncountable days of eating stews with no discernible ingredients and mixing powdered milk into tap water at a local food bank they realized that the future as they were headed for was probably begging-like everyone else that lived in the shelters.
Not that they didn't try it- and begging brought them a few coins to occasionally purchase real milk- but it was never enough to fill their stomachs and they had to compete for the most profitable places with a grisly group of the hopeless, the angry and the addicted.
They got into a good amount of fights back then, often at the loosing end, but learned a more valuable lesson than hundreds of peaceful days spent under the wings of their parents- You can never rely on anyone other than yourself. If you want to succeed (or even eat) in life, you had better roll up your sleeves, work your ass off, and fight like it was death to fail.
After a few years together of traveling from town to town and doing odd jobs to earn money, the two finally scored work at an Inn, where room and board were included. For the first time since their parent's accident, the two had enough food to eat, and were able to save.
That's when their current dream was born.
A pull in the muscles of her neck brought Lillian back to reality and she once again stretched, this time trying to quiet her thoughts.
That's not the life you're going to live anymore, she told herself firmly. You and Phillip, you are going to be free.
A mocking laugh in the back of her mind emerged and asked her one single word: How?
She sighed and got out of bed to grab some water, opening a mostly empty cabinet to discover one tall glass with a bamboo pattern etched on the rim- it figured- and two small tea cups made of a rough brown ceramic and a few mismatched plates. It was just like being at the shelter all over again.
Although this time I'm not going to starve half to death…
Thankfully there was a kitchen sink and she didn't have to go outside to draw from a well or pump water up by hand from a copper spigot out back like all the pictures of country living she'd seen in library books.
After slaking her thirst and realizing that she finally had a bit of energy, she decided to fully explore the house, which took her less than three minutes as everything was bare and there was no more than one room and a rug to look at.
There was nothing left to do afterwards other than check out the barn and look around the farm, maybe something would turn up that she could use when she went to the mountain later in the morning.
But as she set her hand on the handle and turned the doorknob- nothing happened.
She tried again, this time with a frown and a tug on the door- and once more, nothing.
Where was the lock…?
It was obviously locked- should she be thankful she slept safely or wonder who else had a key?
And for the umpteenth time a thought occurred to her that should've been obvious all along.
Mayor Ina had told her and Kana when they parted ways she'd 'Come by and give the keys to you later.'
Though Lillian was falling half asleep walking when the woman in the red habit had said that, now a puzzle piece fell into place from the jumble that was yesterday and the girl realized that Ina might not have been talking to her.
A chill danced up her spine when she realized that she might not have the key to her own home.
Suddenly she was wide awake, searching every inch of the place; it had to be somewhere, no one would be so cruel to just kidnap someone like this.
Wait- if she knew they were trying to give her a farm, was it really kidnapping?
Who cares- find the damn thing!
Frantically she looked in all the empty drawers, opened every cabinet, and checked the storage bin. There was even a key rack over by the door that was empty- and her heart sank.
What was she supposed to do now?
Well, going down without a fight was not an option. They'd have to open the door eventually, and when they did, Lillian would be ready.
