After drinking a few bowls of sugared milk, Peter fell fast asleep against Red. She had just put him down to sleep when a solemn knock came at the door. She patted Peter's head one last time before hurrying out of the room to open the front door.

It was Hansel.

"Gretel! Let me in! Please…" Hansel stared helplessly at the door that had been slammed so unceremoniously into his face.

"Get away from my door! You're not welcome here anymore! Go away!"

"…Gretel… I'm sorry… Please, just let me in… I want to talk to Peter… You can tie my hands behind my back if you want." Hansel pressed up against the door, face grieving, eyes glittering sadly.

Red narrowed her eyes, peeked out through one of the frosted panes of the side windows, and saw the look on Hansel's face. With an angry huff, she stomped to the door, yanked it open, and hissed, "Fine!"

Fuming, Red sat in front of the closed door that led to her bedroom. Inside, she could hear the dull murmur of Hansel's voice, and her mind's ear imagined what Peter would be whimpering back. However, she believed he would be okay, for she had taken up Hansel on his word and had tied his hands behind his back with cord.

What were they talking about in there? If Hansel even dared make Peter cry again, she would call the asylum herself, watch them cart him away! But… that would be cruel…

"Gretel?"

Startled by Hansel's voice, Red hurried up, opened the door, peered in, "Yes?"

Blushing, Hansel muttered, "Seems I was mistaken… I really thought that the necklace was a 'liking' present… and when the Wolf came in, I thought he was going to do bad things to you… Just a present…"

Red was busy staring at his hands before squawking angrily, "I tied you up! Why are you-"

"You need to learn how to tie knots, Gretel… Well… I'm sorry for all of this…" Hansel scratched at his blonde hair, avoiding glancing at Red directly as he grew ashamed. When Red snorted grimly, his eyes narrowed in shame, "I am… I really am… I just thought I was doing the right… thing…"

Peter sat at the bed, eyes wide as his ears swiveled towards Hansel's voice. "Marie?"

"Huh? Yes, Peter?"

"… Hansel said he was sorry, and he said that-"

Hansel shushed him hastily, "Not yet. Tomorrow morning, alright?"

Peter flinched at Hansel's harsh voice, "Yes! Yes!"

Red stared at Hansel before glancing at Peter with a question in her eyes. What were they talking about?

Hansel shook her awake very early the next morning. Outside, night still lurked, the snow drifts housing icy strips of frozen water where little brown flowers had long been frozen. The stars still held the sky in their possession, having hidden the moon behind a black blanket as they were allowed to do once a month. To Red's surprise, he had already woken up Peter, wrapping the little wolf in his leather jacket and stuffing multiple socks over all four of his paws. Hansel himself would not talk to her as they departed. In his arms was Peter, still sleeping. Red trailed behind, shivering in the gray wolf fur coat.

As morning dawned over the trees and hill of the forest, Red asked for the seventh time, "Where are we going?"

Hansel stopped, glanced back, and smiled glumly, "I'll tell you if my trap was good."

"Trap?"

"I put up a rabbit snare yesterday before I came. I just really hope there's a rabbit in it." Hansel readjusted his hold on Peter, the musket jolting in the strap that ran across his back.

"You woke us up at three in the morning to come see if you caught a rabbit?" Red's face grew crimson in annoyed anger.

Hansel rolled his eyes, smiled, "It's where we're going after we see if there's a rabbit."

"And where's that?"

"You'll see. Just stop talking, now, please? If there's a rabbit, I have to get it out of the snare alive." Hansel turned, tromped forward a few steps, and then paused before turning again to face Red, "Hold Peter."

Red couldn't really hold Peter, but she managed to keep most of him out of the snow as Hansel disappeared off into the trees. He was only gone a few minutes, five at most, before he reappeared, a struggling rabbit in his hands. On his face lay a bright, sharp smile, "We were lucky."

"What's the rabbit for?"

Ignoring Red's question, Hansel smirked, "There's another one, if Peter wakes up and is hungry."

"He doesn't eat rabbits."

"Ah… Well, then… We'll just see how he fares till we get back to the house." Hansel restrained the rabbit with one hand as he pulled some sturdy cord from his pocket. With a few quick knots, he tied the rabbit up so it could barely move, tied it to his belt with nary a glint of sympathy in his eye, came over to Red to relieve her of the burden of Peter, and then nodded, "Follow me."

They walked another hour, sticking close to the iced-over river. At one point, Hansel even showed interest in crossing it, but Red refused, not willing to take the chance of cracking ice and freezing water. Finally, Hansel found a little bridge, crossed there, and then doubled back for a scant fifteen minutes before stopping, shivering, and whispering. "Hold Peter for me."

Red obeyed, watched as Hansel undid the rabbit from his belt. Hansel held it up, stroking the small, trembling ears tenderly, and then whispered, "I want you to watch the rabbit as we get closer."

"Huh?"

"Just watch it. Now, come slowly." Hansel started to step forward tentatively, the rabbit dangling from his hand.

For the next two minutes, there was no noticeable response from the rabbit, and Red was about to ask Hansel if this was all a big joke when the rabbit began to squirm, jerking against its bonds vainly. Little, squeaky screams startled her.Then, the rabbit fell limp, and Hansel stopped, staring at it. Poking it, he sighed, "Always do that, you know… Their hearts explode on them whenever they get to this one place…" He pushed his thumb against the rabbit's nose, glanced at it afterwards, and grimaced when he saw blood on it.

Red stared, frightened, "What… what was that?"

"Little animals don't like going anywhere near her… The rabbits always have heart attacks. Stupid creatures." said Hansel, more to himself than to her as he tied the rabbit back to his belt.

"Her?"

"Oh, well… I guess I could tell you now…" Hansel glanced furtively at hers, reaching out to take Peter again.

"What?" Instinctively, Red clutched Peter closer to her, staring up into Hansel's face.

Hansel paused, eyes flashing, and then smiled softly, "Now, Gretel… You don't have to worry… They're not immortal, you know…"

"What's not?" Hansel's avoidance of actually naming the thing or person was scaring Red. What was it? A monster?

Ignoring her questions still, Hansel lilted gently, "And I'll protect you, Gretel. All I ask is that you don't go within a foot of her. She could hurt you, you know. Now, give me Peter, and we can find the entrance to the cave –it's somewhere under the snow here- and we can make a little fire to make ourselves warm before waking her up."

"Who?" cried Red, infuriated at his constant avoidance of the subject.

A sly grin crossed Hansel's face after a moment of thought. "Oh… You'll see…"

Hansel found the entrance to the cave after a few minutes of digging and practically had to drag a paranoid Red down into the hole. The tunnel leading in was granite, a sharp gray on all sides that seemed to have many jutting parts made especially to catch the folds of clothes and coats. However, when they entered the first room, Red was pleasantly surprised to find a little stove in the corner and a large pile of moth-eaten cushions in the opposite. Unlike the gray tunnel, it seemed to be made of warm-colored sandstone. Hansel hastily gathered some cushions, laid the still sleeping Peter down upon them gently, and then motioned to Red, "Start the stove. It'll warm this place up." Glancing down, he unhooked the rabbit from his side, and held it out to Red, "And cook that. Pans are beside the stove."

"What?" Red took it and glanced at the rabbit distastefully. "I don't even have-"

"I'm not asking for something especially good. For all I care, you could burn it to cinders… If you need a knife, I have one here." Hansel reached under his coat, grimaced, rummaged around until he found a place to slip his hand through the space of the buttons in his undershirt, and then pulled out his dagger. Wiping a smear off with his dirty thumb, he held it out.

When Red hesitated, he sighed, yanked the rabbit back, and muttered, "I'll skin it. Just… make it warm. And don't go into the next room!" Suddenly angry, Hansel turned, stomped into the tunnel that led to the snowy surface, intent on skinning the rabbit.

Red stared after him before glancing the disheveled, dented metal door at the farthest corner of the room apprehensively. Was that where the monster was? The thing that Hansel kept referring too in that scary way of his?

Hansel came back in ten minutes, holding the dripping, bloody corpse of the rabbit in one hand, the mangled fur in the other. Red sullenly cooked it, paying no attention to how it turned out, for Hansel seemed impatient. When it was finally fully cooked, Hansel took it straight from the pan, tied it by its hind legs, and then held it in his hand as he started for the metal door.

"Gretel? Do you want to see?"

Red hesitantly opened her mouth before whispering, "Tell me what it is first…"

Hansel grinned sharply, "Oh, you would know if you only went to see it, Gretel. Why don't you take a guess?"

"… A monster?"

"I wouldn't go as far to call her that, but you're pretty close."

Licking her lips, Red came forward slowly, "Okay… I'll see… but if I don't know what it is… you have to tell me…"

"Agreed. Just stay behind me." Hansel grabbed the handle of the door, twisted it viciously to the right, and dragged it open with a grunt. As it inched open sluggishly, he slipped in, taking a little box of matches from his pocket. He lit one. Then, as he blindly groped for the torch, Red peered beneath his arm, saw nothing, for the room needed much more light to be fully illuminated.

However, when the torch flared up under Hansel's touch, she stepped back, her hands over her mouth, and squeaked in surprise.

On the opposite wall, just in front of the door, was a person. Slumped down against the hard rock, her wrists chained to round metal rings that were securely fastened to the granite, the lady twitched slightly as the light fell across her body. Her ragged skirt had long tears which showed bits and pieces of her slip underneath, and a handsome countrywoman's petticoat covered her torso. It might have once been beautiful, but long inattention and beatings had reduced it to ripped and shredded rags. Her skin was black with age, wrinkled, almost moldy, and her knotted white hair covered a face that would be sure to send most toddlers screaming.

Whistling a bright tune as he advanced on the woman, Hansel knelt, raised his thumb to his mouth, and bit at it. He smiled when he saw the little gash he made before reaching forward, lifting the woman's chin, revealing a horrid, wrinkled, sagging face, and pushing his thumb against her lips. "Come on…"

The woman lay still under his hand.

Overcoming her surprise, Red felt her rage well up in her throat. Hissing, she stalked in, furious, "Hansel! Who the heck is that? What did you do to her? How could you do that to a poor, old lady?"

Hansel smiled, ignoring her anger, "Well… I wouldn't exactly say that… Oh, look… Here she is…"

The old woman was stirring, moaning as her body twisted, trying to stretch but unable to. Her eyes flickered open after a moment, revealing piercing golden eyes, and she mumbled, "…Hmm…? Has it already been two months…? Oh, your finger." The woman turned her eyes down to Hansel's thumb before smiling, trying to lick at the blood with a greedy grunt.

"Now, now…" Hansel dropped his hand, causing the woman to stop her attempt at his thumb and sigh. "I haven't been by for three months now, so I can understand you're hungry."

"…Just food. I want my food…" The woman glanced up beyond Hansel's shoulder to let her eyes settle upon Red. A small, tired smile came across her face, "Who's that?"

"My sister."

"How… luscious."

Hansel glared at her before standing, disappearing from the room, and returning with a key. Squatting down, he muttered, "I'm going to unlock you now, but you have to give me-" He lowered his voice so Red couldn't hear him.

The woman narrowed her eyes, "No."

Hansel stopped, the key in the lock, and then sighed, "Okay then… I guess I could leave you hear for another three months without food… Come back when you're more willing."

Eyes widening, the woman squeaked, "No. Just… let me out first."

"No. Give me the thing first."

Sighing, the woman grumbled, "It's in my pocket." When Hansel reached for the little pocket sewn over the woman's left breast, she hissed, "My skirt pocket, you fool!"

Hastily, Hansel dug his hand into the skirt pocket, drew out a sparkly, electric-blue stone. Glancing it over, he grunted, slid it into his own pocket, and then quickly unlatched the woman's hands.

Leaning forward, moaning, the woman chafed at her wrists before glowering irritably at Hansel, "So, what is it? Another thing with that stupid musket of you?"

Hansel held out his hand, "Give me your hands."

The woman had them clutched against her chest instantly, eyes fearful and suspicious, "What will you do to them?"

"Take off the marks."

The woman blinked before muttering, "Both of them?"

Red was lost. What marks? Why was Hansel still avoiding telling her why he had this lady here?

"Yes, both of them."

The woman held out her hands hesitantly. Taking them, Hansel licked the tip of his thumb and began to furiously rub at the two chalk etchings on the back of the woman's hands.

The woman watched before hissing, "Enough, enough!" She yanked her hands away, stared at the scuffed marks on the back of her hands, and then grinned slyly. Waving her hand, she grabbed hold of a cup as it popped up in front of her and began to drink greedily from the water.

Red squawked in horror, took a few steps back before whispered in disbelief, "A witch!"

Hansel nodded happily, "Told you that you would remember."

The witch rolled her eyes, irritated, "Enough. I want my food. I see a child. Is she-"

Suddenly, the witch was screeching, dragged down by her hair as Hansel snarled, "You even touch her, Morgan, and I'll finish what I was meaning to do seven years ago!"

"Let go! Let go!" Morgan reached up, hands sparking, but the small strips of light scattered across Hansel's skin and clothes to dive into the pocket where he had hidden away the blue stone.

Smirking, Hansel released her, stood, and motioned, "I brought you a rabbit. You can have that, and, if you're very good, I'll bring you something bigger tonight." To Red, it was obvious he was lying.

Morgan grumbled, rubbing her scalp as she glowered after Hansel. Red caught a few words as the witch staggered up: "Dumb Hansel… He'll get his… Going to eat his liver first, watch him suffer… Rabbit? Ha! I could eat a multitude of rabbits… wouldn't do a thing!" She stormed from the room.

Next moment, Hansel's voice came from the next room, "Gretel!"

After minutes of arguments and debating over the cooked rabbit, Morgan finally relented to do the work before eating, although she was angry and reluctant to do so.

Staring hungrily at the rabbit, Morgan whispered, "What do you want? Charms on your musket? That's what you usually ask for." She ripped her eyes from the cooked corpse, glared at Hansel.

"Chateau De Lille."

Morgan blinked before asking, "What about it?"

"One of our friends, his father," Hansel jerked a thumb at Peter, who was still sleeping, "is imprisoned there. We need to get him out."

"Why? What did he do?"

"Let's say that I made a very big mistake."

After a few moments, Morgan nodded, "I need a flat surface."

Hansel scrambled away, digging under the empty cushion cases in the corner before he found a small foldable desk. As he struggled with it, trying to unbend it, Morgan glanced at Red, licked her lips, and patted her stomach with a moan to herself, "What I wouldn't do for a child…"

Red, unnerved, took another step back.

"What's wrong, child? Scared of Auntie Morgan?" The witch giggled gleefully before cracking her knuckles, "Old girl's still got it!"

Hansel dragged the unfolded desk over, wiped a hand through the dust that covered it, and then mumbled, "There. Now, every way in and out of De Lille and everything inside. You can do that."

Morgan bit her lip before pleading, "Just a leg? Please? I can work while I eat…"

Sighing, Hansel took his dagger, hastily cut a leg from the rabbit, and tossed it to Morgan. The witch immediately buried her teeth into it, eyes glittering with greedy hunger. As she held the rabbit leg with her right hand, her left strayed onto the table, twitched.

Instantly, a little see-through chateau stood on the table, surrounded by small brick houses the size of Red's fist. Twirling a finger, Morgan caused the chateau to grow, turning, magnifying on the main gate.

Red stared at the miniature castle before hearing a sharp crack from Morgan. Jerking, she stared at Morgan, who was gnawing at the bone angrily, trying to figure out how eat it. Between her furious bites, she muttered, "Main gate: impenetrable. Portcullis, heaviest oak doors I've ever heard of, not to mention half-a-fifty men." She crammed the bone into her mouth, swallowed it, and then sighed happily before twitching her fingers again. The castle twisted.

"Le comte de Servons had this servant's entrance put in. Now deemed inaccessible because of the moat. They don't even lock it and- What is it, girl?"

Red was staring a Morgan's hair, which was slowly turning from a steel gray to a dark gold. "Your… your hair!"

"Yes, I'm getting my color back." Snorted Morgan before snapping her fingers.

The little door opened, and Red and Hansel suddenly found themselves peering into a stone, torch-lit hall a foot high.

"Leads to a hall, usually empty. Prisoner cells are," Morgan clapped her hands together, licking her teeth as she snuck a glance at Red. The hall grew out of focus before it jolted up a few stairs and appeared at a grand hall. It rose a few levels, showing balconies and stair wells that opened up to this central atrium, before disappearing into a door that led into the west wing, "in the west. Low-priority, higher levels; Higher-priority, lower levels; and, -Hansel, could I have the other leg?"

Hansel cut the other leg off the rabbit, handed it to Morgan, who didn't even bother to enjoy as it as she shoved it all into her mouth. For a few seconds, she struggled to swallow before finally doing so, clearing her throat, and shutting her fist, "Then, you can go back and go out the way you came."

The castle wrenched out of sight.

"I'm done now… Please… Give the rabbit…"

Red stared at Morgan's skin, which was becoming smooth and paler as she watched. Was this what food did to a witch? Rejuvenate her?

"No, no! What happens if our way in was blocked?" Hansel asked, smirking. He seemed to be asking the question more for the sake of taunting Morgan than to actually find out.

"Ah!" Angrily, Morgan summoned back the miniature castle, twisted it around till they were back in the west wing. "If you get cut off, you go up, towards the main gate, except there's a little side passage here that leads to a little window about twelve feet off the water. And I didn't add that as a way in 'cause ladders don't stand on water, if that's what you were going to ask." Morgan glared at Hansel, who had opened his mouth to ask precisely that question. "Now give me my food."

Hansel tossed her the rabbit, and Red scrambled back as Morgan snatched it out of the air and tore into it ravenously, making horrible, little noises of satisfaction in the back of her throat.

Hansel sneered, "Now, now, Morgan, using bad table manners, are we?"

"Shut up! You owe me a-" Morgan's eyes suddenly widened before she dropped the corpse of the bunny, hurried to the table, where the castle was still flickering, and rapidly turned her hand. Halls turned to narrow crevices before opening up to show a great cavern in the first underground floor of De Lille. In the center of the pictured scene was a large pit. With a small hiss, Morgan fanned the picture away before muttering, "Never mind the second escape. You have to go where you first came."

"Huh? What? What was that?" Hansel gazed at her with a question in his hands.

"A terror hole, a nightmare room, a horror pit, whatever you would like to call it. Never knew they had one in De Lille…" Morgan tapped her chin thoughtfully, a grimace on her face, before she glared at Hansel, "You don't want to fall into one of those."

"Never heard of one." Shrugged Hansel.

Morgan's eyes glinted angrily, "Should I tell you? I don't want to be left here because my captor fell into some God-forsaken terror-"

"No, don't tell me. I can't be afraid of things I don't know about." Hansel smiled before taking the musket from his back, "Now…"

Morgan's anger dissipated, and she sighed, "A charm on your gun?"

"Several please." Hansel settled down on the chair, putting his hands together on his stomach as he prepared to wait.

After Morgan grudgingly layered charm after charm upon the musket, Hansel locked her back into her cuffs, locked her in after chalking the magic restraints upon her hands, and then left to find another rabbit or a pheasant for the hungry witch. He came back thirty minutes later, dragging a large wild pheasant behind him.

Red swore she would not touch it, and Hansel was obliged to loose Morgan again so she would cook the meat for herself.

Bouncing around the stove in excitement, rubbing her hands with eager hunger glinting in her eyes, Morgan whispered, "Oh! Oh! Why must it take so long?"

Hansel, bored, was scraping at the dried blood that caked the inside of the rabbit fur. Glancing up, he grimaced, "You seem excited."

"First time I get to cook in seven years, not having to eat one of your burnt horrors! It has to be cooked just right!" Morgan grinned, eyes glazing over as she imagined some little scene.

Warily, Hansel asked, "What are you thinking?"

"Oh… Pheasant meat's okay… But if I could just have a bite of a child!" Morgan cast a greedy glance at Red.

Next instant, she shrieked, clawing at the knife that sprouted from her side. Red-faced, Hansel stood, "There will be no talking like that as long as I'm here."

"You stabbed me!" Morgan yanked the knife out, flinched, and then threw it down angrily.

Red stared, Peter clutching at her shoulders at the sound of fury in the two people's voices.

Hansel picked up the dagger, glared at the blood that covered it, and then tried to reconcile his actions, "Well, you're not going to die."

"But it hurt!" Morgan touched her fingers to her side, glared at the blood that came off to stain at her fingers.

"Ah, come on… It's nothing. You'll just magic yourself better." Hansel turned, wiping the blood off on the corner of his shirt.

Angrily, Morgan whirled on the stove, glowered at it, and then yanked to open the door to the space inside open. With a small snarl, she grabbed the pot with her bare hands, not seeming to feel the pain, and put it atop the stovetop. Kicking the door shut, she waved at the steam raising from the pheasant before drawing in a deep breath and relaxing, "Oh… Wonderful food."

Hansel sat down with a grunt, "And who's the one who feeds you?"

"You… unfortunately. If you hadn't been able to restrain my magic with that stupid little chalk thing of yours, I would have had your head for an entrée. So… shut up."

"I love that chalk… Only reacts to my spit, you, of course, know. See, you could have been a good witch, making magic chalk like that… But all I was asking for a 'thank you', but you're too stubborn even for that?" Hansel picked at his fingernails, pretending to be uninterested.

"…I'm not stubborn." The witch glared at him.

"Ah yes… Stubborn Morgan, who screamed nonstop for the first five hours she was locked up?"

"Shut up!"

"I would ask you to do the same, but you look like you're about to do that by stuffing your fat face."

Morgan opened her mouth, furious, and then paused, lost for a reply. Glancing at the pheasant longingly, she licked her lips slowly before asking, "Do I really look fat?"

"Fat as a pig." Smirked Hansel.

Red stared. Fat? The witch was emaciated!

Morgan smoothed the wrinkles in her dress, her golden, knotted hair making a small noise like wind through leaves as it brushed across her shoulders, "Well… I could eat just enough to improve my appearance, don't you think?"

Hansel gazed at her with mocking eyes, "And what would improve your appearance? I believe they haven't found a counter-spell to that curse."

Morgan stared at him, speechless, and then turned to the pheasant, angrily tore a piece of meat from it, and nibbled at it furiously, muttering under her breath. "Stupid Hansel… I'm not ugly. I'm not. That's why I eat. And I'm hungry. Those are the reasons I- He doesn't know anything! He's a man! Stupid man!"

Hansel chuckled, returned to scraping the rabbit fur.

After Morgan had eaten the whole pheasant, bones and all, Hansel locked her up, took up Peter, and started to hurry home with Red through a small wind storm that had picked up. Little snowflakes were pelted up into their faces, the mere touch stinging their cheeks and nose. They finally reached the house late at night, and Hansel immediately lay Peter, who had fallen asleep again, down in the bed, arms numb, and flopped down to fall asleep almost instantly. Red, also exhausted, took her slow time dressing in pajamas. When she came to her room to sleep and found Hansel asleep upon her bed, she sighed, pushed him so he wasn't sprawled over the whole mattress, and slipped in besides Peter, whose fur warmed her arms in instant.

She was just falling asleep when Peter left her arms, found Hansel's back, and hugged it, whining in his sleep.

"Papa… Papa…"

Red, eyelids heavy, gazed at them for a few moments before sighing, deciding not to anything about it, and settling back down into her pillow. If it took dreams to make Hansel and Peter on good terms with the other, then so be it.