No matter how much Ashe tossed and turned, no matter how close she pulled the covers, she could not get warm. She turned her face into the pillow under her head, twisting her fingers into the warm dyed-blue wool of a woven blanket, and shut her eyes tight, trying to force herself to fall asleep. But after a long moment, maybe a minute and maybe an hour, Ashe opened them again and sighed, fighting a shiver. The night was not cold, it was mid-spring after all, but Ash just couldn't shake the chill she'd had ever since Mama died.

With another sigh, Ashe sat up in bed and caught one of the many blankets she'd piled on top of her as it slid to the ground. It was soft, as was the bed she was in; in fact, it was probably even comfier than her old bed back home had been.

'Mr. Kravos must be very rich to have a house this big and fancy,' Ashe thought. 'I wonder if he has a TV I could watch until morning? Probably not, I guess it is hard to get power out on a little island like this.'

A small candle lamp flickered by her bedside, illuminating the darkness just enough for Ashe to be able to make out the five other beds each with a wooden chest at the foot of it that were arranged in a half-circle around the big room, along with the various wardrobes, dressers, and many, many toys. More toys than Ashe had ever even seen.

"Whose room is this?" Ashe asked, looking around the room Mr. Kravos had carried her into.

It was night time now, the full moon barely visible behind the cover of fog that always surrounded Far Harbor; Ashe was just able to get a glimpse of it before Mr. Kravos closed pulled the curtains of the room's windows shut.

He put her down in a rocking chair and turned to turn down one of the bed's covers, "It was my daughters' bedroom."

"You have daughters?"

Mr. Kravos nodded, "Aye, five of them. I have sons as well, their bedroom is on the other side of the house."

"Oh," Ashe said, taking in the colorful blocks stacked neatly in a corner and the rocking horse tucked neatly between a dresser and a bookcase. "Where are they now?"

"Grown, living their own lives apart from me," the nice man answered. "They still visit everyone once in a while though and now their old rooms are used by my grandchildren."

"This is a lot of beds."

"Well, I have five daughters and six granddaughters, so I needed a lot of beds." With that, Mr. Kravos picked her up again before tucking her in with the practiced ease of someone who'd done it thousands of times before. "Will you be alright for tonight? I can stay until you fall asleep if you'd like."

"I'm fine."

Mr. Kravos seemed kind and genuine...but so had others before him and it'd been a while since Ashe trusted so easily.

It appeared he took her answer in stride, simply nodding, "If you need me than my bedroom is down the hall to your left; it is the room with the red door."

Then he had just lit the candle lamp, snuffed out the rest of the lights, and left her alone in the darkness, but not before showing Ashe how to lock the bedroom door from the inside.

She did lock the door; even if she wasn't sure it would do much good, Ashe appreciated that Mr. Kravos gave her the option. It would help her sleep, knowing there was a layer of security between herself and the stranger man who'd taken her into his home.

Or, at least, it should have helped her sleep. Even after being tucked under three warm blankets and in the nicest bed she'd ever seen, Ashe couldn't fall asleep. At first, it was because her belly felt weird, all tight and heavy. For a couple of minutes, Ashe panicked, thinking that Mr. Kravos poisoned her dinner… but then she realized that she'd just forgotten what it felt like to be full.

The dinner they shared was nice. Mr. Kravos had served her a big bowl of warm, tasty broth that he said was full of herbs and spices that would make her feel better along with two bread rolls and a tall glass of water that he refilled without hesitation whenever Ashe asked for more. She couldn't eat anything too heavy, he warned, otherwise she might become sick and throw up everything in her stomach; Ashe didn't want that, this was the first real meal she'd had in… wow, at least over a month, but she'd managed to eat the whole bowl in one sitting, soaking the last bits of broth up with the rolls, which Mr. Kravos said was a good sign.

He'd eaten the same thing as her, sitting at the opposite end of his super long table from her. Ashe hoped he just did that to make her feel better and that he'd eaten something else after seeing her off to bed; he was too big for just a bit of broth and bread to fill him up.

After a while, the tightness in her belly stopped and Ashe thought she might finally be able to get some sleep. After all, if she managed to sleep on the cold, hard ground of her tiny cave, why not in a big, comfy bed with a full stomach?

But, of course, that was never actually real sleep. Rather, it was passing out whenever the exhaustion finally outweighed the pain and hunger and fear before she came too, restarting the whole cycle all over again.

The cold began to seep back into her body and Ashe started shivering; she was sick, sick like Mama and Uncle George and Jimmy Howard had been, but she didn't have the bottle caps to buy RadAway or RadX like Jimmy's parents did so Ashe knew she'd was going to end up like Mama and Uncle George. So that left Ashe to do what she could to make herself comfortable until the time came.

She hobbled from bed to bed and gathering up as many blankets as she could carry, stacking them in a mountain on top of her in an attempt to get warm. It was all in vain though; even with a dozen blankets, quilts, and comforters on top of her, Ashe still felt as if she'd been dunked in ice water. What made it all worse, Ashe considered as she pressed a hand into her growling stomach, was that she was now hungry again.

'The apples,' she recalled, remembering the wooden bowl full of bright red apples that had sat in the middle of the dining table. 'Could I take one?'

She didn't know the rules here. Did she have to wait until morning to eat again? Would she even get breakfast in the morning? Would she be allowed to take her own food? Would she be punished for it? Would Mr. Kravos beat her if he caught Ashe out of bed like Papa had done whenever he found her trying to sneak food?

GGGRRRrrrrrr

Ashe clutched her growling stomach, 'If he caught me…'

She slid out from under the covers, wincing when her toes hit the chilly wood floors, and crept to the bedroom door. Ashe was careful to put as little weight as possible on her left ankle. Mr. Kravos had checked it over and wrapped it in white bandages after declaring it, "Badly sprained, but thankfully not broken."

'I wonder if he is a doctor? He seems very smart.'

The hallway was even darker than the bedroom with the only light coming from glowing blue stones that lined the walls every few feet, casting strange shadows on all the weird things Mr. Kravos had as decoration. Ashe slid her hand along the wall as she made her way through the strange house, trying to remember her way back to the staircase.

Evidently, she wasn't doing a great job because, without warning, the floor under her foot when she took a step vanished. Ashe screamed and fell into the darkness below.

It felt like she fell for just a second.

It felt like she fell forever.

But then something grabbed by the back of her nightgown and yanked her back until she landed flat on her butt, sore and scared but safe.

"Ashe? Ashe, Sweetheart, are you alright? What are you doing out of bed?" Mr. Kravos asked, holding up a lantern so he could see her better as the firelight caught in his silver-streaked red hair and beard.

Ashe burst into tears and buried her face in her hands. Through her sobs, she managed to cry, "I'm… hungry! I… just… wanted… an… apple! Please… don't-"

Something hot, wet, and rough rubbed against her ears and Ashe shrieked, taking her face out of her hands to scurry away for a big, white monster.

"No! No, it is alright! Calm down, Sweetheart! Rena won't hurt you, I swear," Mr. Kravos comforted as he knelt down and wrapped his arms around her.

Ashe blinked away her tears and squinted into the dim light until the scary monster became a large, fluffy white dog with bright blues and red markings on its face, chest, and legs. The dog took a step closer and lowered its head with a concerned whimper.

"See," Mr. Kravos said softly, "Rena is as gentle as a newborn kitten. Hold out your hand and let her sniff it so she can get to know you."

Ashe was hesitant, she'd met plenty of mean dogs who growled and bit before, but did eventually do as instructed. She reached a small hand out to the animal, palm up like Mama always said to do when meeting someone's pet, and the dog, Rena, gave it a small sniff before licking her palm.

"Look, she likes you already," Mr. Kravos smiled as Ashe giggled. Then he hoisted her up in his arms as he stood up, "Now, let's get you back to bed."

"But I-"

"Yes, yes, I forgot about the all-important midnight snack. My fault, that was a huge oversight," Mr. Kravos reassured as he took her back to the bedroom with Rena's claws clicking against the wooden floor as she followed them. "I'll bring you something once you're back under the blankets, sound good?"

Having no complaints about the promise of more food, Ashe just smiled into his shoulder. That caused him to give a chuckle that then faded into a confused silence. "What is all this all about?"

She blushed when she realized he was talking about her mountain of blankets. "I… got really cold."

There was silence… but then Mr. Kravos just gave a hum of understanding and sat her back down on the rocking chair before beginning to rearrange the covers on the bed. "If you're trying to stay warm then it is actually better to put some blankets under you as well as on top of you; it allows your body heat to circulate better."

"Really?" Ashe asked, even though she didn't really need an answer. "I didn't know that."

Mr. Kravos just gave another hum before picking her up and set her on the bed. "Careful with your ankle now. We'll prop it up and ice it down tomorrow; a few days of that and your ankle should heal right up in no time. How are your arm and shoulders feeling?"

"Oh, better," Ashe nodded. "they don't hurt right now."

Just as Mr. Kravos had promised, her blisters had stung horribly at first but after that bright, hot, burning pain had subsided, the medicine he used had turned them warm and numb.

"Good to hear," he said with a smile, tucking the covers around Ashe. "Now, give me just one quick moment and I'll get you a snack."

And with that, he walked back into the darkness of the rest of the house. Rena stayed though, hopping up on one of the other beds and stretching out like a giant, white house cat.

"Naughty girl," Mr. Kravos chided with a laugh. "You know you're not allowed on beds."

Rena just sneezed and rolled over so she was facing away from her master, who just rolled his eyes and smiled. He turned to Ashe, "My granddaughters spoil her, so she associates this room with having no rules."

Mr. Kravos had returned carrying a small bowl with a spoon and a cup, the latter of which he set down on her bedside table. Then he gave her the bowl, "Applesauce, it's light enough on the stomach but sweet enough to make up for my denial of any desert."

"Thank you," Ashe said, already stuffing a spoonful into her mouth. "Sorry for putting you through all the trouble."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all," Mr. Kravos waved her off, crouching by an empty fireplace and leaning close to it. "Besides, there have been plenty of nights when my kids, and then my grandkids, kept me running back and forth between their rooms all night. So don't worry your little head for a single moment, this was nothing compared to all that frustration."

Then he stepped back from the now roaring fireplace that flooded the bedroom with light and heat. "There," Mr. Kravos said, satisfied, "that should keep you warm."

Ashe let the warmth from the fire rush over her as she continued to shovel the applesauce into her mouth. "Thank you," she repeated.

Mr. Kravos just gave her another soft look. "Will you be good for the rest of the night?"

It took Ashe a moment to answer, remember his previous offer to sit with her until she fell asleep, but eventually replied. "Yes, I think so."

With a nod. Mr. Kravos reached out and looked like he was about to smooth her hair back… but then he pulled his hand back. "Alright then, I'll see you in the morning. Rena! Let's go girl."

The dog gave a snort and refused to move, causing another eye roll. "Are you fine with her being in here with you?"

Ashe gave the dog a sideways glance, being met with a friendly tail waggle and an opened mouth smile. "Yeah, she can stay."

"Alright, goodnight then."

Mr. Kravos closed the door behind himself, leaving Ashe to her thoughts and applesauce. That she finished off quickly, chasing it with half of the glass of the water, and rubbing her now-full belly. It was comfortably full too, not tight and uncomfortable like it had been earlier in the night.

Ashe put her now empty dishes on the nightstand and rolled over so she was facing the fireplace. She stared into the flickering flames, letting the fire's heat wash over her, as she felt her eyelids begin to droop.

'If I die tonight, that would be okay,' she thought, snuggling even deeper under the covers. 'I ate some yummy food and got a nice bath. Mr. Kravos would probably bury me and might even be a little sad.'

That sounded really nice.