"Stay here," Grimhilde left him standing in the doorway, shaking even though the house was warmer than outdoors. He shuffled aside to let the door shut then looked alarmed when she returned. "Take this and follow me."

He took the towel she offered him and wrapped it around his shoulders, breathing a sigh of relief at the bit of warmth it gave him. Carlos didn't trust easily but Evie's mom was in the habit of making sure they had food available when they studied. That was more than his own mom did for him so he didn't hesitate in following after her. Of course, Grimhilde had her quirks but she was at least good about keeping them under control when her daughter and her classmates were around — unlike his mother.

"Sit," Grimhilde gestured at a small stool in front of the fireplace. Carlos did as he was told, looking down at his lap and digging his teeth into his lip to keep from smiling at the warmth that surrounded him.

"Can I see?" She asked. Carlos looked down at his shoulder then back up at Evie's mother, nodding as he cautiously pulled the balled up piece of fabric from his shoulder. "Should be an easy fix."

A beat of silence passed then the woman pulled out a bottle of alcohol and an old cloth. Carlos gave her a skeptical look since he wasn't sure what she was going to do with them.

She took the rag he used to staunch the blood then poured alcohol over it and offered it back to him. "You're going to want to bite on that."

Carlos tilted his head and sniffed at it. The scent was overwhelming. He wasn't given a chance to ask why since Grimhilde pressed cloth with the same drink on it against his wound, Carlos promptly shoved the rag in his mouth and sucked on it to keep from screaming. The burn of the alcohol on his tongue proved to be a good distraction from the pain in his shoulder. Tears welled up in his eyes and he willed himself not to cry in front of her.

She finally removed the cloth then clicked her tongue, looking the spot over with a curious expression. "Shouldn't get infected after that."

Carlos nodded and took the rag out of his mouth, releasing a few shaky breaths once he could think without focusing on his arm.

"It's the next best thing if you don't have something to clean it with," She continued her thought and held the bottle up for him to see. "I presume your mom must keep some in the house."

"Not where I can reach," Carlos gave a bitter chuckle. Grimhilde looked slightly relieved at hearing him laugh. "You wouldn't happen t-to have a b-b-bandaid?"

"That is going to need more than a band-aid," Evil Queen shook her head. "Stick a spare shirt around it when you get home and leave it. I believe we have extra ointment."

She disappeared for a moment and Carlos curled into himself, gaze unmoving from the flickering flames of the fire. He wasn't sure what he had done to earn a little bit of kindness and would have to do something to make up for it.

"I don't get it," He whispered and pulled the towel a bit tighter around himself, truly thrown off by the warmth the fire gave since Hell Hall's fireplace was broken.

"Don't get what?" Evie's voice took him by surprise, sending him straight to the ground. The stool fell out from beneath him and he quickly jumped back to his feet.

"N-N-Nothing," Carlos gasped out and covered his arm, flinching since the wound was tender.

"You had me worried," Evie scowled at him and slowly eyed him. "Why weren't you at school?"

Carlos went to answer and promptly shut his mouth when Grimhilde reappeared in the doorway.

"Mother," Evie curtsied. "Why do you have my scar ointment?" Carlos gave her a sheepish expression then moved his hand down, revealing the wound on his arm. Evie didn't say anything at first since she was struggling to keep control over her facial expressions. Blinking several times was the only answer she could come up with before throwing a look in Carlos's direction.

"You need to apply that once in the morning and once in the evening, use soap if dirt gets into the wound," Evil Queen didn't bother with answering Evie, gaze fixed on Carlos.

"How much for it?" Carlos whispered. Evie blanched at that then shook her head.

"Take it," She answered. "I was due to get a new one anyway." Carlos went to ask otherwise and Evie gave another shake of her head. "Seriously, 'Los."

"Oh... Kay." He whispered then looked back at Evie's mother. Grimhilde didn't say anything to either of them when she left the room.

Evie waited until she was certain her mother wasn't coming back before turning on Carlos.

"What happened?" She hissed out, gaze darting from Carlos's arm to his face then back again.

"It's nothing," He shook his head. "Just a scratch. M-M-Mum's n-n-not home until Saturday and I r-ran out of antiseptic." Evie narrowed her eyes at him and Carlos looked down at his feet. He was never good at lying and Evie had quickly caught on to how to see right through him.

"Did she do that to you?" She asked in a whisper, expression faltering when Carlos shook his head.

"Spa w-w-week," He mumbled. "N-Nothing to worry about w-with me." Evie gave an exasperated sigh and managed to give two nods in reply. She knew better than to push him for more information but he still had her worrying.

"Okay. Do you need me to walk you home?" She tilted her head to the side, studying Carlos to make sure there wasn't anything else going on.

"N-No," He shook his head then left the castle, making sure to look like he was heading back to Hell Hall until he was out of sight from the windows. It was looking like it would be several days spent in his treehouse until his mother decided she wasn't mad at him anymore.

"Evie," Grimhilde called when the door shut behind Carlos. Her daughter walked into the room and gave her a sideways glance.

"Yes, mother?" She asked. Having checked over her appearance before getting inside had certainly been a plus since her mother didn't say anything about her looks.

"Kindly stop picking up strays," Her mother sighed. First, it was Carlos. Then it was Druella's spawn. She was seeing far too much of the two and found it peculiar that neither of their guardians had an issue with how much time the children spent away from them. "I sent you to school to learn how to be evil, not to pick up unwanted children."