So I'm back again :)
The next day
Wendy shook from the cold.
When she sleepily opened her eyes, she saw that the blanket had been pulled off her.
She groaned and rolled over, nearly falling out of bed.
She sat and looked out the window, while she stretched.
It was completely white outside. She could not see, if it was the window or just the scenery outside that was covered in snow.
She stood up and stumbled over to the pile of aprons. She might as well get up now.
She put on her apron and patted the pocket to make sure her lucky coin was still there.
Wendy yawned, as she stepped down into the hall.
She froze mid-yawn, as she saw the people sleeping around the room. Some of them seemed to have collapsed onto a table. Others slept up against the wall or on the floor with blankets draped over them.
Two young men even slept on the blanket in front of the fireplace. The fire had gone out long ago.
Wendy tiptoed lightly across the hall. Every time someone groaned, she stopped for a moment, until whoever it was kept on snoring.
She let out a sigh, as she closed the kitchen door behind her.
Her mother turned around and smiled at her. She looked tired.
"Are they awake?" She asked.
Wendy did not know if she meant the other children or the people in the hall, but she shook her head and sat down by the fireplace and warmed her hands.
Her mother patted her head. "It is good to let them sleep."
Wendy looked at her mother over her shoulder. "They would not let me have the blanket."
Her mother laughed. "So you came down because you were cold?" She asked.
Wendy nodded over her shoulder.
"Good." Her mother said and patted the girl's cheek, as she passed her.
Wendy kept an eye on her mother out of the corner of her eye.
She was washing mugs and plates, that had probably been left from yesterday. Wendy was going to help her when she had warmed up a bit.
"What are we going to make for breakfast?" She asked and nearly stuck her hands into the fire to get more warmth.
"There is not enough eggs for everyone." Her mother said as she scrubbed a mug. "So we are going to serve them porridge."
Wendy made a face. There was nothing worse than porridge.
The door to the parents' bedroom opened and the father came out swaying on his crutches.
He yawned.
When his eyes fell on Wendy by the fire, he tried to cover his mouth with his hand. "Is everyone already up?"
"Not yet." His wife smiled and continued washing.
"But you are still up with the first touch of sunlight." The man said and hobbled closer to his wife.
"Someone has to get the fire started." She continued to smile and wiped off some plates. "I am considering serving porridge for breakfast."
The husband hummed in response.
Wendy turned to her parents. "Is that okay?"
Her father smiled at her and limped closer. He balanced on one crutch, as he patted her on the head.
"I think, they are going to be so happy there is quiet outside, that it will not matter."
Wendy nodded and got up to help her mother.
"Besides." Her father continued. "We have both butter, sugar, and cinnamon. They will have no room to complain."
"The storm was really bad yesterday." The mother said as she handed Wendy a wet plate.
"It has never been this bad before," Wendy said and wiped the plate. There had been storms before, but never where the villagers came to stay at the inn.
Her mother smiled down at her. "There was once when you were a baby."
Wendy furrowed her brows. "Really?"
"Yes, we were scared the roof was going to come off at that time." Her father said. He had taken Wendy's place by the fire.
"Well, we should get started on breakfast. It takes some time to make and they can not sleep forever." Wendy's mother let out a sigh. "Wendy, could you fill both pots half up with snow? Make sure not to take anything too close to the ground. We can boil the tea in the dining hall's fireplace."
"There are two people sleeping in front of the fireplace," Wendy said, as she eyed the two big pots leaning up against the fireplace.
"Just push them a bit with your feet," Her father said. "If they wake up, they can feed the fire for you."
Wendy took hold of the cauldron and walked towards the kitchen door to the outside. She slowly opened the door.
There was no wind outside, just white.
She could see the difference between the road or the grass. She could barely see lights somewhere out there. That should be the village, though she couldn't even see the hill sloping down towards the village.
Her mother looked at her with sharp eyes.
Wendy quickly took her mother's shawl lying by the door and tied it around her shoulder and stepped into her father's summer shoes, still standing by the door. She had forgotten her own boots in the bedroom.
The shoes were hard to walk in, but she only took four steps outside and began shoveling clean white snow into the cauldron.
She waddled in with the pot and her mother stood ready with the other one.
Wendy sighed and shivered from the cold when her back was turned again.
Her mother made her do this because she had gone outside yesterday without her coat.
As she dragged the smaller pot inside, she shivered again.
When the door closed and she slipped out of her father's shoes, she shook so hard the shawl fell to the ground.
Her father laughed. "You should get the fire started and go up and get your boots."
She nodded.
"And try to remember your winter clothes next time." Her mother said after her, as she opened the door and went into the hall.
She lightly stepped over the sleeping people's legs and arms.
The heavy pot made it difficult, but she eventually made it to the fireplace.
The snow was beginning to melt.
She pushed the boy closest to the fireplace with her foot, as her father had told her.
He could not be more than a few years older than Wendy, but he was so much bigger.
The boy chewed on his lip and rolled over, giving Wendy the room to hang the pot in the fireplace.
She took the flint from the mantel and wood from beside the fireplace.
She managed to light the fire, after two tries and quickly went upstairs.
She sat down on the bed and started tightening her bootstraps.
Edwin groaned behind her. "Wendy?"
She hummed in response.
He groaned again. "Is it time to wake up?"
Wendy finished tying one boot and began on the other. "Somewhat."
Edwin groaned a third time and rolled over. "No!"
She smiled and patted her brother's back after her boots were tied. "Sleep for a bit longer. Breakfast should be finished soon."
He hummed into the back of the girl sleeping beside him.
The two boys in front of the fireplace had cuddled closer to the warmth but were still not awake.
Wendy sighed and tiptoed around everyone and tapped the two boys with her feet.
One swatted at her in his sleep.
When she pushed the other away and looked into the snow-filled pot, he suddenly grabbed at her ankle.
She gasped.
The boy awoke in a snap and sat up, waking the other boy.
He seemed a little confused about where he was, but his ears turned red when he realized where his hand was.
Before he could apologize, Wendy's father came out from the kitchen. "Is something wrong, my dear?"
Both boys looked like they wanted to disappear into the blanket. Were they scared of her father?
"No, I was just surprised." She said and stepped away from the boys toward her father. "I am going to get the tea, the snow is almost melted."
In the kitchen her mother stood bent over the big pot, stirring the porridge."It is almost ready." She said. When she looked up and saw it was her daughter, she looked a bit concerned. "Why did you scream, my dear? You were quite loud."
Wendy raised an eyebrow. Was it that loud?
"I was just about fall." She explained.
Her mother giggled silently. "Yes, I can imagine that, with all those people sleeping where ever they want."
Wendy smiled and felt her cheeks grow hot.
"Is the water boiling?" Her mother continued. "It will not be long before the porridge is ready."
"Almost," Wendy said, but she wasn't sure.
She took the jar of tea leaves from the mantel. "I'll get started on the tea."
She slowly stirred the tea leaves. She had to stay with the pot, but it was too odd to have to look at the two boys now sitting at the table away from her.
"Wendy..." a sleepy David whined, as he came out of their grandmother's room. "Eva kick me..."
Behind him, Eva appeared in the doorway. "No, no," She said and ran to her older sister, her skirt and apron fluttering around her. "I was sleeping."
Wendy helped her tie her clothes on properly. "You should still apologize. It must have really hurt."David nodded in agreement.
Eva mumbled an apology, as people around them started waking up.
Doctor William's son Alfred blinked his eyes open and sat up. He had been one of the ones, that had fallen asleep sitting at the table. "Is breakfast ready?" He asked with drool running down his chin.
The two boys laughed at him.
As if by magic the door to the kitchen opened and the innkeeper stepped out, bringing with him the smell of freshly made porridge. As more of the villagers stirred and sat up, the innkeeper laughed.
"Is the storm over?" Jacob the shepherd mumbled as he sat up and felt his head.
"Yes, the storm is over." The innkeeper's wife appeared in the doorway carrying the pot of porridge. "And breakfast is ready. Wendy, David get the tea ready and fetch some plates and mugs for the guest."
The two siblings did as they were told, with Eva following and helping them. As Wendy was carrying the pot of tea to the big table, where the porridge stood ready, Edwin came down the stairs rubbing his eyes and with the smaller children following behind him.
When he saw his siblings running around, he came to help them.
Just like her father had predicted, everyone enjoyed the porridge and praised her mother.
Even Arthur ate happily while babbling and charming the people around him.
Eventually, even the people sleeping in the rooms upstairs came down.
Wendy had no idea what time of day, or how much time had passed since she woke up, but this was nice. Every table was filled with people, who happily chatted away about the last harvest and the next to come and everything in between. No one was in a rush to leave the warm hall for the cold outside.
The Giant had come down for breakfast too and sat with her grandmother and asked her about the stories from the night before.
"Have you ever met a fairy?"He asked.
The old woman smiled as she put down her mug of tea. "My grandmother always called them elvenfolk … but no, I have never seen one myself."
Wendy watches the giant carefully.
At her grandmother's answer, he made a face like he was disappointed.
"Though," the grandmother continued. "My grandfather swore he saw one once."
The giant looked at the old woman intensely "When?"
The old woman did not seem to notice his gaze and shrugged. "He said … that one day when he was gathering firewood. He saw a child, that was green from head to toe, the color of fresh spring leaves. He said, it just observed for a little while before it disappeared." She sipped her tea. "The stories call them Tree Children or The Green children. Spirits of newly sprung trees. It is said that they run around the forest and play."
The Giant looked fascinated. "Do you think they exist?" I was nothing but a whisper.
The old woman smiled and shrugged. "My grandparents used to say that the elvenfolk is there for some. The stories say that it is hard to meet them. If you so much as blink they disappear. The stories though are good entertainment. " She put a hand on Wendy's head and stroked her hair. "I was told them as a child, and I hope they will continue to be told for a very long time..."
Wendy smiled at her grandmother.
The front door to the inn creaked open.
The hall grew silent, as the door revealed a man in a cloak just outside the door holding a horse by the rein.
"Hallo in there." The man said and pulled down his hood, revealing a smiling face. "Could I get some food for me and my horse?"
Edwin hesitated and looked at his father, when he nodded at the boy, Edwin went to put on his coat and went outside to take the horse to the stables.
The man stepped inside. "Oh thank god. I sought shelter for the storm in the previous town and left before dawn..."
The very talkative man continued on.
When he heard they only had porridge to serve, he said, he had heard they usually served better food at the inn. When Edwin came in and ran straight for his mother, he laughed at the little boy.
He sat down next to Wendy.
"Are you a hunter?" Her grandmother asked.
The smile slipped from the man's face.
"Why would you think that?"
The old woman raised a hand.
Wendy's eyes followed the direction of her grandmother's finger.
Under the man's cloak, there was a stain on his shirt. Wendy's father had the same kind of stain before.
The man laughed it off and looked around the table, but he froze when he saw the giant.
"That … can not be..."
The giant pulled down his hood and showed the man his face.
"You … you... you...!"
Wendy was confused. Why was the man scared of the giant?
"What is it?" Wendy's grandmother sounded as confused, as Wendy felt.
The giant was the one to answer.
He was smiling.
"He is saying, he wants some porridge."
I hope you like it :)