It was a calm day once again, despite all the complications. Hilda woke up without any fatigue and jumped of bed, shaking David until he woke up as well.

D- Hilda, why are you doing this?

H- I need to change, out.

D- Can't you…. change…. anywhere else?

H- My room, out.

David got up and left the room, the moment he opened the door, Dagger came in and jumped on the bed with his tongue out.

D- Yeah sure, the dog can stay.

The boy closed the door and waited for Hilda to come out, Dagger was still following her, tongue out and the closest thing to a smile a canine can give.

Hilda took her time changing her nightgown to her regular attire before opening the door.

H- Now you can come in.

David entered the room and closed the door, while the girl went downstairs and looked at the two plates, both identical.

There was also a note.

"Hilda, I have to solve some things, and please, be nice to David."

H- Oh, so she is not home, some great news at last.

Hilda took both plates and lowered them to Dagger.

Hilda: Which one boy?

Even if both were identical, Dagger sniffed the one on the right, so Hilda left it on the ground as the wolf started to eat.

She sat back on the table and had her breakfast until David came down.

D- Where is my plate?

Hilda pointed to Dagger.

D- Figures…. Where is your mom?

H- Where she can't help you, make yourself a sandwich or starve.

D- I can't believe you just let that thing eat of a plate, you know how many diseases it has?

H- I would lick the plate he is using and clean it up before I'd start sleeping with you.

D- But… you already slept with me…

Hilda stood up and grabbed the plate from the floor and licked it from one side to the other, placed on the table and crossed her arms.

D- That was disgusting and unnecessary.

H- Shut up, you asked for it.

D- You are giving more value to a dog, no, a WOLF, than to me!

H- Oh, so when YOU and your family do that to their slaves it's all ok, but when I do that to you, it's "unacceptable"?

D- You are being ridiculous.

Hilda took her and Dagger's plate to the kitchen, leaving it on the table.

D- Aren't you going to clean them?

H- No.

D- But-

H- Think of your next words…. Very carefully.

David stopped and thinked of his next words but couldn't think of a good one.

D- Nevermind.

Hilda gave him a smile and went outside, Dagger following her as always, with a fascinated look on his face.

Hilda was wondering where to go, there wasn't a lot of things to do that interested her.

She was just walking around, until Jared came up to her, he was alone which was somewhat of a surprise.

J- Hello.

H- And goodbye.

J- What is this? Wasn't Twig your pet?

H- It was, now it's none of your business.

J- Why are you acting like this? You are being very rude.

H- I didn't ask for you to show up.

J- Come on.

H- Can you go away? I am trying to avoid you at the moment, and you better understand that before I give Dagger permission to bite you.

Dagger looked at him and barked, making Jared immediately back away as Hilda smiled and started heading back home as she just couldn't find anything interesting to do.

H- Back.

D- Oh, that is great!

David was at the kitchen making himself a sandwich which he grabbed and ran to the opposite corner.

D- You are not giving this to your dog!

H- I am not giving him something this low.

D- Jeez, thanks.

H- I will be at the attic, doing…. something.

D- Hiding the guilt maybe.

H- You really want a twisted arm don't you?

D- No!

H- Then stay quiet.

Hilda went upstairs, the attic was completely dark.

There was only a smaller room with a window and a locked door, the rest was old, dirty and filled with old stuff.

One of her favorite tho was an old painting of her dad, standing on the coast of the lake with a dark crow on his arm.

Hilda didn't had a lot of time with her father, he died when she was nine and she never got over it.

It still hurts, she had all his clothes on her drawer as a memory.

Like a distant memory.

Even if death rates were high, it… still hurts.

Why wouldn't it? It was someone special to her, someone who took her to fishing, to hiking, someone who gave that spirit of adventure.

He was also a man of stories, he dreamt of giants taller then the clouds and mountains, magnificent spells and creatures that used to roam the village.

He aspired to be a writer one day, well, his dream was never accomplished.

Unhappily.

Hilda could never get behind how… normal death seemed to be to others, all of those lives lost, all the sorrows, like tears in the rain.

Well, she never got over death, much like the others, she learned to live with it.

She spent a couple minutes in the attic, playing with some old stuff that no one bothered enough with to throw away.

But eventually Johanna came back and Hilda want back downstairs reluctantly.

J- Hello you two, did you behave?

H- Absolutely.

D- Yeah…

J- Did you enjoy your breakfast?

H- Sure.

D- uhu…

J- I am glad to see you are getting along, really makes me happy.

H- Yeah! Sure….

J- How about Dagger and David, are they getting along?

Dagger looked at David with a somewhat hateful stare.

D- Yeah, he is um… very… loyal.

J- Again, it's good to know he is not harming your relationship.

Johanna stretched her arm to pet Dagger, but the wolf stepped back.

J- I guess you can't make him trust everyone huh? Well, I will make lunch and then you two can have the afternoon free.

Johanna went to the kitchen while David followed Hilda upstairs.

He wasn't confrontational but if he didn't stand up for himself, Hilda would toss him around like a doll.

D- Hilda, you need to stop being like this, you are just… being rude.

H- David, you don't need to tell me what I already know.

D- Then why? Why are you treating me, like I was the enemy?

H- Oh, why am I supposed to care about your feelings? I missed that part in the contract.

D- You don't get it right? When the marriage happens, everything we own will be shared, that means your mom can just… take all our money and hide on a obscure bank account if she wants to!

H- Don't worry, I won't let the marriage happen.

D- You seem much more focused on bullying me, than taking action.

H- Oh, you want me to take action?

D- Yeah, maybe talk to your mother, take a stand or-

H- I will take action David, don't you worry… But until then, I hope you like sandwiches.

Dagger gave David a gaze with a slight tone of entitlement knowing his owner was putting him over her friend, that is, if they were still friends.

H- If you try, even for a slight second, to tell anyone about this, I'll shove your teeth so deep in your gums your nose will bleed.

D- U-U-Understood…

Hilda went back to her room and let Dagger in before closing the door.

H- I have a gift for you.

Dagger looked at her with excitement, as she grabbed a basket under the table, inside there an old but comfortable blanket.

H- This was Twig's, but, I think it's ok if you keep it…

Dagger got on the basket and laid down with visible happiness.

H- Good to see you like it buddy.

Hilda sat down and looked around, until she noticed the old oil lamp in her room, one of her old dad's belongings.

That gave her an idea of how to "take action".

But she had no reason to rush, if she really wanted to at least delay, she would have to do it at the last day.

The week passed by with not any big changes, the visit ended up delayed due to some unforeseen events that they didn't really explain.

At last, David's parents finally came to visit.

While Johanna was serving them dinner, Hilda and David were upstairs, each on different rooms.

David was mostly concerned about the threat, both Hilda and the arrangement were a reason to worry and no matter what he did, solving one would amplify the other.

Hilda was much less worried, she would be benefited anyway, on the moment, her biggest concern was to make Dagger look less like he just fought in a dumpster.

She even gave him a bath to ensure that they had no reasons to complain.

After some minutes of preparation, the two finally went downstairs, followed by David.

S- It's good to see you, son.

D- Same dad.

M- That is a uh… beautiful dog.

H- Appreciated.

M- What breed is he?

H- Uh….

S- He looks like a… German Shepard?

H- I am not sure.

S- Doesn't matter now, I am starving, what is for dinner?

D- Same, I smell chicken.

Hilda looked as the others sat down at the table, while David's mother was in a dress like the normal dress code, Hilda was using a jacket and tie, with some slightly oversized shoes and a white shirt underneath.

She felt the urge to grab David's plate and give to Dagger, however she knew that would be extremely idiotic to do in front of everyone, so she restrained herself from doing it.

S- So, how are they getting along?

J- Oh, they are getting along really well, behaving, actually.

M- It's good to know, we hope that David wasn't too entitled with you Hilda.

H- Nah he wasn't, I would say he was very… quiet and docile.

D- Heh…

David looked down at his plate, he really wanted to end all of that charade now, just...put a stop to it.

He breathed in, and stopped.

He could feel Hilda's hand under the table on his knee, he could feel the knuckles.

He knew that was his last warning and most likely, that he could not avoid Hilda forever.

He chose to remain quiet.

Everyone started to eat, including Dagger that was handed pieces of chicken under the table by Hilda.

He just still couldn't get over about how she treated that thing better than anyone else.

It was somewhat… outraging.

Yet, he had to stay quiet, otherwise Hilda would most likely take her abuse to the next level, so again, he chose to remain quiet.

S- So, when are the two gonna marry, where are they going to live at?

J- I suppose that both houses are ok.

M- I suppose that Hilda could move to our house and, David, are you comfortable with the dog?

David pondered, he didn't feel a wrathful stare so he though that for once, he could be honest.

D- Not really, why?

M- It's because normally, the husband is the one who owns the dog and, well, would be a shame to break the tradition.

H- Uhuh….I see…

Hilda grasped the knife with a closed fist as she listens to the conversation.

M- We are also thinking about the children, Dagger doesn't look like the average family dog and we were thinking of adopting a puppy for the family… one that looks less….hostile.

S- I have to partially disagree, he seems like the perfect dog when he grows up,with strong...sharp teeth, looks like a wolf!

Johanna and Hilda looked at each other from across the table, in a mutual gaze of fear.

Hilda kept her glop tight on the knife, it was possible to hear it slowly but surely breaking the plate as she used it.

M- Where did you even find this dog?

J- We found it on the streets.

M- Uh… doesn't that thing carries a lot of diseases, parasites and… generally, filth?

H- I could eat on the same plate as him, and I assure you I would be fine.

M- Please, don't.

The dinner went on without any major topics, until, finally, they talked about the marriage again.

They were doing it on the local church, with all the generic details.

And the date was only a couple days away, which was great for a number of reasons.

The dinner ended on a quite peaceful note, Hilda and David cleaned the dishes and went to Hilda's room, this time, with Dagger.

D- Can't he….sleep outside?

H- Ask once more, and I will be the one to put YOU outside, without a tent.

D- F-Fine…..

They both went to sleep, with Dagger jumping between Twig's old bed and the bed they were in, until the next day started.

Hilda didn't came out of bed just as soon as the sun was up, she waited patiently.

She… pondered, about what she could do.