After a night of very sound, restful sleep, Mary awoke that morning, her entire body no longer aching. There was no more sharp pain shooting through her legs, and upon closer inspection, found that no a single bruise could be found on her body. It seemed too good to be try. Though as she sat on the edge of her bed, a gentle, dappled sunglight shone through a small window across from her bed. From outside the window, all Mary could see were the leaves of the tree she was inside, and then nothing but a field of tall grass, swaying gently in the morning breeze. Mary lifted the window, opening it just a little bit, letting the fresh air in. A strange scent seemed to cling to the air. While she could not remember anything, instinctively, the scent carried a certain unfamiliarity to it.
Mary stretched, yawning. She took a brush that was conveniently on a table near her bed, running it through her long locks of golden hair. She washed up with a basin of water that had been left in her room, then left her room, making her way down the hall, and down the stairs. As she walked, she could hear two young children giggling and squealing, their feet thumping on the floor as they ran, followed by impatient grunts from Nan.
"So the princess finally rises!" Nan huffed, her gray hair tied back in a messy bun. There was flour covering her apron, and bits on her forehead, too. "The children are menaces this morning! See if you can reel them in, dearie."
"Yes, of course!" Mary nodded, rushing down the last few stairs. The two children stopped running, approaching Mary immediately. One was a boy, the other, a girl. Both the same height, same eyes, same nose…
"Are they…"
"We're twins!" the little girl piped up. She took ahold of Mary's hand, eagerly leading her further into the living and kitchen area that Mary had been in late the night before. "Nan didn't tell us you were a princess…" the little girl continued, her mouth hanging open in awe.
"I'm not," Mary laughed a little bit, sitting down on the sofa. The little boy was much quieter, though he took a seat next to Mary, and the little girl sat on the opposite side. "Truth is, I don't really know what I am at all!"
"We're not wanted by anyone!" the girl said excitedly.
"What-" Mary halfway whispered, "Why do you say that?"
"Charlotte, don't start with that," Nan said in a warning tone of voice as she continued to cook in the kitchen area. "Introduce yourselves to Miss Maddy like I taught you how."
"Now I can't! You already said my name!" the little girl, apparently named Charlotte, poked out her lips in a pout.
"My name is Brody," the little boy said quietly. "Charlotte is my younger sister. I was born first."
"That's not true!" Charlotte began to fuss, kicking her feet in defiance as she reached behind Mary, trying to pinch Brody. "Don't tell lies!"
"Am not!" Brody retaliated, crossing his arms.
"Well…" Mary leaned back a little, trying her best to separate the children. This was…awkward for her. Children definitely weren't her favorite things in the world. "Let's try to not fuss at one another."
Both children ignored Mary, but they changed the topic all the same.
"Did you know that Tristan saved you?!" Charlotte said, poking at Mary. "Did- did you know that he picked you up? He picked you up like wooooo and came into the house really angry, and then- and then he dropped you on the couch, and then he went outside again because he needed to go get the bad guys, so then he just left you and he-"
"Charlotte that is enough," Nan warned.
"Charlotte talks too much!" Brody piped up.
"Tristan?" Mary echoed "Who is Tristan?"
"You don't need to worry about that," Nan huffed, walking over with two teacups with coffee in them, offering one to Mary. Nan sat down in her personal chair, immediately taking a long sip of her coffee. "Tristan saved you. He lives here. You're safe, and you're here. That's all that matters."
"He saved me?" Mary pushed, "If he saved me, please, I need to thank him! I don't know what might have happened to me if he hadn't saved me."
"Tristan doesn't-" Nan began, then sighed as she saw a door from across the room open. This always seemed to happen at the most inopportune times.
"Tristan!" both children hopped up from their places on the sofa, running over to the man that just walked through the door. His hair was soaking wet, and Mary recognized him as the same man that had entered the house late the night before. Charlotte and Brody both hugged his legs, and a small smile briefly formed on the lips of Tristan as he placed a hand on each of their heads, ruffling their hair.
"I'm home," Tristan spoke, looking over to Nan. His eyes glazed over Mary, then seemed as if he wanted to pretend she wasn't there at all. "I'll be in the library this afternoon."
"Again?" Nan huffed, "Though, welcome home. There's toast and eggs waiting for you. Eat up and get back to work."
"Thank you, Nan," Tristan spoke as he knelt down to the level of the children. He lowered his voice, now a much more gentle tone, "I brought you two something."
"What is it, what is it?!" the children exclaimed excitedly in unison.
Tristan reached inside of his cloak, then revealed two wrapped sweets in the palm of his hand. Eagerly, the children took the sweets, jumping up and down excitedly. Candy, while is wasn't expensive, was a more uncommon sight in poorer villages.
"Tristan brought us candy!" Brody exclaimed, running up to Nan, showing the elderly woman, before he popped the candy in his mouth.
"I can see that," Nan said, nodding approvingly.
Charlotte also ran up to Nan, showing her her new candy. The children seemed overjoyed at such the small token of kindness. Tristan, on the other hand, had returned to his grim demeanor.
"You," he looked at Mary, his eyes darkening as he watched her shift uncomfortably on the sofa, "What name do you go by?"
"Mary, sir," Mary responded, her voice a mere squeak. "Also, please let me thank you for saving me the other night. Truly, I am forever grateful, and-"
"Save it," Tristan sighed, furrowing his eyebrows. "I don't have time for nonsense like that."
"Oh- I'm sorry…" Mary uttered under her breath.
Tristan sighed, then in a singular swift movement, removed his dark cloak. He took a few steps towards Mary, then threw the cloak on her lap.
"There a tear in it," he said, his eyes weighing heavily on Mary. The girl wasn't sure how to respond, or what to even say. Tristian sighed again, then waved his hand dismissively, "Make yourself useful and fix it."
"Oh…oh!" Mary exclaimed, finally understanding. Perhaps this was her way of paying Tristan back for saving her. After all, it seemed she owed her very life to him. "Yes sir, I'll work on that."
"Good," Tristan muttered, then briskly disappeared back through the door in which he came.