Chapter 9: Beggar (1)

Lia stilled as she listened to the noises outside, her eyes darting to the opened window. She walked to the wall next to it and peeked outside. On the outskirts of the woods, she noticed figures walking towards their house. As far as she could see, these men had not seen their house yet. They were too busy talking and jostling one another. That might be good for Lia and Tamara. But bad that there were other people in their vicinity.

Their place was far from town, located in the deepest part of the forest. While the mountain was just on the outskirts, not many people come to these parts as they know that the witch lived here. It was not even accessible from the hunter's trail. Now if these men came from the town, then it might mean that they were up to no good. If they were not, that was much worse.

They did not look like people looking for something. With their endless banter, the men looked like they were having a walk in the park. Lia watched them, hiding from the corners of the window before quietly closing them. She went out of the workroom to find Tamara cooking their dinner. She looked up when Lia entered.

"Are you hungry--," she cut off her sentence when she saw Lia's face, alarm instantly registering in her features. "What happened?"

Lia gaped and blinked, feeling stupid at freaking out with the appearance of other people. Maybe her assumptions were wrong, and this was the norm despite not seeing a lot of other people since she came here. The look on Tamara's face urged her to tell what's wrong, so she bit her lips and took a deep breath before speaking, "There are people coming."

She waited for Tamara to laugh and assure her that it was okay, that it happened all the time. But the moment the words left her mouth, she saw the panic in her mother's face. That made her bite her lip even more.

Tamara quickly put out the fire from the stove and peered at the window. The unwanted visitors must be closer now that Lia could hear their voices clearly.

"Ooh look at that! A house in this place!" the men jeered.

"Let's try our luck."

She flinched when she heard their voices, staying rooted from where she was standing.

They laughed, and they knocked on the door. Without realizing, Tamara had put on her shawl and covered her hair. She signaled for Lia to not come out. Well, she did not have to do it as Lia was frozen stiff in her spot. Her brain had stopped working as well as the rest of her muscles. This was not mentioned in the novel, and now she did not know how to react. She was not prepared for this.

Her heart hammered against her chest as Tamara opened the door. All the laughter died down, but not too long as it was replaced by wolfish grins. From where Lia stood, she could see five men crowding at the door.