The sound of boots knocking on the wood floor woke her from her peaceful slumber. She was to weak and exhausted to be bothered with the feeling of fear. What more could be done to her? She tried prying her eyelids open, but their weight seemed impossible for her to lift. She kept trying though, giving up not being a word in her vocabulary.
Suddenly the heavy boots stopped near her bed and a warm damp cloth was placed on her forehead. The cloth was quickly followed by the feeling of something warm and soft being pulled up the front of her body. This new found warmth caused her to smile and drift off once again.
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The sound of a something heavy landing on the ground caused her to jerk upright and open her weighted eyelids. Her body was still exhausted but none the less she was feeling better. Her vision to a moment to clear but when it did she realized that there was an oak tree of a man standing at the door. He was bent down picking up what looked to be an axe, it must have been what he dropped that shook her from her slumbers. His back presented itself to her as he slipped off his coat and kicked of his boots. She was met with a red flannel shirt, denim pants and dark brown hair.
Swallowing she built up the courage to ask, "Wh-who are y-you?"
She saw him freeze before slowly turning around and looking at her with surprise. She quickly thought she did something wrong and pulled the blanket up to her chin.
Tilting his head he responded, "I should be asking you that. You stumbled into my home."
His voice was a deep baritone that made her imagine the walls of the cabin might shake if he were to ever be angry enough to yell.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't m-mean to trespass. I had nowhere el-else to stay and I wa-was lost."
Nodding he said, "I am honestly surprised you survived. As low as your body temperature was when I came home I figured you weren't going to make it. What's your name?"
"Annabeth Grayswell. What's your name?"
"Zachariah Jones. Welcome to my home."
Annabeth crawled out of bed and sat in a chair by the fireplace sipping on some hot tea that Zachariah had made for her. She was wrapped in a soft blanket while Zachariah was busy cooking. She had no idea what it was he was preparing, but her stomach was not to concerned as it growled in approval at the thought of being fed.
"What brings you all the way into the middle of the woods Annabeth."
She sat and thought for a minute. Her heart began to pound against her chest at the thought of telling this man the truth, but her mind burned with guilt at the thought of lying. After a few moments of silence, she decided she tell the truth without revealing her entire story.
"I don't have a home anymore. I didn't know where to go and I ended up lost. Fortunately I found your cabin before I froze to death."
Zachariah nodded at her cryptic answer. A frown tugged at his mouth as he tried to hide the fact that he new there was more to the story. He didn't push because he didn't want to scare the poor girl, they were total strangers after all.
Dinner was finished and served at the small table the cabin sported. Zachariah dug in, a man with no table manners, a man of the woods. Annabeth took her time and ate small bites here and there. Her appetite wasn't normal due to almost freezing to death, but the racing of her mind did not help matter either. She didn't have a home and she new Zachariah probably wanted to know why, as well as when she would be leaving. She truly didn't want to leave though. Even though this cabin was strange and inhabited by an over-large man, it felt more like home than where she came from ever did.
"Za-Zachariah?"
He hummed as he looked up from his now empty plate with a questioning look. Wiping his mouth he leaned back in his chair waiting for her to continue, his striking grey eyes never leaving her pale face.
"Wh-when do you want me out?"
He looked at her confused at the meaning of her words. Was she asking him if he wanted her gone? He wanted to make sure she was well before she left and even then he figured he could at least help her back to town.
"What you mean?"
"Well, I don't really have anywhere to go and I assume you want me gone as soon as possible. Bu-but I was hoping that maybe I could stay here, for a little while at least."
She looked at him with hopeful blue eyes, strands of her almost white hair framing her face. He took a breath in realizing that was a face that was hard to say no too.
"You may stay here, but there are some rules."