"Place them in the carriage." Belle heard Philippa's order as she walked into the room.
In their small dinner room, Philippa sat behind the table with a cup of tea in her hands. She was fully dressed in a simple blue dress with white gloves on her fingers.
The dress was not extravagant like the ones the wealthy townswomen wore, which were made out of fine silk. Belle realized. But nevertheless, it was a decent and fine dress.
Belle walked towards her with a smile perched on her glossy lips and greeted, "Good morning, aunt Philippa."
"My dear Belle, how was your night?"
"It was fine. But you look tired." Belle said, noticing the small dark circle around the lady's eyes. She pulled out another chair before sitting down close to Philippa.
"Don't mind me." She waved off. "It seems I slept too much, and now it's finally taking its toll on me."
Belle chuckled at the way she made it sound like sleeping had suddenly become something bad, and Philippa couldn't help but join her niece. Eyeing the kind of tea Philippa was having, Belle asked, "Do you want a head massage?"
Philippa raised her brows in question, and her lips stretched into a hopeful grin. "You can do that?"
"Sure." The chair she sat on made a light creak as she stood up and made her way to stand behind the lady.
Placing her hand on Philippa's head, she started her hand movement from her temple. An appreciative hum slipped her lips, "You are a savior. And you are doing a great job."
"Ha! It's nothing. You are too kind with your words, aunt."
"I would have asked how you know to do this, but I already know Piper was a good teacher."
"That she was, but..." she drawled, making Philippa curious about what she was going to add. "Uncle Zack taught me this."
Philippa raised a single brow, and her mouth opened slightly in shock. "Zachariah?"
Belle nodded before explaining, "I usually had headaches as a child. So I learned from him and helped my mother when she complained of tiredness."
"Oh," headaches. Philippa thought. "I didn't even ask; how was your stroll with Jade?"
"It was pleasant. We met the L—" Her words were interrupted by the sound of the tower bell, letting them know that an hour had successfully passed with the young angel still alive.
"I'm sorry, Belle; let's continue this lovely conversation when I return. I need to head to the council."
The girl set her lips in a thin line before nodding in understanding. She followed the woman to the door and watched her until she left in the carriage.
"Ms. Annabelle," Jade greeted as she made her way to where Belle stood. A small rope hung firmly from her hand. "Lady Philippa made some freshly baked biscuits. Would you like to try it with a cup of tea?"
"Mhm. Definitely." Answered Belle without hesitation. "Let's have it together."
Once they were seated in the dining room, ready to eat from the jar, her gaze shifted to the rope Jade was holding. "What is the rope for?" she inquired with her mouthful.
Jade raised the rope a bit and glanced at it as if confirming things for herself before saying, "I would be going to the forest to fetch wood as we are running out of it. With winter approaching fast, we need to stock some woods."
"Allow me to come with you."
"Oh no, Ms. Annabelle. I can handle it."
"It's not like I have something important to do now. I'm sure Aunt Philippa wouldn't mind me coming with you."
The maid pursed her lips for a moment, weighting the girl's words. Alright, you can come along, but you have to stay close by." Belle nodded with a victorious smile planted on her lips.
When they were done eating, Belle and Jade made their way to the nearby forest to look for wood. They walked side by side as they went, greeting the neighbors they passed.
"Are you not afraid of the forest?" Jade inquired in almost a whisper.
"No. Should I be?" Belle knew how dangerous a forest can be, but when she hadn't even been too deep into one for it to give her a reason to be afraid, she didn't see why she should be.
"Of course, don't you know…" The maid dramatically looked at her other side, making sure no one was walking close to them, before beckoning with her hands for Belle to lean in.
Belle stared at her. "The witches live there. I heard some days ago a child got missing after running into the forest." Jade whispered when the girl finally leaned in to listen.
Hearing what Jade had just said, Belle replied simply, "You have been paying too much attention to the tales of these villagers."
Belle remembered the day that they took a stroll to the main part of Winstol. Once they returned, a townswoman approached Jade, letting her know of another boiling topic in the town without being asked.
They both chuckled at Belle's deduction. "My source is really good, believe it or not." Jade refutes finally.
Reaching the forest, the two women started picking wood. Belle proposed, "Why don't we move in different directions to make it easier?"
Immediately forgetting her original plan of staying close by, Jade nodded. "Good idea. It would help us cover more parts; I will go this way." She said, pointing to one of the paths in the forest.
"Alright then, I will take this other path. Let's meet here when we are done." Belle said.
Belle, who had walked farther away from the meeting place, bent down to pick up some wood she saw, holding them like babies in her arm.
When she got up and moved a foot away from her original spot, she realized that the hem of her dress was now stuck to a stick. Quickly releasing the dress from its treacherous hold, she stood back up, but this time Belle didn't get to move a step from where she stood.
"Always lurking around where danger lies." The words echoed in the forest.
It wasn't a question, but Belle would have loved to give the person an answer. Her eyes scanned the forest, and when she didn't see anyone, she called out, "Who is there?!"