burned flesh, permeated the entire town when Elsa woke up the next day. She crawled out from underneath the cupboard in her bedroom, thankful for being alive, but wished for some sort of death after what she saw last night. She could not figure out what Theo wanted, but looking around the various burned houses and cabins, she saw at last just what that was: to destroy all that she had ever known. The feelings Elsa had for him were all but gone, or so she told herself, and she joined the picketing angry mob that had formed since last night outside his house.
“We want answers!” a man yelled.
“My house is gone. What fire-breathing monster have you sent our way! Tell us!” another shouted. Elsa prodded someone next to her for answers.
“Do you know who sent the monster?” she asked the woman standing next to her.
“It was Theo, of course! He wanted to kill us all along.”
Elsa found it hard to believe, given the undeniably kind impression he made on Elsa when they first met. She was angry and wanted to protect herself for what he did to her, but she didn't want to encourage the people around her that Theo meant them harm. She just couldn't bring herself to do participate in the witch hunt. She bowed out of the crowd when they picked up stones to throw at his window, an image that resonated with Elsa's own childhood troubles with Freja Stein.
CHAPTER 12
That night, Elsa found herself feeling lost and alone, while she worked in silence through her duties at the tavern. The night was dead, as all the villagers were too busy picketing Theo's house. Several people, including Priscilla and the twin sister, came through the tavern during intermittent hours in the night, to give Elsa new information about Theo, whom they told Elsa had all but disappeared. The townspeople wondered if Theo had escaped back into the forest, and the idea disturbed Elsa, because that meant she might never see him again. Although she did wonder what Theo's motivations were for attempting to assimilate himself into the town permanently, there was nothing in her gut that told her Theo wanted to harm the townspeople. By the end of the night, when her feet were throbbing and toes were sore, her exhaustion and anger from the night before finally took its toll. For some reason, the feeling that she was being watched overcame her again. When she had completed her duties, she requested early leave from her manager Mitch, given the lack of customers that night. He agreed, and Elsa made her way out the back entrance to the tavern, in order to avoid the rioting crowd in the front. The night was cold and biting to her naked ankles when she stepped out onto the alleyway. She rubbed her arms from the sides, trying to warm herself. A voice from behind her spoke in the darkness.
“Hi Elsa.” Theo was standing in the shadows of the alley, waiting for her. She started to scream, but he cupped his massive hand over her mouth. “Listen, I'm not trying to hurt you. It wasn't me last night who lit the town on fire.” Then he let her go for a second. Elsa's mind told her not to trust him, but her heart said otherwise.
“Then who was it?” she asked.
“My brother.”
“Theo,” she said, taking a breath, ready for the big fight, right there in the alley. “Tell me what you want. Who are you? Why are you here? I know it wasn't just to save Lili. You did that for another reason. Now tell me what it is,” Elsa said. She was fed up with beating around the bush.
“OK, but not here. Please come with me. I have a lot to tell you,” he said. He looked down the alley when a few hushed voices whispered in the darkness. “We aren't safe here. They want me dead, I know that.”
“Yes, the crowd is mad. But my village is not violent. We do not want to kill anyone,” Elsa said, correcting him. “But they do want some answers. And so do I.”
“No my brother wants me dead.”
“What is going on?”
“I can explain somewhere else, but we have to
“We want answers!” a man yelled.
“My house is gone. What fire-breathing monster have you sent our way! Tell us!” another shouted. Elsa prodded someone next to her for answers.
“Do you know who sent the monster?” she asked the woman standing next to her.
“It was Theo, of course! He wanted to kill us all along.”
Elsa found it hard to believe, given the undeniably kind impression he made on Elsa when they first met. She was angry and wanted to protect herself for what he did to her, but she didn't want to encourage the people around her that Theo meant them harm. She just couldn't bring herself to do participate in the witch hunt. She bowed out of the crowd when they picked up stones to throw at his window, an image that resonated with Elsa's own childhood troubles with Freja Stein.
CHAPTER 12
That night, Elsa found herself feeling lost and alone, while she worked in silence through her duties at the tavern. The night was dead, as all the villagers were too busy picketing Theo's house. Several people, including Priscilla and the twin sister, came through the tavern during intermittent hours in the night, to give Elsa new information about Theo, whom they told Elsa had all but disappeared. The townspeople wondered if Theo had escaped back into the forest, and the idea disturbed Elsa, because that meant she might never see him again. Although she did wonder what Theo's motivations were for attempting to assimilate himself into the town permanently, there was nothing in her gut that told her Theo wanted to harm the townspeople. By the end of the night, when her feet were throbbing and toes were sore, her exhaustion and anger from the night before finally took its toll. For some reason, the feeling that she was being watched overcame her again. When she had completed her duties, she requested early leave from her manager Mitch, given the lack of customers that night. He agreed, and Elsa made her way out the back entrance to the tavern, in order to avoid the rioting crowd in the front. The night was cold and biting to her naked ankles when she stepped out onto the alleyway. She rubbed her arms from the sides, trying to warm herself. A voice from behind her spoke in the darkness.
“Hi Elsa.” Theo was standing in the shadows of the alley, waiting for her. She started to scream, but he cupped his massive hand over her mouth. “Listen, I'm not trying to hurt you. It wasn't me last night who lit the town on fire.” Then he let her go for a second. Elsa's mind told her not to trust him, but her heart said otherwise.
“Then who was it?” she asked.
“My brother.”
“Theo,” she said, taking a breath, ready for the big fight, right there in the alley. “Tell me what you want. Who are you? Why are you here? I know it wasn't just to save Lili. You did that for another reason. Now tell me what it is,” Elsa said. She was fed up with beating around the bush.
“OK, but not here. Please come with me. I have a lot to tell you,” he said. He looked down the alley when a few hushed voices whispered in the darkness. “We aren't safe here. They want me dead, I know that.”
“Yes, the crowd is mad. But my village is not violent. We do not want to kill anyone,” Elsa said, correcting him. “But they do want some answers. And so do I.”
“No my brother wants me dead.”
“What is going on?”
“I can explain somewhere else, but we have to
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