Post by Deleted on May 24, 2016 14:47:58 GMT -5
Once the first flight was done and no-one came after her, Elsa began to think more clearly about her situation and what to do about it. It was clear that winter was knocking on the door of Vasile, and snow flurries were already starting to dance from the clouds over-head. She couldn't hide out in that cave until Spring - she wasn't a bear to hibernate, and it was only a matter of time before some-one else knew she was there. She had to go back, since she had heard that the family who owned the lands she was staying on went down to Vanderhall to meet Princess Mariette.
Elsa left a note to thank Leo for his kindnesses but explained that she had to go back and see what was going to happen. Traveling back down to the city the same way she came up north, she managed to make it back into Vanderhall some-what safely, parting with a few of her precious coins to stable her horse at one of the inns in the city for a few days. That way, if she needed to leave in a hurry again, she had a means to do so, and she could stay better unnoticed on foot.
Making her way back into the castle was easy enough too, since she knew all of its ins and outs like the back of her hand. Elsa had been born and raised in the castle, knew all of its entrances and passages very well. She could move quietly as a little ghost to get back into her own room, a little surprised to find that some-one had obviously been in it since the attack. It was... clean, too clean. Things weren't in the same places she left them, furniture had moved, and a hundred little differences told her the room had been searched.
She had stayed quiet, hiding in the passages until she had a good idea of the movements of the people staying in the castle. There was next to no movement in the family wing, she quickly noticed. Not even the servants came in, like they were afraid there were ghosts haunting the rooms. That made it easier for Elsa, who was tired of being afraid. Waiting until late night, she sneaked down into the kitchens for food and drink, bringing it back up to her room to eat, then tumbled into her bed for a welcome night's sleep in peace and safety.
This started the pattern for the next few days, where she ducked into the passages if she heard some-one in the hall, only to come back out at night. Elsa continued to sneak food from the very full kitchen pantries, knowing that one cook was probably scratching his head as to where it was going, and sleeping well, though she really wanted a bath. Deciding it was safe enough to light a fire in her room and heat some water for washing, she looked forward to being clean, humming to herself. Maybe tomorrow she would show herself to Princess Mariette...
@olympe