A blonde maiden met up with her beloved and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her passionately. They broke the kiss to look at each other in the eyes.

"I'm glad that I stopped showing up from work for a couple of days to spend more time with you." Catherine said to him before giving him another kiss.

"And I'm glad to see you," he heard her giggle, "we hardly spend time alone together." He said in a whisper. They both grinned, but before the couple could lean in for another kiss, they heard a screech.

"THAT TREACHEROUS TRAMP!!!"

That made the crows fly away, and disrupted the peace of the young couple.

*

"Watch your language, young lady! You're lucky that I'm too tired to punish you." Elizabeth reprimanded her, barely having the strength to yell.

"Auntie! Can't you see that she used you?" Barbara tried reasoning with her though her aunt barely had the strength to stand up again.

"Give it a rest. I need a rest." Elizabeth trudged before stopping in front of the stairs.

"Well excuse me for caring! She is the one who buried you with all the work while she goes prancing around with her leman! I bet that she wasn't sick at all, it was just a way for you to pity her so she could sneak off and leave you." She ranted, pacing back and forth.

"Enough!" She shouted. "I know Catherine, she may be quite absentminded at times but she would not abandon her work on purpose." Barbara raised her monobrow in disbelief.

"For goodness sake auntie! You're too nice and too oblivious to notice that Cathy is a spoiled brat! She has you wrapped around her little finger and you are foolish enough to let her get away with it." Elizabeth smacked her own niece for that remark. Barbara felt the burn of her handprint on her cheek.

"I will not allow you to disrespect me again. Is that clear?!" She snapped, her aunt's blue eyes were the most fiery when she got enfuriated. Barbara glared at her for a second before turning away to clean up and do the errands of her aunt's household.

Barbara got out by sundown and was not far from leaving the village, in the corner of her eye she saw a couple kissing and heard her peculiar laugh.

"Well look at what I found, a treacherous tramp with her lap dog." Her laughter stopped when she saw Barbara in her default scowl.

Speak of the devil.

Catherine sighed wearily. "What do you want, unibrow?" Catherine crossed her arms.

"I want you to stop lying to my aunt and taking advantage of her. I don't care what you do with the ugly goat that you have for a suitor, but if you mess with my family, you're messing with me." Barbara started.

"At least I have more class than you, you hideous wench." Edwin replied.

"I'm not talking to you, knave. This is between women." Barbara said as she approached to the blond. Catherine sneered.

"Don't you dare talk to my man that way!"

"What man? He's more of a dirty rat or a scrawny boar than a man." Barbara dismissed him, then tsked.

"You are just jealous." Edwin commented while Catherine flipped her hair back.

"Who asked you?" Barbara sneered before looking at Catherine. "Listen here, Cathy! If you take advantage of my aunt again, you are going to regret it." Barbara warned her, glaring at her.

"Regret what?" She held her fists against her hips, raising her chin to look at her straight in the eyes. "The fact that I took a couple of sick days to spend time with my beau? Well guess what? Yes, I lied! Get over it! Instead of reprimanding me for not being present at your aunt's little sewing business. Where were you?" Catherine asked her.

Barbara went away to visit her grandmother's grave which was a two day trip. "As if you care." Barbara replied.

"Exactly, because nobody cares. After all, who would care about a miserable, ugly mongrel like you." Catherine got slapped in the face, hard. The blonde got furious and pounced on her like an angry wildcat. Catherine used her long nails to scratch her, tearing Barbara's white shawl.

Edwin watched them beating each other with everything they got; slaps, punches, hair pulling, tearing part of their sleeves in a fit of rage, screeching like banshees. When he got bored, or seen enough, he stepped in to seperate them to which he earned a glare from the two of them. "STAY OUT OF THIS!" They screamed in unison as they pushed him away. 

Women, who can understand them. He then leaned back against the wall as he watched them fight again. They continued pummeling each other until the fight got out of hand.

Barbara had a tight grip on her, draining the life out of her, strangling her with her bare hands. "This mongrel can do more than just bite, you slippery sham! I'm going to make you wish were sick after I'm through with you!" Barbara gritted her teeth while she choked her, as she saw her gasping for air.

"Let go of her! You wretched witch!" But his cry fell on deaf ears. Barbara's irises turned white with a light coming of her with an ominous aura. Catherine's irises reached to her eyelids, turning pallid. Edwin had to act fast or she would lose her for good. He needed to do something. Anything!

Catherine's life was slipping, her hands dangled. "LET HER GO!" Edwin hit Barbara on the head with a mallet. Her body slammed against the hard ground while he ran past her to catch Catherine. "Catherine. Catherine! Don't die on me, Catherine. Speak to me!" He embraced her, caressing her long blonde hair.

She opened her eyes as she saw a blurry sight of a man holding her, pleading for her to come back to him. She gasped for air. He lifted her up to carry her bridal style. "Hold on! I will take you home." In the warm hues of the sunset, he looked radiant as he carried her away as the sunlight slowly faded into the night.

*

Elizabeth swept the floorboards of the living room, pensive. Reflecting on what happened this morning.

I shouldn't have been angry with her. She was such a sweetheart when she was a little girl. She stood still for a minute, remembering how Barbara walked around the house trying to be her little helper.

"Look auntie! I made a dolly!" She showed a little doll made out of twigs, cotton and hay.
"A doll? For me?" Elizabeth asked her while she saw her little smile, Barbara had a little gap in her front teeth.
"Her name is Eliza." Barbara said, fiddling with her fingers behind her back as she swished the hem of her black, white and brown dress. Elizabeth smiled as she held the doll Barbara made. Elizabeth wore a nice white dress with blue accents, long sleeves and a sky blue headscarf. Some of her black strands of hair stood out from the headscarf. She was a young woman, a beautiful widow.
"When I grow up, I wanna be just like you."

Elizabeth woke up from her daze. But that temper of hers will get her into trouble if she doesn't control herself. She went to the kitchen to find the candle holder.

Meanwhile, inside Marvin's caravan, he was having a conversation with a client through the crystal ball. The client was shrouded in a silhouette, but by the sound of his voice he sounded gruff and impatient. "Have you sent a messenger to deliver my package yet?"

"Have patience Hob, you will get your package by tomorrow." Marvin said.

"It better be, my patience is wearing thin. If I don't get what I ordered by then, let's just say that you will be having an unwanted visitor by your door step." The customer glared with his brown, reptilian eyes.

"Understood." Marvin nodded before ending the conversation.

Elizabeth brought the candle holder alight and laid it on the table, when she turned to her left she saw a crate. "What is this? I've never seen this crate before?" Then she recalled Barbara organizing some of the sewing items along with a pendant. "Barbara must have brought it this morning? I wonder what's inside?" She held the crate, it was a little heavy but she held heavier objects. "Oh well, I'll just put it upstairs until Barbara comes to pick it up." At the edge of the village, a foot made a light twitch before Barbara stirred from the cold night air.

With a groan, she stood up from the cold ground and dusted herself up, feeling a raging headache. "Ngh... what happened?" She felt a bump from the back of her head, wincing from the touch. Then she saw that it was already dark. "Great, now I have to watch out for the monsters on the way home." She walked out of the village, adjusting her torn shawl.