Sam took the food, feeling even more eternally grateful to Coralie and the rest of them. The bowl was warm in her hands and she blew into it a bit to cool the steaming stew. She nibbled on the cornbread while she waited for it to lower to a temperature that would not scald her tongue and the insides of her mouth, and soon she was consuming spoonfuls of the stew. She could feel herself becoming warmer by the minute and she settled a bit to watch their host's reactions. 

The three seemed stunned by her story, but the real surprise came when Dorothea began to speak. Sam hid a smile, wondering if her face had worn a similar expression when she had heard Dorothea speak for the first time. But if anyone could convince them it was Dorothea. The three denied at first, not particularly surprising, but as Dorothea continued to tell her part of the story Sam could see their expressions changing from shock and disbelief, to horror that their kingdom was in trouble and acceptance of the outlandish tale. She could see it on their faces during the long pause that followed the end of Dorothea's account. It filled Sam with relief. She became less tense, knowing that they believed.

The dwarves seemed to be lost for words, not that Sam blamed them, but soon the talking continued and Dorothea told them what she needed. Or rather where she needed to go. And the three offered to help her almost at once. And then everything seemed to be falling together. They had a safe place to sleep and people to guide them through this unfamiliar territory. Dorothea suggested to her that she stay, as it was close to the hollow and the mirror. Sam looked around the camp, and nodded her head a bit. It was a safe place to wait until her way back home opened once again. It was inhabited by three people who had already shown how welcoming they could be. And she was tried of trudging through the woods. It wasn't a bad plan at all, even though Sam didn't like the fact that it might take a long time for her opportunity to go home to even present itself. But still... "You're probably right," she said, leaning back a bit to set her empty bowl on the ground beside her. "If that's alright with you guys, of course." Sam said this to the dwarves.

Then another voice spoke up, horribly familiar, and Sam winced as she turned to look at where the Marshal was tied up. The tranquilizer the dwarves had used on him had worn off and he was perfectly awake and had apparently been listening. He pointed out the flaws in their plan and she didn't want to admit that he was probably right. But he was probably right. When he accused the dwarves of being bandits Sam looked over at the three questioningly and saw the uncomfortable, guilty faces. But she didn't speak until he said that the girl was Dorothea's best asset. And there was only one person that girl could be.

"Me?" Sam said, looking over at him with her eyes narrowed. "An asset? No. No, no, no. I'm not an asset, and definitely not the best one. I'm just...lost. And confused. And useless." She looked around at all five of them, as though daring them to disagree. "I am literally useless." Her gaze fixed upon the Marshal again and her eyebrows furrowed. "Anyway why are you suggesting that? Why do you even care? You work for the Queen."