[b][u]Schnee Family Inn - Eva's Room[/u][/b]

Eva's dreams were always shrouded by mist. A faint layer of whiteness, a filter for her mind's eye, that blocked out her memories and her past, and instead showed her an unreachable feat. A happy place, far from the dusty room and leering eyes of her family and their inn, where she was with people who cared for her and she wasn't scared and stupid. The vision was strewn together with a familiar tune, a soft hum that felt lively and was sung by the most gorgeous voice she had ever heard. It reminded her of a lullaby, a forgotten song she had heard as a child, and within her dream she felt warm and safe and happy, and suddenly everything was dark. The happy moment, the music, and the mist were all gone, instead replaced by a heavy darkness that was entirely unfamiliar.

Eva glanced around through the darkness, unaware that she was currently sleeping and merely dreaming, and shook with fear. Beneath her legs was dirt and grass and rocks which cut into her skin and burned with cold, and around her trees curled and beckoned with their bare appendages. She was in a forest perhaps, her mind wondering as she sat delicately on the dirty ground, examining her surroundings with frightened eyes. There was no sound, save for her own staggered breathing, but there was movement far beyond her vision. The fluttering of wings sent small gusts of wind to shake the bare branches, causing the small girl to jump at the sudden noise, and as she turned to investigate she was met with the dark, beady eyes of a bird.

At first, she was frightened, but when she attempted to jump away her legs remained rooted to the earth, as if something were dragging her down and keeping her still. The bird, a black bird it seemed, gave her a moment to calm down and reassess her situation before letting out its familiar song, dropping a scroll onto her lap. Eva blinked once, raising a hand to allow the bird to perch carefully on her hand before opening the scroll with the other, eyes straining through the darkness, but as the first few white letters managed to enter her mind a suddenly tremor shook the world. The bird screeched and vanished from sight as the darkness suddenly grew and grew around Eva until she was completely blind, and then another rumble burst through her mind, forming words,

 "E-v... A. Ev-a! G..... Up!"

Eva slowly opened her eyes, face flushed as she stared up at the wooden ceiling of her room, instantly forgetting her dream. Bangs resonated from below, causing her room to creak and furniture to leap and shed their dust to the floor, and a voice accompanied it, the familiar call of her "mother" Mariette. Eva listened to it for a moment, green eyes glaring daggers into nothingness as her hands clenched and unclenched against the heavy comforter that was curled around her body, and then she stood, nightgown unraveling and collecting around her ankles as she immediately began readying herself for the work below. She stood nude for a moment, untying and brushing out her dark hair, and then dressed in a faint yellow gown and redid her hair into a bun. A soft sigh escaped her lips, and her eyes wandered across the small, attic room. It was windowless, the only light being an oil lamp on her bed side table, and the only furniture that adorned the small space was her bed, the nightstand, and a mirror. The bangs started again, but Eva quickly returned them this time with a few stomps of her own, trying to keep her voice light and sweet as she yelled back a simple,

"I'm up!" Before continuing out of the room, down the steps, and into the room where her mother was located, the second floor restroom. The stout woman turned, a snark-ish smile blessing her otherwise bland face as she passed on the broom she had used to awaken the girl, nodding in a silent hello,

"Start sweepin' up the unoccupied room, then head down and get to servin' the early birds. I'll be out on the town for the majority of the day, gotta stock up on some candles and food stuffs, so Vendal 'ill be keepin' an eye on ya. Have a nice day, love." She approached, dragging down Eva's head to plant a kiss on her cheek, and then brushed passed, turning once to say,

"Oh, and remember, don't leave the inn. You know nothing about the real world, so it'd be best if you just stayed put here, yeah? Anyways, bye-bye dear!" And then she was gone, leaving behind a slightly disheartened girl. Her mother was constantly reminding her of the horrors of people, and constantly forbidding her from leaving the perimeter of the inn, but that wasn't why she was pouting. Vendal was the reason for her sudden sadness. It was obvious that she wasn't exactly a fan of Vendal from her reaction, and instant memories of all the times he had hit her and insulted her filled her mind. Another sigh escaped her, and then she turned and swayed into the hall, tightly grasping the straw-ended broom with rage as she opened the first room, and swept.

Morning sunlight filled the room, pure and bright, and as Eva slowly swept at the layers of dust that had gathered in the untouched room specks floated into the air, appearing in the sunlight like dull stars, slowly floating to the ground. Eva took no notice of the clouds of dust gathering, instead humming softly as she created one large pile of filth, and once the floor was spotless save for that one spot she gathered it up into a metal dustpan that had been left in the hall. She then spilled the mess into the restroom's bin, and continued onto the next room, doing the same as she did with the last. This continued for a few hours, until she was called down suddenly by a familiar, high-pitched call that was sure to wake whatever guest had been resting in the rooms around her. Eva sighed, quickly placing the broom and dustpan against the wall at the far end of the corridor before she quickly made her way back towards the stairs, footsteps too light to be heard, and once she hit the last step an arm met her vision, blocking her path.

"Where ya been? We got customers! Regular drunkards out there, tend to 'em, will ya?" Vedal's bird like face was a mere ten inches from Eva's, and she was currently trying to withhold the need to punch his lights out as he explained the situation, but he soon pulled away, allowing her to pass once more.

"I'll get right on that, father. You tend to your work."

"Course I will, hop to it, girl." He sniffed once, beady eyes narrowing, and then turned and vanished down the right hall, towards his office. Eva let out another sigh, hand clenching and unclenching, and then she took the left hall all the way to the tavern part of the inn. Two men sat at the bar already, and one small family had gathered at one of the larger tables near the entrance. Some familiar faces, gladly. The tight feeling she had suffered from since Vendal's commands vanished as the two men at the bars gave her weary, friendly smiles. She passed them, quickly jumping over the empty part of the wood before she turned, holding herself in a very sheepish way,

"Good morning, fellas. Welcome to the Schnee Family Inn. What'll it be?" They both nodded their hellos, the bigger of the two simply muttering 'honey mead' while the other lowered his head in thought, waving a hand to single for her to come back later. She nodded, and turned to the kitchenette behind her, pulling a metal mug from one of the cupboards as she slowly wandered over to the one of the barrels labeled 'H MEAD', where she turned the simple lever on top and allowed the liquid to flow free from the spigot, into the mug. As she worked on filling the metal cup, the man who had been thinking called out,

"Could I get some tea, and perhaps a song to go along with it. Just love your singing, dear, it'd make this poor bugger a whole lot happier if you just hummed a little tune." His voice was gruff and tough sounding, but his words made her blush furiously, and as she tried to control her short breathing she nodded, turning to pass on the the full mug to the bigger man as she again turned back to the cupboards, pulling out a smaller, much more elegant looking cup from the lower shelf. As she spooned dried leaves into the china, her mouth opened slightly, allowing a cheerful tune to escape her lips and fill the rather quiet tavern as she worked. Though it didn't quiet the rowdy children at the large table, it did do well to add smiles to those who managed to listen in on her humming. As she passed the now steaming cup of tea to the customer, he placed a small, gold coin in her hand and winked, smile small yet friendly. She had jumped at first, but then closed her fist around the coin and smiled back, shoving it into her dress pocket before she turned towards the final table, sudden worry racking with fear at the unfamiliar faces.

She approached slowly, feigning calmness as the man who she suspected to be the father turned towards her, eyes narrowed with grogginess,

"Yes, yes, hello," he began speaking without even realizing her lack of greeting, rubbing his temple while his children laughed at each other just behind him, "just bring three plates of eggs and ham, and some warm mead for me. Make it quick as well, please." And then he turned to snap a few things at his two children. Eva let out a shudder, nodding once before she returned to the bar, focusing on her breathing as she got to work on the food, and as she worked the slight chatter of the tavern grew quieter and quieter and her heart beat grew louder within her ears, and then she was simply moving without thinking, delivering the food to the table and then vanishing out the back door, just as her breathing caught. 

[i]stupid so stupid he wasnt mean he didnt do anything so dont panic dont panic you idiot[/i]

Eva sucked in a deep breathing, pushing herself out of the shade of the building and into the noon sunlight. The familiar sight of the garden was a beautiful sight, and she lurched towards the stone well and collapsed against the pale brick structure as her sighs grew ragged and heavy. Then she sat, breathing and panting as her head leaned against the rim of the cold well and her dress and legs mingled with the soft grass that surrounded the base of the stones. Around her, bugs bounced across the waxy leaves and plump flowers of the garden, and the single maple tree that stood at the very edge of the clearing, just in front of the hole that lead out to the woods, rustled in the cool wind, and Eva sat in silence and listened to the nature around her, unknowingly humming a familiar, lullaby-like song as she calmed herself down.

And then the song came.

A black bird's call, sweet and loud and sharp, and it sounded right next to her head. Eva quickly jumped back, landing roughly on her backside as the bird leaped down onto her knee, head cocked curiously. She blinked once, then smiled, obviously used to the attention animals normally gave her, but that smile faded to a look of confusion as she noticed a scroll clasped between the bird's yellow beak. The bird released another song, dropping the scroll onto her lap, and then jumped back up onto the well's rim, staring at her expectantly.

"... What's this? For me?" She mumbled, examining the strange black parchment as she sat up. Soon after, she unraveled it, and was met with the most beautiful, white ink she had ever seen. A message was scrawled in the ink, and seemed eerily familiar, and Eva took a few minutes to read it over and over before the words stuck,

[i]"You are one of six chosen few to receive this letter. You were chosen, because you wish for something with a great desire. So I shall grant you your wish. Into the Woods you must travel, to the Tree of Truth. There you will find me and if you follow my commands, you shall have your wish granted."[/i]

"A wish? A wish..." Eva rose her head to look at the bird, and then she returned her gaze to the message, pursing her lips in thought. Certainly seemed real, since black birds weren't known to pass around messages at random, and Eva definitely knew she had a wish. But into the woods... How scary, she was scared, so scared. She glanced around the garden, focusing mostly on the inn and the hole in the hedge, and then she stood, eyes wide suddenly,

"A wish! I can wish for knowledge, to know about anything and everything! Maybe then I'll get this odd feeling off my back, and maybe then I could finally leave this place. A wish... A wish!" She stared down at the black bird, green eyes gleaming intensely, and then she ran back inside to grab on of her mother's shawls from the back door's hook rack. She quickly tied it around her shoulders and returned outside, sucking in a deep breath and jumping slightly as she saw the same black bird, awaiting her return. Eva smiled at it, but felt the oddest sense of deja vu at the sight of the bird, and after a moment of trying to remember where she had seen the bird she shrugged and nodded towards the hedges,

"Are you going to show me the way? Let's go, then!" And then she moved quickly towards the burrow and lowered herself down, crawling silently through the hole. Her heart beat heavily as the familiar garden melted behind her, instead being replaced by tall trunks and branches, and when she tried to stand she stumbled a bit and landed roughly on her behind. Fear seized her shoulders, and she shook intensely as the world around her howled with unfamiliarity. Eva tried to calm herself, humming a soft tune as she stood again and leaned forward, glaring deep into the woods before her,

[i]its okay its okay youve looked out here before dont worry okay okay get the wish get the wish[/i]

The bird appeared suddenly, landing on her shoulder, and stared at her with what she perceived to be encouraging, kind eyes. She sucked in another breath, then smiled,

"Come along then, Vogel, let's go..." She shuddered, "into the woods."