[b]Walking home from the town, Rose happily counted the money she'd earned by selling her & her grandmother's sweets. The two of them would do great this winter, especially after the wares seller came next week & she was able to buy stuff they could store away. Rose's grandmother didn't know it, but she'd been saving her own money lately so that things would be more comfortable for them, like hiring someone to cut their firewood for them for once.

Finally getting to the tiny cottage just outside of town, Rose was shocked when she got inside, seeing her old grandmother, the aging Willow Smith, scrubbing the house clean as the smell of roast lingered in the air. Apparently, they were going to have a guest. Rose took off the beautiful red cape her grandmother had given her years ago & gently kicked off her boots, the old woman already whipping around the corner to shove Rose towards her room upstairs.

"I want you to put on your Sunday best & put your hair up," the old woman ordered, "& no perfume, Rose. Our guest visiting tonight has a very sensitive... nose." Rose looked at the old woman questioningly, but went upstairs. She quickly bathed herself with some rosewater she'd made in the summer & put on her best dress, her long hair being tamed with a ribbon & pins. By the time she finished dressing, she heard someone knocking downstairs & jumped a little.

Willow allowed the guest inside & spoke a few hushed words, guiding them into the dining room before Rose could rush out of her room to peek at who it was. Her grandmother gestured for her to come down when she spotted her grand daughter, having a bit of a troubled look in her eyes as she went into the dining room herself. Just what was going on in this house tonight?[/b]