***Your POV***
My parents- well parent always told me to never speak to strangers however, here I was, disobeying him. I could sense my mother turning in her grave. I tried to act innocent and in need of help to try and win him over. It was tough but it worked. Maybe luck was finally on my side.

As he led me, Wirt and Greg through this horrid black emptiness, I just stared at my weddi- costume and how torn and grimy it was. The guilt was just piling up, bit by bit. One of these days I'm sure to have a massive breakdown. Hopefully not when Wirt was around though, I couldn't let him see me like that.

The bottom of the dress had rips in all 3 layers and mud splashed up the sides from when I was crouching moments before. On the way, the dress got caught on the huge branches that lunged out to grab anything that came past. It got caught and left a big hole in the sleeve. To be honest, the dress was just holding you back, it's no use in a place like this...I really needed to find something more practical.

Eventually, we approached an old mill. It was practically ancient. The wood was getting mouldy and rugged, splinters stuck out everywhere. Ouch. On the side of this mill, was a big wooden wheel that powered this beast of a building through hydeoelectricity. The woodsman dragged his axe as he reached nearer and nearer to the front door.
"I found this mill abandoned so I took it up and refurbished it, using it for my...personal needs." He explained.

***Wirt's POV***
Personal needs? That sounded really creepy. Maybe we couldn't trust this guy, I mean, who knows what he could do with that axe? Half of me wanted to turn around and get the hell out of the woods. The other half of me trusted this stranger and wanted to hear what he had to say.

I had to admit, I was curious to find out what his needs were. This led me to go inside the new surrounding.

It was quite small. There was a staircase leading upstairs and a door to the left of me which could only lead to the mill. There were various pictures scattered around the wall that lead upstairs. They were mostly pictures of birds but there was a few pictures of a family. I didn't really feel those were important though.

The 1st floor was really plain. It had a high ceiling and was like a vertical cuboid shape? (Damn wirt being all technical an shiz) As you walked in, there was a fireplace to the right, there were logs on a pile nearby. Near the stone structure, there was a love seat. It was red velvet and, with the rest of the house, looked peculiar compared to houses in today's world.

There may be a few minor flaws, it wasn't too bad though. No house can ever be perfect.

***Your POV***
Ew...this house is older than I thought it would be. At one point, it would've looked great! Now....not so much.

The wallpaper was hanging off the walls, exposing the brown plaster behind it. The plaster itself was damp and mouldy. You could see the black speckled mounds growing before your eyes.

Some of the floorboards were cracking, if not already broken, so you had to be careful about where you stood.

To top it all off, the whole room just smelled of dirt and grime. I crinkled my nose in disgust. To be honest, not even Bob the builder could fix this and he can fix anything. Lets just say I wasn't used to my surroundings.

I walked inside and sat on the loveseat by the fire. The woodsman followed as he slung the huge pile of sticks off of his hunched back. He gathered some logs and started to light the fire bear grylls style with a rock while giving me, wirt and Greg a monologue on his life.

"...Everyone has a torch to burn and this here's mine," he patted the lantern that was next to him. "I grind the horrid Edelwood trees into oil, to keep this lantern lit. This is my lot in life, this is my burden. He got a stick from the pile he'd brought with him, broke it and threw it aside.

I just zoned out, it may be rude but I don't want to hear about old people's lives.

***WIRT'S POV***

What could make that lantern so important that you have to spend your whole life getting wood to keep it lit? To be honest, it could be anything. You don't know what happens in these woods. I mean, there was a talking bird. A BIRD. TALKING!

I decided to sit next to (y/n) on the only chair in the room. The fire was cozy and made me a bit drowsy. I still didn't trust this stranger, he did light a fire for us though. Maybe he's trying to lure us into a false sense of security. Nobody knows...