.... From behind the darkness, a wise looking figure appeared. He had a scruffy gray beard and was wearing a dirty yellow raincoat. Fearing that the man would be cruel, the girls hid in the shadows of the shelf above them.
"Do not fear, I am kind," he said.
Erin and Addy peeked out of their hiding spot, "What is your name?"
"Let's just say my name's Garthheart."
"Our names are Addy and Erin!" Addy exclaimed.
Erin gave Addy a quick slap on the arm and whispered, "Don't tell him our names, we don't know him!"
"Oh yeah...our names are really...um...blab...ada...ba...," Addy stuttered.
"Okay...Addy and Erin. You have no idea how much you can trust me." Garthheart muttered.
"Well, even if he does know our names, it's all just a dream," Erin remarked carelessly to Addy.
"I wish it wasn't," Addy said, "This is really cool - we're in a castle!"
Addy, the fashionista of the two, quickly exclaimed, "What
are you wearing?!?!?" when she noticed Garthheart's ugly clothing. She quickly pulled out a pair of men's khakis and a white T-shirt and handed it to Garthheart.
"Thank you. I've had these clothes since before you two were born."
Erin queried, "How do you know how old we are?"
"Just guessing based on your looks." Garthheart said kindly.
Erin frowned, wondering how, in the darkness, he could see them clearly enough to guess their ages.
Odd...she thought, then shrugged and dismissed the thought. Garthheart strode over to the edge of the shelf and lowered himself off, tossing the clothes in front of him. Just as he landed, the girls heard the sound of footsteps in the shadows where Garthheart had first appeared. As the footsteps moved closer, they saw a girl emerge. She looked about twelve, the same age as Addy and Erin, and had light brown hair. The girl wore a long, flannel, ragged shirt and short shorts. Addy took one look, screeched, and quickly yanked out a long gray sweater, brown leggings, and boots, which she tossed toward the girl.
"Who are you? How did you get here?" the girl asked.
"My name is Erin, and this is Addy. We found this castle on our street and decided to explore. Then we met this man named Garthheart and gave him better clothes, 'cause his were kind of...well, lets just say they weren't ideal. Who are you? Are you his daughter?" Erin wondered.....
