( there's an unrestrained groan at that, as she takes a peek at his phone — a phone that she decisively doesn't have in her possession. but sure, she'll pass by him and enter the mansion at long last, responding: ) The forest. Deep in the forest. Kind of felt like it had a mind of it's own — like it didn't want me going where I was headed.

( a beat. )

We're gonna have to be careful. ( a confirmation that she'd missed picking up the device without outright saying it; it was so dark, she couldn't have even seen it if she'd tried. the "we" that he offers in terms of retrieving is a small comfort, one which she's glad to hang on to and repeat. ) Luckily for us, I have a knife handy.

( but now that she's inside at last, she has to take a moment to stop and take in the entrance hall; it's grand and ornate and far too fancy — maybe even fancier than the queen mansion. her head tips up so she can look through the skylight, eyebrows lifted in a quiet awe. )