The boy that Ian had saved came back not much later, stumbling down the stairway from the second floor, with dry clothes and shaking a little less, his hair still wet, a small towel covering his back and holding a warm bottle to his neck. He sat in front of the fire and looked at the ground nervously. The stone-powered heater was pushed up to his feet by Lady Burness.

Daniel was finally able to take a good look at him: he had a round boyish face covered in freckles that was framed by light red hair. His eyes were wide and dark blue, and some of his fingers, Daniel noticed, were wrapped in band-aids. His nose and cheeks were flushed and he seemed deeply embarrassed.

A few moments of silence followed.

“Tha-tha-thank you!” The boy exclaimed all of a sudden, causing Daniel to jump a little as he looked around at Winter and Chris.

“We are not the ones you should thank,” replied Winter with minimal interest.

“Yeah, Ian’s your guy!” Chris said.

Breathlessly, the boy said, “Ah, I-Ian… was the Witch who… d-dove in after me?”

“Correct,” Winter answered him.

“Ah, we-well, thank you for bri-bringing, bringing me here!” The boy sneezed. “S-sorry. I’m, um, ah, Arnold. A-Arnold Rudolph.”

“Chris, and this is Daniel.” Chris signed to his friend, who gave Arnold a short wave. “And Winter.” (who did not look too pleased to be introduced) “And there’s Ian!”

“What of me?”

“Introductions are being held!”

Ian had changed clothes like Arnold, and was furiously drying his hair at the moment. He sat in front of the fire and started draining the water out of the longer locks by his cheeks, trying at the same time to cover two scars on both sides of the face. Ian’s hair normally hid those quite well, but Daniel, just like Chris before him, had still noticed them a few times. Ian had never mentioned their origin to any of them.

“Sir!” Arnold stood up, his face growing redder. He touched his ear, bowed (an additional sign of respect that Chris thought was going a tad overboard) and asked, “Ah, Ian, right?”

Ian didn’t bother looking up. “Yes.”

“Tha-tha-thank you! For, um, pull-pulling me up! I-I don’t know how I can repay you, but, but—”

Ian scoffed. “You don’t have to repay me,” Ian answered. “Forget about it.”

“Bu-but, Sir, you sa-ah-saved my—my life—”

“What’s your name?” Ian cut him off again, giving him a stern look.

“A-Arnold Rudolph, Sir! At, at your services, Sir!”

“How old are you, boy?”

“T-twenty, Sir!”

“All right, Arnold, you do not have to call me ‘Sir’ or… do whatever else. Just be careful in future; is that clear?”

“B-but—“

“No buts.” Ian raised his hand to stop the boy’s words. Arnold made a quiet sound, but said no more.

After another short moment of silence, Arnold mumbled that he needed to thank her again for the dry clothes, and joined Lady Burness in the kitchen.

Ian sneezed, yet again.

“Are you still cold?” asked Chris in surprise.

Ian hissed, “Witches do not get cold.”

Winter raised her eyebrows. “That water and the shock of it could have made even a Witch feel frozen.”

Ian’s face became redder, with anger or with embarrassment Chris couldn’t tell, but he didn’t seem to want to object to Winter.

“Excuse me.” Winter left the three boys and went to the kitchen. After a short conversation, she came back and headed for a wooden stairwell in the middle of the room.

As she passed them, in a whisper, she said, “Souza, Christopher, there are things I’d like us to discuss in private, in one of the bedrooms. Lady Burness doesn’t know why we are here, and I do not trust that boy very much. Ian, join us after you have warmed up.”

The Witch nodded.

A moment after Chris, Daniel and Winter had gone, Arnold tiptoed to Ian and left next to him a small tray with a cup of tea and a few biscuits.

“To-to warm y-you up, Sir, b-but be very careful n-not to touch it y-yet, as y-you might get bu-burned, a-and it will be un, unpleasant, since you are s-so cold, still.”

“I did not ask—”

“I-I heard you s-sneeze, Sir,” Arnold replied a little sternly and sat on the floor in front of the heater. He rubbed his hands together and breathed on them a few times. His skin was still extremely flushed, and he was shaking, but he otherwise seemed to be doing better than a few minutes ago.

Ian looked back at the fire, clenching his teeth. After a moment of hesitation, discreetly, he took a sip of the tea and a bite from the biscuit.