The village was never a very large place, never had much excitement occur in the midst of the daily lives that went on through the small cluster of houses. The pilgrims were always rather confined, always fearing the darkness of the woods that surrounded them. Many villagers claimed that at night, when only light of the moon and their warm fires broke through the inky darkness, whispers could be heard on the wind and shuddering breaths of air would blow throughout the houses. A few even claimed to hear a chorus of dark laughter and horses' whinnies coming from the darkness of the trees. But during the hours of daylight, the village would discard the suspicions of the darkness and became lively with neighbors chatting animatedly amongst themselves and children squealing and running around in a playful manner.
There was almost always a reason to smile in the village, and around this time of year when the snow was beginning to thin out on the ground and the air turned warmer as winter finally relinquished it's grip on the land, there were many reasons for joy among the village. There had been plenty of food that winter to sustain them and only one elder had died among them in the cold, harsh season. Even the darkness of the woods at night had seemed less and less threatening. Villagers had stopped talking of the dark laughter and cold winds at night everyday and was only brought up on particularly harsh winter nights. And now with winter leaving the behind for the warmer nights of spring and soon summer, those worries were beginning to fade away.
On a particularly bright, crisp morning with snow thin on the ground and the sun's rays piercing through the slight layer of clouds, a young woman with long, straight brown hair was carrying a large woven basket filled with flowers across the small clearing that served as the center of the village. She had a brown shawl draped across her shoulders to shield herself against the last of the cold wind of the season. She glanced around her load to smile down at the small girl who trotted alongside her, the girl's brown dress flouncing around her ankles as she skipped.
The young woman smiled and looked up, only to have the smile drop from her face as she looked around. Stopping and turning in the direction she had been coming from, the woman sighed. "Now where did your brother get to, Emma?"
Emma peeked around her mother's legs at the thick wood of trees they had been collecting flowers in a few minutes ago. Her large, liquid brown eyes began to water as she realized her brother wasn't behind them. The young mother, noticing Emma's reaction quickly put down her basket and scooped up the small girl.
"Now, now, Emma, don't cry," she soothed in a gentle voice. "I'm sure your brother just got distracted by climbing a tree again." The younger woman gave Emma a bounce and smiled. "Let's go look for him, okay? I'm sure he isn't too far behind."
The young woman began to carry Emma towards the trees, her grip tightening ever so slightly around her young daughter at the thought of going back into the forest. She had been able to go into the woods that morning because she was with her son. Her son always made her feel more secure in the forest because of his strong presence and his natural aura of safety. The mother couldn't explain it, but he just made her and Emma feel protected.
The two girls didn't have to go to far before a form dropped from a thick tree branch above them, swinging from the large arm of the tree, which he had his legs slung over to hold him upside down. The mother started and jumped backwards, clutching Emma tightly to her. Huffing in annoyance and relief, she watched as her son crowed with laughter, before turning himself right side up and dropped lightly to the ground, brushing off the stray clumps of ice and pine needles that clung to his cloak
The boy had scruffy brown hair that matched the color of the young mother and daughter standing before him along with the same large brown eyes set to his face. The boy's eyes, however, were filled with the sparkle of mischief and youth, despite his teenage appearance. The boy laughed at his mother's stern gaze as he approached them.
"Oh, come on Mother," the boy said with enthusiasm thick in his voice and a bounce to his step. "I'm sorry I fell behind again but I found the most amazing little pond back in the woods a bit and I couldn't help but test the surface to see if we could skate on it. It was-"
"You what?" The mother cut him off quickly, panic rising in her voice. "Don't you know you could have fallen in if the ice wasn't thick enough to hold your weight? Do you purposely try to scare the life out of me? What if you had fallen in? You would have left me and Emma all alone just like-"
The young boy's eyes grew wide and serious as the mother was forced to stop when her voice cracked, covering her mouth with a hand as she clutched a confused Emma with her other arm. The boy's face softened and he walked up to his mother, resting his hands comfortingly on her shoulders.
"Hey, Mother," he said quietly, trying for a smile. "I'm sorry about that, I can't promise to stop being curious, but I will definitely be more careful, that I can promise. I won't leave like Father did," he whispered.
The mother looked up at her son and smiled through her misty eyes. "I know you won't, you're too kind-hearted to do something like that. And you love your little sister far too much to leave her behind."
The boy smiled and turned to his littler sister who was staring at her mother and older brother with confusion and innocence lighting her young eyes. When the boy looked at her she broke into a grin and reached for him. "Brother!" she cooed happily.
The boy laughed and took Emma from his mother's arms and gave her a little toss up into the air. Squealing, Emma clung to Jack once he had caught her and giggled fitfully as he started to tickle her.
The mother watched her children for a moment with affection sparkling in her eyes before she walked back over to her basket and scooped it up. Turning to look over her shoulder the mother called back to her son, "Don't stay outside for too long, Jack! Remember it isn't fully spring yet and you could still catch a cold!"
Jack looked up at his mother as he put Emma down so he could start chasing her throughout the village. "I know, Mother! I'll have us in to help with the preparations for the festival in a few minutes!"
Jack came bursting into the little log cabin that was his family's home, Emma slung over his shoulder where she was giggling madly. Jack whooped with delight and flipped Emma over so she was right side up and then placed her on the floor so she could run over to their mother. Jack smiled as he shut the door and followed his sister deeper into the small house.
The little cabin was filled with the warmth of the fire that burned in their hearth and the sharp smell of burning pinewood. Jack shed his cloak and hung it up near the fire before helping his sister with her shawl. Emma smiled up at her brother and then reached into the basket that was set beside their mother, grasping a handful of the early spring blossoms piled up inside.
Jack peered over his mother's head, placing his hands on her shoulders as he did so he could look at her work. His mother, along with the rest of the women of the village, had gone out the day before and that morning to the forest to gather up flowers so they could bring them back and weave them into the intricate chains that they would then hang up all over the village. The roofs would be lined with blossoms as well as doors, mantles of the hearth in everyone's home, and especially the decoration that would be placed in the center of their little village.
Every year, the village would set up a large pole with an intricate bronze sun adorning the top and connect long flower chains from the tip of the pole to the ground below. It was the crowning jewel of the Festival of Spring that the village had had every year since they had settled here.
The festival lasted for a week and was a time to be merry and enjoy the warming weather as the villagers celebrated the life coming back to the forest and darkness that wouldn't haunt them as often as it did in the cold months of winter. There would be food, music, light, and happy chatter throughout the entire week. But the main events of the Festival were the Lighting of the Lanterns and the Village Dance. The Lighting of the Lanterns was on the first day of the Festival and happened around sundown. The villagers would each be given a lantern to hang either outside or inside their homes to bring light to their little village in an array of colorful lanterns that were kept lit all through the Festival. The Village Dance took place halfway through the Festival and was when all the young children and teenagers of the village got the night to themselves to dance until dawn with each other in the village center to the tunes provided by the musicians in the village.
Jack smiled back down at his mother and nodded his approval of the colorful string of flowers she was weaving before moving over towards the fire, holding his hands out to the dancing flames. Jack sat and watched as the orange tongues of fire licked away at the wood and listened to the soft snapping sounds that emitted from the burning logs.
"Jack?" called his mother, snapping him from his trance. Jack turned to look at his mother and immediately felt the sting of cooler air nipping at his fire-warmed cheeks. Jack rubbed at his cheeks to keep them warm as he asked, "Yes, Mother?"
Jack's mother smiled at his actions and shook her head as she chuckled. "Would you mind fetching more wood for the fire from out back? With the Festival starting tomorrow I don't know if we will remember to grab some for the pile with all that will be going on."
Jack nodded and stood, moving to grab his cloak from the chair he had hung it over. Fastening the button around his neck, Jack walked out of the small house and into the brisk air of the outdoors. Jack sighed and tried to rub some warmth into his arms. It wasn't even that cold out, but compared to the warmth of the fire he had previously been sitting in front of, it was pretty cold.
Jack walked around to the back of the house and piled up a stack of chopped wood into his arms before he started to head back towards the door. As Jack rounded the corner of his house, he spotted a girl emerging from a home on the opposite side of the village clearing. Stopping dead in his tracks, Jack stared across at her.
This was the first time Jack had seen the girl in the village. He was positive that she had grown up here with them since she looked about his age. She couldn't have been a random wanderer taken in by a family because news like that would have spread like a wildfire through the village within a day. As Jack took in her short brown hair and large green eyes, he watched as she shook out a dirty rag, leaning away from the small cloud of dust that rose from the rag.
The girl had a thin frame and a kind face that started to look around the village brightly. When her gaze fell on Jack, she stopped, their eyes locking and holding fast. As they stood there, Jack couldn't help but feel the ghost of a smile pull at his lips. He allowed the tug to pull his mouth in a friendly smile as he nodded across the clearing to her, still holding the wood for the fire he had momentarily forgotten about.
The girl smiled bashfully and ducked her head, tucking a loose strand of her short hair behind her ear. She looked up shyly and started to wave before giving a little jump. Looking over her shoulder, the girl said something into the house before turning back to look at Jack. She smiled once more before scurrying back into the house, closing the door behind her.
Jack smiled to himself and stood there with the pile of wood in his arms for a moment longer, lost in a sweet daydream about the girl he had just exchange smiles with. Her face seemed to radiate rays of light even with just the softest of smiles that she had graced him with.
For no apparent reason, Jack was suddenly snapped from his reverie, remembering that he was supposed to be bringing the wood he was holding into the house for the fire. Rushing the rest of the way to the door of his house, Jack nudged open the door and ducked inside.
As Jack shut the door behind him and made his way over to the hearth, his mother looked up from her weaving and gave him a quizzical look. "What took you so long? I would have thought you would have been in and out since you chopped wood yesterday. There's still enough right?" Jack glanced over at his mother from where he was depositing the wood into the rack next to the fireplace.
"No, Mother," he laughed. "There's still plenty of wood, don't worry. I just piled it in my arms wrong and dropped most of it so then I had to pick it up again." Jack didn't want to tell his mother about the girl because he knew how she would react. She would want to know everything about the girl so she could identify her from the village girls. But it wouldn't end there. No, his mother would then coax him into becoming closer with the girl he didn't even know and that would most likely lead to embarrassment on Jack's part. Better to keep it to quiet for now.
Jack watched as his mother visibly relaxed from the corner of his eye as she was reassured that they weren't running low on supplies before the Festival began. As Jack continued to put the firewood away, his mother and sister continued weaving their flowers.
The small family sat around the hearth for most of the day, weaving flowers into intricate chains and necklaces. Jack even found himself pitching in to help with the weaving when he was finished his chores around the house. They continued on this way until Jack's mother rose from her chair to prepare dinner for her family.
Their dinner passed as normal, nothing out of place, and once they had finished, the small family returned to their weaving of flowers. Soon, however, Emma was slumped over, head resting on Jack's lap and her flower chain bundled up on the ground before her as she slept. Jack set aside his weaving and stroked his younger sister's hair, smiling down at her peaceful face.
"So," Jack 's mother spoke up softly from where she was rocking softly in her rocking chair near the fire. "Who's the girl you met?"
Jack looked up sharply, confusion and embarrassment flashing across his features. "W-what do you mean?" he stuttered out.
Jack's mother looked up at him with a knowing smile playing at her lips. She set aside her flowers and stood, walking over to sit next to Jack on the floor, smiling at Emma as well. "Don't pretend, Jack. I'm familiar with the look I saw in your eyes when you came back from getting firewood. And I know you, as you're my son. You never stack the wood so haphazardly that you would end up dropping it. Also," she smirked. "I never heard the wood clatter from falling over. So I will ask again. Who's the girl?"
Jack ducked his head and felt a flush creep across his cheeks. "I-I don't know, actually. I don't really remember seeing her around the village before. But she lives across the clearing and she's got short brown hair and looks about my age. She also has these really big green eyes." Looking up at his mother, Jack knew that he couldn't hide it from her as he had originally planned. "Do you know who she is?"
Jack's mother tapped her chin in thought. "I think I have seen her around once or twice, but she's hardly ever outside. I don't know if it's because she's sickly or if she's restricted or she just doesn't go outside. But all I know about her is that she is about your age and she lives with the Widow Gothel." Jack's mother fixed her gaze on something across the room, but she was only looking not seeing, seeing something from somewhere else. "I remember Gothel well, I told Gothel about her husband before they married, in fact, they were one of the first couples I matched together, and they were perfect for each other. The village was devastated when her husband passed and she would always refuse my suggestions for another husband, insisting that her perfect other half was already gone and that she belonged only to him."
Jack's mother was the unofficial matchmaker of the village. Almost everyone came to see her at least once or twice, seeking her guidance and skill at matching for marriage. His mother knew everyone in the village and knew their personalities, their likes and dislikes, their pasts, everything. Every family seemed to be connected to Jack's and in the village where everyone knew everyone, being at the center of every connection made Jack feel uncomfortable at times. It was why he went off on his own so often, finding comfort in the solidarity.
Jack looked up at his mother with desperate eyes. "So, what should I do? She looks like a nice person and I want to get to know her." Jack couldn't understand the allure he felt from this girl across the village, but he decided to follow it anyway and see where it took him. Perhaps it was time to take his mother's advice and follow his heart.
Jack's mother could tell that even without her opinion, Jack had made his choice, and she smiled. Reaching forwards, she scooped up the sleeping form of Emma and stood to carry Emma to her bed.
Jack watched his mother vanish deeper into the house with Emma before turning back to the fire. He watched the dancing flames for a moment, thinking about the girl from across the clearing as he did. He decided that he would take advantage of the festival and get to know her. Glancing over at a small pile of flowers that had been discarded next to his mother's basket, Jack got an idea. Reaching for the colorful buds, Jack began to weave them together in an intricate pattern.
When he had finished, Jack held his little creation in the firelight and smiled, proud of his work. Jack set the ring of flowers aside in a safe place before standing and stretching his arms above his head, an enormous yawn escaping from Jack as he wandered back to his bed.
As he collapsed onto his pillow, Jack smiled to himself, thinking about tomorrow and meeting the girl from across the clearing.
A/N: So yep, here's my story. I'll try to update soon for you all who read this. :) If you wanna talk to me, contact me on my Tumblr (glowinglanternsgleam .tumblr .com) And if you guys find any big mistakes please just let me know! ^^