Disclaimer: Sondheim owns!
AN: Until this becomes a juicy section without my help I shall contribute to this wonderful new section of fanfiction. In case you didn't read Loss and Sacrifice - I call the Witch Leanette and the Baker Ben. In this story any other nameless characters in the play will be given names as well and they will be used in future stories of mine for Into the Woods as well. By the way - picture the younger version of the witch for Leanette. Much more appealing to this particular story.
There was one thing in the world that Leanette would always miss - the knowledge that she was loved. Ever since she was sixteen years old and her mother laid a curse of death on the boy that Leanette loved, Leanette was afraid to fall in love again. Unable to fall in love again. Sure, she had her precious Rapunzel, her flower, locked up in a tower to spare her of the same grief she'd experienced, but that was only and would always only be maternal love. "Witches are not allowed to love," her mother had told her when she was grieving.
"Then how mother - how exactly is it that I am your daughter?" Leanette had asked, still in tears.
"Now, Leanette, how many times must I tell you? We are not the same way humans are, we might look alike, but we don't have children the same way. Have you ever seen a man around this house?"
"Well -" Leanette was stuck for a moment. "I always assumed that my Father had died before I was old enough to remember," she was now very confused. Her mother sighed.
"No, Lea," Leanette hated that nickname. "It's always been just you and I around here, we're witches. We have powers, if we ever want a child we get it magically, far from the disturbing manner in which humans do,"
"Well what if I want to be human?" Leanette thought this was so cruel. Not being allowed to love. Well she did - why was that so wrong? Her mother laughed in a way that said, 'Who would want that?'
"You can't be human just because you blend in with them. Being a witch is in your blood, you can't exactly return the gift," Leanette scoffed. Some gift alright, she thought miserably. She hated being a witch, all she ever wanted was to be human, there must have been some defect with her. Witches were not allowed to love, yet she did. Witches were not suppossed to feel human emotions, and yet again, she did. "Dry those tears, Lea," her mother said and ruffled her hair a bit. "You'll be over him soon," she assured her.
Leanette's mother couldn't have possibly been more wrong. For a good ten years she still hadn't gotten over him, and now, even five more years later, Leanette was still afraid to love again. Though her mother was not around to put any more curses on the ones that she loved, she was still afraid of finding love again only to lose it and be heartbroken for another fifteen years.
Little did Leanette know, that day was the day that she would find love for the first time in years. Unaware was she also that it would be with the baker next door.
INTOTHEWOODSTOGRANDMOTHER'SHOUSE!INTOTHEWOODSTOGRANDMOTHER'SHOUSE!
Ben, the baker, burst through the front door of Leanette's home, screaming babe in his arms. Leanette looked up in shock and in suspicion - bursting in unannounced was usually her job. She instantly felt pity for Ben when she saw the pained look on his face.
"M-My w-wife -" Ben stuttered.
"Yes?" Leanette asked, encouraging him to go on.
"M-My wife's d-d-dead!" Ben managed to enunciate somewhat clearly the horrible news. Leanette's eyes widened in shock.
"What happened?" she asked sympathetically. Most people don't just die at random, especially at Marvelle's age.
"She was l-looking in the woods f-for some stove w-wood a-a-and a lightning bolt struck a n-nearby tree and it c-crushed her," Ben answered. He was trembling hard, the poor babe nearly falling out of his arms.
"Oh that's - that's horrible!" Leanette had not expected that, of all things. She took notice of the slipping babe. "Would - uh," she paused to think of how to phrase it. "Can I hold. . .?" she trailed off, not knowing it's gender, motioning to the babe.
"Her," Ben finished the question. "Yeah - s-sure," he answered. Leanette walked closer and Ben handed the babe to her. It stopped crying immediately once Leanette was holding her. The babe was adorable. Leanette smiled.
"She's beautiful," she said as she gazed at her.
"Yeah," said Ben, now looking at his daughter as well. "She has her mother's eyes," the stuttering had suddenly stopped. It was silent for a few minutes before Leanette felt Ben's eyes boring into her skin. She looked at him. Ben had a small smile on his face.
"You know," he said. "You're pretty good with babies," Leanette laughed.
"It's been a while," she said. The babe yawned and fell asleep in Leanette's arms. "What's her name?"
"Annabel," Ben answered. Leanette's eyes sparkled.
"Pretty," she commented. Her and Ben's eyes met. Oh no, Leanette thought. She could feel it coming on again. She could feel love in her heart again. Love for Ben the Baker and his daughter Annabel. Ben could feel a new love of his own coming on as well.
"Maybe you could be her new mother," Ben's voice had a romantic tone to it, which he quickly changed and added, "I mean, since you're so much better at this parenting stuff than I am. Marvelle was the only one who could really make Annabel happy," Leanette smiled widely.
"I'd like that," she responded. Ben's face lit up.
"Are you serious?" he asked excitedly in glee.
"On one condition," Leanette added.
"What condition?" Ben asked.
"The condition that I am not only the new mother, but something else as well," she was being as subtle as she could. If he didn't catch the double-meaning than he was a bit dafter than she'd thought.
"I think I know what that something might be," Ben replied. "But let's not rush," at least he got it. A plus - he was also reasonable and rational. "After all, I did just lose my wife," he reminded her. Leanette smiled and told him what her mother had told her those fifteen years ago,
"You'll eventually be over her," Ben returned the smile.
So formed a love that was not foreseen, a seemingly forbidden love between a witch and a baker.