Up a Tree and a Step to the Left
'Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters' AU
-Maven Alysse
AU at point after the witches attack the town and collect their last child needed. Change up of Mina finding Hansel in the tree and Gretel's confrontation with the Sheriff and his men.
For the 'sugar sickness' I used the symptoms for Hypoglycemia of Diabetes and got the information from the following book:
Griffith, H. Winter Ph.D. Complete Guide to Symptoms, Illness, & Surgery. p.338. The BodyPress/Perigee Books. The Putnam Publishing Group, New York. 1989.
Thanks to Keely and Aislinn for being awesome beta readers and idea bouncers. You're the best, ladies!
Started: 4/27/2013
Completed: 5/3/2014
888
888
Up a Tree and a Step to the Left
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters AU
-Maven Alysse
After smacking Benjamin's hand away and giving him a dirty look, Gretel sat up on the bed, feet dangling over the edge. "Oh, God," she muttered, rubbing at her aching head while automatically scanning the room for exits and threats. Lips pressed in a tight line, she remembered the events of the night before. The Witch they were dealing with was a Grand High Witch. One particularly powerful and very intelligent.
As well as strong. Gretel winced at the feel of bruises upon her throat.
The creature had seemed too pleased to see her; going on about a final ingredient. Gretel shuddered and tried to pull herself together.
She'd blacked out after being tossed out the window; she needed information and it looked like Ben would have to be the one to give it to her. She turned her gaze upon him, internally smirking at his nervous swallow. Ben wasn't the first young man to become smitten with her as both a woman and a witch hunter, and he wouldn't be the last. As long as he conducted himself as a gentleman, well, she wouldn't feel obligated to show him the error of his ways in a painful manner. "What happened?"
Ben's gaze turned solemn. "The witches attacked the town last night. The one you caught, the Horned Witch? She escaped, and the Sheriff's office got partially blown up somehow. The Deputy Mayor died."
Gretel felt her heart give a pang of sorrow. The man had been kind and determined, though realistic of his abilities. He was one man she would not have hesitated to call a friend. Her resolve hardened even further; the witches would die.
"Another child got taken – Mary." Ben's hands clenched as he stared out the window. "The witches used a spell to make her older brother, Kevin, shoot their mother. Then the witch hit Kevin with some sort of spell. They don't know if he'll survive." A heavy pause hung between them before Ben continued. "There were rumors of a Troll lurking about. I found you lying unconscious in the street beside the Sheriff's office and bundled you out of sight as quickly as I could." He met her gaze. "Sheriff Berringer is furious. He's blaming you and your brother for the attack. You might want to lay low for a bit." The two looked at one another for a long moment, then Ben offered his hand. "Come on, I've got some porridge and fresh bread for breakfast."
She let him settle her at his table, nodding in thanks as she dug her spoon into the thick porridge. "Where is my brother?"
Ben hesitated, a strange look crossing his face. A chill ran down her spine and she set down the spoon. "Ben?"
"Last I saw of him, he was heading east." He shot her a look, part awe, part sorrow. "He was clinging to the end of a witch's broom as she headed out of town. That was right before I found you. He hasn't made it back to town, yet."
Her blood ran cold and her heart raced in fear, though she kept her expression as bland as she could. "I need to find him." She half rose from her seat.
Ben put a hand on her shoulder before quickly snatching it away. "At least eat your breakfast before you go. The woods are pretty thick in that direction. You'll need your strength."
Reluctantly agreeing, Gretel shoveled porridge into her mouth all the while asking questions about the surrounding area.
8
Once past the outskirts of the town, her practiced eye spotted the trail of bent and broken branches that marked the direction the witch had carried – dragged – her brother through the air on her broom.
The trail led further into the woods toward a small set of mountains. From the maps she'd read, as well as from what Ben had told her, they were full of caves and plateaus perfect for a coven of witches to set themselves up at home. A shiver of foreboding raced down her spine.
With every moment that she found no sign of her brother, her heart sank a bit further. She'd traveled several hours and found herself miles away from town. Granted, flight was much quicker than going by foot, and she was slowed with having to look for signs of disturbance; but just how had Hansel hung on for so long? She knew his tenacity, but the evidence looked pretty clear that the witch had done all she could to shake him loose. Did he now languish within the witch's clutches? Or perhaps he lay somewhere along the trail, hurt or dying? Did he even still live?
Gretel paused, palms pressed against a tree trunk to steady herself as she took a deep breath. "He's fine," she murmured. "He's fine. We've survived everything witches and the world have thrown at us, so far. A few bumps and bruises won't stop us." She glanced around again, "Everything will be fine once we're together again."
She just had to find him first.
Another hour passed and her chest felt tight as her calls continued to go unanswered. The witch's flight had become somewhat erratic, and Gretel could only surmise that Hansel had managed to become a bigger threat, somehow. She hurried her steps, part of her attention on the leaf-littered ground to avoid obstacles; each suspicious lump sending her heart in her throat until they resolved themselves into leaf-covered logs. The rest focused on the trail that led from bough to broken bough.
A flash of color caught her attention and Gretel slowed, bringing the crossbow to bear. The blob of peach and yellow resolved itself into a dress with a cascade of long blonde hair. Gretel relaxed a fraction in recognition. It was Mina, the young woman they'd saved from being burned as a witch shortly after they'd arrived in town. Mina's head was tilted upward, her eyes wide in surprise at something above her.
Following her gaze, Gretel blinked in shock. Hansel hung upside down from the upper most branch of the tree. She moved closer, brows creased as she assessed the situation. It appeared one of his legs had gotten tangled. She winced, not envying the amount of pain he probably felt with all his weight hanging from that one leg. She opened her mouth to call to him, only to hear Mina call first.
"Hansel? Hansel, are you alright?"
Gretel rolled her eyes, snarking to herself. 'He's up a tree. Do you think he's alright?' But when he didn't immediately respond, Gretel broke into a run.
Mina's pale blue eyes, similar enough to Hansel's so as to set her aback a moment, flew to meet hers as Gretel stopped beside her. The woman's white knuckled grip on her half-filled basket, the gathered herbs and plants a silent explanation for her presence so far from town, relaxed a bit as she recognized her. "Oh, thank Heavens."
"Has he said anything?" She slung the crossbow over her shoulder and studied the tree trunk, looking for handholds.
"No. But I think I heard him groan."
Gretel wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but couldn't. Not yet. She didn't know what injuries he might carry. Nor did she know how she was going to get him out of the tree without killing them both. "Hansel? Can you hear me?"
She took a step forward and froze as the toe of her boot caught on something. Looking down, she blinked, her blood running cold. The hard leather satchel that contained her brother's injections seemed to mock her. Bending to pick it up, she winced as she heard glass clink together, the leather itself damp. "Oh, please be dew," she whispered and raised the flap. Her heart sank as her eyes took in the sight. Each of the syringes were broken, the medicine having seeped out from the number of blows they'd encountered during the wild flight. "Oh, shit." When did he take his last injection? How much time did he have before his body shut down from the sugar sickness?
She didn't even notice that she'd started to hyperventilate until a hand on her shoulder startled her out of her shock. She jerked, sending an elbow flying.
Mina dodged the blow, unsurprised by the attack, but not at all angry. "I can help."
"How?" Despair tasted like ashes in her mouth.
"I know of healing waters nearby. If we can get him down and to them, the waters will help with any wounds he has. I also know enough herbalism to help take care of him in case he has a reaction from the sugar sickness."
Gretel cast Mina a side-long look. "You know?"
The blonde looked a bit uneasy, as if aware she was privy to private information. "He had to medicate himself when I spotted him in the market yesterday. He told me when younger a witch made him eat so much candy it made him ill."
Gretel handed Mina the crossbow, missing when the woman's eyes turned thoughtful as she murmured. "It's odd, though. I'm not used to the symptoms coming so quickly and disappearing just as quickly."
"Here. Keep an eye out. There's no telling who or what is about, and I don't think you'll be able to climb in that dress."
Mina looked down ruefully, but accepted the crossbow. She didn't look happy to be holding the weapon but didn't exhibit any awkwardness with it, either. Gretel grabbed a low hanging branch and pulled herself up into the tree. "You've used a crossbow before?" She asked partly out of genuine curiosity and partly to keep her mind off how injured Hansel might be. They were both light sleepers, by necessity. That Hansel hadn't woken with all the noise the two of them made worried her more than she was willing to admit.
"A few times. I've helped my family repel wolves during a bad winter and raiders a handful of times in my old village."
"You're not a native to Augsburg, then?" Gretel shimmied up the tree trunk a few feet, resting on a branch halfway up. A few more feet and she'd be level with her brother.
"No. I moved to Augsburg a few years ago. I was to wed, but my fiancé died a few weeks before the wedding. I had no place to return to. The town's doctor took pity on me. He claimed he was getting too old and could use an assistant."
Settling herself on a branch that creaked ominously beneath her weight, Gretel finally found herself level with Hansel's face. She reached up and lay a hand on his neck and gave a shaky sigh of relief as his pulse beat strongly beneath her fingers. "Let me guess. The Sheriff accused you because you're foreign, considered bad luck due to your fiancé dying, too educated for his tastes and doing a job he feels only men should, and you probably turned down his advances a time or two."
The snort Mina gave sounded half amused, half exasperated. "Yes."
Gretel shifted to peer upward, studying the way Hansel's leg was tangled. Her mouth firmed, "Mina, keep your eyes open. The witch might still be around."
"What's wrong?"
"The vines holding him are wrapped deliberately. Either the witch planned to return for him later, or..."
She heard the woman's sudden intake of surprise. "Or he's been left as bait for a trap."
"Exactly."
She studied Hansel again. Scratches lined his face from whip-thin branches and a large bruise covered the right side of his face. So, they were dealing with at least a concussion. The way he dangled told her that he'd also have some problems with his left hip. Until she got him down and could examine him, she didn't know if there were any other injuries. She was going to need his cooperation if she had any hope at all of getting him safely down from the tree. He'd been tied out far enough along the branch that even if she managed to untie him she didn't have the leverage needed to keep him from falling by herself.
"Hansel? Wake up, Hansel. C'mon, brother-mine. We've got work to do. Witches to kill. Children to save. C'mon, Hansel." All the while she caressed his face and ran her fingers through his hair. Her fingers caught on a few spots where blood matted the strands, but the gashes had long stopped bleeding and his skull felt intact.
A low moan caught her attention and Hansel slowly blinked awake. "Gretel?" Low and raspy, his voice, nonetheless, was the sweetest thing she'd ever heard.
"Oh, thank God."
A frown creased his brow. "Why are you upside down?" He looked upward, blinking in startlement at the ground and Mina looking up at him. "Shit. Why am I upside down?"
Gretel grabbed his hand, gaining his attention. "Hold still. You're caught in a tree. There's only a single vine keeping you from falling. So don't make any sudden movements."
He stilled and she was pleased to see the initial panic fade from his eyes, as he let his trust for her calm him. "Shit. How far up are we?"
"Probably a good twenty feet. At this height, you could break your neck if we're not careful."
He craned his neck to look around, keeping his body still. She knew he saw the same situation she did. He was too far from the trunk to easily grab it and the closest branch below him was ten feet down.
"How sturdy is the branch I'm tied to?"
She assessed the bough. "Relatively. If you put too much stress on it, it'll break. But if you're careful..." She cocked her head at him, trying to follow his train of thought. "What do you plan to do?"
"Well, unless I want to take the express route, I'm gonna need ta hook my free leg over the branch." He sighed, a weary sound that let her know just how exhausted he felt. "Then, somehow, the other. Once I do that, I can probably inch my way closer to the trunk."
Gretel bit her lip, looking him in the eye. "Think you can?" He didn't answer for a long moment. "Hansel?" she prompted. "How bad off are you?"
Hansel shifted his shoulders and then his hips, wincing. He looked sheepish, "I'm gonna need some help. My hip's screaming."
She sighed mentally. Any time he got injured, he always felt like he was a burden to her. She never thought so, if only she could convince him of that. She only nodded.
He looked up again, brushing the edges of his coat irritably out of the way. "I can do this easier if I lose some weight."
"Mina," Gretel called down. "Step back. Hansel's going to drop some of his stuff."
The young woman obediently took shelter beneath another tree.
Gingerly, Gretel helped Hansel out of his coat, not wanting to pull too hard, praying the vine would hold long enough for Hansel to secure himself. The large leather garment landed with a dull thud upon the leaves. His gun belt and ammo pouches were next.
She watched his fingers scrabble over his thigh and his face turned panicked when he didn't encounter his medicine pouch. She reached out a hand, grasping his shoulder. "I found it." Gretel cursed herself for Hansel's relieved smile, but didn't tell him the damage that had occurred to the syringes. He needed to focus on getting out of the tree safely. Then, she'd tell him what she and Mina planned.
She prayed he'd forgive her.
888
Without the coat in the way, Hansel could look past his body to where his leg was tied to the branch. His sister was right, if he wasn't careful, he might end up loosening the vine too soon and crashing to the ground.
He ached all over; knew that he was one large bruise from careening into tree branches most of the night. At the beginning of the wild flight, he'd hung on in the vague hope of sending the witch crashing due to the excess weight. When that hadn't worked, she'd gone higher, and he'd hung on knowing that letting go would mean his death.
At one point, he managed to pull himself up further on the broom, his hand inches away from grasping a hold on the witch's clothing. The Redhead witch had glared at him, but there had been an odd expression in her eyes. He thought he heard her mutter, "You might be of more use than I thought."
How he ended upside down in the tree, however, he had no clue.
His hip joint protested giving a sharp pop and grind as he shifted, sending shards of pain up his back and down his leg. He feared he might have permanent damage, but pushed the thought aside. He'd deal with that after he got out of the damned tree.
His head spun, most likely from a concussion, as well as all the blood having rushed to his head. Gretel's presence kept him from completely freaking out.
It always did.
Gretel settled herself more securely against the tree and offered her hand. They clasped wrists. Now, able to keep his torso from wildly swinging back and forth, Hansel slowly drew his legs up, biting his lip against the spasm of pain that ran from hip to knee as the tendons and muscles screamed at the additional abuse. After what felt like an eternity, he felt the heel of his foot brush the branch. With an explosive breath, he used Gretel's arm as leverage and managed to hook his free knee over the bough.
He panted, blinking sparkles from his vision, knowing if he blacked out now, he'd lose his tenuous grip. The jolt would more than likely loosen the binding and cause him to fall. The steady pressure of Gretel's hand around his wrist helped him keep his focus. "'M okay."
He heard her huff in fond exasperation. "Yeah, tell me that again when we're both on solid ground, alright?"
"Deal." He ducked his chin in order to see his feet and groaned. "Damn." He tried twisting his foot out of the vine and sucked in a pained breath. Gritting his teeth, he tried for a few moments more before making a strangled sound in the back of his throat in his frustration. "Well, looks like we didn't have to worry about me falling. I can't get loose. Can you reach to cut the vine?" Now that the weight had shifted, he could feel his hip flare in agony, but it worried him more that he couldn't feel his toes.
Dark brown eyes, so like their father's, stared at him in consternation. Her grip tightened, and he nodded encouragingly. With obvious reluctance, Gretel released her hold and moved out of his immediate sight as she shimmied up the tree trunk. The tree swayed with her movement, and he swallowed heavily trying to keep his gorge from rising as the motion caused his body to swing back and forth. His hip sharply protested the movement, making him pray he wouldn't pass out from the pain.
He tried to watch her progress, but the angle hurt his neck and made his vision swim. Instead, he focused his gaze down below, his mind absently noting the way Mina held the crossbow and that the young woman divided her attention between her surroundings and what was happening up in the tree.
His wandering attention snapped back at the pressure upon his foot and he heard a knife sawing at the vine.
"Almost through," Gretel's voice sounded tense. "On the count of three, I'm going to cut through the rest and pull on your leg to help you hook your knee. Alright?"
"Yup." His breath thready with pain, he braced himself.
"One. Two. Three!"
For a brief instant, he felt weightless as his leg swung loose. Then, he felt a sharp pain as Gretel pulled his leg upward. He held in the cry, not wanting to startle her into falling herself.
He shoved the approaching oblivion firmly away and forced his leg to hook over the bough, finally equalizing the pressure in his hips. "Damn it." He took great gasping breaths of air, trying to regulate the pain, trying to think clearly enough to get himself and Gretel out of this predicament. He understood the danger their position posed. A sudden slackening of a grip could send them plummeting. Here, they were easy targets if one of the witches returned. 'You might be of more use than I thought.' He couldn't suppress the shudder.
"Hansel?" Her hand lay protectively over his shin.
"'M fine."
A double tap of her finger along his shin bone let him know that he wasn't fooling her in the slightest, but he was grateful that she didn't call him on it. "You gonna hang around here for the rest of your life, or are you going to inch along the branch 'til you can reach the trunk?"
"Oh, I dunno. The view is so lovely from here." He was so tired, but he knew that he had to try; for Gretel's sake, if not his own.
She snorted. "Now I know the head rush has gotten to you. C'mon, brother-mine." She ran her hand down his leg from knee to ankle, comfortingly, then shifted out of his way.
888
Gretel figured Hansel was in quite a bit more pain than he let on. There wasn't anything she could do about it except pray it wouldn't keep him from climbing out of the tree safely.
She watched as Hansel curled his body upward until he could grasp the branch with both hands. Using mostly his arms, shoulders, and abdominal muscles, he inched himself along the branch. Her fingers itched to grab a hold of him, but she knew that she didn't have enough strength to manage his weight.
Finally at the trunk, she watched with bated breath as he unhooked his legs and dangled from his hands. She could see how stiff his left leg had become. "Can you shimmy down?"
Pale blue-gray eyes, so like their mother's, peered at her. "Hope so. But just in case, I'd rather go down first." She opened her mouth to protest, but he rushed on. "I don't want to fall into you if I lose my grip. Better just one of us injured rather than both. Right?"
And damn him if he wasn't right. She pressed her lips together in disapproval. "Fine. Just don't lose your grip."
He flashed a grin at her, the infuriating man. "By your command," he teased.
"And don't you forget it, either."
He gingerly wrapped his legs around the trunk, took a breath to steady himself, then quickly moved his hands to hug the tree. She saw his muscles quiver and a brief expression of pain cross his face, but he made no sound. He breathed harshly from his nose and made his way down the tree in slow, careful movements.
He bypassed the branch that jutted out halfway down, instead of pausing to take a break, and in sudden insight she realized that Hansel was nearing the end of his endurance. Any pause now would be disastrous as muscles locked up and energy drained from him.
Hansel gave a startled gasp and slipped a few feet from the bottom. He lay in the small pile of leaves, curled in on himself, his hands gripping his hip. Gretel cursed and quickly scrambled to land at his side.
888
Mina kept quiet as Gretel helped Hansel clamber to the tree trunk, not wanting to break their concentration, though she longed to ask if he was alright.
She could tell by the way he moved that hanging upside down for God knows how long had badly hurt his hip. She hoped the muscles were only inflamed, for that would heal easily with time. If, however, the muscles had torn, they might not ever fully recover. The man would forever walk with a limp, and for someone who hunted witches for a living, that could be a fatal handicap.
She kept one eye on the siblings and the other on her surroundings, while rifling her memories for any remedies she could use to help. She'd already gathered herbs for cleansing wounds and reducing fevers, but with the added complications of the sugar sickness (and there was something odd about the way Hansel's symptoms presented themselves, if she could just figure out why she felt that way), Mina realized that their best bet was the healing waters two miles to the east.
Lips pressed tightly together, she anxiously scanned the trees. Like Gretel, Mina realized that Hansel should have been dead. The witch had left him deliberately, either believing she'd return later to retrieve him for some nefarious purpose, or as a lure. Either scenario sent a shudder of foreboding down her spine.
Her eyes widened in shock as Hansel slipped only a few feet from the bottom and collapsed onto the ground clutching his hip. Gretel jumped the last few feet to kneel beside her brother. Without a thought, Mina rushed over. She thrust the crossbow at Gretel and moved the woman away from her brother, not even taking into consideration how the witch hunter might react to such a move.
Quickly and precisely, Mina jabbed two fingers into the muscle that ran from back to hip, triggering a pressure point. She pressed on the muscle that felt like a cord of steel, leaning forward, practically putting all her weight upon it. Hansel hissed in pain, his body tensing, then suddenly relaxing as the clenched muscle released. He blinked up at her in surprised thankfulness.
"Can you stand?"
Hansel shifted his leg thoughtfully and gave a hesitant nod. Both women grabbed one of his forearms and hauled him to his feet. He wavered a moment, laying a hand on the tree to steady himself. "Thank you."
Mina just nodded, suddenly aware of the partial glower Gretel cast upon her.
"Find me something I can use as a walking staff?" Hansel asked, brushing bark from his hands.
Without a word, Gretel stalked off. Mina tilted her head and watched her walk away, then returned her gaze to Hansel. "We can help."
He gave a faint smile, though pain still shone in his eyes. "I know, but if we're attacked, I don't want either of you hindered."
A loud snap sounded and Gretel returned with a broken-off branch, tossing it to her brother. "Besides, he weighs a ton."
He caught it easily, testing its soundness. "Oh, thanks a lot."
She smiled sweetly at him. "You're welcome." She turned toward Mina. "How far away are these healing waters you mentioned?"
Hansel laboriously wrapped his weapons belt and ammo pouches around his waist and shrugged back into his leather coat. "Healing waters?" He adjusted the weight, using the branch to keep his balance.
"About two miles to the east of here. I've used them before." She glanced shyly at Hansel. "They'll help your hip and other injuries."
The woman nodded and, after another glance at her brother, she took point, her crossbow up and ready. Hansel fell in step behind her, his stride awkward at first, but soon evening out as he mastered moving with the makeshift crutch. Mina had a hard time understanding Gretel. Overly concerned one minute, then seemingly disinterested the next. That Hansel took it all in stride only confused her more.
Subtly, Mina studied Hansel as they walked. His face pale and drawn made the circles beneath his eyes stand out even further. Mina noticed the sheen of sweat and minute trembling of his limbs and prayed to Heaven that they had time before he had a reaction to the sugar sickness. Spotting some herbs she needed, Mina gathered while they walked. She even managed to convince Hansel to eat the last of her beef jerky, getting a small smile from Gretel for the kindness.
They'd traveled nearly half the distance and were approaching a clearing in the woods when Mina thought she felt eyes upon her.
"Gretel?" she murmured.
The dark haired woman nodded curtly, "I know."
"At least three of them," Hansel replied, equally quiet. "Maybe as many as six."
Mina stared at him in surprise. She honestly hadn't thought Hansel had been paying attention to anything other than where he placed his feet.
The flat stare he returned told her that the witch hunter had a keen awareness of his surroundings, despite the pain. Somehow that made her feel better.