CHAPTER 7

A/N – Hello everyone! I must confess that I took a small break from writing and damn it shows! Also, somehow I got loaded with a bunch of stuff again, several WIPs in the same time after I'd sworn it wouldn't happen again, incredible! But that's me, maybe it's because I'm a Gemini? Who knows… Anyway, enough of that, enjoy the new chap everybunny ;)

Warning: mentions of gore and character death

It was getting dark and there was a bit of fog too, yet by some eerie effect the edges of the leaves still shone in golden and reddish-bronze hues, making one think they were wandering through a magic forest of sorts. It was cold too, because soft clouds of steam came out with each breath and when the hood of her cloak got caught in a low twig and slipped back Elizaveta felt the biting wind on her cheeks. She pulled the thick fabric around her body, distracted by the swish of the long dress as it brushed over the vegetal carpet littering the ground. A vague smell of smoke lingered in the air, brought by the breeze, signaling the approach of winter and the brunette felt the impulse to quicken her step. She was looking for something, or had been before she'd gotten lost, because there was no path among the dead leaves and all the black trees looked the same.

Maybe she should have gone back home, if only she could remember the way back. But Elizaveta didn't and didn't really care for some reason either, so she only pressed forward in no particular direction, throwing cautious glances around. At some point a thin twirl of white smoke became visible somewhere in the distance, contrasting with the dark trunks and the Hungarian suddenly felt hopeful. Maybe there was a house over there, or at least a warm camp fire?

But then she was abruptly pulled from her thoughts by a sound of heavy steps, no, not steps, hoofs. The sound was steadily growing and upon turning Elizaveta saw a soldier on a black horse emerging from among the bushes. Instinctively, she felt a pang of fear at the sight, but the man didn't seem to have noticed her, or not yet anyway. The uniform he was wearing looked rather familiar, she thought it was… Prussian? Indeed, that dark blue with the white ribbon over it, definitely! As they approached, the horse slowed its pace and snorted, the rider leaning forward in the saddle to pat the side of its neck.

Gilbert, the brunette realized and relief flooded her at the sight of the Grim.

Only the horse came and then went past her, heading towards where the smoke was coming from, the albino completely oblivious of her presence, even if he did seem to be observing his surroundings in turn.

"Gilbert! Hey, wait!" Elizaveta shouted, rushing after him and again feeling hopeful when the black horse stopped at last and the rider dismounted. But he still wasn't heeding her; instead something else had drawn his attention as he tied the reins loosely to a thin trunk. She saw it too, a small hut of sorts with a pointed reed roof and a crooked stone chimney, its low walls nestled between two thick trunks. The Grim waited for a bit then, his back turned and probably pondering on what to do next, giving her enough time to catch up with him and reach out to grab his shoulder.

"Gilbert! What are we doing here?! Can you tell me-"

But to her absolute horror it turned out that she couldn't even touch him, her hand simply going through his shoulder as if she were made of smoke and not flesh. The Hungarian let out a loud gasp of shock, immediately afterwards wondering if this wasn't some magical bad joke of sorts. The brunette was left just standing there frozen, completely unknowing what to make of things as the Prussian proceeded to creep towards the house, keeping his steps as light as he could. Elizaveta was horribly confused and frightened, wondering what would happen next. The hut's door opened and she saw Gilbert's hand quickly going for the hilt of his sword, probably waiting for a bunch of enemy soldiers to come out.

But it was only some dirty and unkempt hag, clothed in rags for the most part and wrapped in a thick woolen shawl which partially covered her long and messy white hair. Her lively eyes shone wickedly like a hawk's on the wrinkled face and she let out a very distinguishable chuckle, full of open malice.

"I have been waiting for you, Prussian," the hag crooned, sans any other introduction, her eyes set on Gilbert and (she too) seemingly unaware of Elizaveta's presence. "You're just as I pictured you. Everything I want."

The words seemed oddly out of context and threatening even, the brunette feeling her stomach cringe. Something bad was going to happen – her instincts warned – right here and now, yet she was so frozen with fear that she couldn't even get her feet moving from that spot. The Grim however seemed completely ignorant of the danger, even if nearby the tied horse kept snorting loudly and pulling at its reins, as if it too could feel that something was off.

"You have an empty heart, untouched by love, and a blade which has tasted blood more than once," the woman stated smugly, content even, with no trace of worry. Which could only mean she must have had some ace up her sleeve, Elizaveta thought, or… maybe she had set a trap of sorts? Maybe someone else was hidden inside the hut, lying in wait…

"Shut up, you crazy witch!" the Prussian snapped, taking a few steps forward, hand still on the hilt of his sword. "Are you alone in there? Have you seen any soldiers around here?"

The hag chuckled. "Oh, I have seen plenty of soldiers. Had my pick from the very best, you see. And now it's your turn, Gilbert Beilschmidt!"

"What-… How the hell do you know my name?!"

"If you did not have a handsome face, I would chop off your head and throw it in the lake for all it's worth. Not working at all," she said. "But as it is, I wouldn't want to waste a good thing, so I will settle for carving out your heart."

"What…?" the Hungarian breathed, eyes going wide as she saw the hag's almost petite and hunched frame dissolving in a cloud of black which suddenly rushed forward, turning everything into a dark blur where there was no light, no air, no sound. Only death. By some miracle, the brunette managed to move forward towards the Grim, guided by the faint gleam of his now drawn sword, but it was only a mere flicker, lasting but a moment. A gush of poisonous wind engulfed her, the cloak slipping off her shoulders as she struggled to wave it off , rebel strands of hair flying in her face and whipping her cheeks. Elizaveta genuinely thought it she wouldn't get to draw another breath before the darkness took her completely, yet the storm turned out to be surprisingly brief. When the air cleared once more, she saw the old woman standing only a few feet away from her, leaning over what the Hungarian realized it was Gilbert's body, holding something in one claw-like hand.

It was a human heart, bloodied and still beating.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Elizaveta screamed, both hands flying to her mouth and eyes instantly filling with tears. Her own chest felt horribly hollow all the sudden and her legs no longer supported her. She collapsed in a heap on the ground, the last thing her eyes saw being the flock of crows perched up on the surrounding branches in wait, before the carpet of dead leaves swallowed her, like a silent tomb.

"GILBERT! OH MY GOD, GILBERT!"

Elizaveta sat upright in bed, chest heaving and eyes wide in the familiar darkness of her small room, hot tears still welling and falling freely down her face.

"Vhat happened, Miss Elizaveta?" The miniscule bedside lamp was hastily switched on and the Grim sat down on the edge of the bed with a concerned look in his garnet eyes. Thankfully, he was once more wearing jeans and the dark-green hoodie, because she couldn't have stood to see that uniform again after-…. "Vhy are you crying?"

The Hungarian flung herself into his arms, nails digging desperately into his shoulders as she buried her wet face into the Prussian's shirt. "It was horrible, horrible!" she mumbled, shaken by sobs. "She… she killed you, and then the ground and leaves swallowed me alive! How could you let that happen?! Aren't you invincible or something?! How could you, Gilbert, it hurt so much, so much I couldn't breathe…" She was still gripping him tightly, unwilling to let go.

"Miss Elizaveta, please, nozhing happened, it vas just a bad dream. You're safe, I vill not let anyone hurt you, I svear."

"I… I wasn't saying… it isn't about me, it's-… I just…" The brunette sniffed, looking up at last. She tried to read something beyond the reassuring look on the Grim's face, but he must have been very adept at hiding his emotions. "Who was that woman, Gilbert, back there in the woods? What is it that you're not telling me?" she asked softly.

The Prussian raised his hand slowly and stroked the side of her face, in that gentle way someone infinitely old would touch a child. "Zhat vas nozhing, just a very old story, forget about it." He was puzzled though, Elizaveta realized, catching the briefest glimpse of a frown before it disappeared behind his usual neutral expression. Now she was convinced that it had been more than just a bad dream, she had indeed seen something, a memory resurfaced through their bond, but still something she wasn't normally supposed to see.

"Please, I… I want you to stay here with me from now on. Don't go disappearing again, okay?"

"But Miss Elizaveta, I am alvays vith you in a vay, I'm not going anyvhere. It's just zhat I'm not visible," Gilbert explained.

The Hungarian chewed on her lip, wondering just how reasonable her request was. It would incur a lot of explaining to do, that was for sure. Would Feliks make a fuss about it? The apartment was hella small, the last thing they needed was someone else 'moving in', but still. Damn, she'd have to come up with something.

"Look, Gilbert, I understand what you're saying but… this concept is sort of hard to grasp for someone like me, you know? I'm really… new to all this magic stuff, okay? And people poofing up out of the blue and disappearing into thin air it's not something I'm used to, it's just… it's weird. And call me profane if you will, but for me if I can't see something it means it's not there, with very few exceptions, like air and… wireless internet or something."

"I see… but Miss Elizaveta-"

"Just Elizaveta."

"Ja, vell 'just Elizaveta', my ozher contractors usually veren't so keen on seeing me around, so I presumed zhat you vouldn't be eizher."

"Except I'm not like your other contractors, isn't that what you said?" the brunette pointed, moving aside on the miniscule bed to make room and patting the place next to her. Was she flirting with him…? "Stay here with me, I'm afraid to sleep alone now," she blurted out, completely without thinking.

Normally it would have been a very awkward moment, but the Grim obeyed without a word and Elizaveta simply fell back on the pillows, pulling the blanket up to her chin as she curled up against Gilbert's body and wrapped an arm securely around his waist as if to prevent escape. Her last thought as she drifted again to sleep was hoping she would not dream of the witch again.

The heels of her boots clicked loudly on the well-scrubbed wooden floor as Elizaveta moved around curious, examining the various jars, boxes and bottles lined up neatly on the shelves. The shop was small but welcoming, the glass of the windows was spotless and framed with colorful lacy drapes and in the back there was a high, massive wooden counter laden with tempting candy jars. Behind it stood a sturdy blonde woman with pale blue eyes and rough features, her hair swept in a tight bun on top of her head. She wore a dark brown dress buttoned up to her chin and a crisp white apron over it.

Suddenly the brunette scowled, pulled from her previous awe by the realization that once again she was somewhere she probably wasn't supposed to be. What the hell was this place?!

"The tax collector comes tomorrow morning, we'd better have the ledgers ready by then," the woman spoke, eyes still on the string reels she was presently counting and Elizaveta jumped, throwing a puzzled glance around the room, because she hadn't seen anyone else yet.

"Ja, I know, Gertrude. I will finish by then…" came a grumbled reply and she discovered the Grim sat at a small desk in a corner, half-hidden by a massive cupboard. Several notebooks and ledgers were scattered in front of him, poorly lit by a half-melted candle, and he was scribbling something down with a wooden pen.

Who knew Gilbert had done bookkeeping back when he was alive, the Hungarian thought, rushing over to see what he was doing. Already knowing that neither he nor the woman could have been aware of her presence, she leaned over the albino's shoulder really close to peer at his work. His hand was moving slowly over the paper, meticulously filling the page with neatly written figures and dates, but he looked thoroughly morose and worn out, the black fabric of his coat bringing out even more the pallor of his complexion and the dark circles around his eyes.

The bell above the door rang suddenly as someone walked into the shop and Gilbert looked up startled, his hand pausing above the page enough for a large drop of ink to fall from the pen and make a large, messy stain. A small gasp of dread was followed by a foul swear and his eyes darted quickly towards the blonde woman, but she hadn't noticed anything.

Elizaveta had been so focused on the Grim's apparent distress that she only noticed the angry voices now resounding in the room when Gilbert stood up from his desk and rushed over to where the newcomer was threatening the woman with a cane after he'd brutally gripped her arm over the counter. He was loudly demanding more merchandise be given on credit and when the albino tried to get him off the woman he swung the cane with purpose. Gilbert stumbled a bit, then grabbed a bottle and promptly delivered a hearty whack over the attacker's head.

"Gott im Himmel, that was my best vinegar! You do nothing but stupidities, this time I will really tell Johann!" the blonde shrieked, just as the man was slumping limply to the ground, covered in shards and liquid. "Clean this mess right now and don't expect any dinner tonight!"

The Grim said nothing in reply, only turned on his heel with a deep frown and walked briskly towards the door. It was slammed violently in his wake as he stormed out, the glass rattling in its wooden frame and Elizaveta woke up again.

To be continued