Sang – Chapter 14
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"Good evening Herr," Will began with a strange sense of déja-vu as the cottage door leisurely swung a foot or two open.
Wilhelm had no idea why the scene felt so familiar but he had almost expected Weiss to answer the door. As it were, the circumstances were entirely opposite from their last lodging plea; Jacob was fully-conscious, the sky wasn't in the least bit overcast and the face that greeted the two brothers didn't look at all happy.
"Good evening," The stranger replied in a bored tone, "Names and purpose, please." He added, looking over the two brothers disinterestedly.
Slightly taken aback by the man's directness, Will froze his smile in place and continued. "I'm Wilhelm Grimm and this is Jacob Grimm," He explained with a small gesture to his brother, "And we're in dire need of lodging." Will added, holding back a sigh.
"Ah, is that so?" He wondered coolly, as Will noticed his distinct aristocratic drawl, "…And?" The man prompted as he began to play with a piece of his hair.
"And we'd like to request lodging from you, Herr." Wilhelm said through clenched teeth. "We can pay if you'd like." He added, thoroughly annoyed with the man's attitude.
"Really?" He wondered languidly, "Well I would hate to rain on your figurative parade but I…" The stranger paused and glanced from Will over to Jacob, "Are you two scholars?" He asked, for the first time seeming partially interested in their conversation.
Wondering what had caused such a sudden change of subject, Will glanced over at Jacob who had once again pulled out his small leather bound book and was flipping through it, completely oblivious to the other two men. "He is." Wilhelm answered with a sigh, as he realized that they'd no doubt be sleeping out under the stars that night.
"Mhm," The man stated, taking another speculative look at the two brothers, "I'm Herr Lehrer." He added, taking a step backwards and swinging the door fully open.
Wondering whether that meant they could stay, Will paused uncertainly.
"Did you want a place to sleep or not?" Herr Lehrer wondered with a smirk, "Put your horses in the paddock and come in." He instructed lazily.
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"So," The man stated with a curt gesture, "Welcome to my humble abode."
Although not exactly humble, it was most certainly welcoming. The walls were paneled with dark polished wood; the floors were tiled in pale golds and deep reds. Once again, it seemed that his brother had chose an excellent place to stay, Jacob noted as he carefully wiped off his boots and followed their host down a short hallway. As their host began instructing them on where they could leave their bags, Jacob found himself watching the other man carefully. The first thing that struck Jake about the other man was his skin; it was pale and spotless, not a scar or blemish to be seen. If his manner of speaking hadn't given away his status, then this surely would have. His hair in contrast, was dark and seemed to glow copper where the light shone on it. Like his hair; Lehrer's eyes seemed to come alive as the light illuminated them, almost resembling those of a cat as they turned a wonderfully dark shade of gold. Jacob noticed, only as an afterthought, that not unlike himself, the other man wore glasses; although unlike his own, they were spotless and rectangular.
It was only after their host had stopped talking and turned to Jake, that he realized he'd been staring. Feeling foolish as he felt his face flush, Jacob gave the other man a small smile and turned his gaze towards Will, who glared back. "Well," Lehrer continued, "As I was saying, the spare room is at the end of this hallway." He indicated with a curt gesture, "If you need me, I will most likely be in the study, which is up those stairs and to the right." Stifling a yawn, their host turned on his heel and left in the direction of the aforementioned study.
Carrying their baggage, Wilhelm stalked past his brother and down the hallway; not once glancing at Jake. Not exactly eager to be yet again reprimanded by his brother, Jacob made his way down the hallway at a much slower pace, knowing some kind of dispute or another was unarguably imminent.
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"Were you trying to get us thrown out?" Wilhelm wondered accusingly as his brother stepped into the room, gently pulling the door shut behind him. "Well?" He asked again, wondering whether Jake had even heard the question.
"No." His brother answered quietly, "I didn't -I mean, I wasn't. I didn't mean to." Jake replied, stumbling over the words as he resisted the urge to fidget with his glasses. "I just wasn't paying attention, sorry." He finished, staring fixedly at the floor.
"Weren't paying attention?" Will echoed, stepping towards his younger brother, "You were paying attention; to Lehrer that is." He snapped, and paused, taking a breath, "What were you…?" Wilhelm wondered, his anger slowly giving way to curiosity as he studied Jacob.
"What was I doing?" Jake replied cautiously, 'Good question.' He though to himself, as he forced himself to bring his eyes up to meet Will's. "I was just looking at him." Jacob answered cautiously. His brother exhaled slowly, meaning that Jake's answer wasn't the one he was looking for.
"Okay," Wilhelm restarted, "Why were you looking at him?" He asked, prompting his brother to elaborate.
"Why?" Jake repeated faintly, as he forced himself to keep his gaze level. "He… reminded me of someone." Jacob finished dully, wishing that his brother would just let him go to bed in peace.
"Oh. Really?" His brother wondered, pausing to think, "Anyone I know?" He asked absentmindedly, as he turned away from Jacob and set his attention on their baggage.
"I don't know." Jake replied, letting out a small sigh of relief as he realized that this argument hadn't led up to a fight; although he still didn't know precisely what this specific argument had been about. Try as he may, Jacob just couldn't see the problem Will had with him looking at another man. 'Another man.' He thought to himself, 'The way I phrase it, you'd think I was talking about a jealous husband.' Jake realized, 'Congratulations Jacob, you've just hit a new low in your life.' He finished with a sigh as he went over to retrieve some of his belongings from the luggage.
"I'm going to go give Kastanie and Fee supper," Will stated, as his brother came up beside him and grabbed one of the luggage pieces.
"Alright?" Jake answered hesitantly, "Didn't you already feed them?" He questioned uncertainly, as he rummaged unsuccessfully through the baggage.
"Not yet," Will responded as he headed out of the bedroom, "I'll be back in a bit." Jake heard his brother say as the door closed behind him.
"Now what's poor Will supposed to do for fun? There isn't a tavern or whore for miles around." Jacob thought aloud, smirking as he continued to search fruitlessly through their luggage for his books. Realizing that he'd no doubt left them in his saddlebag, Jake cursed, abandoning his search and slipping out the door in an effort to catch Wilhelm before he went outside.
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Hearing the guestroom door open and shut repeatedly, Lehrer let out an exasperated sigh and listened intently. He heard the heavier set of boots walk briskly down the hallway, pausing as their owner fumbled with the bolts that flanked the main entrance's doorway. Lehrer smirked to himself in satisfaction; after all, he was the one who'd installed the locks. His smirk nearly faltered when he heard the door finally swing open, but then he brought to mind the fact that locks were meant to keep people out;not in.
Hearing a second, softer set of boots make their way out of the guestroom and down the hallway, he held back a snarl and silently stalked out of his study.
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A/N: I'm sorry! Will you guys forgive me? I do believe I haven't updated in over three weeks. I tried to think up plot on the long plane rides… but I just couldn't. And then I got home, all ready to type and once again, I couldn't. So if this chapter seems worse than usual… please excuse it. (I did try though!) In fact the only reason I got this chapter finished at all is because I have the day off school.
Now; the slightly happier news. This story's gotten over 7000 hits. How and why? I have no idea. But it does indeed make me happy, along with you amazing readers/reviewers, I hope I've keeping up to your expectations!
And lastly, I'd like to take a second to pimp out my POTC fanfic… dunno if anyone here likes Sparrington pairings… but I'd like some constructive criticism about it. On the plus side, it's finished so you won't have to wait for this lazy author to update. If anyone's interested, it's on my profile page. Heh.