Journey Amongst the Stars
By Lumendea
Chapter Two: Mirror on the Wall: The Brothers Grimm
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the spinoff material and I gain no income off of this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.
…..
For a woman who had the words "Bad Wolf" following her for a good chunk of her life, Rose had never really thought about fairy tales or the Brothers Grimm all that much. She was suddenly feeling very much that had been a horrible oversight on her part. As a child, she hadn't wanted her mother to tell her stories about princesses or true love; she'd been eager for any story about her dad that she could convince Jackie to tell.
Her exposure to fairy tales had mostly been through movies, and while she was far from an expert, Rose had heard many times that those animated classics were missing some key elements. In fact, she had a vague memory of a Cinderella live action film where there were talking doves, and the stepsisters cut off parts of their feet to try and fit the shoe. If memory served, Jackie had found her watching it and turned it off before the end.
She should have been worrying about that strange house that was sometimes a gingerbread house more than she was, but Rose had a bad feeling that the men waiting in the buggy were more important. The Doctor started walking toward them.
"I'm afraid we're a bit lost as well," the Doctor said loudly. "But maybe we can help each other!"
"Seems the only reasonable thing to do," one of the men replied.
"The Grimm brothers," the Doctor said softly to her. "Jakob is the elder, born in 1785 and Wilhelm was born in 1786. Being so close in age, they did almost everything together as children. They were born to a good family, but their father died in 1796 which impoverished the family. With the help of their aunt, they completed their educations, even graduating top of their classes despite not being favored for their position."
Rose grimaced in sympathy. She knew how that one could go, and this era would have been even worse. There would have been a lot of limits on what their mother could do to support them. Given how close they were in age, Rose supposed it wasn't a surprise that they were here together. Such a situation would have brought the two close together with only each other to depend on.
"You know them for the fairy tales, but their passion was the German language," the Doctor said. "They've worked as librarians and wrote histories and grammar books." He chuckled, almost fondly. "They started a German dictionary project that was too large for even them to complete."
Rose wasn't sure if that was funny or not. It was certainly a statement on just how much they believed in their work, and she nodded in understanding. The TARDIS library probably had a copy of that massive project if she ever got curious. She glanced at the horse drawing the cart. It didn't look like anything special, and the wooden cart looked just to be wood. Were they aliens? She wished that she had better control over her telepathy.
Then the two men climbed down from their seat at the front of the cart. One of the patted the horse's neck as they came around to greet them. She'd expected much older men than the pair that stood before her. They were both in their twenties, tall with dark hair and large slightly curved noses. Neither was attractive to Rose's standards, but they had intelligent and kind faces with a disarming charm to them. They wore solid traveling clothing rather than the fancy clothes that Rose saw in pictures from this time. There was a strong resemblance between them, and Rose wasn't sure which was which. The men were studying her and the Doctor with open curiosity.
"Good to meet you," the Doctor said. "I'm the Doctor. Very glad that we ran into you." He gestured at the house behind them. "Empty I'm afraid."
"Oh that is a pity," one of the men said. "We were on the main road only an hour ago. I can't understand how we got so turned around."
"What brings you out here?" the Doctor asked.
"We are traveling the region to collect stories," the taller of the two said. He seemed a bit embarrassed but quickly explained. "Our goal is to record the local oral tradition stories as a means of celebrating the culture and language."
"Ah, I see," the Doctor said. "Nice to meet you then. I'm afraid that we got separated from our horses on the road. Tried to catch them, but got turned around."
"My sympathies." The man extended his hand. "I am Jakob Grimm," he had slightly longer hair than his brother with a slight curl to it. For now, it was tied back in a rather messy ponytail. There was a small smudge of dirt on his face even as he nodded to her politely. "A pleasure to meet a fellow traveler."
"My name is Rose Tyler," Rose said. "It's nice to meet you as well. Your work sounds amazing. You must come across very interesting stories."
The second brother stepped forward. His hair was loose around his shoulders, and he somewhat reminded Rose of the Doctor's eighth body. She quickly stamped down that comparison as Wilhelm took her hand. He brought it up to his lips and kissed it with a smile.
"Wilhelm Grimm," he said. "Please forgive, Jakob," Wilhelm said. "My brother is the deeper thinker between us." His smile widened. "It is a great pleasure to meet someone so interested in our work."
"I think it is wonderful," Rose said sincerely. "It is so easy to lose traditional stories, I imagine. Someone forgets the tale or doesn't pass it on, and it is gone forever."
Wilhelm's face lit up, and he nodded. "Precisely. These stories carry ideals of our ancestors. While some aren't exactly… enjoyable to hear, there are lessons in them. Things that our forefathers put value in." He straightened up, and Rose smiled at the passion. "Recording them ensures that they survive and is helping Jakob and I study the great German language."
"Well," the Doctor said loudly. "Given that all four of us managed to get lost, the best course of action seems to be to work together to find our way back to the main road."
"Yes," Jakob said. "That does seem to be a good thought." He peered into the forest behind them. "I am sorry, but I can't imagine that we'll find your horses easily."
"Don't worry about them," the Doctor said. "They'll be fine."
The brothers looked confused about the Doctor's dismissal of valuable animals, but Rose used the opportunity to slip away to look in the cart. There was an old traveler's chest, likely with clothing and supplies in the back. A small crate of apples and a few other random supplies rounded everything out. Rose noted a lump of rolled up fabric that looked like it might be a tent. Nothing seemed out of place or dangerous.
"Climb in."
Rose almost jumped and turned to find Wilhelm watching her with a smile. "You must be exhausted after wandering the woods on foot." He glanced down at her feet. "At least you are wearing solid shoes."
"I don't want to impose."
"The horse can manage the weight of you and your friend just fine," Wilhelm assured her.
"Right, come on, Rose," the Doctor said. He grinned at her and climbed into the back of the wagon. "No point lingering."
He gave her a pointed look and then nodded towards the house. Rose nodded and climbed in, earning a smile from Wilhelm, who the Doctor glared a little at before seeming to catch himself. As she settled and the Brothers Grimm climbed back onto the bench, she turned around to look at the house. It was shifting again, but thankfully the brothers hadn't noticed.
"Is it a hologram?" Rose whispered.
"I don't think so," the Doctor said. "I didn't pick up any technology advanced enough for that."
"Telepathic projection?"
"Did you feel anything like that?" He honestly sounded curious.
"No," Rose whispered. The wood of the house seemed to be changing even if it was slow. "I didn't." She swallowed, and the cart started to move. "What if… I don't know, whatever is causing this makes a witch to go with the house." Rose felt ridiculous for even saying it.
"Then we need to hurry and find out what is causing this and if it's one house or not," the Doctor said. Then he reached over to touch her hand before turning his attention to the brothers. "We're lucky you came along."
"We're glad for some company," Jakob said. "We've been having trouble navigating all afternoon." He huffed and looked up at the trees. "I don't know how we lost the road. At least we know we're still in the Kingdom of Württemberg."
Rose blinked and mounted the words slowly, very confused. She'd never heard of that nation, and she'd thought that the Black Forest was in Germany.
"This is before Germany is united," the Doctor whispered. "It's still a collection of small states sharing a language and culture."
"Oh." Rose blinked. She regretted once more her utter lack of memory when it came to history. "Right."
"Germany isn't a united country until 1871," the Doctor said. "It's younger than most people realize, especially compared to England."
"Oh." Rose blinked and looked back at the brothers. "I never realized that."
"It's a confederation of sorts now, but each country runs itself, and there are some intense rivalries. Austria is very powerful which is one of the reasons it doesn't become part of Germany, politics with the Prussians. Their capital is Berlin, and their royal family will become the emperor when Germany is united."
Rose wondered if that process had anything to do with this, but dismissed it quickly. She turned again so that she could look back at the house. Brightly colored candies had started to appear, and she hoped that neither brother turned to look behind them. Biting her lip, she looked at the Doctor and found him scanning the scenery with a stern expression. At least, they already knew that something was wrong.
In the distance, Rose heard something. She wasn't sure what it was, but it sounded like a howl, and she tensed. No one else reacted, and for a moment, she wondered if it was a Bad Wolf sign, but they'd always been something that others could perceive even if they didn't understand.
"Are wolves still an issue here?" Rose asked. "Like in the stories?"
"Wolves appear in the stories because they're a natural enemy of farmers," the Doctor said. "There's still some wolves scattered in the area, but they've largely been killed off. Not unlike England, farmers systematically killed them." Rose flinched at the words, unsure as to why they bothered her so much. "By your time they're starting to come back into the area a little. Give it another century or so and Germany will actually have a few of their wolves, and eagles back."
As if reacting to their conversation, a wolf howl echoed through the forest. The Grimms both stopped and looked around with a hint of nervousness. Rose looked into the trees around them but saw nothing that looked dangerous. None the less, the brothers urged the horse to go a bit faster.
"We best get a move on," Wilhelm said. "We don't want to be out after dark if we don't have to." Then he nodded to Rose, "And you best stay on the path."
The Doctor snorted, but it took Rose a moment. Then she looked down at herself and groaned. She was dressed in a red shirt and a long red coat that even had a hood. The TARDIS had dressed her up as Red Riding Hood. Given the Bad Wolf references sure to follow, Rose wasn't sure how worried she should be.
"Any thoughts on a town?" Wilhelm asked. "I was hoping that the house was an indication, but this old road doesn't seem to be going anywhere."
"I'm not sure either," the Doctor said. "Sorry, but we got very turned around."
"This path is clear," Jakob said. "It has to go somewhere."
"It's not that clear. It's half overgrown," Wilhelm corrected. He was starting to sound very worried.
The cart rolled around a curve in the hill, and they all gasped. Three women were sitting together on small stools around a spinning wheel, working at different stages with what looked like raw material to make thread a few feet ahead. One had a huge foot and was using it on what looked like a pedal. Another had a huge thumb and was manipulating a roundish wooden device that had rough material wrapped around it that she kept dropping to stretch the material out. The third had massively oversized lips. None of them seemed to notice their cart at all. Rose sat up on her knees to look at the women.
"That's remarkable," Wilhelm said. "Those women- they look just like the three old maids form that story we just heard!"
"It's a coincidence," Jakob said. "But what are they doing out in the forest to spin? Why bring a spinning wheel out here?"
"Excuse me," Wilhelm called out. "Can you direct us to the nearest village? We've gotten a bit lost."
The women didn't look up from their work, but the third one who was licking at the edge of a thread raised her left hand and pointed ahead.
"Keep going straight," she ordered. Then she went back to work.
"Ah… I see, thank you," Wilhelm said.
The Doctor was staring at the women, a strange expression on his face that Rose didn't like. It was curious and worried all at once. She shifted closer to him but tried not to stare at them. What had the Brother's Grimm meant about them being from a story? She'd never heard such a story.
"What story were you talking about?" Rose asked softly as they rolled past the women.
"It's a simple tale," Jakob answered. "It's one of the tales that we've collected for our book. Once there was a beautiful-but-lazy girl who would not spin. Her mother beats her for her laziness, but one day the Queen passed by and asked the reason for the punishment. Ashamed to admit that her daughter is lazy, the woman replies that the girl spins so much that her mother cannot afford to buy enough flax to keep her occupied. The Queen is impressed by the girl's industry and takes the girl with her to the castle. Once there, the girl is put in a room full of flax and is given an offer: if she spins it all within three days, she'll marry the queen's oldest son and become the next queen. But when the queen returns two days later, the girl has done no spinning. The girl pleads that homesickness has kept her from spinning, but she knows that she cannot use that excuse again. Three women appear in the room that night. One has a grotesquely swollen foot; the second, an overgrown thumb; the third, a pendulous lip." Jakob gestured vaguely behind them and turned slightly, still looking nervous. "They offer to spin all the flax for the girl if she will invite them to her wedding, introduce them as her aunts, and seat them at the high table. She agrees, and they commence and complete the spinning. In the morning the queen is happy to see all the spinning done and the wedding is quickly planned. As promised, the girl invites her aunts. When they appear, the king asks how they came to have such deformities, and the three explain that they come from their years of spinning. The king forbids his beautiful daughter-in-law to spin again."
Rose wanted to laugh at the ending but only nodded. The Doctor said nothing as they kept following the path forward.
"That is strange," Rose said softly. "How old is the story? Maybe they inspired it."
Wilhelm chuckled at the idea, but then a loud gasp escaped him. His brother made a similar sound of shock mere moments later. The Doctor scrambled to the front of the cart to look ahead. Rose clung to the side and leaned out. There, ahead of them, was the same house from before, but now it was a perfect little gingerbread house complete with a sweet smell wafting towards them.