Greetings My Lovelies!
Late again. It seems the universe is out to get this story. First carpel tunnel now my neighbor's car bursting into flames and threatening to burn down the block (no seriously that happened yesterday) 0_O Wonder what weirdness will happen next week...
Anyway on with the show!
I always love reviews
Enjoy :D
~The Huntsmen~
Jack obviously knows the forest well. He confidently strides down the path keeping up a steady stream of conversation. He's lively and personable and before long he starts telling Clara stories of his more outlandish adventures as a Huntsman. There is no way most of them actually happened. Saving scantily clad women from three headed beasts seems highly unlikely, but that doesn't stop Clara from laughing so hard it hurts.
"That's seriously what you do for a living? You hunt monsters?"
"I hunt Nightmares." Jack corrects.
"Like those wolf things?"
"The Nightmares live in the outer reaches only coming out to feed. They're the children of Darkness itself whose only purpose is to destroy. The Crown pays idiots like me to keep them in check and stop them from eating the traders who use the Royal Road."
Clara can't quite wrap her mind around the idea. She's out of her depth here. A place where monsters, or Nightmares - or whatever they were called - are real. Lost in her own thoughts it's awhile before she realizes Jack is still talking to her.
"Dinner should be nearly ready by the time we get back. Alonso's always making too much so you don't need to worry about that. Plus I think he'll just be happy to talk to someone new for a change."
The way Jack says Alonso's name makes it pretty obvious he's his husband or at least boyfriend. You can see it all over his face. She's seen that look on more than one newlywed back home. Jack maybe a natural flirt but he is clearly taken. Clara finds herself really looking forward to meeting this Alonso character trying to imagine what kind of man could tame someone like Jack.
She doesn't have to wait long. Less than ten minutes later the trees begin to thin. There is light ahead. The false dusk of the forest canopy gives way to the actual dusk of the darkening sky. Clara squints trying to see the end of the path.
A tiny cluster of log cabins are nestled together at the edge of the forest. The grouping is too small to be considered a village with only five houses. Cheerful lights flicker in the windows fighting off the darkness of the impeding night. The newly awakened stars fill the sky overhead in numbers Clara has never seen before. Thousands of diamonds which shine down upon the little cabins.
Jack leads her to one of the middle cabins. There are a few half welted flower pots on the front porch and a stone wind chime, but other than that it's pretty sparse. As one would expect from a house run by two men. Whatever the décor is lacking is made up for by the smell coming from inside. The scent of a home cooked meal is almost overpowering.
They're about to step inside when a voice calls from the next cabin, "Jack! Who do ya got there?"
Clara realizes what she'd originally thought was a pile of fabric sitting on the steps of the house next door is actually a woman. She's wearing a ridiculous amount of mismatched layers of clothing. When she stands up and steps into the light of the porch lantern Clara is surprised to see that the woman is blind.
Her eyes are snow white and glazed over. Deep scaring cut through the delicate features of her face leaving long angry welts. Despite this she is still pretty in a simple way and her expression is kind. The girl can't be much older than Clara herself.
"Evening Ada!" Jack calls with a smile in his voice, "Made a new friend. Clara Oswald this is Ada Gillyflower one of the best trackers in Shades."
"Hello." Clara says uncertainly.
"Another woman! Thank goodness. It's just me, mother, and a bunch of bloody men out here. You can imagine how much fun that is."
Clara laughs deciding she liked Ada. Jack meanwhile grimaces in mock annoyance.
"Oh I see how it is." he grumbles before walking into his house.
"See you at dinner." Ada calls after them with a chuckle.
The inside of the cabin is just as sparse as the outside. Nothing but the essentials - couch, chairs, fireplace. There is however a large assortment of weapons hanging on one wall. Swords, knifes, daggers, and a lot of things Clara has no name for. Those weapons and the shelf of jars below them look like they might belong better in the shop of Voodoo priest. Clara doesn't think she wants to know what the bright powders in the jars are for.
"Jack, honey, is that you?"
A timid looking young man sticks his head around the door leading to the kitchen. He's boyish with dark hair and large ears. His eyes widen when he sees Clara in her jeans and graphic-tee. Seeing as Alonso's also wearing clothes which appear handmade from rough linens, Clara figures her Little Mermaid shirt probably looks really alien.
"Oh. Umm… Hi." Alonso glances at Jack for explanation.
His eyes glitter with amusement, "I picked up another stray."
Alonso stares at him for a minute then rolls his eyes and turns back to her, "He's always doing stuff like this. No matter, you're just in time. I'm Alonso incase my thoughtless husband failed to mention that."
She smiles shyly, "He did. I'm Clara, by the way."
He gives her a searching look. "Have we met before?"
"No, I don't see how we could have."
Clara and Jack relate the bizarre story of how they met. Alonso's eyebrows nearly disappear into his hairline before the end of it. His expression shifts from curiosity to wonder. Though they're both being extremely nice to her, Clara is starting to feel like a circus sideshow.
"Wow."
"That's what I said."
Dinner is a communal event. Behind the cluster of houses is a small clearing ringed with oak trees. The oak trees have the same black leaves as the pine needles and their bark is gray. Set among the tall branches are more of the little white fire lights from the path in the forest. They make the whole place sparkle and glow like icicle lights on Christmas. In the center of the clearing is a long ancient table. The wood is aged and scared from the thousands of meals it has hosted in its time.
People from the other houses are laying out food when they come out with Alonso's stew. Ada and an old woman, who must be the aforementioned mother, are already there. The rest are all men, many of whom give Clara very appreciative stares. She get the feeling they don't see too many women this far out.
Jack introduces her and once again relates her story. That gets everyone talking as they dig into their meal. Clara can hardly eat because she's so busy answering questions about where she comes from. Some of the men just shake their heads in disbelief when she describes things like cars and electricity. Though to be fair if someone showed up in her town talking about ghost-monsters and magic she'd be equally skeptical.
The old woman, Mrs. Gillyflower, says nothing only watching Clara with an intense expression. It feels like the woman is trying to read her mind. And it isn't until Clara startes asking questions about Shades that she speaks up.
"You know I never forget a face, deary." she says in a falsely sweet voice.
Clara doesn't know what Mrs. Gillyflower is talking about. Neither apparently does anyone else.
"What do you mean, mama?" asks Ada. She sounds a little leery.
"Oh just that I recognize our new friend here." says Gillyflower, "No one else finds her familiar looking?"
Alonso frowns.
"What are you-?" Clara begins.
"There's no reason to keep pretending, Princess. I know who you are."
Silence greets Gillyflower's words. The men glance between the old woman and Clara uncertainly. Slowly dawning recognition lights in a few of their eyes. Clara isn't sure what's happing, but she doesn't like it.
"She's the spitting image." mutters a man at the end of the table.
"Princess Oswin." breathes another.
Everyone starts arguing at once. Jack has to shout and bang his cup on the old table to get them to shut up.
"Enough!" he cries. "Stop acting like a bunch of old biddies!"
Mrs. Gillyflower huffs in annoyance. Jack ignores her.
"Who is Princess Oswin?" Clara demands.
His brow furrows, inspecting her face closely. "Heir to the throne of the Violet Kingdom. She disappeared. Vanished right out of the palace. No one's been able to find her or someone to blame. Of course some think the Gray Kingdom had something to do with it. They've been on the brink of war ever since."
"And you think I'm her?"
Jack hesitates. The rest of the group watches him expectantly. It seems he's the one in charge among the Huntsman and whatever he says goes.
"I can't deny you look like her, I mean its uncanny. But I believe you." Jack glances around the table as though challenging anyone to say otherwise. "If she says she's not Oswin, she's not Oswin. End of discussion. And now we're going to help her get back to her own world."
Mrs. Gillyflower glares at him than get to her feet and marches off. No one stops her. Apparently Ada doesn't get her friendly disposition from her mother.
"We don't even know how she got here in the first place," Ada points out, "How are we supposed to send her back?"
Jack deflates a bit.
"We'll think of something." Alonso assures.
Clara is glad they chose to believe her even if there's no logical reason to. The situation is fucked up on every level. She does wonder about the missing Princess and if she really looks that much like her. Or have the Hunters been out here on the edge of no-wheres-ville so long they're just jumping to conclusions.
Afterwards, dinner is cleaned up with an efficiency that spoke of routine. Clara helps, thankful for the mindlessness of washing dishes. It helps her avoid thinking. Jack and Alonso put her up in their spare room. It's nothing more than a rickety bed with an old patched up quilt, but Clara can't thank them enough.
"Don't worry." Jack says, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Clara's throat is tight and she can't respond. Blinking back suppressed tears she nods. They understand and leave her alone to get some rest. Changing into the long nightdress Ada lent her, Clara slips under the covers.
Lying there waiting for sleep she can't hold back her tears any longer. Clara sobs silently into her pillow until exhaustion win out and she falls into a fitful slumber.
It is just before dawn when Clara wakes to the front door being kicked in.