Greetings Friends!
Sorry this took awhile I've been swamped with Finals and term project disasters. -_-
I've been toying with the idea of doing a couple scene of this from John's pov... Would anyone be interested in that? Maybe I'm just trying to hold onto this story since there are only like 3-4 chapters left.
Anyway, reviews are always welcome!
Enjoy :D
~Jump Again~
King Toby reluctantly agrees to let them go. He asks Clara over and over if she is sure about this. The whole venture risks him losing the only pseudo member of his family he has left. But Martha explains her theory stressing that Oswin, his only sane daughter, is still alive and trapped in the wrong world. The King caves at the thought.
So that finds Clara and her small entourage bumping down the Royal Road in a cramped carriage. Amy insisted on accompanying her, though she already had Jack and Alonso as a guard and she alone will be able to cross the portal. It is still nice to have Amy with her, even if it's only in the position of lady in waiting. Martha, of course, is also there since she is the only person who understands this stuff.
It is almost funny to find out all she ever had to do was jump back into that fucking river. Clara could have avoided all of this shit so easily. But despite everything she's glad she didn't. She got to meet John and she's discovered more about herself in these last months than in her whole life. She is stronger now.
Clara leans her head against the window letting the cold sun play across her skin. They've been traveling for several hours and exhaustion feels like it is leeching the marrow from her bones. The rocking of the carriage mixed with the soft breathing of her companions lull Clara into a daze. Another village rolls past the window as her eyelids drop.
At first it is dark around her. The deep black stirs a powerful fear in her belly making her limbs shake and a cold sweat drip down her spine. There are things here that want to hurt her. There is a man who wants to hurt her.
Harold slips from the shifting shadows which cling to his skin like thin robes. Clara is rooted to the spot unable to scream or cry out, no matter how hard she tries. The Prince's smirk is exactly as it was before. He can't be here, lavender killed him, she gutted him like the pig he was. But his smile is the same.
"You are going to enjoy this." A hand closes around her throat as another slides between her thighs.
She squeezes her eyes shut not wanting to see that smirk.
"Clara."
Harold and the darkness are gone replaced by a glowing light and an endless plain of tall grass. She turns towards the source of the voice her heart rising to her throat. And there he is smiling up at her.
John leans back on his elbows watching her openly. With a strangled gasp that is nearly a sob Clara drops to the ground throwing herself into his arms. She presses her face into his neck feeling his arms wrap around her, warm and familiar.
"I miss you." Clara whispers, pulling back to see his strange color shifting eyes.
John laughs. "I have not gone anywhere."
She kisses him then, licking into his mouth possessively, nails running through the short hairs at the base of his skull. He hums pulling her closer, cradling her body against his. Clara sucks at his lower lip marveling at the sounds John makes. Sounds she knows from her only night with him. She kisses alone his angular jaw begging this to be real.
"You are crying." John murmurs, touching her wet cheeks.
Wheels hit a large bump in the road jostling the carriage. Clara jerks awake pulling away from the window with a start. Carefully brushing away tears she tries not to let the others see. They already worry enough as it is and adding 'crying in her sleep' to their list of concerns helps no one.
The dark tree line of the Lost Woods is much clearer now, the black needles sucking in light. It seems much creepier this time which is ridiculous all things considered. How do Jack and Alonso stand living out here? Though disregarding the Nightmares it is probably nice to be so far away from Violet City. Free from the politics and the intrigue.
Clara bites her inner lip thinking; maybe living out here wouldn't be so bad. Simple too, just a cottage and a garden. She sighs, her breath clouding over the window glass. A hand squeezes her knee softly. Clara meets Amy's sad and understanding smile with one of her own. Threading their fingers together she takes comfort in her friend's simple gesture. Nothing needs to be said, not with Amy.
Once they reach the forest's edge another troop of Hunters join Jack and Alonso as their guard. Clara briefly catches a glimpse of Ada with her snow eyes as they fall into formation around the carriage. They must have been warned they were coming. It's a relief to have more protection knowing the things which stalk the Lost Woods.
Several of the men canter beside the windows to flirt and talk with the girls. Their eyes never lose their tension however, shifting from one side of the road to the other. All three women talk amiably with the Hunters, welcome for the distraction.
Strangely it seems to take longer to reach the river than Clara remembers even if she isn't on foot this time. The hours pass slowly while she wonders what she's supposed to do when she reaches home. Will Oswin be in her little village? How did she explain any of this? Or did she simply keep moving and now Clara will have to track her down?
All these questions are starting to make her nauseous.
Sunlight begins to show through the branches of the trees ahead. Clara almost forgot it is still day beyond the cover of the forest. She sits up straighter.
"Finally." Martha sighs, speaking for the first time in ages. "My legs went to sleep some time last season."
"At least we didn't have to go on horseback." Amy points out glancing at their guard members outside.
Clara's response is cut off when the carriage breaks from the tree line. The sun suddenly streaming in makes her throw an arm over her face.
"Urgh!" She hisses, blinking furiously. It is blinding, but slowly her vision normalizes.
And there is the bridge.
The guard fans out to either side as the carriage pulls to a stop before the intricate white structure. Clara climbs out with difficulty; all her joints are stiff and sore from being stuck in one position for so long. At least she isn't wearing one of those silly dresses. A lilac silk tunic and dark leggings may still not be quite as good as jeans but they are way better than corsets for comfort.
"So now what?" Jack calls jumping off his black horse.
Martha presses down the creases in her lose cream blouse. "Now she jumps."
"What that's it?" Ada says her sightless glaze turned in her direction. "I was expecting more mystical mumbo-jumbo. No offence."
"None taken. But that really is all there is to it.'
"I've never liked this place." Mutters Alonso his boyish face pinched in worry as he wraps an arm around his husband.
"It was the same on my side." Clara says staring down at the clear water. This suddenly seems like a truly terrible idea. She is going to drown. "No one came near Broken Bridge."
"My Aunt used to say the laws of nature got mixed up around soft spots." Amy mumbles.
"We really do not know much about them, but I have heard that as well."
"That's not very reassuring." Clara states darkly.
"It will be fine." Martha's voice is full of authority and she finally gets a glimpse of the powerful head of Order. "You have already done this once before."
Clara grumbles, steeling herself and climbing over the railing. "Yeah and it was so much fun that time."
The jewel incrusted metal bites into her skin where Clara clings to the side of the bridge. She doesn't want to do this, but she has to. Oswin in counting on her, the whole kingdom is. The water is so clear she can actually see the bottom which is highly disconcerting. If this doesn't work her neck is going to snap.
But Martha says this will work and Clara trusts her.
She closes her eyes and takes a steadying breath. This is simple - just let go. Just fall. All she has to do is fall.
"I'll get her back." Clara says and leaps.
The water is freezing deadening her nerves instantly. Instinct screams to swim for the surface, to breath, but Clara fights to keep calm. She lets herself sink feeling the unnatural undercurrent begin pulling at her limp frame. It drags her down as the world around her fades to black.
The darkness stretches on forever. Endless. And still she sinks.
Clara does not need to breath.
She does not need to think.
She does not need to remember.
Nothing beyond the black exists, not anymore.
Then slowly warm yellow light opens up below her. Suddenly Clara's brain kick starts and she begins swimming down towards it. Or is she swimming up? She can't tell. Lungs start burning desperate for air as Clara drags herself to the sun.
She breaks the surface gasping. Air never tasted so good. Sputtering Clara breathes in as much of it as she can while paddling towards the muddy bank. Coughing she pulls herself onto dryer land then has to cover her eyes nearly crying out. Everything is too bright. The pine needles are violently green and it burns. The yellow sun is a nuclear explosion of color against her vision.
"Oh shit. Fuck. Holy crap."
Clara curls into a ball on the muddy ground at the visual assault. It can't have been this vibrant before. All the colors are set to eleven. Eyes streaming she forces herself to look up and almost can't believe what she sees. Old, rickety Broken Bridge looms above her threatening to collapse into the murky river below.
"Oh my god…"
Clara is home.