Chapter 6
Disclaimer: I only own my OC, Alexandra Nell. And Sami only owns her OC, Charlotte Nell.
Thanks to my awesome PT and co-writer, kurounue13!
Jake and Alex had fallen asleep on the journey and when they opened their eyes, they were no longer near each other anymore.
Alex, Charlotte, and Angelika were all chained by one leg inside a very over sized wooden bucket and Jake and Will were both tied up to some wooden contraption.
"Jake!" Alex yelled out as she tried to get up until she felt the chain on her leg. "Will!" Charlotte shouted as a large cork screw type device sat above their heads. "It's alright, Charlotte. We'll be fine...I hope." he said.
Charlotte's arm and leg were hurting severely, her heart was racing as she held her sister and Angelika close to her. Alex watched as her sister was reverting back to the over protective motherly figure she had grown up with.
"Jake." Alex called out again as she held on to her sister's hand while she looked over at Jake. "Don't worry, Alex." Charlotte said as she held her close. Jake struggled. "Alex, I'll get you out, I promise." he said. "I know you will, Jake." she said. "I believe in you." she said with a smile. "I swear on my life, we will solve this. Right Will?" He asked as he looked at his brother from Will's upside down angle.
"Right. We'll solve this." Will said. "We're the Brothers Grimm after all." he said before a door opened and everyone saw as Cavaldi was muttering something to Delatombe before he put his hand over Cavaldi's mouth and looked over at Will and Jake. "Grimms! What exactly happened in the forest?" he asked. "Uh, sir, I believe that we encountered a deal of authenticated enchantment in the forest." Jake answered before Will shushed him. "Shut up, Jake, we're not saying that. That is not our official position." Will said before Jake looked down at his brother. "But it's true." he said and Alex couldn't help but smile at Jake as he couldn't have seemed more adorable even in such predicaments.
Will kicked Jake to get him to shut up. "Sir, we are dealing with people who are far more advanced and far, far more well funded than we are." Will said.
Delatombe and Cavaldi talked in hushed voices before Alex distinctly heard Cavaldi say. "I will make them talk." before he walked down the steps and ordered for the violinists to play music before he went near the bucket that held Angelika, Charlotte, and Alex as he pulled a lever and the three immediately looked up when they heard spinning as they saw the corkscrew device started to spin and then he pulled another lever to make it slowly start to come down.
Charlotte immediately pushed the two behind her. "NO! Stop!" Angelica cried out.
"No, no!" Will and Jake both shouted before Alex looked up at Jake with fearful eyes. He'd never seen her so scared and Charlotte did the same to Will.
Oh please God no!, Jake screamed in his brain as they kept yelling for them to stop the machine.
He wouldn't really do this! He can't do this! Please no!, Will thought frantically as both he and Jake shouted at Cavaldi. "The women are innocent! Let them go!" they both shouted before Will yelled. "General, if you keep working with Cavaldi, this country won't be yours for much longer! Don't you see, he panics!"
"The Great Cavaldi never panics!" Cavaldi said confidently before he let out a girlish scream as he kicked a kitten into the blades of the corkscrew before it's remains splattered the General.
As the General began to walk away, Jake looked at Alex helplessly and wanted so bad to rescue her as the three women had to lay on the bottom of the bucket they were in to avoid the blades before Jake yelled. "General, wait! Cavaldi was right. We saw them. We really did! Three in the tree, two in the cage. Huge men with axes and all sorts of weapons." Jake said and Cavaldi practically rejoiced as he went over to the Grimms.
"You see, you see, my device, it works! Truth comes out!" he said triumphantly.
"Ignorant peasents, they cling to their folklore instead of seeing what needs to be seen because it gives them strength." Jake continued before Angelika yelled at him. "STOP IT! YOU'RE GIVING HIM EXACTLY WHAT HE WANTS!" she yelled and Alex held her ear. "Thanks a lot, my ear was there." she said as Jake continued. "You see? The longer this goes on, more Germans are gonna talk like her! Well, Angelika, not Alex." he said with a dreamy smile before he continued. "And then harm themselves!" he said before Will intervened. "And soon the forest won't be just a forest anymore, it'll be a nation!" he yelled.
"YES!" Jake and Cavaldi yelled. "Let us do it our way!" Jake yelled and Will and Cavaldi both rejoiced as did Alex from her place next to her sister and Angelika. "YES!" Jake smiled as he heard Alex's delighted cheer of 'yes' for him as he continued. "SEND US BACK INTO THE FOREST!" He yelled and Will and Cavaldi were going to yell 'yes', but stopped themselves and it was just Alex who screamed out. "YES!" as Will and Cavaldi were looking at Jake in disbelief and it took a minute before Alex looked at Jake. "...Wait, what?" she asked.
"WILL!" Charlotte cried out as the spinning head was coming closer pushing them into the barrel.
Please stop!, Jake screamed in his head. "We can stop this!" Jake yelled. "General, trust me, let us do this our way. We will defeat those in the forest!" Jake said and the General looked at Cavaldi. "Cavaldi...stop." he said and Cavaldi looked over at the General as he went over to his device and the General yelled. "Stop!" and immediately Cavaldi stopped the blades and Alex looked fearfully of what was so dangerously close to her and her sister and Angelika as the blades were then lifted slowly to the top and the chains were released from all three of them as they all stood up in the bucket and looked up at the blades before Alex looked over at Jake with a relieved smile and Charlotte looked the same way at Will.
Both men sighed heavily and just hung there. Thank God., Jake thought.
Thank God, she's safe. I don't know what I'd do without Charlotte., Will thought as he looked at her.
"Alright, Grimms. You shall return to the forest. But I'm warning you now, if you attempt to escape and I shall raise every tree, demolish every building, and slaughter every innocent, including your precious women, in search of you. Do you understand?" the General asked as he looked seriously at the Grimms. They nodded quickly before they were cut down. After they got up off the floor they ran to the women.
Will picked up Charlotte out of the barrel as he held her in his arms. "Darling, are you alright?" he asked as he stroked her hair. She clamped her arms around him and held on tight. "Will, I was so afraid." she whispered to him. "I know you were, darling. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe." he said. "No matter what I have to do or say or give. I will keep you safe." he said softly to her.
Alex helped Angelika stand up and she got out of the barrel on her own as Alex looked at Jake rushing over to her as she smiled softly at him. "I'm so sorry, dearest." Jake said. And with Alex in his arms, the five of them quickly left and returned to Marbaden.
Alex wrapped her arms around Jake's neck. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Jake. You got me out of there. That's what's important." she said as she kissed Jake's cheek. "Just like I knew you would." she said. It was cutting it far too close., Jake thought.
Soon, Jake, Alex, Charlotte, and Will were all back in the inn along with Cavaldi as they went into a much-deserved sleep for the night.
Next Morning...
Jake and Will were outside preparing for the trip into the forest as Alex and Charlotte were inside as Alex was changing her sister's bandages.
"Thank you, Alex." she said softly before rubbing her shoulder. "No problem. How are they feeling today?" she asked as she kissed her sister's head and helped her get dressed. "Better...where's Will?" she sighed heavily, wanting to be held by Will again.
"Don't worry, he's outside with Jake...why don't you go downstairs? I'll get dressed and grab my bag and meet you down there." she said before sending Charlotte off.
Charlotte nodded before she went down the stairs and almost immediately saw Jake.
"Oh, good morning Charlotte. Is, um, is Alex up yet? We'll be leaving soon." he said as he looked at the top of the stairs. "Yeah, she's up. Merely getting dressed." Charlotte said. "Ah, I see. Um, Charlotte, could I talk to you?" he asked rather awkwardly as he kept looking at the stairs for Alex and back at Charlotte as if he was hoping Alex wouldn't catch him.
"Sure, Jake." She said softly. "Come, you should sit down." he said as he helped her into a seat and he sat next to her. "Um...well...how do I say this?" he asked himself as he looked around. "You need to tell Alex how you feel, but you don't know how, am I right?" she asked. "Well, yes and no, I have a letter and I was kind of hoping you would read it to see if she would like it...but I want it to be for her eyes only...but I don't want her to hate it." he said. "I understand, Jake. I will help you." She smiled at him and held his hand.
"Thank you." he said, smiling. "Alright, here's a rough draft of the letter. I've already got the original ready to deliver to her and everything on the rough draft is what's in the letter." he said as he handed her a folded piece of paper so she could read the letter in its rough draft form. Jake watched her as she quickly read over it. "This is good, Jake. This is very good." she said. "Thank you. I wrote a few more things in the letter that I didn't in the rough draft, but that's the jist of it." he said. "Will she like it? It's not too revealing or anything for her, is it? I'm sorry, I just need to make sure it's perfect and what better way to tell her than to give her a letter, right? I mean we both write and we both have such an interest in everything of writing-" he said before Charlotte stopped his nervous ranting. "Jake, she will love it. Just give it to her." Charlotte said.
"Ok. Thank you, Charlotte." he said as he kissed her cheek. "I really appreciate your advice and help." he said before Alex came down the stairs and she smiled when she saw Jake. "Oh, good morning, Jake." she said happily as she ran down the stairs once she saw Jake and she hugged him and kissed his cheek. Charlotte smiled softly as she walked away, leaving the two alone.
"How are you doing this morning?" Alex asked as she pulled away from Jake and smiled at him. "I'm doing better, Alex. How are you?" He asked her softly with a huge smile on his face. "I'm doing a lot better than last night. My ankle aches a bit from that chain, but I can walk on it without any trouble." she said, smiling just as big as Jake was. "Would you like me to wrap it for you?" He asked her quickly. She smiled. "I think I should be able to walk on it. It's not that bad of an ache, just a little pain, but nothing too bad." she said as she kissed Jake's cheek. "But thank you, darling." she said with a bright smile. "Are you sure?" he asked. "I'm sure. Thank you for offering." she said with a smile. "Alright, I just wanted to make sure." He kissed her cheek and smiled happily. "So, are you ready to go into the forest again today?" she asked. "Yes. I want to understand how it's real!" Jake said happily. "So do I!" Alex said just as happily before the two were interrupted by Will. "Don't listen to him, Alex, he wishes his entire life was something out of a book, and now he thinks he's in love with you." he said and Alex looked over at him as she went to say something before Jake interrupted. "Shut up, Will."
"I think both you and Charlotte should stay right here and not venture into the forest if girls are being taken." Will continued. "Yes, that's just like you Will. Never thinking of anybody but yourself." Jake argued. "Jake, calm down." Alex said. "And no Will, my sister and I are going into the forest whether you like it or not." she finished.
"I can't." they heard Charlotte say.
"Charlotte, of course you can." Alex said as she went over to her sister. "Alex, darling, can you please go and watch the horses?" she asked her sister and Alex sighed as she looked at her sister. "Alright." she said softly before she kissed Jake's cheek and with a soft smile to him and a slight push to Will on her way out, she went out to the horses.
"Charlotte, you can go. Your injuries are getting better and with Alex's help and yours we can bring those girls back." Jake said as he went over to Charlotte. "No, Jake...I can't..." Charlotte hugged herself.
"Bring them back?" Will asked from his place by the front door as he glared at his brother. "Yes, Will." Jake said as he turned and glared right back at Will as he stood his ground. "Bring them back how?" Will asked as he neared his brother and started smacking him in the back of the head and the face. "With what? Magic beans!?" he yelled at Jake as he tried to back away from his brother's blows, but Will wasn't backing off, and outside Alex had heard the commotion inside and was just in time to see Jake trying to back away from his furious brother. "Why do you say that?" Jake asked as he tried to dodge the blows and back his brother off, but Will only got angrier. "MAGIC BEANS DO NOT BRING PEOPLE BACK TO LIFE! THEY DID NOT THEN AND THEY WILL NOT NOW!" Will yelled in anger at his brother. "Jacob, go wait by the horses! Go! Now!" he yelled when he finally stopped smacking Jake and he looked at Will before he pushed Jake. "GO! Wait by the horses, Jacob!" he yelled before Jake looked down and walked out the front door towards the horses.
"Will." Charlotte said softly. "Why must you do that?" she asked. "Charlotte, he doesn't understand that magic is not real." Will said distressed as he sat next to Charlotte and put his head in his hands. "But Will there are other ways of going about it, you shouldn't have to resort to hitting and abusing him." She said, this time her voice slightly louder. "It's not abuse, it's making him try to see logic. If you don't want to go in that forest, I understand. Trust me, I don't want to go back either. Nothing makes sense there. It's like being inside Jake's head, it's complete madness." he said.
"Will, it is abuse. You laying hands on Jake like that...it's...no one should be subjected to that. You don't know how Jake feels when you are hitting him. It makes him afraid of you." she said. "It should. I'm the older brother. He needs to listen and stop being so..." Will trailed off, trying to find the word. "Childish! He needs to stop being so childish! He's eighteen years old!" Will said.
"WILL, HE IS A CHILD!" she screamed, leaving Will in silence. "He is a child. Just like my sister is. Jake is fragile just as Alex is. Your job as the older sibling isn't to make them see logic it's to protect them and help them. His body may be 18, but his mind is that of a child." She sighed. "You have to protect him from everything even yourself." Will was stunned by Charlotte's outburst as he looked at her and nodded slowly. "...Alright. I'll go and apologize." he said softly.
Alex saw Jake come out of the inn and she went over to him. "Jake-" she started. "What?" he asked rather quickly. She backed up a little as she looked at him. "I saw what happened in there, and I just-" she started. "Don't. I already heard Charlotte yelling at him. Alex, I don't want fighting anymore. Please." He said, exasperated. She nodded. "I know. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry about what Will did and I wanted to make sure you were alright." she said softly. "I'm fine. Will just has far too much anger in him. I just wish he wouldn't take it out on me anymore." he said.
"Jake, I can't stand it when he does this to you. I'm sorry, I know you don't want to fight anymore, but I just need to tell you that you really need to learn to stand up and defend yourself, darling. You don't know this, but I can't still the tears that come out of my eyes like rain whenever I hear or see him abusing you. And I think you need to admit that it is abuse." she said softly as she stepped a little closer to Jake. "I have Alex! I know what he's doing. I'm a wimp, what more do you want to hear?!" Jake yelled in frustration. "We're going to prove that this is real!"
"I know we will, Jake." she said softly. "But listen to me, Jake, please. You are not a wimp. Anything but actually. Jake, I can teach you how to defend yourself, I promise." she said as she held his face in her hands softly.
Jake then put Alex on the horse called over the two others before the four of them rode off. "Jake, what are we doing?" she asked as she held on to him. "Going to prove that it's real." Jake said as he started riding off towards the forest.
Will ran out when he heard Jake's horse as he yelled out. "JAKE!" but neither one of them turned their heads towards Will before Charlotte joined him outside and saw that not only Jake but Alex was also going with him. "YOU'RE A FOOL, JAKE!" Will shouted as he watched his brother and Alex ride off. "ALEX!" Charlotte cried out as she watched her sister ride off with Jake. Alex looked back at her sister. "I'LL BE BACK FOR YOU, CHARLOTTE!" she yelled to her sister before she held on to Jake a little tighter before he stopped the horse when they got to the edge of the forest a few minutes later. "Now, I want you two," he said, pointing to the two others. "To go into the forest, find the tower, and get the catapult started just like on the copy I drew and in the exact location like on the drawing as well. Alex and I will be back tomorrow morning." he said authoritatively and Alex smiled as she was impressed by Jake's tone before the two men nodded and galloped off on their horses and into the forest before Jake and Alex took off once again.
"They are going to get themselves hurt." Charlotte said as she started freaking out. "He thinks the armor is magic. I made that armor myself, it's not magic, it's just shiny!" Will said as he watched his brother ride off and couldn't be more angry or, deep down, more worried. "We have to stop them, Will." She said as she looked at him desperately. "Alright, darling, you want to go and find them? We'll go and find them. Come on, they're probably in the forest anyways." he said as Will led her to his horse before he got on and helped her up on the horse and Charlotte held onto Will as they rode off into the forest.
When they found their way to the tower, they saw huge supplies strewn everywhere as they looked around for Alex and Jake. "Jake!" Will called out as he and Charlotte looked around the forest. "Alex?!" She cried out desperately as she looked around.
Hidlick, one of their sidekicks, came out from some trees along with their other sidekick Bunst. "Jake and Alex took off after sending us in here to build one of his ideas for getting into the tower. He said they'd be back in the morning." Hidlick informed Will and Charlotte. "Where did they go? Which direction?!" She yelled as she grabbed Hidlick's shirt. "I'm sorry, Charlotte, I don't know. They sent us off into the forest before they went off." he said. "Damnit." She said as she started panicking.
"Don't worry, darling, we'll find them." Will said as he pulled Charlotte to him. "Will, I can't stay in the forest, but I want to find my sister." She held onto him as she tried to calm of herself. "Don't worry, darling, we'll go back to the inn for the night and then we'll go out in the morning when Jake and Alex will probably be here." Will said. Charlotte slowly nodded as she held onto him. "Come, darling, they should be fine." he said softly as he helped Charlotte on to the horse before he got on in front of her and she held on to him as Will galloped off to the inn.
When they arrived Will noticed she had kept glancing back at the woods. He knew she was nervous and worried about Alex. "Don't worry, darling, they probably just went to ride around for a little while. Watch they'll be back here by morning sleeping in their own beds." he said as they walked inside the inn a few minutes later. "How can you be sure?" her voice was so soft he almost didn't hear it. "Because I know my brother." he said as he kissed her hand. "Don't worry, they'll come back. I promise." he said.
Charlotte sighed heavily and sat down on the floor in front of the fireplace. Will sighed as he watched Charlotte. How did I mess things up so greatly?, he thought.
She started to absentmindly rub her shoulder. This bite hurt more than the other one. "Here let me put a cold washrag on that for you." Will said softly. "Thank you, dear." she watched him as he came over and removed the bandage. "The wound looks angry." he said softly before placing the cloth over it, earning a hiss of pain from Charlotte. "I'm sorry, darling." he said as he kissed her cheek. "It's fine, Will." She kissed his hand before pulling him closer. "I promise, darling, I'll get your sister back here." he said. "And not with any magic beans." he muttered to himself. She looked up at him and their eyes met. "But what if I want the magic beans, Will? What if I want fairy dust?" she asked him softly as she held his hand. "Is it so hard for you to believe? Just because you can't see it or understand it doesn't mean it isn't real." she said. "Darling, I'm sorry, but all of those things are in only fairy tales. I just can't except that there are such things." he said softly.
"Have you even tried? You're telling me that as a child you never believed in fairies and goblins? You denied yourself your childhood, Wilhelm Grimm." she said. "I had a childhood, Charlotte. I believed in fairies and goblins and everything that Jake thinks is real!" he said, outraged. "Let go, Will." She held his face carefully in her hands. "Let go and try to believe...in Jake. Try to see the world through his eyes." she said. "I can't, Charlotte. What he believes in...it's just not possible to me. I believe in logic and sense and Jake believes in books and fairy tales and make believe." he said. "Just try, Will." she kissed him, catching him off guard. "Just try." He looked at her and smiled as he kissed her. "I will try, love. I will." he said softly. "You know I love you Will, but you can be so bull headed sometimes." she said with a smile. "I'm sorry, darling. It's just how I am." he said with a smile. She playfully ruffled his blond hair before settling against him. He smiled as he held her and the two lounged in front of the roaring fireplace.
Alex was asleep as she rested her head against Jake's back as her arms were still around him. She didn't know where Jake was taking her, but she trusted him. Jake finally pulled the horse to a stop. "Here we are." he said and Alex awoke when she heard Jake. "Jacob, darling, where are we?" she asked as she slightly opened her eyes. "Some place just for us." he said and she opened her eyes a little more and smiled at Jake. "You brought us back to my house?" she asked happily.
He helped her down from the horse and smiled. "Oh, Jake, thank you." she said as she hugged him. Jake smiled and held her close. It's much nicer here., he thought. "Are you happy?" he asked. "Jake, I'm so happy. Thank you so much." she said before she realized that she was home. "Oh, Lightning! I have to check on Lightning!" she said as she started running towards the stable. Alex ran into the stable and saw Merlin just standing there in front of Lightning's stable door. "Merlin, how is my darling Lightning?" she asked him as she looked into Lightning's stable.
She saw him still laying the same way they left him. Alex opened the door of Lightning's stable as she went in and kept the door open as she sat next to Lightning. "Hello, sweetheart Lightning, I'm home. I've come to take care of you." she said softly. "Alex..." Jake said when he looked at the horse. He came to kneel beside her. "My darling, he's gone." he said softly and Alex felt tears forming in her eyes as she looked over at Jake as she couldn't speak without crying. "Sweetheart, look at it this way. He lived a long and happy life. And he wasn't alone." He wiped away her tears. "He's always going to be here with you." he said. "Jake..." she trailed off in a whisper before she wrapped her arms around his neck and cried into his arms.
"Do you want me to leave you alone...so you can say goodbye?" he asked her softly. "I don't know." she said softly as she sniffled and looked down at her horse as more tears starting pouring out of her eyes. "I will return, dearest." he said before kissing her head. He then walked outside and sighed. Jake looked down at the ground as he stuck his hands in his pockets and he noticed something in his left pocket as he pulled out his magic beans from childhood. He picked them up in his hand as he looked over at the horse stables and the anger that he had from Will and now from Alex crying got to him as he threw down the beans and sighed heavily again. Then a soft neigh reached his ears, he looked around before following the neigh sound.
Soon, Alex was drying her eyes as she came out of the stables and she looked for Jake, but he was nowhere to be seen. "Jake?" she called out. "Jake?" she called out again and then found him coming over a hill...with a small black and white colt in tow. She smiled as she watched Jake.
Jake reached her and smiled. "Jake..." she trailed off with a bright smile on her face. He just shrugged. "He followed me home. Can we keep him?" he asked. "Oh, Jake, of course we can." she said with a smile as she wrapped her arms around his neck and she couldn't help but giggle a little.
Jake led the small colt into one of the free stables and gave him food. Then went out to prepare a burial spot for Lightning. Alex couldn't stop her tears as she and Jake both dug a big hole into the ground for Lightning, but she was trying to keep the tears quiet. "Alex, go be with the new one. I will handle this and call for you when I am finished." Jake said. "Jake, are you sure you can do this all by yourself?" she asked softly. "I'm stronger than I look, darling." he said to her before kissing her on the cheek, almost touching the corner of her mouth. She smiled and kissed his cheek. "You look very strong to me. But I have one question before I go." she said. "Anything, love." He said, making her blush heavily. Now she couldn't stop smiling as she looked at Jake.
"Where did you find the new horse? Oh and one more question. What do you think we should name it? Oh and another question, is it a he or a she?" she asked all at once. "He found me, and you can name him." Jake said and Alex smiled and kissed Jake's cheek. "If you need any help, darling, just call for me." she said. "I shall." Jake said before she returned to the stables and a few hours later she saw Jake come in, she knew what he was to do and turned away. Jake dragged the body of Lightning outside and buried him. He put flowers over the grave before calling Alex out.
She sighed as she petted the new horse she was still thinking of a name for as she walked out of the stables and didn't notice that the new horse was following her. He whined at her loudly as he trotted after her. She looked around when she heard him as she smiled and patted his head. "I see you, I see you." she said with a small giggle as she rubbed the horse's head. He nuzzled her hand and whined again. She smiled. "I'm trying to think of a name for you, but I'm not sure yet." she said softly to him before she went over to Jake and the horse was still following her.
She eyed the simple yet lovely grave he had created for her beloved horse. She smiled softly at the grave before she looked up at Jake. "Thank you so much, Jake." she said as she kissed his cheek, very close to the corner of his mouth. Jake then placed a small makeshift headstone into the ground.
"I love you, Lightning. You'll always be remembered fondly." she said softly as she looked down at the grave before she turned to Jake. "It's starting to get dark I think we should probably get going inside." she said softly. "Yes indeed." he said. "Go ahead inside and I'll be right there after I put this one into the stable." she said, smiling down at the new little horse. He kissed her cheek again before walking into the house.
She smiled as she watched Jake go inside and couldn't help noticing that he had been quiet lately as she walked into the stables with the new horse before she put him in the stable and gave him some more water and food before she shut his door after kissing the new horse's head before she patted Merlin's head and walked out of the stables before she walked inside.
She walked inside and saw Jake just sitting there, staring. "Jake." she said softly as she closed the door and knelt by his chair he was sitting in in the living room. "Darling, are you alright?" she asked as she held his hand. "No." he said. "What's the matter, Jake?" she asked as she rubbed his hand softly. "I don't want to be a fraud." he said. "Oh Jake..." she said softly as she kissed his cheek. "I'm so tired of living as a fraud." he said.
"Jake, I'm so sorry, darling. But just think of this. The job you and your brother are doing now is real. It's not staged, it's not planned, it's real...whether he believes it or not, that forest is real. This story is real and we're living it. And after this entire thing is figured out maybe you could talk to Will and use your talents for a new living." she said softly as she looked into Jake's eyes and softly took his face into her hands. "Alright." he said softly. "Oh, Jake, sweetheart, you can't be so sad about this." she said softly. "You'll find a way out of this lifestyle soon. I know you will."
Jake nodded his head as he pulled her to him. She smiled as she held him and was now sitting on his lap in the chair as she rested her head on his chest.
Should I give the letter to her now?, he thought as he held her against him.
She kissed his cheek. "While we're at home, Jake, I'll have to show you my stories like I promised." she said softly. "Alright, love." he said. She smiled as she stood up and pulled him with her as she went up to her room and took all of her stories that were in order and stacked neatly. "I set them up on this dresser. Come look." she said. He sat on her bed as she handed him story after story to read.
Jake smiled as he had an idea of how he could give her the letter. He smiled when she was turning around to make sure her stories were in order after he finished reading the last one he stuck the letter in the middle and then handed the stack to her. "Oh, darling, I'm not sure if the sixth and seventh pages are in the right order, could you look?" he asked and she nodded. "Sure, sweetheart." she said as she went through the pages and in the middle of the sixth and the seventh page she saw a letter before she smiled at Jake. "Jacob Grimm, what have you done?" she asked softly with a smile as she picked up the letter.
I hope she likes it., He thought as he smiled softly. "Read it, please." he said.
"Sure." she said as she opened the envelope and then opened the letter as she read it. She looked up at Jake. "Oh, Jake..." she said softly. Her eyes scanned over the letter taking in every word that was written. "Darling, this is beautiful." she said as she smiled at him once she was finished reading the sentimental letter. Jake blushed heavily at her words. She smiled as she stood up and sat next to him on her bed. Her arms wrapped around him and held him to her. "Thank you, Jake. That's the nicest letter I've ever received." she said as she kissed his cheek softly as she looked into his eyes.
"I'm glad you liked it." He stuttered out as he blushed crimson. "Jake, I have to tell you...I feel the exact same way about you." she said with a sweet smile. "Y-y-y-you do?" He smiled. Please tell me I am not dreaming., he thought. "Yes, of course I do." she said with a bright smile. How could I not? He found me when I needed him the most and didn't even know it., she thought.
Jake wrapped his arms around her holding her as tight to him as he could. His face buried into the nape of her neck. She smiled as she whispered to him. "How could I not feel the same way about you?" she asked as she held him as tight as she could.
"I love you, Alex." Jake said and Alex looked at him. "You do?" she asked. She knew she'd just read that, but it was still so surreal to her that this could possibly be happening. "I do." he said. "Oh, Jake." she said breathlessly. "I love you too. So much." she said as she held him again. Jake kissed her cheek as he held her.
"Come, darling, we should probably both go off to bed so we can be up early to go back to the forest." she said. "Yes we should." Jake kissed her forehead and helped her into the bed. "Thank you, Jake. Have a good night's sleep." she said as she kissed his cheek one more time. Jake got up and left her room, leaving her door open as he did. She smiled as she watched him walk out before she blew her candle out and shut her eyes.
Later That Night...
Jake tossed and turned in his bed, mumbling loudly in his sleep. The mumbling then turned into talking as he was dreaming one of his now usual dreams about himself and Alex. "No," he moaned as he turned over in his bed. "NO!"
Alex awoke as she heard Jake yelling in his sleep. "Don't take her, please!" she heard him as she quickly got out of bed as she ran out of her room and saw his door was open as well as she ran in and shook Jake. "Jake, wake up!" she said in a whisper. "No, no, no!" He started thrashing around. "JAKE!" she yelled as she got on top of him when he turned on his back. He continued to thrash around, begging to whoever to stop.
She tried to hold him still and once she was able to get him the tiniest bit still she went to kiss his cheek to wake him up but at the time her lips were going to touch his cheek, his head turned and she kissed his lips for the very first time.
His movements ceased instantly and froze beneath her kiss. She slowly pulled away from him. "Um...Jake?" she asked timidly. His eyes opened and locked with hers.
"You were screaming in your sleep and that's the only way I could wake you up. I was aiming for your cheek, but you turned your head at the last second." she explained with a little timid smile.
She kissed me?, Jake thought as he gulped. "Then I guess I'm the damsel in distress like the ones in our stories." he said and she giggled. "Jacob Grimm...you're even a storyteller when you're half awake." she said as she kissed his cheek. "Would you like to tell me what you were dreaming about? It sounded awful." she said as her smile faded slowly. He blinked a few times before answering. "I can't remember."
"Well, whatever it was, I hope you don't have that dream again. Would you like me to stay the night so I can be here in case it does come back?" she asked. I would love nothing more., he thought while he merely nodded. She smiled and climbed off of him as she bravely kissed his lips again. "Alright. Good night, Jake...I love you." she said with a smile. "I love you too, Alex." he said softly before the two drifted off to sleep together.