ONLY DEATH AWAITS...
A "Hansel and Gretel" fanfiction
Hansel centric
Genre: Angst, Tragedy, Hurt/ Comfort, Family
Warning: This is a DARK fanfiction that includes torture, suicidal thoughts and attempts, violence, psychological problems, abandonment, incest, etc.
Pairing: HanselGretel, (a little) BenGretel
Disclaimer: I do not own the plot of "Hansel and Gretel: witch hunters" or any of the characters in this film.
Do NOT attempt to read this if you dislike any/ all of the above.
You have been warned!
And for the rest who are staying, please enjoy.
Chapter 3: Drowning
Her vision was blurry as she blinked slowly to wake herself up. When had she fallen asleep? Gretel couldn't actually recall that piece of information as her mind was completely enveloped in this constant, inviting and pleasant warmth. Where was it coming from?
The witch hunter stirred ever so slightly then realized that something was lying over her waist. It was an arm... then there was this breathing brushing against her hair.
" Hansel..." She whispered, everything came rushing back as she kept her body still, sighing in relief that she hadn't disturbed him. Her brother needed this sleep to gain back his strength, and the sun had just been up for a while only.
Lying there, Gretel began thinking back on all that had happened the previous days. Hansel got injured while trying to capture a boar, then the wound had gotten infected, which led to him being attacked by a witch... She killed the witch with all the anger she had got in her then asked Edward and Ben to bring Hansel over to where Arnold was... And there was this nightmare he had had before telling her to remain in the room with him. She had then stayed awake well into the night to keep a close eye on her brother until exhaustion finally got the better of her when the starlight was already starting to burn out.
That nightmare, she wondered what it had been about. Such a frightening dream that had shaken Hansel up so badly, Gretel wanted to know what it had been about. She was determined to find out when Hansel came to. She closed her eyes, the sound of his cracked voice shouting out her name still rang inside her ears as Gretel tried hard not to shudder. The sheer agony, pain and panic in it tore a chunk of her heart out, seeping into her very core and, honestly, she was scared. And that wasn't something that could happen easily. Her eyes stung just by thinking about it, flashes of those grey eyes widened and dilated - staring blindingly at her as if he had still been lost in the hellish nightmare he had just had - so lost and unfocused, they just kept on appearing in her mind.
" Gretel..." The body next to her stirred, successfully pulling Gretel out of her trance as she turned over on her right side to face her brother. Half-lidded eyes looked at her sluggishly as the familiar weight over her waist was lifted up, the very same hand came up to touch her cheek before sliding those fingers into her hair. " 'Morning..." He whispered gently with a weak smile.
She couldn't help but smile also and put her hand onto his own. Hansel had always had this strange way of making others, or was it just her, smile along with him whenever he did so. " Good morning to you, too." Gretel spoke with a gentle voice, not wanting to create too much noise right after Hansel had just woken up. " How are you feeling, brother?"
He looked at her for a moment, seemingly contemplating what he should say to her. Or was it that he was rather confused as to why she had asked that? Either way, he certainly looked better than he did the previous day.
" Uh... Like Ben's mushy porridge." Then he chuckled as Gretel laughed along softly at the sudden joke. " Gretel." He called, cutting through her laugh abruptly, suddenly sounding very much serious. " Why am I in a bed?"
" You are injured, Hansel. Of course you have to be in a bed." It was the truth, only she couldn't exactly tell him that she had also wanted him to be in an actual bed.
" Then where would you sleep?" He asked, looking around skeptically with this sharp and alarmed edge in his voice and gaze. " And where is this?"
" Arnold's place, Hansel. We brought you here yesterday, he had treated your wounds and let us stay in the spare rooms he has."
After that Hansel was quiet, his eyes softened as he studied her with those grey orbs that seemed to tint green and blue because of the angle of light that was reflected in them. Gretel had always been fascinated by her brother's eyes. They were grey most of the time, but whenever Hansel happened to stand in particular poses then looked back up at her, they would looked like they had turned either blue or green. Their parents had explained that it was due to the combining blood of their family, generation to generation, that resulted in Hansel having such peculiar eye color. It was very interesting, and it made her want to look into those eyes for as long as she could when they were younger, wondering to herself if she could actually discover anything behind them.
She never really did. A sharp twinge invaded her chest, she had never been able to read Hansel that well, concerning what he felt deep within, underneath the happy and easy-going mask. Sure she understood his intentions as to why he did this and that, but further than that, she hadn't really figured it out, hadn't really been allowed there.
" I suppose it's time for breakfast." She suggested softly, earning a slight grunt back her way as the young sister smiled somewhat. " I know that you probably aren't feeling that eager to eat yet, but that is a must, Hansel, if you want to get better." Gretel added the last part in intentionally, knowing full well that her brother would definitely do anything to get back on track. His eyes stared at her and kept quiet for a while before sighing in defeat as Gretel smiled in triumph. " Don't worry, I'll make something easy to swallow and light for your stomach. Stay here and wait for me, all right?" His sister climbed down from the bed before turning around. " I'll ask Ben to come in and help if you need anything, okay?" Not Arnold, not yet, because Gretel knew how the elder man tended to go into the forest early in the day to collect some herbs and do some of his researches.
" No." Was his immediate answer. " I'm fine by myself, Gretel." His voice was stern and so was the look in those grey eyes, determined to get his own way with this. She stared at him for a quiet moment or two, considering her choices in the matter. Hansel had always wanted to be a strong man in people's eyes, including her own, so she could definitely say that she understood why he didn't want for Ben to stay here and watch over him. Even so...
Those grey eyes kept on staring at her, and unless she had been blind, the fatigue in them was clear. And the last time she let him have his way, he ended up... like this.
" It's not like I'm going to wander off anywhere." Her brother answered as if he had been reading her mind. " Come on, Gretel. I am fine."
No, you're not, Hansel.
Brown eyes kept on staring at him, various thoughts ran through her troubled mind. In the end, she sighed tiredly. " Alright, I will let you be, but don't you dare get off that bed. I'll be checking up on you frequently, you know." She warned him, meaning every word that had been spoken, her eyes bore the seriousness that she intended for them to.
Hansel chuckled softly. " I know, I know."
Gretel looked at him then hesitantly stepped out of the room, leaving the door ajar.
" Ben." She called out as she found Ben reading through his notebook in the main room of the house. Edward wasn't in sight, he must have gone out wandering in the woods, the troll liked to do that in the morning.
" Good morning, miss Gretel." He answered immediately, looking up from the pages he had been studying. " I'm afraid Mr. Arnold has gone out since dawn into the forest to do... something already." The boy said with a puzzled look on his face, she smiled.
" Yes, I'm aware of that. That's just one of the things he does every day, sort of like a routine, so there's not much to worry about. Though, Ben, I must ask of you something, if you don't mind that is." She spoke softly in a low voice while cautiously looking back up the stairs to where Hansel's room was.
" Yes, anything." He closed the book before immediately and stood up from his seat. It surprised Gretel somewhat with the sudden eagerness, but she shrugged it off.
" Uhm... Can you please go and remain near Hansel's room for me? There are a few things I need to do, and I just... I just don't think he can be by himself as of yet." When the boy nodded, she could feel a slight bit of relief. " But please, stay as quiet as you can be, Ben. And if anything happens, just call out for me. Alright?" Another nod was received.
Gretel diced the carrots up on the chopping board, she had taken the liberty of using the vegetables she found in Arnold's kitchen. She was cooking for them all, but most of the efforts went to the need and hope for Hansel to get better. This was something she had to do, for the sake of her brother, besides, she couldn't actually let Ben do the cooking all the time. Hansel was never the type to like eating any soup or porridge, he had only eaten it when she had been the one cooking it and that if she demanded him to stop being stubborn and spoilt. Well, her brother had never been spoilt, but she knew he hated spoilt brats just after witches, so being called such would make him more than willing to prove it otherwise.
The water boiled as she put all the ingredients in, stirring it slightly and watched as it slowly turned to a shimmer then started to season it carefully. They could never be too careful with the food that was going in Hansel's stomach. The thought crossed her mind as it made her worries about his diabetes emerged once more. He hadn't taken his shots since the previous day's afternoon with just more than half a cup of warm milk and honey... She needed to hurry and finish the food and other necessary items and waited for Arnold to return, he should be back soon, the sun had already been up for a bit now, he had never been out for too long.
Tasting the soup, Gretel decided that it was good enough for Hansel to swallow, considering the limited supplies they had that moment, she took out a bowl and poured some pork and carrot soup in it and placed the bowl into a wooden tray along with the cup of milk she had prepared just minutes ago.
After stepping out of the kitchen with the tray balanced perfectly on her forearm, she came to the end of the staircase and signaled for Ben to come creeping back down sneakily.
" He's fine, no movement, not that I know of." The boy whispered into her ear as she nodded swiftly.
" You did a good job, thank you, Ben. Call Edward, breakfast is ready. Remember to leave some for Arnold." The smell of her soup filled the room as Ben stared and swallowed quickly.
" I-It..." He licked his lips nervously. " It would be a pleasure to be eating your soup, miss Gretel." The witch hunter almost laughed.
" Oh, good Lord, Ben, I don't even think it's that good. Don't expect too much of it, or you'll be disappointed."
" I don't think that would be the case, miss Gretel."
Gretel smiled, patted the boy on the shoulder before climbing up the stairs gracefully with his own brown eyes trailing behind her. This had been one of the few times Gretel would cook properly though the ingredients weren't that great to begin with, and Ben treasured it much. It had taken him quite an amount of courage to actually say that to her, that it would be a pleasure for him to be tasting her cooking. Every word of it was true enough... However, Ben sourly wished that he had had that kind of courage when Hansel had taken him out for hunting the previous day. If he had, things wouldn't have turned out this awful...
But that itself was a big 'if'.
Hansel sat there, leaning heavily against the headboard with the pillow acting as a cushion behind his back. Grey eyes gazed outside the windows, lost in thoughts and looking very much worn out. Gretel closed the door behind her softly before coming over and set the tray down onto the nightstand then sat down on the edge of the bed next to her brother.
" Hey..." She whispered and placed her hand over his own, rubbing it gently with her thumb to get his attention averted over to her. He still looked too pale for comfort.
A smile presented itself on his cracked lips as those eyes softened, the distant look in them gone in a fraction of a second. " That smells nice." He answered her quietly. " I won't blame Ben for saying that he'd enjoy it." Hansel added quickly, so he did hear it, his ears had always been sharp, but it wasn't like Ben had said it in a private manner anyways.
" You're exaggerating it." She said then put the bowl gently into his hands along with the spoon.
" Quite the contrary, Gretel." He took a sip of the steaming soup. " Oh, good Lord, I think I just saw a glimpse of Heaven, my dear sister." Hansel said jokingly, though the words were truthful no matter how he had said them.
" Oh, stop it, Hansel." She frowned with a smile on her lips then watched as her brother slowly ate the food, almost captivated by those grey eyes once more. " What were you thinking about?" The question slipped out of her mouth as he looked at her with slight confusion. " I mean, when I went in just now, you were staring out the windows... what were you thinking then?"
There was a short pause before Hansel shook his head. " Nothing. I didn't think about anything, Gretel." A sheepish smile was there, trying to convince her, but Gretel wouldn't for the life of her buy that bad lie.
" Oh, I can tell that it was 'something' rather than 'nothing', Hansel."
Then they stared at each other, complete silence filled the sudden tensed atmosphere of the room. One was determined to get her answer while the other was determined for her not to. Gretel could see herself in those eyes, staring back at her, but that was it. Every time, that was just it, no matter how determined she was about trying to find out what lay behind them, she could only ever see herself in them, never beyond that... never... But she wasn't going to give up, not now...
A moment later, Hansel tore his eyes away first then looked down to his bowl of soup, starting to eat again without so much of an explanation, trying to avoid her gaze. He had always done this when he saw that she wasn't going to just let it slide. Biting down her lip, Gretel turned to look at the window, at the trees out there, the sky, the clouds, anything. Anything to not think about Hansel that moment, or she wouldn't be able to control her temper.
Alright, she thought to herself, one last time.
" Last night." She began, straining her voice so that it wouldn't sound too irritated. " When you woke up, you said something about my dying... What was that about?"
And her answer was silence. He didn't say anything, the only indication that he had heard what she said was that he stopped eating to listen to her then began stuffing his mouth with the soup again right after she had voiced her question. Gretel, being the patient one of the two siblings, waited, perhaps he was just having a hard time saying it. She sat there and convinced herself that it was the case, perhaps the nightmare had been too horrid to put into words. Time stretched on, there was still no answer, the only sound in the room was Hansel's chewing, and the carrot was already really soft. It didn't even seem like he was trying to consider her question. Her nails dug into the bed sheet, balling into fists as she clenched her jaw tightly. She went out of her way to ask him twice, hoping, believing that she would get closer to him through his answers. And this was what she got.
Oh, it hurt. It hurt when the only family you had left was pushing you out of his heart, shutting the door right into your face without even a shred of consideration for your feelings.
" Fine." She whispered harshly before standing up abruptly from her seat. " You can sit there, finish your soup, drink your milk and stay quiet the whole day for all I care." Anger dripped in her voice as she turned her heels sharply to walk away, she didn't want to stay here in this room any longer, fearing that she might say or do something in her rage that might result in her regretting deeply it later on.
" Gretel!" He called out, spoken for the first time in what felt like hours, though only minutes had gone by. His voice sounded a little panicky and desperate as she turned to look at him, once again, those grey eyes were staring at her, wide and tinted with what seemed like fear. Like if she had walked out and shut that door, she would forever disappear from his side... All the anger that had built up instantly melted away, dear Lord, she could never really deny those eyes, him, could she? " I'm sorry." He whispered then averted his eyes to the ground. " I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."
He was starting to apologize again, and it in turn made Gretel feel guilty. She was supposed to be making him feel guilty, not the other way around! She sighed somewhat exasperatedly, feeling mostly annoyed at herself more than anything, then crossed the room again to find herself sitting down the very same spot she occupied just a minute ago.
Her eyes looked at him expectantly. " Well?"
Hansel swallowed, sighing defeatedly while blinking his eyes then opened his mouth to speak without looking directly at his sister. " In my dream, I saw that we were small again, and that we were back there." He said, trusting that his sister would fully understand what he meant by saying that. Of course, she did. " I was being held in that Goddamn cage, and she... she was dragging you over to the oven. You were calling me for help... but I- I couldn't. I couldn't save you. And she threw you into the oven. I can still hear the sound of your screams and her cackles."
His eyes were wide, breathing turned somewhat ragged as he relived it all in his mind. It was true, that dream was too vivid to be easily forgotten, and though a while had passed since he had seen it, everything was still very much clear. The dingy cage, the smell of burnt flesh as well as Gretel's screams, the way her teary round eyes looked at him with pure desperation shining in them, and how helpless he was even when his only sister was being murdered before his eyes.
Hansel squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself to push the images away as his grips on the warm bowl of soup tightened considerably. Though he wasn't too fond of showing his weak side to people, especially Gretel, it was getting too much for his tired mind. Suddenly, he found himself wrapped in this pleasant and calming warmth of his sister's arms as her soft hair brushed against his skin gently.
" It's alright. We're here now, we had killed her and gotten out of there. We both are still alive." She whispered into his ears. The way she softly and carefully chose the word 'we' to speak about this matter like she was implying that they had and would always be together no matter what... it really did ease his mind off the edge.
Leaning to her touch for the first time in a long while, Hansel couldn't help but smile and reach up a hand to hold onto her back. Things had always been easier and more comforting when Gretel was around.
Hansel finished his soup and Gretel was considering whether she should be relieved or worried. Relieved because for one of those few times in his life, Hansel had finally spoken the truth to her about how he felt, and she was honestly glad that he did though he looked quite shaken up. She didn't really know how it had looked like, his dream that is, so she couldn't exactly tell how horrifying that must have been for him. However, Gretel knew that if it had been her who had that dream, she would have been just as scared and afraid as he was, maybe even more. They only had each other now, so... She didn't even want to think about how it would be if one of them were to die... The thought itself was dreadful, and she couldn't, for the life of her, know how to handle it, or even how it would even be, if Hansel wasn't there anymore. He had always been there, next to her, supporting her through everything, protecting her, caring for her...
No, she wasn't not going to think about that now. It wasn't the time, nor place to be thinking about such dark prospects.
What she should be focusing more on then was trying to decipher whether she had been right to conclude that Hansel was, for some reason, burning up or not. When she held him in her arms then felt his forehead touching the crook of her neck, it was warm, warmer than it should have been, but she couldn't tell for sure. Hansel had always said that her body temperature was a little higher than his. Was it really true? Hansel had been the first to say so, not that she had had much to do with other people, men in particular, except for when they were dealing with their employers and some kids they rescued.
Pursing her lips together, Gretel decided that she should change her brother's bandage while waiting for Arnold to return, knowing full well that something bad would be inevitable should she ask Ben to come in and have a check. She went to put away the tray and came back with clean bandages she had taken the liberty of cleaning yesterday, feeling somewhat happy that she had gotten the chance to do so at all in such chaotic circumstances.
Underneath the layers of bandages was the gash from which the blood had stopped flowing, even so, it was still bleeding for a little. It bothered her much to see this as she frowned deeply and looked at the wound. From the look of things, it didn't seem like it was infected in anyway. Arnold had handled it well, and she had personally cleaned it also... Then why was the reason for this sudden, possible, fever? There was a small creak coming from below, it was Arnold, Gretel could tell as she told her brother to stay in bed and went downstairs to call him.
His hand touched Hansel's forehead, his eyebrows momentarily creased together worriedly and looked at her brother overall features.
" He definitely has a fever, it's not serious though, just a mild case. I'll go and make something to bring the temperature down." The old man left, shutting the door on his way out, waving Gretel's 'thank you' off with a small grunt.
Her eyes turned back to their main focus while trying not to think to much about anything. If Arnold had said that it was serious, then it wasn't. It was as simple as that, she understood that, but, unfortunately, she couldn't. Gretel could not shake that feeling off, that feeling when you feared that something bad would happen. She refused to believe that, Hansel was on his way to recovery and he, he...
He isn't well, especially now. He's still too weak, too... vulnerable.
Hansel fell asleep after taking Arnold's herbal medicine with a grimace, saying how disgusting it tasted and that he would only tolerate it this one time. But Gretel knew that she only needed to put in a few words and a few meaningful looks here and there, that green and brownish substance would be down his stomach again in no time. Hansel was like that, and sometimes, she felt blessed that the wall of stubbornness he had built up over the years was nothing short of ice against fire to her, with her being the flames to melt it away of course.
The town was bustling with people of all ages, Gretel moved as fast as she could through the crowd without bumping into too many bodies. She was in the market of the town, buying and supplying them with food. It was sort of running short, and Gretel could only improvise so much. She walked to the stalls, looking around, picking up a few things to compare until she had gotten the best from them. It wasn't like she really had a choice, this was a woman's job, Ben couldn't do it, he didn't know how to differentiate good food and just normal or maybe even bad food. The only thing he knew really well was witches and how to identify them as to whether or not they were dark or not, which was pretty much similar to telling if an egg has cracks on it.
Speaking of which, Hansel was a little better than Ben, she supposed. Was it because he was older, and therefore, had more experience about these things? Maybe, but she knew that if Hansel were to be left alone in a house next to a market, he would know how to feed and cook for himself properly. Not that the scenario of him being alone would ever happen. She would never let that happen.
Never. Not when she was still alive and well.
Gretel paid for the vegetables than turned sharply on her heels and began quickly heading back to Arnold's place.
Hansel was squirming somewhat in his unconscious state, the crease between his eyebrows deepened considerably, and it troubled Gretel to no end. She had returned from her little trip to the market a while ago and had fixed them up some lunch. Chicken brew with carrots and peas. Her brown eyes drifted sadly to where her brother was lying, he would have loved it. To be frank, he had always eaten whatever she cooked with great enthusiasm and eagerness, repeatedly saying that it was good even though, sometimes, she knew it really wasn't.
The damp cloth in her hand wasn't cold anymore, after wiping his face for a few time, it was then warm... it worried her. She could literally feel him burning up at that point as she watched and saw his breaths becoming more and more shallow. Gretel had asked Arnold, the man had said that maybe it would take a while for the herbs to take effect. Was it really the case? Because she wasn't sure whether it had been hesitation in his voice that she had heard. It had been too faint, and the man was already walking away into his studies before she could even take a proper look at his expression.
Once again, she took her brother's hand into her own, rubbing and squeezing it gently. She wanted for him to know that she would be there the whole way until this entire ordeal is over.
Gretel sat there and watched him tentatively while trying with all she might to push back this awful feeling that kept on pulling at her guts, like something was bound to go awry. She refused to acknowledge it though, Hansel had always said that she always over thought things. And it then the time for to believe those words... she had to believe that everything was going to be alright. Arnold was there and he was one of the best... Hansel had to be fine, he had to...
He just had to...
Time stretched on, and it didn't even seem like his condition was improving. In fact, it was actually getting worse... Biting down her lip, Gretel stood up and went out of the room with urgent steps to call for Arnold.
" Please be alright, Hansel."
" Freak!"
" Monster!"
" Go back to Hell!"
The many voices shouted as they rang in his ears. His back was throbbing as he squeezed his eyes shut and grit his teeth. Brats. They thought they were rich and so had the power to do whatever the hell they wanted. He didn't actually give a damn about them, he just minded his own business. However, one day when he was with his family in the town's fair to sell the goods his family had grown and raised the passed months and year. They were setting up their stalls when a loud group of kids that were relatively the same age as Hansel came walking by. They spotted Gretel as she was checking the vegetables and started to flirt and play with her. She plainly rejected them and swatted the hand of one of the boy away, which was obviously be the case. Even so, they were persistent like the leeches that they were. Hansel stepped in to separate his sister away from those morons. Despite the difference in build, Hansel would of course be smaller than those who had more than enough to eat every day, he had put up his bravest face to defend Gretel.
And now, when the fair was almost over, they were back and attacked Hansel while he was looking around for something to buy for Gretel with the limited allowance and saving he had, the little girl deserved to have one or two new things every now and then. They threw stones at him, the leader of their so-called 'pack' started it. He was caught off guard and a stone hit his head, it wasn't just some pebbles. He fell down onto the ground, the pain was setting in as those rats ran over and starting kicking him, calling him names. They mocked his eyes, he knew they would mock his eyes. Ever since he was aware of his surroundings, he was aware of the fact that most people didn't like his eyes. Whenever he stood in the sunlight, his eyes would flicker to either green or blue, some villagers had seen that when he was in town, and they had tried to avoid from then on. That was why he would always prefer to stay in the shades... Not that he paid any mind to whatever it was that they were whispering to themselves, having Gretel telling him that she liked his eyes were enough... He didn't care about the rest.
They kept throwing stones, kicking him, calling him names, laughing obnoxiously. He just let them had their fun. He could easily beat them up into bloody pulps, he was living in a farm for God's sake. But violent wasn't his nature, and he certainly didn't want to cause further troubles for his family.
Even so, everybody had their own limit.
" I bet his whole family are freaks of nature also!"
" Eww... We touched that girl, didn't we? Would we be..?"
Something snapped within him as he gritted his teeth then turned around sharply, hands clenching into fists.
" What did you just say?" He almost growled, boiling up with anger. He was fine, they could throw what they wanted at him, but do NOT insult his family.
In the end, he did beat them into bloody pulps as they wailed and cried for their fathers and mothers like weaklings and babies. He straddled the leader of group, grabbing the collar of his shirt until his knuckles turned white.
" You can say whatever you want about me, but dare not speak one word about my family. I maybe a freak, but I'm the only freak in the house. Leave my parents and sister Out. Of. It." He spelled each word out carefully. " Do you with your tiny mind understand what I am saying here, or do I need to repeat myself?" The threat was clear, his voice dripping with venom, promised nothing but pain and fear if the one under him were to not heed his little... 'advice'. The brat nodded his head quickly, begging for mercy. Hansel stared down at him in disgust then spat blood all over the snobbish kid before standing up and wiping his mouth. " Now you've got freak germs. Be sure to clean it... or else."
Hansel got scolded good by his parents for fighting recklessly and received some punishments. Of course he breathed no word to his parents about the exact reason why he was fighting, he didn't want to worry either one of them anymore. When they were up in their room at night, he was sleeping in his bed, trying his best not to groan aloud whenever he shifted his body, he heard the shuffling of the bed sheets and a familiar warmth pressing against his arm.
" Does it hurt?" Her voice was soft, nowhere above as whisper as her small fingers brushed over the surface of his skin.
He smiled, suddenly, it wasn't that painful anymore. " No... Not anymore."
" Really?" Her round eyes were looking at him questioning, tinting with grief for the pain of her brother. He nodded gently.
" Go to sleep, sister. It's getting late." He kissed her forehead and put his arm around her waist, holding her close to him.
This was all the comfort he needed. This little girl here, his treasure... and he would protect her with everything he had.
" How is he, Arnold?"
" I'm not entirely sure why this is happening..." Everything sounded so fuzzy and unclear in his ears.
" Please, do something... We can't just let him..." Even so, the desperation in that familiar voice was as clear as day to him...
" But..."
" Please, Arnold... I-!"
Gretel... And everything faded away once more.
They ran out of the house, welcomed by the morning sunlight and the fresh of the forest. Gretel ran a few paces ahead of him as he turned around to look at the awful hole they had just escaped from then back at his sister. They almost died in there, both he and his sister could have died. If Gretel hadn't used that log to hit the witch... What his sister did... it was risky.
She could have been killed.
/
Hansel panted, blinking his eyes repeatedly. His heart was drumming inside his ribcage, and he was having tunnel vision. Nothing was clear as sweats rolled down his clammy skin, his hands shaking non-stop and they were covered in this red and sticky substance. It made his stomach churned just by feeling it against his skin...
It was Gretel's blood. They had decided to take up the job of rescuing children that were taken away by witches like them. Witch hunters, or so they had called themselves. It was their first job. Not even a real job even, they were just walking through a town and heard that there had been multiple cases of children getting captured by dark witches, and then thought that they should do all that they could to aid the villagers.
Gretel volunteered to be the bait, acting as the innocent little girl that was wandering inside the forest and got lost. Hansel's job was to stood there, kept himself well-hidden behind the tree trunk with his gun ready in hands so that when the witch came out to take Gretel, she would be wide open for him to shoot.
But he was one step behind, the loud screeching of laughter, the strong and chilling sweeping around surprised him. It took him a full minute before he could actually take aim and fired at the witch. The thing dropped his sister with an ear-piercing wail before receiving another round of bullets pinning down her chest.
" It's just a scratch, Hansel." Even so... Even if that was the case...
She could have been killed.
/
" Do something, Arnold! ANYTHING!"
" No... not yet."
" What do you mean 'not yet'? Do you not see that he's suffering?!"
" I know. Just that now is not the time for me to interfere. Not yet..."
/
A few years later, they had already found Arnold, their almost personal doctor as well as Herman, their weapon-developer/ creator. The both of them were brilliant at what they did despite being a little odd. It was snowing somewhat as Hansel caught the attention of a witch, deliberately leading her to where their trap was. The snow crunched under his boots as Hansel ran through the woods with a pissed off witch trailing after him on her broom. It was quite easy to be honest since pissing people were one of his specialties. That was until she growled and took out her wand and started firing at him with what seemed like miniature fireballs.
Damn.
He cursed under his breath then turned to shoot back with his riffle. Of course she would be able to dodge it, he allowed her to dodge it, just grazing her broom and legs a little to anger her further into diving forward blindingly as he led her right into the trap he and Gretel had set. Just avoid the tree roots and keep an eye out of steel wires, but most of them would be above his head.
" Arghhh!" The witch roared, ugly and cracked face contorting into something that was so awful and horrendous. Pointing her wand high up into the sky, she channeled all her concentrated magic and flung it toward him. A ball of energy appeared as Hansel turned around and found only seconds to jump out of the way.
His torso slammed down into the snow, white flakes flying everywhere in the air as the tip of her broom got caught in one of the set thin, steel wires. What seemed like arrows came pointing down at her then spread out into small and sharp claws, plunging into the dark witch's flesh, blue blood spurting out from underneath the fabric of her clothes. The sound of her screaming in pain filled the still and brisk air of the forest. Hansel was thrown away and his back had hit the hard tree quite harshly. Even so, he reached forward and grabbed his gun, which had flew out of his hands in the impact, and spun around, firing multiple shots.
The witch dropped down onto the ground, writhing in agony before stiffening and stopped moving altogether. A sigh of relief escaped his nostrils as his head fell down... something clinked under the pressure of his head. Oh no...
" Hansel!" Gretel screamed, diving forward as Hansel was completely immobilized, unable to react even though he saw what was coming, not when he was lying there, entirely exposed.
Blood splattered on his face as Gretel's body came crashing down in front of him, having jumped to reach to where he was in time. The claw had pierced her through flesh, crimson liquid was spilling, staining the white snow...
" Gretel!" The pain in his back was spreading, but it had long since turned into something rather small and trivial in Hansel's perspective as his sister was more important than anything else. Using his forearms, Hansel dragged his body on the snow, trying to move his legs and pushed himself ahead. The smell of fresh blood in the frozen air sickened him to the core as he bit down on his lip and sat up, cradling her in his arms. " Gretel..."
" I'm okay, Hansel. But you..." He shook his head and held her even more tightly than before... Grey eyes landed on where the claw was and saw a part of his sister's skin and flesh on it... If it had just been a tad bit lower, or had she jumped up a little higher... Hansel couldn't possible bear the thought of where that thing could have possibly pierced.
She could have been killed.
/
" Hansel! Hansel... Hansel... Wake up... Please, I beg you, brother. Please... wake up...
... Wake up...
Please...
... Hansel... Hansel..."
/
He was not intelligent, Hansel knew that much. But to be dragged away with his ankle accidentally tied to a witch broom? Dear Lord, that was beyond stupidity. Hansel mentally smacked himself. Then he just had to go and embarrassed himself even more by falling up-side-down from a tree branch.
However those mistakes were nothing, just small grains in a sea of sand, but more importantly, the point of all of this was the fact that while he was having fun, enjoying himself with Mina... Gretel was out looking for him and got hit quite badly... He had wanted to beat the hell out of himself when he saw that his sister's flawless face was cut and bruised so mercilessly as he held it in his hands to study all the injuries he had indirectly inflicted upon her. Damn he was a bad brother, the worst even... If that troll, if Edward hadn't been there...
She could have been killed.
/
He should have really stood up quicker and protected his sister. Muriel was there in their old house and she got him out of the way then threw his sister against the wall. He should have been more careful and paid attention, he could have avoided the knife hidden in the witch's hand before it hit home, which was straight into his stomach and lower abdomen. It wasn't impossible, witch was better at cursing people than to cause much damages using physical strength. He had seen it, the flash of white and cold metal flickered in the dimly lit room, but he couldn't jump back quickly enough.
And now his sister had been taken away. To some place unknown, and she could possible be harmed and tortured...
He went to save her with the help of Mina and Ben. Standing there on the cliff, Hansel gritted his teeth harshly, feeling every blow that witch had hit Gretel in the stomach. That damn, Godforsaken witch would die, painfully, for that. He vowed then moved away.
He had gotten her out, many, too many witches were there, and Muriel got away, too smart not to have planned before-hand an escape route if things were to turn... unfavorable. Good thing he had already set up a trap waiting in the forest, and hopefully, Ben would be of use too, Hansel had given him own of his good guns. If the boy were any good like he had said, or rather bragged, then he would put the weapon into doing something helpful.
And he did. Muriel got shot and was, therefore, forced to head to that disgusting and repulsive place, the Gingerbread house, but it was better than not having her pinned down to a certain location. For the first time in a long time, Hansel felt good about himself. He wasn't messing anything up too badly, and his plans worked without too many hitches... That was until Mina dropped down dead in his arms, letting out her final breath before fading away... Once again, Hansel felt like dirt and useless as he watched her slipped away, unable to offer any sort of help.
They fought head on with Muriel in the house, it was fierce and fearsome. After struggling, they managed to get her strapped in those hold and rusty chains... Then he realized that he had completely forgotten about his shots, and he immediately felt weak when the watch on his wrist starting ringing loudly. Oh, good Lord, no... The witch the saw her chance and began flailing around non-stop until he was down onto the floor with a dull thud, completely losing all his strength and breath.
From there he could only mentally cursed at himself, watching as his sister struggle to retrieve the small bag with his medication in it. He was careless and got it thrown away without even realizing it. Damn it.
Then she was flung away, back slamming against the outer edges of the black oven. He could hear something cracked. His heart raced, pumping blood coursing throughout his whole body as his breathing quickened... Had... Had her spine been... No. No... Please, no. Don't let that be the case. No, no...
/
" Hansel. Hansel! Hansel! Can you hear me?! Hansel!"
/
Gretel. Gretel! Gretel!
He tried to call out to her, but not a word was uttered, like his voice had been taken from him. He felt trapped, trapped inside his own useless body... He had to do something, he had to... Hansel willed his body, his limbs, his fingers, anything, to move. But he couldn't... Hansel was stuck... locked in... buried in his own body...
/
" Hansel! Hansel! Arnold!"
/
Hansel squeezed his eyes shut, fight-or-flight mechanism running on full gear, and being the coward and weakling that he was, he chose flight. Gretel was the one with the brain that could solve their problems, not him, he was just someone who helped to solve it... but Gretel wasn't there with him, so he had no other choice...
Suddenly, it felt like his feet were sinking into something... warm. Snapping his eyes opened, Hansel realized that his surroundings... or more appropriately, the space around him was completely white and devoid of anything and everything... His heavy breaths escaped his lips, heart beating loudly inside his ribcage as he gathered himself before daring to look down...
And he regretted having done that... because when he looked down... he was standing in a pool of red blood that sharply and disgustingly contrasted the white landscape... It took him a couple minutes of struggling to get out while repeating to himself like a mantra to keep calm, to realize that he was, in fact, drowning in it. The more he moved, the deeper he slipped... Turning round and about, Hansel tried looking for away to get out of this when he spotted something behind him, a little far away for him to see clearly. He wasn't exactly 17 anymore, so of course his eyes couldn't actually retain its best condition. Squinting, Hansel saw that it was a dark figure, lying on the ground... long chocolate hair and fair skin... And he noticed something else too... that figure was the source of all this blood.
" GRETEL!" He all but screamed at the top of his lungs, throwing himself forward, trying with all his might to grab onto anything so that he could drag himself out of this.
" GRETEL!"
No... no... this wasn't happening... No!
/
" Are you absolutely sure about this? This could-..."
" Just do it! Anything... Anything! Just save him. Save my brother!"
" Hold him down! Now! Either you hold him down properly, or I cannot do this!"
" HANSEL!"
/
Dark... it was so dark...
Hansel felt like he was drowning, slowly and slowly down this sea of darkness and nothingness... For some reason, he could breathe here in this sea... just that his body felt so very heavy... like lead... as he gradually sank down this seemingly bottomless abyss.
Gretel... I'm so sorry... I'm sorry. I couldn't protect you...
/
" How is it?"
" I'm not sure."
/
" You should rest."
" No. I cannot and will not rest."
/
" Why isn't he..."
" His body is internally mending itself. You shouldn't worry too much."
/
" We have to go... Thank you for everything you have done for us, Arnold..."
" Gretel... I... I apologize for this. I-..."
" No need to. You have done everything you could. And that's good enough for me."
/
" Lay him down there. Thank you, Edward..."
" Get some sleep, we have lots to do tomorrow."
" I know. You should not feel the need to tell what to or not to do."
" Sorry."
/
" Hansel... Please... wake up."
/
It felt like he had been drifting for forever... And almost all thoughts had left his mind. Sometimes, he would hear its and pieces of sound and voices as they filled this hollow world... He couldn't really remember what they were speaking about, just that one voice out of all other random voices, sounded so tired, worn out, broken and desperate. Repeatedly calling out for something... It pained him, his heart felt like it was being twisted like a toy.
It was suffocating.
It made him want to open his eyes and see to it what was hurting it so much. Such sorrow and despair... he wanted to put it to ease... to tell it that everything would be alright...
But he wasn't sure if he could do that or not. Lately, he hadn't been sure of anything. Everything was out of his grasps... and it was both scary and... relieving at the same time...
Even so... Even so...
His throat constricted tightly, it seemed like that voice was crying in his ears... And it sound too heart-wrenching to ignore...
Then his back hit something that he could only assume to be the bottom of this black black sea.
For the first time in a long time, he felt like he was finally able to take in a deep breath as his eyes snapped open. It was bright, too bright. Everything was swirling and unclear, blurring into a sort of funny painting before slowly steadying itself again. But the brightness didn't seem to go away even for a little though. He groaned aloud and stirred. Good Lord, it was giving him a headache.
" Hansel...?" He turned to the source of that voice and saw the dearly familiar figure standing there, wide-eyed. The corners of his lips curved up gently into a small smile, but before he could call out her name, he was shut up by the sudden trickles of pearl-like tears spilling out from her eyes as they followed each other, rolling softly down her pale cheeks. The last time he saw her cried was when they were little, their parents were still alive, she was only five or six when she fell down, trying to chase after him and badly cut her knees.
And he panicked.
To be continued...
A/N: Sorry to keep you guys waiting for so long, but wow... I didn't expect it to be this long. Consider this double chapter, guys! LOL.
Read and Review, everybody! Reviews are appreciated because, frankly, they make my day and keep me going.
Special thanks to everyone who had followed/ favorited/ reviewed and see you guys later~