Chapter 1 - The Beginning
Author's Note: It's been over fifteen years since I started writing Sang. To be honest, for a number of years (a decade at least) I assumed that I would never finish this story as the demands of life took me far from writing. However, I recently found that my life has settled into something resembling quiet and comfortable which has allowed me to revisit my old passions.
I have re-written and re-uploaded this story in its entirety, which was done to improve the quality/consistency of writing, and so I could tie together the plot once and for all. I strongly suggest starting from Chapter 1 and working your way through to the new chapters, given the heavy edits.
This reimagined version of Sang is dedicated to all the kind people who've left reviews on this silly little story over the years, especially those special few who sent me messages years after my last update to check in. It may seem odd to describe something as mundane as fanfiction reviews like this, but those comments meant the world to me when I was younger. I suppose they were their own kind of magic.
"Not you," Wilhelm insisted. Each syllable was weighed with disgust as Jacob leaned across his chest.
Not you.
The words echoed in Jacob's mind as he stared at his journal's pages, reading the familiar words over and over again which detailed their ordeals in Marbaden and the Black Forest. "Not me," Jake murmured, his voice wavering as he gently placed the worn book alongside his glasses on the bedside table. Dragging a pillow over his face to block out the late afternoon light which glowed warmly through the inn's dirty windows, Jacob willed himself to sleep, hoping the nightmares which he had become so accustomed to would drive away his painful thoughts.
Groggy and disoriented, Jacob grimaced at the dull pounding behind his eyes that indicated his nap had gone on for much longer than intended. Dragging the pillow from his face, Jake gazed around the blurry darkness of his room, the only source of light from two lamps whose glow flickered and danced as if threatening to extinguish at any moment. Reaching for his glasses, Jacob stiffly rolled out of bed and staggered towards the window as he tried to rub the sleep from his eyes. The heavy darkness of the sky above, combined with the steady trickle of figures moving on the lit streets below gave Jake a rough idea of how long he had slept. Swinging the dirt-encrusted window panes open to the warm summer air, the younger Grimm gave a small sigh of pleasure at the fresh breeze which brushed across his face.
An erratic banging began against the heavy wooden door, jarring the young man from his relaxation. 'Dear Wilhelm, no doubt, so intoxicated that he can't work a doorknob,' Jacob thought to himself with a sigh, placing his glasses onto the bedside table with care and making his way across the room.
Jacob paused in front of the door, fingers resting lightly against the handle, hesitating as he expected to be evicted any moment for his brother's privacy. As he cautiously swung the door open, Jacob was surprised to see Will unaccompanied by his usual habits. His older brother pushed the door open, stopping an inch from Jake.
"What're you looking at, Jake?" Wilhelm slurred, his breath heavy with ale. Stumbling into the room, Will slammed the door and staggered into Jacob, nearly knocking the smaller man over.
"Will?" Jake questioned tentatively, grabbing Wilhelm by the shoulders to steady him and trying to gauge exactly how drunk his brother was.
"'Course you're looking at me," Wilhelm replied with a grin, his eyes focused on Jacob. "Where're your glasses?" he added in a fleeting moment of lucidity, gently poking the younger man in the nose where his glasses usually sat.
"Well, you've had too much to drink, again," the younger Grimm muttered. Jacob wished to himself, not for the first time, that he had chosen to live out the remainder of his life peacefully as a scholar at the university. "Since when have you taken an interest in the whereabouts of my glasses?" Jake retorted, an eyebrow raised in disbelief, "You're the one who usually steps on them. Or sits on them. Or finds other, rather inventive ways to unwittingly break them."
Taking a step back from his brother, Jacob shook his head in exasperation as Will swayed slightly before catching his balance against the foot of the bed. Jake's exasperation was quickly replaced with amusement as he watched his brother drunkenly wrestle with his footwear. "You know, that's pathetic to watch. The great Wilhelm Carl Grimm, slayer of beasts, winner of fair maidens' hearts, too drunk to win against a leather boot," Jake quipped with a small smirk.
Falling gracelessly onto his bed as he failed to remove the boot, Will gave his brother an imploring look. When this failed to gain Jacob's sympathy, Wilhelm shook the boot in his brother's direction and flashed a charming smile at him.
"Come on," the older Grimm whined, swaying ever so slightly, "Don't be mad because I get the fair maidens, give me a hand! This is torture."
Sighing with defeat the same way he had a thousand times before, Jake kneeled down in front of his brother and began unlacing the offending footwear.
"Please, how mad could I be about that, Will. It's not as though bringing back intoxicated women is challenging," the younger man retorted as he worked at loosening a knot in the boot's lace. "And speaking of which, you seem to have staggered back alone tonight. Feeling alright, brother?" Jake added with a hint of seriousness in his voice as he tugged off the second boot and tossed it towards its partner.
"What?" His brother retorted with a small frown, "What's wrong with coming back alone? Maybe I wanted to spend some quality time with my dear brother. Maybe I wanted to apologize for acting like an ass."
Had Wilhelm not been so thoroughly intoxicated and slurring throughout the conversation, Jake would have almost been flattered. Almost. "Don't joke, Will. You never apologize to me… Did you get kicked out of the tavern?"
Flinching as the needle of truth in Jake's words penetrated his drunken haze, Will rolled over to face the wall. " Of course I got kicked out," he retorted, "Why would I want to spend any more time with you?"
"Now there's the Wilhelm I know and love," Jake replied dryly, moving to extinguish the lanterns.