Chapter 3 - The Letter
Jacob stretched out on his bed, peering into the dimly lit room of the inn. Slowly massaging his temples, he attempted to block out the incessant noise which thwarted his attempts at a peaceful night's sleep. Much of the world had gone to sleep hours ago in this small town, and there should not have been any reason for his sleep to be disturbed. However, as Jacob's luck would have it, this was sorely not the case.
Having woken once earlier in the evening to the sounds of Wilhelm stumbling back into their room reeking of ale, Jake had given up on any hopes of a good night's sleep. But now... though the noises intruding on his slumber were not particularly loud, nor necessarily intrusive, they proved to be especially distracting nonetheless. From what Jake could gather from the soft moans his brother was currently enjoying a rather intimate dream.
Jake whispered hoarsely to his brother, "Will... Wilhelm! Wake up! Or shut up, either is fine, just stop that!"
Moaning Jacob's name softly in response, Will continued to toss and turn in his bed, much to the other man's dismay. Almost immediately, Jake felt a rush of blood warm his face in embarrassment.
Jake cursed silently to himself, attempting to cover his ears with a pillow. While not Jacob's original intent, smothering himself also seemed a viable option at the moment.
After several moments of welcome silence had passed, the younger Grimm cautiously lifted the pillow away from his ears, listening intently. Jake let out a small sigh of relief and began to make himself comfortable in the narrow bed.
Closing his eyes, Jacob relished the silence and could feel his body begin to relax. Beginning to drift off to sleep, the younger Grimm was abruptly jolted from his peace by a sudden and persistent banging at the door.
Muttering an uncharacteristically prolific stream of profanity under his breath when Wilhelm failed to respond, Jacob rolled out of bed, fumbling with his glasses.
"What?" Jake asked groggily, cracking open the door to reveal a tired young man outfitted with a bulging messenger's bag.
Noticing Jacob's annoyance, the courier hurriedly thrust a worn envelope through the doorway. "Apologies, monsieur!" the courier exclaimed.
Jacob looked down at the sealed envelope with displeasure. Grabbing several coins and turning back to tip the messenger, Jake observed that the doorway was now empty and the young man was making a hasty retreat down the hallway.
Pushing the door closed and cautiously making his way across the room to Wilhelm, Jacob leaned over his brother and gently shook him. "Will!" he hissed in exasperation when his brother showed no signs of moving.
Abandoning his futile efforts to rouse Wilhelm, Jake examined the envelope with interest. The deep red wax seal and irregular delivery time suggested that the contents were urgent. Sighing in exasperation as his brother remained sound asleep, the younger Grimm opened the letter with care and began examining its contents.
Author's Note: Thank you for reading. This is the updated version of Chapter 3, uploaded on 02/2023.