Chapter 12 - The Book
"So early," Jake muttered to himself, attempting to shake off his exhaustion. 'And yet he didn't lose a second of sleep.' Jacob thought irritably, directing a glare towards Will who was talking cheerfully with the Mayor. Suppressing a yawn, Jacob adjusted his glasses and joined his brother.
"So that will be the fixed amount; however, if you two miraculously manage to retrieve all the children, then I'm sure the townspeople could be convinced to augment the payment." The Mayor explained to Wilhelm, not once bothering to glance at Jacob, "Do we have a deal, Herr Grimm?"
"Yes but-" Wilhelm began to argue, but was swiftly interrupted by the Mayor.
"Oh, are you two in need of a guide?" He inquired, "I could find someone if you'd like."
"No guides." Will snapped, "I'm sure we'll be able to manage without endangering someone else," He added quickly.
"Alright, no guide. Is there anything else that you two require?" The mayor wondered, "Any other supplies? A map perhaps?"
"No, Jacob has the map situation taken care of. But a compass might be of use," Will ventured.
At this, Jacob had to resist the urge to laugh, 'Really Wilhelm… if only you'd thought of that before pawning ours off for a few rounds of ale.' He thought to himself. 'Not that it was even your compass to pawn,' Jake added in annoyance, stepping away from the negotiations to check their horses and supplies.
"Pardon me, Herr Grimm?" A voice questioned softly from behind Jacob.
"Yes?" He wondered, turning away from Fee's halter towards a petite blonde woman.
"I just wanted to wish you and your brother luck, I hope you can rescue my little sister," She explained, balancing on her toes and giving Jacob a peck on the cheek.
"Thank you?" Jacob faltered, taken off guard by her forwardness as she darted back towards a group of giggling young women. Feeling someone's gaze prick the back of his neck, Jake turned back to Fee's halter just in time to see Wilhelm drop his eyes down to Kastanie's saddle. 'Lovely,' Jacob thought sarcastically to himself, 'I bet Will had his eye on her or something.' Not sure exactly how the situation could be considered his fault, Jacob finished with Fee's halter and waited for his brother's cue to leave.
"Always such a commotion when we set off." Wilhelm noted, as the two brothers passed through the town's wooden gates.
"Well, you know," Jacob retorted, looking back over at Will. "They haven't got that many options, they can either wish us luck or give into despair," He explained, letting Fee slow down into a gentle trot. "And there's no need to tire the horses before we get into the forest," Jake added as he searched through his saddlebag.
"Of course, Jacob," Will replied, not quite managing to keep the edge out of his voice as he reined in Kastanie.
"What, Will?" Jacob asked, wondering why his brother was annoyed when they both knew it was common sense not to needlessly push the horses.
"That woman wasn't just wishing you luck was she?" Will asked coolly.
"She wasn't- what? Well, it certainly seemed that she was, why does it matter?" Jacob rebutted, "If I got angry every time someone kissed you, we'd fight at least twice a week!"
"Do you count them or something?" Will retorted with a smirk.
"Count what?" Jacob wondered, turning his attention away from Wilhelm as he pulled a small leather-bound book from his saddlebag.
"My kisses." Will elaborated.
"Which kisses?" Jacob replied absently, as he began to casually flip through the book.
"Do you categorize them, as well?" Will wondered, suppressing a laugh.
"Of course, you've had fifteen this month with blonde women, eleven with brunette women; not to mention two or three uncategorized men," Jacob said dryly, keeping his attention focused on his book.
"Those don't count, I was drunk," Wilhelm replied quickly, earning a stare from his brother.
"Okay, well I was kidding, let's pretend that I didn't hear that," Jacob answered slowly, keeping his gaze locked on the book's pages.
"Well, who says I wasn't kidding?" Wilhelm challenged with a forced grin.
"No one, Will." Jacob intoned, continuing to flip through the book.
"Good, now Jake about the-" Wilhelm began, but was cut off by his brother.
"Take the left fork in the road." Jacob interjected, keeping his eyes on the book, "And the next turn is going to be a right."
"Excellent," Wilhelm answered, leading his horse down the fork. "Good book?" He asked in an effort to continue the conversation, before realizing that once again he'd lost Jacob's attention to a story.
"Mhm." Jake mumbled noncommittally, "Weiss gave it to me when we were leaving."
"For what?" Wilhelm asked with an air of suspicion.
"For free," Jacob answered sharply. "He thought it might be useful for us. You know some people aren't completely selfish," He snapped, turning back to the book.
"So you're telling me that you didn't have anything worth the book's value, and that he gave it to you for free." His brother added skeptically.
"Exactly, Will. For free," Jacob affirmed with a sigh, this time not bothering to look up at his brother.
"And that doesn't sound at all suspicious to you?" Will persisted, knowing that he was arguing purely for the sake of it.
"Not really, he was just being nice." Jake said, annoyed not only by the fact that his brother was keeping him from reading, but also by the fact that he was being aggravating on purpose. "You're acting like a ten year old child, Wilhelm."
Reclining in his saddle, Will's smirk faded as Jake pointedly ignored him. "Alright, you win! I'll leave you alone for the rest of the afternoon," Wilhelm announced in defeat.
"Promise?" Jacob wondered aloud after a moment, grinning, "I'm just joking!" He clarified, seeing his brother's disappointment. "I need to see what's in here, this book seems useful," Jacob explained with an apologetic smile.
"If you say so," Will said with a yawn, "This is going to be another long day, isn't it?" He asked rhetorically, noting that once again Jacob was immersed in his book. "Make that another long trip," He added with a sigh.
Author's Note: Thank for reading. This is the updated version of Chapter 12, uploaded on 02/2023.