A Curse For True Love (Extended Ending)

The Hollow

Evangeline walked out of the Hollow, into the chilly morning air. Everything was dusted in snow, and it looked like it had come out of a fairytale. The last guests had left only a few minutes ago, but she wanted to hang up the "No Vacancy" before anyone walked by looking for a room. Evangeline and Jacks had decided to close the Hollow for the holiday season, so they could spend their first Christmas together. As soon as she finished hanging the sign, she rushed back to the cozy inside of the inn. The last few weeks she and Jacks had spent here had been perfect. She knew coming here to the Hollow was a perfect idea as right after they arrived it had started to feel like home, although anywhere with Jacks would always be her home. Evangeline climbed the stairs to the top of the Hollow, into her and Jacks's bedroom. He was still asleep on the bed, just as she had left him that morning. She loved the way he looked when he slept, all soft edges and tousled hair. She couldn't help but reach over and smooth the hair off his face. Just as she started to turn around, an arm wrapped around her waist and tugged her towards the bed. She blushed as she fell on top of Jacks, and he looked at her with sleepy eyes.

"Good morning", he whispered in her ear with a small smile, "Where did you run off to?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up", she smiled at him, "I just went to make sure that we were all closed for guests". She climbed out of bed and put her cloak back into the wardrobe, she didn't need it in there. "I was thinking I would go pick any apples that the frost didn't damage".

Jacks got out of bed with a groan, "I'm going to take a bath, I'll meet you in the tavern downstairs?"

Evangeline agreed and kissed him on the cheek before heading down to the apple orchard. She grabbed the basket that she used to carry the apples and left out the door to the orchard. She knew Jacks didn't like to come out here, and she assumed it had to do with the apples. She still wondered about these apples a lot, and Jacks had never told her what they did, only that he never ate them anymore. She finished picking the apples soon after and went to the tavern. As she walked in, she immediately saw Jacks in a dark blue shirt, with black trousers, and the gray boots she had gotten him as a gift. His striking blue eyes lit up as he saw her, and he tugged her into his lap with a smile. "I missed you", he mumbled into her hair.

She laughed, "We were only apart for a few minutes".

"Well it seemed like hours," he said pouting, as he grabbed one of the honey cakes off her plate.

"Hey!" she protested with a smile, "Eat your own food!"

"But what's the fun in that?" Evangeline playfully hit him, and he caught her hand in midair. Without warning, he pulled her into a kiss as he tangled his fingers in her hair. She wrapped her arms around him and smiled against his mouth. Her eyes closed as slipped his tongue into her mouth. He tasted like honey, apples, and home. She loved kissing him, and now that she knew could, she wanted to as much as possible. She pulled away and smiled at him as he tried to pull her in for another kiss. "Let me eat first!" she said with a laugh. He frowned at her, but he let her eat. "Are you not hungry?" she asked Jack, "You can have some of my honey roll, I was joking earlier, love."

"I already ate a little before you came. Don't worry about me, Little Fox".

Evangeline smiled; she loved it when he called her that. It reminded her of her mother and favorite fairytale, The Ballad of the Archer and Fox. "Can we walk into Merrywood town today? I have some Christmas shopping I want to do early."

"Sure, but I want to take the carriage. It's too cold to walk that far, alright dearest?"

"Alright Jacks, we can leave now, just let me grab my cloak first."

"I'll wait for you outside, alright Little Fox?"

Evangeline agreed and ran up the stairs and quickly grabbed her cloak. She threw it on quickly as she ran down the stairs, not wanting to keep Jacks waiting. She pushed open the doors and was greeted by a rush of cold air. She shivered as Jacks walked up to her and wrapped his arm around her. She had always thought Jacks had the carriage of a villain, but today, in this lighting, it didn't look as villainous. Jacks climbed inside the carriage and helped her up too. She grinned and looked out the window, reveling in the perfect day she was living.