Broken Ever Afters

Chapter Seven

I've never seen a beautiful sky such as this one. The sunset colours blend perfectly into one another. Shades of blue liquefy into oranges and red. A yellow sun, peeks at us through the trees as we skim the edge of the forest. Night will soon blanket us and we have to find shelter.

Our walk is a quiet one. I try to start a conversation a couple of times but come at a loss for words. The air is heavy between us. Jacob has this mischievous mood about him even when he's worried or angry but when he's quiet, he's impassive.

"Where to, Captain?" I ask, trying to lighten the sombre mood that settles around us.

"Some place I've already been to," he says. "I need to retrieve something from there. We can stay the night but as soon as the dawn breaks, we must leave. We can't risk staying for too long."

We soon emerge from the forest into an opening. I swear each one I've seen till now looks exactly the same except for the cottage. The cottage is similar to the one we left a day ago. The watermill runs but the patch where edible vegetables grow is dry. Firewood is aplenty, enough to last a winter. Once the field is fertilized, this place could be habitable again.

When we draw closer, I notice something's off. The windows are broken and the door is ajar. Jacob always secures his belongings meticulously. Someone else must have been here in his absence.

Before I emerge into the open, Jacob grabs my arm and pulls me back. He's hiding behind a tree and I find the widest trunk nearby and hide. Bringing his index finger across his lips, he signals me to stay quiet.

Jacob bends to the ground, rustling through the leaves and broken branches. When he straightens his back against the trunk, he's flipping an average size rock in his hands. I see what he intends to do. If anyone waits to ambush us, we'll know because the rock will lure them out.

Taking a little run, he throws the rock, hitting the wooden walls. We wait a few moments to see whether anyone appears. When no one comes out, we move out of hiding, still close to the forest.

"I think it's safe."

We walk towards the cottage. How's everyday life for Jacob? Constantly on the run and looking behind his shoulder for whomever Dame Gothel decides to send after him. It must be draining and explains why he only sleeps a few hours during the night.

Pinned to the door with a double bladed knife is a scroll of parchment. - a hefty bounty for the capture of Jacob. Although he said Dame Gothel is hunting him, he failed to specify why. Jacob pockets the dagger and shreds the parchment.

The place is a debacle. Everything has been upturned, toppled over, broken, or ripped apart. It would take us hours to sort out through this mess. Even the straw beds have been plucked out. The huntsmen who did this were thorough.

"Gothel must want something badly from you. Looks like a tornado passed through here."

When I don't receive an answer, I turn around but Jacob has vanished. I look around and it doesn't take me long to find him since there are no hiding spots. Unlike the first cottage, this cottage isn't divided in rooms but one large open space.

"We have time to play hide and seek now?" I ask, resting my hand on the table and bending to look underneath the table. Jacob is on all fours, messing around the wooden floor with a short blade dagger. A floorboard loosens and Jacob puts his hands in the hole, extracting a square wooden box no larger than a box of chocolates. On the top it has an ornate hand painted design.

"This is what I needed the keys from the gingerbread house for," he says shortly before blowing off the dusty top of the box.

"What's in there must be worth something to have Dame Gothel ransack the place. Is this why she keeps hunting you down?"