A Tale as Old as Time

V

During a loud, boisterous night of drinking, all worries disappeared with every glass of hard cider. That was until the doors of the friendly pub swung open from the force of a gale, revealing none other than Matthew Williams himself, leaning on his good leg and panting from having carried himself back to the village from the castle.

One of the Prussians, a lively, pale man just a couple of years older than Matthew, came striding over and put an arm around him, tugging him inside. He kissed him on the cheek and grinned. “Mattie! It's taken you long enough! Did you forget about our date tonight?” He teased, gently nudging Matthew and making him lose balance.

“Date,” Matthew repeated, then buried his face in his hands. “Oh no, I'm really sorry, Gil. I forgot. Francis is in trouble.”

“Trouble? What kind of trouble? Is he sick?” Gilbert asked with a frown, sitting down and pulling Matthew on top of him, despite being the smaller of the two. He rubbed slow circles into Matthew's back, because it looked like the poor boy was having difficulty breathing.

When he finally caught his breath, Matthew spoke up, his voice shaking. “A snake is keeping him locked up in a castle,” he mumbled as he played with his sleeves.

Beside the pair, Gilbert's little brother, Ludwig, frowned and looked to his brother. The two exchanged glances, and Matthew could feel himself paling. They didn't believe him. He didn't even need to understand the German to know that.

“Es macht keinen Sinn. Eine Schlange?” Ludwig murmured as he sipped his cider. He thought it didn't make sense. Matthew looked at Gilbert while listening as discreetly as he could.

Gilbert kept rubbing Matthew's back and waved off his brother. “Ich weiß nicht,” he answered, then looked up at Matthew, who looked away immediately. He shouldn't have said anything. How was he supposed to explain? When Gilbert spoke again, he jumped. “Was it a real snake? What did it look like, Mattie?”

“He scratched my face and broke my ankle, and he said that Francis has to stay with him forever! All I did was go inside and Alfred was there and he made me leave, but the serpent heard me and locked me up before Francis came to save me,” Matthew rushed out as his eyes became watery. He traced the deep gashes on his face while Gilbert translated for his brother. This was real. All of it was real. Someone had to believe him.

Ludwig frowned and gave him a sideways glances. “Ich habe gedacht, dass sein Bruder gestorben ist,” he said quietly, immediately making Matthew's face flush red with frustration. If he wanted to talk about his family, he should have done it to him directly.

“My brother is not dead!” He exclaimed, clenching his hands into fists. Gilbert and Ludwig both jumped, startled by the sudden outburst. “It's like Medusa or something! The whole castle is cursed, and the snake turned my brother to a statue! I'm not making it up, and I'm not crazy!”

Matthew looked around and saw some of the villagers watching them. No one knew them, but they were woodworkers from the north. He quickly looked away, but he could still feel one of them watching him. His eyes were obscured by the hood of his cloak and his face was expressionless. It gave him the uncomfortable feeling that the Nordic man was eavesdropping.

“Mattie, you should go back home. I'm sure Francis is fine. Do you want me to take you there?” Gilbert asked softly while pulling Matthew into a hug and stroking his hair. While the Prussian could be obnoxious, he could also be exceptionally sweet and comfort him when he needed it most.

Slowly, carefully, Gilbert picked Matthew up and finished all of his cider. “Ich werde ihn nach Hause bringen.” He planned on taking him home. That was thoughtful of him.