after the big storm there's great calm // band of brothers

fairytale - d. powers

fairytale

Darrell C. 'Shifty' Powers x OC

The pub was filled to the brim with soldiers. More specifically, men belonging to a unit called 'Airborne'. So much Bronwyn had learned by eavesdropping on the people talking. Not that the shy girl from Wales understood what that meant. It must be something special, she concluded. All these men seemed to think they were better than the rest. They held their heads high, flirted shamelessly and pretty much drank the pub's whole beer in one sitting. Her father would have a mild meltdown when he found out.

Great Britain might not have been as influenced by hunger and other social problems coming with the war, but that didn't mean they could live especially high on the hog. No, they had to save on all ends too, just not as much as French, Dutch and Belgians had to.

Her mother on the other hand seemed to be completely calm. She had cooled down a lot since the family moved from the north of the Isles down to the south. Upon arrival in England, Jane had finally found some relief. It was no secret that she hated the north which had to do with her past. Said past was witnessing the death of her twin sister and mother when a fire broke out in the house and the women were trapped inside the flames. This had posed a great deal on young Jane's mental health to the point where she neglected both her husband and her only daughter to shield herself from being hurt like that again.

By now, the woman had stabilized, but had become overly protective to her daughter. This meant no going out after eight o' clock sharp, no contact to the male gender at all and never, under any given circumstances, consuming alcoholic beverages, smoking cigarettes or taking over substances.

The only time now twenty year old Bronwyn had a chance at becoming a part of the society was working at the pub's bar every night. There she heard the newest gossip from all of Aldbourne, had smaller chats with the gentry passing by and by watching the people visiting, she often daydreamed how it would feel to be one of them, dancing the night away with good looking men and eventually falling in love.

If her mother knew about her dreams, she'd kill her daughter. Not that Bronwyn would ever talk to a man. She was far too shy to do something as reckless as that. And she was a hopeless romantic. Someday, she hoped a charming young man would talk to her and take her dancing. Sooner or later, they would marry and have children and grow old together.

Yes, she was a hopeless romantic.

Even by all her observation done, Bronwyn didn't notice a rather broad and tall man ogle her. She also didn't realize another, smaller, lean trooper watching over her and following each step the man took. Shifty had heard the guy talk about the pretty girl behind the counter in a rather disrespecting way, simply objectifying her and talking about going home with her for the night. All in all, Shifty didn't approve of the way the to him unknown man was talking about the girl and he sensed something bad coming up rather soon.

He himself thought the girl was a stunning beauty. Her dark brown hair had a reddish glimmer to it and her big brown eyes seemed to bear a whole lot of thoughts and stories. The first thought that had crossed his mind when he saw her was that she didn't belong in a pub like this. No, she was rather meant to sit in a castle. Yes, to him she looked like a princess. And yes, maybe he sounded like a little boy believing in fairytales like Cinderella. He wondered if he should take a chance on her. Surely she already had someone waiting for her at home.

He would make an idiot out of himself if he asked her out. Neither did he have any experience when it came to love. People like Guarnere and Toye and Liebgott and Martin, they had plenty of experience. But he? He had always been too timid to talk to a girl. Even if he knew they took a liking to him, he never spoke to them. To be honest, he hid from them.

If he continued at this speed, he would never in a million years find a wife. No, he'd die alone. If he made it through the war.

Shifty's train of thought came to an abrupt end when he saw the girl leave the pub and step outside, the man following her. Worriedly, he got up and went after him. Maybe it was nothing and he worried unnecessarily, but he preferred to rather be safe than sorry. And even if it was nothing – he could use some fresh air.

On the outside, the gunner caught the man holding the girl at her wrists and harshly pinning her against the wall. Even from where he stood a few feet away, he smelled the alcohol tainting the man's breath. And the girl didn't look very happy with her current situation, no, she looked terrified.

His feet took him rapidly over to the scene. With brute force he grabbed the man by his shoulder and ripped him away from the girl.

"Whaddaya think ya doin'?" he slurred, angry.

"She doesn't want to have anything to do with you, can't you see? Please leave her alone." Shifty answered. It slowly dawned on him that this wasn't his brightest idea. No, it was rather the opposite.

The door behind them opened in the same moment as the man's fist collided with Shifty's jaw and a disgusting cracking noise echoed through Aldbourne's streets. He heard the girl gasp and footsteps rapidly approaching. It was the man's friends. They kept him away from the gunner and apologized quickly to him before leaving and disappearing into the night.

Slowly, he reached up to his jaw. It hurt like hell. Suddenly, he felt a tiny hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw the beautiful girl from behind the counter.

"Stay here. I'll be right back." With that, she hurried back inside.

Not even two minutes later, she was back, a wet towel in her hand. She gestured to a nearby bank. As the both sat down, she started speaking again while pressing the towel to his jaw.

"I'm sorry."

"What for?" he asked, mildly confused.

"That you got hit because of me. You didn't have to do that."

"I saw him fawning over you for hours in the pub. If he tried to hurt you, I didn't want to be the one who could've helped but did nothing."

She blinked a few times, probably thinking about what could have happened if it wasn't for her savior. "In that case, thank you." Without thinking, she pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. Sadly, it was his hurt one. And though she was as careful as one could be, it still hurt and he hissed in pain.

"Oh no, I didn't, I- I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine, it-it's okay"

They both blushed and an embarrassing silence encompassed them. For a few minutes, neither of them dared to say a word.

The towel had turned warm now instead of cooling and the girl put it down on the bank.

"I'm Bronwyn." She said, breaking the silence and holding her hand out to him.

He delicately took it in his hand and shook it. "I'm Shifty- I mean, my name's Darrell, but everyone calls me Shifty, so-"

She laughed. He laughed with her. Her laugh was highly contagious. So the both of them sat on the bench, hands still intertwined and laughed together. About what, they weren't entirely sure. But it was refreshing.

When their laughter slowly died down, they realized they were still holding hands. Both blushing, they turned away from one another, but their hands stayed in their current position.

What they both unconsciously knew was that this evening was the beginning of their very own, very fairytale-like love story. And to both it was wildly exciting.