Greta (pathofcinders) wrote in nevermore_logs, @ 2011-01-13 02:48:00 |
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Entry tags: | greta morgan, jacob grimm, wilhelm grimm |
WHO: Greta & The Brothers Grimm (both of 'em)
WHEN: early Thursday afternoon
WHERE: The Grimm's house
WHAT: I am the product of your immortal swimmers!
Greta had a job now as well as an apartment, which meant she really was set up here and staying. It was a dishwasher at a very fancy restaurant and while it may not have been glamorous it paid her way and not everyone could work their dream jobs. (Greta understood the importance of hard and worthy work. There seemed no point to a reward in life if there wasn't struggles proceeding it. Greta always felt deeply uncomfortable gaining anything without hard work.)
But now it was another part of her journey, an important and scary part but one she had been wanting to do for many years. It was time to meet the man who was her father. It wasn't difficult to look through public records for his name and find an address to match it. (Too simple, Greta thought. That seemed almost dangerous! What if she'd been some lunatic?)
She arrived at the house and double then triple checked the address she had printed out. Taking a deep breath Greta knocked and waited, standing on their front step in her crimson cape, hood up to protect her from the chill of the snow.
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[info]forloveofwords
2011-01-13 11:10 am UTC (link) Track This
Will had been in a half daze, thinking about his girl in blue, the protagonist of his latest story. He sat in the library on an ottoman, sipping scotch and absently flipping through an illustrated copy of Hans Christian Anderson's fairytales.
At the knock at the door, he blinked out of his reverie and got up. He strolled to the door and opened it, glass still in hand.
A red riding hood stood there. Shouldn't her cloak be blue?
"Hello," Wil said, suddenly remember it was actually a bit too cold outside to be opening the front door in your shirt sleeves and socks.
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[info]pathofcinders
2011-01-13 11:13 am UTC (link) Track This
Greta smiled softly at the man there from under her hood. "I'm sorry to be a bother," she told him, "and I hope this isn't a bad time, but I'm looking for a Jacob Graves?"
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[info]forloveofwords
2011-01-13 11:19 am UTC (link) Track This
"Yes, he's here. He's writing at the moment, what did you- Oh hang it all, come in and tell me. It's freezing out." Wil stepped back and ushered her through into the hall. "Can I take your cloak?"
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[info]pathofcinders
2011-01-13 11:26 am UTC (link) Track This
Greta entered the house with a grateful nod and drew her hood off, letting the golden curls fall free over her shoulders. (They always behaved so well those long, bright locks. Her mother used to call her Rapunzel sometimes because of them.)
"Thank you," she said to him. "You're right about it freezing." She undid the clasp at the front of her cloak - a pair of Norse ravens - and held it before her, giving it to him only because he'd asked.
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[info]forloveofwords
2011-01-13 11:30 am UTC (link) Track This
Wil hung it next to his own coat, then lead the way back into the warmth of the house. The kitchen was a lot cosier when walking in from the cold front hall.
"What do you want with Jacob?" he asked, using the English pronunciation as she was a stranger to him. "Don't worry if you have something in confidence with him, we share everything. Though he's said nothing about anyone as young as you..." He glanced her up and down, raising an eyebrow. A bit young for his tastes, and he'd thought a bit young for Jakob too, but apparently his brother made deviations from more than just him.
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[info]pathofcinders
2011-01-13 11:33 am UTC (link) Track This
"Oh," Greta said at his words, her pale cheeks turning red in embarrassment at his suggestion. She always had blushed easily. "This isn't- I'm afraid you've misunderstood. I'm..." Greta thought carefully about her words, a little flustered now. "I'm here on a... family matter."
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[info]forloveofwords
2011-01-13 11:41 am UTC (link) Track This
Wil frowned in confusion at that, but then shrugged a shoulder. On the wall were a row of buzzers, each to a different room in the house. He pressed the one labeled for Jakob's room, then called, "Visitor!" into the intercom. "A miss- um- hang on." Then he turned back to Greta with a smile.
"I didn't get your name, sorry?"
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[info]pathofcinders
2011-01-13 11:44 am UTC (link) Track This
"Greta Morgan," Greta told him quickly. "But he doesn't know me. He knew my mother when she- he knew a woman called Jennifer Morgan."
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[info]macabre_whimsy
2011-01-13 11:51 am UTC (link) Track This
Jakob had been leaning over his work desk, trying to hear the intercom when the voice he didn't recognise mentioned Jennifer Morgan's name.
He knew that name.
Jakob stood quickly, running a hand through his hair to try to make himself look a little more presentable. He grabbed his smoking jacket and he pulled it on over his nightclothes to be a bit more presentable. Then he hurried up to greet whomever it was who had come to see him.
"Hello," Jakob said, appearing in the doorway. He gave a quick smile to his brother, who looked a little confused. Jakob was confused as well. Then he turned to the rather striking young girl who was with Wil. "You said you know Jennifer Morgan? I haven't heard that name in years. How is she?"
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[info]pathofcinders
2011-01-13 11:53 am UTC (link) Track This
Greta had known this question would come and she looked at him sympathetically. "She passed away," Greta said quietly. "Two years ago. Ovarian cancer. I'm sorry."
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[info]forloveofwords
2011-01-13 11:59 am UTC (link) Track This
Cogs were beginning to turn ever so slowly in Wil's head. He was getting the very very edges of the idea of why she might be there. Given time, he might have made the connection himself. As it was, he looked from one to the other, merely curious, and sipped his scotch.
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[info]macabre_whimsy
2011-01-13 12:06 pm UTC (link) Track This
She was gone. Of course she was gone. She was mortal and mortals died. Jakob still felt terribly saddened by the sudden knowledge that a woman he had had quite strong feelings for was just gone.
"I'm so sorry," Jakob said, grief lacing his voice. "I really am. She was a wonderful woman."
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[info]pathofcinders
2011-01-13 12:09 pm UTC (link) Track This
"She was," Greta agreed sadly. She still missed her mum so much, some days she couldn't even stand it. "She talked about you a lot," Greta said, her eyes on his.
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[info]macabre_whimsy
2011-01-13 12:12 pm UTC (link) Track This
That gave Jakob pause. He had felt true affection for Jennifer, but he didn't realise it was the kind of fling that constituted talking about him to her daughter.
"She...did?" he asked, seemingly confused. "That's wonderfully flattering..."
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[info]pathofcinders
2011-01-13 12:14 pm UTC (link) Track This
The confusion meant she had to speak up now. She couldn't just let this linger. "I think she wanted me to know about-" No, that wasn't the right way. Perhaps- No. "It was because you're my father," Greta told him, a little apologetically.
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[info]macabre_whimsy
2011-01-13 12:18 pm UTC (link) Track This
Jakob stared at Greta, open-mouthed, for quite some time. Then he realised that was terrible rude and he closed his eyes for a moment to try to get his thoughts in order before he opened them again.
"Ahhhhhhh," he said, in a way that probably didn't make anything better. "Right. Right. Rrrrrright."
He turned to Wil and said, in German, "Wilhelm I am freaking out right now a little bit." Then he turned back to Greta.
"Uhm...m-maybe we should be sitting down. Do you want to sit down? I would like to sit down."
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[info]forloveofwords
2011-01-13 12:22 pm UTC (link) Track This
When Greta dropped her little bombshell, Wil gaped, and his glass slipped from his fingers, smashing on the floor with a dramatic clash of glass and ice cubes. His mouth fell open in shock, his eyes bugging at Greta, then a loud "HAA!!" burst out of him and he had to put a hand over his mouth to poorly suppress his laughter. "Jakob, after all these years- I have great-great-great-grandchildren and at last you have a daughter," he replied to Jakob in German, grinning fit to burst.
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[info]macabre_whimsy
2011-01-13 12:26 pm UTC (link) Track This
Jakob shot Wilhelm a dirty look and he hissed, "you are not helping!" in German. Then he went to sit down at the table.
As he went, he gently pulled Greta out of the way of the broken glass. "Be careful, dear, don't hurt yourself."
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[info]pathofcinders
2011-01-13 12:27 pm UTC (link) Track This
Greta allowed him to lead her before he sat and she sat as well, across from him.
"I'm sorry," Greta told him, unsure what to make of the other man just laughing but Jacob's panic was clear. "I didn't come here to disturb your life, it's just that... I wanted to meet you."
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[info]macabre_whimsy
2011-01-13 12:36 pm UTC (link) Track This
"No, no...it's alright. Of course you wanted to meet me." Jakob looked up at Wilhelm, who was still giggling and he shook his head. "I'm so sorry, I...I had no idea."
He had a daughter? A child?! Jakob had never even taken a wife; so devoted was he to his work and his brother. Now he had a daughter. "I apologise for being so flustered. Jennifer never told me. And I don't really know what to say in this situation. And I'm being rude. Can I get you anything?"
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[info]pathofcinders
2011-01-13 12:41 pm UTC (link) Track This
"She said she didn't want to force you into anything," Greta told him. "That you weren't serious enough to bring up a kid together." She'd always understood and been fine with that. It didn't mean she hadn't been curious about him though. "I don't think you're being rude. It was impolite for me to come here and tell you this without warning."
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[info]macabre_whimsy
2011-01-13 12:45 pm UTC (link) Track This
Jakob just kept shaking his head. This poor girl had been alone in the world for two years and she had only now come to see him out and he was acting like an ass. "No...no, it wasn't impolite at all. I'm glad you came to find me."
...oh god, what was her name again?! He had forgotten his daughter's name.
"I'm so sorry. I'm all over the place. What did you say your name was?"
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[info]pathofcinders
2011-01-13 12:52 pm UTC (link) Track This
"Greta," she reassured him with a smile. "Greta Rose Morgan." She fought the urge to apologize once more.
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[info]macabre_whimsy
2011-01-13 01:08 pm UTC (link) Track This
"Well, Greta," Jakob said, trying to force his breathing to return to normal though he was sure his heart would continue to race for days, "I'm glad you came to- I already said that. Wh...what uhm...what would you like to know?"
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[info]pathofcinders
2011-01-13 01:10 pm UTC (link) Track This
"I don't know," Greta said shyly. "I suppose... everything? Mum said when you knew her you were a teacher? Do you still teach?"
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[info]macabre_whimsy
2011-01-13 01:16 pm UTC (link) Track This
Jakob nodded quickly. "I do. I teach creative writing and literature at Columbia. And- Oh!" Jakob finally gestured towards Wilhelm. "Oh my goodness, forgive my rudeness! The maniac there is my brother Wil. He's...not a real maniac. He's just rather whimsical."
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[info]pathofcinders
2011-01-13 01:19 pm UTC (link) Track This
His brother. That meant he was her uncle. Now it was her turn to be surprised. "Hi, Wil," she said, not quite sure what else to say.
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[info]forloveofwords
2011-01-13 06:49 pm UTC (link) Track This
Wil shook his head and rolled his eyes. "You are as bad as each other," he said, putting the jug on with a last amused sigh. "The poor child hasn't had a parent for the last two years, and you sit there mumbling," he scolded Jakob gently in German. Then he went to Greta, bent down, and hugged her.
"Welcome to our home. You don't need to be shy. Family is family." Then he remembered his words earlier and blushed slightly. "And, er, sorry about what I said before."
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[info]pathofcinders
2011-01-13 07:06 pm UTC (link) Track This
If they were as bad as each other, then maybe some things did run in the family. Wil hugged her then, surprisingly, and Greta hugged him back with a grateful smile.
When he apologized she had to think back but remembered the suggestion that she was here to sleep with Jacob. "Oh, about the- No, that's fine." Another slight blush touched her cheeks. "I must have been the last thing expected to come in out of the cold today."
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[info]macabre_whimsy
2011-01-14 09:32 am UTC (link) Track This
Jakob was blissfully unaware what they were talking about, but he took Wil's chastisement to heart as he always did. "I'm sorry," Jakob apologised. "I uhm..." Jakob had always been a little more reserved than Wil and while he had come out of his shell more recently, it did take him longer to warm to people. "Do...do you want a hug?"
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[info]forloveofwords
2011-01-14 11:40 am UTC (link) Track This
"I'd love one!" Wil turned to Jakob, hugging him tightly. He didn't want the atmosphere to be awkward, and he was trying to decide what to do. This was all so sudden and unexpected.
"Hey, do we want to go through to the library?" he suggested. "We can take tea or coffee in there?"
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[info]pathofcinders
2011-01-14 11:56 am UTC (link) Track This
She probably would have taken the hug, awkward as it was, but Wil stepped in. That was okay as well. "Tea, please?" Greta asked, fiddling with the pendant around her neck (a glass slipper) "As long as you weren't expecting people or anything? I don't want to be in the way. Let me help make the tea!" she added quickly, standing up.
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[info]macabre_whimsy
2011-01-14 01:21 pm UTC (link) Track This
Jakob ended up hugging his brother and looking a trifle surprised as he did so. Then he gave Greta a self-conscious smile and he said gently, "no, we weren't expecting anyone." He went to help make tea as well. "Are you hungry, Greta? We could have something to eat as well?"
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[info]pathofcinders
2011-01-14 01:29 pm UTC (link) Track This
"I'd like that actually," Greta told him with a nod. "My fridge is a little bit empty." She ended up giving away the money she had been going to spend on groceries when she met a homeless woman on the way and gave it to her instead. Greta did that a lot. She thought it was sometimes ridiculous how she gave to others even when she was running out herself, but if she didn't she found she could hardly breathe and she always had to go back and do it anyway.
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[info]macabre_whimsy
2011-01-14 01:42 pm UTC (link) Track This
Her fridge was empty? The thought of it made it hard for him to breathe. Family had always meant more to him than anything. Greta was family. "We'll take care of that," he assured her, "but we'll have something to eat first."
He went to the fridge while he left the tea to Wil and Greta.
By the time they had finished, they retired to the library with sandwiches, biscuits and their respective beverages. And already Jakob was feeling a little more comfortable. Still shocked, certainly, but a little less deer-in-the-headlights.
"So, Greta, tell us about yourself?"
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[info]pathofcinders
2011-01-14 01:52 pm UTC (link) Track This
"Gosh," Greta said, trying to think of something of interest to say. "I grew up with mum in Seattle, but we moved around the city a lot. She was a dance teacher for the last ten years, and I did a few classes but I was never very good at it. I'm more of a writer, really. I wanted to go to university and study fairytales and how they relate to the world, which sounds a little silly, I know, but I have a real interest in that."
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[info]forloveofwords
2011-01-14 10:55 pm UTC (link) Track This
Wil carefully chose a seat in the library where he was a bit further away and Jakob would have to sit closer to his daughter. He was listening to her words, trying to figure out if she knew the truth about who they really were. It all depended if Jakob had told this woman the truth to begin with. And should they tell the girl something now?
When she said she wanted to study fairytales, Wil shot a look at his brother. "Well she's your daughter," he muttered. Then speaking to Greta properly, "Wanted to go to university? You don't want to go any more?"
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[info]pathofcinders
2011-01-15 02:33 am UTC (link) Track This
Greta looked a little apologetic. "I was sixteen when mum got sick and she fought really hard for a year but-" Greta shook her head. "I put most of my energy into taking care of her, and school didn't really register as important anymore. Terrible grades, missed my SATs, long story short." She shrugged with a small smile. Life lead where it must and this was Greta's.
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[info]macabre_whimsy
2011-01-15 12:15 pm UTC (link) Track This
Jakob put his tea aside. His heart was breaking for the poor girl; he didn't feel like drinking tea now.
"If you still want to study, there are plenty of places here in the city where you could get a GED and then move on to university education," he suggested. "Or if you just wanted to write, we have contacts..."
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[info]pathofcinders
2011-01-15 12:22 pm UTC (link) Track This
"Gosh," Greta laughed, not quite comfortable with all this attention but that was the way it went since she'd coming looking for her father. "I don't even know yet. Maybe, both writing or university, but I only just moved to the city last week so at the moment I'm... decompressing, in a sense."
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[info]macabre_whimsy
2011-01-15 12:24 pm UTC (link) Track This
"Oh...right, yes! Of course! I just meant...I mean, there are options-" Jakob said, still feeling a little out of his depth. "Well take your time, but you know the option is there."