Who: Hansel hans & Maleficent moorguardian What: A cemetery stroll. When: Friday, April 10, nearing midnight Where: Test City Cemetery Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Maybe some foul language at best. Possibly threats of violence. Very likely it's a mostly peaceful encounter. Status: Closed/Completed GDoc
~*~
Nights were easier for Hansel to work in. His sugar sickness slowed him down when he was sweating too heavy during the heat of the day. He could work twice as hard, twice as long after dark without any problems. Gretel had figured out a way to keep his water more filling by putting slices of dried fruit into his canteen. His favorite was with the apple bits, but when they ran out of those there was always plenty of orange or lemon or lime on hand. Any of those tended to taste the same once they'd been in a canteen long enough.
Hansel wasn't too picky about too many things.
Jobs in this place were a necessity he understood. Hansel had never had the kind of life in which working was option. Money wasn't something he or Gretel was accustomed to having right to hand. They'd been working for their living since they were children, abandoned by their parents. It hadn't been easy -none of the things they'd done, witch hunting or otherwise- had been easy labor. Gretel had been pretty enough to have found something easier. She simply hadn't chosen to as she'd wanted to work at his side.
Hansel was smart enough to know he was a lucky man where his sister was concerned.
Death was a certainty in every place. No matter how rich a person was or how fine their clothes happened to be, when they were dead? They all had to go one of two ways: burned to ash in a fire or buried in a return to the earth. Either way they were being disposed of and someone had to do the disposing which was fine with Hansel. He wasn't afraid of Death. One day the bastard was going to come for him. He'd come and Hansel intended to say only how he should be taken alone.
Hansel had never wanted to make any journey without Gretel yet he prayed every time he thought to pray at all he'd take his final walk with Death alone, leaving her behind to keep on living.
She deserved more than the life she'd had with him.
His arms burned from digging, but Hansel wasn't ready to rest. He'd made it to four feet. Two to go. That was nothing. Two feet? Hansel had dug out two feet with his hands before when they were laying traps for witches. He could get those two feet done up right for the lady who'd be taking up this space in the morning. Hansel would set up the fine tent they had for her mourners to shade themselves under. He'd unfold their fine chairs made of sturdy metal and cover them in even finer cloth, marking the ones up front for the Reserved of the dead.
The least Hansel could do for this woman whose journey in life had ended was see it ended as a beautiful farewell for her family.
"I'd say you were a witch and shoot you, but you haven't attacked yet so I figure we're both minding our own." Hansel had noticed the figure moving at a strange pace through the cemetery, but he hadn't said a thing until the figure was close enough for him to make out horns to go with the staff. It was possible she was no witch at all, but if she was? He hoped she wanted to see to herself. This was no place to stir up bad blood. It was a place of rest. The dead deserved a place of rest if no others did.
"You're not looking to disturb the rest of the dead, are you?"
~*~
This place was strange.
There were large buildings that stretched up toward the sky instead of trees, the ground was dry, crying out for water and there was little Maleficent could do or really wanted to do for this place. She’d been quite upset the first night she’d arrived, but she’d saved Aurora.
That? That was the only thing that had mattered to her. Stefan would get his, she had no doubts about that, but she hoped in the process he wouldn’t bring the princess down with him.
Maleficent had found the only two places that seemed to support any sort of greenery; the park called Loveless, which was quite amusing considering, and the cemetery. Maleficent had taken to walking back and forth between the places, pacing as it were while trying to collect her thoughts on the situation at hand. She’d done a bit at the park, helping the trees to grow stronger, taller, wider in some parts. The guests appeared to appreciate her alterations, but Maleficent hadn’t done it for them, she’d done it for herself.
The park was peaceful for the most part, but the cemetery was exceptionally quiet, still in a way that Maleficent could appreciate. It kept her mind quiet as she weaved through the tombstones, but tonight that quiet had been broken by the sound of a shovel digging into the dirt.
Curious, Maleficent made her way to where the grave digger was working, a dark brow quirking up at his words as an amused smile danced on the corners of her lips. “No, I only come here to reflect upon my own life and the meaning behind us all being brought here.” She hadn’t figure that out yet, no one had apparently, and she wondered if there would be answers for all of the questions that everyone appeared to be asking daily.
“I am no witch. I am a fairy.” She stated plainly, knowing that if this mortal knew about witches he would likely know about other creatures that walked the earth. There were many of them, each with different powers, wishes, hopes and dreams. Maleficent bore them no ill will, there was only one that she hated, and he would meet his end especially if he continued to let his madness consume him.
“I have no intentions of attacking you, or anyone here unless they attack me first. Despite my appearance, I am fairly peaceful.” That was true enough, she had only attacked when Stefan’s men attacked the moor, and the curse? Well, that had been a mistake on her part. She knew that now, but it had been broken by her motherly love for Aurora.
“I am Maleficent, guardian of the Moor, although that means very little here. Who are you, grave digger?”
~*~
Plenty of strange things in the world if a person knew where to look for them. Magic wasn't limited to witches. All witches weren't bad either. Hansel had learned more than he'd ever thought he would in the last year of his life. His sister was learning more. One day she might very well take her place as a Grand White Witch. Gretel would fill in the void their mother had left in the world when she'd been taken too young. It was all about balance in the end and they'd need Gretel's White Witch magic to balance out all the Dark Magic from the evil witches blackening their world.
Hansel had wondered many times where he'd be when Gretel chose to walk that path. She'd be going down a road he couldn't travel on. Men weren't welcome in the magical realm. Their paths would, for the first time in their shared life, fork away from each other. It frightened him more than he was willing to say. Even to Gretel.
Fear was a weakness neither of them could afford given what they did to earn their keep. Evil magic was fueled by evil feelings: fear, hatred, anger, even lust. Hansel had learned to mostly hold all his emotions back. His was a stoic face unless he chose to let his feelings show or the sugar sickness overtook him. That was the only weakness he had in his life he couldn't control. The fear? Hansel could hold that back.
Grunting at her, he went back to digging, "Hansel. Witch Hunter. Me and my sister, Gretel, were dragged here from our time and tossed into sheer insanity. Don't imagine you care for all these fucking stupid talking boxes or roaring transportation what has nothing pulling it. I like this best. Digging. Making a peaceful place for those who I hope are at peace. Fuck the rest of it. Got no use for it."
He'd never met a fairy. Up close, Maleficent didn't look like a witch at all. Her skin was too smooth and there was a smell around her of the earth. If she had any rot anywhere on her? He'd eat his shoes and they were rank.
"Never met a fairy. Thought you all had wings? I did meet an ogre. Been traveling with him. He helps with the witch hunting. Smells like you would not believe though. Would not recommend spending the night with him in tightly enclosed spaces."
Hansel shuddered as he used the edge of the shovel to straighten up the lines of the grave. It had to be even all the way around. There was no room for error. If he let one side have a bulge in it, when they lowered the dead on down, it'd bump them, jostle them around, clang. Their family didn't need to hear that. It was hard enough to bury someone much less to bury they badly.
~*~
A look of anger darkened Maleficent’s features. “I did at one time.” She took in a deep breath, this man did not deserve her anger for he was not the one that had harmed her. “A man I trusted and loved cut them off my back, and wings do not grow back.” Maleficent could still feel where her wings once where, a phantom flutter of feathers every now and again. Part of her was tempted to reach up and touch the scars on her back, but she refrained.
Instead she tightened her grip around her staff, breathing in deeply to catch the scent of freshly dug dirt. The smells of the forest had never bothered her, although she couldn’t imagine being kept in close quarters with an ogre. “I would not want to be trapped in close quarters with an ogre.” There were few beings that Maleficent would want to be in actual close quarters with come to that.
She had a very low tolerance for stupidity.
There was very little about this new world that she understood, or cared for. The talking box had been left back at her dwelling, powered down and unused. Maleficent would figure out how to use it eventually, but for now she was content just listening to the stories people so freely gave while they were out walking.
“There are many things about this new world that I do not understand, nor do I care to really try to either. The park, here? I understand these places.” She could agree with him there, she had taken over a grounds keeper role at the park, fully intent on making it a greener and brighter place.
Maleficent would never understand humans and their need to destroy the trees and erect buildings that they did not need. They could work with the land and what the earth gave to them, but instead they took and took without much thought for anything else.
What this man was doing here was not destroying, however, he was digging a final resting place for some poor soul so their family could mourn their passing. She moved to the foot of the grave, and knelt. Placing her hand upon the earth, yellow light began to radiate from her hand as she pulled upward, a rose bush growing out from the earth. Bright red bud appeared, but they did not bloom. Come morning they would, but for tonight they were still tightly sealed, waiting on the rays of the sun. “I suppose we'll see if that changes, not caring that is, if we’re kept here for very long.”
Standing, she turned her head to look over at Hansel. “For it appears there is no way out just yet.”
~*~
"You got somewhere to be in a hurry?"
Hansel smiled at her, his face softening a bit as he acknowledged the gift she'd left for the person whose place he was making. The rose bush would be beautiful come sunrise. Her magic did nothing to impress him, but it did make him smile. It was done without any personal gain. She was not taking anything only giving; Hansel could appreciate anyone who gave without taking.
He could hear the hurt, the anger, the pain in her voice when she admitted her wings had been stolen.
It made him clench his teeth, his smile slipping. Hansel had never been fond of those who'd hurt others for no reason except they were different. Maleficent had the air of someone who could hurt others yet chose not to because it wasn't her way. She was attached to the world in a way he himself understood. Hansel was a man of the earth, too. That was what had him digging in the dirt instead of trying something cleaner, neater, with better pay.
"Hope you got that fuck good who cut off your wings. Last person to stick me with a blade? I got them good. Scars are what they are," Hansel leaned on his shovel, "I don't hate my scars. They're ugly, but they're mine and I'm not always pretty. Life? It ain't always pretty. Only thing always pretty is the earth. The roses will be welcomed by the family. I want to thank you on their behalf for the gift. What kind of thanks do fairies accept, Maleficent of the Moor?"
There were some things Hansel knew. He knew how to hunt witches, dig graves, and talk honest. It hadn't done him many favors with wenches, but he had grown used to being lonely in that manner. Hansel liked making friendly with folk. Friendly made for a better life. More smiles, laughter, he had even gotten to feeling much younger in the presence of a momentary friend.
Maleficent couldn't be the kind who got down in the dirt with the likes of him, but she might be the kind who'd appreciate a friend. Hansel was certainly not the kind who'd stab someone in the back. Or cut off their wings. He had a feeling hers had been magnificent.
~*~
A smile pulled up the corners of her lips, “I would like to get home to see someone special to me. What would be more delightful is if she was brought here.” Aurora was special to Maleficent in that she loved her deeply, purely, and like a mother. Maleficent would likely never have children of her own, and so taking care of her was the closest thing she could ever hope for. “She’s like my child. Aurora is her name. If you ever happen to see her? Do let me know. She’s a kind, pure soul, and there are many dark things here in this world.”
Shaking her head, Maleficent looked up at the night sky. “I was not able to, not really. I cursed his daughter, only to realize the err of my ways a bit too late.” She turned her attention back to Hansel, “I broke the curse myself, because I loved her like she was my own.” Stefan had cared only enough to send her with the dimwitted pixies, and they? They couldn’t keep Aurora alive.
That had been hers and Diaval’s doing.
Besting Stefan however, would’ve likely came if she’d not been brought to this place. Perhaps it was a testing of some sort for her, but she’d spent the last sixteen years with her feet on the ground, so she didn’t fully understand why she’d been summoned to Test City yet. “Beating her father, the king, would’ve come soon enough, but I was brought here before I could do such. If it’d even happened.” She lifted a shoulder in a very lady-like shrug.
Her eyes turned to the rose. It was a simple gift, a small taste of what she really could do, but it’d felt proper to do it all the same. Every person deserved to know that they were remembered and the family deserved that type of respect. “We appreciate a good laugh, fresh fruit is even better, or milk.” There were many stories about the fairy folk, some true, some not.
They’d been treated poorly by humans, and by most accounts, Maleficent shouldn’t be making nice with a human but she’d seen that not all of them were the same. Not every human was a monster intent on stabbing her when her guard was down.
“And wine, but I don’t drink. Not any longer.” It wasn’t exactly something to laugh at, but she did all the same. It had been foolish of her to trust Stefan, but she’d loved him, and he’d never offered to harm her before. He was greedy though, and greed never led to anything good.
“So tell me, Hansel the Witch Hunter, how long have you been hunting witches?”
~*~
Laughter, fresh fruit, milk, those were things Hansel could appreciate. He couldn't understand the need to have too many clothes or too much stuff or too anything. There was no reason why anyone needed all the things they had in this place. It was excessive in a way which felt wasteful. All he'd ever needed was two sets of clothes -one to wear and one to carry- and his weapons and Gretel. His sister was the best person he knew to have at his side. She was his best asset.
Maleficent seemed to understand what it was to love someone as fully as he loved his sister. She obviously loved the woman, Aurora, in a way he did understand as much as he did not. He'd never had children. Women were too much a mystery for him to imagine being with one to create a child, become a father, be someone's real family. It was surreal to him to imagine the burden of being that big a part of another person's life. He didn't even think he was that important to Gretel. She had her own needs, her own wants, her own desires; they were siblings, not parent and child.
"Since I was a boy. Young. Too long. My parents sent me and my sister into the woods. Father told us to wait in the woods for him. He'd come back for us. Never did. Died back at home with our mother. They burned her. We ran into the other side of witches in those woods. Wound up with the damn sugar sickness and she wound up in her oven where she'd wanted to put me and my sister. Never stopped after that. We weren't good for anything else."
No one had room in their lives for a pair of orphans. Their world was too filled with famine, sickness, disease. Everyone had their own problems. "Money" wasn't an issue as much as resources. Food was a precious resource which no one had enough of to spare any for a set of strange children who'd been too close to pure evil.
Hansel and Gretel had been left alone in the world, two children sent out to fend for themselves. They didn't have anyone.
"Aurora's lucky to have you. We didn't have anybody 'cept each other. Two kids alone in the world?"
He shook his head. The words were hard for him to find. He tried his best.
"Not a way to grow up right, I'll say that. We're both strange. Different. Wrong. That girl? She's lucky she's got you. It's shit to be alone. Shit. Nothing but. I ain't given up drinking. I should, but I ain't yet and I got no plans to so maybe next time? I'll have two drinks. One for me. One for you. I'll bring you some fruit if you'll promise to take it. Gesture of good faith."
~*~
Such a sad tale, and yet, they had made the best out of a bad situation. That was all anyone could do if their circumstances were not ideal. At the very least, Hansel had his sister and he did not have to face it alone. Much like herself, she’d faced things alone until she’d saved Diaval. He’d been her companion for many years, and she did miss him though she would never admit that to the raven.
He’d gloat for days.
“No, I was lucky to have her. She is the only reason why I was not consumed by revenge, anger, or hate.” Aurora had saved her, there was no denying that. “I am glad you had your sister, at the very least. It is quite unfortunate that you two were left to your own devices so young.” Maleficent had been alone, she was the only one of her kind in the Moor, but there were others that she spoke with, played with and there had been Stefan before he got greedy.
A light smile touched the corners of her lips, “If you wish you may have a drink for both of us. I admit that had I not been drugged by drinking wine, I might be more willing to partake.” Maleficent knew that had Stefan wanted to end her life, he could’ve easily done it that night but he took something far more precious away from her.
“Of course, a fairy never refuses a gift, or likes it when their own gifts are refused.” She cast her eyes to the rose bush, a sign of respect and she thought that maybe she should make a few more grow in the park or at least give it a bit more life. “You will find me in the southeast corner of the park, where the trees grow strong, and tall if you choose to visit, Hansel the Witch Hunter. For now, however, I will let you get back to your work.” Maleficent gave a small inclination of her head to the human. She turned, cloak fluttering around her boot covered feet as she started to walk back the way she came.
Aurora had taught her to see the good in people, humans more specifically, and that one? He did not seem so bad.