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wook77Title: Six Brothers, Six Ravens
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wook77
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Arthur/Unnamed Witch, Ginny/Neville, the Weasleys
Prompt: The Twelve Brothers, Twelve Ravens for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
hp_fairytales Fairytale Fest
Wordcount: 3272
Warnings: AU
Summary: When Arthur Weasley's loving wife dies, his gaze falls on another witch. She demands the unthinkable and Arthur tries to subvert it.
A/N: Some lines directly quoted from the The Twelve Brothers, Twelve Ravens telling. Many thanks to my betas,yodels and janicechess.
There once was a man whose loving wife died and left him six sons and one daughter.
As time passed, his loneliness increased and he decided to remarry.
“Father, you have us, you don’t need anyone else for companionship,” said one of his sons.
“Father, why do you need someone? Surely we can take care of you," said another of his sons.
He didn’t explain, couldn’t explain the realities of the world and how empty he felt by himself. As the loneliness increased, his gaze fell upon a beautiful witch with long dark hair and a stern demeanor.
Said she to him: "If you want me to marry you, you must kill your sons, burn their bodies, wrap the ashes in paper and send them to me. But you can spare your daughter."
The man thought long and hard. He couldn't do this. They were a part of him and, more importantly, a part of his dead beloved. He escaped from his house as the worry weighed him down.
Outside on the main road, he pondered and paced, back and forth, over and over, as wagons and passersby spared but a glance at him. When he stepped into another body, he startled.
"Pray forgive me, sir. I didn't have my eye on where I was going." Startled out of his contemplations, the man sketched a slight bow.
"Arthur Weasley, I come to you in a time of great need. Do not be grieved at the request of your affianced. You have many large dogs; kill six of them and burn their bodies. Wrap their ashes in paper and send them to your future wife. She will never suspect the difference." The old man with the long white beard finished his speech, then continued down the road. The man's bemused stare followed the old man until he disappeared from sight.
In a twinkling, with a light step and a much lighter heart than when he went outside, he went back into his house and killed six of his dogs and burnt their bodies. Their paper-wrapped ashes were quickly sent off by family owl to his future wife.
When the witch received the bundles, she sniffed them and then agreed to marry the man.
After the wedding, somber affair that it was, the witch came to the ramshackle house and began to investigate all the nooks and crannies. All too soon she said, "Where is that foul smell coming from? Let all who don't belong in the house be turned into black ravens and go flying from here."
A flick of her wand and a shouted word and the six brothers turned into black ravens and flew out of the house.
Only his daughter, the youngest of all his children, was left. She grew up not knowing anything about her brothers, as talk of them had been forbidden from the time the witch entered their house.
One day, when she was eleven, she was outside playing with a small toy. An old man was passing by when he stopped and called out to the young girl.
"Are you happy, my girl?" The girl looked up and grinned.
"Of course, sir. I'm happy," she answered, as she was a dutiful girl.
"Do you not miss your brothers?" The girl gave the old man a perplexed look. "Your six brothers, turned to ravens when your father's new wife came into your house."
"But, sir, I don't have any brothers." However, her mind was quick and she started thinking about all the empty bedrooms and the sadness in her father's eyes.
"Your stepmother demanded that your father kill your brothers. With a bit of trickery, he saved them, only to see them fly away as black ravens, my girl." The old man nodded slightly before continuing down the road.
Deciding that the old man had told the truth, the girl snuck into the kitchen and bundled up some bread and cheese. As her father was at work, she stole into his room and stole six pairs of trousers and six shirts. As she passed the closet, she sneaked away six sets of sheets and six pillowcases. Tying everything into a bundle, she quickly left her house and started down the road in the same direction the old man had headed.
She crossed over bridges and through a town before she finally caught up with him.
"Kind sir?" she called out to the old man. There was a twinkle in his eye as he turned around.
"Yes, my girl?" he asked; the girl walked quickly until she stood directly in front of him.
"My brothers - have you seen them? The Six Black Ravens?" Her voice was deferential.
"I have not, my girl. But I am a fairly good Wizard, so I might be able to find someone else to help you. Come, stay with me for the night, and in the morning, we'll see if we can find our answers." The old man beckoned the girl further down the road and together they walked until they reached a large castle.
"This is a castle, sir!" the girl gasped as she stared at the multitude of turrets and outbuildings.
"Of course it is, my girl. I did say I was a fairly good Wizard. There are plenty of other Wizards and Witches, too." The old man once more beckoned the girl forward and she followed, this time in silence.
In the morning, the old man woke her from her sound sleep and together they broke their fast in a great hall, surrounded by children slightly older than she and a fair few adults as well.
Soon, the meal was completed and the little girl once more followed the old man as he brought her to an old lady in a tartan skirt and a pointy hat.
"Have you seen my brothers, the Six Ravens?" the girl asked.
"I have not, youngling. Perhaps… perhaps someone else has seen them. Follow the path 'round the perimeter of the forest and you will come to a small hut. The man there is the gamekeeper; he should be able to help you." The girl nodded her thanks and made her way along the path, careful to avoid the dark forest that seemed to loom over her even as she walked.
"Have you seen my brothers, the Six Ravens?" she asked the very large gentleman that came stomping out of the hut.
"Yer brothers, yeh say? I don't rightly know but I have me some friends. Give me a mo'." The large man's voice boomed through the clearing and the girl stepped back slightly.
"No need ter be shyin' away." The large man's voice once more boomed as he shouted out a name that she couldn't quite understand due to the volume.
In short order, a large, winged animal coasted to a graceful landing in front of the girl.
"Be sure ter bow to him properlike. Hippogriffs are a proud lot, like'n to bite yeh if yeh don' be using the proper amoun' of respect." The large man bowed to the Hippogriff before approaching it. He tossed a dead animal towards the Hippogriff while he soothed it.
"Go'awn, then and ask it yer question." The large man gestured towards the Hippogriff and the girl bowed very low indeed before cautiously approaching the animal.
"Excuse me, but I'm hoping that you've seen my brothers, the Six Ravens?" Her voice ended on a high shiver as she finished her approach by standing very close to the animal.
The Hippogriff reared and the girl jumped back. As she moved, the Hippogriff approached. Moving too quickly for her to avoid, it snapped forward and clamped down on her bundle. There was a tussle as she tried to pull the bag away but instead of releasing it, the Hippogriff tugged her along in its wake, deep into the forest. She couldn't give up her bundle; it contained what little she had with which to help her brothers.
"Please, I'll bow lower next time just please let go of my bundle, please." Her pleading fell on deaf ears and she continued to stumble along behind the creature.
There was a loud crashing noise behind her and she could hear, quite clearly, the large man crying out, "Just what in the world do yeh think yer doin', yeh great beast? Let the girl go, now. There's a good Buckbeak!"
But the shouting was of no use and the Hippogriff continued to tug her deeper still until they finally reached a very large rocky cliff face. The Hippogriff looked up before looking back at the girl and then looking up once more.
"Just what do yeh think yer doing, you foul creature? This girl's inno…" The large man's voice trailed off as he watched the Hippogriff's actions. "Are yeh saying that her brothers are up there?"
The girl couldn't help her flinch as the Hippogriff stomped its right foreleg.
"Right, then, there's no help fer it, yeh'll have to be riding him, lass. Up yeh get." Before the girl could react, the large man grabbed a hold of her waist and lifted her onto the back of the Hippogriff. As her screams echoed down the rocky wall, the pair flew higher and higher.
Suddenly, before her was a cliff with a small space just large enough for the Hippogriff to land and the girl to slide off. When her feet touched the ground, she backed away slowly but the Hippogriff bowed once more and flew off.
Clutching her bundle to her chest, the girl approached the cave and saw that there were six beds. Thinking quickly, she spread her six sheets onto the six beds and her six pillowcases onto the six pillows.
As she completed her task, she noticed that there was a loaf of bread next to each of the beds, six in total. Thinking to herself that it had been a long day and an even longer journey to find her brothers, she sliced off a small bit of bread from each of the loaves and quickly consumed them.
Feeling full and with her energy restored, she placed a pair of trousers and a shirt on each of the beds before crawling under the bed closest to the floor to take a nap.
She had barely drifted to sleep when there was a loud racket of ravens returning to the cave. As they landed, each raven turned into a handsome redheaded boy with freckles. Seeing that the beds had been made and clothes laid out, the eldest brother said:
"It's good that the beds have been made and the clothes prepared for us, but it is not so good that some of our bread is missing. Oh, well, there is nothing to be done; we have to make the best of it!"
The brothers went to bed and in the morning, they turned back into ravens and flew away, cawing loudly.
The girl crawled from her spot under the bed and quickly remade each of the beds and tidied up the cave. Her brothers were not the neatest and the task took her most of the day. In the evening, tired from her exertions, she once more cut a small slice from each loaf of bread and then crawled under her youngest brother's bed.
This time, before she could drift off to sleep, the cawing of the ravens echoed throughout the cave and her brothers once more reappeared.
Said the oldest of her brothers:
"Look, brothers: more of our bread has been eaten! Perhaps someone who means to harm us has found his way here. I am not going to do anything about it today, but if the same thing happens again tomorrow, then I'll turn the whole mountain inside out to find the maldoer."
The girl was frightened and began to think of what she could do. As the snores of her brothers echoed about the cave, her fear began to multiply until finally, she seized the bravery that had taken her this far along the journey and gave a small tug to her youngest brother's sleeve.
When he gave no sign that he'd felt the tug, she did it once more, harder. This time, he mumbled, "Whazzat?"
The girl whispered back, "I am your little sister, brother. I have made my way here to find you, but our eldest brother is quite fearsome and I'm not sure what to do."
The youngest brother snorted and turned over, muttering, "We'll figure it out in the morning, go to sleep."
In the morning, the brothers rose and were about to go out when the youngest brother said to the eldest, "I dreamt last night that our sister was here and she was the one eating our bread and making our beds. Do you think it is she and should you really turn the mountain inside out to find out?"
The eldest brother looked about the room before calling out, "Little Sister, if it is you, come out and show yourself."
The girl crawled out from under the bed and all the siblings stared at one another. Then, the brothers' faces fell and the eldest spoke once more. "Had you waited for us at home for another year, sister, we'd have come back to you. But now we will be parted for twelve years more and will only meet again if you chain your tongue and don't utter a word in all the twelve years."
After telling her to get on his back, he turned into a large black raven and all the brothers transformed and flew off to a dense forest. All too soon, the moment to part arrived and her eldest brother placed her on top of a tall spruce tree before saying goodbye.
A long time passed as the girl sat there, waiting for her brothers to come back for her. The clothes the girl wore shredded and she shivered in the cold but did not utter a sound.
One day, a prince and his huntsmen came riding through the forest. One of the dogs with them began baying at the tree in which the girl sat. The prince and his huntsmen rushed over and saw at once that someone was hiding up the tree. They called out over and over, but heard no response. Finally the prince lost his patience.
"Climb the tree and get him down from there. We'll see who this trespasser is." The servant nodded and quickly scaled the tree. When the girl saw the servant, she gestured that she had no clothes and, blushing, the servant climbed back down.
After conferring amongst themselves, the prince gave the servant a spare set of clothes he'd put in his pack and the servant passed them on to the girl who quickly dressed herself in the trousers and shirt. Feeling pity, the prince took her to his home.
As he watched her move about, never uttering a word, facing her critics with a glare, he recognized her bravery and fell in love without ever knowing her name. He told his grandmother that he wanted to marry the girl. The grandmother was loath to allow the prince to marry a mute but the prince pleaded for so long that she finally gave her permission.
When it came time to propose, the prince showered her with flowers, all the flowers that said so many things without ever speaking out loud.
Belladonna first, to symbolize the silence of his gestures; Flowering Almond came next, for his hope; Sweet Alyssum for her worth beyond her beauty; Black Poplar for her bravery he cherished, and then Red Chrysanthemum for his love of her. Finally, he gave her a sprig of American Linden, silently asking for her hand in marriage.
She handed him a small piece of Corn Straw, signaling her acceptance of his proposal, before handing him Globe Amaranth to show her unfading love.
And so it came about that the prince and the sister of the Six Brothers, Six Ravens were married. They continued to communicate through their flowers and their gardens, and their greenhouses were the envy of the entire country.
Several years passed and, eventually, a son was born to them. On that day, the prince was away from home and his young wife was put in the care of her stepmother, the witch. The witch threw the baby away and put a pup in its place. She showed it to all the courtiers and, using her best horrified tone, declared, "Just see what her child is like!"
The grandmother of the prince was horrified and sent an owl to her son, begging him to come back quickly and drive his wife away, as she was obviously unfit.
The prince did come back but he refused to set his wife aside. Instead, he said, "Mine is a good and a kind wife and I will not part with her. Let us wait and see what happens."
Another year went by and the prince was once more away when his wife gave birth to a set of twins. The witch threw these babies away as well and showed everyone another pup. The grandmother once more sent an owl to her son, requesting that he put his wife aside.
The prince came back and tried to save his wife, but the government declared that she must be put on trial for her lycanthropy. The princess was tried and her stepmother was the main witness against her. She was convicted and condemned to be burned at the stake.
A big fire was made up and the princess was led to it, but all of a sudden it began to rain and the fire went out. Another fire was started and this one too was put out.
Now it was at this very moment that the twelve years since the girl had parted for the second time from her brothers had passed. The brothers came flying up and dropped to the ground, one after another. The oldest of them turned back into the handsome man with long hair and the freckles and he approached all those that surrounded his sister. He led a two-year-old boy with him. Behind him came a set of brothers that were identical except for a small freckle to the side of their mouths; they carried a baby each.
All three came to the fire and cried out, "What are you doing? Why would you put to death our own dear sister who has done nothing to deserve it? Better burn our stepmother instead!"
Their story was told quickly, from the original transformation into ravens through to the throwing away of the princess's sons. The princess also spoke up, saying that it was because of her love for her brothers that she did not speak for these twelve long years.
The crowd seized the dark-haired witch as she spewed venom at them all, declaring that she would be back and that they would rue the day they'd interfered with her completion of her duty.
The prince was quickly reunited with his princess and, for the first time, they said, "I love you" to one another in the language of man instead of flowers.
Holding their sons, the prince and princess welcomed the brothers back while the princess's father cried and sobbed on the shoulder of the eldest before embracing each of his six sons. The family was reunited and there was much feasting.
And they lived happily ever after.
Except for the dark-haired witch - she lived in Azkaban prison until she finally passed on.
As always, I'd love to hear what you think.
Author:
wook77Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Arthur/Unnamed Witch, Ginny/Neville, the Weasleys
Prompt: The Twelve Brothers, Twelve Ravens for
hp_fairytales Fairytale FestWordcount: 3272
Warnings: AU
Summary: When Arthur Weasley's loving wife dies, his gaze falls on another witch. She demands the unthinkable and Arthur tries to subvert it.
A/N: Some lines directly quoted from the The Twelve Brothers, Twelve Ravens telling. Many thanks to my betas,
yodels and janicechess. There once was a man whose loving wife died and left him six sons and one daughter.
As time passed, his loneliness increased and he decided to remarry.
“Father, you have us, you don’t need anyone else for companionship,” said one of his sons.
“Father, why do you need someone? Surely we can take care of you," said another of his sons.
He didn’t explain, couldn’t explain the realities of the world and how empty he felt by himself. As the loneliness increased, his gaze fell upon a beautiful witch with long dark hair and a stern demeanor.
Said she to him: "If you want me to marry you, you must kill your sons, burn their bodies, wrap the ashes in paper and send them to me. But you can spare your daughter."
The man thought long and hard. He couldn't do this. They were a part of him and, more importantly, a part of his dead beloved. He escaped from his house as the worry weighed him down.
Outside on the main road, he pondered and paced, back and forth, over and over, as wagons and passersby spared but a glance at him. When he stepped into another body, he startled.
"Pray forgive me, sir. I didn't have my eye on where I was going." Startled out of his contemplations, the man sketched a slight bow.
"Arthur Weasley, I come to you in a time of great need. Do not be grieved at the request of your affianced. You have many large dogs; kill six of them and burn their bodies. Wrap their ashes in paper and send them to your future wife. She will never suspect the difference." The old man with the long white beard finished his speech, then continued down the road. The man's bemused stare followed the old man until he disappeared from sight.
In a twinkling, with a light step and a much lighter heart than when he went outside, he went back into his house and killed six of his dogs and burnt their bodies. Their paper-wrapped ashes were quickly sent off by family owl to his future wife.
When the witch received the bundles, she sniffed them and then agreed to marry the man.
After the wedding, somber affair that it was, the witch came to the ramshackle house and began to investigate all the nooks and crannies. All too soon she said, "Where is that foul smell coming from? Let all who don't belong in the house be turned into black ravens and go flying from here."
A flick of her wand and a shouted word and the six brothers turned into black ravens and flew out of the house.
Only his daughter, the youngest of all his children, was left. She grew up not knowing anything about her brothers, as talk of them had been forbidden from the time the witch entered their house.
One day, when she was eleven, she was outside playing with a small toy. An old man was passing by when he stopped and called out to the young girl.
"Are you happy, my girl?" The girl looked up and grinned.
"Of course, sir. I'm happy," she answered, as she was a dutiful girl.
"Do you not miss your brothers?" The girl gave the old man a perplexed look. "Your six brothers, turned to ravens when your father's new wife came into your house."
"But, sir, I don't have any brothers." However, her mind was quick and she started thinking about all the empty bedrooms and the sadness in her father's eyes.
"Your stepmother demanded that your father kill your brothers. With a bit of trickery, he saved them, only to see them fly away as black ravens, my girl." The old man nodded slightly before continuing down the road.
Deciding that the old man had told the truth, the girl snuck into the kitchen and bundled up some bread and cheese. As her father was at work, she stole into his room and stole six pairs of trousers and six shirts. As she passed the closet, she sneaked away six sets of sheets and six pillowcases. Tying everything into a bundle, she quickly left her house and started down the road in the same direction the old man had headed.
She crossed over bridges and through a town before she finally caught up with him.
"Kind sir?" she called out to the old man. There was a twinkle in his eye as he turned around.
"Yes, my girl?" he asked; the girl walked quickly until she stood directly in front of him.
"My brothers - have you seen them? The Six Black Ravens?" Her voice was deferential.
"I have not, my girl. But I am a fairly good Wizard, so I might be able to find someone else to help you. Come, stay with me for the night, and in the morning, we'll see if we can find our answers." The old man beckoned the girl further down the road and together they walked until they reached a large castle.
"This is a castle, sir!" the girl gasped as she stared at the multitude of turrets and outbuildings.
"Of course it is, my girl. I did say I was a fairly good Wizard. There are plenty of other Wizards and Witches, too." The old man once more beckoned the girl forward and she followed, this time in silence.
In the morning, the old man woke her from her sound sleep and together they broke their fast in a great hall, surrounded by children slightly older than she and a fair few adults as well.
Soon, the meal was completed and the little girl once more followed the old man as he brought her to an old lady in a tartan skirt and a pointy hat.
"Have you seen my brothers, the Six Ravens?" the girl asked.
"I have not, youngling. Perhaps… perhaps someone else has seen them. Follow the path 'round the perimeter of the forest and you will come to a small hut. The man there is the gamekeeper; he should be able to help you." The girl nodded her thanks and made her way along the path, careful to avoid the dark forest that seemed to loom over her even as she walked.
"Have you seen my brothers, the Six Ravens?" she asked the very large gentleman that came stomping out of the hut.
"Yer brothers, yeh say? I don't rightly know but I have me some friends. Give me a mo'." The large man's voice boomed through the clearing and the girl stepped back slightly.
"No need ter be shyin' away." The large man's voice once more boomed as he shouted out a name that she couldn't quite understand due to the volume.
In short order, a large, winged animal coasted to a graceful landing in front of the girl.
"Be sure ter bow to him properlike. Hippogriffs are a proud lot, like'n to bite yeh if yeh don' be using the proper amoun' of respect." The large man bowed to the Hippogriff before approaching it. He tossed a dead animal towards the Hippogriff while he soothed it.
"Go'awn, then and ask it yer question." The large man gestured towards the Hippogriff and the girl bowed very low indeed before cautiously approaching the animal.
"Excuse me, but I'm hoping that you've seen my brothers, the Six Ravens?" Her voice ended on a high shiver as she finished her approach by standing very close to the animal.
The Hippogriff reared and the girl jumped back. As she moved, the Hippogriff approached. Moving too quickly for her to avoid, it snapped forward and clamped down on her bundle. There was a tussle as she tried to pull the bag away but instead of releasing it, the Hippogriff tugged her along in its wake, deep into the forest. She couldn't give up her bundle; it contained what little she had with which to help her brothers.
"Please, I'll bow lower next time just please let go of my bundle, please." Her pleading fell on deaf ears and she continued to stumble along behind the creature.
There was a loud crashing noise behind her and she could hear, quite clearly, the large man crying out, "Just what in the world do yeh think yer doin', yeh great beast? Let the girl go, now. There's a good Buckbeak!"
But the shouting was of no use and the Hippogriff continued to tug her deeper still until they finally reached a very large rocky cliff face. The Hippogriff looked up before looking back at the girl and then looking up once more.
"Just what do yeh think yer doing, you foul creature? This girl's inno…" The large man's voice trailed off as he watched the Hippogriff's actions. "Are yeh saying that her brothers are up there?"
The girl couldn't help her flinch as the Hippogriff stomped its right foreleg.
"Right, then, there's no help fer it, yeh'll have to be riding him, lass. Up yeh get." Before the girl could react, the large man grabbed a hold of her waist and lifted her onto the back of the Hippogriff. As her screams echoed down the rocky wall, the pair flew higher and higher.
Suddenly, before her was a cliff with a small space just large enough for the Hippogriff to land and the girl to slide off. When her feet touched the ground, she backed away slowly but the Hippogriff bowed once more and flew off.
Clutching her bundle to her chest, the girl approached the cave and saw that there were six beds. Thinking quickly, she spread her six sheets onto the six beds and her six pillowcases onto the six pillows.
As she completed her task, she noticed that there was a loaf of bread next to each of the beds, six in total. Thinking to herself that it had been a long day and an even longer journey to find her brothers, she sliced off a small bit of bread from each of the loaves and quickly consumed them.
Feeling full and with her energy restored, she placed a pair of trousers and a shirt on each of the beds before crawling under the bed closest to the floor to take a nap.
She had barely drifted to sleep when there was a loud racket of ravens returning to the cave. As they landed, each raven turned into a handsome redheaded boy with freckles. Seeing that the beds had been made and clothes laid out, the eldest brother said:
"It's good that the beds have been made and the clothes prepared for us, but it is not so good that some of our bread is missing. Oh, well, there is nothing to be done; we have to make the best of it!"
The brothers went to bed and in the morning, they turned back into ravens and flew away, cawing loudly.
The girl crawled from her spot under the bed and quickly remade each of the beds and tidied up the cave. Her brothers were not the neatest and the task took her most of the day. In the evening, tired from her exertions, she once more cut a small slice from each loaf of bread and then crawled under her youngest brother's bed.
This time, before she could drift off to sleep, the cawing of the ravens echoed throughout the cave and her brothers once more reappeared.
Said the oldest of her brothers:
"Look, brothers: more of our bread has been eaten! Perhaps someone who means to harm us has found his way here. I am not going to do anything about it today, but if the same thing happens again tomorrow, then I'll turn the whole mountain inside out to find the maldoer."
The girl was frightened and began to think of what she could do. As the snores of her brothers echoed about the cave, her fear began to multiply until finally, she seized the bravery that had taken her this far along the journey and gave a small tug to her youngest brother's sleeve.
When he gave no sign that he'd felt the tug, she did it once more, harder. This time, he mumbled, "Whazzat?"
The girl whispered back, "I am your little sister, brother. I have made my way here to find you, but our eldest brother is quite fearsome and I'm not sure what to do."
The youngest brother snorted and turned over, muttering, "We'll figure it out in the morning, go to sleep."
In the morning, the brothers rose and were about to go out when the youngest brother said to the eldest, "I dreamt last night that our sister was here and she was the one eating our bread and making our beds. Do you think it is she and should you really turn the mountain inside out to find out?"
The eldest brother looked about the room before calling out, "Little Sister, if it is you, come out and show yourself."
The girl crawled out from under the bed and all the siblings stared at one another. Then, the brothers' faces fell and the eldest spoke once more. "Had you waited for us at home for another year, sister, we'd have come back to you. But now we will be parted for twelve years more and will only meet again if you chain your tongue and don't utter a word in all the twelve years."
After telling her to get on his back, he turned into a large black raven and all the brothers transformed and flew off to a dense forest. All too soon, the moment to part arrived and her eldest brother placed her on top of a tall spruce tree before saying goodbye.
A long time passed as the girl sat there, waiting for her brothers to come back for her. The clothes the girl wore shredded and she shivered in the cold but did not utter a sound.
One day, a prince and his huntsmen came riding through the forest. One of the dogs with them began baying at the tree in which the girl sat. The prince and his huntsmen rushed over and saw at once that someone was hiding up the tree. They called out over and over, but heard no response. Finally the prince lost his patience.
"Climb the tree and get him down from there. We'll see who this trespasser is." The servant nodded and quickly scaled the tree. When the girl saw the servant, she gestured that she had no clothes and, blushing, the servant climbed back down.
After conferring amongst themselves, the prince gave the servant a spare set of clothes he'd put in his pack and the servant passed them on to the girl who quickly dressed herself in the trousers and shirt. Feeling pity, the prince took her to his home.
As he watched her move about, never uttering a word, facing her critics with a glare, he recognized her bravery and fell in love without ever knowing her name. He told his grandmother that he wanted to marry the girl. The grandmother was loath to allow the prince to marry a mute but the prince pleaded for so long that she finally gave her permission.
When it came time to propose, the prince showered her with flowers, all the flowers that said so many things without ever speaking out loud.
Belladonna first, to symbolize the silence of his gestures; Flowering Almond came next, for his hope; Sweet Alyssum for her worth beyond her beauty; Black Poplar for her bravery he cherished, and then Red Chrysanthemum for his love of her. Finally, he gave her a sprig of American Linden, silently asking for her hand in marriage.
She handed him a small piece of Corn Straw, signaling her acceptance of his proposal, before handing him Globe Amaranth to show her unfading love.
And so it came about that the prince and the sister of the Six Brothers, Six Ravens were married. They continued to communicate through their flowers and their gardens, and their greenhouses were the envy of the entire country.
Several years passed and, eventually, a son was born to them. On that day, the prince was away from home and his young wife was put in the care of her stepmother, the witch. The witch threw the baby away and put a pup in its place. She showed it to all the courtiers and, using her best horrified tone, declared, "Just see what her child is like!"
The grandmother of the prince was horrified and sent an owl to her son, begging him to come back quickly and drive his wife away, as she was obviously unfit.
The prince did come back but he refused to set his wife aside. Instead, he said, "Mine is a good and a kind wife and I will not part with her. Let us wait and see what happens."
Another year went by and the prince was once more away when his wife gave birth to a set of twins. The witch threw these babies away as well and showed everyone another pup. The grandmother once more sent an owl to her son, requesting that he put his wife aside.
The prince came back and tried to save his wife, but the government declared that she must be put on trial for her lycanthropy. The princess was tried and her stepmother was the main witness against her. She was convicted and condemned to be burned at the stake.
A big fire was made up and the princess was led to it, but all of a sudden it began to rain and the fire went out. Another fire was started and this one too was put out.
Now it was at this very moment that the twelve years since the girl had parted for the second time from her brothers had passed. The brothers came flying up and dropped to the ground, one after another. The oldest of them turned back into the handsome man with long hair and the freckles and he approached all those that surrounded his sister. He led a two-year-old boy with him. Behind him came a set of brothers that were identical except for a small freckle to the side of their mouths; they carried a baby each.
All three came to the fire and cried out, "What are you doing? Why would you put to death our own dear sister who has done nothing to deserve it? Better burn our stepmother instead!"
Their story was told quickly, from the original transformation into ravens through to the throwing away of the princess's sons. The princess also spoke up, saying that it was because of her love for her brothers that she did not speak for these twelve long years.
The crowd seized the dark-haired witch as she spewed venom at them all, declaring that she would be back and that they would rue the day they'd interfered with her completion of her duty.
The prince was quickly reunited with his princess and, for the first time, they said, "I love you" to one another in the language of man instead of flowers.
Holding their sons, the prince and princess welcomed the brothers back while the princess's father cried and sobbed on the shoulder of the eldest before embracing each of his six sons. The family was reunited and there was much feasting.
And they lived happily ever after.
Except for the dark-haired witch - she lived in Azkaban prison until she finally passed on.
As always, I'd love to hear what you think.
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Date: 2006-09-27 04:29 pm (UTC)*memories*
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Date: 2006-09-27 06:10 pm (UTC)I'm really glad you enjoyed this!
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Date: 2006-09-27 06:13 pm (UTC)Rose
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Date: 2006-09-28 04:41 am (UTC)Molly is a favourite character of mine but, unfortunately, she needed to go for the flow of the story. It made me very sad to do it.
I really enjoyed writing this story. For some of the various challenges I've participated in, I've wibbled and panicked over my entries but so far, with the two Neville/Ginny stories I've written, both have come fairly easily. I do love them together. They really seem to flow so well.
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Date: 2006-09-28 05:32 pm (UTC)Thank you.
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Date: 2006-09-29 10:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-01 12:41 pm (UTC)What a wonderful interpretation of the fairytale! I loved your use of flowers, and the Neville/Ginny pairing worked so well within the framework!
Besides, Neville's always been a prince to me ;).
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Date: 2010-01-22 07:07 pm (UTC)