Ever After (1/?)
anonymous
August 12 2009, 06:31:14 UTC
Not sure if this is quite what you wanted, anon, but I promise there will be a princess and wedding for Russia eventually!)
Once upon a time, in a cold and far away land, there lived three children. They lived together in a tiny cottage at the edge of a great forest, and although they were very poor, they were happy. Their parents died when they were young, but they were able to survive by harvesting mushrooms from the forest and selling them in the nearby village. However the oldest child, a girl named Yekaterina, knew the forest could be dangerous, and warned her younger brother and sister, Ivan and Natalia, to never venture too far while hunting for the mushrooms.
They lived like this for many years, and soon they were no longer children. It became harder and harder to pick enough mushrooms to support all three of them, and so one day Ivan decided to go deeper into the forest, hoping to find the valuable white mushrooms that were rumored to grow there. The further he traveled, the darker and thicker the forest became, until he was lost. It was then that he felt the blade of a knife against his throat. A thief had found him before he could find the mushrooms.
“Kid, I'm going to make this nice and simple for you,” the thief said into Ivan's ear. “Give me all your money and valuables, and I'll let you go. Don't, and I'll slit your throat and take what you've got after you're dead. And don't try anything funny. I'm the one with the knife, and I'm pretty damn awesome too. You wouldn't stand a chance.”
Ivan had never met a thief before, and while he didn't like the idea of dying, he didn't want to give up the few precious coins he had either. He decided that he would, indeed, 'try something funny.'
“Mr. Thief,” Ivan said, “I would give you what I have, but I can't reach my pouch with you grabbing me like this. Will you let go of my arms, just for a moment?”
The thief hesitated, then loosened his grip on Ivan while still keeping the knife resting against his neck, but that was enough. Ivan jerked his head back away from the knife and ducked as he kicked the thief in the shins as hard as he could. The red-eyed man staggered back half a step, cursing fiercely. Ivan had managed to put a little distance between them in those few quick seconds, but the thief was angry, he still had his knife, and now he was coming at Ivan again, looking far less merciful now. Ivan reached into his pouch and grabbed his own dagger. He had only brought it only in case he needed to defend himself from a wolf or a bear, and had thus far only used it to cut away thick brush that had blocked his path. Now he pulled it out for a very different reason, and when the thief lunged at him, Ivan reached out too, and plunged the blade into the thief's chest. It went in up the hilt, sliding between the ribs, and spurted red when Ivan drug it out again. The thief's crimson eyes had gone wide, and a trembling hand came up to touch the wound before he crumpled to the ground. He moved a bit, and made a few strange noises, and then went still. Ivan watched silently. He had never killed anyone before, and found it surprisingly easy.
When Ivan was sure the thief was dead, he went closer to inspect the body. He hadn't managed to find any valuable mushrooms, but perhaps the thief had something that Ivan could sell at market. It wasn't wrong to steal from a dead thief, was it? Of course not, the thief was the bad one. The thief deserved it for trying to steal from Ivan!
Ivan searched through his pockets and found only a small handful of coins from a foreign land, and after some consideration, decided to take the silver crucifix necklace the thief had worn. Just as he had slipped the object around his own neck, he heard his sisters' voices calling to him. He followed the sound, and soon found his way back out of the forest again. His eldest sister started to scold him for going so far into the forest, but stopped when she saw the blood on her brother's shirt.
“I told you the forest was dangerous, Ivan! Why did you not listen to me?” she cried as she grabbed at his clothes, trying to find the wound that the blood had come from.
Once upon a time, in a cold and far away land, there lived three children. They lived together in a tiny cottage at the edge of a great forest, and although they were very poor, they were happy. Their parents died when they were young, but they were able to survive by harvesting mushrooms from the forest and selling them in the nearby village. However the oldest child, a girl named Yekaterina, knew the forest could be dangerous, and warned her younger brother and sister, Ivan and Natalia, to never venture too far while hunting for the mushrooms.
They lived like this for many years, and soon they were no longer children. It became harder and harder to pick enough mushrooms to support all three of them, and so one day Ivan decided to go deeper into the forest, hoping to find the valuable white mushrooms that were rumored to grow there. The further he traveled, the darker and thicker the forest became, until he was lost. It was then that he felt the blade of a knife against his throat. A thief had found him before he could find the mushrooms.
“Kid, I'm going to make this nice and simple for you,” the thief said into Ivan's ear. “Give me all your money and valuables, and I'll let you go. Don't, and I'll slit your throat and take what you've got after you're dead. And don't try anything funny. I'm the one with the knife, and I'm pretty damn awesome too. You wouldn't stand a chance.”
Ivan had never met a thief before, and while he didn't like the idea of dying, he didn't want to give up the few precious coins he had either. He decided that he would, indeed, 'try something funny.'
“Mr. Thief,” Ivan said, “I would give you what I have, but I can't reach my pouch with you grabbing me like this. Will you let go of my arms, just for a moment?”
The thief hesitated, then loosened his grip on Ivan while still keeping the knife resting against his neck, but that was enough. Ivan jerked his head back away from the knife and ducked as he kicked the thief in the shins as hard as he could. The red-eyed man staggered back half a step, cursing fiercely. Ivan had managed to put a little distance between them in those few quick seconds, but the thief was angry, he still had his knife, and now he was coming at Ivan again, looking far less merciful now. Ivan reached into his pouch and grabbed his own dagger. He had only brought it only in case he needed to defend himself from a wolf or a bear, and had thus far only used it to cut away thick brush that had blocked his path. Now he pulled it out for a very different reason, and when the thief lunged at him, Ivan reached out too, and plunged the blade into the thief's chest. It went in up the hilt, sliding between the ribs, and spurted red when Ivan drug it out again. The thief's crimson eyes had gone wide, and a trembling hand came up to touch the wound before he crumpled to the ground. He moved a bit, and made a few strange noises, and then went still. Ivan watched silently. He had never killed anyone before, and found it surprisingly easy.
When Ivan was sure the thief was dead, he went closer to inspect the body. He hadn't managed to find any valuable mushrooms, but perhaps the thief had something that Ivan could sell at market. It wasn't wrong to steal from a dead thief, was it? Of course not, the thief was the bad one. The thief deserved it for trying to steal from Ivan!
Ivan searched through his pockets and found only a small handful of coins from a foreign land, and after some consideration, decided to take the silver crucifix necklace the thief had worn. Just as he had slipped the object around his own neck, he heard his sisters' voices calling to him. He followed the sound, and soon found his way back out of the forest again. His eldest sister started to scold him for going so far into the forest, but stopped when she saw the blood on her brother's shirt.
“I told you the forest was dangerous, Ivan! Why did you not listen to me?” she cried as she grabbed at his clothes, trying to find the wound that the blood had come from.
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