Lullaby, and Good Night
Title: Lullaby, and Good Night
Fandom: The Brothers Grimm
Characters: Jacob Grimm, Lotte Grimm, Mother, Will briefly
Word Count: 344
Rating: PG
Summary: Young Jacob applies his remedy to his dying sister.
Author's Notes: Written for fanfic100 from prompt 034. Not Enough. Prompt Table.
With tears in his eyes and his glasses bent, he picks with cold fingers among the floorboards. He tries to retrieve every last one, but they were scattered terribly and he can’t remember how many there were exactly. On top of that, it is getting dark and the firelight makes the shadows jump.
The sound of his sniffling is accompanied by ragged coughing from the corner and a soft, gentle humming.
Guten Abend, gute Nacht…
He cannot stand as he makes his way over to his sister, but gets as far as he needs crawling on his knees. “Lotte?” He holds them out to her in cupped hands, a supplication. “Please.” His words catch on new-escaping sobs. “Please, Lotte.”
“Jacob.” Their mother’s firm, gentle voice finds him, and her arms fold around him. Even as he huddles to her he thinks first of protecting Lotte’s medicine, folding one hand over the other. “Oh, my Jacob.” Her lips press to his forehead. “Here.” She holds out a hand, and very carefully he lets the beans spill into it. “I’ll make sure she eats every last one.” The cooking pot hangs over the crackle of a fire that could be their last. The rocking horse’s head is already blackened around the edges.
He watches his sister cough and shiver and doesn’t know what to say. “Where’s Will gone?” she asks.
Mother answers from the fireside: “He’ll be back soon, love. He just had to go out for a bit.”
Lotte’s weak eyes find her brother again. “Am I going to get better?”
He finds it difficult to look at her after that. But she appears grateful for the meal when mother presents it to her, and then Jacob watches her eat every last bean, and he and mother hum her the calming tune.
Morgen frueh, wenn Gott will…
~
The next day Jacob wakes to the sound of his mother weeping. When Will comes to hit him again, he does not fight back, and when he falls defeated to the floor he catches sight of an uncooked bean jammed between the floorboards.
Fandom: The Brothers Grimm
Characters: Jacob Grimm, Lotte Grimm, Mother, Will briefly
Word Count: 344
Rating: PG
Summary: Young Jacob applies his remedy to his dying sister.
Author's Notes: Written for fanfic100 from prompt 034. Not Enough. Prompt Table.
With tears in his eyes and his glasses bent, he picks with cold fingers among the floorboards. He tries to retrieve every last one, but they were scattered terribly and he can’t remember how many there were exactly. On top of that, it is getting dark and the firelight makes the shadows jump.
The sound of his sniffling is accompanied by ragged coughing from the corner and a soft, gentle humming.
Guten Abend, gute Nacht…
He cannot stand as he makes his way over to his sister, but gets as far as he needs crawling on his knees. “Lotte?” He holds them out to her in cupped hands, a supplication. “Please.” His words catch on new-escaping sobs. “Please, Lotte.”
“Jacob.” Their mother’s firm, gentle voice finds him, and her arms fold around him. Even as he huddles to her he thinks first of protecting Lotte’s medicine, folding one hand over the other. “Oh, my Jacob.” Her lips press to his forehead. “Here.” She holds out a hand, and very carefully he lets the beans spill into it. “I’ll make sure she eats every last one.” The cooking pot hangs over the crackle of a fire that could be their last. The rocking horse’s head is already blackened around the edges.
He watches his sister cough and shiver and doesn’t know what to say. “Where’s Will gone?” she asks.
Mother answers from the fireside: “He’ll be back soon, love. He just had to go out for a bit.”
Lotte’s weak eyes find her brother again. “Am I going to get better?”
He finds it difficult to look at her after that. But she appears grateful for the meal when mother presents it to her, and then Jacob watches her eat every last bean, and he and mother hum her the calming tune.
Morgen frueh, wenn Gott will…
~
The next day Jacob wakes to the sound of his mother weeping. When Will comes to hit him again, he does not fight back, and when he falls defeated to the floor he catches sight of an uncooked bean jammed between the floorboards.