Work Text:
His Task:
Broken, battered breathing.
It was in that one moment where his heart stopped right in his chest did he realize: his daughter was dead.
-
There were bluebirds chirping in the blooming trees above, singing from their perches and welcoming the new day. She always loved to wake her father up early for mornings such as these.
The Woodsman was a simple man with many simple responsibilities and a simple way of living - and he enjoyed it to it's fullest extent. Sure, the Unknown was not the greatest place to be living, considering it's unpredictability, but he loved it anyway. He found a way to love it, his girl introduced the beauty of the ever changing forest to him.
"Father," She said, swinging her feet as she sat on the porch of their home, "I found something in the woods today!"
"Oh, did you?" The man turned slightly as he pulled up the edge of his coat, keeping him warm from the chilling air. "And what did you find?"
"I can't tell you that." She shook her head firmly, holding a finger to her lips and furrowing he brows in a attempt to look serious, "It's a secret."
"Too secret to tell your old man?"
"Much too secret for you."
He ran his fingers through her tangled hair, smiling carelessly. These were the days he remembered most and these were the days he longed to return.
-
She was attacked by a monstrous creature with large fangs and glowing eyes.
After that day the Woodsman always carried his axe by his side.
-
Pumpkins were scattered across the fields full of golden, fluttering wheat.
The two, father and child, wandered into town right when the sun was shifting its way up to its peak in the sky to sift among the clouds.
"I wonder if there are any people here?" She wondered around, twirling her arms out and spinning in a circle. The Woodsman flashed her a worn grin, focus settling back on the dirt trail ahead.
"There must be. This place wouldn't be so nicely kept if it wasn't."
A creeping sound filled the air, a noise of shuffling feet and the thick stomp of unknown creatures.
Then they appeared, one by one, settling around the two in a loose circle.
They were...people made of clusters of hay and vegetables, their faces carved on and their movements quite steady.
The Woodsman swung out his axe, holding his daughter close to his chest in a panic, as these - these things reached out for him.
He whipped around to face -
A startled gasp escaped his mouth as he stated up at the giant looming figure weighing over him.
"Well, well," It spoke, causing the man to splutter, "Welcome newcomers. And who might you all be?"
"I-I-"
"A talking pumpkin!" The child giggled excitedly, wrapped within her parent's embrace. Her eyes were rounded in excitement and held curiosity as thick and deep as the River Styx.
"That I am indeed," The creature rumbled in amusement, the corners of its mouth curling up. "But I can be many things, child. I am not just limited to this form."
A streamer rose from the large creature's side and was held out in a form of greeting. The Woodsman, his back still held stiff, weapon still at ready, flinched at the movement but the little girl within his grasp wiggled out from his arms.
Her tiny, soft hands, found way to the out held appendage and she shook it lightly, happiness still plastered over her face.
"Hi there, Sir! You have a very lovely town!" She bubbled, putting on her most serious and business-like face. Her lips were pursed and her brows furrowed and altogether her face was quite funny, but it warmed many a heart.
"How kind of you to say..." It hummed politely, a fondness radiating through its tone, "I am Enoch, Mayor of Pottsfield. I rule over these sacred and healthy lands. Now, tell me, what brings you here?"
"W-We- were out in the woods, and we took a different route an-and ended up..." The Woodsman began, still coated in the aftershock of panic, before mumbling under his breath, "A talking pumpkin. I suppose I've seen everything now."
"Father, introduce yourself!" He blinked up to see his girl tugging on his sleeve, glaring at him with a sternness he didn't know she possessed. "It's impolite to ignore Mayor Enoch. He's a Mayor after all, show some respect."
"Oh, my sincerest apologies," The elder rumbled to her, warm heartedly before turning on his boots heel.
-
"Oh no," His feet wouldn't carry him fast enough, his mind was blurring into a concoction of horrible images, "No."
And then before him stood a hideous creature, tall, lanky and having an aura that made his skin crawl and shudder. Paralyzed in fear, his mouth gaping open in shock, a moment passed by in utter silence before the thing blinked and...moved towards him.
Two piercing white eyes focused down on the man below, and a thundering voice emulated from deep within his chest, "A little lost aren't you traveler?"
"Wh- have you- have you seen my daughter?"
"I haven't seen any other souls aside from yourself, wanderer. Now tell me, what are you doing so deep within the confines of the dark?"
"I-I could've sworn she..." The Woodsman was breathless, his teeth biting into his lip so roughly that it bled instantly, "...went this way."
"Perhaps I can make a deal with you," The thing - the monster - the Beast - continued, leaning closer to the human, "I'll help you find your child and in return you can help me find something I've been... looking for. Does that sound fair enough to you?"
-
"She's gone," Tears freely stung at his eyes and made the white hot pain, burning, even worse, "Oh god - she's gone-"
"Not yet, she isn't-" The Beast hummed from behind him, causing the Woodsman to jump in panic, "I can take your daughter's soul - and put it in the lantern - therefore she would be able to live on - her spirit never dying as long as you carry out one, simple task."
"Task?"
"Yes, dear Woodsman. You must take on the task as lantern-bearer, and you must grind the Edelwood trees down to oil and burn them in it. To keep your daughter's light from going out into nothing."
"Anything - I'll do anything-"
"Alright, then. Do we have a deal?"
"Y-Yes-"
-
The house was very quiet without her. He changed her bed sheets every other day, as if in hope she would return soon (she wouldn't).
-
Days passed, nights passed, the sunset and sunrise had lost their glow.
-
Occasionally children passed through the woods, and he tried to guide them but in all honesty the Woodsman didn't have the faintest clue in which way would lead them to their homes so he did what he could.
-
He saw the Beast following a child. She had thin, curled blonde hair and eyes as blue as the afternoon sky. Her face was ragged with exhaustion and weariness, but before the Woodsman could do a thing, the Beast was there, coaxing her...?
"I can show you the way," A lanky, deformed hand broke away from his side and he held it out willingly to the little girl. Staring at it for just a few drawn out seconds, she finally took it, and was led through the trees.
"Thank you, sir," He had heard her voice gentle and quiet as the breeze, but he was already running.
Horror and sickness rose to the pit of his stomach as he realized just what had happened to all the children before.
The beautiful forest that he used to love was now a graveyard of the lost, dead souls of innocents.
-
The Woodsman went back to the forest later that day hoping to provide the poor child with a proper burial. He never found her body.
-
The Beast's songs haunted the night, soaking into the frigid air and stirring the stars around in the heavens high, high above.
He tossed and he turned and he woke up in sweats - crying out, sobbing.
The Woodsman started to avoid his sleep because he didn't need it anyway to begin with.
Oil became more important anyway.
-
He found the homestead abandoned and cleaned up the home ever so slowly. It was a Mill that radiated a welcoming happiness to it. He found pictures of some children, who must have lived their previously. Maybe the Beast took them too. He wouldn't have been surprised.
-
Lost souls yes they were.
-
At night when the lantern burned on the stand next to him he whispered his apologies to his little girl.
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