Work Text:
(Kinda?) Based off of Hansel by -Sodikken-
You and Lord Beneviento were complete opposites. She was work focused whereas you were family focused (even though you didn't have one #fatherless). She was more introverted where you were extroverted. You were the opposite in every sense. Not a bad sense, no, just more confusing. Or complex, I guess.
You both met after one of her rare visits to the village. You had a shipment of cloth to trade to the Duke, which he had apparently already sold to Lord Beneviento. You must admit, Angie was feral. Like, extremely feral. She reminded you of those cats off the streets that'll fight anything and everything, even though she's shin height [puntable]. When Angie saw you with your satchel of cloth, she tugged on Lord Benevientos skirt, pointing at the clothes threatening to spill out and talking sporadically about a dress for another doll. They seemed to share a conversation, with Angie giving little huffs here and there until she seemingly won.
She walked over to you and practically climbed up to the front of your shirt, talking animatedly and pointing to your bag, asking if you were selling the black velvet sitting on top of pounds of fabric. You looked from the cloth to her and shook your head no, saying that you were planning on selling it to another merchant in another village over. She looked between you and Donna and sputtered out, offering to pay higher than they would, being forever ominous and saying they'd give you something that you'd never get anywhere else. With some internal debate, you agreed, reluctantly. Angie cackled and let go of your shirt, falling onto your feet, and dragging you to Donna, who had finished talking to the Duke.
Following the trail back to the manor was uneventful, not counting Angie pointing out animals and chattering like a cat, the wood making an echoing clacking noise. You tried to not let village talk catch up to you, you knew how cruel the village could be so you wanted to come to your own opinion of the Lady and her doll, without any sort of village blabbering in your head. Reaching the manor, you ended up carrying Angie instead of walking behind her because "you were walking too slow" even though if you walked any faster, you would've been walking on her. You stepped on the porch and looked around, focusing in on the back of Lady Benevientos head, clad with her veil.
You questioned what they were going to pay with for the black velvet and felt a wave of nausea hit you. Bending over and holding Angie with one hand, you pulled a hand up to cover your mouth. Angie kicked until she saw free from your arms and stood next to Lady Beneviento, watching you try to not puke on their porch (and possibly on the lady). You tried to look back up but your head spun violently. You stumbled back, almost falling down the porch steps and landed right on your ass in front of a manic doll. You scrambled to get back up and tripped over a rock [when did that get there?], almost falling down on your ass again. You heard voices, but they felt almost familiar. You looked back up and saw a figure, almost resembling your… father?
Even seemed to get closer with just a blink of the eye, almost standing over you. You grabbed handfuls of grass and pushed yourself back more and staining your pants against the grass. You felt the edge of the ground beneath your hands, giving way to the waterfall almost pounding into your skull, hearing your bag hit the jagged rocks beneath and hearing the fabrics become ruined with water and torn apart by the rough treatment. Your father stood over you, seemingly staring at you, but you couldn't see his face.
You both stared at each other, the mist from the waterfall behind you becoming more and more heavy until you felt ghostly fingers pushing you back more. They felt like how twigs do when you get poked with them repetitively. You grasped at the few grass strands keeping you on the ground but they weren't enough.
You fell over the edge, seeing your father standing over you, bending over the edge to look down at you mockingly. You heard shrill laughter as your back hit the rocks, breaking your spine instantly and killing you a second later. All this could've been avoided, you could've stuck with your trade with the other village. All you wanted was to talk.