Grimm 1.1

A/N: This is a collaborative project written by GoldFlame and I. It focuses on the Brothers Grimm, basically, and a ton of other stuff. But who writes novels in Author's Notes, anyway? To the chapter! ~P

We decided to alternate chapters, so Pomp wrote Chapter 1, which we broke down into two parts. I suggested some edits, and that's how it became what it is now. ^_^ ~GF

~i~

Walking by the bank of the lake was like struggling against a tidal wave of memories, of thoughts and words that had died long ago. They seemed to buzz in the silence, reminding Jacob of hours succumbed to dust and voices that had long since faded into nothingness ...

Sand slips from between your fingers, Jacob thought, plunging his hands into his pockets. And glass pierces through your veins. When it comes down to it, sand and glass are the same.

"'And history shall both break and bind you.'" The words trailed off his lips exactly as they'd first been said, forty years ago. He could remember every part of the speech so very clearly. It was as if the wind had whispered the words in his ears; but Jacob knew exactly who had spoken them. Although back then, he reasoned with himself, it had been a declaration of war combined with a warning ...

Closing his eyes, Jacob envisioned a battlefield, with bulging armies on either side of a mountain pass. Archers leading the ranks, some holding up silken tapestries--Jacob could see them all. The drums were pounding at his skull, thrumming and beating a strident tattoo. War cries. Raucous shouting. The snicker-snack of blades cutting through flesh.

It is not something that I wish to remember, Jacob thought tiredly, kneading his forehead with his knuckles. Squatting down by the stagnant waters, he shivered slightly. The night was cold but crisp, and the darkness dripped with undeniable nostalgia; it weighed down on his heart. He could feel it in the heavy, musky air that he breathed in and in the grass as it swayed gently in the wind. Jacob realized with a jolt that things hadn't changed from when he had left, and he couldn't help but feel glad. It was a relief to realize that not all memories died.

Looking up at the stars, Jacob saw them as mere pinpricks of light, like the kind you might see at the end of an unreachable tunnel. They seemed to shine lightyears away, but Jacob felt that if he raised his hand high enough ... he could ...

Jacob's pale hand flailed against the canvassed heavens, but all he caught was fistfuls of frigid winter air. No stars. No dusky stardust slipping down his brow and spreading through his hair. He sighed. Sometimes, it really did seem as if fairytales only existed in the imagination.

But you and Wilhelm changed that forever, the voices whispered.

Jacob ignored the voices, trying desperately not to think of his brother. Close the floodgates, Jacob. His thoughts poked at his mind. It won't help now, you know.

Jacob shook his head violently and pinched the bridge of his nose--hard. He hadn't come here to re-live the past; he'd come here to bury it, and to say good-bye. It was vital, vital that he didn't give in to the grief, or he'd end up opening the portal again.

The portal.

Looking at the murky, shallow lake with its opaque waters, it was impossible to imagine that it could house so many dark secrets. The trees were hunchbacked and homely, touching the lake's tranquil surface. Jacob closed his eyes and imagined the trees towering above him, clinging onto the sky with their bare branches. A sudden flash of violet against the cloudy ash-work. And a voice yelling out over the silence, calling to despair and lost hope--

"Tired?"

Jacob's eyes snapped open, and he frowned at the speckled heavens. The grass whispered--almost mournfully, he thought--as the newcomer sat down beside him; but Jacob didn't move, nor acknowledge his presence in any way. Even so, as the silence weighed down on them, Jacob was conscious of the fact that the man was laughing at him--with his words and with his eyes, even though he couldn't see them. After all, he had spent enough time with Rep when he was younger to know that the man was always--always--laughing at him. Whether it was weakness, stupidity or just "being there", he had always felt uneasy in his presence.

So it was now that he refused to utter a single word.

Rep sighed loudly. Jacob resisted the urge to sigh also, out of exasperation. He settled for just covering his face with his hands and laying his forehead against his knees.

"Ignoring me now, are we?" Rep said quietly, but his voice rang like a gong in the silence. "That's never helped before, Grimm, and it won't help now."

"What do you want, Rep?" Jacob said, rather harshly. He really didn't want to deal with this right now. Or ever, he thought, scowling. Nevertheless, he turned around so he was facing the other man. Rep smirked, although Jacob thought it looked more like a grimace, stretched tightly across his pale skin. His dark hair fell into his eyes and his silk suit rustled as he settled himself more comfortably on the grass.

Reapers, Jacob thought bitterly. Always dressed as if to dine with Death himself.