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the-hilda-librarians-wife · 4 years

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Beauty and the Witch

Credit for header images: x x x x

Summary: Deep in the dark forest, there’s a castle filled with magic and mystery, where no one would ever go if they could help it. But an adventurer runs from nothing, and she might come to regret it.

Sketchbook BatB AU for reasons

Notes: The beast form of the librarian is inspired by Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle, so if you need visual aid here it is

Also, with this fic, I officially have more Hilda fics written than fics for my other fandom! So I guess this is officially my main fandom, now

Read it on ao3

Hilda was lost.

It had taken her a while to accept it. Not because she thought she recognized her surroundings, but because an adventurer never got lost. That and because her mother had always warned her not to stray too far from the village when she was exploring the woods.

But it became impossible to deny that she had left the main road too far behind when she began to see snow raining down from the skies. In July. When minutes earlier she’d began feeling chilly, she thought that maybe it was just something from her head, or maybe it was the wind that came at nightfall, but snow was the final straw.

Twig, the small horse that belonged to Hilda and her mother, shivered with the cold as well, neighing as he too noticed that something was wrong. He grew more shifty with each step, stealing glances at the trees. He was also beginning to get stubborn, not obeying Hilda’s commands right away, making her grasp the reins with a stronger grip.

“Calm down, boy.” She said, leaning forward to pat Twig’s white fur. “It’s okay.”

The situation reminded Hilda of something she’d read one day, that if one traveled south enough, the seasons changed. Could that be what had happened? She supposed it was possible, but there was no way to know for sure. When she’d walked to their local bookseller and asked him to show her the place where the seasons switched (the equator, her book had called), he’d simply humphed and said that it was unbecoming of a lady to be that curious. She’d returned home that day feeling angered and frustrated; her mother, one of the only people she knew who saw curiosity as an exceptional trait, especially in ladies, had been able to soothe her with tales of more open minded towns. She hadn’t, however, had a book with a map she could show her daughter.

Maybe she should ask Frida if she had one. Her friend had also come from a background where the search for knowledge was encouraged. But she supposed that in order to do that, she’d need to get out of that forest first. That sure was beginning to look like the tricky part.

As the sky grew darker, she could feel her horse becoming even more restless, but now she understood it. As she looked at her sides, she saw big animals following them, their eyes shining in the gloom of the forest as they stealthily accompanied the young girl.

Hilda took a deep breath, bringing in that cold air to fill her lungs. She couldn’t panic. If the wolves realized she’d seen them, they’d surely attack. There was no way she could fight them, she’d have to figure something out and quick.

It wasn’t typical of her to let her mind be clouded by fear, but as Twig’s trot seemed to become more erratic, making her sway in her saddle, she could think of nothing to save her. In the middle of the forest, no one would hear her screams, and as fast as she ran, the wolves would catch up.

Her breathing was coming in jagged exhales when she heard a fallen tree branch snap under her horse’s hoof. As if they had been given a cue, three wolves, two from the left side of them and one from the right, leapt forward to attack them. The fastest wolf managed to bite one of Twig’s back legs before he broke into a full gallop, making Hilda lose her balance and almost fall backwards with the speed.

He ran along the road, the wolves howling behind them as they tried to catch up, and Hilda could hear other wolves gathering up in the woods around them. She frantically looked around for anything that could help, but at the speed Twig was going, she could barely pay a passing glance to her surroundings. And yet, the wolves gained ground.

The cold wind hit her face, making it hard to think as the snowflakes made her hair and clothes wet. Twig was not used to running like this, and Hilda knew he wouldn’t last much in this pace. Eventually, he’d get tired and collapse. And then the wolves would get to them.

She didn’t know if she’d spent minutes or hours in this mad chase, hoping for a village to appear or maybe for a hunter to find her, but eventually she saw the end of the road.

It led directly to a castle.

The building was dark and imposing, towers of stone rising to the sky. It looked abandoned, and incredibly sad, an aura of mystery emanating from it. The castle grounds were surrounded by spikes of metal that she supposed were a fence, albeit a deeply terrifying one from the distance. But still, it was shelter, and thus a blessing.

The only problem was that, as if by magic, the large gates seemed to be closing themselves as she approached.

She gasped when she realized this, and pressed her heels into her horse to ask for more speed, leaning forward and locking her knees around his torso in order to have stability.

“Come on, boy.” She whispered. “Just a little more, please”

The gate got closer, the entrance more narrow with each second, until the were finally able to cross it. The gate hit Hilda’s legs and ripped a part of her dress, but closed just in time to leave the wolves outside.

The girl let out a triumphant cry as Twig slowed down to a halt in front of the castle. Her ripped skirt didn’t bother her; as was her habit, she was wearing leggings under it, and had no trouble getting down from her horse when the danger was over. She could still hear the wolves howling and trying to break in, but she was positive the worst had passed.

“That was a close one.” She said as the took the reins from behind Twig’s neck and brought it over his face to guide him.

“I’ll see if there’s anyone inside. There must be a stable around here, maybe it’s better if you stay there.”

She did find a stable, and a peculiar one at that. There were lit torches and fresh straw, but not one horse. Still she let Twig get comfortable and eat something. He needed a chance to recover his strength.

Next, she went out into the gardens (she thought they were supposed to be gardens, at least. Aside from a few trees, everything was dead and the ground was covered in a thick layer of snow that wet her boots) and looked for the entrance. A grand stone staircase led to the main door, which she knocked and then waited. When no one answered, she knocked again.

“Hello?” She said, rubbing her hands on her arms to warm herself. “Is anyone in there? I didn’t mean to bother, but I got lost in the woods. May I come in?”

There was one more minute of silence before she pushed the door, which, surprisingly, opened up without her having to make a big effort. Unable to bear the cold and knowing that even if she was to spend the night at the stable with Twig, she should talk to her host, she entered the castle.

“I’m coming in.” She warned as she stepped into the entrance hall, her mouth opening in a silent gasp as she took it in. The ceiling was high and decorated with paintings that were too filthy to be seen properly. Books piled up on the floor, and another staircase led to a second floor. Though the grandeur of it all amazed her, she was even more struck by how whoever lived here had more books spread across their hall than Hilda had seen in her entire lifetime.

She heard a weird sound, almost like whispering, which brought her attention to a small wooden table at her left. There was no one there, so she supposed she had imagined the sound, but she noticed two beautiful objects: a bright red candelabra, with tree lit white candles, and a grey clock, which seemed to shine silver under the candlelight.

Hilda stretched her arm and grabbed the candelabra. The castle was gloomy, and she supposed a source of light would help in her search for signs of human life. She first went to the corridor at the right side of the staircase, finding her quest futile. She was beginning to think that the castle didn’t only look abandoned.

But then, on the first door she opened, she found herself looking at a perfectly wealthy kitchen, the long table at the center filled with food. She walked closer, realizing with more than a bit of wonder that the food was fresh and warm.

Her stomach grumbled. After what she’d been through, she wasn’t surprised to be hungry, but her conscience told her that she couldn’t steal. This food didn’t belong to her and she hadn’t been offered it. Yet, they had so much. It wouldn’t hurt to eat just a little.

Knowing that she could get in trouble and wary of the whole situation, Hilda did nothing more than grab a loaf of bread, and then she carefully tip toed out of the kitchen. She gave up on her search for people, after that. It was highly unlikely that in an inhabited place, there would be no one in the kitchen with such a spread laid out. How come all that food was there, though, she couldn’t explain.

She returned to the entrance hall, wanting to be close to the door if things went awry, and set on the floor next to a pile of books, the candelabra close to her. She took a bite out of the bread, humming at its warm flavour. This was even better than the bread David’s parents made.

Not knowing what else she was supposed to do, she picked a book from the closet pile, removing a fine layer of dust from its cover before opening it. At the first glance at its contents, she found herself fascinated, because she understood nothing. She could tell it was some sort of science, as it spoke of formulas and equations, and of concepts too complex for her mind to understand. But though she was curious about it all, the fact that it didn’t make sense kept her from enjoying it, and she soon picked up another, still eating her bread as she put the new tome on her lap.

This one was discarded even more quickly; not even the words made sense, for they were not only in another language, but also in another alphabet. She had more luck with the third book; it was on geography, something her mother had tried her best to teach her. But this was much better quality than any of the books her mother had been able to afford, probably better than anything their village’s bookseller had. It was filled to the brim with information, and she could only read for a few minutes before her head was spinning with the amount of facts.

As she decided to skim through it, a piece of paper fell down from between the pages. It looked older than the rest of the book, more wrinkled and yellow, and it made Hilda’s eyes shine. It was, without a doubt, a world map.

She gently ran her fingertips through it, careful not to damage it in any way, but the paper proved to be sturdier than it seemed. She recognized France from the smaller maps she’d been able to see, but the other, furthest countries she couldn’t even begin to recognize.

The world was so much bigger than she’d thought.

She was fascinated by it. She’d heard stories of pirates from the East and of the vibrant jungles south, but she’d no idea how far it was. It was only after a few moments of startled awe that she was able to realize that if the equator was that far away, there was no way she’d crossed it. And yet, snow poured outside.

Beginning to feel cold with only the tree candles to warm her and uncomfortable with the mysterious atmosphere, she decided to walk down to the stables and sleep with Twig. At least this way, she could cuddle with him and share his warmth, and it lowered the likelihood of an awkward meeting with someone in the morning.

Still, as she got up and put the candelabra back in its place, by the old looking clock, it felt bad, nearly wrong, to leave that map behind. To her it was such a treasure, something with infinite value. And to whoever this castle belonged to, it was nothing. Just another piece of paper that was forgotten among the endless piles of books that filled the building. Some of those books had been covered in dust, for crying out loud. As far as she knew, their owner might even be dead already.

Mind made up, she carefully folded the map and put it in the satchel which she always wore tied to her hips. Taking one last glance at the infinity of knowledge all around her, she walked out of the castle and down to the stables.

And this time, when she heard whispers coming from the candles and the clock, she ignored it.

_#_#_#_

When Hilda woke up, her body was stiff from sleeping with her head on a horse’s belly, and sore from the hard ground which was barely made any softer by the straw. But she’d made it through the night, and for that she could only be thankful.

As soon as her eyes fluttered open, she hurriedly began getting ready to go. Her mother had to be dying from worry, and she had no reason to stick around, anyway. As she got Twig ready for their departure, tying the saddle around his middle, she briefly considered walking inside to grab another bite of something, but discarded that idea. She’d had enough of testing her luck.

The air outside the stable was chilly, but it was not the same cutting cold from the night before. There were no signs of activity in the garden, and the gates were, somehow, open once more. Though the girl would very much like to discover more about that, as well as about every bizarre thing she’d seen on the castle, she knew better than to go exploring right away. She was tired, she was hungry, and there were still wolves outside. Her priority was trying to find her way home right away.

She climbed on her horse’s back and led him through the garden, trotting until the gates. Her mind had already left the castle behind, worrying only about making it through the woods when she heard an inhuman screech that made the hairs of her neck stand up in fright.

Gasping, Hilda looked behind her shoulder to see a giant, bird-like creature flying her way. She screamed as Twig picked speed, the horse sensing the danger they were in. But before he could even get his tail through the gate, the dark creature swooped in and grasped Hilda’s shoulders with its claws.

Swinging her legs and arms around in an attempt to free herself, Hilda horrifiedly realized that she was being lifted into the air as she saw Twig gallop away into the forest.

“Let me go!” Hilda shouted, but the claws never gave up their grip on the girl’s shoulders.

“NO!” The creature shouted back, startling Hilda even more, not only with the fact that it could speak, but also with the anger in its voice.

“You have stolen that which is mine!” It said, its big, black-feathered wings sending gusts of wind to her face. “And so you are mine now.”

Hilda’s blood froze in her veins, as she remembered. The map. This was all happening because of the map.

“I can give it back to you!” She said, noticing that the creature was taking her to one of the towers. “Just let me go!”

“Oh, you will give it back to me.” The creature growled. They got closer and closer to the tower, until they were close enough that the beast could throw Hilda through a window. She was able to fall on her feet inside, briefly trying to run before her captor landed near her and grabbed her arm. Its hand was covered in feathers with long, sharp nails, and when Hilda turned to look at its face, angry purple eyes were staring at her.

“But your life is now mine.” It snatched her satchel from her hips, opening it to look at its contents. Hilda tried to slowly back away while the beast was distracted by its contents, but the search was short. The beast put her hand inside the satchel, and then took it away as if it had been burned.

“Little thief.” It said. “You will regret this. Forever.”

_#_#_#_

Johanna had not been able to sleep. When Hilda hadn’t come back the evening before, she’d warned the sheriff, but he had barely given her any mind. He’d told her she shouldn’t be surprised, that everyone had warned her something would happen if she continued giving her daughter that much freedom, and that they could try to do something if she still didn’t show up in three days.

Johanna had shouted and raged, an attitude so atypical of her that even the sheriff had been scared. She demanded they search for her daughter right away, but all that had done was getting her dragged to her house.

She spent the night flirting with the idea of getting into the forest to look for Hilda herself. One time, she’d caught herself putting on her cloak to go. But she always got reminded that if she went into the woods at night, with no idea of where Hilda could be and no weapons, it would be more likely that she didn’t come back.

Now, at the morning, she was getting ready to ask for help again, and to go into the forest if no one volunteered to help her, when she heard a nervous neigh coming from the street.

A smiled blossomed into her face as she recognized that it was Twig running to her, but it quickly fell when she saw that no one was riding him.

“Twig!” She exclaimed as she ran to him, taking hold of his reins and petting him with her hand to calm him down. “Where is Hilda?”

The horse looked into her eyes, and she could see the fear in them. Her heart stopped, her brain going through all the possible scenarios of terrible things that might have happened to her daughter. She stepped to Twig’s side, putting both hands on the saddle and her left foot on the stirrup to lift herself up onto his back.

“Take me to her.” She ordered, and held on tight as he broke into a run.

_#_#_#_

When Twig halted in front of an eerie, crumbling castle, she hadn’t thought that he had brought her to the wrong place. He was much smarter than one would expect from a horse, and incredibly loyal, too. But oh, she had so hoped he had made a mistake. It wouldn’t be surprising if Hilda had found the castle by chance and stopped to explore, but if that was the case, then she would have come back. Due to the circumstances, Johanna was positive that something more sinister had happened.

She climbed down from her horse in front of a large staircase, and climbed it to move inside through the front door. The place didn’t look inhabited, so maybe a piece of stone had fallen on top of her and rendered her unable to move. Though that didn’t seem like such a reasonable explanation once she found herself inside the front hall. While it looked deserted, it didn’t look like it was ready to fall down on her head like the outside had looked.

“Hilda?” Johanna asked, not daring to raise her voice. If the place was inhabited, she wasn’t sure she would be able to deal with the wrath of a nobleman. “Good morning, is anyone home? I don’t mean to disturb, I’m looking for my daughter.”

Out of the corner of her left eye, she could see something moving, but when she turned her gaze to that direction she saw only a candelabra and a clock on a little table. Telling herself it was probably nerves, she reached for the candelabra, curling her fingers around the cold, red metal.

“Hilda?” She called again, louder this time, and when no one answered, she decided to climb the stairs that led upwards. The castle had clearly been great one day, but everything about it said that its glory days were long gone. The very air seemed sad.

She crossed a long corridor packed with rusty armors before finding another stair. This one was not as grand as the others; made of rough stone and spiraling up into one of the towers, everything indicated that it wasn’t supposed to be used by guests.

She climbed just the first two steps and called for her daughter again. This time, her heart picked up pace as she recognized Hilda’s voice calling for her.

“I’m coming, Hilda!” She shouted, running up the stairs.

“No! Don’t come here!” Hilda’s voice, faint with the distance answered. “It’ll catch you!”

The warning barely registered in Johanna’s mind. With her blood pumping on her ears, her legs beginning to sting from climbing so fast and the focus she needed to not allow the candles she was holding to burn her, there was barely any space on her mind for anything except for the urge to help her daughter.

She reached the top of the tower in little time, putting the candelabra on the floor and running for Hilda, who was behind a barred door, kneeling on the floor. Johanna kneeled in front of her, putting her hands on top of her daughter’s, which were gripping the bars.

“Mum, you have to go away now!” She insisted, and Johanna was terrified to see fear on her brave girl’s face.

“What is going on?!” Sticking her hand inside the cell, Johanna tried to see if Hilda had any wounds, and though she found none, her daughter had a fever. Not surprising, considering the freezing air that ran through the tower and that, as she noticed with a start, Hilda’s dress was ripped.

“There’s no time to explain, there’s a huge beast-” before the girl could finish the sentence, the few rays of sun that entered through the window were blocked by a gigantic creature.

Johanna heard Hilda whisper a soft “oh no” before the creature stepped towards them.

“Who are you?” It asked her, and Johanna realized that the voice speaking to her belonged to a woman. There was something wrong with it, though. It was too penetrating. Taking a deep breath, Johanna summoned every drop of courage she had.

“I’m her mother. What I want to know is who are you”

“That does not matter.” The creature answered. “You must go now. She belongs to me.”

Getting up on her feet, Johanna balled her fists. “She does not. Release her this instant.”

It was hard to see the beast’s face, let alone read it, but her momentary silence told Johanna that she hadn’t expected to be met with resistance.

“She stole something from me.” She explained. “And now she will pay with her life.”

“I only stole a map!” Hilda pleaded. “And only because I thought it belonged to no one!”

“Well it did!” The beast raged, and as it reached forward, Johanna could see its claws where feet should be, and its long, sharp nails. “And now the price must be payed.”

“I’ll pay it!” Johanna said, and there was only the sound of the wind raging outside the tower as both Hilda and the beast looked at her in confusion. Whatever this being was, Johanna knew she couldn’t fight it. And if it truly thought that a petty theft justified this, than it certainly couldn’t be argued with.

“What?”

“Mum, no!”

“I will take her place.” She confirmed as she took a step towards the beast. “Let her go and I’ll stay here. For as long as you want me to.”

The beast considered the offer. “You’d take forever? In her place?”

Johanna nodded, but Hilda got up and tried to grab her wrist.

“You can’t! It was my mistake, I’ll pay for it!”

Holding her daughter’s shoulders, Johanna leaned in to kiss her forehead. “Sweetheart, I’m older. You still have so much to do, so much to live.”

Hilda would be fine, she told herself. She was a smart, stubborn girl. Surely the mayor and the bakers would welcome her in their homes until she could work and make her own money, close as she was to their children. Yes, Hilda would be fine.

“I must warn you.” The beast said. “If you try to run away, the consequences will be dire.”

The creature, Johanna noticed, seemed to have purposefully remained where it’s face wasn’t lit. All she could make out of her body were her claws, hands, and her large wings. She squinted, trying to get a better look of her new captor.

“Come into the light.” She said, and for some reason, the creature obeyed.

It was hard not to gasp when she was able to see the whole of the woman. She wasn’t much taller than Johanna, though her wings made her seem enormous. Her whole body was covered in dark feathers, and she wore a very simple black dress that had seen better days. On her head, it was difficult to tell what were feathers and what was hair, the only clear thing is that she hadn’t bothered to comb it in a while. Her face was the most alarming part, though. Because for all that she seemed like a beast, her face was human.

Johanna stared into purple eyes with sharp pupils, and they stared right back at her.

“I will not run away.” She answered, her gaze not wavering. “I will honour this agreement as long as you allow my daughter to go without harming her”

The beast inhaled. “Very well.”

There was a rusty sound as the door to the cell was flung open, making Johanna realize that the creature in front of her had magic. A witch.

Hilda ran forward to hug her mother, wrapping her hands around her middle and sobbing into her belly. Johanna put a hand on her daughter’s shoulder and another one on her head, caressing her in soothing circles.

“I’m so sorry, mum.” She cried. “Please don’t do this.”

“It’s already done, my darling girl.” She answered calmly. “Now go. Live your life.”

“I won’t let you do this!” Hilda screamed, but she was rendered speechless as the witch spoke up.

“No, your mother is right little girl.” She said, her voice almost a sing-song. “It is done.”

The small chair that Johanna hadn’t even noticed was in the cell awakened, it’s wooden legs moving unnaturally and making it walk forward. Before she could move out of the way, it hit the back of Hilda’s knees, forcing her to sit on it, and then immediately began running down the stairs with the girl.

“Mum!” She screamed, her hand reaching for her mother, but it was useless. The chair had already disappeared down the spiraling stairs before Johanna could do anything.

“I love you, Hilda! Never forget that!”

Her daughter’s answer was hard to hear. She was already far down. Johanna stared at the spot where she had been just a second ago, feeling lost.

“Get into the cell.” The witch said, and as soon as Johanna did as she was told, the door swung closed, the lock making a snapping sound as it trapped her inside. The creature opened her wings and disappeared through the window.

#fic: batw #my fic #sketchbook ship #sketchbook ship hilda #the hilda librarian #the hilda librarian fanfic #hilda johanna #hilda’s mum fanfic #batb au

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