Hollow Oath: An MM Sleepy Hollow Retelling (Monsters & Mayhem) by W.M. Fawkes

Author:W.M. Fawkes [Fawkes, W.M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-10-27T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Brom

I left the school house early and felt sufficiently safe on my walk home. The horseman, like every other sane person in Queensfort, seemed to have a disdain for the early hours of the morning.

When I slipped back into my house—Willem’s house, really, but it was the house I’d grown up in—Eden had my finest coat in her lap, her fingers working deftly as she stitched the splitting seams back together.

“What’s that for?” I asked, pouring myself an ale from the pitcher on the table.

“The wedding. Sarah said you’re to stand with him in the ceremony, and you’ve grown. Again.” She gave me a flat, unimpressed look, as if that were the kind of thing a man could control.

I laughed. “I seriously doubt that. And Joseph won’t care about that.” I sat down at the breakfast table across from her.

“Sarah will, I do, and you should.” Eden had a gift for saying things plainly with a smile, yet ensuring you knew that you weren’t living up to your potential.

“You’re absolutely right. Thank you.”

Despite only being a handful of years older than me, Eden was the closest thing I had to a mother, and as all boys learned, sometimes, it was best to simply agree with the women in your life who knew best.

“In any case, you may need it again soon.” She gave me a significant look.

With a hard swallow, I met Willem’s eyes as he dragged his feet into the room, rubbing a spot between his brows.

As he always did, my brother came to my rescue, taking a ration of salted meat and tearing a piece from the end. He took a drink without sitting and and set his cup down with a hard thunk. “Work to be done. Finish your breakfast, Brom. The last of the pumpkins need harvesting.”

Hastily, I rose and scooped a few bites of porridge directly into my mouth. That prompted a flurry of activity, the children rushing to follow us up and out the door. They had school that morning, and while Malachi and Hannah might’ve helped us with the harvest, Willem wouldn’t have it.

When our parents had died, he’d had the last of his childhood stolen from him. As I’d grown, he’d been adamant that I enjoyed every moment of mine and had shown the same consideration for his own children.

They helped us. Often. But around school and play and other innocent pursuits.

As we went out into the fields, Hannah and Malachi grabbed their things and followed. Just outside the door, Willem paused to kiss them each on the tops of their heads and wish them a good day.

“Good bye, Uncle Brom,” Hannah smiled up at me.

Malachi was getting too big to be that sweet. He held his hand out for his little sister, and Willem and I lingered a moment, just outside the house, to watch them make their way down the road.

“You’re not worried about sending them off at a time like this?” I glanced at Willem from the corners of my eyes.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.