Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or The Princess Bride. If I did, I probably wouldn't have such a hard time finding a job.

The Hunter Groom

Chapter 1 – The Story Begins

Claire let out an irritated huff, and let her phone fall out of her fingers. She was so bored; being sick sucked. Not even her phone could entertain her anymore and she wasn't allowed to have a TV in her room to try to distract her.

She fell back against her pillows and pursed her lips. Silently, she wished that there was something, she didn't care what, to take a way the boredom.

There was a small knock on her door. For a moment, she thought that her prayers had been answered as she called out, "Come in."

Then it was just her dad, Jimmy, walking in.

"Hey, Dad," she rolled her eyes. He was such a worrywart.

"Hey, Claire. Feeling any better?" Jimmy made his way over to her bed, and gently laid his hand on her forehead to check her relative temperature.

"Fine." Claire pushed his hand off. "Just bored out of my mind." She shot him a pleading look that she hoped would convince him to give her a TV.

Jimmy smirked. "Good thing I brought something for that." He held up a book.

She scoffed. "A book? Really?" Claire crossed her arms. "How about no?"

"I thought I'd actually read it aloud to you." Jimmy pulled up a chair next to her bed.

She stared. "I'm almost eighteen, Dad. I don't need a bedtime story."

"This is special though. You know my one set of cousins that… well, there are a lot of them?" She nodded. "This was written by one of them about one of the others."

"Ooo! Who?" Claire was suddenly into it, and she leaned over to see the cover. Then she flipped through the first couple of pages to check names. She smiled. "A book by my fun uncle about my favorite uncle, huh?"

"Technically, they're cousins." Jimmy corrected. "Still, this is an adventure story."

Claire thought it over for a moment. It was either this or boredom.

"Read on." She said with a wave of her hand.

Jimmy cleared his throat. "The Hunter Groom." He announced the title as he turned to the first page.

Once upon a time…

"Wait, I thought this was an adventure story. It sounds like a fairy tale." Claire frowned. She was definitely too old for those.

"It's a fantasy-adventure romance." Jimmy frowned right back. "Are you going to let me read or not?"

Claire sighed and Jimmy took that as a sign to continue.

Once upon a time, in a place known as the Kingdom of Heaven, there lived a young man by the name of Dean.

He was raised in a small village, and he followed in his father's footsteps by becoming one of the best hunters there. He was celebrated and beloved for his catches were often a boon for the poor village. Even after his father died in a tragic accident while he was still young, he was never lonely and found himself content with his work and life.

One of his favorite activities was messing with another young man in the town. This man worked mostly at the stables but he had a gift with creatures so he often helped with any animal that was hurt or in trouble. Dean met him one day when the man was out in the forest scoping out a bee colony. This young man's name was Castiel.

Dean loved ordering Castiel around. Some of the orders were ludicrous or seemed impossible and Dean waited for the day when the stable boy would snap and finally fight back or protest.

However, each time, Castiel would just give Dean a look that felt like it was going all the way to his soul. Then he would say, "As you wish." Castiel would go off and do whatever Dean had asked, no matter how long it took. When the task was done, he would always return to Dean to tell him that it had been done.

Eventually, Dean realized that when the young man said, "As you wish," what he was really saying was, "I love you." For a while, he just continued, as things were, unsure of what to do with this. Then he realized one day that he returned the feeling.

One panic attack in the privacy of his cabin later, Dean even accepted his feelings.

The two began a relationship, and they were both happy. Still, it was not to last as war broke out between Heaven and its close neighbor, the Kingdom of Hell. Several men were conscripted into the army and forced to be soldiers. Castiel was one of the people chosen to serve.

"Come on, Cas." Dean begged Castiel as he packed up his things. "We can run away and avoid all of this."

"I have to Dean." Castiel replied, putting the finishing touches on his pack. "It is my duty to serve this country, and…" He walked right into Dean's personal space. "I wish to protect you."

It was hard for Dean because he felt like he was losing the one of the only people who cared for him. He couldn't bring himself to look the other man in the eye.

"I will return." Castiel promised, catching the bottom of Dean's chin as he looked downward and bringing his eyes up to meet his own. "We share a profound bond, and no one can break that. Not some war, not any distance, not even Death." He smiled that tiny smile that made Dean's heart pound. "This is not something that happens every once in a while or even a century. We have true love, and no one can stop that."

With a final kiss, Castiel left. Dean watched him go with a heavy heart, though he tried to believe in his love's words.

It was months later, after peace had returned and Dean eagerly awaited the return of his lover, when the news came. While returning to Heaven, the ship carrying Castiel home was attacked by the infamous pirate, the Avenging Angel. Dean despaired because everyone knew that the Angel took no prisoners.

Castiel was gone.

For a week, Dean shut himself away, consumed by his grief.

"I shall never love again." He vowed.

Five years passed, and that is where the story truly begins.

AN: So I had this idea knocking around in my head for quite a while, and now I'm finally writing it. I love The Princess Bride; it's just so hilarious. Basically, this is that story, based off the movie since I have never read the book, only with Supernatural characters. There will be some changes in the story, partly due to people's personalities and so I can have more SPN characters, but it's mostly the same. I hope you all like this as I'm having a ton of fun just imagining the gang doing this. Though I should note that when I originally came up with this idea, I had Ellen reading the story to Jo. After what happened with Claire last season though, I really wanted to do Jimmy and Claire instead. Anyway, I plan on updating this on Wednesdays, so I'll see you here next week.