From the movie, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)

I do not own the characters.

Chapter 1: In the hands of fate

Takes place during the movie after Hansel and Gretel return to the Inn to seek rest before the big witch hunt begins.

Gretel is lying in the bed under the covers sleeping quietly. Hansel lies passed out on the floor next to the bed with an empty beer stein lying near his head. Gretel's quiet sleep is interrupted by the start of another nightmare. It's an old nightmare and an old memory, one that visits her often as she sleeps. Her breath becomes ragged and she moans audibly, but Hansel does not hear her. Gretel is back in the Gingerbread house watching helplessly as the witch forces Hansel to eat and eat and eat, until he becomes sickened and is lying listless on the floor of the cage. The witch will not let her help Hansel, will not let her save her brother, only cares about how hot the fire is in the oven. Gretel pleads and calls Hansel's name repeatedly as she panics and tries to figure out how to save him from the fate she now sees before her, but she cannot, is not successful as she claws at the witch who throws her to the floor and kicks her away. She breathes in the fumes from the stove nearby as the witch opens it to check the heat. She lay crumpled on the floor, blood dripping down her right temple as she stares across the kitchen at her brother's lifeless body in the cage. She hears the witch behind her and struggles to right her self, but she is woozy and her vision blurs. It is not blurry enough that she misses the shadow crossing the floor to where her brother lay. "No, she cries, no, please don't hurt him. No, please, no." She hears the witch cackle, the creak of the cage door as the vile creature opens it and smells Hansel's scent pass by as she carries him to the oven. With nothing but willpower and little strength she tries to reach out and grab the witch's legs before she reaches the oven, but to no avail. The sound of the oven door closing and the screams are all she is left with, her screams, his screams, the witch's, she knows not who as it all mashes together in her head, deafening her senses and leaving her alone.

Alone to share the same fate as her beloved brother, the immense loneliness fills her heart and rips out her soul. She cries out in a guttural angst over the loss that consumes her. These cries force her out of her slumber slowly and the terror dies down as she is left in a pool of sweat, her white nightshirt clinging to her body, the covers too heavy for her to move. A gentle hand reaches up and pulls the covers back and caresses her shoulder and she is alone no more.

Gretel turns onto her left side and peers out over the old pine bed frame. Desperate to see him, desperate to feel his comforting gaze upon her face, she places her hand in his and he sits up on the floor and reaches out to hold her. The bed is too small for him to comfort her there, so he gently pulls the blanket down onto the floor and then lifts her up in his arms and settles her on his lap in the floor as he leans back against the cold wall. Gretel's rapid heartbeat slows and she nuzzles into his bare chest and her hot breath upon him causes his muscles to stiffen. Hansel wonders to his self as he absent-mindedly brushes back her hair with one hand and rubs her back gently with the other, how their life would have been had they not been abandoned in the forest that day so long ago. He wonders if Gretel would now be married with a family of her own, would he have seen her often, or would life simply have taken over, leaving them only to exchange pleasantries over family dinners? He growls low under his breath as she straightens up and moves her hands up his chest and wraps her arms around his neck locking her fingers in a protective hold. He glances down at her as the moonlight dances across her face and she looks up at him radiating love. He knows her love for him is so pure, so very real, that she cannot hide it from him, even when she tries her best to act aloof when he scolds her.

Gretel leans in and inhales his scent, his scent is much different than in her dream when the witch carried him by and he smelled of death and candy. He now smells of musk and beer, a scent that envelopes her when he is near. It heightens her senses and melts her composure. Gretel smiles at him as he looks down at her, she knows not to say it, but she does so anyway and she buries her head against his neck and breathes, "I need you".

"No". He replies to her as simply as he can without meanness in his voice for he does not want to hurt her anymore than he already has the past five years.

Gretel does not cry as she had sometimes in these past years when he denied her over and over. She rocks backwards off his lap and deposits her self on to the cold hard floor. Her wet nightshirt clinging to her and making her shiver as she tries to smile back at him again. She knows he does not remember, she knows she alone carries the burden of their time in Baden five years ago. She smiles at Hansel and struggles to find the words that would change his mind.

As the moonlight shines through the window and hangs on Gretel sitting there inches in front of him, Hansel himself shivers as he takes in her raw beauty, the way the worn nightshirt has melded to her body, it's threadbare fabric allowing him to see what he has no right to gaze upon this night. It would be so easy to give in and attend to her every need, but this long struggle of right and wrong inside him has kept him the one with the sensible head and it has also kept her alone. For when he tires of their dance, he can leave and find another to comfort him for a short while. Of course he always comes back and she is always waiting for him. He wonders if one day, she will no longer be waiting. He cannot bear the thought and shudders.

Gretel senses his internal struggle and watches him labor in his thoughts as he drinks her in and she finds her voice. She starts out, "Hansel, please understand my heartache. I need you to understand me. For you, it was one night of drunkenness. One more night to add to the nights that you do not remember, but for me it was the first time you took me in your arms, pleaded with me never to leave you, made me understand how you needed me and showed me the love between a man and woman. You may not remember what we shared, but I cannot wash your touch away".

Hansel reaches for her hands and pulls her in closer, "You must know that I never meant to hurt you. I am so very sorry", he whispers.

"Do not be sorry for loving me."

"I am sorry for loving you as a man would his wife, it cannot be this way."

Hansel drops Gretel's hands and quickly stands to his feet looking for his shirt. The need to get away from her mounts as his chest tightens and he stumbles in the dark. He stubs his toe on the table by the door and swears under his breath. He remembers he left his shoes under the table and reaches for them. He must get out of here.

Gretel sighs in defeat as he struggles to button his shirt and take his leave. She lets out one last plea, "You go ahead, you leave, find someone else to fill the void, but know one thing" she pauses and then whispers, "I never left you." Silent tears streak down her face.

Whatever cruel remark that he was going to conjure up and throw her way as he walked out went back to the bottom of his throat the moment he turned around. In that moment he truly saw her, saw the woman she had become, felt her anguish, knew his love for her was too great to ever really leave her for good. He walked the three steps that separated him from her and knelt in front of her, defeated in his attempts to keep her at bay, keep from loving her in a way that would bring them to a much worse fate than they already shared. He reached his hand out and picked up her hands once more and clasped them to his chest. Gretel steadied herself as her hands rested against his bare chest. Hansel wiped away the tears streaming down her cheeks with his fingers and as the heat rose in his chest from her touch, he uttered two words that would change everything, "I remember".

After giving up his secret, he pulled her to him, embracing her tightly with his right hand resting on the back of her neck as she gasped and her lips quivered. Not giving her time to process what his deception all these years had meant, Hansel closed the last bit of distance between their lips and kissed her softly as he pushed her gently down on the blanket he laid out for her earlier.

As his kiss grew more passionate and she opened her lips to let him explore her more fully, Gretel's memory of their first time made her body shake with desire. She then pushed his open shirt off his shoulders so that she could feel his warmth. Hansel broke free from their kiss and quietly stared at her as he unbuttoned her nightshirt. As the last button broke free, he tossed the shirt on the bed, whilst never taking his eyes off her. Her perfect body, riddled with scars here and there from their many battles, her sweet pink nipples on her upturned breasts that so injured him whenever he saw them through a clinging shirt, and that little triangular mound where he lost himself five long years ago.

Gretel did not move, she watched him completely entranced as he finished his task and tossed her nightshirt away. She let him look at every inch of her. She wanted him to see her the way that she saw him. She felt the love he held for her in his eyes. He was looking at her as if to memorize every inch of her. She had often watched him like that when he wasn't looking in case she had only her memories to keep her company some day.

His eyes locked with hers as he reached down and swiftly removed his breeches. In an instant his mouth found hers again and the two were swept away in a tidal wave of emotion. She, having one more chance to feel alive and be loved by him and he, only to give into his passion and take her once more. Their bodies intertwined in a dance, just as their hearts had been these past years, each fighting to lead, each fighting to be heard, and both wanting more than was proper, now their bodies would finish the dance and it would be left to fate to see who won.

As their dance came to an epic crescendo, Gretel's legs wrapped tightly around his waist prolonging their union and taking in every last drop of Hans' seed. In that moment, Hansel immersed in his desire to please her and to love her, had been careless, just as before. Her heartbeat was all that he heard, her calling his name, her lips tasting him, only her, his only salvation. Hansel forgot that salvation would come at a high price.

He was still inside her, holding her, he rolled over and she now lay on top of him. Gretel planted kisses on his neck and chest and then laid her head gingerly down on his chest as he stroked her hair. Hansel thought back to their first and only other time together and remembered how his heart ached after realizing what he had taken from her. He sighed as he fought back thoughts of what lay ahead for them tomorrow, for now he would only think of her, and how she fit perfectly in his arms. They lay together holding each other like that for a long while and before Gretel drifted off to sleep, she shattered Hans' reverie as she whispered, "I forgive you".