CW: murder, drowning, verbal and physical abuse, era-typical misogyny🤢, haunting (obviously), talk of Sarah’s PTSD
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Natalie Manning was in her late 20’s in the very end of the Victorian era
She was married, an arranged marriage to the son of her parents’ long time friend
He was a doctor, very well respected and wealthy, but very apathetic
Natalie thought too much, he insisted
A woman should not think so much about science and she should never try to question her husband
Especially not when her husband was a doctor
The fact that Natalie showed interest in his work only angered him
She should be watching their child and preparing dinner for when he came home
He forbid her from entering his study, because she had been caught by him and the maids reading his books one too many times
(The fact that she was even literate was frustrating to him, he wanted her to be his inferior in everything. So given that she was so well read, he could not belittle her for it.)
Natalie and her friend had gone on a walk down to the river one day, while their children were under the care of their nanny
She had brought some of her husbands books, trying to explain to her friend what might be wrong with her
The friend had been very sad and lethargic since giving birth, female hysteria they said, but Nat thought there was a better explanation and a way to help
Unfortunately, one of the maids must have told her husband that she had taken the books
He followed them down to the river and cornered them
Yelling about how Natalie was a terrible mother and wife
How dare she steal his things, leave their children with the help, and have the audacity to think she could give sound medical advice
He ripped the books out of her hands, throwing them into the river
He struck her once, claiming she deserved it
Ordering her friend away, he explained his wife needed to be taught a lesson in obedience
Her friend was scared and ran, not one to challenge a man ever
Natalie tried to get away from him, but he had her backed towards the river’s edge
She begged for his forgiveness, even though it disgusted her, because she didn’t know how to get out of this
He shoved her a little too hard and it sent Nat backward down the riverbank
She hit her head on a rock and it knocked her unconscious
Her husband didn’t even try to save her and made no move to get help at all
Unable to keep her head above water, she drowned
That should have been the tragic end to it all
But Natalie could not move on
She dragged herself out of the water, hair soaked and matted with blood
She should have been freezing, her heavy gowns weighted down by the water they absorbed
But she didn’t feel anything
It took her... a while to realize she was dead
When she tried to pick up her shoes from the river bank and her hand went right through, she realized
A ghost
It tore her up
And she spent... a really long time by the river’s edge just crying
Sobbing because she made a mistake and paid the worst price
And now her dear son would grow up without a mother
It was all her fault
Time moves so different when you’re dead
She cried for years on the riverbank
Even after her body was found and her death labelled an accident
She couldn’t move on
Her heart was heavy with the weight of it
Countless stories were told about the ghost lady by the river, her waterlogged hair and ruined old dress
How she could be seen calling out for her son and her husband at night, the mantra of apologies falling from her blue lips
It had been over 100 years and things had changed drastically
Natalie watched people and animals come and go
She saw houses built and torn down
The change of eras
Everything was so different
She watched as children swam in the river, shrieking at the sight of a fish and chasing each other down the bank
The amount of times she had stopped a child from falling in and hurting their self was countless
She had quickly learned how to manipulate objects and interact with the human world
It did take a lot of energy
But she would never let anyone die the same way she did
In the early 2000’s there was a small cottage built by the river
No one else lived nearby and she saw countless families come and go during the summer months
She eventually decided she too could live there since they didn’t inhabit it all year long
It was her cottage, even if they didn’t know she was there
As the years went on ghost stories were less believable
No one paid mind to Natalie anymore, even when she made herself very clearly known
No one acknowledged her, blaming every sound and activity on the wind or the children, and Natalie was used to it
Until this strange young woman with impossibly curly hair and the saddest face moved in
She rarely spoke, if she did it was only to her funny orange cat
She was always nose deep in a medical textbook or her sketchbook
She must be very smart with how much she read
But she never slept and she often cried all night
Night terrors ruining what little rest she did get
Natalie admired her, worried about her
She must have experienced something horrible
Natalie knew exactly what that was like
She decided maybe she should make herself known, to this human, because she could trust her
Nat sitting on the kitchen counter watching Sarah as she paints, her art supplies spread out all over the floor. She loves seeing Sarah paint and draw because it’s the one time the human looks content and comfortable. It’s moments like these that Sarah feels maybe moving to this cottage was the best thing that ever happened to her, finally able to enjoy her favourite hobby with the company of a trustworthy companion
How did April get in contact with Sarah? They’re so wholesome 🥺
In the occult!au? Ooh well
CW: very brief mention of Sarah’s suicide attempt
April knew about Sarah the moment she moved in
She had seen many people come and go from that cottage over the years
She knew Natalie and had spoken to her on a few occasions too
Of course April was very in tune with the forest and it was her home so she was always bent on protecting it
Which also involved knowing who was there and why
So she watched Sarah for a while
Just kept an eye on her, not to be creepy but just to ensure she was safe and so was the forest
Also she wanted to make sure Crockett didn’t try to scare her off or hurt her
it’s not that she didn’t trust him she just knew he wasn’t fond of humans and didn’t want him to do anything that would anger the seelies or harm anyone
So anyway
Natalie and April did speak sometimes after Sarah moved in
Nat just kept her informed about the human and what she did
Especially since she had a cat, April didn’t want any of her animals (or shapeshifting fae) getting hurt 🥺
So April knew that Sarah wasn’t the most happy person and understood she lacked friends and support
And she thought about going over and talking to her but she didn’t wanna spook her
She didn’t look too human herself with her feline eyes and pointed ears
And she had never tried to shapeshift so a human glamour would be difficult
It was actually Crockett who told her about what he witnessed the night Natalie showed herself to Sarah
He noted that the human “tried to end her life; dramatic thing. The ghost saved her, so I guess we don’t have to deal with another one of those at least.”
He’s just bitter and traumatized not that apathetic :(
So that was when April decided she should try and cheer Sarah up in any way she could
She began leaving little things on her doorstep or windowsill
Just a flower she thought was pretty or a particularly shiny piece of quartz from one of the river nymphs
Now she knew humans weren’t supposed to accept gifts from faeries in case it was a trick, but she did this with no binding intentions
She just wanted Sarah to have a little life and happiness to add to her cottage
As Natalie and Sarah got closer, Nat took the time to explain that things in this forest weren’t always what they seem
And Sarah slowly became accepting of the magical aspects of it
She did have a ghost roommate after all, it wasn’t going to get any weirder than that she assumed
And one day April noticed Sarah down by the river, picking up a flat stone and trying to skip it across the water
“Flick your wrist a little more,” she spoke up, deciding then was as good a time as any to talk to her, “It’ll help the rock glide on the water.”
She apologized when she saw the way Sarah flinched, forgetting she was understandably jumpy
“I’m April,” she said as she came around to face the human
Sarah noticed immediately that the other woman was almost undoubtedly not human
“Sarah...” she shook April’s hand cautiously, “Are you-”
April laughed a little because she knew exactly what the question was supposed to be
“Human? No, to be blunt with you. Fae, Seelie to be exact.”
It took a little more explaining and a demonstration of April growing a flower from Sarah’s palm until she was convinced
And slowly Sarah did warm up to her
Because just as April was drawn to those who were hurting, hurting people were drawn to her
And Sarah of all people could use a little healing magic
They talked a lot that afternoon and Nat watched from the cottage window with hopeful eyes
(Crockett was watching from a tree a bit away, eyes narrowed as he waited for any indication that Sarah might harm April)
Nat was just happy to see Sarah open up to someone else
She was talking
And smiling !!
She looked so happy 🥺🥺 and comfortable
Because honestly how can you not be happy around April, have you seen that smile?
Seeing April quickly became a common occurrence and Sarah was super happy to have made a friend
Even if they weren’t human
Because as far as she was concerned humans were all rotten and cruel (Crockett would agree 😌)
and she could use a little more light and magic in her life <3
While we’re here we should also talk about that time Sarah had a bad panic attack and couldn’t calm down and the one thing that finally helped was when Natalie became the most corporeal as she possibly could and just hugged her. It was weird for both of them, the first affectionate touch both had had in ages, but somehow Sarah felt so safe. It was the most maternal love she had felt since her mum died and she immediately felt at ease in Natalie’s cold arms and all she could do was cry softly into her shoulder.
They stayed like that for hours and it was draining to stay visible that long but Nat didn’t care because Sarah looked so peacefully asleep in her arms and she just wanted her to get some rest :(
