Hi guys, this is my first time posting a fanfic on Tumblr, so please bear with me while I figure the whole formatting thing out.
Anyways, I wanted more Eilander siblings so I wrote this fic, mostly David and Elizabeth centered. They live out three important parts of their lives, their childhood, their teen years, and years after their enlightened.
2,615 words.
Also posted on AO3 so if you see it there, don't worry, that's me posting it. Keep in mind I did not spell check any of this, I just wrote and posted it so if you see a typo, no you didn't.
Spring 1787
The Lake had been kind to them that very spring. The grass was green, the animals healthy, the crops growing at rapid speeds. Two children sat on the grass, right past the entrance of Paradise Island, soaking in the soft rays of the sun, listening to the sounds of the lake.
Elizabeth Eilander, the eldest of the Eilander children ever since Jacob’s departure, picked at the plants around her. A pile of red clovers rested in her lap as she picked at the leaves, biting on their sweet ends.
David Eilander, her younger brother, sat down not far from her. And while she enjoyed the taste of sweet flowers, he much preferred the dryness and richness of the earth. Or in other words, the boy was eating dirt.
“I wonder what father will bring back for us this time.” The eldest spoke. Their father had left, along with their grandmother, to go out into the city. This was a rare occasion, which only ever happened every two months or so where the leader of the household, Sir Nicholas Eilander, would go out to buy specific supplies that the island could not provide them.
“I hope he brings fabric so mother can make me a new dress.” She added, tossing out the stems of the red clovers.
“I hope her brings back some line for my fishing rod.” David replied, continuing to stare off into the distance as they talked.
Elizabeth looked at her brother. “But you don’t have a fishing rod.”
“Not yet.”
Elizabeth didn't respond, only looking back into the distance. She couldn't see much, except for the fog, and a distant outline of land. If it weren't for that faint outline, she would have believed that her and her little family would be the only people on earth.
“Do you think Jakob is alright out there?” The girl asks.
“I heard that Jakob is cursed.” David replies. The answer doesn't relate to the question, but that's just how young children are, or maybe it's just how David is.
Elizabeth frowns as she stares at her brother once more. David hadn't meant to be insensitive regarding their brother who had left the island years ago. But then again, years ago David had only been a baby. He had never gotten to know Jakob as a brother, just as Elizabeth had. He had only known Jakob as hushed words and harsh tones.
“He is not!”
“Is too.”
“No he isn't! Who said this?” Elizabeth demanded, crossing her arms as her brother turned to face her. She is clearly upset about this and defensive of her older brother. Meanwhile David sits there, a hint of a smirk on his lips, having successfully annoyed his sister.
“Uncle Gerard did. And grandmother.” He answered, facing his sister smugly. “They said he was cursed and that’s why he had to get out of Paradise so we don’t get cursed too.”
Elizabeth frowned. She knew for a fact that her older brother was not cursed, that he wasn't sent off the island because of this. The truth was that something strange had happened between him, their father and their mother, she had seen glimpses of tense conversations between the three of them. Yet she had no clue what had really happened. “Uncle Gerard and grandmother never have anything good to say. They’re nasty, and so are you for listening to them.”
David frowned as well, taking offence to being called nasty, a few specs of dirt falling off of his chin. “Am not nasty! You are! And The Lake hates you!” The young boy spat.
“The Lake does not hate me! It hates you! It’s gonna make you throw up frogs!” Elizabeth retorted, standing up abruptly. Red clovers fell off of her lap and onto the ground, a few of them falling onto her brother.
Instead of responding with words, young David grabbed two handfuls of dirt, stood up and threw them at Elizabeth, aiming for her eyes.
“What are you doing?!” Elizabeth yelled, blocking her face with her arms despite the dirt barely grazing the bottom of her dress.
“Trying to make you blind!” David replied, sticking his tongue out towards her. And at that, Elizabeth raised a hand to strike him.
She was moments away from hitting him before the sound of metal banging on something loudly interrupted her. Both children turned their heads towards the gated entrance of their small island.
Caroline Eilander, their mother, stood at the entrance with a pot in her hands, staring at her children sternly, warning them that they should stop fighting at once.
Their mother wasn't a talkative woman. In fact, she was everything but. From the moment Jakob had left the island, their mother had stopped speaking. Of course, Elizabeth was the only one old enough to remember their mother’s voice.
Both children had always wondered why their mother never spoke. Had the Lake made her ill? Had she lost her tongue? Had Jakob taken her ability to speak once he left? The children did not, and most likely would never know.
The two had ceased their fight, deciding it wiser to put it on hold than to upset their mother. Said woman lifted the pot she had been holding, indicating to them that the food was ready.
And so, Elizabeth and David Eilander returned to Paradise, hidden away from the common world and leaving behind uneven patches of grass.
Spring 1796
The Lake had been treating its people poorly in the last few years. Or perhaps the people had treated the Lake poorly, and it was only returning the favour.
The sun had already set and both Eilander children, now teen and young adult, were in the small house, preparing for the night. Both of them placing hay bales and blankets to make their beds.
“He’s really back…” Elizabeth spoke softly, not wanting to wake their grandmother who was sleeping on the other side of the room. The girl used her hands, feeling her hay bales to help her place her blankets.
“He looks old.” David replied, finding it much easier to place the blankets than his sister, as his bed was already made and he threw himself onto it.
Elizabeth turned her head towards him before sitting down on her bed. “His presence doesn't feel much older.” She reasoned.
It was true. Their brother, Jakob, had returned. The very one they had argued about whether he was cursed or not years ago. What should have been a happy reunion had turned somber. After what had happened with their mother, they both knew what would happen to their brother as well.
“Do you think he knows?” David asks casually, looking at her.
“About the ritual?” She answers, not hesitating before adding. “He might have a feeling.”
Elizabeth called it a ritual, the same words that had been used when talking about what happened to their mother. Of course she hadn't seen it happen, but she had heard it, felt it. She had also felt David’s trembling body as she held the boy that very night.
“Well I’m glad I’m not the one being offered to the lake.” David then says, a sinister half-smile on his face. Perhaps he could have been more sensitive to the topic at hand, but he still doesn't know Jakob. He had never known him, really, and if it had been Elizabeth in this situation, he perhaps would have been troubled by it.
“Me too.” Elizabeth says, a troubled frown on her face.
Just then, the door to the small house opened, both siblings silent. Nothing could be heard, except for Grandmother Margaret’s loud snores. And of course, the one standing in the doorway had to be none other than Jakob, the one they had just been talking about.
David and Elizabeth watched as he dragged in two hay bales, placing them nearby. Not as close and David’s and Elizabeth’s were, but still close enough. They remained quiet as Jakob placed the blankets over the bales and said nothing as he took off his shoes.
“You’ve got something on your face.” David finally speaks, breaking the silence. He couldn't tell if it was dirt, or blood, or anything. Jakob only paused, acknowledging that his brother had spoken, before settling into his bed.
David watched his brother, waiting for something, anything to come out of that man’s mouth. But Jakob remained silent. And so he tried breaking the ice once more. “You know that you will die soon, right?”
Elizabeth reacts immediately, turning her head towards David. “David!” She hisses, her milky eyes looking angry, somehow.
Meanwhile, Jakob tenses on his bed, the words being like a smack to the back of the head. They don’t hurt as much as a blow to the stomach would, but they definitely catch him off guard.
“Well it's true.” David stated, looking back at his sister before looking at her brother, who was now staring at him. Not in shock, not intrigued either. “It's what the Lake wants…”
“I had a feeling.” Jakob spoke, his voice more gravelly than it had been the previous days, perhaps it was the fatigue or the tasks that their family made him do. After all, he was on the island, he had to make up for the years of servitude to the Lake he had lost after leaving. “But I’m assuming there's no way out of it?”"
Both younger siblings paused before shaking their heads, Elizabeth seeming more sorry than her brother. “I’m afraid not, brother.” She spoke solemnly.
“It's what the Lake wants.” David repeated, unhelpfully. Though what was also unhelpful was the amount of times that phrase had been drilled into his and Elizabeth’s young minds.
The three of them stewed in silence, all staring at each other. Three siblings, reunited, with nothing but talk of death to share with each other.
“Do you have a wife?” David asked.
“Do you want to see a trick?” Elizabeth asked, almost interrupting him.
Jakob considered his options before turning to Elizabeth, giving a slow nod. “I would like to, yes.”
David, who seemed to already know where this was going, stood up with a sigh. He made his way towards the chest in the corner of the room and came back, handing Elizabeth a flute before sitting back down on his bed.
Elizabeth took the instrument, pressed her mouth to the end and blew. Soft frog noises filled the space between them, making up a little tune. Jakob watched her, almost like he was waiting for something to happen. He looked back at the door, no frog was there watching, then he looked back at his sister. “That was nice.” He spoke once she’d finished.
Elizabeth smiled, shaking her head. “Wait.” Was all she had said, then played the tune once more.
On his own bed, David gagged, holding onto his stomach. Jakob proceeded to watch, concerned, as his brother bent over and vomited a frog. A full, alive, jumping frog. David only coughed, looking back at his brother with a wide smile.
“What in the…” Jakob murmured.
“I love frogs. It's my favourite plague.” David answered, almost sheepishly.
Jakob stared at him in shock before snorting. “Wow… And you can do that, all because of her flute?”
Elizabeth nodded, smiling. “Yes! Want to see again?”
The Eilander siblings had found a way to reconnect after all of those years of having been apart. Elizabeth and Jakob were now brother and sister, while Jakob and David had just learnt how to be brothers. Though the thought of the ritual loomed above them, for that night, between snores and frog sounds, they would get along as they should have all those years ago.
Spring 1893.
Paradise Island was a thing of the past. The buildings had been long gone, either destroyed or broken down by the weather and time. About a decade ago, a happy, typical family had been living on that island, as some would say.
Now stood the Rusty Lake Hotel, named after The Lake itself. It was a tall and imposing manor, an impressive sight for those around, and a place tourists were jealous of their customers, as only the people who received personal invitations could spend the night there.
Not so long ago, a boat of five guests had entered the hotel. Though none would exit, though only two of these guests were painfully aware of this.
The night had fallen over the lake, the stars in the sky reminding the residents of the lifelessness of the lake, as the stars did not reflect in the waters. The waters, instead, remained pitch black, almost like tar.
Mr. Rabbit, Rusty Lakes most famous magician sat at Ms. Pheasant's table in her room. The lady, a celebrated performer at the theatre, poured the both of them drinks before sitting down in front of the rabbit. Similar thoughts going through their minds.
“We’re going to die here, aren't we.” Mr. Rabbit spoke, though he already knew the answer.
Ms. Pheasant gave a solemn nod. “I’m afraid so, brother. He’s very upset.” Before Mr. Rabbit could speak again, she spoke up. “And he has every right to be.”
Mr. Rabbit scoffed, leaning back in his chair. “Every right… We were only doing the right thing. It's what The Lake demanded.”
Mrs. Pheasant, in return, leaned forward. A flash of pain in her seeing eyes. “And what if The Lake is demanding what's happening right now..? I could feel his pain, David. And now, now I can see it.”
Mr. Rabbit bristled at the name he hadn't heard in so long. The one no one had called him by since his enlightenment. “Don’t pity him. He’s cursed, remember?” He spoke, his words sharp.
Ms. Pheasant let out a scoff at his words, looking away. “Don’t speak like this now. You used to get along with him.”
“Only for the days before his death, maybe.”
A long, uncomfortable silence settled in between them. Mr. Rabbit had emptied his glass in two long gulps. Mrs. Pheasant had not touched hers, and most likely would not for that evening.
“We’ll be having deer tomorrow.” She suddenly spoke up, voice quiet as though the walls could hear. As though the walls could tell on who knew too much.
Mr. Rabbit remained silent, yet his expression changed, showing that he understood what she was saying. She continued. “Tomorrow is deer. The day after will be rabbit. I overheard the chef.”
At the word rabbit, the man stood up, almost toppling his chair over. Though he steadied it, as though he didn't want to cause any incidents in this room.
“Where are you going..?” She asked him.
“I need to make a few calls.” He stated. “Move some things around, make a few arrangements.” Mr. Rabbit then made his way towards the door. Yet he stopped, turning towards her once again. “Make sure he spares you, or keeps you for last. Or at least makes it painless.” He told her, his voice quiet, almost soft.
“Perhaps we owe this to The Lake. But that doesn't mean you deserve his anger. You’ve always been the nice one, Elizabeth.” David told her, mustering a small smile with his rabbit features, before turning and leaving the room, leaving Elizabeth alone.
And thus was the end of the Eilander siblings. Soon, one would be fed to the other, and the other would be gone not long after. And the eldest, the first born, the sacrifice, would be the only one remaining. The one who would burn down the shameful Eilander legacy, only to built a new one hand in hand with The Lake.
Thank you for reading. Please let me know what you've thought of this. If you loved it say you loved it. If you hated it and never want me to post ever again say you loved it. Okay bye now.
