Emma had managed to successfully light the fire and now we were all huddled against each other, looking to get more warmth due to the proximity of our bodies, Claire was on my right and the twins on my left, while Emma was on the left of the twins and Fiona sitting next to Claire, Bronwyn, on the other hand, was sitting next to Emma while Olive had had to sit next to Bronwyn, while the boys on the other hand had to snuggle up to each other.
"Why does Jacob snuggle up with all the girls and we are here alone?" – Hugh asked somewhat depressed.
"Ehem, Jacob did a good job conquering those ladies. It's normal that they just want to snuggle against him" – Horace said.
"That's right, after all, they're lovers" – Millard nodded.
"Bah, lovers, what complete stupidity. Stay single is better!" – Enoch said.
"Anyway this is what we have to do there. Besides, at least we are close to the fire and we can warm up" - Horace said.
"Guys... Are you okay?" – I asked curiously.
I listened their conversation and honestly they were right. Since they were my lovers, the girls just wanted to sleep snuggled up next to me and not with the boys. It's not that they hated boys or anything like that, but having their lover by their side... Why would they sleep with other men? I suppose that's their thought, because at that time women were much more reserved than today and their mentality in that sense hasn't changed at all even after all these years, because they probably thought the same thing I just said. By the way, thanks to my peculiarity I was able to dry the everyone's clothes, thus avoiding a possible cold.
I also managed to remember a couple of useless things. I remembered the way Jacob and his friends escaped from the wights in the books and honestly, it was quite... Normal, I mean, they just ran forward and, at some point, they got lost and Fiona formed a small makeshift cave to take shelter from the rain. We also did the same thing because it was the most sensible thing to do, otherwise, we could catch an illness. But there was also a difference, in the books, Claire got sick because of everything they had to run and their wet clothes, but right now Claire seems to be pretty healthy and seemed to be trying to sleep while resting her little head on my chest.
"Brother..." – Claire said suddenly.
Just as I thought of Claire, she opened her eyes and stared at me.
"What's wrong?" – I asked curiously.
"I can't sleep. Can you tell me a tale?" – Claire asked.
A tale?
"It's not that I don't want to, but... I only know the typical stories that I was told as a child: Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, The Little Mermaid, etc." – I said.
Yes, I'm a classic, but in my previous life those were the drawings and movies I watched in the orphanage, while Jacob loved to hear Grandpa's stories and rarely watched cartoons and the cartoons he did usually watch when he was a child were... too childish even for Claire.
"What are those stories? I mean the stories that Sister Bronwyn used to read to me from time to time" - Claire said.
"I'm sorry, but... I don't know about that tales..." – I said.
"Don't worry, I put them in Horace's briefcase before the orphanage... Exploded. They must be there" – said Bronwyn.
"And it's almost all there is" - Horace said.
"What do you mean? Did you not bring any food or money?" - asked Enoch curiously.
"Ehem, during the chase I had to get rid of a few things. The briefcase was very heavy after all" - Horace said.
"You could have given it to Bronwyn!" – Enoch exclaimed.
"Bronwyn was carrying the twins in her arms and I was so nervous that I just forgot, so I threw away the first thing I saw while running and then I quickly closed the briefcase. You probably didn't see me because you were too focused on running" – Horace said.
"Why did you throw away the food and money?! You could have thrown away those damn books!" – Enoch said angrily.
"I'm sorry for not stopping to think about what to throw in the middle of a chase: Do you think it would have been a better decision to stop and decide what I should throw or not? Because I think I made the right decision, besides, I haven't thrown away all the money, I have something saved" – Horace said.
"Ok, everything is perfect!" – Enoch said.
"Don't worry, tomorrow we will surely find a village and there we can buy something with Horace's money" – Emma said trying to reassure Enoch.
"That's right, besides, I think it's not convenient for you to keep shouting because we don't know if we could attract some undesirables" – Bronwyn nodded.
"We're trying to sleep..." – Fiona said.
Why did Enoch have to scream so much? She was half asleep and thanks to Enoch, she now has to relax again.
"Anyway, let's talk quietly or in a normal tone at least" - Olive said.
The rest of us also nodded and even Enoch, although he still didn't seem very convinced of the decision made by Horace and although I must admit that it was bad luck that food was the first to fall, the best thing would have been books, so at least we could have eaten something tomorrow morning, but now we have nothing to eat.
"So... can you tell me a tale, brother?" – Claire asked again.
The twins were fast asleep, and even Enoch's screams hadn't woken them up, but if they were awake, I'm sure they'd ask me the same thing as Claire.
"It's fine, but only one or two. It's very late and we have to go to sleep; tomorrow will be a very long day" – I nodded.
"Perfect! Hehehe!" – Claire said happily.
Horace, who had listened to the whole conversation, took out of his huge briefcase a somewhat old book, which I picked up with great care because I did not want to tear it.
When I looked at the book carefully, I could see that the book was old and had a time-worn appearance, as if it had been passed from hand to hand for generations. Its cover is made of dark leather, possibly brown or black, with worn edges that show a lighter tint from rubbing. In the center of the cover, there is an embossed design: perhaps an intricate decorative frame surrounding a title in now-faded gold letters, titled Tales of the Peculiar.
The texture of the leather is marked by small cracks, a testament to its antiquity. In the corners, there are metal reinforcements, possibly bronze, carved with floral or geometric patterns. The spine of the book has raised bands that separate segments where you can also read the title and other decorative details, such as golden lines or small symbols.
When opened, the pages are made of a yellowish parchment, with the edges dyed brown by the passage of time. The typography is elegant, evoking the movable type of classical printing. Some pages are illustrated with detailed engravings depicting scenes from the stories: peculiar animals, fantastical landscapes, and magical creatures. The aroma of the book is unmistakable: a mixture of aged paper, leather and a touch of mystery.
Inside, there are not only stories, but also small marks added over the years: pencil notes in the margins, signs that someone has underlined important passages, and even a dried flower that someone left between the pages. Everything in the book invites you to discover secrets hidden behind its cover.
*Note: thanks to Chat GPT for give me such an amazing description.
"Which one do you want me to read to you?" – I asked curiously.
There were dozens of stories, it is incredible the number of stories that the peculiars have, in addition, looking at the state in which the book is... I do not rule out that these stories have not changed in dozens of years.
"I want to... this one" - Claire said.
She had turned the pages until she found a particular tale, the incredible thing is that she already knew the page; as if she had heard the story dozens of times.
"Don't tell me that she wants you to tell her "The Giant Cuthbert": Am I wrong?" – Bronwyn asked.
"No, it's that story" – I nodded.
"Claire, isn't it better for Jacob to read you another one? You've heard that one dozens of times before..." – Bronwyn said.
"It is my favorite story, in addition, it will be the first time that my brother tells me a story; so it has to be this one!" – Claire nodded.
It was the first time her brother and lover was going to tell her a tale, so it was obvious that it had to be her favorite tale, right?
"Okay, I'll tell you" – I nodded.
"Yay!" – Claire said with a smile.
"You spoil her too much, Jacob" - Bronwyn said.
"Let her, I don't mind telling her all the tales she wants" – I said with a smile.
Bronwyn nodded and said she was going to sleep. In fact, everyone was with their eyes closed and trying to sleep, everyone except me and Claire, who was waiting expectantly for me to tell her her favorite tale.
"Let's see, it was once..." – I said starting to tell the story.
I will summarize the content of the story for those who are interested in it:
*Note: this story is quite important so that the peculiars can find something in particular. That's why I'll put it, so that those who don't know what story it is, now they do.
"The Cuthbert Giant" tells the story of a peculiar giant who lived in a land where peculiar animals were hunted and enslaved by greedy humans. Cuthbert was kind and protective, and because of his large size and strength, the animals trusted him to protect them.
When the hunters began to invade in greater numbers, Cuthbert devised a plan to save them. He decided to build a shelter on top of an inaccessible mountain. One by one, he carried the peculiar animals on his huge shoulders and carried them to the top, where they would be safe from humans.
In the process, Cuthbert faced multiple challenges, from storms and dangerous terrain to direct attacks from hunters. However, he did not stop. His kindness and determination were so great that he did not allow any peculiar animal to be left behind.
Eventually, all the animals were safe on the mountaintop, but Cuthbert, exhausted by his heroic effort, did not survive the last journey. Although he died, the peculiar animals continued to live on the mountain, protected by his sacrifice. Cuthbert's story became a legend, and his bravery and selflessness went on to be remembered for generations as an example of true heroism.
*Note: this is the summary, I didn't want to copy it whole from the book because it would be too boring, or at least that's what I think, but if you want it in full, I'll put it as a separate chapter, in fact, if you're interested in hearing stories from that book, I can make some up for you and make a chapter just for those stories, you decide. Obvioulsy it will stories invented by me.