Jack lifted the stack of freshly-chopped firewood onto his shoulder, and set off back down the sun-dappled forest path. In the distance through an opening in the trees, the familiar farmhouse sat on its little sunlit rise, small tufts of white smoke curling lazily out of its chimney. Once he got to the edge of the woods he stopped for a moment and leaned against a tree, watching the sisters as they went about what they were doing. Rose hung up laundry, while Ellie washed it all in a large wooden tub. Madeleine, for her part, was inside helping with lunch as she was now apparently the best cook of all of them. As he stood there, he heard the familiar sound of Frumpkin popping into the air beside him.The two of them sat there for a long moment, taking in the beautiful day, until Frumpkin finally spoke.
"So, you managed to do it after all." He said, crossing his arms. "I gotta be honest, kid, I wasn"t sure you had it in you."
Jack snorted gently, and gave Frumpkin an amused sidelong glance.
"To tell you the truth, neither was I. I still don"t really know how I was able to pull it off." He said. He paused for a moment, then added, "Ellie told me you helped her while she was stuck in the Shaman"s mind. Thank you for doing that. I know you didn"t have to."
Frumpkin shrugged.
"Ehh, she deserved it, after all she"d been through. Seemed only fair." He said.
The two of them watched the girls in silence for several long moments, until Frumpkin finally spoke again.
"So, I suppose I owe you your next milestone reward, since you managed to save the girl after all." He said, before clearing his throat.
Jack smiled.
"Yes, I suppose you do. But I"m not really worried about that right now." He said, leaning off the tree and shifting his weight.
Frumpkin looked confused.
"Wait, really?" He said.
"Yeah." Jack said,setting the stack of wood on his shoulder down and stretching lazily. "I"m taking a little break from hero stuff, at least for a week or two. When I"m ready, I"ll head to the Repository to cash in all my loot. You can give it to me then." He said, picking the wood pile back up and setting off for the farm house at last. "In the meantime, I reckon it"s about lunchtime."
"Alright, if you insist." Frumpkin said, scratching the side of his head. "I guess I"ll leave you to your relaxing then."
"See you around, Frumpkin." Jack called back as he started up the hill.
He crested the top and walked over to where the wood pile was stacked against the side of the house, before shifting the logs off his shoulder and stacking them neatly. Once that was done, he wiped the beads of sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his tunic. The girls had apparently just finished their work, as the tub was now empty and leaned against the side of the house. As he rounded the corner, he found himself suddenly ambushed by Rose and Eleanor.
"Well h.e.l.lo there, Mister Hero." Rose said, grabbing onto one of his arms.
"Are you gonna join us for lunch?" Eleanor asked, grabbing onto the other.
Jack grinned sheepishly as the two girls half-walked, half drug him to the door.
"Of course I"m coming to have lunch with you two. I wouldn"t miss it for the world." He said.
"That"s good." Eleanor said, grinning up at him. "Because if you didn"t I have to hogtie you and carry you here against your will."
Jack raised an eyebrow and smirked.
"You really think you"re up to the task, blueberry?"
Eleanor frowned at him, and Rose thumped him in the back of his head.
"I"d be helping her, you know. You can"t stop both of us." She said, smiling evilly.
Jack laughed.
"That"s probably true." He said, setting a foot on the doorstep.
The door in front of the three of them swung open to revealed a messy haired Madeleine wearing a food-stained ap.r.o.n.
"Lunch is ready." She said.
"That"s why we"re all here." Jack said, smiling down at her as the three of them walked in and Rose and Eleanor let go of him to go take their seats.
Madeleine shut the door behind them, and walked over to Jack at the washbasin as he washed his hands. She stood there staring at him for a long moment, and when he continued to not notice her presence, she cleared her throat.
Jack looked down at her with a grin as he dried off his hands.
"What is it, Maddy?"
"You still owe me for leaving me behind." She said flatly, staring up at him with her customary blank expression.
Jack laughed, and tousled her hair before tossing the towel back onto the counter.
"So I do! I had completely forgotten about that." He said. "Tell you what, after lunch, why don"t you tell me how I can make it up to you? That sound good?"
Madeleine nodded.
"Don"t forget." She said, before turning to take her seat.
Jack walked over to the table and sat down, looking at each of the girls in turn. The time since he"d been in this new world had been hard. Heck, it"d easily been the hardest time he"d ever had. But sitting here, in this moment, looking into the eyes of each of the women he"d grown so fond of and so close to, and feeling the latent power and sense of confidence he carried with him everywhere he went now, he wouldn"t trade the difficulties he"d experienced for anything.
This was a tough world, but it was a beautiful one, and he planned to enjoy it to its fullest. There were hard times ahead, for sure. Somewhere out there was a villain looking for him, one that would be the ultimate test of everything he could ever hope to muster.
But that was for another day. For now, it was lunchtime.
"Alright everyone, let"s eat!"