Chapter Text
Jane Eleanor “El” Ives didn't think much when she stumbled upon the village of Hawkins after walking for what felt like (and very well could have been) weeks after her parents untimely demise.
Shivering,clutching her cloak around frail shoulders,her boots crunched against the snow as she walked in,her eyes taking in the small cottages that peppered the makeshift stone street she dragged herself along. Most were extremely modest,forged from simple stone with wooden doors,but some had a bit fancier of an outward appearance,one even having a stone door,and intricate glass windows,a candle sat in one,burning brightly.
‘Gods,let someone be in there. Oh,please- please...'
She thought as she frantically pivoted her body and began to walk up to the house,her motivation reignited by the idea that warmth and safety was but mere feet away.
Her feet screamed in agony as she forced the already soaked,partially frozen shoes forward,and she raised her shaking arms,pounding on the window,knowing she likely couldn't shake the door,sturdy and unyielding as it was.
“Hello?! Hello! M-May you help me?” She called out,her hand hitting the windows with her words,sending tingles of pain through her hands. Despite the heavy mittens she had thrown on from her rucksack when the snow had suddenly started,she knew they were red and raw beneath the cloth.
“Please! Pleas-se- I am b-begging you. Please- My name is Jane! Please,I need - i need help! The sn-snow-!” She raised her voice as much as she could as time passed,her teeth aching from how they chattered. She could see the fireplace in the house,a beautiful orange blazing from it that almost made her want to cry as she imagined the heat.
“Hello-!!!”
Her next plea was caught short as shadows moved in the house,and suddenly there was an ear splitting screech as the stone door slowly opened. She quickly took a step towards it,and was greeted by a man with white hair and blue eyes.
He looked down at her shivering frame for a moment,taking her in,before he nodded and took a step back.
“Hurry in,young one,before you let the cold in- or freeze to death yourself.” His voice was warm,but Jane hesitated for a half of a second,anxiety squeezing her heart. She brushed it aside and gratefully stumbled inside,Hearing a small grunt as the man shoved his shoulder into the cool stone of the door,forcing it closed and muffling the wind behind it.
Immediately,the warmth of the room wrapped around Jane as she stood there,and it took a hand on her shoulder from the older man to guide her towards the fire.
“Sit. I have some stew and bread I can heat for you- I will first go and fetch dry clothes for you. You're frozen to the bone,you poor thing…” mouth twisted in sympathy,he gently urged her to sit,an order she obeyed quietly,tears starting to burn her eyes.
“Thank you. Thank you.” Jane whispered,the warmth already beginning to help the violent shivers passing through her body. As the footsteps of the stranger faded into a different room,she forced her stiff fingers to move,peeling the damp mittens from her hands with a small hiss as they stuck to parts of her skin. With a wince,she gratefully stretched her fingers towards the fire,the warmth hurting as she rubbed her hands,Trying to increase the circulation to them.
“Here-” the man returned,a wad of cloth in his hands. From what eleven could see,it appeared to be a skirt,a nightshirt as well perhaps,and a long coat,along with some blankets.
“Get yourself out of those,and into these once you can move better.” He turned,then paused and rotated back to face her.
I'm Martin. Martin Brenner. And you are..?”
“J- Jane. Jane Ives.” She offered him a faint smile.
“Lovely. And where are you from,Miss Ives? Where are your parents? Here- I'll go this way.” He turned again,giving her the illusion of privacy,and she began to slowly peel her layers off,her back to him.
“I'm from a town a few days away. Innodiana. And my parents…they. They passed…” She felt tears bud back up,blurring her vision,and she blinked them away as she pulled scratchy,foreign materials to cover her body,even sliding the coat on and bundling a blanket over her shoulders,huddling close to the fire once more.
“I am decent.”
“Unfortunate to hear of your parents. How did they pass?” He asked,bending with his back to her. There was a roar of a flame catching, and then he was lowering a pot onto a burner of a stove that Jane had yet to notice.
She swallowed down the lump in her throat.
“They caught a disease. I didn't. But the fevers…” She grimaced as Brenner let out a cluck of sympathy at the stove.
“And you're how old?”
“Sixteen. Just turned.” Jane leaned closer to the fire with sigh,almost missing it as the spoon in his hand fell to the floor.
“Sixteen?”
“Yes- are you alright?” Curious brown eyes appraised the man,who ducked to collect the spoon.
“Yes- yes. I'm fine. We just…we may have a place for you here. If you need,that is? I'm assuming you don't have your home anymore?” He cleared his throat,his voice now strangely strained. He reached above the stove,un capping a bottle and pouring a splash of something into the pan.
Jane's eyes lit up.
“Oh! Oh,if you would be so kind! I will be so helpful- I helped mama with the garden- and I can do the cleaning! I was never talented at cooking,but-”
“You don't need to be. You'll do well.”
A few minutes passed in a silence before he brought over a bowl to the young girl.
“Here. Eat up. You need your strength.”
“Thank you- but where is yours?” She inquired,taking the bowl as her stomach grumbled,suddenly alerting her to how ravenous she was.
“I don't need it. This is for you.” The look in his eyes was strange,a mix of concern,warmth and resignation swirling in the blue depths,but Jane was too busy beginning to eat to notice.
I…this tastes like mint? Or kind of?” She gave him a curious look after over half was gone,several minutes of silence having passed between the two of them.
“Ah- yes…I've never been incredible with seasoning dishes,I must have grabbed the wrong leaves from the cellar. I believed it tasted weird as well.” He gave her a tight smile,watching as she took another mouthful.
“I'm still…grateful,for it. Thank you,Sir.” Slightly giggling,Jane set the bowl aside on the floor with a dull clink.
“Apologies-” she blinked and shook her head,the room seeming to shimmer at the edges,her brows dragging down in confusion. “-My stomach…” her hand floated down,a cramp making her gasp and lurch slightly forward,grimacing.
Brenner moved,kneeling in front of her,his hands on her shoulders. “Jane-perhaps you should rest.” He urged,that tight smile on his lips. Jane groaned,her arm now wrapping around her stomach as the room tilted and she struggled to focus on the words that left his lips,desperately trying to make sense of what came through to her as though his words were mumbled against something. Her stomach throbbed painfully,as though a fist reached in and squeezed around her stomach,released,then squeezed tighter. She whimpered softly.
“Wha-”
The more she fought it,the more the blurriness took over,and the room suddenly twisted,making her head fall forwards as the shimmering in her vision was replaced by darkness blooming across her eyes.
Brenner caught her as her body sagged,narrowly saving her head from slamming onto the unforgiving floor,gently lowering her down a little further away from the fire. Jane felt her eyes close on their own,her body refusing to sit up and stay alert as she was begging it to.
“I'm sorry,Jane.” Brenner breathed,and then footsteps joined from another room. A voice spoke- Male. Unidentifiable,unremarkable.
“Is she ready?”
'Why can't I move? I need- I need to-'
“Give her a minute. The ether hasn't fully taken in yet.” Brenner replied,continuing to hold Jane with her head against his lap.
'I need to- run-'
Jane tried to open her mouth,but it also refused,keeping her question trapped inside of her skull.
'What is Ether..?'
The darkness behind her eyes got deeper,a black ocean stretching out to greet her. Just before she succumbed and let the inky waves pull her into unconsciousness,she heard one more murmuring from the older man,one just as confusing to her as all the other sentences had been.
“Take her to The Dark One. Offer her. I'm sorry,Jane. Forgive us. God,Forgive us. Take her to him.”