Jack Horner x OC

Chapter One - Trail of Breadcrumbs

Jack Horner's enormous body is crammed into a large horse-drawn carriage trudging across the dirt roads. He is known for his keen eye towards magical artifacts and has recently gotten inspiration to add to his collection. Though rather than having one of his men collect this item themselves, he decided for once he wanted to enjoy the thrill of the hunt. 

Recently it was brought to his attention how the witch from the fairy tale 'Hansel and Gretel' has come back to life, as many hags do, and continues to lure children into her home made out of food. Hearing this news, Jack licked his lips as he set out to visit the infamous home and take back an item to add to his collection. Possibly he'll take a piece of the home, or maybe the oven the witch cooks children inside? Whatever it is, it'll look great amongst his trophies.

As the carriage slows down, a shout comes from the driver to exclaim they have arrived. Jack bursts out of the cart, his face turning into a wide grin.

"How delicious." He spats before walking towards the front door of the cottage. 

Before he steps inside he admires the home. He looks all around the outside, feeling and tasting the different parts of the house. Making sure it is as good as it sounds in the tale. As he runs his large hand across the cakey walls, sounds of screaming and yelling are heard within the home. Jack Horner's initial instinct is that he arrived at the perfect time. Not only is he seeing the home in person, but he is catching the witch bake another child alive. 

While most people would rush in to save the poor child, Jack was excited to witness such a feat. He orders two of his men to burst down the front doors so he can head inside.

As the candy coating the front door crumbles to the ground Jack's eyes widen in surprise. Whereas he would expect an old blind witch doing her witchy duties one might have, instead he finds something rather peculiar. 

A woman, in her mid to late twenties, appeared not to hear the sounds of the door breaking down. No, her screaming and yelling seemed to have muffled the ruckus outside to where she didn't notice the three men standing behind her.

In a fit of rage, the woman holds a fairly large meat cleaver. Bobbing up and down as she smashes the cleaver onto what appears to be the witch from the stories. More and more blood splatters the room with each swing, covering the walls and the luscious amounts of food laid out on the table.

"YOU FUCKING HAG THIS IS WHAT YOU DESERVE, IM SICK AND TIRED OF DEALING WITH YOUR SHIT. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. WHORE. WITCH. HAG. BITCH." 

The woman continues to scream various slurs and insults towards the witch, who is turning more and more into a pile of fleshy putty. 

The two men run out for their safety and fear, one vomiting on the grass outside. Meanwhile, Jack stands there, not with a look of disgust, but a look of awe. He is mesmerized by why this woman would be standing in this kitchen, beating an elderly hag to death.

The woman sends a few last swings before she backs up slightly, her breath staggering heavily. She continues to look down at the corpse before her hand lets go of the cleaver, smashing down into the skull of the witch one last time. A wave of blood and guts splattered across the woman's face. 

She uses her forearm to wipe the blood off her face as she turns around, only to freeze in her steps. Her eyes make level contact with a very large belly, only to follow the trail up to its head.  He seems to be high class, and extremely disproportionate. His hands were the first thing she noticed, the sheer size of them was what set them apart. That and the color of his thumb. His thumb looks almost swollen, as though he bruised it in some disgusting fashion. That was the indicator, the thing that made her realize who he was.  

After she stares at him for a moment, the realization of what is happening finally crosses her mind. 

"Um, can I help you?" She plasters on a very extravagant smile. She intends to seem sweet, but it comes off as more sinister. The dead body behind her didn't help her case either.

Her messy short hair, covered in sweat, continues to drape over her eyes in front and underneath her circle-rimmed glasses. She pushes the hair back, leaving fingerprints of blood around her face. 

Jack doesn't even know how to respond. What is she doing here? Who is she? Why does she have so much anger towards this witch? Part of him doesn't want to bother with this drama and just go home and take a nice long bath. But something about her continues to intrigue him, he wants to know everything about her. Her story as to what brought her here of all places.

"I don't know, can you!?" Jack responds, a sour tone lining his lips.

"You're Jack Horner, right?" The woman looks around for a moment, frantically, before her eyes look back up at him. "I've heard you have a pretty impressive collection of magical artifacts, no?"

"That depends, why?" 

"I'll let you take the oven." She walks towards it, almost as though she's selling it on a game show. "It's what the witch cooks the children in, how she transforms them into pies. I think it would be a great addition to add to your collection."

"And what gives you the authority to 'allow' me to have the oven?" His eyes narrow, "I mean I would have taken it regardless of your or-" He looks down to the mangled corpse on the ground, "-her permission."

"If you really want to know, that witch happens to be my mother. So with her dead, for the time being, I technically own this home." 

Jack lets out a chuckle, "If you are her daughter why would you kill her?" 

"Well. A witch becomes depressed when her child is born with no magic, and of course, that means she has to take it out on the child, no? I was sick and tired of being treated that way, so she got what she deserved." The woman pauses, looking towards the ground. She shuffles her feet while she thinks. "You could get me out of here?"

"What?" Annoyance lingers on Jack's tongue.

"Yea- you can take me away from here. I- I am a great baker, really I am!" She's scrambling for things she can impress him with. "What better worker than someone who grew up in a home made from food."

"You want to...work for me?" From his experience that is a rare request. Jack Horner isn't necessarily known for being the most moral boss. Many of his workers are terrified of him, and he isn't blind to that reality. In fact, he loves it. He loves the power imbalance he has over everyone who works for him. He enjoys seeing them cower in fear.

While Jack would usually just kill this woman and move on, something about her continued to intrigue him. Something about when she mentioned not having magic clicked with him. He instantly emphasized with her, something he hadn't ever done with anyone before. 

"Yes, please. You wouldn't even have to pay me- well I mean it would be great if you did, but I'd be fine just having somewhere to live. Somewhere that isn't here." She seems desperate, a trait Jack does like to see in this situation. 

It takes a while but he gives in, "Fine."

Her eyes instantly light up, "Just give me a moment to get my things!" 

"If it takes longer than loading up the oven, you've lost your chance." He calls out to his men to come back in, forcing them to ignore the mangled corpse on the ground.

She nods and runs off into the home. A few moments pass and the carriage Jack arrived on now obtained an oven at the back and a new member of the crew.

"What's your name?" Jack probably won't even remember it, but he asks anyway.

"Peaches." She nods. "My name is Peaches."