Chapter Text
“Shh shh,” Ethan cooed, patting Rose's back, “I know, long car rides suck, huh?”
She whined, squirming against his shoulder until she got her face in the crook of his neck. Huffing with as much force as a baby could, she settled down. Ethan smiled, rubbing little circles into her back.
“See,” Mia hummed, “I told you she'd listen to you.”
“You're just being dramatic.” Ethan chuckled. Directing his attention across the van to Chris, he asked, “So why was it so important you move us an hour west?”
Chris sighed, then admitted, “There was going to be an attempt made on your family. The individual in question has been dealt with, but we can't take chances of anything like that happening again.”
Ethan felt his stomach drop. Rose whimpered against his neck, as if sensing his distress, and Mia demanded, “Where are you taking us? We're all clean, you saw our lab-work—”
Chris held up a hand. “The village,” he said, voice even, “Is recovering from it's own BOW event, but no fewer than thirteen of it's residents are fully capable fighters. For now, we have the place under gentle surveillance, to ensure none of them get up to anything unsavory behind our backs, but one of them is in a similar situation to you. As a show of good faith between our respective parties, the villagers have agreed to take you on and protect you from any possible future attempts on your family.”
“What do they get out of it?” Mia demanded suspiciously as Ethan tried to mentally dissect Chris's words.
“We don't take any of them into custody.” Chris replied bluntly.
Ethan was forced to choke out a laugh. “What, are they criminals?”
Chris didn't reply. Ethan exchanged a worried look with Mia, holding Rose close.
Eventually, the van came to a stop. Chris got out first, then beckoned them out after nodding to someone Ethan couldn't see. They were in the middle of nowhere, he realized uneasily, looking around at all the trees.
“The village is isolated,” Chris said, apparently catching his unease, “There aren't any proper roads leading to it. This path here will lead right to it.”
The path was… little more than a gap in the trees, in Ethan's opinion, but there was a woman standing primly at the mouth of it. She looked… incredibly old-fashioned, despite how young her face was. Like, she would've fit right in at a ren faire or other cosplay event. Hell, she wouldn't be out of place at a British wax museum!
The woman bowed as they approached, intoning, “Welcome back,” in a mild voice.
Chris grunted.
“That's not women's dress-code around here, is it?” Mia asked suspiciously.
The woman calmly replied, “These are merely the clothes Gehrman made for me, so they are what I wear.”
Before anyone could say anything else, Rose shifted, whining unhappily about the nip in the air. The woman's gaze instantly zeroed in on Rose, and she stepped close with her head tipped. Ethan took an alarmed step back, but she drew next to him, leaning over so she could look at Rose.
“Dahl.” Chris said warningly.
The woman didn't respond, looking at Rose with wide eyes. Slowly, hesitantly, Ethan shifted his daughter down to his chest, cradling her so she was easier to see. The woman straightened up, watching as if fascinated.
“... This is Rosemary.” Ethan introduced cautiously.
“... Hello, little rosmarinus,” the woman greeted softly, Rose suddenly giggling and waving her hands at the woman, “May you grow to be happy, and never know the horror of a hunt.”
“Um…?” both Ethan and Mia asked, looking to Chris. He just shook his head with a grimace. Some kind of weird local blessing, maybe?
Straightening up, the woman turned and began down the path. Chris began to follow her without question. After a moment spent hesitating, Ethan and Mia began to follow her as well.
“Has any progress been made on naming the village?” Chris asked as they walked.
“It doesn't have a name?” Mia demanded, bewildered.
“While I suspect he intended it as a joke, Lukas suggested New Yharnam.” the woman— Miss Dahl?— replied.
“Given what you lot claim happened in Yharnam, I'd advise against it,” Chris scoffed, “I might not be superstitious, but that sounds like it's asking for trouble.”
“Lord Heisenberg was more amused, but of a similar mind.”
Conversation tapered off again there. For a while, they walked in awkward silence through the forest. Eventually, though, they came upon a cabin. Sitting outside was a slightly sturdier man, tending to some kind of saw. At their approach, he paused, looking up to watch them. Chris paused as Miss Dahl moved over to the man.
“Who is that?” Ethan asked lowly, watching as Miss Dahl and the man… stared at each other?
“His name is Madaras,” Chris replied, “He was a feral child— raised by animals. While he can exist within society, large groups of people make him uneasy, and he never learned to speak as a human. He understands well enough, but actually forming words is beyond him— and trying to force him to speak can lead to violent outbursts. For everyone's protection, he's been put here, close enough to count as part of the village but far enough away that human contact is limited.”
“Is it really okay for her to just go up to him like that, then?” Mia asked uneasily.
“The doll is one of the few people able to interpret Madaras's methods of communication,” Chris replied, “And one of the only ones Madaras will interact with of his own volition.”
For a moment, Ethan just watched the two tip their heads back and forth, shrugging shoulders and huffing softly. Then, however, Chris's words sank in. “The doll?”
Before the man could answer, Miss Dahl returned to the path and kept walking. Nervous about saying anything in front of her, Ethan didn't ask again.
After perhaps five more minutes of walking— Rose fell soundly asleep despite the chill in the air, thumb in her mouth, making him smile when he saw— they were coming out of the forest, standing atop a hill looking down over a small village. Ethan could see lot of fields— a farming community, then? He also saw a large dam in the distance, a castle looming over the village like something out of a cheesy horror flick, and some kind of… factory? Located on another hill above everything. It was… weird, honestly, but picturesque. Quiet. He could see it being nice to live in.
Miss Dahl led them down the hill, taking a slightly meandering path. Given the steepness of the hill, though, that did seem necessary. Ethan wondered how many people broke their ankles trying to go straight down. But before long, they'd reached the bottom, and were moving through the fields towards the houses.
Another woman met them at the edge of town— she looked like she'd stepped out of some pirate-themed period piece, with an elegant waistcoat, tall leather boots, and a tricorn cap. She also, Ethan realized with a jolt, was identical to Miss Dahl.
“Dahl,” the woman said curtly, “Some of the others want you at the Beneviento house.”
Miss Dahl dipped her head. “Will you take them, then?”
The new woman's eyes swept over them, lingering briefly on Rose. Looking at Chris, the new woman offered a curt, “Redfield.”
“Maria.”
Ethan got the feeling the two didn't get along very well.
“Very well.”
Miss Dahl gave a gentle bow, then turned to Mia and Ethan. “May you find your home here.” she murmured, bowing to them as well.
“Uh. Thanks?” Ethan replied, nodding back.
“Yeah… see you around…?” Mia agreed awkwardly.
With that, Miss Dahl left, gliding through the quiet streets of the town. The other woman— Maria— turned to them and gave a curt nod. “We've arranged for you to stay with the Gascoignes,” she declared, “Viola insisted upon learning that you were new parents, and at the moment they've the most room of everyone in the village.”
“Oh— thanks.” Ethan nodded back.
With that, Maria turned and began to lead them through the village. Chris lingered a bit further back, this time, even as he asked, “How're things recovering?”
Maria replied, “Valtr led your men through the stronghold without casualty. It may take some rebuilding, but it should be suitable for your surveillance. Madaras has been serving as a groundskeeper, eliminating any beasts he crosses and alerting us to any remnants of the Black God that he finds. Djura and Lukas have begun teaching the townsfolk how to cleanse such things with fire when needed. Once that is completely gone, the two of them will likely either take over the dam and mills or join Lord Heisenberg in his factory. And I've broken Alfred's right arm.”
“Why?” Mia asked in bewilderment.
“Long story short,” Chris said gruffly, “Alfred is racist against Maria and her cousin Iosefka due to intense religious indoctrination. We're looking into finding a therapist willing to come out here and work him through it.”
“If you don't,” Maria said darkly, throwing a glare over her shoulder, “I'll kill him myself— Iosefka is the only doctor the village has for the time being, we require her in one piece.”
“Isn't that a bit extreme…?” Ethan fretted, shifting slightly behind Chris. Was Maria one of the thirteen capable fighters? Was she some sort of hardened criminal?
“We're working on it.” Chris sighed.
That… wasn't comforting at all. Did Ethan really want to raise Rose in a place like this? Miss Dahl had been weird, but nice enough— but based on everything Maria and Chris had just exchanged, she was the outlier!
“Wait,” Mia said suddenly, “Are we going to the castle?!”
Blinking, Ethan looked up. They had gone pretty much straight through the town, he realized. They were heading straight for the castle.
“Lord Heisenberg insisted that the Gascoignes take it as reward for Viola's help in liberating the village. They aren't the only ones living here— my own quarters are located in one of the towers.” Maria replied.
“... What did Viola do? To earn a castle?” Ethan asked, morbidly curious as they passed through the gatehouse.
“From my understanding,” Maria replied blankly, “She was the one who rallied the hunters to fight.”
That… seemed… disproportionate? But far be it from Ethan to question an actual lord's decisions.
As they came into the castle’s courtyard, there were yells of delight, followed by the patter of feet against stone. Maria froze like a deer in the headlights as a pair of young girls launched themselves at her, giggling hysterically. Ethan couldn't help but smile at the sight— so that was why their being new parents had been relevant. Well, in that case, maybe he didn't mind the insistence that they live in an actual freaking castle.
“Girls! Girls, what did I tell you about attacking Lady Maria?” another woman called, hurrying close.
“It's… alright…” Maria said, though Ethan could see her relief when the two peeled away.
“Hello!” the smaller of the two greeted. “My name's Annette! Are you the people Mommy says are going to live with us?”
“I think so, yeah.” Ethan smiled.
Bouncing on her toes, Annette asked, “Can I see your baby? I've never seen anyone littler than me before!”
So she was the youngest of the village? Times must've been really rough lately, then. Still, he replied, “She's asleep right now, but I bet she'll be thrilled to play with you later, okay?”
The girl nodded, then retreated to join her sister and mother. Maria had vanished while he was distracted, Chris retreated slightly off to the side— like he was supervising the introduction between a pair of dogs.
“Hello,” the woman smiled, a hand on each girl, “My name is Viola. These are my daughters, Annette and Elouise. Chris tells us you've recently been through quite a lot, and need somewhere safe to live?”
Ethan and Mia both nodded.
Viola smiled kindly, nodding back. “Between the hunters and Karl, I suspect this village is one of the safest places to live in all the world,” she said, proud and confident, “If you need anything, just let me know, and I'm sure I'll be able to shake it out of someone! But for now, why don't I show you to the rooms we picked out for you? If nothing's to your liking, let me know and we can look around— I believe by next month, all the repairs should be done, so we'll have a few more options then, as well.”
“Can I just say it's insane that you actually live in a castle?” Ethan replied, giving a crooked smile.
Viola laughed easily. “It's a recent change— our hometown was no longer a suitable place to live, so we followed Karl here, and he insisted! We've been letting the other hunters choose rooms as well if they want, since the locals are still a little skeptical of us.”
Oh, Ethan thought, relaxing. So she really was in the same boat as them. That made… that made him feel a lot more at ease.
“Wait,” Ethan said, pausing, “You're all BOWs?”
Gascoigne barked with laughter. “It's been five years— Redfield never told you?”
“No!”
The other father laughed so loud that Rose and Annette paused in doing the doll's hair to look at them in confusion. The doll just smiled serenely.