These are not the woods at Thornfield. These are no woods Jane remembers. She is alone, and afraid, and without a cloak to guard her against the cool, bitter mists. She wraps her arms around herself and stands stiff and straight, staring into the pale dark. Where is she?
Something else is here with her, she realizes, very near, just behind her. Her breath shudders to a halt, then slips out between her lips, a haze disappearing quickly into the air.
"Jane," the voice rumbles out slowly, giving her a start. She presses a hand to her breast but does not turn. There is something ethereal, unhuman about it, low to the ground, deeper and greater than the voice of a man. And yet, she is not quite afraid, at least not of the speaker. Once she's over the initial fright, it's rather a relief to have someone at her side.
"Who's there?" she murmurs.
"My name is Adeodatus," he says. "I believe we were meant to meet."
Something presses into the palm of her hand, the one hanging at her side; cold and wet, like the nose of a dog, surrounded by a matching muzzle of thick hair. She tenses but does not flinch away. The creature is not here to harm her; in fact, touching him feels quite safe.
At last, Jane turns around to face him.
Adeodatus is a beast, as she had suspected, though not a dog, but a bear, medium-sized, coming up just to her hip when on all fours, his fur so deep a brown it is almost black.
She knows she should be afraid to see him so close, but still, she is not. It is everything else in this foreign wood that frightens her; not Adeodatus. He is her companion; she is almost willing to say a part of her soul.
"Adeodatus," she says softly, crouching down to put her arms around his head. "I'm so very glad to meet you."
"The pleasure is mine," he says. "Only I think we had better keep moving. This forest is not safe." He presses his snout against her shoulder. "You must get on my back. I will be able to carry you faster. Hurry, dear Jane."
Quiet and grateful, Jane nods and pulls herself up to the bear's back, sitting behind his jagged shoulder blades. She grips his fur in little fistfuls as he takes her swiftly through the woods.
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Something else is here with her, she realizes, very near, just behind her. Her breath shudders to a halt, then slips out between her lips, a haze disappearing quickly into the air.
"Jane," the voice rumbles out slowly, giving her a start. She presses a hand to her breast but does not turn. There is something ethereal, unhuman about it, low to the ground, deeper and greater than the voice of a man. And yet, she is not quite afraid, at least not of the speaker. Once she's over the initial fright, it's rather a relief to have someone at her side.
"Who's there?" she murmurs.
"My name is Adeodatus," he says. "I believe we were meant to meet."
Something presses into the palm of her hand, the one hanging at her side; cold and wet, like the nose of a dog, surrounded by a matching muzzle of thick hair. She tenses but does not flinch away. The creature is not here to harm her; in fact, touching him feels quite safe.
At last, Jane turns around to face him.
Adeodatus is a beast, as she had suspected, though not a dog, but a bear, medium-sized, coming up just to her hip when on all fours, his fur so deep a brown it is almost black.
She knows she should be afraid to see him so close, but still, she is not. It is everything else in this foreign wood that frightens her; not Adeodatus. He is her companion; she is almost willing to say a part of her soul.
"Adeodatus," she says softly, crouching down to put her arms around his head. "I'm so very glad to meet you."
"The pleasure is mine," he says. "Only I think we had better keep moving. This forest is not safe." He presses his snout against her shoulder. "You must get on my back. I will be able to carry you faster. Hurry, dear Jane."
Quiet and grateful, Jane nods and pulls herself up to the bear's back, sitting behind his jagged shoulder blades. She grips his fur in little fistfuls as he takes her swiftly through the woods.