Chapter Text
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“You wished to see me, [1] Hawthorn?”
Hawthorn turned to face the speaker, relying on her staff to do so. In front of her was Willow.
Her personal apprentice. Her protégé. And if luck was on her side, her successor one day. Out of all the Smurfs she had taken under her wing, Willow was the most exceptional.
The oldest. The strongest. The smartest. The most attuned to the magic that surrounded them.
From birth, she had taught Willow everything that she would need for when the time came to help lead the next generation of Smurfs.
Everything but one thing. One crucial thing. One thing that had been left out of the Book of the Elders.
A story. Not just any story. The Story. The Story that had been passed down from Elder to Elder. All the way from the First Elder, Caesarissa, to her.
And today…Willow would learn that story as well.
The thought of her young Willow learning the tragedy that befallen their kin on the other side of the Wall made her sick to her stomach. Was this how her Elder felt when the time came?
A small part of her wanted to delay the inevitable. A small part of her wanted to tell Willow that she just needed her help with mixing some potions. A small part of her wanted to do everything in her power to make sure Willow could enjoy life to the fullest before hearing of the horrors that had befallen their kind time and time again.
But she knew there was no point in delaying it. That her time was short.
Every day, she felt it when she woke up and when she went to sleep. She wasn’t getting any younger and Willow would need to know less she waver in keeping their people from venturing out the Forbidden Forest.
If she didn’t know…then their people would suffer as well.
“Elder?”
“Sorry, my dear,” Hawthorn shook her head, “Just a little lost in my thoughts. How are you doing with your studies?”
Willow tilted her head and raised an eyebrow before answering, “Good as always. I’m mastering all my spells. Most of the other girls don’t stand a chance when it comes to physical training. Still struggling with Dragonfly training a bit.”
“Not as easy as it looks, does it?” Hawkthorn chuckled as she remembered the first time that Willow tried riding a Dragonfly when she was only a hundred and seven. By Smurf, that was quite the sight.
“I’ve getting better,” Willow muttered, cheeks darker than usual as she toed the wooden floor, “Anyway, why did you bring me here? And…where’s your hat? I’ve never seen you without your hat.”
“Hmm…” Hawkthorn hummed thoughtfully as she pretended to think about it, “I must’ve misplaced it. Keep an eye out for it, will you?” She then winked, enjoying the look of confusion on Willow’s face.
She turned away and only then allowed herself to sigh and close her eyes, whispering a prayer to the Elders that had come before to give her strength.
Once she was ready as she would ever be, she turned back to Willow and began.
“Willow, the time we’ve spent together has been one of my life’s greatest treasures. I’m as proud of you as your own mother would’ve been.”
“Hawkthorn, you’re acting really weird,” Willow wringed her hands, “What’s going on, please?”
“A lot,” Hawthorn’s grip on her staff tightened, “And you need to listen carefully because I won’t have time to explain this twice.”
“It’s…it’s happening already?” Willow’s eyes widened.
“Not yet but…soon. And I fear that there won’t be another time I can tell you.”
“…”
She took a deep breath before speaking, “It’s about the Wall and how it came to be.”
“Oh,” Willow said, blinking, “Is…that it? Hawthorn, I already know about that story.”
“Well, then, tell me.”
“The Forbidden Forest became cursed. The magic started to grow out of control, so some wizards built the Wall to keep it in. Overtime, we became one with the forest and…” Willow trailed off before shrugging, “And that’s about it, I think.”
“There’s more to it than that.”
“Of course it isn’t,” Willow crossed her arms, “Nothing is ever easy.”
It was the truth. Nothing in the Forbidden Forest was easy. Many of the magically-altered fauna and flora were friendly to them but many more were not. Smurfs couldn’t leave their villages without being prepared for whatever might attack them And even that wasn’t enough. Entire villages had been left in ruins.
It was a harsh life but…it was better than what lied on the other side.
She needed to warn Willow before it was too late.
“Do you ever wonder why the First Elder has told us to stay in the Forbidden Forest? Why we stay here, even though it’s so clearly dangerous? Why we don’t go near the Wall? Have you ever wondered?”
“I mean…I have occasionally but I didn’t ask because it wasn’t my place—.”
“Because...whatever’s in here, the Elders thought it preferable to the horrors on the other side of the Wall. The horrors that our kin on the other side have faced.”
This wasn’t part of the usual history curriculum. Willow was staring at her with wide eyes, “What do you mean ‘our kin’?”
“I mean that we aren’t the only Smurfs around. Or at least we were.”
Then she told her the Story.
The Story of not just Smurf Girls but Smurf Boys as well. The Story of the magical essence that the Smurfs had. The Story of the wars that Smurfkind fought to protect itself against those who hunted them like animals.
She had witnessed one such massacre before. Back when she was a fool and she had ventured beyond the Wall. Her Elder had dragged her back and before grounding her for a month, told her everything.
She could see the true depth of horror and mistrust in Willow’s eyes. She didn’t blame her. She had kept this a secret. All the Elders had for a long time.
“And you haven’t…gone outside the Wall since then? To help them?” Willow’s tone was accusatory.
“But how? How could we have helped them without risking the safety of our people?” Hawthorn sighed, looking out the window, “We would run the risk of letting Smurfkind’s enemies know there’s Smurfs in here as well and we join our counterparts in being hunted as well.”
“But surely, the Forbidden Forest would—.”
“Nothing and I mean nothing can stop those who hunt us,” Hawthorn sighed, “Not even our magic. And even magical forests don’t stand a chance against fire. Even a normal fire can burn this whole forest to the ground. This is why we cannot leave. For as bad as the Forbidden Forest is, the world outside is much, much worse.”
“And what about the Smurfs on the other side? What about them?” Willow asked, eyes narrowing.
[2] “If any Smurfs still remain on the other side…then they know to stay in the shadows and out of the light. All the world is our enemy. And when they find us, they will kill us but first…they have to find us. And as long as we’re careful and you keep your Smurfs away from the Wall, they will never find us.
Do you understand?”
“…I hate it but you’re right,” Willow sighed, hanging her head, “I just wish that—.”
“That we could help them? I wished that. My mentor and her mentor before that wished the same but there’s nothing we can do. We Smurfs of the Forbidden Forest must remain hidden so at least our people as a lot will have a future.”
“But what if the Smurfs on the other side come to us?”
“…Welcome them. Give them somewhere safe to live. Safe from the horrors that lie beyond. Do what we couldn’t, Willow. What I couldn’t. But above all else, when the time comes, do not allow your Smurfs to go even near the Wall. Teach them the same lessons as I have but do not tell them of the horrors unless the circumstances demand it. Only tell who you choose to be your successor and only when they’re old enough.”
“O-Okay,” Willow cleared her throat, “I will. I promise.”
“Very good,” Hawthorn nodded before remembering something, “One more thing.”
“What?”
She walked over to her shelf and moved a few things to reveal her hidden hat. She took it and placed it onto Willow’s head.
“It’s too big,” Willow complained.
“You’ll grow into it,” Hawthorn gave her apprentice, successor, and daughter a reassuring smile, “When the time comes. In the meantime, continue your studies and speak nothing of this to the others.”
“Yes, Elder.”
And then she was alone again. She took a deep breath before getting back to work. Her plants weren’t going to water themselves.”
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AUTHOR’S NOTES
[1] Hawthorn’s name comes from the Hawthorn Tree (Where Merlin was going to live!) in the third Smurfs movie script back when it was part of the live-action trilogy. For the first part of Willow and Hawthorn’s conversation, I took inspiration from Merlin and young Papa’s (or Pieter as he was known as before he became Papa) conversation before the former’s death at the hands of Gargamel’s ancestor.
You can find the script here; https://wikileaks.org/sony/docs/03_03/Mktrsch/Market%20Research/Scripts/%28MW%29%20c%20smurfs%20III%2012%20for%20sony%20animation%20%281%29.pdf
[2] This part comes from Watership Down and I thought it fitting for the Smurfs, given how much they have been hunted by their enemies.