“Oh heavens, they’ll be here any minute now!” the old man exclaimed, nearly dropping their large mug filled with fresh coco.

They hurried their plump, portly form through the little cottage, careful not to spill their drink. He slowly eased himself down into the comfy cushions of their chair in the front room, breathing a heavy sigh of relief. Taking a sip of their coco, they looked around the familiar, low-ceilinged room.

The front door was behind them, and the fire right in front of them, crackling away quietly, its warm glow casting the room in a comfortable, soft light. There was another comfy chair right next to theirs, hand-embroidered with pink flowers and colorful patterns. Quite extravagant, as opposed to their simple leather, but quite overstuffed chair.

“But both, equally comfortable.” The old man thought with a soft chuckle, looking into the fire as they waited, rocking back and forth slowly. Content.

After a short time of waiting, the door had a few excited knocks, surprising the old man as he sipped on his coco. He nearly spilled it!

“Come on in!” he joyously shouted.

On cue the old wooden door creaked open, allowing a cold rush of fall wind into the room. The wind, however,  heralded two bundled-up children into the room, one boy and one girl. Closing the heavy door behind them, they giggled excitedly. Their bubbly bounciness brought a smile to the old man’s face, as they cried out in glee,
“Grandpa Jack Jack!”

The old man grinned widely, waving the two over as the nippy wind submitted to the gentle warmth of the fire. The giddy little children scampered over to the fireplace, taking off their scarves and hats, replacing them with the heat of the hearth. The familiar faces of his grandchildren lit up a sparkle in the man’s eyes like nothing else could. Jack finished a long sip of coco, before speaking up to the bright-eyed little children:

“Ohh, how I’ve missed you two. I’m sure the missus will be out in a minute, can’t leave such cute little things like yourselves without cocoa!”

This was met with cries of joy from the children.

“Yayy! Hot coco and storytime!” they both exclaimed in unison.

Jack chuckled, before clearing his throat and speaking in a voice akin to worn out velvet.
“Oho, you want to hear stories, little ones? I’ve got plenty to tell! Which would you like to hear first?”

“The Market!” blurted the boy.
“The Woods!” giggled the girl.
Jack sighed heavily, a mock display of exasperation.
“Well if you can’t choose, how about I tell you a new story?”
“A new story?” both the children gasped.
Jack nodded, and the children’s eyes lit up brighter than the stars themselves.
“Oh yes, let me start from the very beginning…”

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

“So there I was, fighting off some of the ol’ rapscallion sock gnomes one foggy day, when suddenly I heard some cries from the city market. Back in my youth, you should have seen me move. Quicker than lightning and more nimble than a cloud, I rushed over to survey the scene. Now I tell you, it was a truly horrible sight! Just ghastly!”

“What was it grandpa?” 

“Ghosts?” 

“Wolves?”
“No, it was worse, I tell ye. A fine and innocent woman, barely past your mother’s age, was being robbed by two horrible bandits, right in the middle of the market square!”
“That’s awful!”  

“How brazen!”
“Oh yes, and these brutes were even wearing armor, and the town’s insignia, right as they robbed her! I tell you, thieves are smart. After all, well, we had to be! But of course, this fair maiden was of no target deserving of this. So of course, your old man dove in there, and talked the bad guys down..."

“Aww…”

“With my fists!”

“Yaay!”

“Oh it was a tough battle I tell you, these men were clearly experienced in fighting. But they stood no chance against your ol’ Blackjack Jack! I laid them out, knocking one out into the pond outside the city with a single punch, and another up into the ribbons of the market! They were stuck up there for hours, hoho.”

“Yeah!”

“That’ll teach them to prey on the weak!”

“You betcha it did, and oh, I received a million thanks for it, too! There was an impromptu festival in my honor, the emperor rode into town to thank me, and I got all the wealth in his treasury as a gift!”
“What did you use it for?”
“Er, well… I gave it away of course, to the fair lady I had saved! She bought the companionship of a dragon with it, and rode off into the sunset, as the cheers of my heroism faded away…”
“I like that story!” 

“Yeah! It was great!”

“Oh, youngn’s, If only. You see, those criminal scum were on payroll… to the KING!”

*Gasp*

“Oh yes, they were bullying that poor gal because she had used the public well without paying the two pence toll! Blatant robbery, I says. But this also meant that, due to my… lavish festivities, the nobles of our little town now had put a target on my back..."

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Jack downed the rest of their coco, now relatively cold, yet still warming their heart good as ever. Clearing their throat afterwards, they watched a lithe, white haired woman gracefully stride into the room.

“Oh Jack, are you spinning your tales again?”

“Always am, darling,” Jack said with a cheeky grin. 

She brought with her two mugs of cocoa, which she handed to the children. To say they were happy was an understatement. And so they sipped on the warm, comforting drink, the story and its implications already whirring away in their limitless imagination.