Hey guys! MissCupOfTea here! I got inspired after watching Jack the Giant Slayer in theatres yesterday, so I decided to write this.

Don't forget to leave a comment! They're greatly appreciated! :)

Summary: She was simply a wallflower destined to live her life pining after a man who would never love her back. She was not a princess. She had no prince. She was simply Victoria, but perhaps there was hope after all. Elmont/OC

Chapter One: A Chance Encounter

Once upon a time, in a land far away, there lived a farmer's daughter. She was born to two loving parents who treated her as if she was a princess. She had a family. She had a beautiful home. She was happy. It all ended when the plague came. The farm died, and so had the life she had become so familiar with. The plague tore her family apart, taking her mother with it. Her father became cold – hardened by the tragedies and cruelties of life. However, all was not lost. Tragedy brought her a gift in the form of a prince. The prince saved her from her cold father and the cruel world. The two fell in love and lived happily ever after.

The girl was brought out of her daze. She could only wish that was the true ending of the sorry excuse of a fairytale that ultimately was her life. The prince was by no means a prince in the conventional sense of the word. He was Jack – a person that was even worse off than her. At least she still had her father even if he had changed over the years. Jack was no prince, but he was kind and caring, and she loved him. There was nothing she would not give to have him look at her the same way she did towards him, but as of right now, she would have to be content with their friendship.

The girl mused. Tragedy truly did bring her Jack. After the death of his father, Victoria's own father had taken him in. He had promised Jack's father, after all. Victoria understood Jack. She knew what it was like to lose someone so important. After the loss of her mother, she was never the same. She saw the world for what it was. Cruel. She would give anything to see her once more, and she knew Jack felt the same about his parents. What made them different was the fact that Jack used his losses to make him stronger while Victoria let her loss destroy her. Perhaps it was that thought that pulled her towards him. Though they were given the same circumstances, he was able to pull through intact while she had been weak. It broke her while it made him stronger.

"Victoria!" A voice had suddenly interrupted her thoughts.

Taking her hands off of the shirt she was hanging up, Victoria tilted her head backwards towards the gruff voice. "Yes, Father?"

"Go with Jack to the market. I told him to sell the ol' horse, but I don't trust him by himself. Make sure he does what I told him. And get ingredients for dinner tonight." He did not wait for a reply as he closed the door and reentered the house. Victoria sighed as she finished what she was doing, feeling a burst of anger bubbling up inside of her, threatening to spill. He had no right to belittle Jack the way that he did. He might seem irresponsible, but Victoria knew for a fact that he was not.

Cleaning off the dirt that had made its way to her already dirty clothes, she abruptly stood up and headed towards where she thought she might find Jack. As expected, once she reached him, he was just about to head off in the direction of town.

"Victoria? What are you doing here?" Once he saw the look on her face, he sighed. "Uncle told you to come with me, didn't he?" The girl bit her lip and nodded, looking away. She did not want to make him feel bad about the situation.

There was a moment of silence before Victoria decided to break it. "We should go now if we want to be back by sundown."

Jack merely nodded as he led the way. Along the way, the two fell into mindless chatter as they headed for town. Victoria wished she could tell him everything she was keeping inside, but she knew she could not. He didn't feel the same way. She was a friend to him – that was all, but a girl could dream, right?

Finally, the two arrived in town. "Jack?" At the sound of Victoria's voice, Jack turned towards her. "I'm going to go and get some food for dinner. How does vegetable stew sound?"

Jack grinned broadly at her, and she could not help but feel warm at the sight of his smile. "That sounds wonderful. Your cooking is the best."

With a smile, the two parted ways. Victoria headed off towards the food aisles. "Let's see… we have tomatoes and a bit of carrot left at home. All I need to get are potatoes and beans then." Having made up her mind, Victoria headed off to buy some potatoes and beans, hoping the price had not gone up since the last time she was there. Seeing the stall she was looking for, Victoria thanked the heavens that she had enough money to buy the ingredients. Happily, she paid the merchant and set off to find Jack, basket in hand, when suddenly, the basket was ripped from her unsuspecting arm. Startled, it took a moment for Victoria to react.

"Stop! Thief!" She could not afford to waste any money. She needed to catch that thief. Gathering her dress, Victoria sprinted towards the thief, feeling the air rush past her.

"Someone! Please help! That man robbed me!" It seemed that no one heard her or was choosing to ignore her. Getting tired, Victoria labeled her effort as being futile. She did not have enough stamina to keep up with the thief. She cursed herself for having wasted the money and was scared to come back to her father empty-handed. How could she been so careless? Her father will surely not be pleased. But Jack was going to sell the horse. Surely, that must be enough money to please her father? Victoria was nearly in tears at the thought of angering her father when her thoughts were once again interrupted – this time by the sound of a horse. Curiously, she looked up to the rider of the horse. The man was dressed in a knight's uniform and was handsome to say the least, but what caught her eye was what he had in his hands. It was her basket!

The man spoke in a voice that oozed authority. "This is yours, I presume?"

Suddenly feeling shy, she lost her voice as she simply nodded. He was a part of the King's royal guard, after all. Naturally, being in his presence intimidated her. She reached her hands out to his outstretched, gloved ones to get her basket. As she took it from his hands, she could not help a tingle making its way up her spine when his fingers brushed hers. She shivered. It must be from the intense stare coming from his eyes. She was merely intimidated she reasoned with herself. She had never been in the presence of someone so important.

Finally finding her voice, Victoria smiled gently. "Thank you, Sir."

The man nodded curtly before heading off. Victoria's eyes trailed after him as he left, followed by more knights. That certainly was an interesting encounter. She was simply glad that she had gotten back what was stolen from her. Now, she needed to find Jack, so they could go home. She was tired from having chased after the thief and wanted nothing more but than to rest her feet for a while.

Walking around, looking for Jack, she stopped when she heard a commotion from the gates. When she reached the court near the gate, a monk ran past her, followed by guards on horseback. Deciding not to intervene, Victoria scanned the court, a smile reaching her face once she found Jack by a pillar. However, upon reaching him, Victoria was panicked by the distraught look on his pale face.

"Jack? What's the matter? Tell me." Victoria asked frantically, worry clearly evident in her tone. She hoped everything was okay.

Jack gulped and was still staring off into space as he said, "Someone… stole the horse."

A hand flew to her mouth, suppressing a gasp. Father would be furious. However, Victoria knew she could not blame Jack. After all, she was robbed not too long ago. This did not lessen her fears though.

She gently put a hand to his shoulders. "It'll be okay, Jack. Do not worry. We'll figure something out. We always do." Although she did not feel too confident, she needed to be strong for Jack right now. He nodded listlessly. Grabbing his hand, Victoria led him outside the castle walls, and the two headed home, a thick silence enveloping the atmosphere around them.

"How could you have been so foolish?" Father yelled at Jack with anger in his voice that was beyond his usual tone.

Victoria fought the urge to cover her ears. When they had gotten home, Father had been out. Only after dinner was made did he come home. Victoria had cringed. He had been drinking again. The tension through dinner was high as Jack and Victoria kept silent. After dinner, her father had confronted Jack about the money he earned today. As expected, her father became furious.

"Your father dying from the plague was a terrible tragedy, but him leaving you to me was a worse plague!" There was a moment of silence before her father continued. "Sell some of your mother's things then." Victoria gasped. Those were priceless. She, herself, would never sell her mother's things.

"They're not yours to sell!" Jack replied firmly.

"The horse and cart were!" Footsteps were coming towards her. Victoria tried to go out of the back door. "Victoria!" Reluctantly, Victoria turned towards her Father.

"Yes, Father?"

"I told you to watch over him! You couldn't even do one thing!" There was a loud noise as his hand connected with her cheek. Victoria did not move. Victoria did not cry. She knew better than that. "You worthless girl! I asked you to do one thing!"

Victoria kept silent, closing her eyes as her father hit her again and again. Bruises formed on her arms. Luckily, her dress could easily hide those. She convinced herself that he had simply been drinking. He cared for her, but deep inside, she knew that was not the case. Every ounce of love he had for her died the same day her mother did. Pulling her hair, her father dragged her outside.

"Go on! Get out! I don't want to see your face!" The door was closed before she could reply, and Victoria was left in the mud. Feeling numb, she picked herself up and headed over to the forest. Finding a clearing, Victoria sat down, tears forming in her eyes. What had her life come to? Why had this happened to her? When did her family become so dysfunctional?

She missed her mother terribly. If she was here, none of this would have happened. She would be leading a happy life. Her father would not be cruel and heartless. He would be that loving man who told her bedtime stories every night - not the man who got angry at the mere sight of her face. It seemed as if it pained him just to look at her. She supposed she was a constant reminder of his beloved wife. He was a good man she tried to convince herself. This is just a rough patch. Everything will be okay. Suddenly, the fairytale she had been making up this morning came to her. Jack would fall madly in love with her, and she would have her happily ever after. More tears dropped when she came to her senses. That would not happen. She shouldn't be so foolish. Who could ever love a girl like her?

After a while, drops of rain made their way to her, but she ignored them. Once it started pouring, however, she stood up, ready to go home. Surely her father had passed out or had gone out drinking again. It wouldn't be the first time, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. Almost there, she suddenly felt the ground tremble, and Victoria had to hold on to a tree to stable herself. There was a deep rumbling in the ground as vines shot out from beneath her house. "What in the world?" Victoria cried out bewildered. It was growing at an impossible rate by the second, taking her house with it. "I must be dreaming!" Pinching herself to snap out of this nightmare, she grew pale at the pain coming from her skin. This was no dream.

Suddenly, a thought came to her. "Jack!"

Running, she found Jack, trying to climb up the growing stalk. "Jack! You need to get down. It's dangerous!"

It was no use. He could not hear her over the noise. Feeling determined, Victoria grabbed on to one of the vines. Sweat poured off of her face as she tried to keep a steady hold. She needed to do this. She needed to help Jack. With trembling hands, she reached up towards another vine to get closer to Jack.

"Just a little bit more." She reached higher up. Her hands found the vine, and she tried to pull herself up, ripping her dress in the process. Once she got up, she looked around, looking for another vine. She kept climbing, trying not to look down and becoming discouraged – all the while getting closer and closer to Jack. She reached towards a particularly high vine and let out a sigh of relief as her wet fingers found it. It was short lived when she lost her grip. She screamed but knew that it was futile. Victoria let the tears flow freely. The last thing she would ever see was Jack fighting for his life on the vines. She could not help him. She had a chance to finally do something for him after everything he had done for her, and here she was falling to her death. Her father was right. She was absolutely worthless.

Sorry for such a short chapter. I promise the next chapters will be longer and more exciting! Anyway, don't forget to tell me what you guys think!

Next Chapter: Going up the beanstalk!