 
### Dark Fantasy Fairy Tales Collection

### Kristie Lynn Higgins

Text Copyright © 2018 by Kristie Lynn Higgins

Cover Art Copyright © 2018

Smashwords Ebook Edition

02272018

Snow White art created by Alexander Zick

Art from 'The Russian Story Book' created by Frank C. Pape

Rapunzel art created by John B. Gruelle

Hansel and Gretel art created by Arthur Rackham

www.KristieLynnHiggins.com

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

AaBack's Grimm: Dark Fantasy Fairy Tale

#1

Tale Of Two Worlds

The Wizard, The Battlemage, And The Werewolf

Kristie Lynn Higgins

Text Copyright © 2015, 2018 by Kristie Lynn Higgins

Cover Art Copyright © 2018

Ebook Edition

Storytime painting created by Charles Haigh-Wood

Knight at the Crossroads and Sleeping Princess paintings created by Viktor Vasnetsov

Little Red Riding Hood and "fighting creatures" art created by Arthur Rackham

A Fairy Tale art created by Dorothy M. Wheeler

www.KristieLynnHiggins.com

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.
Start One Of These Series

by Kristie Lynn Higgins

www.KristieLynnHiggins.com

Chapter One

The Dream

For the few moments the dream lingered within her mind like starlight near day's twilight, Jane didn't know if her mind fancy had been a long-forgotten memory that recently returned to her when she entered her teens or if the dream was only a wishful hope and yet a horrible reminder of the life she existed in. Through the first part of her adult life and into her early thirties, the dream remained the same and never differed and each time she dreamed the occurrence, she experienced each moment as if it was for the first time, and she never remembered what was coming until she was swept into it.

It always began with herself as a young child walking through a scary forest she didn't recognize. She wore blue shorts and a black t-shirt with a pretty white swan on it. Jane never remembered how she happened to be in the forest or why she was alone at such a young age. The dense forest was frighteningly dark with only glimmers of light here and there along with large fireflies the size of her fists that seemed to crackle with blue lightning. She felt so lost as creatures angrily squawked or roared around her. She slowly made her way through the thick underbrush for what seemed like a long time, and then she began to feel isolated and deeply alone. Despair seized her and wrapped her up in its cold embrace, and it would have dragged her even deeper into hopelessness and made her give up on ever finding her way out if a bright light hadn't of broken through the dark canopy. The sunbeam beckoned her to it, so Jane climbed her way over roots and pushed her way through shrubs and bushes until she broke free of the forest and came upon a bright sunny clearing. There in the clearing was a small pond, and she saw herself in its reflection. Dirt and leaves covered her and made her appear like a little mud elf with pointed ears, but she didn't care. She was free of the creepy trees.

Voices drew her over a hill and into a small meadow valley where a boy and a girl played. Jane was a little younger than the two children who looked to be about five and for some reason, Jane got the impression the two weren't siblings. The boy and the girl turned to Jane as she stood on the hill above them near tears. They peered at her for a long time, and Jane was afraid they might run away or even worse, pretend she wasn't even there. The blond boy seemed like some sort of prince from a fairy tale with the purple garb and the gold crown he wore. Jane noticed a medallion around his neck of some sort of beastly creature. The girl with long black hair was beautiful like a princess, she had on a flurry white dress with red roses vining all over it, and she had a blue birthmark under her left eye in the shape of a double lightning bolt. Jane stared back at them as curiously as they peered up at her. She looked down at herself, remembered how dirty she had gotten in the forest, and wondered what she must look like to them. Jane wanted to run to them and grab hold of them as if they had been friends for years, but she was afraid to move because, for some reason, she feared if she did, they would disappear.

The boy and the girl looked at each other, and then they both held out their hand for her to come join them. A tear of extreme joy trickled down her cheek as she ran to them and grabbed their hands. The next part of the dream was a little fuzzy. Jane did get a sense that the boy and the girl accepted her and that they played for a long time together in the meadow. She wished with all her heart she could stay in those joyous and yet unclear moments forever. Jane experienced feelings she lacked in her normal life, and she didn't want to let go, not of the family she always longed for. She wasn't sure what the feelings she experienced were, but she wanted more of them.

Later that day, the dream became clearer as the children found a patch of wildflowers, and they were unlike any plants Jane had seen. The wildflowers pranced under the sun like little river dancers and if one of the children tapped the head of the bloom, a bloom smaller than the host plant fell into their palm. The girls giggled and played with the plants as the boy mostly chase the girls around. After some time, the three of them sat for a while to rest from their play, and the girl gathered some of the tiny blooms from a rainbow of different colored flowers and began twisting the stems together. When she finished, the girl whispered something to the item in her hand, blue sparks shot up from her palm, then she gently took Jane's hand, and put a tiny flower loop on her finger. Jane peered at the friendship ring as the circlet made from nature went from one of green and rainbow to one of hardened silver. The magical silver ring sealed the bond between the two girls deep within Jane's heart, and then she hugged the girl in return. The boy felt left out and came over and stole a kiss from Jane's lips, expressing his own feelings towards her. Jane blushed and her heart fluttered, and then she looked at her new friends and knew the bond they had could never be broken by time or distance. Their love and affection poured into her so much, Jane thought her chest would explode.

Storm clouds moved in and forced the children to seek shelter in an old temple-like structure a short distance from the meadow in a not so scary woods. Torches lit up the all white structure. Statues of different monsters decorated the vast room within, and Jane and the other children walked around looking at each. In the center of the temple, one statue was set apart. The statue was of a man in armor wielding a shield and sword. Awed and mesmerized by the hero, Jane read the inscription below the statue, Monster Slayer.

There was a wall behind the statue of the hero with words on it that Jane didn't recognize. The boy and girl seemed to be able to read it, then the boy and the girl shrunk from the statue of the hero, and Jane wasn't sure why. They moved to a different part of the temple, exploring as they went but there was nothing else to find.

The storm outside increased its furiousness as its winds kicked up, and lightning blazed across the sky. Jane wasn't scared because the other two were with her but the girl was and when one of the bolts struck the ground outside, the girl backed up into one of the smaller monster statues and teetered it. The statue rocked back and forth, and then it fell forward. Jane, the girl, and the boy ran as the statue crashed to the ground, and Jane tripped and fell. She looked back and saw no one else got hurt, so she stood and brushed dirt off of herself. Her knee stung, so Jane glanced down to see she scuffed it up, and it slightly bled. A trickle of red plasma ran down her leg.

The air around the temple seemed to change as if the structure itself gasped. The love and affection she genuinely and profoundly experienced from the other children vanished as Jane lifted her gaze. She saw the boy and the girl's terrified faces. She thought maybe the statue crashing or the storm raging outside was what made them afraid but when she took a step toward them, they both backed up from her as if she was a snarling ravenous beast who wanted to devour them. Jane thought they were playing some sort of trick on her, and she laughed as they pretended to be afraid of her. The girl grabbed the boy's hand and squeezed it as she took another step away from Jane. The boy moved forward as if to defend the girl and at that point, Jane realized their fear was real and it was directed at her. Their love and friendship had been violently and fearfully torn away from her in one confused agonizing heartbeat, and a little part of Jane died in that devastating instant.

Tears rolled from her eyes, spawned from a deeply seeded ache like the pain of abandonment, and they were also spawned from the painful act of betrayal as the bond they shared broke apart. This world was just like the world she had come from. The boy turned and dragged the girl after him as they fled the temple. Jane ran after them as far as the exit, and then she watched heart-sick as they disappeared into the storm. She put a hand to her little chest as the muscle that had been ready to explode with childlike delight, broke and shattered into tiny pieces as the world she had grown accustomed to, invaded the realm of her dreams. Jane went into a corner of the temple and sat down as she bawled. She cried for a long time and as the storm settled outside, she realized what the feelings she experienced before had been, the ones she never wanted to let go, the ones that had been stolen from her. They were a sense of belonging. The kind of belonging where people knew and remembered you and where they would never turn their backs on you.

The dream faded, and Jane woke to her life as an adult. There were heartache and pain within the dream but there was also joy and friendship, and Jane longed to return to that world even with its suffering as long as she was allowed to relive the fun and happy moments with her friends.

As the mind fancy faded from her memory once again, she was left with a sense that something had been taken away from her. Jane laid back in bed and stared up at the ceiling of her small cottage. She knew she had a dream but no matter how hard she tried to remember even just fragments of it, it was no good.

The only consolation Jane had was that she thought that day was the first day she dreamed the dream. It might have been maddening to repeat the mind fancy each night and remember every part of it only to have it taken away again.

Jane gazed at her ceiling, relinquishing her attempt to drag the memories from her mind. She thought about her real life, and it seemed at times optimism was the only thing that belonged to her. She knew she could change her life. Jane just needed to press forward and not give up.
Chapter Two

A Day In The Life Of Jane

Jane hummed to herself as she entered the publishing house she worked for, carrying a box she had purchased from the local bakery. She had her brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, and she wore blue jeans, a gray Superman t-shirt, and sneakers. She would do it today. Jane would have at least one person remember her name, and a sweet bribe would do the trick. She passed several people as she headed for the receptionist area as she greeted each of them by name. They didn't return her greeting, seemingly busy about their own work. Jane reached the receptionist desk, placed the box of goodies on a table to the right of the receptionist desk where a coffee machine was set up, and opened the box. A dozen donuts laid inside. The receptionist was on the phone, so Jane waited till she hung up. There was another woman there, and she was fixing herself a cup of coffee.

"I've brought donuts today, and I got your favorite, Debbie. You better grab the Bavarian Cream before someone else does," Jane told the receptionist, and then she spoke to the woman putting sugar in her coffee, "I even got your favorite, Karen. Cinnamon Twist is also one of my favorites. Eat them while they're still fresh."

With a big smile on her face, Jane looked from one woman to the other, waiting for some sort of reply from them but when none came, she said, "My name's Jane. I work on this floor."

The two women continued to look at her blankly, so Jane reached into the box, grabbed a chocolate donut she had purchased for herself, and headed for her office. She yelled over her shoulder, "Don't forget... Eat them while they're fresh."

After she left, Karen turned to Debbie and questioned her, "Who was that?"

"I'm not sure," Debbie replied as she turned and glanced in Jane's direction as she headed through a hallway. A fog seemed to cover Debbie's memory of the woman who had brought donuts and as time went on, more and more of the phantom-like woman faded from her mind. Debbie added, "She acted like she knew us. I wonder who she could be."

Karen questioned her, "Don't you think you should call security? You just can't have anybody walking around the building."

Debbie reached for the phone, then paused as the fog magically lifted a bit, and Debbie said, "I think that woman works here. I just can't remember her name."

"She must not have worked here very long," Karen said. "I don't remember seeing her before. The odd thing was that she knew both of our names. She should really introduce herself or no one will know who she is."

A man walked up to the desk and asked, "Who are you talking about?"

"What do you mean?" Debbie uttered, looked at the other woman who also didn't have a clue what the man was talking about, and then she honestly answered, "We weren't talking about anyone."

Jane continued on to her office where she worked as an illustrator. She took a bite of her donut and found it hard to swallow as she got a little choked up over her failed attempt to break what seemed like a curse. She put a lot of effort in selecting the donuts and spent weeks figuring out what the people on the floor favored. Jane remembered the look they gave her, the familiar gaze that bore no recognition in it, and she knew to them she was nothing but a stranger. She was lucky this time they didn't call security on her. The loneliness of never connecting with anyone plagued her life, but she wouldn't let it win. Jane would find a way to break the wall that surrounded her that hid her from everyone and once she broke free of it, someone would remember her. Jane felt she should have friends and was determined to make them.

It had been five years since she started the job as an illustrator, and she loved the work she did for the company. She mostly worked on art for children's fairy tales, and her artwork hung all over her office. She currently worked on a version of Beauty And The Beast for one of the company's popular authors. She finished eating her chocolate donut, then walked over to the sink, and washed her hands. Her office was equipped with a small kitchenette. One of the perks of being one of the top illustrators for the company. She had the perfect job and loved what she did, but she couldn't seem to connect with anyone. Jane's affliction, as she sometimes referred to it, tormented her since she was a child. The world around her seemed to disconnect from her or was it that she was disconnected from them? She didn't know but tried not to let it bother her too much. Jane hoped one day her life would change.

She went and sat at her desk and started again on a drawing of a stained-glass window with an old woman in it holding a rose. It was one of the opening illustrations for the book. Jane went about her work day and greeted everyone she came across. She knew everyone's name, but they mostly looked at her as if they had no clue who she was. Jane always wondered if they were just being rude or truly didn't recognize her. Sometimes Jane wondered if she was cursed like one of the characters in the fairy tales.

Jane put the final touches on the drawing of the old woman, then peered at the character's face, and felt something was missing. She twirled a small silver ring around her left pinkie as she thought about it a little more. Jane knew something was missing, but she couldn't put a pin on it. She decided she would come back to the character tomorrow after she had a good night's rest and see if the MIA item would come to her then. Jane leaned back in her chair and stared at the ring of intertwined tiny flowers she fidgeted with, sensing there was something she couldn't remember. It always seemed like there was something she couldn't remember.

Standing and stretching, Jane decided she would take a short break and walk around her office. Hundreds of drawings from dozens of fairy tales filled her walls, but her most precious drawings she kept in a scrapbook, and she went and flipped through it. Two characters dominated the book. One was of a red rose, though Jane couldn't figure out why she insisted what usually was an item or prop in the children's stories was a character. The other character was... well... he... Jane flipped through the pages of his drawings and many of them focused on his feral blue-green eyes and much more of the drawings focused on his lips. She slammed the book shut as she blushed. Jane found if she wasn't careful, she'd be drawn into the make-believe world. She smoothed her hand over the cover. Sometimes she felt these fictitious people were the only friends she had. Jane sighed, then went back over to her desk, and started on a new drawing of a man wielding an ax.

Hours went by as she sketched, and then an alarm went off on her phone. The alarm told her it was time to stop. If she forgot to set the alarm, Jane found she would work through the night, drawn into the world she sketched. Jane hit snooze, put some finishing touches on the drawing, then stood as her alarm went off again. She tidied up her workstation and headed out as she always did and just as she was leaving, Karen and Debbie were also heading out the door.

"Hello," Karen said. "Are you new here?"

"Not really. My name's Jane. I'm one of the illustrators."

"Oh..." Karen replied back.

"Hey, new girl," Debbie began. "We're going out to dinner. Do you want to come along?"

Jane was about to tell her again that she wasn't new at all but when Debbie actually invited her somewhere, she quickly forgot about the correction and replied, "I'm in." She searched her person and found that she had forgotten her wallet that she usually kept in her pocket; it was on her desk back in her office. "I just need to go get my credit card."

She ran off, quickly collected the wallet, placed it in her jean's back pocket, and rushed back to the exit of the building. Karen and Debbie were waiting there along with two other guys and another woman.

"I'm ready to go," Jane told them.

Debbie looked at her as if she had no clue what she was talking about, and then Debbie said, "Ready to go where?"

"To whatever restaurant we're going to. I think this is the first time you've invited me anywhere," Jane told them.

"Who invited you to come?" Debbie asked her as she looked at the other four people.

A few of them shrugged as a few more glanced around as if they had no clue.

"You did," Jane answered her. "You invited me to go out to eat with you. Karen was standing right there." Jane turned to Karen and asked her, "You heard her invite me, right?"

Debbie and Karen were notably getting upset as the conversation progressed.

Karen replied, "I don't know when Debbie was supposed to invite you, but I didn't hear a thing." She turned to Debbie and questioned her, "Maybe you invited her before. Did you invite her earlier in the day and forgot about it?"

"I think I would remember inviting someone," Debbie told her. "I don't even know your name but that doesn't matter. I wouldn't care if you came, but my car is full now with the five of us. Maybe next time you can come."

The five of them started out of the door as Jane watched them leave. She had flashbacks of when she was a child. She clearly remembered children on the playground who would invite her to join in on their game and when she would start playing with them, they would look at her like they had no clue why she was joining in. Even the different foster parents Jane had over the years would sometimes look at her like she had broken into their house, and she was either there to vandalize their stuff or steal their food. Most of the time that unperceiving look went away before it became a serious problem but one time, Jane had to convince one couple to call the child welfare place to prove to them that they were her foster parents instead of the police. Because people were always forgetting her, Jane never made any connections over the years, and it troubled her deeply, but she tried to keep an optimistic outlook on her future. She knew one day she would find someone who would connect with her and remember her and that one day she would find the perfect man who would love her and marry her.

Jane rushed out the door after her co-workers and yelled at them, "I have my bike with me. I can ride it to whatever restaurant you're going to. Did you hear me? I can..."

She watched as the group of five made their way to the parking lot and either they didn't hear her or they pretended not to. Jane gave up, knowing trouble only followed if she persisted, so she headed for her bike and rode home. Jane gave herself a pep talk as she rode along. There was always tomorrow... She could try and connect with someone tomorrow.

The town the publishing house was located in was small and on a mountain. Jane rented when she first moved to the town but after about a year, she made enough from her illustrations to put a down payment on a small cottage in the woods and live there by herself. Many times she thought about getting a dog to help with the loneliness, but her long hours away from her home prevented her from ever going through with it.

Jane stopped by the grocery store before heading home and carried a small bag in her backpack as she pedaled her mountain bike. When she reached home, she parked her bike just inside the door, grabbed the bag from the backpack, entered her kitchen, and made herself some homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese. She ate her supper, watched a little TV, and then headed to bed.

Tomorrow was Saturday, and she would have the day off to... to... She would find something to do with her time off. She put her pajamas on as she heard a rainstorm move in outside. She also noticed that the temperature inside the cottage had dropped a little. Jane was about to get into bed when she heard a knock at her door, so she cautiously went and answered it without opening the door.

"Who is it?"

"You do not know me. I am an old woman," the voice on the other side replied. "I have lost my way, and it is cold and rainy out here. Could I come in and dry myself?"

Jane had heard many stories over the years about strangers showing up and killing everyone in the house and because of those stories, she was reluctant to let the person in. Jane moved to the window beside the door, pulled the curtains to the side, and saw the old woman who was dressed in a long, hooded purple robe with a gray shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Her clothes were soaked, and she was shivering. She hated to turn the old woman away, but she was also afraid to let her in.

"Did your car break down?" Jane asked, and then she said, "I can call a tow truck for you?"

"I was walking. Would you please let me in?"

"I'll call the police for you, and they can come pick you up and take you wherever you need to go."

The old woman said, "I would prefer to come in and dry myself just a little while. I will be no trouble, and I can offer you a rose as payment for your troubles."

Jane heard how cold the woman was and the desperation in her voice, and then the old woman started to cough and it sounded bad. Jane decided she couldn't turn her away so against her better judgment, she opened the door and let her in. The woman came in and seemed to float across the floor, and Jane also noticed she wore a half mask that covered the left side of her face. The white mask looked like it was made of porcelain. Jane tried not to stare as she showed her to the kitchen table, then she got the old woman several towels to dry off with, and she even plugged in a hair dryer to help dry her clothes and long gray hair. The woman gratefully gave her a long stem red rose that had yet to open, and Jane filled a glass vase with water and placed the bud in it. Jane warmed up the tomato soup and toasted a couple of pieces of bread for the old woman. The old woman gobbled the hot meal down gracefully, and then Jane decided she couldn't send her off into the rainstorm to get soaked again, so she offered her the living room couch, and the old woman gladly accepted.

The two of them sat at the table, and Jane noticed over the course of the night the old woman peered at her unlike anyone had peered at her before. The old woman looked at her as if she recognized her and this made Jane feel accepted and not so isolated from the world.

The evening progressed, and it came time to go to bed, so she tucked the old woman in on the couch, then Jane went to bed and for the first time, slept through the night without dreaming the dream. The next morning, she awoke to find that the old woman had left and there was a note on the table written on some old parchment, and Jane read it.

You do have a kind heart, but your kindness only makes your world that much sadder. Take care to keep the light in your heart for it is the only thing that will save you. It is the only thing that will save us all.

Jane thought it was a little odd as a thank you note but didn't linger on it too long. She found the rose sitting on the counter in its vase, and the bud had still to open.

The cottage was quiet in a lonely way, so Jane decided that she would go for a bike ride. She ate breakfast, put on brown cargo shorts and a red Flash t-shirt of the comic book hero, then prepared a small picnic for herself, placed the lunch in her backpack, and grabbed her bike. Jane opened the door and noticed that it was very foggy outside and that she couldn't see more than an arm span in front of her. She rolled her bike out across her gravel driveway and decided just to wait there a few minutes to see if the fog would start to break, but it didn't, so she turned around and headed back for her cottage. Jane would have to wait until the sun rose higher in the sky and burned away the fog. She rolled her bike in the cottage's direction for a long time, and then she stepped off the gravel road a few feet and decided to pause as she never came to the structure or the wooden fence that surrounded her cottage. Now that Jane thought about it, she didn't remember ever passing her fence as she left the cottage. Jane decided that she shouldn't keep going and get herself lost or fall off the mountain, so she waited a while for the fog to let up. It seemed like a whole hour went by as she waited. Jane removed a sandwich from her picnic and took a couple bites of it, and then the fog finally started to lift. She no longer stood near the gravel road, actually, it and the cottage were nowhere in sight, and trees she didn't recognize surrounded her. Jane wondered where in the world she could be.

She wrapped up the partially eaten sandwich, put it back in her pack, and then thought about what she should do next. Jane removed her cell phone, but she had no signal. She was on her own, nothing new. Jane couldn't believe how lost she had gotten in so little time, and she decided she couldn't stay there, so she would climb higher up the mountain that way she could figure out where the town was and then go from there. Jane turned her bike and pushed it up the mountain.
Chapter Three

Once Upon A time

A large oak door with ancient script inscribed within it led out to a large elongated cliff that overlooked most of the mountain and the valley below. Near the edge of the cliff, a pedestal the size of a large boulder and made of jagged green crystals held the coveted prize. An eagle's claw made of black steel rose from the crystals' center with its claw reaching for the sky and in its talons, it held a blue gem the size of a grapefruit. For centuries, the coveted prize known as the Tear of Poer had led adventurers, thieves, power mongers, and the like into its dungeons below to seek fame, riches, and/or power. The gem had led thousands to their deaths as they fell prey to traps and monsters. Few survived the first five levels of the dungeon and even fewer had made it past level seven, but three brave souls urged on by greed, power, and heart made it to the thirteenth floor and final level.

A commotion could be heard on the other side of the large oak door. It was the sounds of battle, one of steel, claws, teeth, and muscle but also one of conjuration and magic. The commotion grew louder as the three brave souls fought the most powerful and final monster. A loud explosion shook the large thick door and then all fell to silence. A bolt could be heard unlocking from within, then the door creaked open, and the three brave souls stepped out to claim their prize. The dungeon had taken its toll on them, marking them with scars from monsters and steel, and they were physically and mentally tired. They heaved for their exertion but pressed on to claim the coveted prize.

A female crimson battlemage from the desert elf tribe was clothed in a hooded red cape, and she held a sword in her right hand and wielded a magic sphere the size of a baseball in her left; the magic sphere still zapped and discharged from her last attack in currents of red lightning that swirled around its crystal mass. She took up the middle position of the three brave souls as they moved as one beast towards the Tear of Poer. A woodlands elf wizard with a black beard and a hooded robe to match stood to her left and carried a staff with an ax blade attached. The top of his thick black hair smoldered after receiving a parting gift from the last monster. A werewolf in his semi-form (half man and half wolf) stomped across the cliff on his two hind legs as his claws and teeth dripped with blood. The werewolf stood to the woman's right, and he reverted to his giant wolf form which was the easiest of the three forms to possess.

They stopped before the mound of green crystals and peered at the Tear of Poer. The three of them hated each other but over the countless years they were unable to go the dungeon alone, so they made a pact. They banded together to clear the dungeon and when they cleared the final monster, they would fight each other for the prize till there was only one victor. Without a word, they separated from each other and prepared to defeat the other two.

The female crimson battlemage known as Red Northlands Fury charged her magical sphere, and red lighting crackled around it, then moved through her body, and also charged her sword. The woodland elf wizard known as Woodsman Of The Sacred Oak lifted his staff, and the ax blade glowed purple. The werewolf, Lykos Of Steel Teeth, faced them as his eyes glowed yellow, and then he bared his large teeth and growled at the two. Each one waited for the other to attack first.

Below the cliff, Jane walked from the forest and found the entrance to the dungeon. She peered into its dark opening and decided she wouldn't dare enter. Jane thought that she did need to find a high place to see where she was. The fog completely lifted, and she had walked for about two hours now. She was about to continue on when she heard a loud howl and explosive sounds like lightning. A different type of detonating thunders followed, and the ground beneath her trembled. Angry shouts came from above, so Jane lifted her head, drawn to the sounds of the fight. She couldn't see on top of the cliff, but she did glimpse an object glinting in the sunlight right before it hit her in the eye. She cried out in shock and covered her right eye with her hand as a great pain shot throughout her body. The sting was so bad, Jane thought she lost her eye. She searched the area around her eye with her fingers and discovered no blood, so her panic lessened. Jane didn't know how long she reeled in pain but as suddenly as the object had hit her, the pain completely disappeared.

When the assault first occurred, she let go of her bike, and it fell to the ground. Jane bent down, grabbed its handlebars, and straightened the bike back on its wheels. She thought it best to leave the area before anything else fell on her, and she still needed to find something she could examine her eye in. She thought about her cell phone and that it had a mirror app, so she started to pull it out of her pocket when she felt as if she wasn't alone. Jane turned around and saw a man, a woman, and a huge dog quickly coming towards her. They all looked like they had been in a fight that none of them were winning, and their clothing caused her to take a double-take.

"There is a female here," Red said when they were still some distance away from her.

"The female appears to be a lowland elf," Woodsman stated, and then he pointed out, "Look how rounded her ears are. Though I do not recognize her garb."

Red told him, "Get her attention before she leaves. We need to speak with her."

"You, there. Female–" Woodsman called out. "–We are looking for the Tear of–"

"Do not tell her that," Red snapped at him. "She does not need to know what we are looking for."

"How are we to ask her if she has seen it if we do not tell her what we are looking for?" Woodsman questioned.

"Like this," Red replied, and then she said, "You, there. Female, have you seen a shiny rock that may or may not have fallen off the cliff?"

Lykos sniffed the air while the other two of them talked, then moved, and circled Jane. He smelled something familiar about her. Actually, he smelled two things that were very familiar to him. He started to warn the others when the woman reached down and petted his head.

"You're such a huge dog," Jane told him, and then she said to the others, "I don't know what it was, but something did hit me in the head. Oh... I didn't introduce myself. I'm Jane, and I seem to be lost."

"I am Woodsman Of The Sacred Oak," the woodlands elf wizard said as he puffed out his chest. He motioned to the female crimson battlemage and stated, "The ill-tempered creature beside me is called Red Northlands Fury, and that fleabag wolf over there is Lykos Of Steel Teeth.

Jane looked over their costumes and questioned them, "Are all of you going to a fantasy convention or something?"

"Convention..?" Red repeated. "The crimson battlemage convention is not until the end of the year. I am surprised you have heard of it."

"I actually haven't," Jane replied. "Oh... Since you're here, can you look into my eye? I got something in it earlier."

Red paid no attention to her, waved away the female's inquiry, and said, "You seem fine."

"Thanks," Jane told her. "Maybe you can help me with something else. I can't get a signal out here," she said, and then she questioned them, "Do any of you have cell phone reception? I can't call out or text."

Woodsman leaned to the female crimson battlemage and whispered, "She must be talking about the Great Warlock CellFone Ception. Maybe she is an apprentice of his. Look at the bolt she boasts on her garb. She may be a very powerful magic user, apprentice of the Great Warlock CellFone Ception or not."

"If this is so, we should talk no more of the Tear of Poer in front of her," Red whispered back to him, and then she told her, "We are unable to assist you, and we should be on our way."

"Wait!" Jane uttered. "At least direct me towards the nearest town."

"AaBack is on the other side of the mountain," Woodsman told her. "There is a path over there," he said as he motioned with his staff. "Just follow it down."

Woodsman and Red started in the opposite direction, searching the ground around the dungeon, looking for the large gem that eluded them.

"Thanks," Jane said, and then she pushed her bike towards the path. She walked about ten feet when she heard the most marvelous and amazing thing.

"Jane," someone called after her.

Her heart thundered in her chest. Someone remembered her name. She couldn't recall a time when someone remembered her name beyond a few seconds. Had the miracle she always prayed for finally happen?

She turned, overcome by joy and exclaimed, "Yes?"

The woman and the man searched the ground a great distance from her, and they had their backs to her, so they couldn't have been the ones to speak unless they were playing some sort of joke. Jane wondered if she imagined that someone call to her. She may be a bit dehydrated and tired from pushing her bike up a rugged mountain. She shrugged, then turned, and headed for the path again.

"Jane, wait. There is something I need to tell you."

She turned again, completely sure she heard her name. The large dog moved toward her and spoke again and this time, she saw his lips move.

"Jane, heed my words. I don't know how you happened into this world. Maybe you came here as I did. It does not matter. You must listen to me very carefully. You're in danger here. It would be better if you didn't go down to the village, at least not the village of AaBack. The others don't know what you truly are, but I can smell you. I know what you are, and you must not let anyone else know."

She peered at the large dog and the only thing she could think of to say after his warning was, "You spoke. You actually talked. Is this some sort of trick?"

"It's no trick," Lykos told her, and then he whispered, "I was once what you are, luckily a werewolf bit me and changed me or they would have killed me. I could bite you and change you too but only on a night when the moon's full. We're weeks away from that. It would be better if you went into hiding until then. You could go into the dungeon and hide. We have cleared it of the monsters, but you would still need to be wary of the traps."

"I see your lips moving like on a movie or video, but how are they doing it out here?" she questioned. "Are you some sort of 3D projection? No, you can't be. I touched you. How are you talking?"

"Jane, you must listen. Your life depends on it. Don't go down to–"

"What is going on here, female?" Red interrupted as she and the woodlands elf wizard walked over to them. "I thought you were going to go down to AaBack and look for your master, Great Warlock CellFone Ception."

"I think you misunderstood me," Jane stated, and then she changed the subject by asking, "Did you find the item you were looking for?"

"No, we did not," Woodsman replied. "We believe someone may have run off with it. Did you see anyone else down here?"

Jane replied, "I didn't."

Lykos sniffed the air again, and he realized the other thing he had caught scent of earlier was the Tear of Poer. He remembered the woman said that she had gotten something in her eye, so he took a step forward and peered into her brown orbs. At first, he saw nothing but as he gazed closer with his enhanced werewolf vision, he saw the Tear of Poer embedded deep within her pupil. He wanted the gem as badly as the other two and as he glanced in their direction, he realized the woman was in greater jeopardy in her current situation.

Lykos scanned the area, and then he asked, "Are those troll tracks?"

"Where?" Red uttered. "I see them now. They are. I am going to follow them."

She took off into the forest as Woodsman shouted, "I am coming with."

Lykos waited a few moments, and then he told Jane, "If you are to make AaBack before dark, maybe you should be on your way."

"Oh... You're right."

"I'll walk with you a bit," he said. "Just until you can see the village."

"Thank you."

The two of them headed for the path and followed it down.

Jane waited a few minutes, then turned to Lykos, and questioned him, "Do you know who I am?"

"I know what you are," he answered. "I tried to explained to you earlier that you're in mortal danger."

"No, I don't mean that. I'm not sure what you were talking about earlier, but I want to know if you know my name."

"I do. It's Jane. Why do you ask?"

"I can't remember a time when someone did remember me. It's like I've been cursed, but I would have to say that all of this is weird. I'm talking to a large dog... or I guess you said you were a werewolf. Talking to you in itself is very unusual. I think I'm dreaming. I'm having a weird and yet a great dream."

Lykos considered what she had told him, and then he said, "You were cursed before you came here. Our arrival here is very rare and among the stories I've come across, I've never heard of one who's been cursed before coming here. I need to look into this anomaly a little more before we go through with making you as I am now. There is time. The full moon happens once a month, and it will appear again in about three weeks."

"Umm... You keep talking about making me a werewolf, but you never asked me if I wanted to become one. What am I saying? This is all a dream and if I'm dreaming, does it mean I secretly want to be turned into a werewolf? I don't think so. I think I would want to be turned into a unicorn before that," she said, giggled, and then added, "Isn't that childish?" She thought about it some more, laughed again, then returned to the subject by repeating, "I don't want to become a werewolf."

"You'll change your mind when you understand everything," Lykos told her, peered ahead, then turned back to her, and said, "I must leave you now. You can see AaBack in the distance. Go to the bakery and speak with the Muffin Man. Make him give you a job. His shop is located on..."

"Let me guess," she interrupted. "Drury Lane.

"Yes, how did you know?"

"It's my dream," Jane told him. "And my world was full of fairy tales before I came here."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm an illustrator, so I have to do extensive research before I start a drawing."

"I didn't mean that," Lykos said. "Why did you mention fairy tales?"

She answered, "I guessed your story after I heard each of your names, and so I know the characters each of you really are."

"Who are we?"

Jane replied, "Everything's different, way different, but I'm sure. The woman's Little Red Riding Hood. The man and you were easy. He's the woodsman, and you're the wolf."

"You can see. I've never met anyone who picks up on curses."

"You mean there's more to it?" Jane questioned.

"There is. Try to figure it out," Lykos told her. "I have a feeling you may be more than you appear."

"It's my dream," she said. "I'm supposed to be the hero."

"A hero, huh? Maybe you will be," Lykos stated, and then he said, "The Muffin Man will work you hard, but he's fair. Remember don't leave his shop until he gives you a job."

"Okay. Anything else I should know?" Jane questioned.

"You aren't dreaming. I thought the same thing when I came here. The sooner you believe that the sooner you can come to terms with your new reality. Remember it isn't safe here in the World of Grimm. I would tell you more but as you will find out, curses place certain limitations on the bearer." He caught another glimpse of the Tear of Poer in her right eye and knew her destiny had been written much different than his.

"Before you go, do me one favor," she said.

"What's that?"

"Say my name once more. Say my name every time we meet."

"I will, Jane. I will," Lykos spoke, then turned, going after the other two he sent on a wild troll hunt.

She watched him leave and wondered about everything he told her. Jane didn't feel like she was in a dream, but this world couldn't be real; it was all too crazy.

She started down the path again, heading for the village. Jane thought about dream versus reality. It was crazy enough if it was a dream but reality... Guess she would find out once she arrived at AaBack.
Chapter Four

The Muffin Man

A sign lost to time and equally lost to a few weeds announced to Jane that she had reached her destination with the faded word AaBack on one posted sign and on the posted sign below it was written Village of the Yeahmun Slayer. Jane noticed that the name AaBack had large spaces between the upper case A, the lower case a, and the word Back like a child had written them, not knowing how to space properly. She also considered that maybe there had been other letters or words there at some time. She rubbed her hand over the area and felt there had been something there before, but she just shrugged it off and continued on.

She wondered what a yeahmun was, then mounted her bike now that there was level ground she could ride on, and she pedaled to the village. Jane quickly found Drury Lane and the bakery, parked her bike, and then entered the shop that delightfully smelled of fresh bread and pastries.

"Hello," she called out. "Muffin Man?"

"What do you want?" a deep voice asked from behind her.

She turned, looked down, and found a red bearded dwarf with blue-gray eyes wearing a white apron with Tasty Dwarf Bakery written on it and a chef's hat. Jane realized her dream was only going to get weirder, so she might as well get used to it. She remembered her first mission and told him, "I've come for a job."

"If that is what you seek, you have come to the wrong place," the dwarf told her as he passed her. "I have all the employees I can stand."

"Really, I was told I should get a job here and to take no for an answer. I mean not to take no for an answer."

He stroked his red braided beard as he gave her a once over, and then he said, "My latest delivery guy never showed. Can you travel great distances in a short period of time?"

"I can."

Muffin Man peered at her again, and then he said, "I'll hire you on a trial basis."

"You have a deal. Will I be delivering your wares?"

"You will," Muffin Man told her.

"You mentioned he was your latest delivery guy. Do you have a problem finding loyal workers?"

"No, they are usually the ones who have a problem. They have a problem keeping their lives. The last two were eaten, and the one before them disappeared on his way to a delivery. He was one to mess with female magic users, so Bob probably got turned into something."

"Oh," Jane exclaimed as she made a face, and then she asked, "Is anyone else hiring in town?"

"Yeah, the witch in the forest is looking for someone to help lure children into her gingerbread house."

She quickly put her hand out and said, "Good to work for you, boss."

"Boss, huh?" the dwarf remarked as he scratched his pudgy nose. "I like the sound of that."

She dropped her hand after he didn't shake it, and she asked, "What kind of pay do I get?"

"A couple of muffins from the bakery and one half penny coin a day plus tips."

"A half penny. Will that get me a room?"

He laughed before he answered, "Maybe five hundred of them if you don't mind living down in a smelly sewer with even more smellier giant rats."

"That does put a pickle in things," Jane spoke. "All I have is a credit card, and I'll need a place to stay with a warm bed and a bath."

"You can stay in the loft of the old barn out back," he told her as he threw his thumb over his shoulder. "As for a bath, there's a bathing house next door. Cost you two pennies."

"A bath every four days?" Jane muttered to herself. "I hope tips are good or that this dream ends before I start to stink."

Muffin Man said, "Well, let's get you started."

"Right now? I was hoping to begin tomorrow. Isn't it a bit late for deliveries?"

"No, you still have a few hours before it starts to get dark. Do you think because you work for a bakery all your hours will be in the wee morning?" he questioned her and then went to the back of his shop.

"I thought it was much later than that, but I guess with dreams..."

He returned with a brown paper bag and a clipboard, and then he told her, "There's a castle on the hill above this village. Make the delivery and get the owner's signature. This is very important. Get his signature. Without it, I can't bill him, and you need to be back before dark if you want this job."

"Got it," she said as she took the paper bag which contained a wooden box. Jane placed them in her backpack, grabbed the clipboard and quill, and then she asked, "The address."

"You don't need one. It's the only thing up Hill Road except for maybe a dragon or a troll."

She noticed the writing utensil and inquired, "Don't I need ink for this quill?"

"It's enchanted with infinite ink, so don't lose it and to answer your next question, yes. The cost would come out of your paycheck, and it would take you ten thousand years, working seven days a week to repay me if you do lose it, so don't." He looked over her unusual garb and questioned her, "You do have a weapon, right?"

"Ah... nooo... Do you think I'll need one?"

He exhaled loudly as he shook his head and mumbled, "The younger generation. Never prepared." He went in the back room, then returned, held out the weapon, and said, "Here."

She took the wooden club with a leather strap at its end and examined the teeth and claw marks all over the wood.

"The last two delivery boys carried that," Muffin Man told her as he folded his small arms and nodded as if approving of the choice. "Should make you a fine weapon."

Jane laughed at how her dream was turning out, and then she remarked, "Great weapon... It worked wonders for my predecessors."

"Better hurry," he told her, and then he warned her, "Don't want to be on Hill Road after dark."

"Maybe you should show me where I'll be living before I go," she suggested.

"No, I'll wait. I don't want to go through the hassle if you're only going to end up dead."

"Great pep talk, boss," Jane replied with a smile, attached the club to her backpack with its leather strap, then ran outside, and glanced at the sun that was well on its way to end its day trek.

She mounted the bike and within minutes, started pedaling up Hill Road. The road went through a dark forest teaming with life, but it didn't bother her with the assurance all of it was a dream. Jane passed an old woman who looked just like the one who had come to her cottage, but she wasn't wearing a half mask. Jane braked and glanced back, but whoever she had seen had disappeared. She wondered if her eyes played tricks on her, and then she pedaled off. Once Jane was out of sight, the old woman emerged again on the road and looked in the direction Jane had pedaled off into.

The old woman mumbled to herself, "And so it begins..."

Large iron gates opened out as Jane rode up beside them on the road, and she braked again as she got a sense she wasn't alone. Jane peered through the opening and noticed a path but saw no one there. She thought she was just imagining things just as she imagined she saw the old woman on the road. Jane guessed this was the place she needed to make the delivery to, rode through the gates across a stone path, passed a large walled section of the estate she couldn't see into with the sign Hedge Labyrinth, and stopped at the entrance of a castle. Jane dismounted, put her kickstand down, readied the clipboard, walked up to the large wooden doors, grabbed the eagle head knocker, and struck three times. The booms rang throughout the castle and then as she waited for someone to answer the door, she glanced down at the clipboard to see who the delivery was for. Her heart skipped a beat as a torrent of emotions rushed through her when she read the name, the Beast. Whenever she worked on an illustration for one of the versions of the fairy tale, she always got choked up. The tale told of Beauty who won over the heart of a cursed prince and in the end, he won over her heart. No wonder her dream brought her there. Of all the places, this was where her heart belonged.

Earlier that day...

The Beast walked by the only mirror in his castle and reluctantly gazed at his appearance. The grotesqueness of it made him reel from the reflection and quickly head to a different part of the castle. He had to lay his eyes on something else to rid his mind of the horrible image burning within it. The Beast entered a large room void of furniture where paintings of different females hung all about. Each of the portraits was of a beauty and had been painted when they at some point over the years had been a guest of his castle. He gazed at them, partaking of their loveliness till the ugly image of himself was swept from his mind. The Beast walked around the many portraits, basking in their exquisite appeal. Each of them had been worthy to be his Belle and even though they were afraid of him when they saw his face, once he hid his appearance from them, his charm gradually won them over. He remembered the last night he spent with each as the offering of their kiss was placed on his desperate lips. Hope had caused his heart to pound rapidly in his chest as he embraced them, but the reality that he had once again been foiled by an unattainable solution brought with it a devastating disappointment and then an unreasonable disgust. He couldn't bear to look upon them in the flesh again. With his enchantment sadly unbroken, a heavy heart quickly dissolved the charming spell he had over them, and they left his presence forever. The Beast couldn't understand what went wrong. Each of these females could have easily been his Beauty, and they were all eventually willing, so why couldn't any of these exquisite females break his curse?

His stroll turned into a pace as he sought the brush strokes of oil and color, searching for a reason behind the numerous failures. Belle after Belle looked back at him with their lovely faces and portrait sitting smiles. For the first time, he noticed something about each. They were missing something, something he should have noticed before. He scrutinized the canvasses, looking for that trait he missed countless times before on his endless quest to find release from his accursed form. A madness set in as his pace turned into running, and he dashed about the Gallery frantic to find the one thing that might free him. He paused at one of the female paintings as the answer finally struck him. It was their lips. He walked from painting to painting as the answer calmed him back to his normal self. It wasn't that their lips were somehow flawed or there was some sort of imperfection in them; it was just... they were all missing an allure. A strong pull that had drawn him in a lifetime ago and caused him to steal something precious. Each of these would-be Belles was missing it. If only he had discovered this sooner, he wouldn't have wasted his time with the counterfeit Belles and focused on finding his real Beauty.

The Beast paused in the center of the Gallery and gazed upon all of them which was a mixture of princesses, countesses, and other royal maidens. It saddened him that each one had come so close to being his Beauty, but a small thing like fleshy brims corrupted the exact elements needed. He was determined not to give up. She had to be out there.

He headed out of the Gallery and pondered his earlier trip to the mirror. It had been ages since he gazed into it, but a force compelled him to peer into it again as that same force compelled him to visit the Gallery. Some sort of magic was at work here, one that gave him a sense that hope had arrived that day. It was hard for him to understand just what kind of sensation possessed him. The best that he could describe it as was that someone precious in his life had been taken away from him a long time ago, and they had mysteriously returned. The Beast knew of no such person, so he let those joyous sediments trickle from his mind as he headed out back. He needed to attend to his daily practice.

Back at the front of the castle...

When no one answered her first attempt, Jane raised her hand to grab the knocker again when a loud commotion from another part of the estate whisked her from her thoughts, and she moved around the castle to find the source. She walked across a grassy lawn and nearly stepped on a small flower. Jane pulled her foot back and then knelt to look at the tiny yellow rose that was no bigger than her pinkie. She thought how cute the flower was, and she was tempted to pick it, but then Jane remembered the trouble it caused in the fairy tale. Jane straightened and walked a little further, then started to hear frantic clanging, went around a corner, and found an open air circular structure supported by columns. The structure surrounded a grassy area where a man stood with his back to her, and he wielded a rapier, fighting another rapier. She saw no one else there, so either the man fought a magical sword or an invisible enemy. The duel continued and then Jane realized the fight was only a practice one for the man with the rapier would pause, retake his stance, and start again with his cuts and lunges.

Jane moved to one of the columns drawn forward by an urge to get a glimpse of the man. He had to be him; he had to be the one character that always won her affection no matter what version of his story was told. Jane continued moving till she saw his face and as she thought, he was the Beast, a magnificent gorgeous Beast. He had blond shoulder-length hair like a lion's mane, blonde fur with patches of brown, cupped lion-like ears, and a lion-like nose. He wore no shirt as he fenced, and a medallion of a beastly creature hung around his neck. The round gold medallion glinted in the sunlight, and she froze as her heart fluttered and a sense of nostalgia hit her. Jane put a hand to the left side of her chest as the muscle pleaded with her to remember something, but her mind refused to give up its locked away secrets.

She wanted to move closer but resisted his allure. She saw how noble and princely his appearance was and how graceful he moved. Jane remembered in his story, Beauty was afraid at first of his cursed appearance, maybe even appalled. She, though, Jane couldn't get past how gorgeous he was. She loved the way his mane glimmered in the sun and his ears... She wanted to touch them and rub them like a cat's. Was that wrong of her? Was it wrong of her to think of him like some pet? She decided she wasn't thinking of him in that way. Jane blushed. Far from it. She thought to herself, look at his mouth... Those lips... She rubbed her finger over her own lips. If a kiss was all it took... She hugged the nearby column as she spoke, "I'd break his curse any day."

Jane put a hand to her mouth. Had she really said that out loud? She looked around, hoping she hadn't said it too loud. Another thought crossed her mind. She just put herself in the role of Beauty. Jane laughed at the notion but then she thought since it was her dream, anything was possible.

"He shall be angry," she heard a male voice speak in a whisper.

Jane looked in the direction she had just come from and saw no one. Many stories of the Beast included invisible servants, so she thought nothing of it.

"Why will he be angry?" she questioned.

"Because you have seen him," the invisible servant replied. "I am amazed you are not screaming or running away in terror. Could it be that you have poor vision?"

"I can see fine," she told him. "And he's the most handsome man I've ever seen, but I can understand not wanting to be spied on. I'll go back to the front of the castle and use the door knocker again. I have a delivery for the Beast."

The servant said no more to her, so Jane wasn't sure if the servant had left or not, so she headed back to the front of the castle without another word, hoping if she did head right for the servant, he would at least get out of her way. When she reached the corner that would take her away from her magnificent view of the Beast, she turned and looked at him once more. He finished his sparring and headed into one of the buildings with what sounded like a few men who must be other invisible servants.

When she was nearly back to the front of the castle, Jane saw two people standing just outside the front doors. From her distance, she thought they were a woman and a child but as she walked closer, Jane realized the shorter one was a goblin wearing black armor. The woman with him was tall and very thin with red hair, and she wore a tight fitting green dress. The woman lifted her hand which held an emerald cube the size of a Rubik's Cube, then spoke some words of enchantment, a wave of magic shot out from the cube, and it covered the castle and all of the estate. The wave of emerald magic washed over Jane and rustled her hair a bit, and then Jane heard several thuds as if a few of the servants, who had been following her, had collapsed to the ground. She didn't feel any different and wondered if it was magic, why didn't it affect her? The goblin rammed into the front door and forced it open, and then he and the woman went in. Jane rushed to the front door to find it had been shut again and that it was locked or blocked by something, and she couldn't get in. It would appear the Beast had some unwelcome guests.
Chapter Five

And So It Begins

Frantic to help the character who filled her scrapbook, Jane found a side door that wasn't locked, and the door creaked open as she entered a kitchen area. What was left of a fire burned in a hearth where a pot of soup hung cooking. Bowls, utensils, and half rolled out dough laid on top of a table. She heard angry voices in the distance, moved toward them, bumped the table, and knocked a spoon to the floor. Jane froze, wondering if anyone else heard the clang, but the angry voices never skipped their tempo, so she followed them until she came upon an open door.

"Did you tie him up good and tight?" a female voice questioned.

"Yes, Mistress Ceress. He won't break those bonds," a male voice replied.

Jane crept forward till she could peek around the door and there she saw the female and the goblin. They had the Beast tied up in a chair at the head of a long table. The chair had been pulled out a great distance from the table. Jane glanced around the dining room but didn't see anyone else there. The table was fully set as if more than a dozen guests were expected for a party.

"Tell us!" Ceress shrieked. "Tell us where you've hidden it."

The Beast growled back at her, "I will not tell you!"

The goblin removed a short sword, and then he yelled, "Tell us or I'll gut you!"

The Beast snarled, "I will not tell you where the rose is!"

"Cut off a claw," Ceress commanded her minion. "Maybe a little pain will change his mind."

Jane knew she had to do something. This was her dream, so she stepped back from the door, unslung her backpack, removed the club, and stood there wondering exactly what she would do with the weapon. She guessed she would figure that out as she went, so she tiptoed to the door. Jane mustered her courage and then rushed in with the club held high and yelled with all her might. The screaming female startled the enchantress and the goblin, and they shuffled back from the Beast, then they glanced at each other bewildered by the strange female, and they readied for combat. Jane swung, hitting the goblin on the head, and he hissed at her and swiped his sword. Jane jumped back, evading the blade.

The goblin complained to the enchantress, "I thought you said your magic would take care of all the servants."

"I did," Ceress replied. "I also told you all the servants are invisible. This female is no servant. No matter who she is, I'll get rid of her."

The enchantress lifted her hands as she chanted an incantation. The goblin removed a bow he had strung around his chest, then he pulled a special arrow from the quiver on his back which looked like to Jane had a small pencil on its end as an arrowhead, and he knocked the arrow.

The Beast peered at the female who had her back to him and that same sensation that drew him to the mirror and later the Gallery came over him again. He tried to see her face, but it eluded him and then for some reason, he felt that he should save her, so he pressed against his bonds. A franticness overcame him with dread as a sensation that she could be the one leapt into his mind. He roared his frustrations as his arm muscles bulged and the bonds tensed at his attempt at freedom. He yelled, "Get out of here! This is none of your affair!"

For the first time, Jane turned and stared into the Beast's gaze. His eyes... They were exactly like the ones in her drawings. They were a feral blue-green and full of anger. His anger... She wondered if it was concern for her or was it something else that brought out his rage. Jane nearly dove head over heels into his gaze if the goblin hadn't of screamed at her. She turned her attention back to the intruders.

The Beast's heart skipped a beat as the female turned to him. He focused on her lips, and they enthralled him as his thoughts grasped at a memory he'd long forgotten. A sense that he should know her struck him, and he knew without a doubt she was the one. His Belle was standing right in front of him. The Beast lifted his eyes to gaze into her face, but she turned from him. He continued his struggle to free himself from his bonds and once he was free, he would save his Beauty from the two intruders.

Jane lifted the club to attack again just as the goblin pulled back his string and Ceress cast her spell. The emerald magic hit her club and turned the weapon into a viper. The angry reptile snapped at Jane's face, and she threw the poisonous snake at the goblin, and the viper bit his warty nose.

The goblin let up on the string and didn't shoot the arrow as he squealed in pain. He dropped the bow and arrow, lifted his arms, and ran about the room with the snake still attached as he yelled, "I'm melting! I'm melting!"

"You aren't melting!" Ceress shouted at him as she readied another spell.

The goblin stopped and said in relief, "I'm not?"

"No," Ceress answered him. "The burning sensation you're feeling is the poison surging through your body. The viper is known as the Eight Step." She grinned before she added, "I believe you have taken seven."

The goblin's eyes bugged out like pitted olives, his face paled, and he fell dead.

Ceress stared at him a few seconds, and then she said, "Maybe it was called the Seven Step." She shrugged, turned to Jane, and said, "I planned on double-crossing him anyway after we got the rose. You saved me the hassle." Ceress looked her over and then questioned her, "You seem like a worthy adversary. What is your name?"

"I'm Jane."

"I am the Enchantress Ceress," she replied and then glanced out the window at the setting sun. "It looks like I did not get the information I needed before the change."

"Before what change? Are you a werewolf?" Jane questioned her.

"You do not need to worry about that," Ceress told her as she glanced at the emerald cube she held.

"I do if you're going to turn into something that's going to bite my head off."

"I am no werewolf, but do not let your mind be placed at ease. I still intend harm to you." Ceress gave the female a once over, and then she said, "I do have a feeling you are more than you appear if my magic has no effect on you." She bent, picked up the goblin's bow and arrow, knocked it, drew back the string, and aimed at her as she said, "If I am right, this should kill you. I would have liked to have chatted with you some more, but I have a rose I need to pluck."

Jane grabbed a plate from the table to hurl at the lady, but Ceress released the arrow before she threw it. The arrow struck Jane, piercing flesh and bursting her grasp on the reality she believed surrounded her. The wound caused her to drop the plate, and the white china shattered into pieces when it hit the floor as Jane's perception of her dream fragmented into distorted pieces like a funhouse mirror. She looked down at the arrow embedded deep into her flesh. Pain rushed through her body. More pain than she thought possible from a mere pencil. Blood flowed and as the crimson liquid dripped to the floor, Jane came to a horrible conclusion. She wasn't dreaming. The world she stumbled into was as true and real as the one she came from. Jane collapsed to her knees as she looked at the enchantress who laughed at her, gloating over her victory. Jane turned and glanced at the Beast. She saw pity in his eyes, the kind of pity one would give to a dog who had been killed by a car, and his pity frightened her. She was going to die. She was going to die, and no one would care.

Moments earlier...

The sunset, taking with it the day, and then the Beast beheld the most beautiful thing. He saw what was not always visible, and it laid not that far from those lips that beguiled him with their captivating seduction. He and not the other saw the symbol of what could only be their redemption. The thing he beheld broke the curse of despair and placed hope back in his heart. The female who was trying to save him from the enchantress was also the one who could save him from his affliction. The Beast's enthusiasm didn't last long. He witnessed the arrow hit his Belle, and then the freedom that was within his grasp faded with each labored breath his would-be savior took. He had to do something. He had to free himself. He had to save this female named Jane.

The End

AaBack's Grimm: A Dark Fantasy Fairy Tale

#2

Friends Reunited:

The Janus Beast, The Rose Beauty, And The Cursed Duckling

Kristie Lynn Higgins

Text Copyright © 2015, 2018 by Kristie Lynn Higgins

Cover Art Copyright © 2018

Ebook Edition

Riding A Flying Carpet painting created by Viktor Vasnetsov

Cover of a German fairy tales book created by Carl Offterdinger

Two pink Prince-de-Bulgarie roses painting created by Frans Mortelmans

The Threatened Swan painting created by Jan Asselijn

White-Bear King Valemon created by Theodor Kittelsen

Wounded Lion painting created by Raden Saleh

The Wounded Eagle painting created by Rosa Bonheur

Illustration from The Water-Babies, illustration created by Warwick Goble

www.KristieLynnHiggins.com

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.
Start One Of These Series

by Kristie Lynn Higgins

www.KristieLynnHiggins.com

Chapter One

Reality Is Not A So Happy Ending

ONCE UPON A TIME, there lived a woman named Jane who existed in the real world and who felt set apart from those around her as if a curse loomed over her. One day, she had a dream where she was swept away to a fairy tale world of werewolves and dwarves. Jane's goal was simple, deliver some bakery goods, get a signature, and return to her make-believe job at the Tasty Dwarf Bakery with enough tips to take a bath.

Jane arrived to make the delivery only to meet the man... er... the Beast of her dreams. She tried to make her delivery, but an elf enchantress named Ceress had other plans for the Beast. Jane attacked the enchantress to save the Beast, but an arrow ended her attempt and cut short her belief that she was merely dreaming.

The present...

Blood trickled to the ground as Jane held her wound and stared at the hardwood floor where she knelt. She had been content in her belief none of the places or people she encountered were real, for many of them were weird and/or frightening, and yet it also made her sad, knowing at any moment she would wake and reality would whisk her away from the fantastic and yet scary World of Grimm. All of those carefree thoughts and emotions invoked by her misguided belief in that she was only going about a whimsical trek vanished as terror set in.

Her intense panic increased its thunderous pounding as if to beat apart her chest the more she thought about her plight. The seriousness of her situation sunk in and abducted her courage. Everything she experienced up to that point was real including the arrow in her flesh. Jane had gone about her day as if everything was some silly mindscape. If she had known everything was real, she wouldn't have charged in like it was a zombie video game that she could pause or reset if things got too hairy. The werewolf had warned her. He told her she wasn't dreaming and the sooner she started believing that, the sooner she could come to terms with her new reality. Her new reality was that she had an arrow in her arm and a woman who could cast magic, stared down at her with a glee-full murderous intent.

The arrow thankfully had missed its mark by a few inches and hit her left arm. She glanced back at the Beast who appeared shocked by her unwavering gaze. He couldn't see her wound from his position in the room, but he could see her eyes. Jane also put his life in danger. The one who had given her hope that she would find love one day, and she played up this situation like a giddy school girl with a crush. Her crush wasn't of a man on a poster but a living, breathing, and in danger Beast.

"Foolish woman!" he yelled at her. "Run while you still can!"

He didn't even know her, and he already cared about her safety. Jane had been stupid and if she didn't put her fear to the side, she'd get them both killed. With what strength she could muster, Jane stood to her wobbly feet and glanced back at the door to the kitchen. The enchantress seemed to be in no hurry to end her as Ceress, who still held the bow, moved over to the dead goblin. He had been her minion, and she searched through the arrows in the quiver on his back as if looking for the right accessory.

Once she finished looking through the quiver, Ceress said, "I guess that was the only special arrow."

She moved over to Jane who backed up till she ran into the dining room table, not knowing what the enchantress wanted to do to her next and still too afraid to do anything about it. Ceress saw the fear in her eyes and relished in it as she reached over and pulled the arrow out. Jane cried out for the pain. The absence of the shaft caused the blood to increase its flow down her arm. Jane grabbed a cloth napkin from the table as the enchantress walked away from her a few paces. Jane tied the napkin around her arm as Ceress turned and faced her again. The Beast could be heard struggling against his restraints.

"It would seem my aim was quite a bit off–" Ceress stated. "–but don't worry. I won't miss this time, not from this distance."

Thoughts about escaping rushed through Jane's mind like a log caught on a swift river as the enchantress drew back the string and like that log which rushed over a huge waterfall to be dashed on the rocks below, her thoughts went no further than the aspiration to flee and the panic-filled conclusion, I'm going to die! Her body wouldn't obey, and her mind refused to give aid or another recourse other than a frenzied, And there's nothing I can do to change that!

Ceress aimed again. She was usually an enchantress for hire, but this particular job was personal, and she allowed herself to enjoy it more than usual. Ceress considered every possible scenario that could arise, but the one scenario of a woman showing up never entered her mind. It would be an added bonus to take the head of one such as she, but first she needed to complete her first objective, and the simplest way to do that was to make the woman dead. The sun dipped below the horizon outside as twilight shown across the land and just before Ceress released the string, a black tattoo of a swan magically appeared on the woman's right cheek. Time slowed as the marking shimmered before the one tied to the chair in a dazzling display of hope. The fairy had given this gift to Jane long ago as a defense mechanism to help safeguard her, and it kicked in seemingly for the first time as it sensed the death of the one who the mark branded. Some would call it a curse, and it would be the second curse Jane bore but at the moment, it was a blessing. A puff of smoke surrounded Jane and caused the enchantress to pause as the last rays of light vanished from the land and night began to rule. When the white smoke dissipated, a small yellow duckling stood in her place with a wounded wing. The baby bird squawked and ran around in a circle twice before she ran into the kitchen, dragging her wounded wing as she left the tied napkin behind where it fell from her arm.

"This is better than I thought," Ceress spoke as she started for the kitchen. "It looks like I'll be having duck tonight." She turned to the Beast, paused, and said, "That is as soon as you tell me where the rose is!"

Jane ran to the back of the kitchen, flapping her wings a little delirious because of what had happened to her, and when she was about to scream, she saw her reflection in the spoon that had fallen to the floor and poof! She was a woman again, bleeding, confused, in pain, and incensed. She put her right hand to the wound and fisted her left. Jane noticed the fireplace where the pot of soup hung, so she grabbed a poker, and stomped back into the dining room. Jane charged the enchantress with her weapon held high.

Ceress turned just as she struck, and Jane hit her on the collarbone. The enchantress stumbled back as she lifted her hands to protect herself.

"You reverted!" Ceress uttered and then winced in pain before she screamed, "How did you turn back?"

Blind with rage, Jane ran at her and swung. The enchantress' arms received the brunt of the attack, and she fell to the floor as Jane raised the poker to inflict the death blow. Ceress realized her grave mistake. She should have killed the woman when she had the chance but instead, her inaction allowed the woman to quickly recover from her affliction. Ceress would die before she took her revenge.

Jane looked into the fear-filled eyes of the enchantress, and her anger vanished. She lowered the poker as she felt a little queasy, and then she shouted, "Run!" Jane motioned to the other door with the poker and yelled, "Get out of here or I'll kill you!"

The elf enchantress crawled away, then lifted to her feet, and fled from the castle. Jane walked over to the dead goblin, dropped the poker, grabbed the short sword from his cold grasp, and moved toward the tied up Beast. She felt dizzy and saw stars as she walked, but Jane pushed forward, knowing she had to release him or they both might be in trouble if the enchantress returned.

Jane didn't know what she should say as she approached him, so she muttered, "I have a delivery for you... from the Tasty Dwarf Bakery."

The Beast watched her, unable to turn away from her and hide his face. His ghastly appearance didn't seem to bother her in the least as she continued toward him in a slow determined trudge. The Beast noticed her wound and saw the blood seeping from it, and then the fear he had of her seeing his cursed form turned to the terror of what he beheld as he realized who... no, what she was. He glanced at the blade she held and froze as an animal would, hoping a predator would pass them by. Her face paled as she lifted the short sword, and he tensed waiting for the blow. This woman's presence wasn't like Ceress'. The Beast could tell this woman had intentions for him, but he also sensed that they weren't malicious. She stabbed the blade into the chair's arm, cutting the bonds of his right side and then with focused determination, she pulled the blade out and stabbed the other chair's arm, cutting the ropes that bound him. She stared deep into his eyes when she finished. No one had gazed at him like that since he took on his accursed form. A warmth seemed to come from her smile and that warmth was aimed at him.

Jane couldn't believe it as she clung to consciousness. There they were... Those eyes from her drawings. How could they belong to this magnificent man who lived in a realm that shouldn't exist? She smiled at him again, but this time she felt as if they had known each other for a lifetime. She reached out her hand to touch the side of his face as she found herself saying, "I need your signature for the delivery."

Before she touched what must have been soft fur, she collapsed, and he caught her as she landed on his lap, and then she remembered no more.
Chapter Two

The Recurring Dream While In Grimm

For the first time ever, Jane's recurring dream changed. The colors, sounds, and sensations of touch in the world of her mind fancy became more vivid and alive than they ever were before. She experienced the dream the same way as before, seeing each scene as if seeing them for the first time.

Even the start of her dream differed. Jane held the hand of her foster mother as she took her to the neighborhood playground. It was a Saturday and many children played there. A little girl and a little boy, who were four like her, made fast friends with her, and they played for a good while, longer than young Jane could ever remember playing. Her little heart filled with joy at making new friends who lived very close to her foster parents' house. The little girl even complimented that she liked the white swan on her black t-shirt. The little girl and little boy ran over to a sandbox to make castles, and Jane joined them, but in the middle of making a huge castle, the children forced Jane to leave the sandbox. They told her they didn't play with children they didn't know. Jane ran to her foster mother to be comforted, but the woman forgot she was under her care and kept insisting Jane find her own mother, so young Jane fled to the nearby woods heartbroken. Adult Jane remembered that this event had occurred in her past.

Young Jane ran through the woods for a long time, and then she came upon a bronze door that was opened but just a crack. Jane walked around the door but there was nothing on the other side but the woods, and the same door that opened in. She went back to the other side and opened the door the rest of the way out and as soon as she did that, the bronze door and her woods disappeared. Young Jane stood in a dense scary forest she didn't recognize with loud and boisterous animals squawking and roaring all around her. Everywhere she turned, the direction seemed to take her toward a darker and more dangerous path. Jane didn't know which way to go and decided on the path that was the least scary. She slowly made her way through the thick underbrush for hours and began to believe she'd never find her way home. Jane came upon a large root and sat on it, giving up. She was tired, thirsty, and hungry and just wanted to go home. She was near tears when about three dozen little fireflies appeared. She realized they weren't little but a great distance off and flying her way through the darkness like tiny candlelights of blue.

The fist size fireflies flew around her as they sang to her, taking away her fear, loneliness, and despair with their enchanting song. The wordless chorus they sang was filled with deep meaning as if their souls somehow touched her own soul. The song was called Saah'Mee which meant Soul Heart in their language. If Jane could remember the time when her life began as a baby, she would have said the song reminded her of being held in her mother's arms. She watched the fireflies as they danced about in the air, then their song changed, and an amazing thing happened. They started playing lightning tag. Blue currents surged around one of them several times, then they shot the charge to another firefly, and the charge circled the new firefly and then shot to another. Six to eight charges in different shades of blue surged about at the same time. It was a wonder to behold. Jane wanted to play too, but she was afraid the currents would hurt her, so she tried to stay out of their way. One of the currents struck her hand, and it tingled a bit, but it didn't hurt. Jane giggled as the neon-blue swirled around her fist, then she pointed at a firefly, and the current leapt to the next participant of the game. The lightning tag went on for about ten minutes, then one of the fireflies came really close to Jane, so she stretched out her hand, and the firefly landed on her palm. Jane gasped in awe once the creature was close enough for her to get a really good view of it. She peered at the tiny female creature which wasn't a bug but a fairy. The fairy flew up to her face and peered into one of her eyes, and Jane held very still as she did this. Jane didn't even blink. The female fairy pulled away and flew up into the air a short distance, and then she and the other fairies flew ahead of Jane, heading toward a small bright light that broke through the dark canopy. The fairies beckoned her to follow them to the light, so Jane climbed her way over roots and pushed her way through shrubs and bushes until she broke free of the forest.

She shielded her eyes from the bright sun as her eyes had become accustomed to the darkness and then once her eyes adjusted, she turned back to the forest but only one fairy remained, hovering just between the trees and the clearing. Jane walked back over to the female fairy.

"Thank you," Jane said. "I couldn't find my way out. Do you know what direction I should go in now?"

The fairy pointed behind Jane, she glanced in the direction, then turned and faced the fairy.

"I wish I could play some more with all of you. Maybe I can come back tomorrow, and we can play. I would like it if we could play again. It's hard for me to make friends."

The fairy flew over to Jane, kissed her on her right cheek, and then flew back into the forest. Jane felt a tingling sensation on her face as she stared at the forest, wondering if the fairy would return. The fairy never came back, so Jane turned and walked in the direction the fairy had motioned to. She came upon a small pond and gazed at her reflection. Dirt and leaves covered her from head to toe, and the way the forest debris covered her made her look like a little mud elf with pointed ears. Another thing caught her eye. On her cheek where the fairy kissed her was a black tattoo of a swan like the one on her t-shirt. The tattoo sparkled blue and then faded away. Jane rubbed her cheek, but the tattoo never reappeared.

The sound of laughter caught her attention, and Jane followed the voices through the clearing, past a large oak, and beyond a small stone fence. The air smelled clean like mountain air, and the song, the fairies sang to her, played in her mind's ear as she hummed the tune aloud. She walked over a hill and into a small meadow valley. A little boy and a little girl played there on grass so green it seemed fake. The memory of being shunned by the previous girl and boy still lingered, so Jane started down the hill near tears. She stopped and stood still as the boy and girl turned to her. They stared at her for a long time as if trying to figure out what she could be, and Jane feared they would run away or even worse, pretend she didn't exist. Their appearance gave her a sense that she peered into the world of a picture book as the boy and girl stared at her equally as curious. Jane looked down at her dirty self and wondered if they could even tell she was a girl. Jane wanted to run to them but feared repeated rejection, so the endless game began again. Would they let her play with them? Would they forget her in the end?

Adult Jane took notice of the blond boy who had the air of a prince and also something familiar about him. She spotted a medallion around his neck of some sort of beastly creature. Jane looked closer and saw that the beast was chimera-like, consisting of a lion's head and body with three sets of eagle's wings and four talons. The creature gripped a crown in its teeth. Adult Jane wondered if this boy could be the Beast and if it was him, could she have met him when she was younger?

Fearing the worse would happen, young Jane nearly turned around and started back up the hill, but the girl with long black hair and a flurry white dress with red roses vining all over it, called to her as she held out her hand.

"Come here, little elf. Come here and play with us. There is nothing to fear."

The boy also held out his hand as he said, "Yes, come play with us. Come play with us and teach us a bit of your magic."

The tears wrought with dejection that had been ready to flow, trickled down her cheek as one single droplet of immense joy as young Jane ran down to them and grabbed hold of their hands. She was so happy, she couldn't speak. Jane turned to the girl and noticed a mark under her left eye similar to the one she had seen on herself when she looked in the pond. Jane's mark had been a black swan and the girl's blue mark was in the shape of a double lightning bolt. Jane pointed to the mark, and it made the girl shrink back a bit as she covered it with her hand.

"It is awful, is it not?" the girl questioned.

Jane shook her head as she found her voice and replied, "Pretty."

The girl turned to the boy and told him, "She is so cute, we must keep her. Speak to your father."

"I will think about it," the boy told her. "First, let us see what this elf can teach us."

He moved to a different part of the meadow and bided them to follow him. Jane gladly did as she held onto the little girl's hand, and they ran after him. A small throne was set up there along with what looked like a tiny royal court. The boy sat on the throne and the girl with Jane in tow went and stood before him. The little girl released Jane's hand and curtsied to him.

"Now you do it," the little girl told Jane. "Bow like the males do."

"But I'm a girl," Jane told her.

The little girl took a step back from her, examining her unusual clothing.

"I guess you cannot be the knight then," the girl told her.

"I can still be a knight," Jane replied. "I'll be a girl knight."

"It will be up to the prince," the girl said, then turned, and faced the boy, waiting for his decision.

The little boy leaned on his elbow which rested on his tiny throne as he mimicked what he had seen his father do. He eyed the little elf carefully, and then he declared, "I have never heard of a girl knight before, so I will be the first to have one!"

The little girl cheered and so did Jane, and soon the boy joined in.

"What does a knight do?" Jane questioned them once they all stopped celebrating.

"A knight of the realm is a protector of the kingdom," the boy told her.

"Can a knight have friends? Before I completely agree, I want to make sure I can still be friends with both of you?"

"You wish to be friends with us?" the boy questioned. "I have never had a friend before."

"Isn't she your friend?" Jane questioned him as she motioned to the little girl.

"Her?" the boy uttered as he turned to the girl. "She is my court sorceress. My father has a wizard and his father before him had a battlemage. I chose a sorceress. She is to amuse me and protect me."

"I am only a sorceress in training," the girl added. "I have many years of training before I can take the title sorceress."

"Oh..." Jane spoke, thought about it, and then she said, "What you are isn't important. What's important is that you're friends. I saw how well you play together. You're friends."

"I guess I have always had a friend," the boy said. "Now you are asking me if I want to have two?"

Jane grinned at him as she spoke, "Maybe I'm asking you to be my friend." She went over and grabbed the girl's hand, "I believe us girls are already friends." She turned to the girl and asked, "Am I right?"

"You are so cute," the girl said, and then she answered her, "Yes, little elf. We are friends."

"So..?" Jane inquired as she faced the boy. "Do you also want to be my friend and in return, I'll be your friend?"

"I understand now," the boy stated. "A friend is not something I possess but something I share. My mother told me I should try to share more. Yes, is my answer. I will be your friend and you will be mine."

"Come here," Jane told him. "We need you if we're going to do a group hug?"

"Group hug? All right, I will come and try this group hug," the boy told her.

He came down from his throne, and Jane grabbed both of them in a loving bear hug as she instructed them to do the same. They stood there for a few seconds, and Jane got a sense of the family she always longed for. She had a big brother and a big sister who would always look out for her.

The children continued to play and when the girl sorceress and Jane were hiding from the princely boy as they sat among the tall dancing flowers, the girl sorceress examined the little elf more closely.

"You are very ordinary. Your appearance has nothing that stands out for good or for ill."

"Why did you say such a mean thing to me?" Jane asked as unintended cruelty tainted the joy she experienced that day.

The girl sorceress said, "My mother once told me to speak the truth always."

Jane stated in return, "You're right. We should always speak the truth, but sometimes it shouldn't be uttered."

"What do you mean?"

"What you said to me was very mean and hurtful," Jane replied.

"I only spoke the truth," the girl sorceress insisted.

"Did you mean to make me feel bad? Did you mean to say you don't like the way I look? Did you mean to say we're not friends anymore because of how I look?" Jane asked as she turned and peered at her with her big brown eyes. Her lower lip curled up in a pout and near tears, Jane added, "It's how it sounded to me."

The girl sorceress peered at the little elf as she considered what Jane told her, and then the girl sorceress replied, "I did not mean to hurt you. We are friends." She thought about it some more, and then she said, "My mother and you are correct. The truth is always to be spoken, but sometimes it does not need to be uttered. I am sorry."

The girl sorceress reached over and gave the little elf a hug. Jane in returned hugged her back. They continued playing as Jane forgave the girl sorceress for making her feel bad. Joy again overshadowed everything within Jane's heart as she played with the princely boy and the girl sorceress. The part of her recurring dream that had always been fuzzy was now clear. The boy and girl accepted her, and young Jane wished with all her heart that she could stay in those joyous moments forever. The neighborhood she stumbled into wasn't that far away from her own. A forest separated them, but maybe if she convinced her foster parents, they would drive her over here to play with her new friends. The boy and the girl were her friends and in a sense, they were also her family. Jane believed they would never forget her as the others had. Jane believed she would never fade from their memories as she had countless times before with everyone she encountered. She was also the knight of the realm and that gave her a sense of purpose. Jane would always protect her friends.

They played a mock version of the kingdom's court for a long time. The boy called in actual servants and had them pretend to be evil warlocks or trolls, and he even made one pretend he was a fire breathing dragon. The girl acted like she used her magic against their adversaries, and Jane and the boy attacked with invisible swords. Later, a few servants came out and set up a small table, and they served the children sandwiches and tea. The girl sorceress commented on how much she enjoyed the tea, so Jane asked if they could have more and the prince granted her wish. Once they finished, the prince decided he wanted to be adventurous, so he led the two girls beyond the meadow valley and found a patch of dancing wildflowers. The dream moved on and the girl gave Jane the flower ring which turned into a silver ring, and the boy stole a kiss from her lips, making her heart flutter. Their love and affection flowed into her so much, Jane thought her chest would burst open, and it made her believe wholeheartedly that their bond couldn't be broken by time or distance.

A storm forced the children to seek shelter, and the dream moved rapidly from that point on. They walked around the temple like structure and saw all the statues within, then Jane scuffed her knee, and it slightly bled. A trickle of red plasma ran down her leg and with it, the love and affection she felt from the boy and the girl vanished. The girl grabbed the boy's hand, and the boy turned and dragged the girl after him as they fled from Jane into the storm. The image of their terrified faces haunted her as Jane woke, screaming.

"Don't leave me!"

The dream didn't fade but stayed with her this time. Jane also remembered that she had the earlier version of the dream every night since that day she met the princely boy and the girl sorceress. She felt like crying for the child version of herself who lost so much when her friends turned their backs on her. Adult Jane couldn't understand why they were so afraid of her. She hadn't done or said anything that she could remember. The more she thought about the dream, the more Jane realized. She hadn't been in another neighborhood but another world. Jane still couldn't get her head around the fact she was somehow transported to the World of Grimm. She glanced around the large soft canopy bed she lay in as an invisible servant moved away from her carrying a wooden box with bandages hanging out of it and left the bedroom. Jane turned to the window and saw tiny birds sitting on the ledge singing to the morning sun as if she was in the Snow White fairytale, and somehow she accepted her situation as if this was the norm.

She went back to her thoughts. Jane couldn't believe how many times she had the dream over the years. She experienced a lifetime of heartache and pain but there was also joy and affection within the neverending cycle. For the few moments she was able to hold on to the dreams in the past, she had longed to return to the world she had visited even with its suffering as long as she was allowed to relive the fun and happy moments with her friends. Adult Jane now believed she had returned to that world and that the Beast was the boy in the dream. The Beast was the prince who made her knight of the realm. The medallion was the proof. She only had to compare the boy's with the Beast's, and she would have her answer, but she didn't know what she would do if the Beast was him.

Jane glanced around her room again and wondered how she had gotten there. Last she remembered she... She must have fainted. Jane did have a vague recollection of being picked up in strong arms that were soft, and she also remembered the smell of the forest. The Beast must have carried her to the bedroom, but who bandaged her arm?

The door to her bedroom opened, and a female invisible servant spoke to her, "Good morning." A tray seemingly floated in and landed on a nightstand beside Jane, and then the female servant stated, "I was told to tell you that the master who roams the night knows what you are." The female servant sounded a little nervous as she continued, "He and I will keep your secret as long as you leave after you have had some breakfast. Do not return to this castle and the occurrence that happened last night will not be spoken of. The master is grateful that you rescued the Beast from Enchantress Ceress but being the thing that you are, the master wishes for you not to associate with the master who monopolizes the light. The master who roams the night grants your life to you and believes he has repaid you for the bravery he witnessed when you rescued the Beast."

"I'm not sure I understand," Jane told her. "Is the Beast the master who roams the night or the master who monopolizes the light or is he neither of them? What secret do you refer to? And did you call me a thing?" she questioned, and then the door to her room opened and it shut as Jane finished with, "I have... no... secrets..."

She waited for a reply and when none came, Jane questioned, "Is anyone there?"

No one answered, so she picked up the tray and ate the breakfast of eggs, toast, and tea. Jane got out of bed when she finished, found a water basin and towel, and freshened up. She examined the bandage on her left arm and as she moved the appendage about, she found that the arm didn't hurt as much as she thought it would. Jane found her backpack, the clipboard and quill, and the club which was no longer a snake, sitting on a chair. She grabbed her things, left the bedroom, followed the hallway to a set of stairs, and then went back to the dining room she had been in the night before. She saw no one within, and she didn't hear anyone within. Jane followed the hallway and peeked in several rooms till she came upon a Study with shelves full of books and the Beast lounging in a chair beside a fireplace. He wore a princely garb of purple, red, and gold, and the book he read was entitled "Narcissus, Love Of Self". She stayed at the entrance and knocked on the open door. The Beast looked up from the book he was reading, and Jane noticed something she hadn't noticed before. His mane seemed shorter and not as full as it did last night. Small patches of white feathers stuck out of it, and smaller versions of the white feathers speckled his fur here and there. His eyes also seemed different. They were blue and eagle-like.

"You caught me reading one of my favorite books but more importantly, you are awake and not only that, you are not trembling before me in terror. Are you blind or perhaps nearsighted?" he questioned her.

"Someone asked me a similar question, and I'd have to say that's an unusual question to ask me," Jane stated, and then she replied, "I'm neither."

"Are you perhaps cursed with rose-colored perception? I did come across a fair maiden once who was and let me just say that relationship did not work out in the end. Curses are funny things."

"My view of the world isn't distorted in any way," she answered.

"The other nice thing about curses is the one who is cursed cannot speak of their affliction, so I can at least believe what you say since you are able to say it."

"Huh?" Jane uttered, and then she spoke, "I'm not sure I understand. It kinda sounded like you were talking about Fight Club."

The Beast inquired, "Is that some sort of gladiator tournament? I do not allow such barbaric rituals in my realm."

"I was referring to the first and second rule of Fight Club but never mind that," she answered, and then she asked, "Did you tell one of your servants to pass along a message to me from you?"

"What makes you believe I have servants?" the Beast questioned as he lifted both hands, gesturing around himself. "Do you see any?"

"No, I don't see them," Jane replied. "I saw you dueling with one yesterday or is it, I didn't see you dueling with one yesterday?"

"You were quick to pick up on that fact." He noticed she had her things, and he questioned her, "Are you leaving?"

"I am," she replied. "I hate to ask this of you..."

"Ask me anything, up to half my kingdom, and I will grant it to you," he told her with a grin which made her think he was lying.

She took a few steps into the Study, lifted the clipboard and quill, and asked him, "Could I get your signature? I know technically I didn't make the delivery and now that I think of it, I'm not sure where the pastries ended up."

The Beast laughed at her as he held out his clawed hand, and Jane placed the clipboard in it. She peered at his medallion as he reached up, and she saw the beastly creature was an eagle with three sets of wings holding the sun in its beak. The image was different, and a surge of disillusion flooded her soul. Maybe he wasn't the prince of her reoccurring dreams.

The Beast signed the clipboard with the enchanted quill, returned it to her, and said, "Up to half my kingdom and this is what you asked for."

"I'm easy," Jane said and blushed, realizing the other meaning associated with the phrase. She hoped such phrases weren't used in his world and tried to think of something else to say to move away from her self-embarrassment. Jane spoke with a smile, "If you're in the giving mood, maybe you could give me a good tip."

"Somewhat bold. I like that," the Beast spoke, then raised his voice, and ordered, "Get her a good tip."

A pouch soon materialized, and Jane took it from the air.

The Beast stood, set his book on the chair, and bowed to her as he said, "I also give you my gratitude. I wish there was more I could do."

"Maybe you could answer one of my questions."

"Ask," he commanded.

"Who is the master of this castle?"

"I am, of course," he replied with a hint of mischief, and then he inquired, "Did you think otherwise?"

"I wasn't sure," she told him and then gazed at him again with the fondness she always had for the drawings in her scrapbook. He may not be the prince from her dreams, but he was bits and pieces of the one she had drawn. Jane wondered if she somehow created a Frankenstein Beast, and then she chuckled to herself over the silly idea.

The Beast felt a bit uncomfortable under her searching gaze. Most people wouldn't dare look him in the eyes, and he could no longer see the faces of his servants, so her gaze was terrifying and yet tantalizing.

"Well, I better be off," Jane said. "My boss probably thinks I've been turned into something or I've been eaten. If I don't hurry back, he may give my job and home away."

"I would like one thing from you," the Beast told her as he moved closer to her, took her chin tenderly into his clawed hands, and leaned in close. He wasn't about to let her leave with such a hold on him.

"Umm..." she uttered as she melted into his touch. Jane thought surely he wasn't going to kiss her, but that's exactly what he appeared to be doing. She questioned him as her heart pounded in her chest, "What's that?"

"Tell me your name."

"It's Jane."

"Jane," he said with a smirk. "The name suits you well."

He released her chin, went back to his chair, picked up his book, and sat, going back to his reading. The enchantment she seemed to have over him was broken as he put upon her a spell of his own.

Jane stood there a few seconds still caught in his spellbinding touch, then turned, and strolled out as if walking on pink cotton candy. She was giddy all the way to her bike. Jane placed the clipboard and quill in her backpack, mounted the bike, and headed toward AaBack. Maybe it didn't matter that he wasn't the prince from her dreams. Maybe he only had to be the prince from her imagination.

The Beast lifted his gaze once she left, wondering if he should have questioned her while she was there. The swan tattoo he saw last night was no longer visible, but he was sure he saw it; he was sure he witnessed the sign of hope. He needed to find a way to have her return again without exposing his desperation.

* * *

After leaving the princely Beast in his Study, Jane felt like she was floating over the terrain as she rode her bike just like those kids did in the movie E.T. when the alien used his ability to make their bikes fly. In reality, both her tires were on the ground but her heart soared, thinking she had found the princely boy now grown into a handsome man. She pedaled back towards the Tasty Dwarf Bakery and had yet to leave the Beast's estate when she heard a song. It was Saah'Mee, the song the fairies sang to her to comfort her when young Jane became lost and afraid in the dark forest. Adult Jane braked and then dismounted from her bike and followed the enchanting Saah'Mee, hoping to come upon the fairies she had met so long ago. She came upon the wall she passed when she first rode into the estate and noticed an old rusted gate with an equally rusted large padlock. Jane pulled on the padlock, and it held firmly in place by design and by the corrosion of time and unless she wanted to break in, she wasn't getting in. She turned to head back to her bike when she nearly stepped on a tiny yellow rose. Jane didn't remember it being there when she walked up to the gate. She knelt down to it and could have sworn it was the exact same tiny rose she had nearly stepped on outside the castle.

"Hello there. You're so cute, I could pick you but don't worry, I won't," Jane said and then thought it would be funny to ask it, "Aren't you the little rose from before? You look just like–"

The tiny yellow rose nodded its head or one would say unopened bud as if answering her.

"I am in the World of Grimm, so I guess anything's possible," Jane spoke in a carefree tone which was spawned from her lovestruck heart. She had never felt so high on life and had never been so enthralled by the possibility of love. It was such a great feeling.

The rose lowered its head and stalk, and then it inched toward her like a worm. The roots of the plant were still underground, so the rose inched forward and then dragged the rest of its body forward, leaving a trail in the dirt. Jane straightened as the tiny yellow rose inched its way past her to the gate and then vined its way up to the padlock. The tiny rose didn't lift its entire body out of the dirt and climb up with its roots and all. No, it magically grew up the rusted gate bars as dozens of tiny yellow open buds sprung up from the vine as it went. The main bud was twice as big as the other buds and when the main bud reached the padlock, it maneuvered several of its thorns within the keyhole and picked it open with a bit of added magic. The padlock fell to the ground, and the gate opened in as the fairy song grew louder and more welcoming. Jane turned her attention to the padlock as the yellow rose crawled unharmed from it as its elongated thorny vine shrunk until the rose returned to its previous stature of a flower on a tiny stalk.

Kneeling again to it, Jane told the flower, "You're so cute." She put a finger out toward it to pet it, then paused, and asked, "You don't bite, do you?"

The rose inched over to her finger and rubbed up against it like a cat rubs up against someone's leg. Jane scratched the back of the bud gently with her nail as if scratching the back of a cat's ear. Jane would have knelt there all day petting the delightful creature, but the rose perked up as if it heard something, and then it disappeared into the ground like a mole down its hole. Jane straightened and stared at the tiny tunnel, missing what would have been an interesting pet but maybe it was more than just a plant-cat, plant-mole, plant..? She didn't know what she should call it and decided to go back to the gate the tiny yellow rose had unlocked for her.

The gate opened to an overgrown path and led to what looked like the start of a maze made out of rows of hedges that were ten feet tall. Jane went no farther than the open gate. It had been locked for a reason, and she didn't have permission to be wandering the estate. Her actions could upset the Beast, and she didn't want to upset him, she wanted... she wanted him to... Her mind drifted, and she allowed herself to venture through her imagination for a few moments before she brought herself back to reality or at least the reality of the World of Grimm.

The fairy song increased its hold on her. Jane twirled the silver flower ring on her little finger as she stared at the enticing maze ahead of her, drawn in by the song and the feelings it induced. She took a step to go in but then drew the foot back out. Jane wasn't sure if she should enter as a tug-of-war began in her mind. She considered how the Beast would react if she traipsed around his property like some thief breaking into things she shouldn't, and she also considered how hard the tiny yellow rose worked to open the padlock for her. Jane could discover a horrible secret about the Beast or maybe she could discover something that would lead her to break his curse. Jane felt like she stood there with her arms stretched out as uncertainty pulled her in one direction and then the other. She might have stood there all day being stretched out by her indecision if the call to her soul hadn't bided her forward.

The fairy song grew louder, inviting her to hurry as if some urgent matter needed her immediate attention. Jane took a step forward and glanced back as if expecting some sort of alarm to go off. None did, so she took a few more steps forward, then walked to the first fork, and stood there, trying to decide which way to go. If the size of the front wall was any indication, the maze was very large. Maybe an eighth of a mile by an eighth of a mile. Jane thought she needed a way to keep track of which paths she tried so she wouldn't get lost, and she started to go back to the bike to grab the clipboard and quill when she saw the light of one of the fairies in the distance and immediately with excited joy followed that path. The fairy flew faster, and Jane chased after the tiny winged person. Jane laughed as if she was young Jane again playing lightning tag as she raced after the fairy.

"Don't go too fast or I'll lose you," she yelled after the fairy and then laughed again. "Wait up!"

The path ended in the middle of the maze and into a square section with only the entrance she came in. This area of the maze was different from the rest of the maze. Vibrant green hedges and grass paths made up the maze she transversed through to get there, but this square section appeared to have been neglected for years. A closer inspection also told Jane this place had once been a beautiful garden. The remains of flowering plants in brittle-brown and death-black filled the entire area and dampened her joyous mood. Jane looked all around for the fairy, wondering why the tiny winged person brought her there, but she didn't see her or him anywhere. She still heard the fairy song but couldn't tell which direction it came from. Jane decided she shouldn't be there and started to head back when a sensation she couldn't describe swept over her. The sensation became stronger as bits of it came to light; its warmth and its familiarity she understood, but the core essence of it eluded her. Jane turned around and faced the garden, twirling the silver ring on her left pinkie again as the sensation drew her back to the dead garden. The song the fairies sung faded till there was only one voice singing the enchanted melody and once the song fell to this one voice, the happy feelings the melody invoked in Jane's soul became ones of sadness and abandonment. Jane wanted to reach out to this person or creature, wrap her arms around them, and let them know they weren't alone. Her heart cried for them and she knew at that moment, she had to help them. No matter the cost, she had to help them.

Jane continued to search with her eyes, and she couldn't see anything within the garden but carcasses of dead flowers and vines. She knew something had to be there and once her heart joined in on the search, Jane caught a glimpse of something. In the midst of the garden, a large clear curtain with shimmers of rainbow draped over something large. Jane wasn't sure how she knew it was a magical curtain that hid something from the rest of the world, but she did know that whatever was under it was the creature or person she wanted to help.

The enchanting sad melody lifted from the curtain and floated around the garden with a voice so sweet it nearly brought tears to her eyes. The single voice sang of a past she... yes, the voice was definitely a she, and she sang of a past she longed to return to.
Chapter Three

The Rose Beauty

Long before Jane entered the Hedge Labyrinth...

The one beneath the magical curtain heard all that went on around her. A few years back, one she had been very close to put the finishing touches on her proverbial coffin by taking away the last thing she had, the ability to see the world around her. The curse that was linked to her allowed her to know the positions of the moon and sun but nothing else about her world. She was permitted to know the days that went by and the years that went by, and so she longed for death, caught in a curse she had no way of breaking, not when she was so isolated. She decided today would be the day, but in her current form she had no way of taking her own life, so as the moon hung in the sky above, she removed her roots from the ground, determined to slowly starve herself to death.

The fairies came, those pesky creatures as the moon neared the horizon, and she heard them flying around her garden tomb and whispering to one another. She thought they came to mock her powerlessness. She thought they came to cheer on her demise, but then something very unexpected happened as the sun came up over the garden. The fairies began to sing. The song wasn't one of victory like she once heard when the first Wicked Witch of the West died, freeing the realm of her tyranny. The song was one of hope. She recognized the melody; it was Saah'Mee, and it slowly took away her fear, loneliness, and despair as the fairies continued their enchanting chorus. The fairies sang out the song with no words, and their souls touched her own soul, telling her forgiveness was possible, she only had to seek it. She remembered a time when her life was still good and filled with joy and happiness. The fairies beseeched her to join in with them, and she relented, lifted her beautiful voice, and they all sang together.

The chorus swept her up in its entrancing wordless meanings, and she realized her life turned out nothing like she envisioned it. The wishes and expectations of her childhood were eventually trampled on and crushed to dust by those she trusted most. She wished with all her heart she could change the person she had become, and the song that came from her heart was no longer one of hope but of despair. After a while, she also realized she sang alone, but she continued with the chorus as something she could hold onto until death came and took her from this world.

Movement in her garden distracted her, and she stopped the song. Someone stood in front of her, then they walked around her, and ended up in front of her again. Had the betrayer who she betrayed come to put her out of her misery or only add to it? The magical curtain lifted off of her, and she saw the most beautiful thing, the morning light. There was also a female from one of the elf races standing before her, but she couldn't take in enough of the sunlight. She basked in it and reveled in it, and then she decided today wouldn't be the day, and she placed her roots back into the ground, drawing nutrients from the dirt again. The person she envisioned herself becoming when she was a child fled her mind as the person she had become took front and center again. She would teach this servant a lesson for meddling in things that didn't pertain to her.

The curious looking female elf folded up the clear magical curtain and set it on the ground. She wondered when such a creature came to work for the master of the castle. She also wondered if some new punishment was coming that could be crueler than the magical curtain. She sensed something about the female elf. Some magical power emanated from her as if the female elf possessed a great power but had no control over it.

Jane stood in front of the giant red rose that was a head taller than herself, but she was still some distance from the plant, not knowing if it was dangerous or not. The plant was beautiful, and Jane saw a lady's face within the open red petals. The solo had ended, but she was sure the rose was the one who sang it and if that was true, the rose was the one who she vowed to help. She needed to find out, so she introduced herself.

"Hello, my name's Jane. I heard the fairies singing and followed their song into the maze. I actually wanted to meet them again, but I guess they're gone." Jane paused to see if the giant rose would respond and when she didn't, Jane asked, "Can you talk? Can you tell me your name?"

The giant rose peered at the strange female elf a little more curious about her than before. She spoke of the fairies and those pesky creatures rarely made themselves known to those not of their race. What was different about this female elf? Could it be the power she sensed emanating from her? She would wait to see before she decided what to do with Jane.

"I cannot tell you my name," the giant rose told her. "The curse that binds me here prevents me from uttering it."

"Oh... I'm sorry," Jane spoke as she took a step closer to the giant rose. If she stretched out her hand, she was still about five feet from her. "I'm finding out many are cursed in your world," Jane told her as she looked closer to the faint hint of a face within the red petals, and Jane noticed a mark of a double lightning bolt on what seemed like a cheek. Now she understood why she was there as she twirled the silver flower ring, but that would mean somehow the Beast was the prince from her dream and this giant rose was the girl. Jane needed more information, so she asked, "Why were you covered with that curtain, Erosa?"

"Why do you call me Erosa?"

"I hope I didn't offend you, but it seemed like the proper thing to do. Do you want me to call you by a different name?"

"No, it is fine and to answer your question, the master of the castle was punishing me," Erosa replied. "I can be a very naughty rose."

"The master of the castle? I keep hearing about him. One of the Beast's servants spoke of him and warned me to stay away from the castle from now on."

"You are not one of the Beast's servants?"

"No, I'm the new delivery girl for the Tasty Dwarf Bakery, and I need to get back before I'm fired. Before I go..." She wasn't sure how to pose her next question as she asked, "I heard your song, and I was wondering... Could it be..? Is there anything you need?"

"Why would you believe I need anything from you?"

"Didn't you call me here?" Jane inquired. "Or maybe the fairies called me here, but I still get this feeling you need my help. Are you sure there's not anything I can do for you?"

"No, I do not need anything from you," Erosa replied, then she thought about it, and she stated, "If you could take that magical curtain with you, I would appreciate it. I hate that thing and looking at it... well... it is not pleasant."

"I can do that," Jane replied as she went over to the clear cloth, folded it up, and then placed it in her backpack. She knew there was so much more she could do for the giant rose, so Jane repeated, "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Erosa thought about her query as she glanced around the dead garden, and then she answered, "I need nothing else, but do come back and visit me. It does get lonely here."

"You do need something," Jane replied with a smile. "You need a friend, and I will come back," she promised. "I'll come back today if I can. I want to talk to you some more, but I have to get back to my job."

The female elf ran out, and Erosa watched as she went. Jane was a very curious creature. The master warned her to stay away from the castle, and the fairies led Jane to the dead garden. Erosa also wondered why a smidgen of hope crept up in the back of her mind when she spoke to the female elf. A lovely butterfly landed on her petals, one of orange with black stripes, and it also had a mark of an ax imprinted on each wing as Erosa chuckled to herself. It would seem that life around the estate was about to get interesting. The butterfly crawled toward the center of her petals, and Erosa whipped one of her thorny vines up and sliced the butterfly in half. Its lifeless carcass fell to the dirt, and she gathered it up with her roots and dragged it underground. She believed life around the estate was about to get very interesting.

* * *

Jane left the Hedge Labyrinth with a new sense of purpose. She believed she rediscovered the princely boy and the girl sorceress from her dream. She didn't come right out and tell them because she wasn't a hundred percent sure they were them. Jane also wasn't sure if they would remember her and if they did remember her, would they only remember being afraid of her? Jane headed for AaBack on her bike, turned on Hill Road, and left the estate behind. She rode for a few minutes, and then she started to hear something in the woods following her very close to the road. Jane thought about what the Muffin Man had told her about trolls, dragons, and orcs and her imagination took it from there. She pedaled harder, increasing her speed and whatever hunted her also increased speed. She neared the downward slope of Hill Road and knew if she could just make it to there, she could outrun whatever chased her. She was ten feet away from the start of the slope when a large dark shadow jumped out from the woods, landed in front of her, and blocked her escape. Jane braked hard and dropped the club in the process.

A large wolf stood there, and it took Jane a few seconds to realize this wolf was the werewolf she met earlier who told her to insist on a job from the Muffin Man.

"You scared the living daylights out of me!" she yelled at him. "Why didn't you say something while you were running through the woods?"

"I wanted to make sure we were alone before we spoke and now that I know we are, I'd like to talk to you," Lykos answered.

"About what?" she asked as she got off, then picked up her club, and pushed her bike over to him.

"Do you believe now? Do you believe this world is real?"

"Yes, I do. I can't believe I'm saying it, but yes, I do."

Lykos told her, "After we spoke yesterday and once I was able to rid myself of the other two, I went and did some research."

"Okay... What did you research and what did you find out?"

"It's both good and bad," he told her. "I believe the gem we were after called the Tear of Poer has embedded itself in your right eye. It will protect you and keep you safe, but it will also put you in danger if Red and the Woodsman or any others seeking its power, figure out that you have it. They have already started to suspect." Lykos glanced around the area as if searching for any who might be spying on them, and then he continued, "My research into the Tear of Poer has told me that the only way to take the gem out of you is to make you cry, and it has to be tears of extreme sadness to flush it out of your system. Do you understand?"

"I think I experienced its protection earlier. I turned into a baby duck right before Sorceress Ceress had a chance to kill me."

"It may have been the Tear of Poer, but it doesn't sound like the protection it offers, so it may have been something else that protected you then."

"Something else? Like what?"

Lykos answered her, "I should also tell you a few rules that govern the World of Grimm that I slightly went into the last time we spoke. You might have noticed already that many are inflicted by a curse or two. The one who's cursed is unable to speak about the curse and the cure."

"It's kind of like Fight Club."

"Exactly," Lykos replied. "The first and second rules of Curse Club is that you can't talk about Curse Club."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" she asked him. "I thought you wanted the Tear of Poer, but you sound like you want me to keep it."

"I do for now. My werewolf form protects me and if you are to survive here, you'll also need something."

"I still don't understand. Why do you care so much about what happens to me?" she questioned him.

"There is a horrible curse that covers this realm within the World of Grimm. I can't tell you what it is... Remember the first two rules of Curse Club?"

"I do," Jane replied.

"It's important since I can't tell you about this horrible curse that you be very observant of the world around you. I have searched for a way back to our world and haven't found one. I was hoping the Tear of Poer would be the key, and it still may be, but it is only part of the key. I don't care if you have the Tear of Poer until I need it so keep it safe for me, Jane."

"I can't tell you how great it is to hear my name spoken by another person," she told him. "I feel like I'm no longer cursed."

"I would also suggest that you don't tell anyone else about the curse you believe is on you. Knowing someone's curse can give a person power over them."

"I'll remember that," she told him. "And now I'm not sure it was really a curse. I was able to tell you about it."

"Curses are funny things," he told her. "Even the one who is cursed sometimes doesn't know all the rules to the curse that's upon them." Lykos moved out of her way and took a few steps into the woods as he said, "I'll leave you for now. Tell no one you spoke with me. Most people hate werewolves. Also be aware of what's going on in this realm. You must discover the curse I can't tell you about so that you can keep yourself safe. Even if you do have the Tear of Poer, I don't know if it can keep you safe from what plagues this realm."

"I understand. My second mission is to figure out this mega-curse."

Lykos nodded, then without another word, he disappeared into the woods, and Jane pedaled down to AaBack.

* * *

Jane dismounted her bike, leaned it on the corner of the shop, and then rushed into the Tasty Dwarf Bakery to find Muffin Man talking with a faun. Muffin Man looked up when the bell to his shop rang and had a surprised yet pleased expression on his face. He finished his business with the faun and then waved her forward.

"By the Mines of Moria! You are alive," he stated. "And I don't see any missing limbs or other appendages."

"I am alive and in one piece," she said. "Nothing ate me, so I can keep delivering for you."

Muffin Man spoke, "I am glad to hear that nothing ate you, but you were supposed to be back last night. I do not think I can hire you."

"I do have a good excuse for being late," she stated, then handed him the clipboard and quill, and told him, "And I did get the Beast's signature."

"His signature and not one of his servants?" Muffin Man questioned as he took the items and looked over the top paper. "It is his signature. Did you receive it from him in person? Did you faint or scream? Customers frown upon such reactions."

"I did faint but only because I had been..."

The bell on the front door rang as an old witch a little taller than the dwarf came in. She wore all black with what looked like pieces of candy all over her outfit, she had a pointed hat, and she carried an old fashion broomcorn broomstick.

"One moment," he told Jane, walked over to the witch, and questioned her, "What can I do for you, you old bitty?"

Jane's jaw nearly dropped to the floor as she heard him disrespect a customer. The old witch didn't seem to notice as if it was the norm.

"I need to make some repairs to my house. Could I purchase some gingerbread dough off of you?"

"I do not have any made right now, you old hag," he answered her. "I will have some sent over to your place once I make a new batch."

"Thank you," the witch said as she handed him a half cent.

Muffin Man inquired, "Are you adding an addition to your house?"

"No," the witch replied. "I believe a yeahmun was at my house and destroyed part of it."

"Are you sure you did not actually lure some children to your house, you ugly harpy, and they ate it?"

"Yes, I am sure," the witch told him, and then she informed him, "A weapon forged by the yeahmuns struck my house."

"Yeahmun weapons are very powerful and rare, but anyone can wield them," Muffin Man told her. "Was there any other evidence of a yeahmun at your house?"

"No, only the weapon."

"I would not worry," he told her. "It has been years since a yeahmun invaded AaBack." Muffin Man glanced at a photo on the wall of himself and two other males, and then he told her, "Remember, yeahmuns are very rare."

"And very scary and extremely dangerous," the witch added. "You should not belittle my fears."

"I do not, you depraved, dog breath, child-eater," the dwarf told her as he went behind the counter and placed the half cent in a cash box. "I will start on the dough once I finish speaking with this female."

"I will be expecting the delivery before the day is over and make sure whoever you send is careful when they come," the witch said, turned, opened the door, hopped on her broomstick, and took to the air, zooming out of AaBack.

"I need to check on my muffins," the dwarf told Jane as he headed into the back. "I will be back shortly."

"Was it necessary to call that elderly lady names? She seemed to be a nice customer."

"I never called her any names," Muffin Man replied. "I am nearly always polite to my customers."

"I'd hate to see if you were rude," Jane muttered to herself as he walked to the back.

She stood there for a while and then curiosity got the better of her. She had to know what the dwarf had been looking at on the wall, so Jane went over, spotted a photo which was a Polaroid, and she saw that one of the persons in the photo was the dwarf, there was also a tall elf with long pointed ears, and a man with a t-shirt of a gray tundra wolf howling at the moon. She wondered if the man wearing the t-shirt was Lykos.

Muffin Man came back to Jane and inquired, "Where were we? Ah, yes... We were talking about the Beast's signature." He lifted the clipboard he'd been carrying and examined the autograph again. "I am impressed that you got it even if you did faint, but the stipulation of our agreement was that you would come back last night. I am sorry, but I cannot hire you."

"I did agree to that, so I guess I can't argue," Jane told him, greatly disappointed she wouldn't have a place to stay or any sort of income. She removed the weapon from her backpack as she said, "Here's the club you let me borrow."

He took it from her, examined it, and saw what looked like scales all over the wood as if the marks had been burned into the club. The teeth and claw marks that riddled the club were gone. Muffin Man was about to ask her what happened to the club when she interrupted him.

"I do have a question. Do I have to share my tips?"

"No, the tips are yours to keep. Wait one moment. You fainted at the sight of the Beast, and he still gave you a tip." He rubbed his red beard as he thought, and then the Muffin Man stated, "You were there all night. Just what did you do at the castle that you had to stay through the night?"

"What do you mean? What do you think I was doing?" she questioned, then thought about it, and insisted a little embarrassed, "Oh... No... Like I told you, I fainted and I didn't wake till this morning. Nothing happened."

"Good. I do not want the Beast to conjure up any ideas about the services we do not actually provide," Muffin Man stated, and then a pigeon landed on the side window sill outside and tapped on the glass. The dwarf said, "Hold on a second, someone is placing an order."

He went, opened the window, and took a small piece of paper from the bird's mouth. The paper magically tripled in size as it left the bird's beak, and then the pigeon flew off as the dwarf read over the note.

"Looks like the Beast has sent in a late order for bear claws. Elf-shot! And he insists that someone named Jane be the one to deliver it. Who in the realm is this Jane! Pompous rich prince! Always making ridiculous demands!"

"I'm Jane," she told him. "Didn't I tell you my name yesterday?"

"You did not and I did not ask," he told her. "In this line of business, I have discovered it is best not to befriend the delivery people. They tend not to last too long or they turn out to be who they don't appear to be." He crossed his arms as he thought about his predicament. "Now what do I do? I have already fired you."

"Hire me as an independent delivery girl," she suggested. "I'll work as you need me, and you don't have to commit to keeping me on." She added, hoping to entice him into the deal, "It'll also give you time to look for another delivery person."

Muffin Man didn't answer her right away but turned his attention back to the letter. "The Beast goes on to say he would greatly like to thank the Tasty Dwarf Bakery for having such a brave delivery girl. If it had not been for Jane, the Beast may have lost his life." Muffin Man peered up from the paper and questioned, "Exactly what happened last night?"

Jane began her tale, and she went into great detail but left out the part of watching the Beast duel with no shirt on, turning into a duckling, and discovering the tiny rose and the giant rose in the maze. The dwarf listened intently and didn't interrupt her once and then when she finished, he seemed astounded by the occurrence.

"I see," he said. "You do have a good excuse for not coming back last night and to think I never even noticed your bandage."

"Do we have a deal?" she questioned. "Can I work for you as an independent delivery girl?"

"I believe you can," Muffin Man replied. "We will try it out for a week and see how it goes at the same pay rate of course."

"Of course," Jane replied. "As long as I can still live in the loft for free."

"Yes, of course. I will box up the bear claws. Why not grab a muffin or two? There is also milk in the glass bottle over there. It comes in fresh every morning."

She went over, grabbed two muffins, ate one, drank some milk, then put the other muffin in a bag, and placed the bag in her backpack. The dwarf returned, handed her a box of bear claws, and gave her back the clipboard and quill with a new invoice paper on top.

"Your first delivery will be to the witch who lives in the gingerbread house," Muffin Man said as he handed Jane a paper bag. "She is to receive this dough. Her invoice is the top invoice, and it also has directions to her house and then after that, return to the Beast's castle and deliver his bear claws."

"Yes, boss," Jane told him. "You sure did make the dough pretty quick. Do I need to hurry back?"

"No, those are the only deliveries for today. I will have our messenger pigeon find you if any delivery comes in later."

"Okay. I'm off then."

"One other thing before you go," Muffin Man stated as he handed her the club. "Take this weapon with you. It is yours now. Somehow it has been imbued with some sort of magic."

"What do you mean?" Jane asked him.

"See the markings on the club? They look like snake scales to me. Did something unusual happen to the club when you used it?"

"An enchantress turned it into a viper before I threw it at the goblin," she told him. "I don't think she intended to enchant it, but I think she intended to take me out with my own weapon."

"Whatever the enchantress' intentions were, the weapon is imbued and as its owner, you will need to name it."

"How do I do that?"

"Lift it over your head, think about the weapon, and call out the name that first comes to your mind," he told her.

Taking the club, Jane lifted it above her head, then thought about the club, and what happened at the castle. The image of the viper with its mouth wide open repeated in her mind, so she declared, "Your name is Snake Bite."

The name of the club appeared in the scaled wood as if it had been engraved there.

Muffin Man warned her, "Be careful with the club until you have discovered by what it has been imbued with."

"I will, thanks."

She attached the club to her backpack with the leather strap at its end, then went outside, mounted her bike, and easily found the gingerbread house that was just outside of AaBack in the nearby woods. Jane went and knocked on the front door, and the witch opened the door enough to stick her hand out, and Jane handed her the bag of dough.

"Did you see anything your ride over?" the old woman questioned her.

"No, not a thing," Jane told her as she gave her the clipboard and quill next.

She took them, signed the clipboard, and handed them back. "Wait there, I have something for you," the old witch told her, left, then returned, and gave Jane a coin.

"Thank you," Jane said. "Umm... I'm not familiar with this coin. What is it worth?"

The old witch glanced back at the coin and said, "The farthing? Takes four to make a penny."

"Oh... thank you," Jane told her. The tip was generous, considering the old witch paid a half penny for the dough. Jane started to walk toward her bike when she turned back and asked, "Isn't it a little scary living out here in the woods alone?"

"It is," the old witch told Jane. "Many things more terrifying than myself prowl about."

"You're not that terrifying," Jane told her. "You seem kind of sweet to me."

"Are you saying sweet enough to eat?"

"No, silly. I'm talking about sweet and considerate. Do you have any family?"

"I cannot speak to that."

"Oh, that's okay." Jane tried to think of something else to say and when she couldn't, Jane stated, "I guess I'll be off now."

"Wait, I want to show you something so that you can report it back to the Muffin Man."

Jane wasn't sure she wanted to go inside, but the old woman came out and led her to the back of the gingerbread house. Jane walked over to a scooter that had been rammed into the back of the house with its front wheel and handlebars, and she discovered that some sort of green gelatin covered the scooter.

"I incapacitated the weapon that attacked my home," the old witch boasted.

"Is that what this green gelatin is?"

The witch nodded.

"Was there a rider?"

"I did not see one only the ghastly weapon. Yeahmuns have to be responsible."

"Can you describe what a yeahmun is?" Jane inquired.

"I can. One came to AaBack a long time ago. Yeahmuns are hideous creatures who..." The old witch paused as if she fell asleep, then she appeared to wake, and she stated, "They are hideous creatures."

Jane questioned after the vague answer, "What do they look like and exactly what do they do?"

"Yeahmuns look like... Yeahmuns are hideous creatures and they like to..." The old witch paused again and drifted into what appeared to be sleep, but Jane thought maybe it was some sort of enchantment. The witch pulled out again and repeated, "Yeahmuns are hideous creatures."

"You said that before. Do you know you keep repeating yourself?"

"I did? You must be mistaken. I went into great detail about yeahmuns and never repeated myself once," the old witch told her with a bit of irritation. "It is not my fault you do not pay attention."

Jane muttered to herself, "Maybe I'll ask the Muffin Man later." She then told the old witch, "I better get going. I have another delivery."

"Wait, there is something else," the old witch stated. "Yeahmuns are not always hideous to look at. They can disguise themselves and blend in with normal people."

"Normal people like you?" Jane inquired.

The old witch nodded.

"That tidbit of information could come in handy, thank you," Jane spoke as she started to head back to her bike. She got a sense she should help the old woman with something, but she wasn't sure what it was, and her excitement about returning to the Beast got the better of her. "Have a nice day," Jane yelled over her shoulder as she rushed back to her bike.

"Have a nice day?" the old witch repeated her words. "The deary actually bided me good-will. Could this mean something? I also do not remember her belittling me in the least. I believe this moment should go into my diary."
Chapter Four

A New Calling

After arriving at the front door of the castle, Jane grabbed the eagle head knocker and struck three times. The door opened, and she heard a male servant bid her to enter. She walked in and found the Beast waiting for her in the entry. Jane lost herself in his large blue eagle-like eyes and didn't say anything as she came in and stood before him. Her heart fluttered, and she couldn't help but get a sense of the princely boy from her dreams and the character from her drawings. She would have stood there forever, gazing at the Beast if the servant hadn't of cleared his throat.

"I have your bear claws," she told the Beast, after remembering her job. Jane walked to him and held out the box.

The Beast felt the intensity of her stare again, and it once more made him uncomfortable and drawn to her at the same time. His gaze moved to her lips which possessed the same aura as they did earlier that morning. He wondered if an additional hex had been placed upon him and would he be able to accept the conditions of this addition. The beautiful image of the black tattoo swan came to his mind again, and he decided he could endure.

The Beast told her, "I actually do not have a sweet tooth. They are for another who has an insatiable craving for pastries."

"Oh... It's nice of you to order for him," Jane told him as she lowered her arms and held the box to herself.

"Nice has nothing to do with it," the Beast told her. "If I do not cater to his every whim, life in the few moments we share is intolerable. It is merely easier to order him pastries." He motioned to his left and stated, "My servant will take the bear claws."

The box of pastries was whisked from her hands, and Jane followed the box with her eyes as it floated away. It soon disappeared down the hall. She turned her attention back to the Beast as the fluttering of her heart quieted a bit. Lykos told her many were cursed in the realm, and she knew of the Beast's curse, so where was the Belle of his story? He didn't seem like the one to hide himself away in his castle, and he did mention a lady with rose-colored perception. The Beast had to be looking for the one to free him. Those thoughts filled her mind along with the reason why she was in the World of Grimm. She wondered what sort of purpose she could have here, then realized she had been staring again, and snapped out of her, I can't believe he's standing right in front of me, gaze.

"Could I have your signature?" Jane questioned as she held out the clipboard and quill and tried not to be all stalkerish she with her eyes.

"You are in a demanding mood today," the Beast told her as he stepped closer to her. "What other things will you demand of me?" He took the clipboard, then signed with the quill, and handed them back as he questioned, "Will you also demand a very good tip?"

"Ah..." she started, not used to anyone flirting with her if that was what the Beast was doing. Jane replied, "Tip as you see fit."

He stepped forward again, took her empty hand, and clasped it in his furry one. The Beast held on to it for a good while as he gazed deeply into her brown eyes. Of all the creatures who could look upon him with no fear, it had to be her. He took his other hand, placed it on top of her hand he held, and then he gently slid his fingers over her palm, leaving a silver coin behind. She never once took her eyes off of him. Her gaze never wavered and didn't show the slightest hint of revulsion.

The Beast took a step back from her, and it troubled her that he was leaving her even if it was only the distance of a foot. Feelings welled up within her. She wanted so much, so much from him and so much for herself, and it was so overwhelming that she had to push the majority of her desires from her mind and focus on just a few of them. She wanted to help him in his predicament, not that there was anything wrong with his gorgeous form, but she could only help him if she was the Beauty of his story. The joy that filled her essence trickled out of her soul as she remembered the fairy tale. Beauty was a very attractive woman with a heart to match who could see past the prince's altered form and still love him. Beauty... Jane didn't see herself as an alluring creature, so how could she be the Belle of his story? He would have to look past her surface self and see her as she was within. Jane pulled herself from her thoughts. She was getting ahead of things. Maybe she was only there to help him find his Beauty. Maybe she was only meant to be a minor character in his tale.

"Thank you," Jane said as she pocketed the coin and never looked at it. "Umm..." The maze on the estate came to mind as she decided she needed to focus on other things, and Jane thought she would try to get some information if she could without giving away that she entered the maze only because a tiny yellow rose opened the padlock for her. Jane began, "Do you have roses on your estate? I thought I smelled some earlier today."

"Roses?" he uttered as his flirtatious demeanor changed to one of agitation, and then he added, "No, I detest roses so there are none on my estate or anywhere in the castle. You must have smelled some other flower."

"I must have," she stated, then thought she couldn't let go of the maze just yet, and said, "Maybe you can at some time take me on a stroll through your gardens. I bet with an estate this big you must have a hedge labyrinth or two."

"I am afraid I will have to disappoint you again. There are no labyrinths on the estate. I do have a grand butterfly garden I would like to show off to you at some time. There are over a dozen different species that visit the gardens."

Either the Beast was lying to her or... or she didn't know what else it could be. The mention of roses really upset him so maybe there was something to it. A rose was always very important to the character's fairy tale and now that she thought about it, didn't the old woman who came to her cottage offer her a rose to thank her for taking her in out of the storm?

He interrupted her thoughts when he questioned, "Why do you not join me for brunch? You must be hungry traveling all this way twice in such a short amount of time."

"I am starving, and I finished my deliveries for the morning, so I see no reason why I can't," she replied and then considered it would also give her more time to question him. Jane needed to find out if the Beast and the giant rose were the princely boy and girl sorceress from her dream.

The hustle and bustle of daily castle life went on around her, and Jane also saw evidence of servants at work as she walked through the hallways. She saw feather dusters flapping about like wings, cloths sliding up and down banisters like slides, and trays full of an array of things hovering about like silver magic carpets flying at different heights. She wondered how the Beast managed to go about his daily life without running into one of his servants or how the servants knew where the other invisible servants were.

Clouds speckled the light blue sky and a few sparrows flew overhead, greeting the late morning with their chirping as the Beast took her out to one of the balconies. The balcony overlooked a fountain of an eagle with its wings spread, shooting water out of its beak. The two of them sat at a round table that could easily seat six people. Juices, breakfast breads, fruits, and cheeses were piled on large silver platters. A silver pot of tea and china cups and saucers were on the table.

"Help yourself," he told her, then he waited till she put a few things on her plate, and then he put cheese and bread on his.

An invisible servant poured them some black tea and held up a cup of sugar cubes to Jane.

"Three please," she told the servant, and three cubes, one by one, plopped into her tea. Jane cut into some cantaloupe, took a few bites, and then said, "This is very good."

The Beast watched her and as they neared the end of the meal, he commented, "You have been kind of rude to me."

Jane looked up wide-eyed, then wiped her mouth with a cloth napkin, and asked, "How's that?"

"I asked you your name, but you never asked me mine."

"I didn't? I'm sorry. I assumed your name was the Beast. I have been very rude."

He looked hurt at the mention of the title as if the name was fouler than one of the three pigs wallowing in slop.

She saw how it affected him, and she apologized again, "I'm sorry. It was the name on the delivery sheet, but I guess to you it might only be a cruel reminder of..." Jane stopped herself and then apologized for the third time, "I'm sorry. I did it again. I don't know when to shut up. I can get–"

"You are right."

"Huh?" she uttered.

"You are right about me," he told her as he stood and walked over to the balcony railing and looked down to the courtyard below. "Of all the curses that could have befallen me, this one that transformed my handsome appearance into this... this–" he spoke as he turned and faced her, motioned to himself, and continued, "–grotesque form is second only to one other."

Jane placed her napkin back on her lap, and then she said, "I don't know what to say. I know how it feels to have people see you but not really see the real you, though I don't know if mine comes anywhere near the level of yours. I can say I understand how it feels not to be able to talk to anyone about it."

"Can you really understand what I am going through?" the Beast questioned her as he walked over to the table and stood beside her. "Can you understand how much this form disgusts me? How I wish more than anything to be rid of it and have my old body back?"

The Beast peered at her but this time, he wasn't drawn to her lips but drawn to a question. He considered that she may have a curse similar to his. Was Jane his Beauty in an unremarkable-guise?

A multitude of answers came to her thoughts that she could tell him, but only one of them was true to her heart, so she spoke it, "I don't see you as grotesque."

She peered at him with those adoring eyes of hers again, and the Beast shrunk back from the affection they proclaimed unsure if what he beheld was real, and he was also unsure how to respond to something so sincere. The affection that made him shrink back also compelled him to seize the uncorrupted adoration he felt from her and never let go. The conflicting emotions raging within him only stoked the fires of determination within his heart that no one would ever deceive him again. He wouldn't be enchanted by her; he would put his own spell upon her.

The Beast knelt beside her as he started his performance, and then he graciously stretched out his arm and took her hand in his as he questioned her, "How do you see me?"

Jane peered down at him as her heart fluttered in her chest like a butterfly desperate to break free. She wanted to tell him that she loved him, but was it true? Did her heart only listen to her imagination or did she truly love him? What did she know about him? He may be the princely boy from her dream but even when she considered the boy, she realized that she knew very little about him. Jane couldn't lie to the Beast, so she had to come up with something to tell him.

"I'll say that I don't see you as hideous or something to be afraid of, but how I do see you, I'll keep to myself a little longer," she stated and then added, "I'm bashful by nature."

His performance depended on an answer from her, not a delay for another day. He held in his annoyance, released her hand, and went back to his seat. His charm didn't work on her this time. The female elf he couldn't quite figure out won the hour but not the war. He would have to rethink his approach if he couldn't put his own spell upon her. Maybe he didn't have to win her over, maybe he only had to drive her away. The Beast couldn't allow himself to be taken in by someone like Jane. Should he ruin his reputation for being charming? No, he knew of something better; he knew of someone better suited for the job. The Beast would make sure to snuff out the care she had for him if that was what he saw and not be entrapped by this peculiar female elf. He only needed a way to set up the trap, so he waited. He reconsidered the swan tattoo and the possibility that she may be an extraordinary person. If she really was the one to set him free, the one he had in mind would see through the shroud that cursed her and he would have his answer.

Jane finished her breakfast as she thought about how his curse deeply plagued the Beast. It hurt her to see that he couldn't see his own handsomeness. After some time went by and they were both drinking tea, Jane questioned him, "If you're upset about your curse, why don't you get someone to help you end it? You know like a Hex Breaker or someone like that."

"What do you mean? Why would someone help me?" he asked.

Jane thought about it, and then she answered, "Umm, I don't know... Because they want to be helpful, they're your friend, or maybe for money."

"A friend..." the word seemed to slither from his mouth. The Beast diverted his gaze to his teacup as he stated with animosity, "I had a friend once... actually two... and both of those relationships ended poorly." He considered his past a little longer, then decided he needed to focus on the present, lifted his eyes, and told her, "I can understand someone doing it for money or favors from powerful people." He paused, and then he asked, "Is that what you are offering? Are you offering your services as a Hex Breaker?"

"Me..?" she uttered, then pointed to herself, and uttered again, "Me? I don't know... I probably do know every fairy tale that's ever been written. I might be able to figure out how to break the curses but then again, what if the stories are different? Like with your story, where are the roses?"

"I am not sure I understand what you are saying when you talk of fairy tales and stories, but I am willing to hire you."

"Really?" Jane spoke, thought it over some more, and then said, "You do understand I have no experience. Are you sure you want to?"

"Yes, on one condition," the Beast interrupted. "I want you to complete a test for me."

"What kind of test?"

"I want you to return tonight once it is dark and at that time, I want you to talk with me. I want you to figure out my real name."

She asked, "Why do you want me to wait until tonight?"

"You will understand once you have returned," he answered her. "If you can claim my real name from my own tongue, I will hire you. That is of course if, after tonight, you still want to work for me."

Jane had been contemplating how to help her friends or at least the two people she believed were her friends. If she became a Hex Breaker, her title would allow her to ask unusual and difficult questions without drumming up suspicion as to why she was doing it. If it ended up the giant rose and the Beast weren't the girl sorceress and the princely boy, then she would be the only one disappointed. She would keep her beliefs to herself till she was a hundred percent sure but even if they were the two children, would they remember her? Should she also figure out why they ran away from young Jane in fear before she told them? So many things to figure out, but she did have an answer for the Beast.

"Okay, I'll do it," Jane told him. "Starting today I'm an amateur Hex Breaker along with independent delivery girl. I'll take you on as my first client, and I'll come back tonight to take your test." She paused and then questioned, "What would a job like this pay?"

"What would you want?" he asked.

She had no real idea of what money was worth in the land so Jane went by what the Muffin Man was paying and questioned, "What about four pennies for expenses for each full day I work and two if I only put in half a day? And once I break the curse, you can give me some sort of bonus. Does that sound fair?"

"I believe that is fair as long as you pass the test and still wish to work for me."

"It's a deal then. I'll see you tonight," Jane said as she stood, started to leave, then paused, thinking of the girl sorceress, and asked, "Could I trouble one of your servants for something?"

"Yes, go ahead and ask," the Beast replied.

She questioned, "Is there any way I could get some tea to go?"

"To go where?" an invisible servant asked.

"To go with me of course, silly," Jane said as she chuckled.

"I believe I can put some in a glass jar."

"That would work, thank you."

Jane waited and a few minutes later, a glass jar with a metal lid floated out to her, she took it, placed it in her backpack, and stated, "I'm off then, and I'll be back tonight."

"One moment," the Beast told her as he clapped his hands, and a chest floated into the area. He told her, "These belong to you."

She looked at the chest and didn't recognize it, so she asked, "What does?"

"These are the armor and weapons of the goblin that you slew in the robbery attempt last night. They may be of some use to you or you can sell them."

The chest landed on the floor, and Jane went over, opened it, and looked into the chest. She removed the goblin's sword and sheath, and she questioned, "Are you sure this is okay to take?"

An invisible servant told her, "Yes, it is the law of the land. Once a foe has been utterly defeated, what belongs to them belongs to the victor."

Jane drew the sword and examined the three-foot long double-edged blade. The steel had a blue tinge to the metal and something was written on it. Jane examined the goblin engraved name PapyrKut, and then she chuckled.

The Beast told her, "I believe the sword is magical, but you will not be able to unlock its potential until you can read its goblin name."

"It's like my club then," Jane said, and then she blurted, "I believe the name of the sword is paper cut."

"You can read the goblin language?" he uttered and then said, "I am shocked that you admitted to knowing one of the wicked languages?"

"Goblin language?" Jane exclaimed as she pointed to the blade. "It's written right here in English."

He examined the script she pointed to, and then he said, "I am not sure what English is but that is written in the goblin language."

"What do you mean you don't know what English is? We're speaking it right now."

"Jane, we are speaking my tongue. We are speaking Elvish. In my kingdom, Elvish is the common language," he said.

"I always thought it would be nifty to learn Elvish, but I never had the time, and I always wanted to learn Klingonese too, so I don't know which of the two I would pick." Jane paused, and then she said, "As for knowing one of the wicked languages, maybe knowing other languages is part of my curse."

"No curse comes with gifts," the Beast explained to her. "You should know that and since you spoke about it, I doubt it is part of some sort of curse."

Jane examined PapyrKut's sheath which was made from a dark brown skin with scales which were much much larger than a snake's scale. She told the weapon, "For a goblin sword, you're very lovely." The blade twinkled with her comment as if it was pleased, then she smoothed her hand over the blade and said to the Beast, "I'll just take the sword and sheath for now. I won't be able to carry the rest of the stuff on my bike."

"I will have the rest of it delivered and will give you the chest as a gift."

"Thanks," she said as she sheathed PapyrKut. "I'll be on my way. Thank you for brunch, and I'll see you tonight."

The servant who waited on them waited till she left, and then he questioned the Beast, "Are you sure it was wise to invite the female elf back here tonight. What about the master?"

"I did say it was a test," the Beast replied as if his statement was answer enough. "A test cannot be easy; it has to be difficult and trying if it is to be a true test."

* * *

Rushing through the maze without the help of a fairy guide to show her the way, Jane followed the hedge walls, remembering every turn as if she had done it a hundred times before. Saah'Mee serenaded through her heart as Jane hummed the tune, and she hurried to meet her friend again. She somehow stumbled into helping the Beast, the princely boy, now she needed to convince the giant rose, the girl sorceress, to allow her to try and break her hex also. She had no idea where to start with a plant enchantment. The Beast's curse could be connected with a kiss or maybe a rose. Jane considered maybe the giant rose was somehow linked to the Beast, and maybe their curses had something in common. She found the hidden garden where the giant rose resided, and her thoughts went to the item she carried thoughtfully in her backpack.

"Erosa... Erosa... I've come back like I promised, and I brought you something!"

"You do not need to yell, I can hear you," Erosa told her with a hint of welcome hidden under her irritated tone. She perceived Jane entered the maze the moment she crossed the boundary line where the gate stood, and a sense of joy filled her. Erosa wondered why she didn't perceive this peculiar female elf before when she entered the maze the first time. Could it be she had been so obsessed with her own death that she ignored her ability to rule and govern the Hedge Labyrinth?

The female elf rushed through the entrance into the garden with a big smile on her face, and it brightened the gloom and misery of the dead garden. Erosa's own heart smiled back; it had been so long since she felt like smiling, but she kept all of this to herself.

"What did you bring me?" Erosa inquired, trying not to sound too excited or overly curious to see what it was.

"I brought tea," Jane replied as she removed her backpack. She unzipped it and pulled out the glass jar filled with the brown liquid as she said, "It's black and it's unsweetened. I'm not sure if you even want it or not, but I thought if you would like to try to see if you can drink it, it might be something nice to have besides the rainwater. You might even consider it a treat."

The thought of tea filled Erosa's mind with jubilant delight, but she wasn't about to let this female elf know just how much she was looking forward to tasting the brewed water again. Erosa decided she would toy with Jane a bit first and questioned, "How do you propose that I drink this murky water? Are you to pour it on the ground? You did call it a treat. Do you think me a pet? Do you expect me to lap it up from the ground like some dog?"

"I'm sorry," Jane replied as her demeanor saddened. She didn't think her gift through, she only thought her friend would enjoy it. She admitted, "I hadn't thought that far ahead. Do you want it? If you don't, I can take it back with me to the barn loft and have it later."

"I did not say that I did not want it," Erosa quickly replied, fearing she might lose her special treat. "I merely asked how you suggest that I partake of it and not look like some lowly animal doing so."

Jane asked her, "Are you able to grab things? You can drink right from the glass jar if you're able to grab hold of it. If that isn't possible, I'll try to think of something else."

"I believe I can grasp the jar," Erosa replied and couldn't help but toy with her again as she asked, "Now tell me how should I drink it. Will I simply pour it on my roots and cause myself to lap it up like a mongrel?"

"No, silly," Jane answered. "Use your mouth. You can, can't you?"

Her suggestion flustered Erosa, and she snapped, "You can see my face? You never said you could see my face!"

"What does it matter if I can see your face?" Jane questioned her.

"It matters because–" Erosa started, and then she decided that she needed to keep that detail a secret, so she stated, "It matters because you know that I am more than a plant."

"I know who you are," Jane replied. "I have known the moment I saw your lovely face again."

Erosa wondered what she meant by again as she said, "I would thank you for the compliment, but my mother once told me, speak the truth always."

She thought now would be a good time to leave a hint of who she was, so Jane said, "I told someone once, we should always speak the truth, but sometimes it shouldn't be uttered." Jane waited, hoping to see some sort of recognition within the giant rose's face or to hear her say something that would tell her that maybe the giant rose did recognize her. Neither came, and Jane felt a smidgen of defeat.

"I am not sure what you are trying to say to me, but I will uphold what my mother taught me," Erosa spoke. "Now let us return to the matter of my tea."

"Of course," Jane told her. "We were talking about you drinking the tea with your mouth and since we are talking about always speaking the truth, I think now is also a good time to bring up something. It sounds like you're trying to pick a fight with me. I thought we were starting to become good friends, but you seem to only want to argue."

"You caught on to my game very quickly," Erosa said. "I guess I will have to find another game to play."

"After we have tea," Jane insisted.

"Are you going to partake tea with me?" Erosa questioned, noticing she was a little excited at the notion herself.

"I forgot to bring myself a cup," Jane said as she turned to the exit. "I could run back and ask for one, but I believe the servants or the Beast might ask too many questions, and I haven't exactly told them I've been in here."

"You are lying to the Beast?"

"No, not really. I just didn't tell him. I guess that does mean I've been sort of lying to him. Now I feel terrible. I should tell him I've been in here and that I've met you."

Erosa told her, "If you do that, he will become upset."

"I guess I'll have to figure out a way to tell him so he won't be upset, and I just thought of something. I'll be right back." Jane rushed out and shortly returned with her bike's water bottle. "I can put a little tea in here and sit down and have tea with you or stand if you're not able to sit."

"Why would I want to have tea with you?" Erosa questioned her.

"Because any food or beverage is better with friends sharing, and I thought you decided to play a different game with me than the one where you try to pick a fight."

"I did say I would figure out a different game, but I have to say, you do throw out that word friends a lot. I know that I never said we were friends."

"You're right. I consider you a friend, but friendship only works when both people have the same feelings," Jane said with a bit of glumness to her tone, but it was soon replaced with optimism as she spoke, "I'll restate my answer then. Food or beverage is better when you share it with friends or people you just met."

"I can accept that we are acquaintances," Erosa told her. "Now please serve me my tea."

Jane poured a little into her empty water bottle, then went over, and set the glass jar close enough for Erosa to grab it, and yet she didn't get too close. Jane stepped back when she was done, and Erosa picked up the jar with one of her thorny vines. It was almost like the vine was a single finger wrapped around the glass. Erosa lifted the jar to her mouth within the red petals and took of the brown liquid, and it was as good as she remembered.

The two of them sipped on their tea as Jane remained standing. Erosa closed her eyes and remembered tea parties gone by, but the memories were bitter-sweet, so she didn't linger on them very long.

Jane waited till the giant rose finished half her jar, and then she spoke, "I did want to tell you that I have a second job that might interest you."

"Why would such a thing interest me?" Erosa questioned her.

"I'm a Hex Breaker," Jane stated. "I might have my first client, but first I have to pass the Beast's test tonight."

"If it is tonight, it will be an interesting test then," Erosa told her.

"If you're ever in need of a Hex Breaker, I can offer you my services," Jane said.

"Ask me again once you have completed the Beast's test."

"Okay. I've actually already started on his case, so I was wondering if you might answer a few questions for me."

"I might," Erosa told her, and then she noticed the distance the female elf kept between the two of them. Somehow the female elf must know or subconsciously know how dangerous it was to be near her. It must be fear she sensed from her now. Erosa continued, "But first I have a question of my own. Why do you not come a little closer? Are you afraid that I will hurt you?"

"No, I was afraid of stepping on your feet or I mean your roots. I'm not sure how far out they go and how close to the ground they are. Is it okay for me to come closer?" Jane questioned.

What Erosa had seen earlier wasn't fear but concern. Erosa wasn't sure that she liked the concern this female elf seemed to have for her and yet in a way, it was also somewhat comforting.

"My roots are well in the ground, so it is fine for you to come closer," Erosa told her and then urged her, "Come stand before me while we talk."

"Thank you," Jane said. "I did feel a little awkward standing so far back." Jane moved forward and stood before the giant rose, and then Jane said, "The questions I have for you are concerning the Beast. I haven't been hired yet, but I'd like to go ahead and start the investigation. I know that his curse most likely concerns his appearance and that it might have something to do with something he did in his past if it's anything like the other fairy tales." She paused and then continued, "I believe he has to be kissed by one who loves him and that maybe a rose is also involved. Since you are a rose, I was wondering if your curse has anything to do with his curse?"

The delight Erosa had over the tea evaporated as a sense of outrage rushed over her. She couldn't believe what she heard. The female elf spoke of a lot of nonsense and things that Erosa didn't understand, but the female elf had already figured out how to break the Beast's curse, and she had only been there a day. It infuriated Erosa to think that the Beast's curse may be lifted while she was stuck in this horrendous garden with only this irritating female elf as company. She wasn't about to let this would-be Hex Breaker take away the only gratification she had left in this world. The only satisfaction she had was in knowing that the Beast was equally cursed as she. Erosa may be a prisoner of the garden, but he was a prisoner of his own vanity. She would make sure the female elf didn't break his curse, and she needed to act quickly while the female elf was distracted by her investigation.

When Erosa was hexed, she wasn't completely helpless to the world around her. Her curse came with a few things she could defend herself with. Twelve thorny vines covered in green leaves sprung out of her stem in curls, and she could move them about like tentacles. The thorns on the twelve tentacle vines were two inches long and could slice and pierce like daggers. A thirteenth vine she kept hidden, wrapped around her large stem was thornless except for one large thorn at the vine's tip. The thorn was huge, a foot long but narrow, and it was very poisonous like a stinger of a deadly scorpion. The poison contained in the stinger thorn melted her victims from the inside out in a slow agonizing death. While the female elf talked to her, Erosa snaked the noxious vined down from her large stem and toward the ground, intending to eliminate the female elf and her ability to break the Beast's curse. Erosa thought the female elf would also provide fertilizer for herself and the lifeless garden.

"I cannot tell you if our curses are related," Erosa replied to her question.

"You're unable to tell me like in the case that the curse prevents you or you're unwilling to tell me?" Jane questioned.

"You will have to figure that out for yourself," Erosa told her as the huge stinger thorn reached the ground and started to slither toward the female elf like a viper on the hunt.

Jane realized she wouldn't get anywhere if she didn't convince the giant rose to help her. Jane thought about detective shows she'd watched and decided she needed something to give her in return for her help, so she asked, "What's the price?"

"What do you mean?" Erosa inquired as the serpent vine gradually slithered through the dead grass toward the female elf's exposed legs. Erosa had the vine approach it slowly so that the stinger thorn wasn't detected, and it could strike with no warning. Erosa questioned, "What is the price of what?"

"What must I give you in return for helping me?" Jane answered. "I could offer you my services for free in exchange for your help."

The stinger vine paused as Erosa thought of a world where she was rid of her curse. She would be whole again and free to do as she willed. She could walk... no run about on her legs and have use of her arms and hands. Her dark black hair would flow down her shoulders, and she could eat. She could consume all the delightful foods and drinks she enjoyed and most of all, she could have someone embrace her again in his loving arms. Erosa fell deep into her wishful thinking, but then she realized the female elf trapped her and used her own desires against her as if she weaved some sort of spell. Erosa couldn't let the claims of this female elf sway her from her murderous intent, and so the serpent vine continued on its deadly trek.

"I decline your offer," Erosa told her.

"Oh..." Jane replied, and then she said, "I guess if you don't want to help him, I can't make you." Jane thought about the way she had gone about questioning her friend, realized how it sounded, and then she said, "I'm sorry. I intended to offer my services for free anyway. I shouldn't have used the offer to pry information from you. Please forgive me."

The way the female elf spoke and her bizarre actions baffled Erosa. The apology seemed genuine and the offer to help her with her enchantment also seemed genuine, but Erosa had been fooled before by someone who confessed his love and his undying devotion to her. Sentiment couldn't be trusted, so anyone professing to care couldn't be trusted. The only things that could be relied upon were actions and words brought on by lust, greed, and the desire for power. Erosa saw none of those attributes in the female elf, so she had to be hiding something from her, something sinister or dangerous. She felt more certain of her decision to take the life of this pretender as the serpent vine edged closer. Erosa would be isolated again in her barren garden, but she could handle loneliness as long as the Beast suffered alongside her in his castle.

"I did not take offense in your offer so there is nothing to forgive," Erosa told her as the serpent vine reached its destination, and she prepared to strike. "I can understand wanting something for something," she said as the stinger thorn rose up behind the female elf like a deadly cobra and pulled its long and slender dagger-like head back.

Jane couldn't let herself off the hook that easily, and she stepped to the side away from Erosa and out of the stinger thorn's striking zone as she stated, "It was still wrong of me to do so. I would still like to offer my services as a Hex Breaker to you for free. You're like one of the first true friends that I ever made." She realized how it sounded, so she restated, "I mean to say you're like one of the first friends I've made since I arrived here."

"You consider us friends?" Erosa uttered as if repeating a joke.

"Yes, silly, but maybe in your eyes, we're not there yet," Jane replied as she moved back over to Erosa.

"I do not care what you claim, I am unwilling to help the Beast," Erosa said, knowing the female elf would take back her offer to help once she knew that fact. "He does not deserve redemption and therefore, he does not deserve to be released from his curse."

Hearing the anger and the passion of one who had been betrayed in her voice, Jane knew there was so much more to the giant rose and the Beast than she could possibly understand. She took the opportunity to find out a little about her, so Jane stated, "You sound like you know him very well." She started her investigation into Erosa's enchantment without her consent and asked, "Is he the reason why you are in this garden?"

Erosa made a face as if she wanted to scream something at her, but her mouth within the red petals seemed to be prevented from opening and stopped her from uttering her vexation.

"Finding out the truth may be easier than I thought," Jane told her. "All I have to do is pick my questions carefully, have someone who's willing to speak with me about the subject, and then all I have to do is pay attention." She clapped twice in victory, and then Jane spoke, "I'm right about the Beast somehow being connected to your curse, but what is your connection to him?" She thought about her recurring dream and said, "I think I know your connection to him, but why would you be transformed into a beautiful rose, and why would he be transformed into a gorgeous and handsome beast?"

The stinger thorn lowered itself back to the ground before it was spotted, and the serpent vine started to snake its way up behind the female elf's new position as Erosa listened to her ramblings. She was surprised to hear the female elf call her beautiful and the princely oaf, gorgeous and handsome. Was the female elf cursed with rose-colored perception? No matter the answer... The toxin her stinger thorn would inflict upon the foolhardy female elf would melt away any desires she had of helping anyone. Erosa may even hear her swear at her and finally hear how this peculiar creature really considered her.

Jane put a hand to her chin as she thought out loud, "So much must have happened over the years, and I'll need to find out what did happen or I won't be able to help either of you." She turned to the giant rose and asked, "Can you give me some background on yourself?" Jane thought of her recurring dream again and asked a question she believed she already knew the answer to, "Did you work for the Beast at one time? Did you worked for him as some sort of magic wielder?"

"How do you know I worked for the Beast and that I am one who can cast magic?" Erosa questioned and then she demanded as the serpent vine paused in its hunt, "Who have you been talking to?"

Jane spoke of herself as she said, "The person who told me about you knew you only for a short time, and it was a very long time ago. My connection actually knows very little about you and the Beast, so what they know is of little help."

"Your answer is not an answer," Erosa stated.

"Sorry about that. I wish I could tell you more, but I can't right now," Jane said as she sighed, getting nowhere in her investigation and feeling a little guilty not being completely honest. "If you won't help me with the Beast, could you maybe help me? Can you tell me about the test the Beast wants me to complete? If I understand it, I might understand–"

The serpent vine reached its destination behind Jane once more, and it rose up behind her again like a cobra ready to strike. The poison that the stinger thorns secreted dripped from its tip, landed on the ground in little droplets, and melted patches of the dirt. Erosa aimed for the back of her neck and decided on the spot to strike; it was just below her ponytail near the base of her skull. She prepared to strike, thinking about how much agony the female elf would go through before death, then a split-second before Erosa struck, a puff of smoke consumed the female elf. A duckling emerged once the smoke dissipated, and it flapped its tiny wings and squawked as if startled by a vicious dog. The duckling started to look all around for danger, and Erosa dropped the serpent vine back into the dead grass before it was spotted. The duckling continued to search for danger but didn't see any. The duckling calmed down a bit, and the stinger thorn rose up slightly in her blind spot and prepared to strike again. The duckling was so tiny, Erosa had difficulty targeting her. A small puff of smoke consumed the little duckling and then the smoke exploded out till it was the size of a person and once it dissipated, the female elf stood there stunned.

"It happened again," Jane uttered. "I'm still not quite sure what triggers it." Her face flushed red, realizing the giant rose saw her change, and she stated, "Sorry about that. I seem to be turned into a...." She didn't utter duck, knowing her hex would prevent her from talking about it. "Sorry again. I forget I can't explain my curse. It looks like I need to hire myself."

Erosa let out a loud laugh as she spoke, "You who are cursed is trying to free others of what afflicts them!"

"Maybe," Jane replied after the ridicule. "But who better than one who knows what it feels like to be cursed."

"Fair enough," Erosa stated as she stopped laughing, and then she asked, "Where were we?"

Erosa needed to keep the female elf talking while she thought about the events that led up to the female elf escaping her murder attempt. The enchantment seemed simple enough, and Erosa had hexed a few with this particular curse. The female elf must turn into a duckling whenever the enchantment senses danger or maybe just the intent of harm. Erosa thought she would test this theory by trying to kill Jane a second time, but she needed to do so without such murderous intentions. She slithered her serpent vine towards the female elf again as they continued their conversation.

"We were talking about many things," Jane answered. "We were talking about the Beast's curse and about me helping you with your own curse."

"Yes, we were," Erosa stated.

The serpent vine rose up behind the female elf just as it did the two times before. Erosa carefully moved the stinger thorn towards the base of her skull, and she was within striking distance again, but then she paused. Erosa knew she wouldn't be successful; she couldn't eliminate her deadly intentions from her mind. If the female elf turned into a duckling again, she may realize what Erosa was up to and never return to the maze. Erosa would lose her chance to destroy the one who might free the Beast, and she would be alone again. Erosa's last thought shocked her. The thought was the opposite of her wishes. If the female elf discovered what she was up to or Erosa was successful either way, she would end up alone. She also realized she had come to enjoy the time she spent with the foolhardy female elf and if Erosa was to be honest with herself, she actually hoped she would return after their first encounter. The dead garden was a miserable prison. Erosa decided she couldn't go through with her murder plot until she could eliminate the murderous thoughts from her mind.

"I have given you my answer as to helping the Beast but as for my own predicament, if you can pass his test tonight, come and speak to me again. I will tell you at that time if I wish for your services as a Hex Breaker. More likely than not, you will fail the test."

"Way to boost my confidence," Jane told her.

"We are acquaintances," Erosa said. "I only spoke the truth to you."

"I do hope to upgrade our relationship to pals soon," Jane replied, and then she said, "I'm off to AaBack. I need to check in with my boss and get a little rest before tonight. I have a feeling I'll need it."
Chapter Five

Mirror... Mirror...

The Muffin Man told her there were no deliveries for the evening, so Jane when out back to the barn and went up in its loft. The place was dirty and dusty, so she spent most of her time cleaning it. She removed most of the old hay and by the time she finished dusting and sweeping, it was nearly time to head out. She noticed the chest the Beast gave her with the goblin armor inside had been delivered and brought up to the loft, so Jane went over to her backpack and removed the short sword and club she stowed inside the bag. Snake Bite wouldn't stay hooked on the outside of her backpack, so she thought it better to put it inside. Jane noticed something strange about her backpack as she removed the weapons; it should be overstuffed with all the things in it and weigh much more than it did. Actually, she believed it had gotten lighter since she arrived in the World of Grimm. Jane thought about one of her favorite shows Doctor Who and the main character's time machine.

She decided to test her theory on her backpack, went over to the back wall, picked up the slightly heavy chest, walked it back, and tried to place it inside her backpack. Normally the chest would be too big to even go in, but as it touched the outside of her backpack's rim, it seemed to shrink. The entire chest went in, then Jane picked up her backpack, and it was as light as before. Jane removed the chest, opened it, and placed the club inside along with everything else in her backpack, but she did hold onto the short sword. She put the chest back in her backpack, fixed the short sword to her back, strapped her backpack on over top of it, went down to her bike, and headed out for the Beast's castle.

The moon started its ascent as Jane reached the estate's main gate, and the last rays of sunlight stretched across the sky. The cool air blew across her as she braked and dismounted. She walked up to the front door which was lit up by two torches. Jane reached for the knocker and noticed it was different than before. The knocker was no longer of an eagle's head but a lion's. Jane decided to make a mental note of this. It might be important to the test or maybe in figuring out how to break the Beast's curse. She rapped the metal knocker on the door, and soon it opened as if on its own. She thanked whoever opened the door, stepped into the entry, and then told them the Beast requested her presence. A matchbox lifted into the air, a match removed itself, struck its head across the box's strip, and a small flame came to life. The match moved over to a small table where it lit three candles on a candlestick. The candlestick lifted, and then Jane heard the voice of the head maid who had bandaged her arm, and she still sounded nervous.

"Come this way, but do remember, I warned you earlier," the head maid told her.

Still confused about her meaning, Jane followed the candlestick through several halls back to the Study with all the books and the fireplace. The Beast wasn't sitting in the chair as before but lounging on a couch along the wall, reading a different book. The book he read was entitled, "Coping With The Monster Within". He stared at the text with a distant sad look on his Leo-like face. His appearance was different. The feathers she noticed during the day were gone, his mane and fur were longer, and his eyes were green and more feline than bird. His appearance wasn't the only thing that had changed. The medallion he wore around his neck had a lion on it with a moon in its mouth. She stared at him a little longer, getting a sense she was seeing the princely boy again. The fondness she had for the princely boy came back to her and made her determined to pass the test.

She cleared her throat and said, "I'm back like you asked. How is this test supposed to start?"

The Beast was so engrossed in his reading, he didn't hear the woman enter, not that she was sneaking in. With his keen sense of hearing, he should have heard her when she first entered his castle. He sat up and turned, so he could peer at her and didn't respond to her questions as he spoke, "You have returned. You should have listened to what I told you."

"I believe I listened very carefully. You told me to come back tonight. Was I supposed to come back at a different time or has the test already started?" she asked and when he didn't answer, she said, "You didn't say this test would be easy." Jane paused to see if he would respond and when he didn't, she decided the test had started and she needed to figure out his name so to break the ice, she asked, "How are things going?"

The Beast remained silent.

Jane stated with concern, "You're very quiet. Is everything okay?" Jane moved closer as she thought about what happened the night before, then glanced around, and whispered, "You're not being held hostage again, are you?"

He watched her as she went on, never moving his gaze from her, and then he stated, "I do not perceive what he sees in you. I do know your secret, so it has clouded my judgment. You should have heeded my warning and taken the opportunity to flee." The Beast took in a deep breath, taking in the scent of the woman and smelled something familiar on her. "You have been in the Hedge Labyrinth."

"I have," she admitted. "I've been meaning to talk to you about that and get–"

He interrupted, "You would be wise to never tell him of this. His fury will not be withheld from you. You would also be wise to never return to the Hedge Labyrinth."

For the first time, Jane felt uncomfortable under the Beast's stare, and she wasn't sure what she should say to him at that point. Before, he had looked at her with eyes that seemed surprised by her gaze, but they also had an allure about them. The Beast before her had no allure about him, and he never looked away from her with his piercing eyes as if he needed to remain on his guard. Maybe the test hadn't started. Maybe there was some sort of danger he couldn't tell her.

"I can't tell by your expression," she whispered. "Is someone here?" Jane cautiously glanced around as she asked, "Maybe someone who might have an arrow pointed at you or me?"

The Beast laughed, amused by the woman, then he stood, and took a few steps toward her as he said, "You are persistent. Maybe that is what he likes about you, though he did send you to me. Maybe he does not like you at all." He walked around her as if inspecting a filly he was considering on buying. "Do you know he never even told me you were coming? The head maid was all hush-hush around me, and she only becomes that way when she is threatened. I should have been warier of her secretiveness."

"He said?" Jane stated. "I'm not sure I understand. Are you talking about the master of the castle who roams the night that the head maid told me about this morning?"

The Beast ignored her question as he spoke, "I cannot tell. Is he excited you are here and that you might be her?" He grabbed her chin and examined her face, and his touch wasn't gentle as it had been. "Knowing him, he does not think that you are the Beauty to his Beast." His touch wasn't rough either but firm and unrelenting as he stated, "I still cannot tell. Does he wish for your death or merely wants to toy with you? You spoke of a test... What is it?"

"Please let go of me," she demanded in a soft spoken voice.

When he first touched her, Jane blushed, but it wasn't from his affectionate attention, no, it was created by a rising fear sounding a warning within her. The Beast was completely different than he was before.

"Tell me about the test," he insisted.

She stated, "You should know the test. You gave it to me."

"All I want you to do is simply tell me what I told you," the Beast demanded.

"I'm to discover your name."

"What were my exact words?" the Beast questioned.

"Is a forgetful spell on you?" she asked, and then she answered, "You said, 'I want you to return tonight once it is dark and at that time, I want you to talk with me. I want you to figure out my real name.' " She paused and then asked, "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"You do know that he sees you as nothing special. If he only knew the secret that I do, then he would know you are more than special. He would know what you are and run screaming to the village below and tell everyone. You should have heeded my warning. It might not be too late to do so."

"What secret are you talking about?" Jane asked.

He leaned close and whispered in her ear, "The one you revealed to me after you saved me." The Beast straightened and told her, "Wait till he finds out. If you think I am cruel, wait till he finds out your secret. You will see a side of me I have always tried to keep hidden."

"What secret?" she demanded, and then she asked, "Who's this he you keep referring to? Is he the master who roams the night? I don't understand your test at all." Frustrated and a little frightened, she snapped, "What do you want me to do?"

"I do not want you to do anything. I wanted you to leave. I wanted to show you my gratitude for saving me by allowing you to leave. I cannot help it if you did not heed my warning."

Jane pointed a finger at him and declared, "You are the master who roams the night!"

"It would seem you can see some things, but what is important to you eludes your reasoning."

She thought she already had the answer to the test and questioned, "Is your name the master who roams the night or the master?"

"It is not; it is merely what he calls me."

"The master who monopolizes the light," she thought out loud.

"Are you catching on to something right underneath my nose?" the Beast inquired of her a bit impressed, and then he stated, "I am curious... You mention passing a test. What is your reward if you pass it?"

"You should know. You will hire me to break your curse."

"You want to relieve me of my hex?" The Beast's voice rose over her agitated one as he demanded, "What fairness do you possess? What radiant presence do you emit? What is it about you that makes him think you are the one? What makes him think that you are the one to break this wretched curse?"

"Why are you so angry?" she questioned him.

"I am angry because you are not her! You are not even close to being her and yet you dare declare your intentions of taking this wicked enchantment from me! How dare you boast of your beauty! How dare you declare that there is some sort of connection or love between us! You are far from being the one! You are closer to being a murderous monster than the one I will cherish forever!"

The fluttering his presence induced in her heart became a roaring animal bent on shredding the muscle to pieces. Jane felt like he ripped her insides out and trampled them underfoot. The test wasn't anything like she envisioned; she wasn't even sure if it was a test anymore or only a way to lure her back, so he could belittle her and trounce the affection she thought she kept hidden from him. She began to doubt he was the princely boy. The Beast who lived in her fairy tale fantasy was only a figment of her imagination. Jane wanted to weep for what she lost but knew she couldn't, so she shouted back at him.

"You misunderstood what I said, but why am I telling you this? You should already know you hired me as a Hex Breaker. I never said I was your Belle! I never said that I'd personally be the one to lift your curse only that I would help break it!" Jane yelled at him, and then when what he told her sunk in more, she yelled all the more, "I never said that you would fall in love with me and my kiss would release you from... I only said I would help you end your curse. If you don't want my help, why didn't you just tell me in the beginning? Why did you want me to come here and be cruel to me? All I wanted to do was help you. Was that wrong of me?"

He considered her own outrage and confusion, but as far as he knew, they were only for show. The Beast told her, "It was wrong of you to want to help me. I should remain in this cursed form for an eternity. I do not deserve redemption."

"It sounds like to me your heart does want it," she stated as she took a step toward him. "Why give me this test? What did you want me to see?"

"Did you consider that I wanted you to see the real me?" he questioned as he moved for the door, peered into the hallway, then turned and faced her, asking, "Did you consider that I wanted you to see I do not deserve your help? I am a wretched soul and should be left to my fate."

"Why didn't you tell me all this earlier? Why did you ask me here tonight?" She started to leave, wounded by his atrocious teasing as she stated, "I think you only wanted to waste my time. I think you really don't want my help."

The Beast slammed his palm on the doorframe and blocked her escape as he emphasized, "I never asked you here. Have you not been listening? He did. The one you should really be afraid of. As I said–" The Beast moved closer and backed her into the chair, and she fell into it with a plop as he stated, "–I believe he thinks you may be the one." He placed both of his furry hands on the chair's arms and caged her like a frightened bird. "Do you really believe you can end this curse?" He leaned in as if he would gorge on her neck with his sharp fangs and questioned her, "Do you really believe I do not know what you are?"

For the first time since this woman arrived, she looked afraid and terrified of him. He paused from his aggressive interrogation, wondering why he didn't notice it before. Why didn't he notice she had no fear of him? Everyone was afraid of him even his servants. Why not this woman? Could she be the one? His curse was more twisted than he imagined if she was the one.

Jane moved back from his face, not that she was disgusted at the thought of the beastly prince being so close. It was just that she couldn't bear playing into his cruel game. The Beast mistook her fright and outrage for disgust, and he snarled like a lion and as his anger crested, he forgot about the earlier thought that she hadn't been afraid of him. He growled at her, and Jane put out her hand to grab the armrest and inadvertently put her fingers on top of his. The Beast's demeanor completely changed from savage animal to a man who had forgotten the touch of another. He looked at her hand and wanted to grab hold of it but instead, he wrenched his hand from her fingers. The Beast grabbed a nearby vase and smashed it to the floor, causing her to jump and be frightened all the more.

He remembered the glimpse of a black swan tattoo on her cheek from the night before, and he told her, "Do you want to know why you are really here? He does want you to pass his test but that is because of what he saw. He saw a glimpse of it as twilight broke, but it was enough to bestow upon him hope."

Jane was afraid to ask as her heart pounded in her chest, but she went ahead anyway and questioned, "What did he see?"

"He saw what he thought was your curse mark during the few seconds left before the day was swept away." The Beast pointed at the spot where the tattoo resided as if it were a festering wound. It was now hidden from the world, but he remembered how beautiful it had been, how deceitfully beautiful. The Beast continued, "He believes you must be a beauty beyond compare and enchanted with this common form that stands before me, but I know the truth. Your curse turns you into a representation of your true self. I have seen your ugliness. You transform into an ugly duckling when harm is intended against you. You are no Belle. You are no goddess sent to save me. You are a pale shadow of loveliness. You are a wretched creature cursed beyond all others. You are a–"

"Why are you toying with this ugly duckling then?" she snapped as she fought back tears with all her might. Jane remembered the warning Lykos gave her, and she couldn't lose the one thing that protected her, so she wouldn't allow herself to cry. The monster in beast clothing wouldn't make her cry. Jane demanded, "Why did you have me come here?" She stood from the chair and looked him directly in his feline eyes as she questioned, "If this is what you thought of me, why show me any kindness? If this is how you truly feel, why–"

"Because a part of me can. Because it is the truth and because a part of me bores easily." He fisted his hands as he admitted, "I know how dangerous you are and yet something about you amuses me. As for why I summoned you here..." The Beast stepped back as anger ignited from his inflamed expression, and he shouted, "I told you, I did not! Are you deaf besides atrocious? He did!"

She whispered, "You mean the master who monopolizes the light?"

Jane had no more words for him and pushed past him, trying so hard not to cry. She ran into the hall and then through several more as she fled toward the front door as fast as she could. The door opened for her before Jane reached it, and she quickened her pace to escape the castle. Before she reached the door, a mirror caught her attention, and she halted several feet away from the exit. Jane turned and gazed at her reflection and knew if she left, she couldn't ask him his name. If she didn't know his name, she couldn't get the job as a Hex Breaker. Jane turned and faced the direction she had run from as her heart still pounded in her chest. If she ran away from the castle and the estate, how would she help the giant rose? If Jane gave in to fear and cruelty now, wouldn't she be leaving the giant rose to the loneliness of the garden?

She bowed her head, knowing she had only one option, so she swallowed her pride and fear and slowly headed back, not that her pride wounded her the most. She trudged back and gathered her courage so that her voice wouldn't shake and so that she wouldn't cry. Jane paused at the entrance to the Study and saw the Beast with his back to her gazing at the fire. She couldn't see his face; she didn't want to see his angry face. Jane stared at his back a few minutes, searching for the strength to raise her voice to him, and then she said, "I... I have a few questions for you?"

Surprise filled his tumultuous mind when he heard her voice, and he turned and questioned, "What would someone like you want to ask me? Leave me and never come back to this castle."

Jane wanted to run for the front door again as he barked at her, but she stood her ground. She fisted her hand as she replied, "The first question I have is, what is my name? I told you what it was this morning. Tell me, and I'll leave this castle and never return to it."

He remained quiet, and she wasn't sure if he didn't know her name or merely forgot about her like the others had done in her world. The Beast did seem to know her just not her name, and Jane believed things were starting to fall into place concerning the test she needed to pass.

"I'll continue with my questioning then."

"Proceed, but I do not have to answer you," the Beast told her.

"After everything you have said to me, after all the cruel..." She let the rest of the sentence drop and asked, "Why should I break your curse? Tell me why I should help you? What about you makes you worthy of my efforts or what about you is worth saving? I haven't seen one thing. I thought I did earlier, but I must have been mistaken."

He stood there dumbstruck by her inquiry. A part of him would say that the curse had been unjustly placed upon him but that was a lie. A part of him would claim his status as royalty put him above others and by his birthright, he should be free of the enchantment, but things like that didn't make him better than others only worthy of his hex. He couldn't see a reason why he deserved redemption.

"Why would Grimm be better with the old you in it?" she asked, and then when he didn't answer her, she told him out of anger, "I think if you would have changed from the person you were before, your curse would have been lifted by now." Her anger seemed to be the only thing keeping her from crying, so she held on to it with all her might. "I have a feeling what stands before me is the real you. I'm not talking about your outward appearance. The physical you I see is majestic and grand but that is just on the outside. Your character and your soul must be very beastly and dark. From what I've heard and seen, there seems to be many reasons why I shouldn't help you, but I can't think of one reason why I should." She paused, and then she demanded, "Tell me one, just one or don't you even have a reason?"

"I..." For the first time, the woman unbalanced him and set him off his game. The Beast couldn't understand what she had done to him. It was as if she hexed his tongue.

"You're silence tells me you have no reason. Just as I thought," Jane spoke as she glared at the Beast. She took a step into his Study, forgetting the animalistic power he must possess and what he could do to her if he so wished it. Jane looked him up and down, and then she asked, "Are you some cruel animal?"

Shot down by her accusation, he roared at her and lifted up his clawed fingers as if to strike her down, "You do see me as hideous!"

"I'm not talking about your appearance!" she screamed back, then Jane calmed herself, and told him, "I'm talking about your heart. Who would want to help someone like..?" She decided to be kinder with her words and said, "Like the person, I met tonight?" She thought about the mirror she peered into earlier, and Jane questioned, "Is this what he wanted me to see? He wanted me to see you?"

"He?" the Beast uttered. "Do you understand?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "At first, I thought you were only messing with me, then I thought maybe you were his evil twin brother, but after standing in the hall... after looking at my own reflection," she said. "I believe you are his mirror reflection, a mirror-mirror version of him. You're the same person split into two, and I believe this is part of the curse that inflicts you."

He considered everything she said. The woman may not be a Belle, but her ability to see things was uncanny if she could figure out so much in such a short period of time.

"I'll take your non-answer to mean that I'm right."

Jane felt deeply scarred by the words this Beast told her. Were his angry outbursts and brutal accusations really a part of the Beast who swept away her heart?

"If I am correct about everything I've said, answer my one question. What is your name?"

"You still want to know my name after everything I have put you through? Why would you want the position? Why would I let you take the position?"

"You have no right to ask me any more questions. Tell me your name," Jane repeated, and then she demanded with more force, "What is your name?"

He didn't reply.

"You don't want to tell me? Fine by me!" she yelled, turned, and started out. "I've done my part by just trying. I can't say I didn't do my best. You're the one who in the end decided to reject my offer to help you!"

"Faris'Lunar," he shouted after her. "As I am now, my name is Faris'Lunar."

She paused at the door of the Study and spoke over her shoulder, somehow knowing things she shouldn't, "Faris'Lunar... It means knight of the moon." Jane chuckled and then added as she headed for the front door, "Some chivalrous warrior you are. I believe Moon Beast fits you better."

As the name was spoken from her lips, a burning sensation hit his hand, and he turned it over. A pale blue half moon tattoo appeared on his right palm. The Beast had been named again since his cursed form, and he took part in the first step towards his redemption whether he wanted to or not. The first step would only be complete if his other half also received his new name and the one they both despised. The Beast quickly moved into the hall and watched the woman leave. He finally understood what his other half thought he saw in her, but he was wrong. She wasn't a Beauty bewitched. She was a wolf in duckling's clothing.

Jane marched toward the front door again as a Kansas sized tornado of emotions whirled within her. The mirror she glimpsed before wasn't the one the queen peered into asking who was the fairest one of all or the one Alice jumped into and found herself in Wonderland. The mirror she found herself peering into was the one from Star Trek where one version of a person stood in one universe and another version of that same person stood in another. Jane believed somehow those two halves would have to come together to make the Beast whole again, but all the things she saw in Moon Beast made her hate him. She wasn't sure she wanted to see the two halves come together, not if Moon Beast was a part of him. She thought the master who monopolized the light would be better off without him, but could she help him while this other part existed?
Chapter Six

Decisions And Discoveries

Red Northlands Fury and Woodsman Of The Sacred Oak stopped just outside of the village as darkness dominated the night, and they peered at the sign lost to time and equally lost to a few weeds. AaBack was posted on the top sign and on the posted sign below it was written, Village of the Yeahmun Slayer. Woodsman held a magical lantern they acquired with great difficulty and at great expense.

"We can test the lantern here and once we do, we will know if it is the genuine article," Red told him.

Woodsman took a step forward, lifted the lantern, and the green light that emanated from it lit up the posted signs. Letters appeared on the top sign and soon words were created within the sprawled out name of the village. The upper case A became All and the lower case a became are. AaBack wasn't the name of the village but a warning for all to heed.

Woodsman read it aloud, "All who enter are doomed! Turn Back! Village of the Yeahmun Slayer."

"It works," Red said. "Now the lantern will illuminate all that is hidden, and we will find the Tear of Poer and take back what is ours–" Red stated as the magic sphere she held crackled in red furious energy as she vowed, "–and if I ever see that werewolf again, I will murder him for betraying us!"

* * *

Jane made it to the bathing house before it closed and was able to rid herself of the dirt and grime of the day. She removed her bandage and found her arm completely healed. Whatever the head maid put on it must have done the trick. Jane put her well used Flash t-shirt and cargo shorts along with her undergarments back on. She needed to go shopping and purchase pajamas and at least two more sets of clothes to allow for laundering, but for now, she would have to deal with living the grunge life. Jane returned to the barn loft and slept little, tossing and turning on the bed of hay with a single blanket as her mattress and cover. It was her dilemma over what to do about the two Beasts that kept her up and when morning's light broke through the loft's window, she got up, freshen up a bit at the water basin, and then headed to the bakery. She had three deliveries to make before she took up the bear claws the Beast ordered. The trip seemed longer than usual, and her legs were starting to feel the burn of back-to-back mountain rides.

At the castle...

As soon as morning broke, the Beast went out to the balcony where he could see the estate's main gate in the distance, and he waited for the female elf to return. For hours, he waited for her to appear, but she never did, and as 10 A.M. came, he thought she would never come. The master who roams the night wouldn't tell him what occurred the night before, nor would he tell him if she decided to take their case or not. The Beast wondered if it had been an ill-conceived idea to allow her to see his other half. Maybe he should have warned her before she took his test to expect trouble, and his decision to let her go in blind may have cost him dearly. The more the Beast thought about it, the more anxious he became, thinking the female elf may never return and that he may remain as he was forever.

He turned and started to head inside and go to his Study when he heard a guard shout who had been posted at the main gate. The Beast turned and his heart lifted with hope when he saw the female elf ride in on her two-wheeled contraption. He wanted to run down to the front door and rush out to her to discover her answer, but he contained his excitement and waited for her to be brought to him. The Beast headed for his Study, realizing just because she was there didn't mean she successfully acquired the other's name or that she would accept the position. He still needed to hear it from her lips, so he paced his Study as agonizing minutes went by.

One of his servants brought the female elf to him, and she wouldn't look at him as she normally did. The female elf seemed to take great care in making sure that she didn't look at him. The Beast wanted to jump right into the conversation, but he maintained his manners and questioned her, "Would you like something to eat or perhaps you would like something to drink?"

"I would prefer to talk about the matter that we spoke of last night."

He didn't like the way she sounded and feared she would reject the position.

Jane told him, "I met with you last night, and I discovered something." She lifted her eyes and stared right at him as she accused, "You have lied to me. When I questioned you who the master of the castle was, you told me that you were the master which is true, but it's also not true. I can't have such tiny lies between us if I'm to help you."

"Does that mean you will–"

"Please don't interrupt me until I finish," she said, turning away from his excited and pleased expression, and then she admitted, "I'm having a hard time telling you this and can't answer any of your questions just yet." Jane paused and then continued, "I did as you wanted me to. You wanted me to take a test, but what you really wanted... You wanted me to see the other part of you that I'll also be helping." She put a hand on her own shoulder as she went on, "He was so angry and annoyed with me, and I still don't understand the reason for it." Jane realized she'd gotten off track a bit, so she got back on the subject by saying, "You wanted me to discover your name, and I did find out the name of the one who roams the night, but that's not your name. Your name must be Faris'Solar which means knight of the day, and you must be the master who monopolizes the light."

Hearing her utter his name was the sweetest thing he had heard in years. The Beast didn't think she could pass his test, but he hoped. He hoped more than he realized as he stood there in stunned reveille.

The Beast said nothing to her, so she inquired, "Have I passed your test? Do you wish for me to take on your curse and see if I can break it?"

"You have, and I do and might I say, I am amazed he told you his name."

Jane didn't want to speak about Moon Beast, so she went ahead with the rest and told him, "I have conditions if I'm to take the job. I want complete access to every part of your castle and every inch of your estate. If I ask a question, you're never to lie to me. You're never to hide anything from me. I really hate it when people lie to me even if it is just a little."

"I agree to your terms. Are there any other conditions?"

"I never want to speak to your other half again," she replied, and then she asked, "Is there a way for me to ask him questions without actually being in his presence?"

"There is some time after the sun sets and the moon starts to rise and there is also some time right before the sun rises and the moon nears the horizon that the two of us can communicate with each other. I can ask him questions at that time, but there is no guarantee that he will answer them. The two of us do not get along."

"I also want you to promise that you'll never hinder my investigation into your own or someone else's curse."

"I can agree to that," the Beast told her.

"If you accept all of my terms, we'll begin now," Jane told him.

She started to ask him a question when he stepped forward and took her into her arms. Jane didn't expect this and wondered what he was doing. She was tired and mentally drained, and it felt good to be held, so she stood there a few moments in his embrace.

"I am sorry," he finally spoke. "I am sorry I put you through what must have been a horrible ordeal." The Beast needed to give her a reason for his actions so that he didn't sound like a monster, and so he told her, "I needed to be sure that you were capable of seeing through the spell on us. I never wanted him to hurt you, but I see now by how you reacted to me, he must have been very cruel to you."

"He was," she admitted. "I also thought he was going to hurt me. I've never seen someone so angry before."

The Beast stroked her head as he stated, "There is nothing to fear from me. The one you are afraid of is trapped in the darkness. Please, do not see him in me. I am nothing like him."

Jane knew it to be true. Moon Beast was nothing like his caring side who had her in his arms, and she wanted to stay in his arms forever.

"Thank you for the apology," she told him as she gently pulled away from him, and then she bashfully stated, "I better get to my questions."

"Of course," the Beast told her, wondering if he lost his alluring charm.

"How long ago were you cursed?"

"I have not kept track of the years since I was hexed, but I was cursed when I was a young man."

"Is Moon Beast part of you or an evil manifestation of yourself?"

The Beast couldn't answer her.

"I'll have to think of another way to ask that question, so for now, I'll begin my investigation of the castle and grounds. I'm going to begin by walking your estate. Please allow me to do this by myself. I can't be distracted by you, I need to concentrate."

"Of course, but before you return to AaBack, do report your findings even if there is nothing to report."

"I will, oh, I just thought of another question that might seem weird to you, but can you tell me what my name is?"

"It is Jane."

She smiled as she closed her eyes. The World of Grimm was scary and confusing at times, but people remembered her. "Thank you. You don't know how good it is to hear someone speak my name."

"Since you brought up the subject of names, I heard you call the master who roams the night, Moon Beast."

"I did. The name suits him better." She noticed how he reacted, and she asked him jokingly, "Are you jealous that I gave him a name and not you?"

"What if I say that I am?"

"I'll call you Sun Beast if that'll make you happy. You're the light and he's the darkness. I would have to say Faris'Solar does suit you, knight of the sun." Jane thought it would be a good time to refer to their short time together as children, and she questioned, "Are you sure you aren't a knight and protector of the realm?"

"My position should be clear to you," he told her.

"Maybe I'll be the knight then. I can be a girl knight."

Jane waited for a reaction, but none seemed to come, so she turned and headed for the Hedge Labyrinth a little disappointed. It was so long ago that they met as children, she couldn't expect either one of them to remember her. It distressed her to think they may never remember her, and then she decided to put those thoughts to the side for now because she had an investigation to conduct.

Sun Beast moved to the door of his Study and watched her disappear around the corner. He went back to his room and opened his left hand that had tingled the moment she had given him his new name. A tattoo of a bright sun was on his palm, and he knew at that moment he was right in trusting the ugly duckling. She had to be a swan under all those layers of ordinary and soon this Jane would break his curse.

* * *

Jane felt a little better since speaking with Sun Beast and soon found herself nearing the gate of the Hedge Labyrinth. She started in when she bumped into one of the servants.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you," Jane said, then thought her comment rude, and added, "I didn't mean to make fun of your curse."

The servant said nothing to her and when she heard them walk on, she entered through the gate and soon found herself standing in front of the giant rose.

Jane didn't wait for any sort of greeting from the giant rose, not that she ever offered one, and Jane blurted, "Erosa, I passed Sun Beast's test and have taken on the job as a Hex Breaker. You and I talked about me taking you on as a client also, and I would really like to take on both of your jobs at the same time. I have a feeling that the two of you or is it three of you are somehow linked?" She paused and when the giant rose said nothing, Jane asked, "Have you decided whether or not you want to hire me?"

Erosa realized the foolhardy female elf was more cheerful than she expected her to be after encountering the master who roams the night, and she couldn't let that delicious encounter go unspoken, so she demanded, "Before I answer your questions, answer a few of mine."

"Fair enough."

"What do you think of the master who roams the night?"

"I don't like him. I don't like him one bit."

"What are your impressions of him? Is he worth saving?"

Jane hesitated to answer such personal questions, but then she considered if she wanted personal answers from the giant rose, she'd also have to confess all. She replied, "My first answer would be that he isn't worth saving, but he is part of Sun Beast, so can I abandoned that side of him just because I don't like that part of him?"

"Sun Beast? Did you name the master who monopolizes the light?"

"I did, and I gave the other side of him the name Moon Beast," Jane replied, peered at the giant rose for a second or two, and then stated, "I guess I also gave you a name until you tell me your real one."

"You did give me a name. You gave all three of us a name," Erosa spoke somewhat concerned, and then she demanded, "Tell me more about what happened last night."

Jane started to catch on to what the giant rose really wanted to hear. She didn't want to hear about how Jane succeeded or that she might be able to break her curse, all the giant rose wanted to hear was how horrible the experience with Moon Beast had been. Jane's belief that they were friends couldn't be farther from the truth, and she realized that they may never be friends. If Jane was going to help both Beasts and the giant rose, it had to be because it was the right thing to do and not because they may be her friends from the recurring dream.

"Do I have to tell you?" Jane asked, embarrassed by what had happened to her.

"Yes," Erosa answered. "Tell me all the details or we have no deal."

"You'll answer all my questions if I do?"

"I will," Erosa replied. "Now tell me before I change my mind."

Reluctantly, Jane gave in and told the giant rose all that transpired the night before and how cruel the Moon Beast had been to her.

"What secret does he know about you?" Erosa questioned her once Jane finished.

"I don't know. He would never tell me, and he acted like I should know," Jane replied, and then she asked, "Have I met your terms? Can I proceed with my own questions."

"After I have teased you a bit, you may," Erosa stated. "Now come closer, so I can witness your humiliation as I toy with you."

"You are very honest about your teasing, and I don't think I like this kind of teasing. Is this what makes you happy?" Jane questioned her as she moved forward and stood in front of the giant rose. She glanced around the dead garden and stated, "You're surrounded by misery. Are you sure you want to fill it with my shame and embarrassment or wouldn't you rather fill it with my optimism?"

"Do you believe you understand me, female elf?"

"It's Jane, and I probably don't. I can't understand what it's been like to be trapped here, but I do understand giving in to despair. You can't be happy here, and you seem to enjoy sharing your gloom or enjoy seeing other people miserable. Can't we just talk about things that–"

"If you mention friends again, I may vomit," Erosa told her.

"I wasn't going to," Jane told her. "I was only going to suggest we talk about both your curses."

"You do not know anything about me."

"You're right, so tell me one thing you'd like to do once you're free of your hex," Jane told her, trying to get her to focus on the possible life ahead of her.

"One thing... I can manage that. I would like to sit in a chair and eat cheesecake and drink coffee."

"How do you like your coffee?"

"Cream and sugar unless I am having something sweet to eat and then I like it black."

"I also like cream and sugar in my coffee. Now we know one thing about the other. Our status as acquaintances is growing stronger."

Erosa laughed as she said, "I believe you tricked me into wanting to have my old body back more than I want to tease you. You win this round. Go ahead and ask your questions, would-be Hex Breaker."

Jane was pleased to hear the giant rose laugh, and so she went ahead with her investigation. "From our earlier discussion, I can guess that you're a sorceress. You seem very bitter towards both beasts. I hope that didn't offend you to hear that. I would like to know if you're the one who cursed him?"

Erosa considered how close the female elf had gotten in the short time she had been there. Erosa decided that she couldn't wait anymore and that she needed to eliminate the female elf, but how did she know that she was a sorceress? There were many types of magical users, but the female elf spoke her class by name. There was also the curse the female elf had upon her that protected her. Erosa would have to strike without thinking about how much she wanted her dead.

"The question you just posed is worth quite a bit," Erosa stated, and then she questioned, "What sort of reward would I get for answering it?"

"Reward? Oh, I get it... A different type of game. I can play. What sort of reward would you want?"

"You will have to tell me," Erosa replied. "What sort of–" The female elf's face lit up in horror and distracted Erosa as she continued, "–reward is worth–" She continued to watch as the female elf's jaw dropped in astonishment. Erosa finished with, "–the answer to such an important question?"

"Worm," Jane replied.

"Worm? Not exactly the reward I was thinking of," Erosa told her.

Jane lifted her arm and pointed at her in terror as she repeated, "Worm! There's a worm crawling on one of your vines."

"Pest do on occasion crawl on me there is nothing–"

"It's huge!" Jane uttered and then spread her hands apart showing her as she told her, "It's two feet long!"

"What?" Erosa shouted, then turned and saw the giant orange black striped budworm making its way up one of her vines towards her face. This particular budworm had teeth like a tiger and chomped them up and down as it inched its way towards her. "Get it off! Get it off!" she shrieked. "It is going to eat me!"

Jane removed her backpack, dropped it on the ground, then drew PapyrKut, and charged in to save her friend. Erosa whipped her twelve vines about as she frenzied in terror. She tried to whip the worm off of her, but it held on like a hungry tiger holding on to its kill. Erosa tried to grab the budworm with her other vines, but she couldn't pry it off. Jane shielded her face in fear of getting hit herself by one of the thorn-covered vines.

"Erosa, hold still! I'll get the bug, but you have to hold still!"

"Get it off! Get it off before it eats me!"

Realizing her friend was too terrified to hold still, Jane proceeded into the tunnel of angry vines with her short sword at the ready. She reached the vine with the budworm, and she prepared to stab the bug, but the vine thrashed about too much for her to hit her target, so Jane grabbed the vine with her left hand and felt something stab her palm, and then she attacked the budworm with PapyrKut, piercing it through its side. The bug wriggled about on the end of her blade, and Jane shrilled like a B-movie scream queen, turned, and swiped the sword down, flinging the budworm far away.

"Is it dead! Is it dead?" Erosa questioned.

Jane crept over to the budworm and when it wriggled again on the ground, she stabbed it several times with her short sword as she shouted, "Die! Die! Die!"

"Is it dead?" Erosa asked.

Jane stared at the creature in a hundred pieces and replied, "I think so." She stabbed it once more and answered, "Yes, it's dead." She walked back over to the giant rose and said, "I was so freaked out! That bug was huge!"

"I was more terrified. It was crawling toward my face to chomp it off," Erosa told her.

"No, I was more scared. I had to navigate through your thorny vines and hit the bug with my sword while you wiggled about like some crazed octopus."

"I was more scared. Did you see the teeth on that thing?"

"No," Jane told her. "I only noticed an ax mark on its back, but the thing did keep squishing as I repeatedly stabbed it with my sword. I thought I was going to be sick."

The two of them stared at one another for a few seconds, and then they both started laughing.

"You should have seen you," Erosa started. "You were screaming like a deranged banshee and stabbing the dirt so hard I thought you had killed the ground more than it already was."

"Me? What about you? You were all like get it off me! Get it off me!"

They laughed about it some more.

Jane looked at her palm as she said, "You even got me good with one of your thorns."

"Come here. I will heal it for you."

"Thank you," Jane spoke as she approached. "I don't think I've ever screamed so hard or laughed so hard."

"I also can not remember a time when I was so terrified and then filled with such delightful cheer and laughter. You are a peculiar female elf, and one I would gladly call an acquaintance."

"You're going to make me blush going on like that," Jane told her as she saw a few of the fairies fly into the dead garden from their hiding places among the maze. She smiled at seeing them, and then told Erosa, "If you're not careful, someone might accuse you of liking me just a little." She lifted her left hand to the giant rose just as the fairies began to sing. Jane thought they would sing Saah'Mee, but their song was different and one she didn't recognize.

"I will be careful. I have a reputation to keep," Erosa spoke as she tenderly took her hand with one vine and then raised another to cast a healing spell. The female elf... Jane... Jane didn't need to die, she decided. Erosa would simply mislead her on her investigation and then they would remain as acquaintances and have more of these enjoyable times together. It had been too long since she felt so happy or full of joy. Erosa paused before casting the healing spell as she stared at the cut on Jane's palm. Red blood ran from the cut her thorn unintentional inflicted, and the crimson liquid triggered a reaction within Erosa, a reaction that all cursed with the monstrous curse were inflicted by.

Within the castle...

"Master," one of the servants bided out of breath.

"Yes, what is it?" Sun Beast inquired.

"I ran into Mistress Jane near the Hedge Labyrinth."

"Why bring this to my attention?" Sun Beast questioned him. "I told you all she may go wherever she wills."

"She went into the Hedge Labyrinth."

Panic set in as Sun Beast uttered, "It is locked! How did she get in?"

"I do not know. Only that she entered the cursed place."

"I have to save Jane! Guards! Guards!" Sun Beast yelled as he rushed for the Hedge Labyrinth.

The Hedge Labyrinth...

Erosa continued to stare at Jane's palm as an enchanted terror weaved it spell upon her and struck Erosa with fear that unsteadied her entire being. The one who created happiness and joy in her only brought deception. She wanted to lift her roots out of the ground and flee from the creature before her. Erosa froze like a rabbit before a giant troll as she lifted her gaze to Jane's face. Did this monster realize she knew what it was? Jane still held her short sword in her other hand. Did she plan on hacking her into pieces just as she had done the budworm? Erosa needed to act quickly, so she uncoiled the serpent vine from around her stem, and it snaked its way towards the ground.

"What's wrong?" Jane asked. "You look pale. Are you feeling sick?"

"I am fine," Erosa told her in a nervous tone.

Jane realized her tone was the same as the head maid had been each time she spoke to her.

"Something's wrong," Jane insisted. "Did the worm frighten you more than you let on? I didn't mean to make fun of you if it did."

Erosa had to think of something to keep Jane in place while she prepared to strike with her stinger thorn. She also needed to gauge the intention of this monster, so she told her, "I am very frightened but not of the budworm."

"What are you afraid of?"

"Have you ever heard of a yeahmun?"

Erosa watched her, but Jane never flinched or gave any indication Erosa had discovered her secret. Jane went on as if they were having a simple conversation.

"I saw the name on the sign as I entered AaBack, and the witch who lives in the gingerbread house claimed one attacked her home," Jane told her, and then she questioned, "What is a yeahmun? Everyone seems to be afraid of them, but no one can tell me what they look like. Are they really that frightening?"

"They are more frightening than you can imagine," Erosa told her as the serpent vine rose up behind Jane.

"I'll protect you," Jane told her. "I am a knight of the realm after all and a very good acquaintance of yours. Call my name, and I promise I'll come save you." Jane glanced around the tunnel of vines she stood in as Erosa had yet to pull them back to herself, and Jane felt very close to the giant rose like friends should be. Memories of her time with the girl sorceress flashed through her mind and at that moment, she was so sure the giant rose was the girl sorceress. "Erosa..."

"Yes."

"I have a secret I want to tell you, but I don't know if you're ready to hear it or that you'll believe me."

Erosa was so sure Jane would blurt out her horrible secret right before she swung her sword and chopped her in half. She raised up her stinger thorn, aiming for the base of her skull and prepared to strike before Jane did.

"What sort of secret?" Erosa questioned.

"I don't have a contact who told me about you and the Beast. I know that you're a sorceress and that he's a prince because–"

"Jane!" she heard her name called from a distance. It was the voice of the Beast.

Erosa realized he might try to stop her from killing the terrible creature if he didn't know what she was yet, so Erosa lifted a barrier that surrounded the entire maze. The Beast couldn't enter, and she could finish what needed to be done.

"I think Sun Beast may have found out I came in here. Why don't you go ahead and heal me, and I'll go out to him? If you two don't get along, maybe the discussion would go better if I just talk to him."

"I better heal you fast," Erosa told her as she stared at the creature of her nightmares.

Jane was no female elf nor was she any of the other races that dwelled within the World of Grimm. She was a monstrous creature who only claimed friendship to get close to her so that the creature could murder and then devour her. Erosa needed to act quickly, so she pulled back her stinger thorn to leverage her strike with more force. She felt her entire being quivering from fright as she stood before the hideous creature of old. Never in a thousand years did she ever think she would come across another dreaded yeahmun. The fears Erosa remembered from her childhood raged back, and all she wanted to do was scream and run away, but she couldn't. The creature stood in striking distance and even if she managed to flee, Erosa heard that the creature was terribly fast and immensely powerful. She didn't stand a chance against it. Erosa had to act, and she had to act now so with all the fear and strength she could muster, she flung the stinger thorn forward, and it hit its mark.

The End- Click here- AaBack #3

or go to

www.KristieLynnHiggins.com/AaBack3.html
Find more Fantasy & SciFi stories

and other novels and short stories by

Kristie Lynn Higgins at her website.

Read more stories.

 **

 Autographed Ebook Covers Now available

 Click Here

