Chapter 2 – Grimm
I held my Illiya and comforted her after her demon aspect burned off, I froze as a familiar voice said my name, “Belle?” My head shot up, and I looked at the group of women, the heroes of modern lore, and their odd demon tainted wolf, my eyes searching. And there she was. At long last, after these long centuries of searching, the fates have finally allowed me to find her. I bowed my head low as I cradled my now sleeping Illiya. “My Lady Locksley. I've searched for you for so long.” I started to sob, unable to hold my emotions in check. Then she was kneeling beside me, hugging me tight to her as the Red Hood laid her cloak over my girl. The wolfing whined and laid down her head between her paws. Lady Locksley said between hugs, “Belle... how?” I smiled and wiped my tears on my sleeve and looked down at Illy. “It is a long tale, fraught with many trials. I promise to tell all, but my love is in need of clothes and someplace dark. The transition always leaves her physically sick and weak for a time.” I glanced at her as she finally released me from her arms, she hadn't aged a single day since the day I saw her in Nottingham when she freed Maid Marion from that lout of a man, Sir Guy of Gisborne. I blinked, had I seen the tips of her ears sticking out from under her copper red locks? Were they... pointed? I shook my head, I had to have been mistaken. I started to look down at Illy but hesitated when I saw Gretta Snow staring at me intently like she could see through me. She looked so much different than the pictures I have seen after we returned to the realm of man to find my Lady, and to seek out the evil my girl can feel. Snow's stark white hair was the same, but she had small antlers that reminded me a little of the paintings of Perchta I had seen so very long ago in books. Was Gretta a child of Perchta? The talisman under my tunic started to heat on my breastbone under her gaze, and I absently put my hand over it protectively. Did she know somehow? Another of the women warriors spoke with an odd authority that had an undercurrent of insecure self-doubt threatening to strangle and extinguish it. I could taste those currents like every emotion around me except from Gretta Snow. “Of course.” Then she looked around and prompted, “Mandy?” Then around to the rest, “Make a sweep for stragglers? Even one can start an epidemic all over again.” Ella Deathbringer cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders and said, “On it, Parker,” then just started heading away, she had no hesitation, no fear in her and it was hard to read her odd conflicting emotions, they were fuzzy and seemed to come at me in two different directions. I held a hand out. “Be at peace. My love has destroyed all the vile abominations.” A woman, who tasted of my girl's demon, unshouldered an assault rifle and said, “If it's all the same to you miss, we'd like to make sure ourselves.” She had the taint of demon magics in her, a wolf, like the one who lay beside me, as did, to my shock, the Red Hood. Most of the others went with her, and they spread out in a well-rehearsed formation, they had done this many times, of that I had no doubt. I smiled when I recognized the woman who had hundreds of feathers of silver covering her ankle length hair. I had never thought to see the legendary Rapunzel. But there she was, with the others. I paused looking at the woman who had leant her scarlet cloak, as she went with the others with no weapons in hand, just a rope wound around her waist. I knew her to be a weapon herself, though she looked very different than the recent pictures I had seen of her. The wolf followed with an animalistic craving for the hunt left in its wake. Lady Locksley hesitated a moment, looking at me with disbelieving eyes then pulled her bow off her back and with a great leap, she was bounding through the trees after the others. One of the three remaining women stepped up to us and crouched, with her arms reaching toward Illiya. I tasted demon and reacted without thinking, shooting a hand out and shouting, “Stay away from her!” I realized she had the same taint as the others. I was being overprotective, these women were fighting for the side of good, resisting the evil within. The woman stepped back a step, looking momentarily confused as the strain on her face and her heightened emotions found peace. It was my talisman, it could calm the beasts of nature and give me insight into the emotions around me. She realized what I had done and started to growl like the demon locked away inside her, it was almost subsonic, and I tasted the threat behind it. She was incensed that someone had forced something upon her, even if it were only serenity. She showed her teeth like little fangs as she started to step forward. The other woman, Parker, placed a hand on her arm and said, “Mandy, don't.” The shorter woman squinted at her then just nodded once in deference. Then this Parker woman knelt beside me, and she spoke with such sincerity, I absently wondered if she could influence a person's calm as I could. “I'm sorry. I should have asked first. Mandy is one of our strongest members without magic so she can drive without affecting the vehicle's electronics. She was just going to carry your girl to the truck.” I understood that, and I was truly sorry for my outburst. But my Illy... she was my everything. I nodded and said meekly, “I understand. I'm just protective of my love. I just reacted when I sensed the wolf taint.” “I'm sorry,” I said to Mandy. I could taste her anger dissolving, and an understanding and even a bit of respect replace it. She nodded once. She wasn't very vocal was she? I nudged my chin down to the sleeping woman in my arms. This was a time she was truly at peace when she slumbered. The Mandy woman stepped up, made a grunt of acceptance and knelt. She took my burden from me far more gently than I thought someone who was so close to their inner beast could. I marveled at how easily she lifted Illy, like she was no more burdensome than a child's toy. This Parker woman was right, Mandy was strong. No doubt because of the Lupus Contagion she carried within her. I stood, then Parker said, “I'm sorry, with all the excitement, we seem to have lost all our manners.” she held out a hand, “Parker, Parker Devereaux.” On reflex, I took her hand and could feel a crystalline power surging through every fiber of her body. “Belle, Belle...” I hesitated, I had almost said Belle of Locksley, but in modern time people were titled differently. I still wasn't used to it. The woman chuckled, and it tasted of true amusement as she almost pleaded, “Please don't say Smith. These other fairytale princesses have no imagination.” I was amused that she was amused. I shook my head and couldn't help but smile at this genuinely friendly woman, “Belle... umm, Locksley. Belle Locksley. A pleasure to meet you.” I glanced around then asked, “You lead the Avatars? I thought it to be the Red Hood.” An almost solid wave of sorrow that emanated from the woman's very core flowed over me, and I almost gasped at the intensity and heartfelt loss it conveyed. She shook her head. “No, I'm no leader, but I try to keep us all together. Keep us from falling apart.” I could feel the burden that weighed on her and felt for the woman. She pulled herself together in an instant, shutting away all emotion as she straightened and said, “That was Amanda Danes, our weapons and hand to hand expert.” Then I felt amusement bubbling in her as she added in a whisper as she looked at the woman who was carefully placing Illy into one of the vehicles and wrapping a blanket around her, “And Rachel's beta.” The woman giggled when the other complained, “I'm not beta!” I squinted an eye playfully at Parker, she knew that the those with the Lupus Contagion would be able to hear that whisper and she did it on purpose. I liked this woman. Then she turned to the one in their group that frightened me as she stood there, unmoving with her arms splayed wide, as the deadly black briars of legend coming from her chest seemed to undulate and writhe as if alive. I knew those thorns meant an excruciating death. She was a tale of warning to children, a bedtime story meant to frighten. But she was real. Death's Lady... Lady Thsalias looked toward us and offered a... a smile. I could feel the madness in her head which she fought to keep at bay. And her... love for Parker and the others? Parker said, “Belle, this is Rose. Rose Damaschin. She's our containment aficionado.” The two shared a smile, Rose's a little unhinged, and she cocked her head at an odd angle, making her look more birdlike than human as she said, “Pleased to meet you, Belle. I'd shake your hand but, you know. Poison ick dead deceased.” Her concern, fear, and curiosity flowed off of her, and I found myself smili
ng at death incarnate. And she was... nice? Parker was tilting her own head in a prompt and Rose moved her head to a more human angle in response. I stepped up to her, and she almost fell back from me, terror she may do harm hitting me like a wall. I offered a hand, but Parker slid between us, her eyes wide. “Without proper protection, her touch is death.” I smiled and said, “Be at peace, I do not fear her toxins, my Lady Locksley protects me.” They looked at each other, unsure of my words. I muttered, “For goodness sake ladies.” Then I grabbed one of the writhing vines. There was a moment of pain, as I had forgotten about the thorns like a fool. Then my chest burned as my talisman heated, negating the magic infused poison. I started moving to the women as I pulled my hand back and sucked at the blood coming from my accidental puncture om my palm. I shrugged, and Rose's eyes went wide with delight and thrust her hand forward. I grinned at her and Parker, who was too shocked to move, and I shook the hand of the bringer of death. I think I liked her. She was full of an innocence I cannot explain. She kept shaking my hand for an inordinate amount of time, as it got more awkward Parker stepped up and placed her hand on Rose's cheek. “That's too much now, Rose.” She smiled at the girl, and Rose released my hand. She cocked her head at that impossible angle again, and got a thoughtful look on her face. It was as if she were contemplating why Parker said it was too much. Parker cocked an expectant eyebrow at the woman and made a show of straightening her head. The other woman's eyes went wide then straightened her own head to a more natural angle. Was Parker... teaching her? Teaching her to be... human? Rose looked up at me and shrugged. “Sorry?” I had to chuckle at the woman then told them. “May I join my Illiya? If she wakes and I am not there...” I left it hanging, and Parker said, “Of course. There will be plenty of time to talk later. I'm sure you have just as many questions as we do.” As I started to move toward the vehicle she added to herself in a thoughtful tone, “Illiya... why do I know that name?” I hurried off before my face betrayed me. If they knew who my girl was, they would likely kill her on the spot without a moment's hesitation. Especially the Red Hood. I pulled my staff from my back and slid into the seat of the vehicle, placed the staff on the floorboard, and moved my girl's head into my lap. She had been tossing and turning as the forever-nightmares assaulted her. She immediately stilled at my touch as I filled her with the peace that was my gift, and took all the poisonous nightmares into myself. I shuddered as they tried to grab hold of me, a chill raced down my spine, making me shiver as I concentrated. I had to remain ever vigilant as I strained, they were tricky, and tried to sow seeds of self-doubt and loathing. But I would gladly take on the effort if it gave my Illy just a moment of peace. She has suffered more than is her due already. The wolfling studied me as she shut the door, her brows knitting. Could she sense the battle I fought for Illiya, raging inside of me? I heard her huff then walk over to the other two women. I watched them through the open window. A few seconds later, Mandy was snarling and went into motion, her hands moving so fast they blurred in my vision. And just like that, she had two of those gun weapon contraptions in her hands. The ones the modern world has devised to make killing even more efficient and violent at a distance. Parker took a step forward, scanning the forest below. She still had no weapon. Was that crystalline magic I sensed in her that formidable? I was on alert. Preparing to hide my girl and protect her when Mandy relaxed, spun her gun weapons and slid them into their sheaths with ease. I could feel relief flowing off of Parker when the Avatars stepped out into the clearing. My Lady Locksley moved beside Parker from somewhere, almost as if she has stepped out of nowhere. I had to smile at the memory of how swiftly and silently she moved back in Nottinghamshire. “All clear,” she said, causing Parker to jump and place her hand on her chest in surprise. Then I felt pain pain pain as the brambles and vines which stretched out into the forest started pulling back into Rose. I could hear the sound of flesh tearing from where I sat in the vehicle. It hurt Death's Lady to bring her vines forth? Then why did she do so if it was as excruciating as I could taste? I pushed a piece of myself toward her, willing it out as I whispered, “Be at peace.” The strain on her face lessened and so too did the pain she was radiating. Even I could not take away all the pain and emotions that went with it, but I could soften it for her. I hissed as I took the brunt of the pain and emotion for her. Sometimes I hated being so empathic because of the talisman, feeling everyone's pain and suffering around me. But then when I was exposed to joy, happiness, and love, it made all the pain and hate in the world seem insignificant, and I basked in the warmth of it all. When the others arrived, Gretta Snow's eyes locked with mine through the window. Her eyes narrowed and clouded white. What was she seeing, and why could I not feel anything from her? It was as if she were a void in the world around her, I had gotten so used to feeling the emotions around me, so that lack of it from her stood out like a beacon to me. My talisman started heating my breastbone again. Was it her stare which was causing it? A smile spread across my face when Mandy and Lady Locksley took each other's hands and laced their fingers. It appears that she had found love, after the loss of Marion, at long last. Ella Deathbringer stepped up to Parker and laid her forehead against hers and said, “The wankers are all dead. That monster did a number on 'em. Just why is a demon attacking other demons?” I winced and pulled Illy closer to me in my lap. It hurt to hear that. But her beast is not her, she is still there buried inside when it comes out. She's a woman, not a monster or a demon. She cannot help what has befallen her any more than they can their own fates. I moved my gaze and almost jumped, Gretta was standing at the door of the vehicle, staring at me with those clouded eyes, just inches away. I recoiled and gasped out, “May the Goddess preserve us!” The other wolf stepped beside her and laid a hand on her shoulder, asking, “What is it, Snow?” This seemed to pull Gretta's attention from me, and her eyes returned to normal. She said with a voice that leaked power, “It's nothing.” She smiled at the wolf and looped an arm in hers as she said cryptically, “She just has something that belongs to me.” What did that mean? I had nothing of hers. I did, however, have something that belonged to my Lady Locksley, and I had traveled so far and for so long to return it. I felt ashamed at that thought, since now it was too late. I couldn't return the talisman even if I wanted to. I absently touched my breastbone and felt an answering throb of power. The power of both blessing and curse which refused to let me die, to let me age as a normal human. On some silent agreement which showed me the depth of their cohesion as a group, they all turned to the vehicles and started loading up. Parker and the large werewolf got into the sidecar of the open-air vehicle that Ella had saddled. A bicycle? No that was wrong. A cycle! That was it. The Amanda wolfling got in the driver's seat, and all of the others moved back to the other vehicle. Lending us some privacy? Or isolating us from the group? I narrowed my eyes, I guess I couldn't blame them. I almost leapt out of my seat when my Lady spoke from the passenger seat, “It is so good to see you, Belle. When we get back to the farmhouse, you have to tell me how this...” She moved a hand back and forth between Illy and me, “is possible.” I caught my breath from the surprise. How had she entered the vehicle without my notice? I heard nothing. Had she slid in through the open window? I pressed my hand against my chest, getting my breathing and pounding heart back under control. “Yes, my Lady.” She sighed long and hard, I could feel a sense of melancholy flowing from her as she said in a faraway voice, “Belle, please, those days are a distant memory, the world is different now. We must adapt to them or be left behind as relics of a past long gone. Please, address me as Robyn.” I blinked at her. To be so informal and familiar with my Lady? With... Robyn? But I understood. I was still adapting to this wondrous and sometimes terrifying modern world which we found ourselves in when Illiya and I returned. She was wise as always, and I could not fault her logic, so I inclined my head. “As you wish, Robyn.” I blushed a little, still feeling it wrong to address someone of higher station like that, but I sort of liked it. It made me feel..
. not less? More than I had been? No, I felt as though she were treating me as an equal. Mandy started the engine of combustion which propelled the vehicle. And a squirrel, of all things, leapt in through the window. The others didn't react as it stood on Mandy's lap and grabbed the wheel in front of her. She growled menacingly at it. I feared she would kill or eat it, but she just picked it up by the tail and snapped at it, “No you stupid rat, you can't drive. Get lost.” She made a flinging motion toward the back seat, but the animal snagged her hair as it passed and coiled around her neck. Robyn was giggling as Mandy attempted to unwind the fluffy tail from her neck. She got him pried off, but then he disappeared up her sleeve and popped up in front of her face and tried to stare her down. She snarled like a wolf, a subsonic growl rising to just above audible as she said, “I'm not beta you wretch, you are!” Then she snagged the beastie by the ruff of its neck and held it up in front of her, its feet dangling as Robyn laughed harder and said, “It appears Conrad has your number Mandywolf.” The wolf surprised me when she dropped the gruff expression and grinned and winked at Robyn. Then she made a quick flinging motion toward me, saying, “Go bother her you flea-ridden rodent. And don't steal anything!” I worried for a moment as the squirrel flew through the air, just to snag the cuff of Mandy's shirt and skitter across her shoulder to peek over the seat at me. I smiled at it and told it, “Be at peace little one.” Then I held my hand out. It seemed to calm as my influence washed over it, and it hopped onto my hand and sort of flowed around my arm to wind up coiled around my neck. I giggled and stroked his soft fur. He nuzzled in, and I could feel him almost sigh as he started to doze almost immediately. I looked forward as the vehicle started moving and I asked the women, “A pet?” Mandy answered with a smirk and pride that belied her frustration with the little creature, “No, Conrad is part of our pack. He's our scout and thief.” Then she gave me a look of challenge in the mirror. “And he has seven demon kills himself.” I started to chuckle but stopped myself, as her face was quite serious. Robyn turned back with a sly smile and said, “It is true.” She held her fingers together in a scrunching motion. “Though they were tiny demons.” They were serious. I blinked, then the two chuckled at my reaction. I smiled and slumped back into the seat to the ride to this farmhouse they spoke of, one hand absently stroking Conrad's fur, the other my girl's cheek. I looked down at her in wonder. So beautiful. I was the luckiest woman alive that such a magnificent creature had chosen me to spend all of her days with. I pushed peace and tranquility into her, sucking out the darkness from inside of her into my being, so that I could shoulder her nightmare that she could find peace, if just for a while. The others were content just to sit in silence, the calm before the storm. Robyn reached out to take Mandy's hand, to share in that brief respite. I narrowed my eyes for a moment as I felt their emotions, they were complimentary, as if they were two parts of a whole. This was confusing to me. It was as if they shared two parts of one soul. I'd have to contemplate that a bit, I'm sure it was simply their emotional closeness, right? After a spell, we pulled up to a large stone cottage that wouldn't have looked out of place back in Nottinghamshire, except for the metal roof and the lines that carried the wonder of electricity which powered all the buildings in this new time of man. Everyone got out of the vehicles and gathered around. This time it was Robyn who helped me with Illy. I had marveled at her strength when I was but a child, but have always wondered if it were because all adults seemed strong to me back then, but she lifted my girl even more easily than Mandy had. We had taken a single step toward the cottage when two familiar men stepped in front of the group. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm? I'm not one to curse but, fucking Grimm brothers! They have plagued me for centuries. I know they are the reason I have never been able to find Robyn of Locksley all these long years, until now. Jacob said with a half smirk on his face, “Hello, Avatars.” With a whumping sound, Ella Deathbringer's hand shot out, and she struck him with such force that he went tumbling back through the air and crashed through a wall of a nearby barn. There was a tremendous racket and debris fell. I blinked. In all my years, I had rarely been able to lay a finger on them. It is like they know about a strike before it comes. It always unnerved me. So if... so Jacob allowed himself to be hit? I heard a moan of pain from inside the barn, and he came staggering out, working his chin with his hand as Ella grabbed Wilhelm by the throat and slammed him up against the stone wall of the cottage. Cocking her other fist. She almost screamed at him, her voice filled with pain, “Where were you?” Her voice lowered to something so dangerous it chilled my blood, “Where were you when Mari died you sodding wankers?” He was trying to no avail to pry her fingers off his throat, and he just slumped in defeat and said in a wheeze as his face started turning a little purple, “Styche is planning to do more than just kill her if he locates her body.” I had no desire to take her rage into me. She would create her own peace here. I could feel that same rage in all the others around me. They had apparently lost someone, and it would be selfish of me not to let her grieve, even if I wanted to give her respite. Again, did they let her touch them? She growled in frustration and threw him aside like a rag doll. He landed on his face in front of Daria, and I feared the worst. The wolf was snarling and baring her fangs, I could feel her need to rip his throat out. He gave a sheepish and apologetic smile. “Hello officer McQueen.” Her roar was almost deafening as she swiped one of her oversized claws at him, I heard the crunch of breaking bones as she impacted his ribcage and his body spun off into the air, slamming into Jacob as he joined us. The two landed in a heap and Daria dove, launching through the air and landed on the men, straddling them, rage filled the air, almost choking me. But then Parker stepped up silently and made a grasping motion at her side. Daria hesitated, looking between her and the men, then she whimpered and dropped her head, tucked her tail between her legs. She moved beside the woman, who buried her fingers in the fur of her neck. Then just like that, everyone calmed down. Like some sort of frustrating rage had been worked out with that display. Gretta Snow stepped up to the men and helped them to their feet. The brothers Grimm stretched and worked out their muscles, and I could hear the crinkling of bones mending. She asked in a dangerous tone, her eyes clouding up again, “What do you mean he will do worse if he locates her body?” Jacob sighed heavily and motioned a hand toward the cottage. “It is a tale best told when seated... and with coffee?” He asked hopefully. They did look more tired and haggard than I have ever seen them in all the years they aggravated me with their visits. Parker lead the way in past them. She said, “Don't push your luck, gentlemen.” Then as if to punctuate her words, Daria gave a deep growl as they led the way, Ella joining them. We all followed. I went with Robyn into a small bedchamber, where she laid my Illiya down in a comfortable bed. I smiled at the fact that mattresses are no longer stuffed with straw or goose down, and are infinitely more comfortable than those I had when I was younger. I looked to the lady of Locksley and hesitantly reached out to stop her from joining the others. I whispered, “I must beg an audience with you once things are settled here. I pray you I have done a disservice to your house as I have searched for you these long years.” She hesitated and cocked her head in confusion. Then she nodded once and smiled. “It truly is a miracle to see you again, I find it impossible that you have done me a disservice. We will speak on this later.” I nodded then looked around and found a nightdress folded on top of a dresser and moved over to my girl. With one last smile, Robyn left me there, closing the door gently behind her. I pulled the blanket and scarlet red cloak aside to look at my beautiful, beautiful beast, she looked so fragile, so vulnerable. I frowned at the dirt and blood caked on her sweating form and matting her tangled blonde locks. I looked around for a water basin but found none, then checked the other door to find one of those indoor outhouses the modern world is so fond of. I found some towels and wash cloths and wetted them in the basin with the flowing water. That was an innovation I was very fond of, not having to fetch water or pump it from a
well. And it was warm! Then I went about wiping down my impossible girl, revealing her porcelain skin beneath the mire. She had been such a beauty before her death. I had never though to see a creature as lovely as the Lady of Locksley until I saw Illy the first time. She stole my heart in that first fleeting instant. Once she was cleaned up, I got her into the nightdress and tucked her into the bed. I sang to her as I stroked her hair. Taking in her pain and nightmares for my own and giving her the peace of sleep without torment. I noted the powerful and incessant emotions from the other room had ebbed away, and there was silence. So I stopped singing and went to the door with the red cloak in hand. It was odd, but I thought I almost felt emotion from the material. I looked out of the room to see all eyes were turned my way and Parker, the Red Hood, Rose, and Rapunzel were crying. I gave a meek look and glanced down. “I'm sorry. It is sometimes hard to control. I just wanted to give my Illy a moment of peace.” I held the cloak out to Evelyn, and she took it in what looked like pained relief and flung it around herself. Parker said, “Don't apologize, it was such a beautiful song. I think we all needed a moment of peace to collect ourselves. That is quite a gift you have.” My cheeks burned as I admitted, “It is not my gift to be giving.” They looked at me in puzzlement, and I just shrugged and slipped out with them as I said, “She will be awake soon and will need me. Perhaps I can listen to what Jacob and Wilhelm have come to say?” Rachel stood from where she was seated at the long hardwood table, her chair scraping on the floor. “Here have a seat.” She moved over to where Snow was standing behind her. I noted Gretta was again staring at me as my talisman heated. I was getting spooked by her scrutiny. I sat in the offered seat. Parker moved to the kitchen area and put a kettle on and did something on a machine with a squat glass pitcher. Then said as she searched the cupboards and pulled a few items out. “Containment wasn't happy when I called it in on the way back. They wanted to debrief us on site, but I didn't ummm... well... I didn't...” Rapunzel looked up from the electronic device she held in her hands and supplied with a smirking smile, “You didn't tell them about Belle here, or the girl who is apparently a unicorn from everyone's worst nightmares.” Then her smile left briefly as she shot me an apologetic look. “No offense meant to your friend in there.” I waved it off. That was one of the more tame descriptions of my girl when the pain, rage, and madness overwhelms her tenuous grasp on her mortal form. The one who didn't speak much, whom I hadn't been introduced to yet, who wore polished armor from my time asked, “What sort of beast is she?” I sighed. She may be a beast, but she is my beast. Before I could defend my girl's honor, Parker said, “Nicole, she's a girl, not a beast. She's no different than any of us.” Then she turned toward me. “I apologize. We're just a bit on edge.” I nodded and then turned toward Wilhelm when he cleared his throat. Jacob said, “All of this is well and fine, but we must discuss Styche, and why he mustn't find the body of the Red Hood.” The body... what? But the Red Hood was right there, sitting with Rapunzel. I was getting confused. Parker moved back to the kitchen and started pouring cups of a dark liquid that smelled heavenly. Then she poured hot water into another cup and mixed something into it. She put them all on a tray and walked around handing out the drinks. When she got to me, she said, “Here, hot chocolate. You'll find it quite pleasant since it sounds as if you haven't been in the modern world long. The others who have woken up in our time said coffee was quite unpleasant for them at first, but now they mainline the stuff.” This got playful moans and rebuttals from the women around me, and she winked and moved on, giving the Grimm brothers cups which they started greedily gulping down. It looked steaming hot, but the heat didn't seem to bother them. Parker sat next to Ella Deathbringer on a small couch and leaned back into her. They were so cute together. Can you say that about a woman like Ella who left a trail of carnage in her wake? I did not believe the stories I heard about her terrorizing a prince, nor the ones she was said to have enchanted men and attacked. Mostly because the trail of blood she left behind seemed to be all the forms of evil in our world. That she stood with the other Avatars was further testament to my belief. I took a careful sip of the sweet smelling drink in my hands and was pleasantly surprised. It tasted like sweet cream but with a flavor that was rich and tantalizing which I had never experienced before. She had said this was hot chocolate? Like the candies that the nobles were known to import from other countries? I looked around the cottage. It did not appear to be of the upper class. Was chocolate available even to commoners now? I had much to learn about the modern world. I noted that all attention was on Jacob now as he started to tell why he and his brother were there.
Beauty In The Beast Page 2
