Fairest (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale 2)

“No, Mina, I’m not going. For the love of chocolate, I have been waiting all my life for this moment. He kissed me, Mina! He kissed me.”

“You heard him. He said so himself. He did it to make the girl with the pink hair leave.” Mina’s voice filled with desperation.

>Valdemar’s hand shot out and caught Nan’s wrist. “Ah, I’m sorry. Please don’t run away, I’d like…” He never got to finish his sentence as a short fiery red haired woman in a business suit entered the room and started ushering people out for the concert that should have started five minutes ago.

The room became a mass of hurriedly fleeing flashes and last minute fixes by the hair and makeup crew. Mina watched as Valdemar tried to speak to Nan again but was pulled away out the door to the stage. She was sure she saw him motion for Nan to stay there.

When Nan’s blonde head swung forcefully back and forth in denial, his face dropped. But Mina could have been mistaken in what she saw because Valdemar immediately plastered a smile on his face and headed toward stage. They followed. Three of the band members headed underneath the stage. It was dark, but they had enough light to see a lift and hydraulics. Valdemar split off and headed towards another contraption and a crowd of techs.

From her spot in the wings Mina had a phenomenal view of the stage, and the packed-house. Suddenly, the whole arena went dark. Smoke billowed out from fog machines hidden along the platform, and a low rumbling of music began. Somewhere, an organ began a somber melody, something which would be played at a funeral. Eerie sound effects and footsteps echoed off the walls and only those backstage could hear the hydraulics kick in when lift began to rise to the stage.

The hair on the back of Mina’s neck stood up in anticipation when the stage props and band slowly rose into view. The band’s stage was decorated like a dark and twisted throne room; a large golden mirror hung on the back wall. High in the middle of the stage sat a black throne made from a dark and twisted tree. Upon the throne sat a guitar painted in the deepest blood red color. Three of the band members were onstage playing the intro to their most popular song, “Beauty’s Dead.” Naga on the guitar, Magnus on drums, Constantine on bass, but Valdemar was missing.

Mina’s head craned to look around the stage, her fear overtaking her as the dreaded feeling of magic began to tingle down her hands. A sign that the Story was interested in what was currently going on, and may even find a way to interfere.

Unexpectedly, the music stopped and Nan screamed in delight and pointed toward the large golden mirror that was filling with fog. The sound of a lone guitar picked up where the haunting melody had ended and the fog began to clear from the mirror. Valdemar was inside the giant looking glass playing a gold guitar.

The crowd chanted as Valdemar ceased his playing and used his very expensive guitar to smash through the glass. Mina stepped away from the stage subconsciously as Valdemar stepped through the mirror. Their movements were eerily similar but polar opposite. The closer he moved to the stage the farther Mina moved into the background and away from Brody and Nan.

She could feel it. Deep in her soul, lingering in her bones she could feel the Story’s power hovering. It was only a matter of time before it started, twisting and using what she had just seen, heard and done into a quest. Her mouth went dry, and she started to shake with fear.

Valdemar raised his hands high into the air and the audience and Nan jumped up and down in excitement. He strode over to the black throne and picked up the blood red guitar and continued with the rest of their music set.

Why couldn’t she have paid more attention? There were signs, obvious ones now that she thought about it. The name of the band for one, and their hit song was a fairy tale ballad; even the group’s stage names were all things that would attract the Story into using them. Throw in the fact that Mina, a Grimm, walked through the doors and into a giant trap. Her mind began to spin with all of the possible scenarios, and outcomes and nothing looked good. If she didn’t want to get her friends involved with the Story, then she had to get her friends out of the concert. NOW.

The song came to a crescendo, the band quit playing, and everyone sang the chorus acapella. Everyone except Mina. Brody had a grin on his face and seemed to be enjoying the music as well. He turned to look at her, gave her crooked smile, then turned back to watch his cousin sing. The smoke and Vertigo lights lit up the stage and spilled over into the darkness where they stood, giving them the appearance of being in a dream.

She moved toward Nan but was jettisoned to the side when a group of stagehands rushed in rolling out carts with large pyrotechnics displays. Mina moved back and bumped into another person and became pinned between the rolling carts. The stagehands were moving fast and Mina had no choice but to move with them or get run over. Fumbling to keep up, and stay out of the way, Mina and the carts ended up down in the galley below the stage. They began to strap in the contraptions onto the lift and she could barely make out a large glass case off to the side.

She walked toward it and could see that it was easily six feet tall, but it was on its side and she didn’t recognize what it was.

“What’s that for?” she asked nervously.

One of the stagehands looked at her but went on with his work. He must not have heard her speak over the loud music. She decided to repeat herself loudly.

“What is that?” She waved and pointed toward the glass again.

This time he stopped briefly enough to answer her. “It’s the glass coffin. We use it for the finale.”

Mina turned in horror to look at the glass coffin that in fairy tales housed the body of a dead princess, the most famous one being Snow White. She took a deep breath and leaned closer. She could see her reflection staring back at her. Her own skin was pale with fear, her dark eyes wide with worry and her lips looked red because she was biting them. She looked beautiful, that is until she realized that her overlaid reflection gave the illusion that Mina was inside the glass coffin.

“NO!” She screamed and jumped away from the cursed coffin. No one even heard her over the Dead Prince Society playing onstage.

Anger and fear filled her as the tingling sensation began to turn into waves. She could feel the power rolling off of her, around her, into her.

“NO, I refuse! I refuse to play a part in this. Do you hear me, cursed Story. You don’t own me. You don’t get to choose what happens. It’s not fair!” The music began to beat loudly in time with the waves of power and Mina grimaced in pain, clutching her ears.

She had to leave and leave now, with or without Nan and Brody. She rushed upstairs, ignoring the confused looks of the stagehands. She found Brody and Nan where she had left them.

“Nan, look, we need to go!” She tried to grab Nan, but her best friend violently pulled away from her.

“What do you mean, we have to go?” She asked in disbelief. “Didn’t you see Valdemar? He wants me to stay here. There is going to be an after party. Brody, tell her!” Nan looked visibly upset at the prospect of leaving.

Brody looked back and forth between them, unsure of what to say. “Are you feeling alright? It’s okay if we stay. My cousin cleared it. Nan’s right, there is always a really cool after party. It’s better than waiting in the green room.”

Her lip was hurting from gnawing at it in panic. “No, I’m sorry. I just need…we just have to go.”

“No, Mina, I’m not going. For the love of chocolate, I have been waiting all my life for this moment. He kissed me, Mina! He kissed me.”