Fable (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale 3)

Teague reached for her hand, and Mina let him open up her palm to inspect her wound from the thorn. She was still reeling, and her whole body shook with anger. Teague leaned forward and blew on the small cut in her palm, and it healed itself. She ripped her hand from his grasp and took two steps away from him, almost falling on the ground. She needed to keep better control of herself. She needed Jared.

“How is my dear brother?” he asked, as if reading her mind.

“Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

His eyes darkened. “We are not exactly on speaking terms.”

“It wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that you keep trying to kill me, would it?”

“Now, sweet Mina, our fight goes back long before you were born. But you can’t hold it against me that I’m only doing my job. I’m supposed to throw quests your way, and you are supposed to try to stop me. It’s as simple as that. I can’t help it if we have a casualty or so in the process. That’s what makes the stories so good.” He smirked. “That’s what makes them popular. That’s what makes me powerful.” He was so close to her now that he ran the back of his finger across her cheek, and she flinched and smacked it away.

“I see that you are as disgusting as ever.”

“I see that you’re getting your fight back. You know, Mina, out of all the Grimms over the years who died at the hands of my fables, you are by far my favorite to toy with. I wonder why that is?” he asked, appearing to ponder the question.

“Maybe because you picked the wrong girl to mess with.”

“I don’t think so. I’ve finally found the perfect Grimm. I think you will be the most challenging. Which means your ending, the tale that finishes you off, will make us both famous.”

Mina’s lip trembled, and she steeled herself to not show fear. She stood her ground and looked Teague right in the eye. “A thousand sweet words can never disguise the rattle of a viper about to strike. I will not drop my guard ever again. And I will end this curse…by doing whatever…or killing whoever…I have to.”

Teague’s face turned furious, and his lips pressed into an angry thin line.

“Then be prepared, my dear Mina, for you won’t be able to ignore this next tale. I’ve made sure of that.” He stepped away from her. A crack of thunder rattled the earth and she jumped, turning in surprise. A second later, pouring rain followed, soaking everyone within minutes. Mina turned back toward Teague, but he was gone.

Chapter 4

Mina ran back to the burial site and gently tossed Brody’s rose onto the others. She looked upon the grave and felt her heart rip open anew. Charlie was so young, and none of this was fair: the curse, the constant moving, not having a normal life…all because of their last name.

She ignored the pouring rain and was actually reveling in its cool touch. The rain hid her tears, and she felt as if it was washing away her guilt, her past. She shuddered and made a vow to herself and her brother. “I failed you, Charlie. I failed to protect you from the curse. I’m so sorry. But I won’t let it take another Grimm. The curse ends with me, I promise.”

Mina heard her mother call her name, and she looked up and started running for the Wongs’ car.

It was time to go…but go where? She didn’t think she could go back to living with Terry for much longer. But they didn’t have to, because Terry pulled up right then with a large white van with the Happy Maids logo on the side.

“Yoo-hoo, Sara! Over here, darling!” Terry waved out the window, ignorant of the rain and the funeral that she’d missed. “I’ve got the most glorious news, so grab your things and hop in.”

Sara spoke a few words to the Wongs, grabbed her purse out of the back of their car, and opened the front passenger seat of the Happy Maids van. Mina followed suit and opened the sliding door, only to be greeted by all their stuff. Or at least, all the boxes of donated stuff that had been piling up in Terry’s living room.

“What’s going on, Terry? Why did you move all of our stuff here?” Sara asked, confused. It was obvious from her expression that she was a little offended that they were being packed up and shuffled off without any notice.

“Shhh, I can’t ruin the surprise yet. Just wait.” Terry waved her hands in the air and directed Mina to a small flip-down seat with an old belt buckle. She strapped herself in and felt odd when she looked at the boxes of food, clothing, and essentials piled in the back. It was like they were being uprooted all over again. She secretly wondered if Terry was going to slow down around a curve and push them out of the moving vehicle.

Mina turned to look out the window one last time as they passed Charlie’s grave and saw a lone figure standing by the grave, wearing a top hat. Mina craned her neck to see if she recognized the man, who seemed ignorant of the coming downpour. The man with the tall hat was more interested in watching them leave than paying his respects to her brother.

“Mom.” Mina pointed out the windows, which were quickly fogging up with heat. “Do you know that person?”

Sara looked in the direction she was pointing, but by the time she turned in her seat, the man in the rain was gone. “What person, Mina?”

“Never mind. I just thought I saw someone.”

Mina settled into her seat and listened to the quiet chatter of the women in front and the annoying screeching noise the old windshield wipers made against the glass. Bored, Mina began to inspect the boxes of their belongings and gasped when she saw a bag with her bathroom items in it and the Grimoire thrown in haphazardly on top. She was angry. How dare this woman touch her things and treat them with so much disrespect? Mina didn’t care what stupid surprise Terry had in store. Touching a teenager’s things was just not done. It was taboo. A giant no-no.

Terry drove away from the cemetery and onto a turnpike. It felt surreal—they had just buried her brother, and now they were getting evicted by their friend and moving on the same day. Mina began to wonder if her mother’s boss had a screw loose. After what felt like hours, but in reality probably was only few minutes, they exited the highway and turned down an unfamiliar road. They must be on the edge of town, because she didn’t recognize the terrain.

They turned onto a barely discernable road, and Mina wondered if Terry knew where they were going. Finally, they followed the road up a winding hill, and Mina could see a house in the distance, a very large house. Terry pulled up to a wrought-iron gate, and stepped down from the van and fished around in her wallet for a key card. Finally, she found the right one and slipped it into the security box, and the gate opened. She slid back into the car and drove up the driveway, lined with weeping willows, and stopped in front of a large estate.