Fairest

“I highly doubt that,” Mina laughed. “For some reason, I don’t think you would have the patience to sit through all of those club meetings. Besides, if you were a Boy Scout, we would already be out of here.”



“You’re right. I’m not. I was too much of a trouble maker to be a Boy Scout. Let’s just say I’m a bit of an Ogre achiever and my good looks helped get you breakfast.”



“Hey, I’m not going to question food as long as it ends up in my belly,” Mina remarked.



Jared turned the fish over one more time before serving it up to Mina on a large piece of bark. The fish was juicy, hot, and lacked seasoning, but she was too hungry to care. She burned her tongue in her impatience to eat.



When they had both eaten their fill and drank enough of the cold river water, it was time to go. Jared kicked dirt over their ashes and put out the rest of their fire. It wasn’t a warm day; in fact, it was still very chilly and overcast. The gloominess was depressing and made their trek more miserable.



“So tell me more about the quests? You said that you knew one was coming, how is that?” Mina asked quietly.



“Well, because I’m Fae and I can feel the buildup of power and you should be able to as well. It’s like a tidal wave that pulls back and builds; all you get is a glimpse of small waves starting to form, followed by stillness and then the storm.”



Mina nodded her head. “I’ve felt it, and I think I’ve always been able to feel it. For me it starts as a tingling sensation throughout my body, or like being covered in static cling. It’s been happening ever since my dad died. There was always this feeling of someone watching me.”



Jared glowered angrily at the news and kicked at a rock as they walked. “Well, yes, that probably would’ve been the Story you were feeling. The Fae aren’t without some pity. It probably was waiting, checking up on you, and biding its time until all of the perfect elements were in place. It has learned to wait until the Grimms have gotten older before unleashing a quest on them. The young ones aren’t very fun.”



Mina gasped out loud and turned to stare at him in shock. “Do you mean that you’ve made children try and solve the quests? That is horrible! I almost didn’t survive it!”



“Wait, not me! I didn’t make children do anything. Like I said, this was long ago and is one of the reasons the Story decided to wait before assigning another quest. Many of the Grimm children did overcome the quests, most didn’t. A lot of the Fae didn’t like that the Story started on the Grimm’s at such a young age. Remember there are quite a few factions in our world that are Pro-Human. So the Story started waiting until the next Grimm came of age.”



“And what is the right age?” Mina asked angrily.



“Sixteen.”



“But I was still fifteen when all of this started. It was my birthday, my sixteenth birthday, that I beat the Hansel and Gretel and Red Riding Hood tale!”



“What can I say; you’re kind of a remarkable girl. You happened to catch the Story’s attention a little early.” He shrugged his shoulders and stuffed his hands into his jeans.



Heat rushed to her cheeks at the compliment. Mina stopped to rest by crawling on top of a large river boulder. Slowly, she removed her shoes and shook them upside down, dislodging a rock that had maneuvered its way in and was stabbing her foot. It hadn’t gotten any warmer, but Mina was tired and needed to rest.



Jared was leaning against a nearby tree with his eyes closed, waiting patiently for her. The sound of the river was soothing and if Mina wasn’t here under these conditions and with her present company, she probably would’ve enjoyed the trip a whole lot more. But as it was right now, this was agony.



With his eyes still closed, Jared spoke up. “Did you know that the first Hansel and Gretel were actually Fae, and it was the old woman who was a Grimm?”



“What are you talking about? That doesn’t sound right.”



“This is where it can get a little confusing and quite funny. In the very first quest, Hansel and Gretel were thieves and murders, like um, Bonnie and Clyde. But because Hansel and Gretel were Kitskin, child-like Fae that never grow old in appearance, no one ever suspected them. Your namesakes figured it out.”



“The Kitskin never robbed the same house twice, and it was usually only the elderly they robbed. It was Wilhelm who thought of a plan to catch them. He had Jacob dress like an old woman, and lure the Fae to his front door with the offer of sweets.”



Mina started to laugh as she pictured her family member trying to cross-dress.



Jared opened one eye, and his dark eyebrow arched high in indignation. He refused to continue until she had decided to stop interrupting him.



“Sorry,” Mina mumbled and folded her elbows over her knees and leaned her chin on her forearms. It was as good as a position as any to hear the whole story.



“Hansel and Gretel looked inside and were tempted by all of the jewelry and money, the Grimms happened to have laid out on the table. Later that night, Hansel and Gretel snuck back into the house to kill them and make off with the loot, but instead they were trapped by the Brothers in a magical cage and oven, thanks to the Grimoire.” He sounded smug.



“It sounds so easy, when you tell it that way? Way easier than my own Hansel and Gretel encounter.” Mina lifted her head, and when she saw Jared’s perturbed look, she covered her mouth with her hand and shrugged her shoulders.



“Yes, they do sound pretty easy, but remember, not every quest can be completed and they aren’t all deadly quests and you do get a chance to retry them.”



Her hand shot straight up into the air like an eager student in class. Jared waited a full three seconds before calling on her.



“Okay, now you can ask a question.” He pointed at her with a stray branch he had picked up from the ground.



“So what about Claire?”



“Claire was becoming a loose end and dangerous. Unfortunately, because this is the human world, the Fae don’t have to answer to anyone. So the Story will try and push these particular Fae into your path, hoping you will eliminate them for the Fates.”



“So I’m like the Ghostbuster for the bad Fae that your King and Queen can’t control anymore. They purposely send them my way and hope that I will trap them in the Grimoire.”



Jared glared at her for not raising her hand. Mina smiled apologetically.



“Yeah, it’s kind of a win-win. The Grimms need adversaries, and the Fae need a few less…um, bad guys. There has to be an equal balance. That’s why so many of them want the Grimoire, because with it they too can trap their enemies within its pages. There are also a few other perks or rumors about the Grimoire that make them want it….but none of them are true,” he finished quickly, a little too quickly.



Her hand shot into the air again. Jared nodded again impatiently at her.



“So what’s to keep me from ignoring the quests and running away and living to a ripe old age? I mean, if I don’t complete them, then the gate will never be shut and the Fae will be free to roam both worlds. It’s a win-win for me, right? Life and Life.”



Jared stared at the stick in his hands before snapping the thin wood into pieces. He broke them again and again before turning and chucking them angrily into the bushes. Startled birds took off into the sky. Turning, breathing hard, he looked at her, his eyes sad.