UnEnchanted (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale #1)(44)

Jared gave no warning and rushed Mina quickly. He stabbed at her with the sword and she jumped backward barely missing being gutted by the enchanted blade. He turned again and swept his foot out and caught her behind the knee and she fell backward into the water. Cold liquid burned her lungs as she inhaled the water. Mina flailed her arms and got on her knees and crawled to the edge and began coughing. She now knew why he wanted to practice in the water. If he had done the leg sweep on land, she would have hit the ground hard.

When she caught her breath, they started again. He taught her blocks, stabs, and even a few basic flipping moves. Obviously most of the time he was flipping her into the water, and she came up looking like a drowned duck. Finally Jared, let Mina use a hip throw and throw him into the lake. Mina screamed and ran around in circles with her hands in the air, chanting her name and doing a victory dance.

Jared grinned and waded out of the water and over to their shoes. Carefully he looked for dead and fallen tree limbs and made a fire, using a lighter. Mina felt a little disappointed that he couldn’t call up fire on the spot with magic. But she forgot all about her disappointment when the heat from the fire began to warm her soaked clothes and take the chill off. All Mina cared about was getting warm.

Jared sat next to her and began what would be a very enlightening lesson. “Now there are various Fae tale creatures that you will most definitely come across. You’ve already met one of the wolves.”

“Don’t you mean fairy tale people not creatures? What I saw was a man not a wolf,” Mina scoffed.

“Don’t let your eyes fool you. You only see what’s on this plane, not the next,” he warned.

“You mean there’s more than one?” she asked.

Jarred rolled his eyes at her question. “Of course, there is more than one plane. For instance there is the physical plane and spiritual plane. Where the physical and spiritual planes meet and the veil between the two is thinner, weaker and constantly moving exists the Fae plane. Which is where the Story itself resides and all of the Fae Tales originate. The two planes almost never converge, but when they do the merging of the spiritual and physical creates apexes or gates for the Fae to cross over. Over the years hundreds of Fae have crossed over and have run amok among the human world.”

“Do you mean like fairies and witches?” Mina asked.

“Your world drew them like moths to flame, and the Grimm Brother’s realized this. Somehow the brothers found a gate to the Fae plane and confronted the ruling Fae, or as some call them Fates and demanded that the Fae return to their own plane. Now all Fae love games more than anything and they take great pleasure in toying with humans like chess pieces. The older ones love to feed off human emotions and energy. It’s addicting to them, like the purest drug.

So they weren’t about to return to their own world easily. But the Fae also love stories. So a challenge was issued to the brothers: if they could complete a list of quests based on their favorite stories, then the Fae would be drawn back to their own world and the gate closed forever. If they didn’t, then the gate would stay open.

The brothers discussed at length what to do, for the quests were numerous. They couldn't possibly achieve all of them in their lifetime. So they agreed, on the condition that if they couldn't finish the quests then the next of their bloodline would be given a chance.”

“It sounds too easy.” Mina commented.

“It was of course, but the ruling Fates were crafty. Because what the brothers didn't know was that the quests would start over from the beginning if the Grimm chosen couldn't complete them.”

“But that's not fair! I shouldn’t have to be shouldered with the responsibility of their unfinished business. My family wouldn't be cursed if they were able to finish where the others left off. The gate could have been closed long ago and I would still have my father! I HATE this. I hate the Fae!” Mina let out a frustrated growl.

Jared's eyes darkened at her words and she looked at him and then pinched her lips closed in remorse. She still wasn't sure whose side Jared was on.

“Yes the Fae are crafty, they don't want the gates closed. It means their playground would be off limits and they couldn’t toy with the humans. So the Fae continually try to impede the Grimm’s progress. They learned to hide their essence between planes and appear human, normal, but if you were able to see onto the next plane you would see them for what they really are.”

“You mean I would see that Grey Tail isn’t human.”

Jared nodded. “Grey Tail is very much a Fae wolf and like all wolves, physical and Fae, they do run in packs.”

Mina shivered and rubbed her hands together over the fire. The thought of facing others like Grey Tail scared her. Swallowing, she tried to regain focus on what Jared was saying. The clue to beating the curse lay somewhere with him, she knew it. “So what about the Story; you, my mother, everyone keeps referring to the Story as if it’s a living breathing thing.”

“It wasn’t at first, but it is now,” Jared sighed and looked frustrated.

“I don’t understand?”

“Well, when the ruling Fates set forth the quests for Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, they kept a record of the tales on the Fae plane as their way to keep an eye on the brothers' progress. I told you the Fae love stories and they loved to read the completed tales the brothers finished. But anything that resides within the Fae plane for long periods of time, eventually gains power. And it did, it became self-aware, a Fae in its own right, known as the Story. It liked the attention it was receiving from the Fae, so the Story began to interfere on its own and set up the tales for the Grimm descendants as a way to gain more power.”