It took several days of travel to where Dina said we would find the brothers. It might have taken longer, but we were able to shortcut through some unused portals. Not the most pleasant of experiences, but effective and helpful when trying to stay under the radar.

  There were not many settlements along the way, not that we needed them. Rapunzel pitched the tent while Morpheus and I took turns hunting. So long as there was food to hunt, it was best to preserve our supplies. It also gave me a good way to examine his skills while still having the space to think through how I felt about the kiss. He seemed receptive to the gesture and open to repeating it, but he did not push.

  Rapunzel and I talked about plans to keep up our training in combat and magic, and Morpheus offered his skills to help keep us sharp. He expected me to accept the offer, which I did.

  He was obviously not expecting me to ambush him out in the woods far from camp.

  As I took shots from the shadows with my slingshot, I considered it retribution for the stunt he pulled in Neverland. If they caused any injury, it was too his pride as they were impossible to ignore but difficult for him to trace. I led him on a merry chase, dodging his return volleys, leaving them nicely packaged directly in his path. Occasionally I would double back and surprise him, engaging just long enough to nick something to leave behind as a taunt.

  After a while, Rapunzel joined in, leaving surprises of her own on the ground. He only encountered those a few times before he learned to watch for her rune-work. She and I kept a running tally of how many times our moves landed, and in the end, I narrowly won thanks to a mix of my early start and my familiarity with Morpheus.

  I honestly found the games rather fun and surprisingly challenging. One thing I noticed, however, was just how similar Morpheus’ magic was to mine. Yes, we manifested our moves in different ways but something about the feel of it reminded me so much of mine, I nearly asked him about it. But I could never seem to find the words, as it tugged at something in the memories I could not see. I always knew my magic didn’t fit the flow of the Enchanted Lands, as if it were dancing to a different tune or slipping down a different stream. It felt good to go up against an opponent where I did not have to hold back, did not have to hide my difference.

  That was at night.

  During the day we talked about everything from history to politics to modern inventions to magic. It was an onslaught of names and relations and warning signs to keep aware of. Sometimes we would get sidetracked into debates. Other times he would ask questions that led to us providing in-depth explanations of different spells. As we walked, his fingers would often brush against mine, sometimes lacing through them in the quieter moments. If Rapunzel noticed, she gave no comment.

  Soon we found ourselves approaching our destination. Once we reached the town mentioned in the note, we decided it was time to blend in.

  Morpheus posed as an old school friend of the brothers, looking to stop by and visit while he was in town. To anyone who asked, Rapunzel was his fiancé, and I was his sister. It was a solid cover and one not many questioned. It took some asking around to get confirmation on where and when to find the brothers, but thankfully they were not too far out of town.

  A few well-meaning townsfolk offered to give us a ride and Morpheus nearly accepted until I gently reminded him that we had our own means of transportation. This was a conversation best had in private and at least two of the people offering to help were either going to overcharge us or attempt to rob us.

  Securing horses was indeed no trouble, as Rapunzel had some sway with the stable master. Something to do with her training before she was given the title of Ranger.

  We settled our tab at the end and left when the town was busy with travelers. Our group easily blended in with other traders leaving the town, and we stayed with them until we saw a good place to split off and start towards the brother’s farm.

  The ride there was quiet. My focus was on the rough trail left behind by the occasional cart of supplies being hauled this way. Rapunzel was watching for any followers while Morpheus kept an eye out for any traps. It took a few hours to wind our way to the quiet little farm.

  Once I caught sight of the first building, I signaled the others to hang back. Bursting onto their property at full speed would no doubt put them on edge. I continued on with them following a distance behind me.

  My first impression was that the house itself resembled an ordinary hunting cabin. Well kept, enough space for two to live comfortably and have room for guests. Yet, there was a faint hum in the air that felt familiar. I glanced at Rapunzel, and she nodded, confirming the presence of warding around the property. The magic was dense, heavy, but felt intuitive. This was no ordinary warding. It was expertly crafted.

  That fact alone erased any doubts in my mind. This had to be the place.

  “Who goes there?”

  My attention snapped to the man now standing between rows of crops. His tone held a small amount of suspicion, but it was warranted given the situation. I held my hands up, reins loose between my fingers to show I held nothing else.

  “My name is Snow, and these are my friends Rapunzel and Morpheus. You wouldn’t happen to be Jacob or Wilhelm Grimm, would you?”

  The man's face hardened as another came to stand in the doorway of the small house.

  “Not familiar with either of those names. You must have the wrong place,” the man in the field responded.

  “Jacob, where are your manners?" the other man protested. "It's not nice to turn away guests when we so rarely get them.”

  The man in the field whirled to face the one standing in the doorway, obviously not thrilled with this response. By now I had moved close enough I could tell they were definitely related. I slowly slid off my horse and approached the first man, stopping a few feet away.

  “I apologize for showing up unannounced, but it’s a bit of an unusual situation.”

  “What do you want?” he growled.

  “Come now, Jacob. We talked about this. Stop being a grumpy pants and show our guests in. Mother would be ashamed of your manners if she could see you right now.”

  “Please leave mother out of this.”

  “Dina told us where to find you,” I explained, drawing the attention back to us. There was a soft thud as Rapunzel dismounted. Morpheus followed soon after. The whole time, Jacob’s eyes never left mine.

  “Why would she do that?” he asked. There was an unspoken layer to that question of who are you?

  I found myself wondering the same thing.

  “As I said, it’s a complicated situation. I can’t claim to fully understand her logic, but I know she had some reason for sending us here. I think she believes you can help us with our problem,” I tried.

  “That sounds like her,” Jacob grumbled. “Not sure how we can help, though.”

  “It’s about the book, isn’t it?” Wilhelm asked. Jacob shot him a curious look, but I saw something in his eye that said…something. I was not sure what.

  “Yes, it is. Stories are showing up and then coming true. We intend to get to the bottom of this, but we need to know what we are up against.”

  There was a long pause where Jacob eyed the three of us. He was looking for something. Processing the situation. His brother was watching us as well, though with much less intensity. I maintained eye contact with Jacob until he was ready to look away.

  “Why don’t you come inside? I guess we have a lot to talk about,” he admitted begrudgingly.

  “That we do.”

  We followed them into the living space where I sat next to Rapunzel, and together we explained as much of the situation as we thought the two brothers could handle.

  “...and then she gave us this.” I slid the scrap Dina had written directions on across the table.

  Jacob picked it up and examined it for a while. An air of unease hung over the room as the brothers processed the news.

  Wilhelm had been nodding along the whole time as if he knew exactly what I was talking about. I was not sure what to make of that, but I made a note to address it before the evening grew too late.

  “I know it’s a lot to take in, but I was hoping you would be able to help us,” I nudged. “Perhaps provide us with information that can get us going in the right direction? We will take extra care to conceal your involvement.”

  “That sounds great but I’m not sure how we can help you. If you’ll excuse me, I have some chores to attend to.” Jacob stood and left the room before any could protest. He had listened to the whole of my story, watching my face throughout the entirety. His face had been stony. Unreadable. I knew he was looking for something, but I was not sure if he had found it.

  “I apologize for my brother. Jacob has always prided himself on being a practical man, to spite our family’s reputation." Wilhem ducked his head sheepishly. "It is not easy to be a Grimm.”

  “Trust me, I know what it is to carry an unwanted reputation,” Rapunzel said. Wilhelm’s eyes flicked over to her and then glazed over somewhat. Her shoulders tensed at his gaze, but she maintained eye contact with him.

  The faintest shift in the air tugged at my senses and I instinctively latched onto it. I had to catch myself as my magic began reaching towards him. This was not something I wanted to interfere with, for that could be dangerous given my lack of understanding. Dina had devoted extra time to teaching me how to reign in and refocus my magic, so I used one of the many tricks to soothe my magic.

  I took a deep, slow breath in and focused on gently following the flow. In my mind, I could see tendrils reaching from Wilhelm to Rapunzel and back. He was trying to read her, and she was allowing it, doing the same to him in turn.

  They were both gentle about it, not forcing or probing. Her magic felt familiar from our years of working together, but surprisingly there was something familiar about his as well. I could not quite put my finger on it though.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  It did not take him long to find what he was looking for, then the magic receded, and he nodded approvingly.

  “It seems you understand better than most,” he said. "Perhaps you could go talk to him. He carries the weight more than I do." He looked at Rapunzel pleadingly. "Help him understand.”

  “I can try. Where did he…”

  “Second-floor balcony. Upstairs, down the hall, last door on the left. That’s where he goes to think.”

  “Okay. I’ll be right back,” Rapunzel said, standing and straightening her cloak. Her eyes flicked meaningfully from me to Wilhelm and back. I gave her a subtle nod. Satisfied, she excused herself from the room to go find Jacob, leaving Morpheus and me alone with Wilhelm.

  Rapunzel

  Jacob did not bother turning to face Rapunzel as she stepped out onto the balcony.

  “Wilhelm told you where to find me.” Not a question. A statement.

  “I thought we could talk,” she said, stepping closer. He did not respond, so she slowly made her way to a spot on the railing a few feet away from him.

  The view was truly spectacular. Whatever this place had been before the brothers found it, they had turned it into their own private paradise. There was a robust garden filled with a variety of crops covering a large portion of the clearing and every so often she caught the faint scent of an herb garden.

  A few smaller storage buildings dotted the premise, and beyond that were trees as far as the eye could see.

  “The two of you have done well cultivating this place. How long did it take you to become self-sustaining?” she asked.

  He instinctively looked her way, curious intrigue on his face, posture relaxing somewhat. He remained closed off, but some of the hostility was melting away as his curiosity overpowered his desire to pointedly ignore her until she went away. At least for the time being.

  “About two years. The bare bones were here when we bought the place. It took us a while to get the crops going." Pride warmed his voice as he surveyed his home. "We also spent the first few months putting security measures in place. I still have to go into town every so often to trade some of our surplus for things we can’t make ourselves.”

  “Naturally. The nice thing about living next to a trading town is you can go in and out without people being able to guess where you are from. Another layer of anonymity," Rapunzel said wistfully. "You can be whoever you want to be, and most people will pay you no mind.”

  “Who are you?” He did not bother hiding the mix of curiosity and incredulity in his voice. He was both intrigued and somewhat baffled by her. Just the way she liked it.

  She leaned against the railing, surveying the clearing as he turned to face her.

  “I’m someone who knows how heavy a name can be. The expectations. The judgment. The distrust." Her words carried a mixture of contempt and bitterness. "I tried to run away to a place like this a while ago. It took a while to come up with a plan that would work, but eventually, I did find a way to get off the property without anyone noticing." Her shoulders relaxed slightly. "After that it was a lot of running and hiding, looking over my shoulder until I thought I was far enough away, maybe they wouldn’t find me.”

  “It must not have been a nice place if you were that determined to not go back.”

  “You can say that again. It wasn’t that I wasn’t well taken care of there. I was. I just couldn’t stand being cooped up and kept away from the world. I wanted to be among the people.” She looked at Jacob. "I wanted to be able to go out and make a difference.”

  “You wanted to be more than your family name,” Jacob commented. She turned around to lean her back against the railing, crossing her arms and making eye contact with him. He did not look away this time.

  “I don’t think anyone should be limited by their family name,” she said firmly. " I think we lived for too long bound to things we could not choose. Why should we perpetuate that? The old ways aren’t doing anyone any good.”

  “You sound like my mother.”

  “She must be a smart woman, then.”

  “She certainly was, and she was a firm believer in choices." His voice softened when he spoke of her. "She was a little girl at the end of the old king’s reign, so she remembered what that was like. While most in our family tend to isolate themselves, focusing on their traditions and their craft, she encouraged us to learn other things." He scoffed. "Didn’t exactly make her popular with the rest of her family, but we loved her for it.” Jacob’s gaze grew wistful for a second before he shook himself, drawing his mind back to the present.

  “Being popular is overrated,” Rapunzel quipped. “I would much rather be amazing, like her.”

  Jacob chuckled.

  “She would have liked you.”

  The silence that fell over them was lighter this time, the hostility replaced by a sense of nostalgia and a touch of camaraderie. She opted to let the silence remain, giving him time to reconsider things instead of pushing him into a decision. In fact, she saw a lot of herself in him. That was why she had chosen to share her story, if only part of it.

  Sometimes one has to give trust to gain trust.

  “So, you think there’s a chance that what is happening with these stories is connected to the old king’s book.” Once again, not a question but a statement.

  “It’s the only thing that makes sense, from what I understand of things. The Blue Lady of Neverland told us the story involving the book, then Dina told us to come here.,” she explained. "I may not fully understand why she sent us here, but she has not led us astray so far. Sometimes I get the feeling that she knows more than she can tell us, but that is old magic for you…”

  “You are familiar with old magic?” he interjected.

  “Well, yes. I come from an old family. That is where I learned my skill with rune craft.”

  “Ahhh, that explains your apparent interest in the door frame.”

  “How could I not admire such quality work?”

  “I appreciate the praise. Most people don’t recognize what those markings mean.”

  “In their defense, runes are not widely studied,” she said. "I imagine they also fail to realize that many runes can serve as the basis for enchantment. At least for simple enchantments." She flushed. "I will admit, I have not spent much time studying more intricate enchantments. My focus has been primarily on mastering various runes and finding ways to combine them.”

  “I was taught how to enchant growing up, but it was never a great passion of mine. At least, not in the way my grandfather wanted it to be. No, he wanted me to take on the family business, but that was never my dream. I think he ended up passing it off to a cousin. I wanted to do something different.”

  “I can definitely understand that.”

  Once again silence fell over them, this one soft like a blanket. The two were now standing a foot apart, both leaning on the railing where they could easily face each other. For a moment, they were lost in their own thoughts. He, trying to decide how much he trusted this new stranger, while she was hoping he would agree to help. Not only did they need a lead, but she also happened to like him.

  Beyond the clearing, the sun was beginning to dip behind the trees. The air grew chill, transitioning to the evening cool. Her eyes focused on Jacob as he continued to survey his little kingdom.

  “So, will you help us?” she prodded.

  He sighed, pushing himself off the railing, face unreadable. She waited with bated breath for his response.

  “Aye, I’ll help, on one condition.”

  “Name it.”

  “One of you takes my brother to someplace he will be protected. The second I join you on this, there will be a target on his back, and I will not see him harmed.”

  “Done.”

  Snow

  “You seem to be taking this all very well,” I commented seconds after Rapunzel left. “I apologize that we upset your brother.”

  “No need to apologize. Jacob does not enjoy speaking of family matters such as this. We have worked hard to separate ourselves from the Grimm name and the weighted history that comes with it.”

  “That’s understandable.”

  “We will need some time to prepare for a journey once Jacob comes to his senses. Which he will. He always does." Wilhem spoke with such conviction I wouldn’t help but believe him. "This just caught him off guard. I’m sure your friend will be able to reach him though." He looked at the door they had disappeared through. "In the meantime, make yourself at home. I am going to get dinner started. I will return shortly.”

  I wanted to respond, but Wilhelm left the room before I could finish processing his words. This left Morpheus and me alone in the cozy living room. His fingers mindlessly toyed with the edge of the cup as his eyes fixated on a point beyond the table.

  I decided to give him some time since I got the distinct impression we would not be going anywhere any time soon. After a few minutes of waiting, curiosity got the better of me and I stood to explore.

  Morpheus flinched slightly as I stood.

  “Easy there, just stretching my legs,” I said reassuringly. He nodded, leaning back onto the couch with a sigh. “You alright?”

  “Oh, I was just thinking of how interesting my life has become since deciding to join your merry little band,” he explained with a wry grin. "I wonder where you will take me next.”

  I chuckled, casually examining the items on the mantle. Several looked handcrafted and not particularly old, likely either made by the brothers or bought from the town market. Upon closer inspection, the boxes appeared to be puzzle boxes of varying designs. Different places of origin too, purchased from various traders.

  “Serve as a Ranger long enough you get used to complicated.” I started talking to fill the silence. " A lot of what we deal with is old magic or magic gone twisted and trust me when I say there is nothing simple there." I picked up one of the boxes gently and examined it. "Some people think the old ways need to be brought back, but they often don’t truly understand what that means. The magic flowing through them is not the same as it was all that time ago. Try as they might to cling to the past, the world has evolved and magic with it.”

  I had come across similar puzzle boxes often in my travels. This one was a particularly challenging design, but someone here had completed it. They likely solved all the puzzle boxes. Whether it was Jacob or Wilhelm or both, I could not say, though it gave me a greater respect for them.

  I carefully put the box back in its place on the mantle and returned to my casual examination of the room.

  “What are you looking for?” Morpheus asked, eyeing me from the couch.

  “Oh, nothing in particular. Our hosts seem trustworthy, I am just curious to learn more about them. Some things are easier gleaned from the way someone arranges their home than can be learned from a conversation. Also, after that long conversation, I needed to stretch my legs,” I replied, stopping to peruse the bookcase built into one of the walls. I could feel Morpheus watching me, possibly trying to gauge my reactions.

  It was a rather impressive collection. My finger traced along the spines as I perused the various titles and subjects. I had at least a passing familiarity with most of them. The selection of books on gardening and horticulture I had less knowledge of, but they fit with the brothers’ determination to be self-sustaining. A couple bore more signs of use than the rest. Next to that were books on building and crafting, followed by history and literature. Whoever curated this selection had good taste.

  I had to crouch down to better peruse the books on the bottom two shelves. Morpheus shifted on the couch, and I glanced up to see him attempting to also get a better view of the books. Looking back at the shelves, I was first struck by how dusty the books were. Then I noticed that I had seen many of them before. I had even read a few, borrowing them from Rapunzel out of curiosity.

  They were books on magic. Runes. Enchanting. Illusions. There was even one on conjuration. The books containing instructions on creating wards and defensive magics were clean with cracked spines, while the books on crafting enchantments were untouched.

  Whether it was due to the brothers already knowing the contents or their disinterest in learning, I could not tell.

  Standing up, I made a mental note to ask Rapunzel about some of the titles. She had a great affinity for runes and enchantments, whereas my skills lay in other areas.

  My attention moved to a series of pictures on the wall. The decorations were sparse, but the paintings were beautiful. Scenic landscapes full of bold colors and rich textures. Flowers painted in painstaking detail, so realistic I was tempted to reach out and touch them. Upon closer inspection, I got the distinct impression they were all by the same artist, though try as I might I could not find a signature.

  “My mother painted those.”

  I spun on my heel to Jacob standing in the doorway he had stormed out of, Rapunzel close behind him. He looked more at ease than I had seen him since we arrived, but he tensed slightly when he saw me up and about.

  “I hope you don’t mind,” I said. “I desperately needed to stretch my legs and my curiosity got the better of me. These paintings are exquisite." I gestured towards the nearest painting, a lakeside landscape. "Also, Wilhelm left to go get dinner ready.”

  Jacob regarded me for a second, eyes flitting around to various places in the room to ensure I had not tampered with anything. Morpheus shifted slightly, trying to find a more comfortable position as he was still turned backward on the couch.

  I locked eyes with Rapunzel over Jacob’s shoulder. She looked a touch preoccupied but there were no signs of regret or disappointment. I hoped that was a good sign.