Chapter 2

The Souls of the Unwanted

Hey, guys! I know what you're thinking: "Reade has posted a short chapter! Kill the beast!"

Well, don't do that. Thank you.

Anyway, I didn't rush this. I actually put a lot of thought into it. This is a bit of a supernatural story, so if you no likey, don't read.

This chapter is for Murasakino-Chan (now did I spell that correct?). I do like making people laugh. I didn't know it would be funny, but…good to know it was! Now, you wanted an answer to what Grimm was up to? Well…this chapter…

will make you want to know even more! Anyway, happy reading, guys!

Raven walked along the dark hallway, her dark hair trailing along her back. A black nightgown framed her petite but fit form, a thin purple velvet dressing gown lined with black lace over the gown. Her bare feet grazed the carpet.

"Raven, what are you doing out this late?" a voice asked.

Raven turned to see Briar, her hair in a low braid, with a rose-patterned nightgown and a hot pink robe.

"I think the REAL question is, what are YOU doing out here this late?" Raven reprimanded.

Briar narrowed her eyes. "I can't sleep. Sleeping Beauty Syndrome does that to you. Now stop changing the subject and answer my question."

Raven raised her eyebrows. She was pretty daring for someone who lived in a house of people who were scared of Raven.

"I'm out here because, like you, I can't sleep. My mental disorder does that to you," Raven answered airily, waving her hand dissmissively.

"Liar," Briar answered immediately.

"And how?" Raven challenged, feeling sick.

"Firstly, if you weren't able to sleep night after night, you would have eye bags under your eyes. Secondly, your mental disorder is witchcraft. Thirdly, I see you every morning alert and awake. Lastly, I wander the halls every night but I never see you. It's Spring, and you have hayfever so you don't go outside. I know this because I saw eye drops and a packet of tissues fall out of your pocket," Briar answered.

Raven pressed her lips into a thin line. "Fine," she replied finally, as lying to Briar wouldn't help her in this situation. "I don't want to be in the same room as Apple." That was true, but not the reason she was really out. "Just go away."

"Alright," Briar scoffed disbelievingly, and seemingly disappeared.

Raven continued pacing evenly through the hallway.

"Ms Queen, what are you doing out so late?"

A stately voice made Raven freeze in her tracks. She turned to see Milton Grimm, looking extremely - again, no pun intended - grim. His face was set in an austere frown.

"Nothing," Raven replied quickly, but Grimm only responded by suddenly grabbing her forearm.

"Since you are out so late, I will take this chance to allow you to assist me in the most convinient of ways," he stated grandly. His voice, however, had a slight sickening tone to it that frightened Raven right down to her core.

"What do you mean?" she managed bravely.

"I know that you…specialise in witchcraft?" Grimm smirked in the most unfathomable of ways. "Know a few…spells? Evil…spells? To create fire in our eyes and tongues, to destroy?"

Raven cursed herself for telling Briar to get lost, for the wisecracking brunette could have helped her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Raven said. She didn't really.

"Of course you don't," Milton answered. "That is why we will teach you."

"We?"

"Now," Grimm interrupted, "firstly, we'll take you to get a few…bodily adjustments…" He chuckled sinisterly to himself.

Raven struggled as the house keeper dragged her along. Firstly, why was he acting like some sort of dramatic villain? Secondly, what did he mean by 'bodily adjustments'? And when did he plan all of this?

"What are you doing out this late, Raven?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" the black-haired girl muttered, but the sound of her roommate's voice had never been such music to her ears.

Turning around, Raven saw Apple, looking like a ghost. Her icy pale skin, black eye bags, and blood red lips puncuated her face, while her near-white hair almost blew behind her. Her satin nightgown trailed far behind her with the long train. A thin wax candle was clasped in one of her petite hands.

"Mr Grimm?" Apple said, her eyes widening. They probably couldn't get any wider.

"What's going on?" she lisped in her faux-gentle voice that she reserved for adults. She blinked innocently like she was an angel.

"Nothing at all, my dear," Grimm lied. "Raven was caught sneaking out in the middle of the night, that's all." Which she was.

"Oh," Apple answered. "Raven, you shouldn't—"

Raven held up her locket-chain. Apple stopped talking immediately. She only gently unhooked Raven from Grimm's grasp and marched her back into their room. When they returned, Apple sank into bed but lay awake, staring ominously at Raven as the ebony-haired girl smoothened her sheets.

Walking over, Raven gave a false smile and wavered a small metal object under Apple's nose. The blonde's eyes snapped closed and she was asleep in a second. Raven smiled, a real one this time, and held the object up to the little light there was - it was an apple-shaped charm, bright green.

"Poison apples," she sighed contentedly. "Works like a charm."

Briar wandered around the House. The night was dark, the cresent moon giving very little light. She shivered and wrapped her dressing gown tighter around her. She looked around and then stopped short.

There, along a stone wall, stood a row of peculiar people dressed in odd white robes that would've looked normal in ancient Grece.

One had bubblegum-pink curls. Another had a thick brown braid and tanned skin that was battered, bloodied and bruised. Yet another had a smooth chocolate complexion and platinum-blonde waves. She looked beautiful, but there was a hole - a literal hole - in her chest. Another girl, with misty-blue tendrils, was next to them.

All of them had hollow eye sockets.

The one with bubblegum-pink hair stepped up. "Who are you?" she asked. Her voice was light, melodic, but it sounded like her throat was full of water. And it apparantly was, because the second she opened her mouth, a large spew of seawater gushed out.

"I was about to ask the same," Briar answered, unnerved. "I'm Briar. Who are you four? And what happened to you?"

"We are the souls of the unwanted."

"The what?"

"We were killed," the brunette spoke up. Blood trickled down the edge of her lips. "By ourselves, perhaps, but he helped."

"So much help," the dark-skinned blonde added. "He was a murderer."

"Who was?" Briar asked frantically. She wasn't sure if she was dreaming or not - but the cold night air only proved she wasn't.

"The House Keeper in which you know," the pink-haired girl answered as another spew of water gushed out. "Milton Grimm is his name."

"The evil way he murdered us—" the brunette started.

"—He will kill and slaughter you all the same" the blonde finished.

"You can run, but you cannot hide!" Followed by more water out of her mouth. The pink-haired girl seemed to be the leader of the four.

"You'll never escape the demon inside…" This was the first time the girl with the blue hair had spoken. Her voice was quiet.

Briar was dumbstruck. "What am I supposed to do? What did he do to you all?"

"What he did seemed like we did it. Drowning, gunshot, poison, fall."

"Are you actually telling the truth?" Briar asked uncertainly.

"Look at us, our bodies are proof," the bloodied brunette responded. Briar admitted this was right. She stared at their empty eye sockets. The leader guessed what she was thinking.

"We are like this because we were blind."

"Blind to Grimm's plan in his mind."

Briar gulped. "How do I save everyone?" she asked.

"Briar, you're not normal," the blonde said. "You have the ability to save everyone. Even us."

"But to save you and your friends, we need your trust," the brunette spoke up. Briar considered this and then gazed into their eyeless, dead faces. They all looked sincere. She knew sincerity when she saw it.

"Okay," Briar answered. She was surprised when they actually meant it literally - the pink-haired girl leaned forward and reached out a hand into Briar's chest. Her hand went literally into her and re-emerged with a glowing golden-white orb. She broke off a bit of it.

"That's all the trust we'll need," she said as she replaced the rest of Briar's trust back in her chest. The pink-haired girl gave it to the small blonde, who licked a tiny bit of it. "Hmm. Pure, golden, shiny. Pretty secure," she calculated, before handing it back to her leader. Briar supposed it was the only way they could sense things, since the four couldn't see.

She was pretty surprised when the pink-haired girl broke the trust in half. She then stepped close to the girl misty-blue hair that hadn't talked much, then pressed the two smaller orbs into each eye socket. The blue-haired girl blinked experimentally and rubbed her head.

"Can you see now?" Briar asked as the girl stared ahead. But she only shook her head. "Only foretell. But I guess I can see the future."

That wasn't exactly what Briar meant, but she decided to drop it.

"Briar Avalanche Beauty, sixteen years old. Likes chocolate. Very smart, can bunjee jump. Once tried to skydive and broke her leg in the process," the blue-haired soothsayer recalled. Briar only stared.

"She has a wise heart, indeed. Listen, my client - you have two other girls in the House with gifts as your's. One isn't angry but sounds that way, with soul and heart as clear as day. The other is the shade of anger and pride, with a loyal and intelligent heart inside. Now, together, when the challenges you brave, from evil and hell your friends you will save."

Before Briar could say anything else, the four girls disappeared in a vanish of dust.

Hopper fidgeted. He shook. He shivered. He squirmed.

Today was the dreaded, dreaded, dreaded TUESDAY.

Ginger came out of the kitchen wielding a spatula and a huge platter of sizzling meat. There was still some green showing through the crispy golden surface. Hopper gulped and stared at his legs in fear.

"I love frog's legs," someone said. Hopper wiggled. He felt sick.

Briar shot him a sympathetic glance before continuing to think deeply. Hopper wondered what she was thinking about.

Ginger came around, giving everyone a large helping of frog's legs. Some people scarfed it down immediately. Apple cut it into mini pieces and ate them one by one. Hopper's stomach was somersaulting.

Ginger smiled at him as she came closer. And, horror of horrors - she gave him AN EXTRA SERVING!

Hopper almost wept in sorrow. He liked it when she gave him extra spaghetti or cookies or roast beef. But today was TUESDAY! And he was HOPPER! He stared forlornly at his plate of frog's legs. Next to him, Chase munched and exclaimed how good it tasted. On his other side, Hunter was nibbling on the legs. And all around him, they were eating frogs!

Shaking, he picked up his fork and poked the frog's legs. They looked so alive. This was most distressing.

Briar leaned over and tapped him on the shoulder. She gestured for him to dump his frog's legs on her plate. Hopper quickly did. Briar then gave Chase half and continued eating her's.

And then Ginger came out with another serving!

The cook immediately walked up to Hopper. "You eat so quick!" she said shyly. "Is it because you really like them?"

And then she dumped another helping on his plate. Hopper's lip wobbled. He was going to cry.

Ginger looked worried. "Are you alright, Hopper?" she asked.

And then Hopper burst into tears.

Cerise wasn't expecting Hopper's outburst. He wailed. Cook Ginger looked immesely worried. Briar immediately stood up. "Maybe it was food poisoning?" she said, and then grabbed Hopper and strode off.

"F-Food poisoning!" Ginger spluttered. "I-I would not!"

Cerise shrugged and continued eating her food. The frog's legs tasted like chicken.

Briar followed Hopper as he ran to the closest bathroom and started to vomit.

"It was disgusting! All the skin and the green slime and…urgh! Does she take me for a cannibal?"

Briar patted the boy's back as he retched up another load. "Did you ever see a more smug look?" he proclaimed.

Briar was still trying to wrap her mind around what happened last night. She had seen the souls…but what did they mean?

Ooh, mysterious. And cryptic! Look at the rhyming! All the rhyming!

Murasakino-chan, I'm really happy you like this story, but I won't update that often because I'm working on my other Ever After High fanfic, Where's My Happily Ever After? I suggest you read it.

Anyway, there. Hope that satisfied. And intruiged. Can you name all the dead girls?

- Reade :D