This new chapter is going to be quite a surprise… I'll try to finish the next ones soon.
Thanks to Lara D for the amazing and encouraging reviews. After reading them, I decided to update "The Gloomy Library" right now!
Now, getting to the point - this is the 4th chapter. Romance starts right here.
Chapter 4. The Editor's crush
The Editor's POV
I got up bright and early. Everyone else did the same. Charming gave orders to us, and every soldier of his army rushed to follow them.
I was told to train the Revisers. On the battlefield they must erase only the members of the Scarlet Hand, not Charming's followers. The dull little beasts won't get the idea by themselves!
Near the drill square there stood a catapult that threw rocks. An hour passed after the beginning of the Revisers' training, and I spotted the Sisters Grimm and Puck doing something with the catapult.
"Are we going to use it today?" I asked.
"Not exactly. We are now making it ready for an emergency," Sabrina Grimm explained.
"If any of the scarlethanders comes to the fort, we'll greet him with a fine piece of granite," Puck added.
"Scarlethanders?" I smiled.
"Marshmallow's new word," and Puck gestured to Daphne Grimm, who was busy regulating the rock thrower.
"The members of the Scarlet Hand, duh!" Sabrina said. I thought she didn't much approve her sister making new words.
"Enough talking!" Mr. Seven shouted from the watchtower. "Tomorrow we are launching an attack, so all of you must get ready for it! Editor, we'll need your Revisers in the battle! Sabrina, Daphne, Puck, the catapult is one of the strongest defensive installations, it must work like a charm! Don't waste your priceless time chattering!"
Nobody wanted to argue, so we got back to work.
And then something really odd happened to me. It wasn't either "good" or "bad", but… Let's just say I found myself looking, no - staring at Sabrina Grimm. She was too busy working with the catapult and avoiding Puck's teasing, so she didn't notice it, I hope. She looked amazingly beautiful, her golden hair sparkled in the sunlight, and her eyes reflected the clear sky above…
Oh no. Am I really falling in love with Sabrina Grimm? Sure, she's gorgeous, incredibly clever, also more brave than any fairy-tale knight, and just as stubborn and determined as I am – but: a) she's not an Everafter b) she's forty-eight years younger than me c) she and Puck love each other and maybe are engaged (Puck used to talk about their wedding) d) it's wartime, and everyone needs to focus on defeating the Hand. These arguments are very weighty, but I can't help myself. I keep thinking about her!
By the moment I realized that, the sisters had already finished with preparing the catapult and were now shouting at Puck. In fact, it was Sabrina who shouted, while Daphne stood patiently near them. Mutual insulting between Sabrina and Puck was obviously an everyday thing in the Grimm family. I continued training the Revisers, wishing I had been deaf, because – oh, how it all sounded…
"How could you break that handle, ugly? It had been like a brand-new one before you got it!" Puck started.
"I broke the handle? You are not simply stupid, you are absolutely brainless and blind! I didn't do anything to the handle!" Sabrina cried.
"Grimm, shut up! If you were a bit cleverer, we'd finish focusing the catapult hours ago!"
"Oh, now it's me who was punching the catapult and pulling handles so hard that it's a wonder most of them didn't break!"
"Of course! You did most of the mess, silly toad!"
"It was you who sprayed the catapult with pineapple jelly!"
"It was a great improvement for the catapult, ugly!"
I finished the Revisers' training and brought the little monsters to Seven. He praised me for excellent work and allowed me to rest. I thanked him and went to take a look around the fortress. Near the mess tent I met Daphne Grimm.
"Sabrina and Puck are throwing dirt at each other," she chuckled. "I have to warn you: it's not safe enough to go to the drill square without a big shield".
"Why are they… er… unfriendly?" I wanted to know. "Back at my library, I heard them talking about their wedding".
"They are supposedly married in the future, but they don't want to admit that they are happy about it," Daphne rolled her eyes and went inside the mess tent to get some sandwiches.
Supposedly married… That was kind of sad news for me. "Stop thinking that way!" – I said to myself. Why am I now having a crush on Sabrina? I didn't have any feelings for her during the three days she spent running around the Book. Well, perhaps… I didn't have a chance back then to get really acquainted with the sisters. They were nothing but a problem for my Book. And now I am a new recruit of Charming's army, so I naturally tried to befriend everyone living in this fort.
Actually, I would have fallen for Sabrina on the very day I met her – if, again, she wasn't invading and messing up the Book's stories, thus "earning" my dislike.
I was wandering around the fort, trying to shove these thoughts away from my mind. From anywhere I went I could hear Sabrina and Puck shouting and throwing something at each other.
