Bittersweet Ending Chapter 10: Numb, a sisters grimm fanfic

A/N-

Curlscat- Oh, I see how it is. You're gonna keep your brains to yourself, is that it? Huh? Whatever. Whatever. ;)

Lara D- Thank you! That review made me happy! =D

ILoveGeorgeCooper- Thanks! Sorry that the characters are OOC. I guess I tend to lean away from the books . . . a lot. =D

Thanks to everyone else who reviewed! =D I'm sorry if some parts of this chapter are . . .bleh but I hope you like it!

Most seven year old girls spent their nights playing with dolls, playing dress up or watching princess movies.

Not Daphne Grimm. She spent her nights fighting off monsters with a sword that shot out lighting.

Truthfully, it was a lot scarier but a lot more fun than watching action movies.

"HIYAH!" She shouted, swinging the sword at the demon lunging towards her. A bolt of energy shot out of the sword and slammed into the demon. The demon flew back with a shriek and slammed against the wall but for every demon that fell, two more took its place.

This isn't working. Daphne thought, desperately trying to keep the demons away from her. She could tell from the grunts of frustration and the way he'd occasionally cry, "Just die!" that her uncle was facing the same problem she was.

We need something better. Daphne thought, her eyes sliding to the door that led to the room with all the magic objects.

She ducked under the claws of a demon and ran to the door, swinging her sword around wildly and screaming like a maniac.

She grabbed the handle and flung the door open, quickly jumping inside and closing the door behind her. She leaned her back against it, feeling it shudder beneath her as the demons slammed into it, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't break through the thick stone door.

Daphne looked around the room, trying to find something that could defeat the demons. Her eyes passed over many strange objects and then landed on the red sock monkey. She didn't know what it did but Uncle Jake had gone as pale as a ghost when he saw it and if it scared Uncle Jake, it had to be powerful.

Daphne took a deep breath, counted to three, and then pushed away from the door. She ran as fast as she could to the monkey, the sound of the demons opening the door behind her giving her speed.

She grabbed the monkey and turned to face the demons.

A memory suddenly popped in her head. One of the times she and Puck had stayed up and watched a movie on Granny Relda's old T.V. The movie hadn't been that interesting but there was a commercial that kept coming on, a preview for some movie that had a bunch of monsters and Zeus in it. There was one line in the preview that Puck and Daphne loved. Ever since she saw the preview, she'd been waiting for the perfect opportunity to say it.

Now seemed like a good time.

"RELEASE THE MONKEY!" Daphne screamed and threw the monkey towards the demons.

The sock monkey flew through the air, arms and legs flailing all over the place, and started to glow. Before it reached the demons, there was a loud POP and suddenly a giant, red sock monkey stood in front of the monsters.

The red monkey and the demons regarded each other for a moment, trying to gauge if they were enemies. Then the monkey shrieked, revealing dagger sharp teeth, and lunged at the nearest demon.

The giant sock monkey grabbed the monster by the arm and slammed it into the wall. The demon smacked the wall with a sickening crack and fell to the floor.

The insane monkey charged at the rest of the demons, throwing them against walls, biting them, smacking them against each other, all the while shrieking. The demons, soon realizing that their poison had no effect on the sock monkey, began to shriek in panic, shoving each other over in their desperate attempt to get out of the enraged monkey's path.

Daphne watched, flabbergasted, as the sock monkey easily sliced through the demons that blocked the door, killing everything that came in sight until all the demons lay motionless on the floor.

The monkey looked down at its fallen enemies and shrieked again before charging out the room, Daphne quickly following it.

Uncle Jake, after making sure the last demon was actually dead, quickly spun around. He'd heard horrible shrieking coming from behind him and he couldn't block the thought that Daphne might be hurt. But when he turned around, there was no one in the hallway.

Uncle Jake frowned, opening his mouth to call her name, when a giant, red monkey came barreling out of the magic room.

The monkey and Uncle Jake stared at each other and then Uncle Jake let out a very unmanly scream. He reached into the bag and started chucking explosive rocks at the giant mammal. He kept screaming as he backed up into the wall, throwing rock, after rock, after rock until he reached his hand into the bag and realized he had used them all.

He stood, his back against the wall, shaking and panting as the dust settled down.

Daphne stuck her head out of the magic room and walked over to what remained of the sock monkey. Only an arm, a leg, and its tail, all reduced to sock monkey size, remained.

Daphne stared down at the remains and then up at her pale uncle. "You killed it."

"DON'T TOUCH IT!" Uncle Jake shouted as Daphne reached down to pick up the leg.

Daphne pulled back her hand and looked at her uncle. He was pale and shaking and it looked like he was about to hyperventilate.

A slow smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Are you afraid of monkeys, Uncle Jake?" She asked, trying not to smile.

Uncle Jake huffed, running his hand through his blonde hair. "Of course not!' He said, unconvincingly.

"You know, this lady on a talk show Puck and I watch, she said that you should always admit when you're afraid and not bottle it all up." Daphne said, giving up on trying to suppress her smile.

Uncle Jake glared at her. "I. Am. Not. Afraid. Of. Monkeys." He said.

"Good," Daphne said, her smile widening. "Because I'm pretty sure I saw a blue one in there."

"NO!" Uncle Jake shouted. "Fine, I may be slightly afraid of monkeys but that's your father's fault. He's the one that told me to sneak into the monkey cage and pet Bobo." Uncle Jake said, turning around to study the wall behind him. "Bobo did not want to be petted." He muttered, shivering at the memory.

"It's okay, Uncle Jake." Daphne said, walking over to her uncle. "Puck's afraid of penguins."

Uncle Jake grinned at her. "Can I see that sword?" He asked.

"How are we gonna get out of here?" Daphne asked, passing him the sword.

"Same way we normally get out of places." Uncle Jake said, taking a few steps away from the wall. He looked at her and smiled.

"We blast our way out."

Time seemed to slow, taking on a surreal feel as Sabrina watched Puck's eyes grow wide with shock and pain.

"Got you." Jezebel whispered before savagely shoving him against the wall, grinning as he collapsed onto the floor.

It was only then that Sabrina realized she was screaming. The scream died on her lips as she stared at the crumpled body of Puck, shock making her shake uncontrollably.

Puck was dead.

NO! This was a trick! It had to be trick. Sabrina stared at Puck, waiting for him to jump up with that cocky grin on his face. He always got up! She stared at him, willing him to move, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach and the voice in her head that told her he wasn't going to get up this time.

"Aw, is the poor human sad?"

Sabrina looked up at the sound of that mocking voice and the sight of those heartless red eyes snapped her back to reality. She quickly grabbed the bloody piece of glass and jumped to her feet.

"Back off." She snarled, blood pounding in her ears.

Jezebel stopped and looked at her, a smirk playing on her lips. "Now that's not very nice." She said, her smirk turning into a smile as she stepped under the window. Scaly skin turned pure white and red hair flowed out of her scalp as the moon's white light bathed over the demon.

The woman smiled kindly at Sabrina. "Come here, child." She said, her voice silky smooth. "I can help you."

Sabrina took a step away from the woman and shook her head, trying to clear her mind of the fog that had suddenly crept in, blocking all reason.

"No," She muttered, a frown on her face as she tried to think straight. "Puck . . ."

"Is gone." The woman said, a sticky sweet smile plastered on her face as she held her hand out. "You're all alone now. Let me help you."

You're all alone now.

The words circled around Sabrina's head and a sudden realization snapped her out of the spell.

No. She wasn't alone. She was never alone anymore.

Ever since her parents had disappeared, she had been carrying around this fear deep inside her, the fear that everyone was going to abandon her, just like her parents had. That when she stopped being useful, they were all going to leave her alone, just like most of the people who had adopted her. That, whenever she stopped doing the dishes, or cleaning up after their fifty million cats, they'd throw her and Daphne out of their lives to fend for themselves.

But that wasn't true anymore.

Now she had Granny Relda, Mr. Canis, Red, and her parents, who were waiting for her back at the camp. She had Daphne and Uncle Jake, who were counting on her to get out of the castle.

She had Puck.

And that monster in front of her was trying to kill her family. Trying to kill her. Well, it was soon going to find out that Sabrina Grimm wasn't going down without a fight.

"NO!" She shouted and swung her arm out, the piece of glass cutting a jagged line down the woman's face.

The woman screamed and stumbled back, stepping out of the light and into the shadows.

Jezebel glared at her from the shadows, black blood oozing out of the cut that stretched from the corner of her eye to her chin.

"Face it." The Demon Queen hissed, her eyes narrowing angrily. "You lost! As we speak, my slaves have already caught your other two friends and the fairy's dead. You might as well give up."

Sabrina shook her head and gripped the piece of glass so hard drops of warm blood slid down her arm. If there was one thing these past two years have taught her, it was that, whether she liked it or not, she was a Grimm.

And Grimms never gave up.

"No." Sabrina snapped, body tensing and blue eyes narrowing as she waited for the demon to strike.

"I was hoping you would say that." Jezebel said, a sinister smile on her face. "It's no fun killing something that doesn't fight back."

The demon suddenly hissed and lunged forward. Sabrina quickly ducked, wincing at the sound of the demon's claws scrapping against the stone wall, and stabbed the piece of glass into Jezebel's shin.

Jezebel shrieked in rage and lashed out at the girl as Sabrina was scrambling away. The blow hit Sabrina in the side, knocking her back onto the floor and sending her sliding into the wall.

Sabrina quickly stood up and looked at her side. The side of her jacket was shredded but the demon's claws hadn't touched her skin.

She looked up as the Demon Queen walked towards her, the claws on her feet clicking against the black stone floor.

"Did you really think you weak humans could get away?" Jezebel hissed, glaring at Sabrina as the girl backed away from her. "I am the Demon Queen! NO ONE gets away from me!"

Just then a loud BOOM echoed down the hall and the castle shook so violently that it knocked both of them off their feet.

"Well, it looks like the weak humans are destroying your castle." Sabrina snapped, quickly standing up.

Jezebel screamed in rage and lunged at the girl, managing to grab hold of Sabrina's jacket before she could run away.

Sabrina closed her eyes, waiting to feel claws dig into her skin when the demon suddenly hissed in pain. Jezebel quickly let go of Sabrina's jacket and jumped back as if she had been burnt.

"What magic is this?" Jezebel hissed, glaring daggers at Sabrina.

Sabrina looked at the demon in confusion and then down at her jacket, her eyes widening in shock.

Her jacket was glowing! Or at least the thing inside her jacket was glowing.

Sabrina shoved her hand into her pocket, keeping an eye on the demon in case she made a move, and pulled out the Phoenix feather.

The feather was glowing so brightly that it lit up the whole hallway and it was hot too, the warmth quickly causing beads of sweat to form on Sabrina's forehead and once again that sense of tranquility washed over her.

Jezebel hissed and took a step back, her eyes narrowing. "How did you get that?" She snarled, taking another step back.

Sabrina looked at the Demon Queen and realized with a shock that there was fear in the monster's eyes.

"What?" Sabrina said with courage that she didn't feel, taking a step forward and holding the feather out in front of her. "Is the big bad Demon Queen afraid of a weak human with a feather?"

The Demon Queen hissed, flexing her hands, her black claws glinting in the light. Unbridled rage filled her, turning the edges of her vision red. Those humans not only escaped but were destroying her castle and, worst of all, this child had the audacity to threaten HER! This time she didn't push back her anger, this time she let it rage through her. A low growl rumbled at the back of her throat as the Demon Queen glared death at the girl.

"Let's see how brave you look after I kill you!" She snarled and as quick as lightning lunged at the girl.

Sabrina gasped, tripping over her feet as she backed away. She hit the floor hard, all the air whooshing out of her lungs and before she could move the Demon Queen was on top of her, one hand holding her down, the other swinging towards her head.

The cut!

Without warning, the voice popped into her head and without even knowing why, her arm shot out towards the demon, jabbing the quill of the feather into the wound on Jezebel's shoulder.

An ear-splitting shriek filled the air as Jezebel jerked away from Sabrina, desperately yanking the feather out of her shoulder but it was already too late.

Sabrina watched in horror as the skin around the demon's shoulder started to glow, the glow spreading until it covered her whole body.

The Demon Queen shrieked again as she started to glow brighter and brighter. The demon took a step towards Sabrina; hate filled eyes locked onto her, one hand stretching out to grab the girl until she got so bright that Sabrina was forced to close her eyes. A bright light flashed against Sabrina's eyelids and the shrieking suddenly stopped.

Sabrina slowly opened her eyes, breathing hard, and found herself staring at a pile of ashes where the Demon Queen had stood.

She sat there for what felt like hours, shaking from shock and fear, until a strained chuckle reached her ears.

"Death by feather. Awesome."

Sabrina's eyes widened. "PUCK!" She shouted, crawling over to him. She couldn't believe it! He was still alive!

Sabrina kneeled beside him, trying to ignore the trepidation that filled her as she looked over him. He was ghostly pale, his face beaded with sweat. His body shook from the waves of pain that shot through him, and the front of his green hoodie was covered in blood

"You're alive!" She said, grinning at him in an attempt to hide the dread that was quickly filling her.

He looked at her and winked, his wink turning into a wince as another wave of pain washed over him.

Puck held out a fist and slowly opened his hand. Sabrina looked and saw the potion bottle resting on his palm . . . but there was something different about it. A new color had been added to the ingredients floating inside; dark green.

Demon venom.

Sabrina looked at Puck; a wide grin was plastered on his pale face. "Sucker." He said, chuckling softly.

"But . . . but . . . how . . . when did you . . ." Sabrina stammered, quickly taking off her jacket and pressing it against his wound, trying to stop the flood of blood that was leaking through.

"Got it . . . out of . . . the cut." Puck gasped, his face twisting in pain.

She felt his body tense under her and he leaned forward till he was almost curled up into a ball as if that would help him escape the pain. She waited until he loosened up before speaking. "C'mon, we need to go."

Puck shook his head, breathing heavily. "Can't . . . you go." He said.

"I'm not leaving you." Sabrina snapped, ignoring him when he shook his head again. She wrapped her arms under his armpits and dragged him as gently as she could across the floor, quickly setting him down when he screamed in pain.

"I'm sorry, Puck." She said, holding back tears as she watched him bite his lip to keep himself from screaming again. She took a deep breath, forcing her tears back. There was no need to cry because Puck was going to make it. "But we have to go!"

"I'll . . .slow . . .down . . .gotta . . . Jake . . . bottle . . . before . . . too late!" Puck choked out, holding the bottle out to her in a violently shaking hand.

Sabrina grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight. "I'm not leaving you here!" She said, stubbornly. She reached down to pick him up again.

She wasn't going to leave him!

Puck's face scrunched up in pain and his arms and legs turned into that of a gorilla, the added weight making it impossible for Sabrina to pick him up.

"PUCK!" She shouted, frustrated. "Stop it! I'm not leaving you!"

Puck shook his head weakly. "Slow . . .you down." He repeated stubbornly.

The castle shook again, this time bits of rock fell down around them, showing them with dust.

Sabrina stared at him, fear clenching her heart. He looked so weak and pale. She bit her lip, trying to think of a way to get him out of the castle but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't think of one.

Maybe if she ran out fast enough, she could find Uncle Jake and they could come back for him before the castle collapsed.

Puck grinned up at her weakly as his arms and legs turned back to normal. "I'll . . . be fine."

Even though she knew it wouldn't change anything, she whispered, "You promise? Because if you don't, I'm gonna have to beat you to a pulp."

Puck looked at her, the crooked grin that she wouldn't admit she loved on his face. "Promise . . . I'm . . . Trickster King . . .ember? . . . villain . . ."

"Of the worst kind." Sabrina whispered, squeezing his hand one last time before taking the bottle and forcing herself to stand up. She had to hurry and find Uncle Jake before it was too late.

She ran over to the broken window, sliding the potion bottle into her pocket, wiping her hands on her jeans to get rid of the red, sticky stuff, before standing on her tiptoes and grabbing the edge of the sill.

"Sabrina?"

Sabrina carefully turned around and stared at Puck.

Puck looked up at her, his green eyes mixed with pain and hesitation. "Sabrina . . .I . . . ." he started and then stopped.

Sabrina looked at him. She knew what he was going to say. Part of her desperately wanted him to say it and another part of her didn't because he'd only say that if he thought he was . . . was . . .

"I . . . you still . . . owe me seven . . . million bucks, barf-brain." Puck finally panted, grinning weakly up at her.

"Meet me back at the camp, stink-bottom, and I'll give it to you." Sabrina whispered before turning and pulling herself onto the windowsill.

Sabrina looked over the edge of the window and down at ground, the word hurry running in circles in her head. She frowned, she was too high up to jump without risking broken bones. She turned around; ready to jump off and look for another way out, when a big explosion shook the castle, knocking Sabrina off balance.

Sabrina swung her arms out, trying to steady herself as the ground beneath her shook. She instinctively took a step back and instead of rock her foot met nothing but air. Sabrina screamed as she fell off the ledge, the wind screaming in her ears, and closed her eyes, waiting to smack the hard ground.

She landed with an UMPH! on the hard ground, the breath knocked out of her. She lay still, trying to regain her breath, her face pressed against the smooth ground . . .

The smooth ground?

Sabrina eyes snapped opened and she gasped when she saw the sea of blue scales beneath her. She sat up, her eyes widening in amazement when she realized that she was flying on the back of, not just any dragon, but the Blue Dragon.

"Don't worry, I've got you." The Blue Dragon's familiar voice filled her ears, her scales rumbling underneath Sabrina as she talked. "And my friend has got your uncle and sister."

Sabrina turned around to see her uncle and sister jumping out of a hole they must have blown into the wall and onto the back of an orange dragon.

"How . . . why did you come?" Sabrina stammered.

"To destroy the demons." An angry, but familiar voice rumbled behind her. Sabrina turned to find herself staring at the Black Dragon.

"And to help you humans." The Blue Dragon said.

The Black Dragon mumbled something incoherently but sighed when the Blue Dragon glared at him. "And to help you humans." He muttered.

"But, how did you know we were in trouble?" Sabrina asked. Did the dragons have some sort of sixth sense or something like that?

"They may have gotten a hint."

Sabrina looked over to find herself staring into the warm, fiery red eyes of the Phoenix. The Phoenix was in her human form, effortlessly gliding through the air without the aid of wings, her cloak streaming behind her making her look like a superhero.

"SABRINA!" Daphne screamed, waving at her from the back of the orange dragon as it caught up to the Blue one. "You should have seen it! I got a sword that shot out fire and then there was a giant monkey and . . ." The little girl was practically bouncing up and down from excitement, despite the fact that she had just fought a group of demons. Without finishing her sentence, she looked at the dragons and the Phoenix. "Thanks for saving us!" The little girl said and bit down hard on her palm. "You guys are the graviest!"

"Glad to know I'm the best thing to pour on meat." The Phoenix said, raising a questioning eyebrow at the little girl.

Hope filled Sabrina, now that the dragons were here, they could defiantly save Puck and the Phoenix could heal him too! She opened her mouth but was cut off by a loud shriek. She looked up and the sight made her blood run cold.

Demons, a ton of them, were flying around the castle's towers. Even from where she was she could tell they were mad, mad and panicked by the way they flew in haphazard circles.

But why shouldn't they panic? Their queen, their leader, was dead. But through the haze of confusion and panic that filled their minds, one thought burst through.

Kill the humans.

The demons shrieked as one, a horrible sound that filled the valley, and nose-dived straight towards Sabrina and the others.

Another roar, this one much louder than the demons', echoed across the valley. Sabrina looked up just in time to see a huge dragon fly over their heads, its huge body casting a large shadow on the valley. The dragon did a back-flip in the air and smacked a few demons with its tail.

"How many dragons did you bring?" Sabrina yelled over the wind as more dragons flew over her head.

But even with the dragons, some of the demons made it past them and continued their dive towards the humans, not caring that their fellows were being destroyed around them.

"HANG ON!" The Blue Dragon roared.

Sabrina held on as tightly as she could, her stomach rolling as the Blue Dragon twisted onto her back in the air, slashing at the demons with her claws.

Sabrina fought back the urge to puke as the Blue Dragon righted herself. She quickly looked around for any sign of Daphne and Uncle Jake as the angry shrieks and roars of the demons and dragons filled her ears.

She spotted them still on the back of the Orange Dragon. Both of them were fighting off the swarm of demons that surrounded the dragon, Daphne shooting flames out of a sword and Uncle Jake firing purple mist out of a ring on his hand. The purple mist stuck to the demons like glue, turning their wings heavy and causing them to stick to each other and tumble to the ground.

Above her head, claws and teeth flashed in the moonlight as dragons and demons collided. So far the dragons were doing a good job of avoiding the demons claws, staying their distance by either hitting the demons with their long tails or shooting them with flames, but Sabrina didn't think that was going to last long.

"Hey!" She shouted to the Blue Dragon, trying to be heard over the wind. "WE NEED TO GO BACK TO THE CAST . . . "

A dragon, who had twisted in midair to avoid a demon's claw, slammed into the Blue Dragon's side as he was trying to right himself. The impact jerked Sabrina to the side. Panic filled her as she slide across the smooth scales. The Blue Dragon tried to right herself but it was too late. Sabrina screamed as she slid over the dragon's side, plummeting down to the ground.

Before she became a pancake on the ground, warm hands grabbed her arms and a voice whispered in her ear. "I got ya."

The Phoenix flew her to the ground, deftly avoiding the dragons and demons that tumbled into their path.

The woman carefully set Sabrina onto the soft earth and landed beside her.

"Your uncle and sister are coming with the magic carpet." The Phoenix said, pointing.

Sabrina followed the woman's finger to see Uncle Jake and Daphne flying close to the ground on the magic carpet, heading towards her.

"Wait!" Sabrina said, turning back to the Phoenix. "We can't leave yet. Puck . . . "

"It's too late, Sabrina." The Phoenix said softly, her warm eyes filled with sadness.

Sabrina stared at the women in shock. "But . . . how did you know?"

A sudden image popped into her head. The Phoenix giving her the feather, a sympathetic look on her face.

I think you'll be needing this.

Among other things, I can see the future.

"You knew." Sabrina accused, her voice barely above a whisper, betrayal shoving itself like a knife through her heart. Everything seemed to fade away, the battle above her head, Uncle Jake and Daphne flying towards her, until it felt like it was just her and the Phoenix.

Even with the noise of the battle raging above their heads, the Phoenix heard and she nodded her head.

"You knew all this time and you didn't do anything about it?" Sabrina accused, her voice rising as emotions swirled around inside her; anger, pain, sorrow and now the sting of betrayal. "Why?"

"It's not wise to mess with the future, Sabrina." The Phoenix said, her voice soft. "Things happen for a reason. One day you'll see that."

"Puck's dead! How can that possible be a good thing?" Sabrina all but shouted.

"I don't know! Maybe that was the only way to complete the potion. Maybe if that hadn't happened, there wouldn't be a way to bring Briar back. Maybe then your uncle would have left and maybe he plays an important part in this war. I don't know!" The Phoenix shouted. She closed her eyes and when she opened them again they were filled with pain and regret. "Do you think it was easy for me?" She said, her voice barely audible. "Knowing what was going to happen and yet not able to do anything about it? It is that terrible burden my people carry."

Sabrina stared at the woman, the woman she had once considered to be her friend and now . . . now she didn't know what she was. She was too confused. Too many emotions were raging inside of her, making it impossible for her to know exactly what she was supposed to feel.

The only thing she knew for certain was that Puck was dead.

Puck was dead.

"Sabrina?" The Phoenix said suddenly, looking right into the girl's eyes. "Do you trust me?"

Sabrina stared at the Phoenix.

Puck was dead.

"I don't know." Sabrina whispered and closed her eyes. She didn't want to feel anything anymore. She didn't want to hurt anymore. She just wanted it all to stop.

When she opened her eyes the Phoenix was still staring at her intently.

"Sabrina," The Phoenix said, grabbing her hand. "Things happen for a reason. Okay? Just . . . trust me."

Sabrina pulled her hand out of the Phoenix's grip as Uncle Jake and Daphne reached them.

"C'mon, 'Brina!" Uncle Jake shouted, holding out his hand to pull her on.

Sabrina looked at the Phoenix and shook her head slowly, backing away from the woman, the woman she used to trust, and grabbing Uncle Jake's hand.

As Uncle Jake pulled her onto the carpet she heard the Phoenix whisper. "Maybe one day you'll forgive me."

Uncle Jake steered the carpet towards the shelter of the woods and Daphne hugged her older sister. As Sabrina wrapped her arms around Daphne, the Phoenix's words ran around in her head.

Maybe one day you'll forgive me.

She doubted that day would ever come.

Pain.

Excruciating, fiery pain.

That was all he was aware of. Not the castle shaking. Not the shrieks and roars coming from outside.

Just the pain.

The pain that seared through his body, setting ever muscle and piece of skin on fire. The pain that keep the sweet, darkness of unconsciousness away from him, greedily jerking him back whenever he almost slipped away.

The waves of pain always left him breathing hard and covered in sweat and bought with them, not only pain, but flashes of memory too.

Maybe what they said was true. Your life really did flash before your eyes as you die.

"What?" The figure of his father loomed over him, hands balled into angry fists at his sides. "What did you say?"

Puck looked up at his father. The man was ten times his size and bursting with anger . . .but so was Puck. He couldn't believe Oberon wanted him to do this! But he wouldn't do it. Ever. He was the Trickster King and no one told him what to do.

"No." Puck said, stubbornly. "I'm not marrying Moth."

"Why not, honey?" The voice of his mother come to him from somewhere behind the large, angry bulk of his father. Titania always tried to stop the fighting before it began. Always tried to make everyone happy. "She's really pretty."

"And she's insane!" Puck shouted. "She never leaves me alone! She stares at me all the time, which makes it impossible to pull a prank on her! She's even got cooties!" Puck continued, ignoring Oberon's sigh of annoyance. "And I don't want to get married! I'm too young to be subjected to that torture!"

"You are over four-thousand years old and you will do as I command!" Oberon roared, his voice shaking the glasses on the table.

Puck glared up at him and crossed his arms defiantly across his chest. "No."

What could Oberon do? He couldn't force him to marry that . . . weird-o.

A long, heavy silence filled the room. Oberon stared down at his son, anger flashing in his eyes and then drew himself taller.

"Fine." He said, his voice as cold as steel. "Since you have disobeyed a direct order from your king . . . I have no choice but to banish you from the kingdom."

Shocked silence filled the room. Puck looked up at his dad, his eyes wide.

Oberon looked down at him, cold indifference replacing the anger in his eyes. "You have until tomorrow to get out and then I never want to see your face in my kingdom again."

The Fairy King turned his back on his son and started to walk out of the room. Titania grabbed his arm before he could leave.

"No!" She shouted, holding him back with surprising strength. "You can't do this! I won't let you do this! Please! He's your son."

Oberon jerked his arm out of her hold. "Not anymore." He said, and walked out of the room, not once looking back.

Puck's scream echoed down the hall as another wave crashed through him. His hands balled into fists, digging his fingernails deep into his skin, as if that lesser pain might distract him from the bigger pain.

That had been the last time he had seen his father. Oberon hadn't even come to say goodbye.

If what Sabrina said was true, and he had been sorry, he had done a good job of hiding it.

Puck screamed again, his voice cracking and his back arching as the pain washed through him.

This was the second week that old lady had brought him food.

The first time he saw her, he was going to capture her and force her to be his slave but then she set a plate of food onto the ground and walked away.

It was then that he decided that something was wrong with her. Who left food out in the middle of the forest? But, finders keepers, losers weepers! It was only until he saw the little green trees that were on the plate that he realized why someone would leave that food out in the woods. Those things were nasty! Not even his pet squirrel would eat those . . . but Fluffy the Destroyer had been dead for a few days.

After the first few days, she realized he wasn't going to eat the vegetables she left on a plate and started to bring him things like cookies and brownies.

He faintly remembered someone telling him that he shouldn't eat things strangers gave him . . . but they smelled so good!

The Old Lady (she was really old! She had winkles and everything!) never said anything, even though she knew where he was. She'd look up at the tree where he was cleverly hiding in before walking back the way she came.

This time, when she looked at the tree, she smiled and he saw something he hadn't seen in a long time in those green eyes.

Kindness.

Kindness for someone she didn't know.

He sat in the tree for a moment, gripping the branches hard, and then jumped down before he could talk himself out of it. He picked up the plate and ran after the woman, shoving brownies into his mouth.

"Got any ham?" He asked over a mouthful of brownie.

The Old Lady turned around, not a bit surprised that he had followed her. "No, but I have something much better than ham." She said, her voice light with a strange accent. "Follow me, liebling."

He stood still as she started walking again, trying to figure out if he had just been insulted. He shrugged and continued to follow the Old Lady. Who cared if she insulted him? She had something that was better than ham! And not much was better than that.

Puck panted on the ground, pressing his fevered forehead against the cold stone floor. That was the day that had changed his whole life.

He gently touched his blood soaked green hoodie.

That was also the day he met Mr. Canis.

"I'm royalty." He told the Old Lady, sitting on the table as she bustled around the kitchen. "That means you have to do whatever I say."

He looked around at the room. Useless books covered every surface. He had almost had a heart attack when he saw how many the Old Lady had. She even had more in another room. He didn't understand why anyone would want to torture themselves by reading.

Other than the books, there was a couch, a chair, a small T.V and a rather large dog that drooled a lot.

There was also a skinny old man who had been glaring at him since he had stepped into the house. Mr. Canis was what the Old Lady had called him.

"Who shoved a porcupine up your butt?" He asked, glaring back at Mr. Canis.

Mr. Canis just grunted, his blue eyes taking in the boy's ratty gray jacket and dirty clothes. Without saying a word, the old man stood up and walked out of the house.

"What's with him?" He asked as the Old Lady walked into the room, carrying a plate of purple meat.

"Oh, don't worry about him, liebling." The Old Lady said, smiling kindly. "Mr. Canis isn't very talkative."

A loud boom sounded from outside and he yelled, pulling out his wooden sword. "OLD LADY! We're under attack! EVERYMAN FOR HIMSELF!"

The Old Lady just laughed. "Liebling, calm down. It's just my car."

"Oh." He said, putting his sword back and grinning sheepishly. "I knew that."

The Old Lady just laughed again and he started to tell her that if you eat vegetables, you'll turn into green zombies.

Mr. Canis wasn't back until he was leaving. Puck stood on the porch, watching as the old car drove up to the house, smoke billowing out behind it.

Mr. Canis got out of the car and walked towards the house, carrying a bag.

"Stay here." He growled to Puck before walking into the house.

"I'M ROYALTY! I DON'T TAKE ORDERS FROM PEASANTS!" Puck shouted, but the old man either didn't hear, or didn't care.

Puck crossed his arms and let out a hummf, tapping his foot impatiently, trying to ignore the cold seeping through his jacket. The old man was taking forever. He had just decided to fly away when Mr. Canis came back out, carrying a package.

The man shoved the brown package into the boy's hands before turning to go back into the house.

"What's this?" Puck asked.

"Ham." The old man said before slamming the door.

Puck looked down at the package. That was a lot of ham.

He waited until he was sitting on his throne before ripping open the package. A tiny bundle, wrapped in napkins, sat at the top. Puck pulled the napkins open and saw a few pieces of ham, actual ham and not that funky purple meat the Old Lady had, resting inside.

Puck frowned. If this was all the ham, than what else was inside?

He pulled the brown paper farther apart and gasped. He sat, staring for a long time before reaching out and gently touching the soft fabric.

He turned and looked through the woods towards the direction of the house, confusion rippling inside of him.

Why would they . . .

He looked back down at the package and hesitantly reached in to pull it out, as if it might disappear.

He held it in front of him, staring in confusion and astonishment at the hoodie.

The green hoodie.

The pain was getting worse. A lot worse. The waves keep coming faster and faster, each more painful than the last.

He would feel cold one second and then hot another, the sudden changes leaving him feeling nauseated. Deliriousness had settled into his head, making him feel, even as the pain gripped him, that none of this was really happening. That he was really back home. Back with the Old Lady, Mr. Canis, Daphne and Sabrina . . .

"PUCK!" Sabrina screamed, storming into his room. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Puck looked up and grinned when he saw the girl with her orange hair, still dripping wet from the shower, and her green teeth.

"Aha!" He crowed. "I knew it would work!"

"Come here, Puck!" Sabrina shouted angrily, her hands balling into fists. "It's about time your face met my fist!"

"C'mon, Grimm!" Puck said, his wings popping out and carrying him out of the enraged girl's fist range. "I was just trying to make you look less ugly." He shook his head as he stared down at her. "But I don't think anything could make you look less ugly."

Sabrina screamed in rage and ran after the boy, chasing him around the lake . . .

Sabrina.

The only reason he covered her with glue, or changed her hair color was because he was trying to make her look less . . . ugh, pretty. Then he wouldn't be distracted from his evil plans by how her blonde hair smelled like strawberries, or how her blue eyes lit up the few times she laughed.

It never worked.

"I'll . . . be fine."

"You promise?"

"Promise . . ."

He had lied. Lied straight through his teeth and he knew it when he had said it. He knew there was no way he was going to make it.

But, hey, he was the Trickster King. King of lies, ruler of misfits and hobgoblins, emperor of pranksters . . . and maybe, kinda, sorta, in love with Sabrina, with her blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes, kick-butt attitude, pretty laugh . . .

Bleh. Dieing made you get all mushy.

"Sabrina?"

She turned to stare at him, the moonlight turning her hair silver . . . not that he noticed things like that.

"Sabrina . . . I . . ." He hesitated. What was he doing?

Grimm just kept looking at him, with an unreadable expression on her face.

I love you.

"I . . .you still owe me seven million bucks, barf brain." He choked out.

"Meet me back at the camp, stink-bottom, and I'll give it to you."

And then she was gone.

Yep. He was the Trickster King. The big mighty Trickster King that couldn't even tell a girl he liked her.

Puck snorted, the movement sending daggers of pain across his body.

Oh yeah, Sabrina, by the way, the devilishly handsome, but dieing, fairy is in love with you.

That would have gone down well.

He stared up at the ceiling, the air growing thick around him.

Maybe it was for the best that he hadn't told her. Besides, who was he kidding? She was probably going to find some normal, human boy to marry, future wedding or no. She'd already made it clear that she didn't want to marry him . . . right after he freaked out about it.

But he didn't want that. He didn't want somebody to tell him what he was going to do, when he was going to do it, and who he was going to marry.

That was exactly the reason why he got kicked out of Faerie.

Pain stabbed through him but he was too weak to scream. He curled into a ball, tears leaking through his eyes as the pain intensified with each short breath.

His dad and the Grimms were completely different. His dad had pushed him hard, expecting too much of him, yelling and screaming and trying to mold him into the perfect son.

But the Grimms . . . they seemed to actually care. They took care of him and were nice to him before they had even known him. They didn't spend time with him because they wanted something from him, like so many other people back at Faerie. They did it because they . . . they . . . loved him.

He was hardly aware of the pain now. It was as if everything had gone hazy and he was just floating around in the air, names running around in his head.