Hey, peeps. I got back from Disney :DD It was awesome. I rode Rock 'N' Roller Coaster twice, and I literally had to put a death grip on my sunglasses the second time round. Oh, and I was previously planning to enter the Max Ride chapter writing contest, but I'm too young. *sadness* Oh well, I got you guys. APOLOGIES ARE IN ORDER FOR MY SECOND WEEK OF ABSENCE. I faced my second computer groundation in two weeks, and only after catching up on all of my own laundry, slaving over a hot dishwasher, and scrubbing my room skinless am I officially and most kindly permitted to serve up another installment in my weird little chronicle.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THE SISTERS GRIMM. I DO, HOWEVER, OWN A MALFUNCTIONAL CAPS LOCK KEY.
It took no more than a half hour to reach the dense, budding forest behind the Grimm residence. The trio dropped quietly behind the red brick house, where Puck immediately raced around the corner where the once stately walls met. Maybe even Puck had missed being home with all of them. It had been a long three days, after all. Daphne began to follow suit on her stocky little fair legs.
"Granny! Mom! Dad! We're back!" she shouted joyfully. "I'm o - " she was cut off by a frantic Puck, who rocketed around the corner of the house and slapped his hand over her mouth.
"They're here!" he whispered. "They've come back to the house to wait for us – and for your family. We have to get out now." And with that, he whipped the two girls into the air.
Sabrina, still incredulous, began to feel her heart pounding in her throat when she saw what was below them. A whole army of evil creatures lay below her feet. Two huge black dragons, witches, hags, and multi-headed things with bumpy brown skin appeared between the thick trees on either side of the building. Trolls were ducking behind the biggest bushes, and several dwarves were positioned in the shrubbery directly in front of the old wraparound porch. All were deathly quiet, and seemed to be poised to attack at a moment's notice. Puck flew silently and cautiously, neither of the girls risking the twitch of a muscle. Both knew that if any of the creatures looked up at them, there would be no escape this time. Their only hope was to run for it and pray the family refrained from departing from the house.
Unfortunately, Sabrina thought, her life just couldn't be that simple. One of the dragons had caught a whiff of them before they passed halfway over the property. Its voice, like a rockslide, echoed through the air thunderously.
"They are escaping. Get them!" the haunting roar was the cue. Puck began to rocket into the atmosphere, with flying monkeys, dragons, and a wild assortment of other beings gaining on him constantly. Landing was in no way an option, considering the fifty or so creatures grabbing desperately for their ankles. The only way to go was forward. And so, with a dragon on the very backs of their heels and spewing hot ashy breath, Sabrina commenced a fit of screaming.
"Puck! Go faster! LET'S GET THE FRICK OUT OF HERE, YOU IDIOT!" On the contrary, Puck shot to the ground, depositing Sabrina and Daphne into a tall oak tree while descending. "WHAT THE HECK?" she screamed. "We have to get out of here! Why are you leaving us in the stupid tree?"
"Oh, Grimm, Grimm, Grimm. We both know that dragon doesn't stand a chance against the infamous Trickster King. Remember how I kicked that silver one's butt? You should. I saved your life, you know."
Daphne bit her palm and squealed. "Oh my gosh – I bet it was so romantic!"
Sabrina's face flushed the color of her mother's rosy toenails after a pedicure – fire engine red. She looked up at Puck, realizing that he was frozen and deeply blushing a mauve color. Unfortunately, she also noticed the crackling little flames on the back of Puck's hoodie.
"Oh my gosh, Puck! You're on fire!" Daphne squealed.
"Oh, Marshmallow. Of course I am. Your sister knows it too, but she won't admit - "
"No, you little freak," snarled Sabrina. "Your shirt is burning. Oh, yeah, and you might also want to note the big angry dragon breathing down your neck, dimwit!"
"Huh? Oh. Crap."
"Way to phrase it, Dr. Seuss," Sabrina said sarcastically. It was too late for sarcastic replies, however, because Dr. Seuss had already zoomed into the azure blanket of the sky at the speed of light. As during the first dragon encounter, Puck began by taunting the monstrous creature. He certainly appeared to have the whole thing down to a routine.
"Huh, scaly? Want some? I'll give you some of the Trickster King!" He teased, prompting the monster to shoot beams of blue flame with laser accuracy. Here and there, the patches of brown grass laced with hopeful green caught aflame, creating a patchwork quilt of minor flames waiting to coalesce into a conflagration. Still, the fairy darted and twirled with equal speed and efficiency, never allowing himself to be caught in the deadly blue bullets.
Sabrina felt ready to do a head-tree collision right there. One day the mulish, idiotic, asinine fairy was fated, she felt certain, to acquire a taste of her roundhouse kick, right where it counts. The thought rejuvenated her weary senses. She then proceeded to notice, just in the nick of time, the spreading flames, just below her feet. The inferno building in the clearing was building its way up their tree.
She tapped Daphne's shoulder in a panic. "Um, Daph? I hope this isn't too much of an inconvenience, but we gotta get out of this tree, pronto." It took the whole of her fraying nerves to keep up the calm, collected façade.
"Oh…" said Daphne. Quite the picture of quick thinking and intelligence, Sabrina thought sarcastically. "What should we do? We can't exactly climb down the tree, and…" Sabrina saw her peer over at Puck, who appeared to be occupied with his pre-battle stand-up comedy routine of insulting dragon jokes. So much for that option.
"And that's where we have to bring in the creative thinking. Any ideas? We've ruled out the down direction, and climbing up only prolongs the time we have to wait till we're extra-crispy."
"What if we were to jump to that branch over there?" inquired Daphne. "At least, we could try." She pointed to a maple tree, about four feet away from their own with some apparently sturdy protruding limbs. It was a possibility, Sabrina decided.
"Actually," she replied, with a bit of hope creeping along with the adrenaline in her veins, "that's not a bad idea, but it's going to be a tough jump. How do we get across?"
"Ummm…let's just jump and hope for the best."
"Well, I got nothing better, so climb on my back." Sabrina helped the little girl, who was a bit heavier than expected, position herself onto Sabrina's back, piggy back style. Taking a deep breath (and then releasing all the bracing oxygen at the sight of the alarmingly close flames. In a state of terrifying panic, she bent her knees and desperately aimed for the lifesaving branch, barely more than a yard away.
The moment she and Daphne spent suspended in mid-air was one of extreme suspense. The branch loomed closer and closer, and both reached an arm for the wood of the maple tree.
At the last second, Sabrina made a desperate grab for the limb. Her heart soared as her fingers brushed the wood and locked into a deathly grip. Unfortunately, there was nothing curled amidst her fingers.
She and Daphne plummeted below, into the ever-spreading flames.
Well. I'm thinking this isn't too good…
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