"Tell another one." Puck snorted.
Gwendolyn frowned. "I'm not lying!" She stomped her foot.
Sabrina elbowed Puck. "Stop it." She hissed. "We've heard stranger."
"Like what?"
"Fairy-tales exist?" Sabrina reminded him.
"Hey, that ain't what's whacky. What is is that we're going to be married in the future." Puck smirked.
"Shut up!" Sabrina told him. "We're not going to get married!"
The 'ghost' cleared her throat.
"Oh, sorry." Sabrina blushed.
The girl nodded. "But I'm not lying." She frowned.
Sabrina cocked her head. Puck sniggered.
"What?" Sabrina asked.
"You look so intent." He smirked.
Sabrina punched his arm.
Gwendolyn watched them, apparently transfixed. "You know, you two are the first living people to have seen me since I died."
Sabrina looked over at her. "How long have you been dead?" She asked.
"Since 1969." Gwendolyn answered promptly.
"Huh?" Puck asked.
"I've been dead since 1969." The girl repeated.
Sabrina nodded, like it made perfect sense. Her detective mode was kicking in, and she wanted to know more. She wanted to know how Gwendolyn died, she wanted to know who did it, and she wanted to solve a case on her own, without her sister or mother or grandmother helping.
"Can you tell me more?" she asked.
Gwendolyn looked startled. "You actually care?"
Sabrina nodded again. "If I didn't, I wouldn't ask."
"Boy, I can back that up." Puck grinned.
Both girls ignored him.
"As I said, I'm Gwendolyn Smith. I guess I'm 16, but I'm not sure." The girl frowned. "Anyway, I was born here, in Fairy Port Landing. I was Rapunzel and a human's child. So, I did kow about the whole "fairy-tale-to-life" thing."
"I went to Ferry Port High. I was going to a Halloween dance on October 31, 1969 when I was ambushed." Gwendolyn stopped to take a breath.
Sabrina leaned forwards. "Do you know who attacked you?" She asked.
"Not at first. They knocked me out, I guess, because I remember an intense pain, and then there was black."
"When I woke up, I was tied to a tree. There were voices, and something about how they needed to act quickly. It was dark, and I didn't know how many people there were. I stood there, tied to the tree for a few more minutes, until I saw them." Gwendolyn stopped, and shook slightly, her breath shallow and quick.
Sabrina clapped a hand over Puck's mouth before he could make the comment he was obiviously dying to say. "Not a word." She hissed.
"Fine." Puck grumbled.
"There were about thirty of them, all dressed in black robes and pointed hats and carrying lanterns. One of them, an old man with a long beard, stepped forwards. He was holding a small, polished stick and a quart jar. He smiled at me and said something about a ever-after child, a halfling being his path to power. I was too scared to pay much attention."
"He pointed the stick at me and mumbled something, and then I was bleeding. He had cut my arm. He held the jar under my arm, collecting the blood. When the jar was full, he stopped. He didn't let me go, though. He smiled at me again, and told me no one would ever know what happened to me, and he had no regrets for killing me. He told me that I would die, and become a ghost for all eternity, and never leave the earth."
"One of the others piped up that if a member of a certain family were to find me, another human who knew and believed in ever-afters, a human who managed to stumble across my ghost on the anniversery of my death, and could open the portal just made at the tree, I could cease to be a ghost."
"The man just chuckled and said no one would ever find me. And, what's more, now I had that hope to torture me. He slit my wrists and whispered to me, "Always remember that the Cauldrons Coven killed you." Then they left, cackling and saying how now they needed just two more ingrediants to complete their potion."
"Wait up, they called themelves the Cauldron Coven?" Puck asked increduously.
Gwendolyn nodded. "I never said they were the brightest." She mustered a small smile.
"What happened next?" Puck asked.
Sabrina elbowed him. "I think it's obvious."
Gwendolyn shrugged. "I've been aske dumber questions. I bled to death." She told Puck.
"Really? That's awesome!"
Both girls glared at him.
"I meant in a horrible disgusting way." Puck coughed.
Sabrina rolled her eyes.
"So, you've got a human from a certain family who, by the way, knows about fairy tales." Sabrina grinned. "And we did find you on the anniversery of your death."
Gwendolyn's eyes lit up. "Really? You'll help me?"
"What else am I supposed to do? Go to a lame Halloween dance and ignore this?" Sabrina asked.
"Are you sure, it'll be dangerous." Gwendolyn cautioned her.
"I'm sure." Sabrina nodded. "How do we reach the creeps?"
"I'm not sure, but I'd guess we use the place I was murdered at." Gwendolyn began walking to the left.
She stopped at a large oak. Sabrina shuddered, imagining the blood staining its trunk.
"Where's the skeleton?" Puck had followed them.
Gwendolyn looked over at him sadly. "Eventually, five years after I died, someone found it. I don't know what they did to it, but it's gone."
"How do we use it to find the Cauldron Coven?" Sabrina asked, reaching out to touch the oak.
"Don't!" Puck warned. "I've heard of this kind of thing. When someone is killed for magical purposes, the places they bled on are toxic to humans."
Sabrina jerked her hand back. "Okay. I can't touch it. So how do we get in?"
Gwendolyn looked over at Sabrina apperhensively. "I'm not sure. I think we need the blood of another human. Someone who is a human, or a relatively new ever-after. That way, their blood is at least partially human."
Sabrina nodded, as if this didn't shock her. "How new is a new ever-after?" She asked
"Around ten years after the human is made ever-after, they are considered mature. So, if you've spent under ten years as a ever-after, you're new."
Sabrina held her hand out to Puck. "Got a sword?"
Puck blanched. "What?"
"I think it's pretty obvious. You're about four thousand years old, Gwendolyn obiviously can't do it, and I've only spent four years as an everafter. It has to be me."
"But, Grimm! I'm supposed to save you from killing yourself, not hand you the weapon and tell you to send me a postcard from the spirit world!" Puck thought for a second. "Actually, that would be kind of awesome."
Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Just tell me you have something sharp I can use."
Puck shook his head. "All I have is my sword." He held up his wooden side-kick. "And even if it wasn't, I wouldn't let you use it."
Sabrina groaned. "Puck, this is her only chance. Come on, help me out." She looked imploringly at him.
Puck frowned. "Your puppy-dog eyes aren't going to make me change my mind. Forget it."
Sabrina mutered something about stupid faries and morals. "Puck, please?" She begged.
"No. I told you, I don't have anything sharp."
Sabrina frowned momentarily. "You know, you could transform your hand to have super long and sharp finger nails."
"No."
"Please?"
"Doesn't no mean anything to you?"
Sabrina glared at him.
"Fine." Puck groaned, and transformed his right index finger nail into a talon.
Sabrina held out her hand again. "How much blood does this need?" She asked Gwendolyn.
"Just enough to drip onto the ground at the base of the tree. I'm really sorry about this."
Sabrina smiled over at her. "Don't be. Are you going to start?" She asked the fairy-boy.
Puck looked down at the hand extended to him. Slowly, he reached out and took it with his left hand. He positioned it, and pulled out the pinkie. He lifted his right finger, and cut through Sabrina's skin. The slight tearing sound made him wince.
This wasn't right. He might pick on Grimm, he might pull pranks, but Puck had never actually injured her. He had never done anything like this before, because he was her protecter, not the one who hurt her.
Puck made a small insision on Sabrina's pinkie, just enough to draw blood and make them both wince.
"There, that wasn't so bad." Sabrina almost smiled.
She turned to the tree, hand held her hand out in front of her, waiting for the blood to drip onto the roots of the tree.
The three of them watched as a single drop of bright red blood fell, splashing against the tree roots.
Nothing happened.
"I'm sorry." Sabrina looked over at Gwendolyn.
Gwendolyn forced herself not to cry. "It's alright. You tried."
Puck stood, and watched the tree.
Sabrina tapped him. "Nothing's happening." She told him.
Puck ignored her, his eyes focused on the tree roots as they began to move.
"Hey, you two." He called. "Something's happening."
The girls turned.
Sabrina gasped, and Gwendolyn stared as the roots moved to reveal a stone well. There were no stairs, no ladder. Just a steep drop.
Puck whistled. "Wow."
Sabrina knelt at the edge of the well. "You can say that again. I can't see the bottom."
Gwendolyn sat down on a tree stump.
"How are you supposed to get down there?" She asked. "I mean, I can just throw myself over the edge, and when I land, I'll be fine. But you're human."
Sabrina smirked. "Yes, but I've got this guy." She pointed to Puck.
Gwendolyn brightened up considerably. "Great idea! Throw him down first, and you'll have something soft to land on!"
Puck choked.
"Um, that isn't what I was getting at at all." Sabrina said, eyeing Gwendolyn carefully. "He can fly."
"Oh. I didn't mean you should do that." Gwendolyn blushed. "I just thought that might be what you were getting at."
Sabrina laughed. "No. He'd bring me down with him. But, I think I like your idea. It wouldn't work. He'd fly back up."
"I knew you hated me, but you hate me that much?" Puck looked incredulous.
"Maybe." Sabrina said.
"So, when are we leaving?"
"Now." Sabrina said. "Puck and I will go first."
"Why are we going first?"
"Because I said so." Sabrina said. "You coming, Fairy-boy?"
"Do I get a choice?" Puck whined.
"Let me think on that one. Hmm... No." Sabrina said.
"Fine." Puck grabbed Sabrina around the waist like she was a sack of Elvis's dog food, and jumped down the hole. He snapped his wings out, and assumed what he liked to call "the bomb drop". All that it meant was he did a nose dive.
As they fell, the tunnel widened, until it wasn't a tunnel so much as free space that they were dropping through. It was also getting brighter, as if there were lanterns at the end.
Puck flapped, almost cruising. Sabrina glared up at him. "Faster!" She said. "We need to be there soon, not next year."
Puck sped up, until he could almost feel the snin peeling from his face. It reminded him alot of the trolley in the Hall of Wonders. He loved that thing.
Suddenly, the bottom of the tunnel was coming at them. Puck slowed down, until he was drifting, and set Sabrina on the ground.
A few seconds later, Gwendolyn floated down beside them, and stopped.
Sabrina looked around. "Something tells me that ths was the way to go."
Puck followed her eyes. "You think?"
The walls around them were pure white marble with black cauldrons painted on. Over the only doorway in the room was a large banner which read:
The Cauldron Coven A Secret Society fo Witches and Warlocks Everywhere
Puck snorted. "Not so secret, is it."
Gwendolyn laughed.
Sabrina was still examining the room. In all our corners, there were plant stands with cauldrons on them. A large black rug in the shape of a cauldron covered alot of the floor.
She looked over at the other two. "What now?"
"Don't ask me." Puck said. "You're the one who went charging off without a plan. Besides, you're the one who found out how to beat the Scarlet Hand."
Gwendolyn shook her head. "I can't even hit them. And I never did do well in school. I have no idea how you beat this kind of people."
Sabrina looked between them. "Fine. Sabrina Grimm Strategy Machine Commencing."
"Really? You can do that?" Puck asked, obviously excited.
"No, Einstein." Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Follow me." Sabrina began walking towards the doorway with the banner over it.
Puck grabbed Sabrina's wrist. "What do you think you're doing?" He hissed.
"I'm going to go through the only door they have here. You got a better idea?"
"No." Puck admitted.
"There you go." Sabrina shook him off and walked to the banner-clad door way.
A little old woman was sitting behind a desk just inside the door way. "Hello, how may I help you?" She smiled
Sabrina blinked at her. "Who are you?"
"Me? I'm the receptionest for the Cauldron Coven. My name is Jullie." The old woman smiled again. "Are you here for a tour?"
Sabrina turned to look at Puck and Gwendolyn. They nodded.
"Um, yes. Yes, we are." Sabrina turned back to the receptionest.
"Oh dear. Are you three it?" Jullie asked. "Ususally we get a slew of them on Halloween. Everyone wants to see the Cauldron Coven. But not anymore. I've been getting pay cuts." The woman clicked her tongue disapprovingly.
Puck covered his laughing. Sabrina glanced at him.
"Pay cuts." He choked.
Gwendolyn wasn't laughing. She looked even whiter than before.
"Hey, Gwendolyn. It's okay." Sabrina said. "We're going to get n there and kick some Cauldron Coven butt."
The receptionest looked up. "What?" She asked.
"Oh, nothing." Sabrina managed a smile. "We just can't wait to start."
"Really? Then, by all means, go ahead." Jullie flapped her hand at them, busy with some paperwork.
"Really? We can?" Sabrina asked.
"Oh yes. They had to lay off the tour guide last year. He hasn't been back yet, and really, he wasn't much use. Go ahead. No one will be bothered by three young chits walking through." Jullie smiled up at them.
"Thanks." Sabrina said, and lead the way out of the reception hall.
"That was easy." Puck said.
"Too easy." Sabrina nodded in agreement.
Gwendolyn looked between them. "Have you guys done this before?"
"You have no idea." Puck laughed.
"Would you two help out?" Sabrina asked, pulling open doors, and looking inside.
"I guess." Puck said.
Gwendolyn shook her head sadly. "I can't open doors. I can put my hand on the knob, but this body doesn't have any strength to it."
"Oh. Sorry." Sabrina said slightly awkwardly, poking her head into another room. "how many janitor closets do you need?" She asked in exasperation, slamming the door shut and moving to the next one.
"All I've got are what your mom calls social rooms." Puck shut the door to yet another longue.
Gwendolyn walked along behind them.
Suddenly, another voice spoke up. "How careless. Didn't you get a tour guide?"
The three teenagers whirled around.
A tall, thin lipped mean looking man was watching them. "Hello. I am Junat Twask, president of the Cauldron Coven. Who are you three?"
"Why should we tell you?" Sabrina stepped forwards, in front of the other two.
"For the sake of being polite." Junat Twask stepped forwards too.
"I don't do polite." Sabrina snarled.
Puck stepped out from behind her. "I can second that."
Junat Twask stopped smiling. He leered. "It doesn't matter. I know who you are. That young lady in the back is Gwendolyn Smith, who helped my discoveries greatly with her little donation."
"You killed her!" Sabrina hissed.
"Details. The boy is Robin Goodfellow, otherwise known as Puck. The star of A Midsummer's Night Dream."
"Flattery only swells his head, not make him change sides." Sabrina spat.
"How do you know?" Puck asked.
"I've known you longer than he has." Sabrina jerked her head towards Junat Twask.
"And you, Sabrina Grimm, are as lovely as the rumors claim." Junat sneered. "I'm glad I got to meet you."
Sabrina glared at him. "What do you mean by that?"
"Why, Miss Grimm, you will be an excellant addition to my studies. I need just two more ingrediants for my potion, and you are two in one." The warlock smiled as if someone had just told him his birthday had come early, and the cake was double fudge.
"What are the two things?" Sabrina asked suspciously.
"I can't see why you would need to know that, but I do love the intellectual mind." He sighed."I need the blood of a Grimm and the soul of a Grimm. Amazing how much you simple little Grimms influence everything."
"Why does it have to be a Grimm?" Puck asked, intriguged.
"The family history of dealing with ever-afters affects the mind and bloodstream because the subject is always questioning what they hear and wondering if they are going crazy. The Grimms are the closest family, and Miss Grimm here seems to doubt her family the most. She made the perfect subject, but it was so hard to get to her. I'm very lucky that you happened to stumble upon Miss Smith's ghost, especially today."
"Why today?" Sabrina asked.
"A warlock is strongest on Halloween night. It is, after all, the night when fear runs strongest." Junat Twask allowed himself a grim smile. "So, I hope you don't mind, but I'm cutting our little chat short. I need to complete a certain potion."
"Lovely. Except that won't happen." Gwendolyn narrowed her eyes at Junat Twask.
"And who, my dear, are you to say whether or not it won't happen?" Twask clicked his tongue.
"She's not the only one." Puck drew his wooden sword.
"And I won't let it happen." Sabrina assumed the self-defense position Snow had taught her.
"You seem to think you have a choice." Twask reached into his pocket and withdrew a shiny stick. He saw their eyes follow it. "Oh yes. This is my favorite wand, Death. It belonged to Houndini. He never called it Death, of course, but it is amazing how blood changes the nature of magical objects. Many thanks to you, Miss Smith. Without you, I may have never known this."
"So, where do we start? I believe the fairy must be first to go." Twask raised the wand. A bolt of fire came out, aimed at Puck.
Puck didn't move. He stood in the fire and smiled. "Ah, warm. Didn't anyone ever tell you that fairies are fire-resistant? I mean, come on! I burp the stuff!"
Sabrina grinned. Granny almost had a heart attack when Puck drank root beer. The last time, he had set fire to her hat.
"Is that so?" Twask didn't look put out. "Well then, lets see how you fare against this." The fire changed to lightening. This time, Puck shot back several yards on his back.
"That had some sting." He admitted, standing back up. "But it isn't that bad."
"It isn't? How's this?" Again, the pain-inducer changed. This time it was ice. It wrapped around the fairy boy, encasing and imprisioning him.
"Puck!" Sabrina and Gwendolyn cried out.
"One down, two to go." Twask smiled. "Do you just want to go back up to the world, Miss Smith?"
Gwendolyn shook her head. "No." Her voice quavered.
"No? Are you sure? The only one I need is Miss Grimm."
"I'm sure."
Sabrina stepped forwards. "If all you needed was me, why did you freeze him?"
"I couldn't quite see him lettting me just take you away to perrform my expiriments on. He seemed rather dedicated to you. Most dogs do adore their masters. And he was nothing more than that, a dog."
Sabrina gave Twask a look that made him reconsider what he had said. "He was better than you are, so who's a dog?"
Twask shook his head sadly. "Miss Grimm, don't you realize how precious you are? I don't want to injure you."
"Sure, until you've taken my blood and soul, I'm sure you don't want me dead."
"Details." Twask waved his hand. "Will you cooperate?"
"Hmm... Me, Sabrina Grimm, cooperate? Not a chance."
"That's too bad." Twask raised the wand.
There was a sudden movement. Gwendolyn tackled the warlock, knocking him down. Twask dropped the wand, and it rolled over to the foot of Puck's personal freezer.
"Sabrina! Grab it!" Gwendolyn yelled.
Sabrina hesitated, but darted forwards and took the wand from the floor. Immediatly, a sense of power filled her, a feeling of mercilessness. Sabrina wanted to drop it, but she knew she couldn't. If she did, Twask would take it again, and win.
"Kill him!" Gwendolyn yelled. "Do it now!"
Sabina didn't need told twice. Power coursed through her as she raised the wand.
"No! Don't! I'll do anything!" Twask yelled.
"I'm sure you would. Including unfreezing Puck and giving Gwendolyn back her life. But you'll never get that chance." Sabrina aimed the wand. She told it to blast Twask with ice. In seconds, Twask was a frozen chunk of ice.
Sabrina dropped the wand. "Did I kill him?" She asked.
A cracking sound made her freeze.
"I don't think so. I'm still alive." Puck strained and broke out of his prision.
"Thank you." Gwendolyn smiled, fading.
"Gwendolyn?" Saabrina asked, startled by the fading ghost.
"He was punished, so I can go where I belong." Gwendolyn smiled. "And if you're wondering, I'll be watching the wedding." She disappeared altogether.
Sabrina frowned. "What did she mean?"
Puck shrugged. "How should I know?"
"What now?" Sabrina asked.
"Are you still up for a Halloween party?" Puck grinned.
~Happy Halloween!~
"Okay, this isn't half as dumb as I thought it would be." Sabrina shouted over the band.
"Told you so!" Abbi yelled back.
"Why were you guys late?" Robert asked.
Sabrina shrugged. "It took longer to get here than we thought it would."
Abbi looked disapointed. "No smooching was involved?"
Sabrina blushed. "No!"
"She just wishes." Puck looked up from raiding the candy bowl.
"And, speaking of you two, I can't believe you won the best costumes award!" Abbi grinned.
"Yeah, well, it was no surprise when I won. I was the obivious choice." Puck smirked.
Sabrina rolled her eyes.
"So, how did you pick your costumes? I mean, fairy king and queen! So cute!" Abbi gushed.
Sabrina blushed. "How much sugar did you have?" She changed the subject.
"Not much. Just half a bowl." Abbi grinned. "Who picked your costumes?"
Sabrina groaned. She wasn't going to get out of this.
~Happy Halloween!~
Okay, so one writing crammed day and a headache later, I have a scheduled update out. And this took forever. Hands down, the longest chapter I have ever written in one day. Combine that with my science report, and this is the most writing I've ever done in one day.
So, I know that I said that this would be a three-shot, but I managed to get it all into two chapters. I think the quality may have suffered. Sorry, Cynthia Darling.
Okay, so this two-shot was requested by Cynthia Darling! Thanks for requesting.
Some answers to reviews:
I have no luck: Sure, I'll do another Halloween one-shot! Want to suggest one?
Cynthia Darling: I'm glad you liked my last chapter! I don't think this one is as good, but I'm glad you liked my writing so much! And, good luck on your audition! Let me know how you do.
thisismyusernameok: I like your username. It's funny. I'm glad you like my writing so much, although I feel this chapter is disappointing. I like your stories too!
Okay, guests, get ready to roll your eyes: If you are a guest and requesting something, please identify yourselves. Thanks!
I think that is every thing. Thanks for reading!
'Til next chapter!
-The Irish Lass