A/N: So, I'm sorry this chapter is kind of short and not a lot of action happens. It was more of a filler. It will pick up, I promise! :D

Thank you everyone for all the reviews! They make me so happy. :D

Chapter 20

"Come now, Anastasia." He chided. "Don't you want your foot to fit in the slipper?"

I glared at the man before me. Ever since Isis had made me a part of the curse, my life had been a living hell. Colton, my father, was put in charge of choosing which character I was for each tale. Usually, I was the character who died, or got beaten, or in this case, the girl who chops her own heel off. And he was always there to witness it. It didn't matter if the storyline didn't allow him too. He always seemed to be there. Did I mention that my father was also one of the characters in each tale? Oh yeah, which meant that I had to put up with him, twenty-four-seven. It was starting to get on my nerves.

"Come on, Anastasia. You must do this!" The stepmother pleaded with me. "Do it for your future!"

This was the third time I'd done this tale in the Grimm version. The fifth if you counted the Disney version as well. Need I remind you, I hate Cinderella? Needless to say I was sick of everything that had to do with this tale. The only plus side was that I was able to see Dixie when neither of us were doing anything for our parts.

Throughout the past two weeks, I'd watched over a dozen different couples come and go. Most were out within the first two or three tales. I never realized before just how much this curse was used. It was used as practical jokes sometimes, while others would cast it on themselves for a little 'getaway'. I thought they were all nuts. I would give anything to get out of the curse and find August again.

Knowing the intensity of the pain to come only made the task worse. It didn't help any that Colton was there the whole time, egging me on. "Be a good little girl and cut off your heel. The prince is waiting."

With one more glare shot in Colton's direction, I gathered up all of my courage. Taking the knife from Lady Tremaine, I bit my lip and slid the blade through my heel. Let me tell you, it was not the most pleasant feeling in the world. My eyes were watering uncontrollably as I fought the urge to scream. I refused to say that I was crying though. Not around Colton. I'd done this before, I could handle it again.

"Here you are, Princess." Colton sneered at me, holding out the glass shoe.

Begrudgingly, I slipped my bleeding foot into the shoe. The things were uncomfortable the first time when they were meant for me and my foot was whole. They were just as uncomfortable this time as they were meant for the girl downstairs to wear. The large, gaping wound didn't help matters much either.

Hopping on one foot, I made it down the steps without falling. I was getting pretty good at doing that. Colton grabbed me roughly by the shoulder then, knocking me off balance and forcing me to put my foot back on the ground.

"Let's behave now. You can't go hopping out there like a rabbit." He chided. "Do try to walk like a lady for once."

"Shut up, Colton." I hissed at him. "You're lucky I even cut off my heel. I wouldn't push my limits." Before he could react, I hobbled around the corner to where the others were waiting.

The 'prince' looked thoroughly disturbed to have to drag me along with him for a while before he could come back for his real 'princess'. Believe me, I wasn't too thrilled either.

"Shall we?" He asked, kindly offering me his arm.

I forced a pleasant smile and took his offered arm. I tried my best not to lean on him too much, but it was difficult. Once we were out of the house, he turned to me with a kind smile. One that wasn't forced at all like it had been inside.

"Feel free to lean on me all you need. That must hurt like h-" I shot him a glare and he quickly changed his wording. "heck." He finished awkwardly.

"It does." I shrugged. "Nothing I haven't dealt with before though." He was starting to make me nervous. He'd been so stand-offish around his girlfriend, but as soon as she was out of sight, he'd changed into some sweet, caring guy. It just wasn't right.

"I take it you play the step-sister a lot." It wasn't a question, more of an observation.

I didn't grace him with an answer.

"Alright, so you're not one for talking. I can live with that." He smiled at me again. That's when he decided to jump into his life story . . . and I had to act like cared.

Half-hour later, we finally reached the tree. The guy, whose name was Leroy, was still talking. "So that's when my best friend decided it would be funny to put me and Lizzy into this curse. I don't mind it I guess. There are a lot of pretty girls around." He winked at me and I shuddered.

"Look, Leroy." I turned to him with a frown. "Shouldn't you be worrying about your girlfriend instead of looking at other women?"

Leroy shrugged.

My frown deepened. "Why do you act differently around her than you do when you're alone?"

He shrugged again. I was seriously starting to get irritated with him. "She doesn't like it when I look at other women."

"Then why do you?" I was completely disgusted with the guy at this point. In fact, I was about ready to strangle him.

"How could I not?" He winked at me again and I shuddered under his stare.

"Look, Leroy." I growled at him, taking a threatening step forward. "You either shape up or go home. All you're doing is putting that poor girl on. I bet you don't even love her, do you?" Another shrug. It took all of my willpower not to slap him. "You're disgusting. She doesn't deserve to be put through this. Every girl deserves to be loved. She deserves someone so much better than you."

I turned to storm away but he grabbed my arm. I turned, hoping to see a look of remorse or guilt. Instead, I was met with a knowing look. "What?"

"You have a lover out there somewhere, don't you?" He asked, though I had a feeling he already knew the answer. "And you're stuck in here where you can't be together."

My eyes widened at him and I couldn't get myself to answer. Instantly, my thoughts were bombarded with memories of August. The walls I had so carefully built up, came crashing down at the thought of him again. I'd convinced myself that I had no escape, and that I'd never see him again. I'd built up my defenses to keep my memories at bay; otherwise, I never would have been able to make it. Now though, I felt like curling up in a corner and crying.

Without bothering to wait for the birds in that stupid tree to tell the 'prince' that he had the wrong girl, I yanked my arm out of his grip and limped away from him as fast as I could. I made it back to the estate and threw the doors open. Everyone's gazes fell on me. Without a word to anyone, I hobbled over to the steps and started to make my way up, carefully. Before I reached the top however, I turned to meet 'Cinderella's' eyes. "You can do so much better. Leave that jerk before it's too late." Her eyes widened in shock and I went back to limping up the stairs.

By the time I reached my room, the tears were streaming down my face. I threw myself on the bed and hugged the pillow to my chest. I didn't try to stop or even hide the tears. I had kept it all in, not allowing myself to cry since I woke inside the curse without August. I supposed it was about time that I was finally allowed myself to break.

Dixie appeared at some point in time, curling up on the bed next to me and gently played with my hair. "You'll see him again. I promise."

I sniffed loudly and turned my head to face her. "How can you be so sure? You heard my dad and Isis. I'm stuck here. Just like you. With my memories intact and no way out." I sniffed again as fresh tears made their way down my cheeks. "How do you do it? How do you stay so strong?"

"I've been here a long time. I've had time to get over what I've lost." She gave me a gentle smile. "Believe me, I was wreck when I first became part of the curse. It took me close to a year to accept that I now live here."

"What if you're wrong, Dixie? What if I never see him again? I don't think I could handle that." I told her honestly.

"If I know you, Taryn, which I do, you won't give up until you've reached your heart's goal. You'll do everything in your power to find a way out of here, and I bet you anything, August is doing the same." She smiled at me then. "Now let's get that foot of yours fixed up."

August's POV

"Come on, August!" Alfie huffed in frustration, slamming a hand down on the table. "Put the books down and go outside. Clear you head. Get a new perspective on things. Maybe grab a cup of coffee!"

August shot a glare at the blonde British boy who quickly raised his hands in surrender.

"I'm just saying it's not good for you to be cooped up in here for so long without even an ounce of fresh air."

"I'm not going anywhere until we've found a way to get Taryn out of that curse." August stated firmly.

Alfie sighed. "You've been at this for nearly three weeks. It's time you take a break." August promptly refused, but Alfie cut him off. "Come on, August. I want to find Taryn just as much as you do, but I have this gut feeling that we aren't going to find the answer in the books."

"Then where do we look?" August asked, defeat coating his voice.

Alfie smirked. "I know a good place to start."

August was a little skeptical about Alfie's idea. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Alfie to reveal his plan. He didn't like the fact that whatever Alfie was up too was taking away from his research. He was so close to finding a solution to their problem. He could feel it! And all Alfie was doing was getting in the way of finding it.

Begrudgingly, August followed Alfie through several different alleys. Each one was creepier than the last. "Do you actually know where you're going?"

Alfie frowned in concentration. "I think so. I've never actually been there. I just found it on the internet."

August gave him an incredulous look. "What exactly does this place have to do with finding a way out for Taryn?"

"Absolutely everything." Alfie responded. "Just trust me on this one."

August was having a hard time doing that. Ever since Alfie had arrived from England to help August in his search, he hadn't been much help. All he did was sit there. Occasionally, he would pull out his laptop to look something up, but nine-times-out-of-ten, he would sit there with his head in his hands. It was really frustrating.

Ten, long minutes later, the two boys arrived at the shadiest looking building, August had ever seen.

"Who would live here?" August wondered aloud.

"There's only one person I know who'd be crazy enough to live here." Alfie shuddered before turning and meeting August's eyes. "Isis."

August's eyes widened. "You mean, this is Isis' house?" Alfie nodded. "How in the world did you find it?"

Alfie shrugged and turned back to look at the menacing looking building. "It was fairly easy actually. I decided it would be a good idea to start at the beginning, find out just how the curse really works. So I looked Isis up, found out her home address and then used google maps to find it."

"You're a genius, Alfie." August beamed. "Now let's go scope the place out."

Getting inside was harder than they had originally thought. Both doors were locked, as well as most of the windows. The only window open was one leading to a second story bedroom.

Alfie came up with this 'brilliant' idea to climb up onto August's shoulders and try to pull himself up into the window. August grunted in pain as Alfie balanced on top of him.

"Darn!" August heard Alfie exclaim.

"What's the matter?" August called up to him.

"I'm too short! I can't reach it!"

"Can't you at least reach the edge? You could pull yourself up!" August called back.

Alfie shook his head, almost knocking them both over. "I'm a few inches short. I'm going to have to get just a little bit higher."

Before August could register what his words meant, or protest against it, Alfie pushed himself up onto August's head, balancing on one foot. "Perfect!" Alfie shouted, grabbing hold of the window's edge.

"I can't keep this up much longer!" August called up to him, wincing in pain.

"I'm working on it!" Alfie shouted back down, frustration lacing his voice.

August gasped in shock and pain when Alfie lost his balance for a second, sending him crashing back down to August's shoulders. It nearly brought them both crashing to the ground below.

"Watch it!" August grunted as he did his best to stay upright.

"Sorry, sorry!" Alfie scrambled back up on top of August's head to grab the window sill.

What felt like an eternity later, Alfie's weight disappeared from August's head as he pulled himself up and through the window. August sighed in relief and leaned up against the side of the house.

His thoughts once again drifted back to Taryn. He prayed with everything in him that she was okay, and not hurting too badly. He felt that this entire thing was his fault. He should have done something to prevent Isis from making Taryn become part of the curse. Yes, she was alive now, but she wasn't happy. She was back in a living nightmare and he'd done nothing to stop it.

"I'm so sorry, Taryn." He whispered softly. "I'm coming. Just hang in there a little while longer."

He wasn't sure what had happened back in the curse, when he had been able to communicate with her, but whatever it was, had left a mark on him. He wasn't able to speak to her, but he could pick up on her particularly strong emotions.

Yesterday had torn him apart. She must have been cutting off her emotions again, because it was rare that he would feel anything from her. The first thing he felt yesterday was pain. Pure pain. It centered around her foot so he could only guess what tale she was in. Then came the worst part. She had completely fallen apart. He had felt the fear and sadness radiating off of her in giant waves.

It had broken his heart knowing that she was going through it and he couldn't be there for her. It had just made him all the more determined to find a way out for her. He'd stop at nothing to save her from the torture she was forced to live through now.

Alfie yanked August from his thoughts when he came barreling around the corner. "There you are!" He exclaimed, breathless. "Come one, already. I've been waiting for ages!"

August jumped up and chased after Alfie, reaching the door within seconds. Without a second thought, they raced inside.

"It is empty right? No one is here?" August asked, just to be sure, as they silently made their way through the house.

Alfie nodded. "There's no one else here. We are alone." He pointed down the hall to the right. "There's a study type room down there. I passed it on the way through. I suggest we start there."

The room was a complete disaster when they reached it. Papers were thrown across the room. The garbage can was in the middle of the room, tipped upside down. The garbage was piled around the can, almost as if she'd done it intentionally. The desk had burn marks on it and all of her books were scattered around the room. Their pages and covers torn apart. Basically, it looked as if she'd had one of her rampages inside the room. Which, August decided was entirely possible.

"This is going to take a while." Alfie stated the obvious.

"Let's not waste any time then." August said determinedly, stepping into the mess to begin the search.

Neither of them were really sure what they were looking for, but two hours in, August found it. "Yes!" He shouted, holding the book in the air and dancing around.

"Did you find something?" Alfie asked excitedly, dropping the book he'd been holding and running over to look over August's shoulder. "What's it say?"

"It's the key to getting Taryn out of that curse." August said with a grin.

"What do we have to do?"

Before he could answer, the sound of a door opening and closing stopped them both in their tracks. With wide eyes, Alfie looked to August for direction.

"Keep quiet!" August hissed before inching his way to the door. Peeking out, he spied both Isis and Colton standing only a few feet away from the door.

"This is getting old! I thought you said this would be fun!" Isis whined.

Colton rolled his eyes, the movement reminding August freakishly of Taryn. "It is fun you moron."

"No it's not. What the fun in it if she never dies? It's just the same thing, over and over and over again." Isis huffed. "I liked it so much better when she was dead. All she's doing now is getting on my nerves. Not only that, but I haven't seen an inch of that August boy. There's just no excitement anymore."

"You want some action? I'll give you action. We can even drag in that British boy again. She seemed to have grown an attachment to him as well. Let's just plant a bug in their ear and see what happens. We can tell them how to save Taryn, while not telling them the whole truth. It'll lead to all of their destructions."

Isis seemed to think over that for a second. "I like it." She finally decided. "I have the book in my office with the secret to getting her out. I'll go get it and we can copy down a few lines. Then we'll give the paper to August. That ought to bring him in."

Colton nodded. "Do it. I'm going into the kitchen to make some lunch."

Isis turned toward the door and August quickly backed away. He turned to Alfie and urgently whispered, "Out the window, now!"

Keeping the book held firmly in his hand, August leapt out of the window after Alfie. Thankfully, this had only been a first story window. He hit the ground running, a smile on his face. He finally had the secret to freeing Taryn in the palm of his hand. Literally. Things were finally starting to look up.

Review!