Gretchen had no dreams that night. Her sleep was completely peaceful. She woke to the sound of thunder and lightning outside.
"What time is it?" she groaned sleepily, and looked at the clock on her wall. It was 10:30. She smiled. She liked it when she had the chance to sleep in and ease into the day.
Gretchen got up and got looked around in her wardrobe for clothes. She pulled out a green skirt and white shirt. She pulled her hair away from her face with a scarf, and left to go find something for breakfast. She might not have been working that day, but she did live here and still had access to the kitchens. She grabbed a basket from beside the door, went downstairs and started on her way.
"Good morning, Herr Stein," Gretchen called out amiably as she entered the bakery.
"Ah, Gretchen! What can I get for you today?" the robust, walrus-like baker replied from behind his counter.
"I'll have a loaf of the potato bread, I think."
"Excellent. You're not working today?"
"No, Herr Stein. I'm taking it easy for now. Thought I might get some things together for breakfast.
"An excellent idea." Herr Stein returned with a floury loaf of potato bread. "That's one and a half francs." Gretchen dug in her pocket for the money.
"This damned French currency is so hard to figure," she said as she paid him.
"Believe me, I wish every day we could go back to marks. It would be so much easier. But those French frogs aren't easy on anyone." The baker took the money. "Thanks, Gretchen."
"Any time, Herr Stein. Say hello to Gurda for me."
"Will do!" Herr Stein waved as Gretchen left.
While walking back from the bakery, Gretchen noticed last night's lodgers going through their cart in the inn's stable.
"Are you leaving already, gentlemen?" she asked them. Jake looked up.
"Oh, no. Nothing of the sort. We're preparing for the day's work."
"What would that be?"
"We've come to get rid of a demon." Gretchen almost dropped her bread.
"That's why you're here?"
"The mayor sent for us," Will Grimm said from behind the cart. He sounded irritated.
"How much did he tell you about this demon?" Gretchen asked.
"Jake's done a bit of preliminary research." Will came out from where he'd been crouching. The look on his face clearly said just get out of here and let the professionals handle things.
"I think you ought to know a bit more than 'preliminary research' before you go gallivanting off to vanquish this thing." Gretchen glanced at her loaf of bread, then back at the Grimms. "Have you boys had breakfast yet?"
"No, we haven't," said Jake,
"But it's not necessary," added his brother. Gretchen raised an eyebrow.
"I think the two of you ought to come with me," she said.
A few minutes later, the Grimms were sitting down at a table in the kitchen while Gretchen served up sausages, scrambled eggs and the bread.
"Normally we don't serve breakfast to guests, but considering your relative ignorance on our problem..."
"We don't need any help," Will said indignantly.
"Just like you didn't need any help in Marbaden?"
"What do you know about Marbaden?"
"I'm not stupid, Herr Grimm. I don't know just how much help you two needed, but I do know that you can't go running to some place you've never been and expect to take care of everything with a wave of your hand and no knowledge whatsoever on what it is you're fighting. You do that, and you're likely to wind up dead the first day." Will looked dumbfounded. Jake stuffed some eggs into his mouth, trying pitifully to hide a smile. "So tell me, Grimms. What do you know about our demon?"
"Well," Jake said with his mouth full, digging through his bag, "From what I've read," he produced a large, leather-bound book. "It says here that he's been around for centuries. Goes by the name of Balthazar."
"Right so far," Gretchen said. "Our village has something of an agreement with Balthazar. Every year on All Souls' Eve, he comes out and looks for someone to take. We draw a lottery. The person whose name is drawn out of the box is left outside. Everyone else locks their doors. Then Balthazar comes out and claims his sacrifice. We do this in exchange for peace from Balthazar. If we fail to produce a sacrifice, then our town is basically doomed."
"And it's All Souls' Day in two days," Jake said.
"Uh huh. The mayor's got three daughters. They're of age this year, so he's probably afraid they'll be chosen at the next lottery. If you two can take care of our demon problem, he'll never have to worry about his daughters being sacrificed.
"Of age? What exactly does that mean?" Will asked.
"There are rules to the lottery," Gretchen said. "Anyone below the age of sixteen is deemed too young to participate. Their names aren't included in the drawing. The mayor also has immunity, since he runs the town. So do the jailer and the police sergeant. However, their families do not."
"So they mayor's daughters are fair game?" Jake asked.
"As is anyone else in the village over sixteen."
"Wouldn't that be hard on the population?"
"Not so much as you'd think. With people losing sons and daughters all the time, people are forced to...compensate. There's actually a regulation here that all married couples must attempt to have at least two children."
"Why doesn't anyone just move?" Will scoffed.
"Because this is their home! Most everyone has lived here all their lives. You can't just up and leave behind a lifetime or more of personal history." Gretchen was liking Will less and less the more she talked to him.
"So how can we vanquish this fellow?" Jake broke in.
"Well, nobody's entirely certain. It's never been tried before."
"That's just stupid." Will leaned back in his chair, "You're all a bunch of sitting ducks! I tell you, if we weren't being paid for this..."
"What is your problem?" Gretchen shouted angrily. "Just because you've never had a home, traditions or anything, doesn't mean you have the right to come here and start telling us how to behave. People here don't stand up to Balthazar because they're afraid of what might happen to them."
"Better to try and kill him than to keep sacrificing to him every year," Will grumbled.
"Any attempt to kill Balthazar would break the village's pact with him. If the attempt failed and Balthazar survived, our village would be cursed forever. We'd be sacrificing not just once a year, but every day. The mayor's taking everyone's lives in his hands by calling you two here. Let me tell you, once the villagers find out why you're here, you won't be treated with such celebrity status. I'm not even sure if I approve."
"How old are you?" Jake asked.
"I'm twenty-one. And no, I'm not afraid of being picked for the lottery. I believe in fate. If it's truly time for me to go, then I will go. No questions asked. God has a plan. I choose to respect that plan."
"Don't you find it hard to believe in God when you have things like demons cursing your town?" Will asked skeptically.
"The world is a strange place. If we're cursed, there must be a reason for it. We just don't know what it is yet. At least I believe in God, instead of using his sign as a meaningless weapon." Gretchen and Will glared at each other. Again, Jake broke the awkward silence.
"How does Balthazar kill his victims?"
"What does any demon do? He possesses them. Every year we provide the vessel he needs to survive for another year on earth."
"But why a new body every year?"
"The way I understand it, it works something like buying produce. Like food, the body goes rotten after a time." Will shuddered.
"Makes sense," Jake said attempting (but failing) to sound unfazed.
"So, what did you two have in mind to do today?"
"Will had in mind to go looking for a lair. Or evidence of one. Any idea where to start?"
"Even if I could tell you, I don't think I would."
"You would rather condemn another person to death?" Will stood, shocked.
"If the two of you tried to kill Balthazar, you might fail. Failure would kill everyone. I'd rather just one person die instead of risk the whole village. The mayor was stupid to have called you in."
"Is there something personal you've got against us?"
"Not as yet, no." Gretchen eyes bored into Will's skull. "As a reader, I respect your work, and I know that you're only trying to do your job. But I'm telling you that perhaps you ought to think about doing it somewhere else."
"Look, if you're really so opposed to having us here, why'd you give us any information at all?"
"I thought you might want to know just what it is the two of you are getting yourselves into. It might help to know the consequences if you fail."
"What if we succeeded?" Jake asked, "Have you considered the positive aspects at all?"
"Of course I have. It would be a real blessing to never need to lose another person to Balthazar. But the way I see it, the chances are greater of your defeat than your victory." Gretchen heard the front door slamming open.
"And if you'll excuse me, gentlemen, my day is beginning. I suggest you seriously think about how you're going to spend yours." Gretchen stood irritably and collected the plates, putting them into the washbasin. On his way out, Jake stopped to talk.
"Gretchen, I'm sorry if we've upset you. There's really no alternative here, though. We've been called here to do a job. And we don't leave jobs undone."
"Good for you," Gretchen said bitterly. "Now go. Please." There was a pause. Jake sighed, and followed his brother out the door.