The center of the village was where everyone in the town gathered for meetings. All public announcements were held there. The lottery would also take place in the square tomorrow. Town meetings were called to order by the ringing of the church's steeple bell. The bell was very large, and since the village was rather small, everyone who needed to hear the meeting call could.

Mayor Weisskopf stood in the center of the square on a raised platform so that everyone could see him. To his right stood the town's crier and sheriff. To his left stood Jake and Will. Mayor Weisskopf was a short, fat man with a ruddy face that got even redder when he raised his voice. Right now it looked something like a large, deformed tomato.

"Order! Order! I call this town meeting to order!" he stomped his foot loudly on the platform. Eventually, everyone quieted down and the mayor's face went back to its normal, ruddy color.

"Thank you," he sighed, and wiped his face with a handkerchief. "Ladies and gentlemen of Schatzberg, as I am sure you are all aware, the day after tomorrow is All Souls' Day. And, on All Souls' Eve, we are, as always, obligated to produce a sacrifice to Balthazar the demon."

"Of course we know that, Weisskopf," shouted a slightly inebriated man towards the front of the crowd, "Get on with it! Why're we here?" This brought a chuckle from the crowd. Mayor Weisskopf attempted to look amused, laughing nervously.

"Certainly, certainly." He cleared his throat. "Ladies and gentlemen, I have believed for quite some time now that our lottery sacrifice is not...morally sound. That is why this year I have hired the legendary brothers Grimm to find and destroy Balthazar before All Souls' Day." This brought gasps and grumbles from those assembled. The women in the crowd seemed rather excited, but the men looked apprehensive.

"So far, these men have not found any sign of Balthazar. However, they promise me," he looked back at the Grimms, "that they shall defeat our demon." The crowd still looked unhappy.

"However, since they have not found Balthazar yet, I decree that the lottery will be held here tomorrow evening at three o'clock as scheduled. That is all. Are there any questions?"

Gretchen couldn't help herself. She raised her hand. "Mayor Weisskopf, is it true that you only hired these fellows so that you'd never have to worry about your daughters being included in the lottery?" All heads turned towards her. The mayor looked shocked. Will looked pissed as hell. Jake, on the other hand, just looked incredibly surprised.

"Well?" she asked, "Is it?" The mayor spluttered for a moment.

"That is most certainly not true," he shouted, "I would never do anything so selfish!"

"I wouldn't be so sure," Gretchen commented. "If you really cared, you wouldn't risk our village like this." There were murmurs of agreement from the crowd.

"Did I not just say," the mayor cried, "that the lottery would continue as planned?"

"Yes, but you also said that the demon extermination would continue as planned."

"You mean to tell me that you like people dying, year after year?"

"No, of course I don't. I just prefer losing one person a year rather than everyone all at once." More murmurs of agreement. It was then that Gretchen let her head get too big. "What do you say to that, Mayor Scheisskopf?"

That did it. The mayor's face had gone beyond tomato and was now beet red.

"Sheriff Guntag, you heard the woman! What sort of offense is there for speaking against the mayor?"

"Actually," said Sheriff Guntag, looking rather amused, "I don't believe there is an offense for that, Herr Mayor." The crowd laughed uproariously. Gretchen tried not to look smug.

"Well..." the Mayor searched for what to say, "There ought to be!" he was trembling with anger. "Meeting dismissed!"

Peter caught up with his cousin as they walked back to the Drunken Steward.

"Gretchen, are you mad?"

"Not since I checked," she replied.

"You made a fool of the mayor in public, the day before the lottery!"

"Tell me why I should care, Peter."

"He'll fix the lottery! He'll make sure you get chosen!"

"No he won't, Peter. He doesn't even pull the names, the sheriff does."

"You don't think Weisskopf won't try to? The man's got money! Power!"

"But nobody likes him. Not even the sheriff."

"Nobody's perfect, Gretch. Anyone can bend to money or threats. You're going to have to watch your back, that's all I'm saying."

"Go back to the bar, Peter. People need drinks." Peter shook his head, but continued walking into the inn. Gretchen sighed.

"Gretchen!" someone shouted behind her. She turned around. It was Jake.

"Are you mad?" he asked her. Gretchen laughed.

"I just had this conversation," she said.

"Well, I don't care. That was a really dumb thing you did back there."

"The other villagers didn't seem to think so."

"I thought so. Do you realize the danger you've put yourself in now? What if Weisskopf fixes the drawing?"

"I don't care. If I'm drawn, I'm drawn."

"How can you be so...so passive?" Jake was amazed.

"Look, why do you suddenly care so much about any of this?"

"Because I care about what happens to you." Gretchen frowned confusedly.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I think this whole thing bothers you more than you're letting on," Jake said.

"Of course it bothers me! Year after year, somebody I've known since I was born is sacrificed to a creature from hell. Anyone would find that disturbing."

"Then why aren't you more concerned about your own death?"

"Because I don't consider that a problem! If I die, I die!"

"You don't know what you're saying."

"Of course I do!"

"No you don't. Can you honestly say that tomorrow, if your name is drawn, you'll just stand up and say 'that's right, I'm willing to die. I'm willing to undergo terrible pain and lose everything I've ever loved, even if it wasn't my time to go'?"

"Well, when you put it like that..."

"See? There's a lot more to it than you think, isn't there? What about all the people involved in your life? Your cousin? Your uncle? They'd all have lost a wonderful person for no reason at all."

"Wait a minute," Gretchen said, "You're just trying to get me to agree that killing Balthazar is a good idea."

"No! I'm not!" Jake was near hysterical now. "I'm just trying to get you to see the seriousness of the situation."

"There isn't anything I can do about it anyway," Gretchen said. "I can't go back and change what's been said or done. You're wasting your breath." She turned around. "I'm going back inside." She entered the tavern, Jake staring after her.

Gretchen went straight up to her room. She sat on the bed and thought about the things that Jake had just told her.

I shouldn't have been so mean to Jacob, she thought. I shouldn't have tried to talk him down. What was the point of all of that, anyway? There I stood, shooting off smart responses when all he was trying to do was...was tell me he was concerned. Stupid, stupid, stupid...

There was a knock on her door. Gretchen sniffed.

"Who is it?"

"It's me," Jake's voice answered. Immediately, Gretchen brightened. She went over and opened the door.

"Yes?"

"Erm...I was wondering if I might be able to look at those stories some more. I'd barely even started when I had to leave." Gretchen smiled. "Certainly. I'll go get them. By the way, are you hungry? I can get some food from the kitchen if you are."

"No, I'm fine," Jake replied. His stomach, however, grumbled in protest. Gretchen raised an eyebrow.

"You know," he said, "Now that I think of it, I think maybe I could do with some food." He grinned sheepishly.

"I thought you might," Gretchen smiled.

Three hours later, the two of them were discussing the stories in Gretchen's room, having finished eating long ago.

"This one about the girl and the wizard...It's quite good. I like the moral, particularly."

"Making her ugly so she could see what it was like in someone else's shoes, you mean?" Gretchen asked with her mouth full.

"Yes. I've always found transformations to be a particularly interesting subject," Jake said.

"That's funny, because I have as well. This was one that I co-wrote with Peter."

"Ah. Well, that makes it even better then, doesn't it?" Gretchen felt herself blush.

"I'll tell Peter you like that one."

"I like all of them really. But this one is especially good."

"Ahem." Will stood in the doorway. "Excuse me fraulein, but I was wondering if I might have a word with my brother."

"Certainly," Gretchen said.

"Thank you." Will and his brother left the room and went down the hall to their own.

Gretchen decided she ought to go downstairs and wash the plates. She entered from behind the bar, and went over to the washbasin. As she was scrubbing, the door opened and Sonya entered.

"Good evening, Sonya," Gretchen said pleasantly.

"Good enough for you, maybe," she said haughtily, plunking down a pile of dirty dishes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gretchen asked.

"D'you think I don't know what you were up to upstairs? With Jacob Grimm?

"We were eating and looking over Peter's manuscripts, Sonya, nothing more."

"Well, alls I wonder is why that's gotta be done in your private room."

"It's much quieter upstairs. You don't have to listen to all the rude people down here." Gretchen spoke sweetly, but her words were full of venom.

"Speak for yourself." Sonya narrowed her eyes and stalked out of the kitchen.

"What was that about?" Peter asked when Gretchen emerged from the kitchen.

"What are you talking about?"

"You and Sonya, obviously. She looked like she was mad enough to spit!"

"Oh. She was mouthing off about me and Jacob reading upstairs. She thought we were...you know. I can't believe her. She's so rude."

"Ah," Peter said. "So...did he have anything more to say about the stories?"

"Oh yes. He thinks they're great. He said he really liked the one about the girl and the wizard. The one where the girl gets turned ugly." Peter looked like he was about to explode with joy.

"Gretchen that's wonderful! Can you imagine how successful we could be with someone like Jacob Grimm backing us?"

"It would certainly be something, wouldn't it?" Gretchen smiled.

"No kidding! Look, Gretch, I'd better get back to work."

"Of course. I'm going back upstairs." Peter nodded.

Gretchen looked at the clock in her room. It was ten o'clock. The bar was still hopping downstairs, but she didn't have to work. It was early for her, but she thought it might be nice to get extra sleep tonight. Blew out the lantern and climbed into bed. But she found she couldn't sleep. What if her name was drawn tomorrow? A feeling of panic grew in her stomach. She'd always thought before that if she was chosen, she'd just go. That was the way it worked. But now she was having second thoughts. There was a possible alternative. People wouldn't have to die. She wouldn't have to die.

I can't believe I'm being so selfish, Gretchen thought to herself, this sacrifice is done for the good of the whole town. Everyone knows that and accepts that. I've even accepted it for years. So why don't I now? That was the thought in the back of Gretchen's head as she fell asleep.