The Grey Witch

xStarletx

Chapter 3

A/N: So here we are, the well awaited chapter three, things get heated in this one and we get a very nice glimpse at what The Grey Witch it capable of. I hope you enjoy it :)

Gretel's POV

Upon awakening I knew exactly where I was. I was back in the cottage of the Grey Witch and I was not happy to be there. I was angry when I woke up, refreshed and apparently healed from all injuries, but the anger countered the relief. I swung my legs out of bed, glaring at the table where my companions all sat sipping on tea like they were pretending to be gentlemen.

Ben and Edward had caught up to me, and were sitting, also healed from their injuries, and staring at me with wide eyes of worry. My brother, whom I had spent all night worrying about, had his back to me. I stood quickly advancing on him before hitting him as hard as I could. Hansel nearly choked on his tea, as he whirled around to glare up at me.

"Ow!" he cried. "What was that for?"

"You had me worried sick and you were just visiting your girlfriend?" I cried.

Hansel stood a cross look on his face but I didn't care. "I didn't come visit her it was just where the river deposited me!"

It was a logical answer, one I would have saw reason to if I hadn't been so angry. "Oh yeah right! So you had me worried sick and you were here sleeping with the Grey Slut?"

"I take offense to that," The Grey Witch said sliding into the room. She hadn't changed at all since she had appeared in our lives, same grey dress, same black hair that was pinned in an elegant bun on top of her head this time, same purple eyes pinning me with an almost expressionless disapproval. "Especially since I didn't have to heal you, I could have left you in agony."

"I didn't ask for you to heal me!" I snapped. "I didn't ask for you in our lives, in fact I want you out."

The Grey Witch blinked her eyes silently before smiling primly at me. "Firstly, you came here. Secondly it's my hut, if you want to leave, you get out!"

There was silence in the hut as I contemplated storming out to prove my point, whatever my point may be but Hansel stepped up quickly. "No one is leaving. We're staying here to relax before we go to pick up our bounty... that is assuming you actually killed the witch," he said, looking at me.

I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest defiantly as I leant back on my heels. "Of course I killed the witch, seeing as you were too busy with your newest conquest."

Hansel sighed, the sound mixed with a growl of frustration but the Grey Witch merely laughed. "When you are done insulting me would you like tea or no?"

I frowned and found that no one would help me with this or take my back. "I suppose," she snarled and the Grey Witch lent in and poured me a nice cup of tea. She smiled warmly and that only infuriated me further.

Hansel cleared his throat and put a hand onto my thigh. "Can we talk outside?" he asked me.

I scowled at him, oh he wanted to talk now? I rolled my eyes but with an aggravated huff I followed my brother outside of the hut. She had changed him, I could see it now. Everything about him had become lighter, his eyes, his smile, even his walk.

He turned around and even though he was frowning at me from behind the hand that was stroking his chin I could tell that there was a boyish gleam about him. He had definitely gotten laid. "Look, I know you're upset, but this didn't happen on purpose."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest indignantly. "Yeah, sure."

"Gretel, I like her, really like her, do you think you could maybe attempt to be nice?" he asked me.

That was it, he was definitely under a spell. I stalked towards him and began to poke at his face. "What has she done to you?" I snapped. "Can't you see you have to be under some sort of enchantment?"

"The only magic she used on me is the same she used on you. She healed us, fixed our wounds, I could have died, you could have die. The least you could have said was thank you," he snapped.

I rolled my eyes and glowered at him not sure what to say to that. I did feel a lot better and I guess her magic was to thank for that blessing, but that didn't mean I wanted to be polite about it. I hadn't killed her, wasn't that polite enough?

Suddenly the Grey Witch was on her stoop wringing her hands. "Can you come inside please?" she asked, worried lined the crinkles around her eyes as she waved us over to her.

I refused to move even though Hansel took a few step towards her before turning back to me and waving me towards them. I shook my head stubbornly. "No, I'm staying right here until you take the spell off my brother."

The Grey Witch narrowed her eyes at me, her jolly smile was all but gone and replaced with a thin smile that worry becoming more defined on her face. "You want me to put those bruises and cuts back into his internal organs?" she asked almost incredulously. She shook her head. "We do not have time for your distrust of me. Come inside now, you can bombard me with insults inside."

I shook my head again and suddenly she whipped her hand forward, the magic went through me leaving me unharmed and my eyes widened in shock as did my brothers. What did he think of his precious Grey Witch now? "She attacked me!" I cried pointing my accusatory finger at her.

"Turn around Gretel," Hansel ordered his face darkening and his hand reaching for his weapon.

Confused I turned around and found that she had stopped an arrow right in time from hitting me in the back, the flame on the head was frozen as well. I took a step back away from it and with a flick of her hand it was thrown to the side. I could see the fire of torches on the banks surrounding her house and as I crossed over the threshold I saw that there wasn't fear on her face but anger.

She slammed the door shut and turned her thin smile to them. "Continue eating," she said clapping her hands together and the number of finger sandwiches doubled. "I just have to go take care of something."

She opened up the door to her grandfather clock and revealed a secret passage way and a staircase that lead to a cavern under the house. I stood and followed Hansel who had followed and stared down at the stairs and the green glow coming from the cavern he couldn't see the bottom of. We had seen something like that before and it was surprising to see something similar under hers.

There were shouts outside and the cavern was forgotten and we ran to the window. A small group of people had come down from them cliffs and was talking to The Grey Witch. She seemed calm and demure like she usually was but they were far from happy with her.

The leader, with sword in hand swiped at her and that image of the Grey witch vanished and she appeared on the stoop. I could see that my brother's shoulders were shaking. We could finally hear what they were saying to her.

"We want our missing children, we know you have them," the leader cried.

"I have told you time and time again that I have an intolerance for children," she snapped. "Get off my land, stay away from me or I will flex the full force my power on you and you will not like it!"

"We out number you!" he shouted. The wind was picking up as she got angrier I could almost hear her eyes turn black. Her skin was cracking like a broken porcelain doll, not just on her face but on her hands that had gone a pale white as well.

"I out power you!" she said. The voice wasn't hers but split and it was like a memory of what she had been, what part of her she still was.

She raised her hand and the wind circled into a big tornado but instead of swirling around the men in her gully it picked them up, the sleeping violets were swept up with them. She stomped her foot on the ground and spikes erupted from the earth long jagged spikes the tallest standing at least eight feet. She cut her hands through the air and that tornado that had swept up the men in the gully and the flower died and the men trapped in her vortex fell to the spikes, their bodies dashing upon them not a single one survived.

She stomped once more and the spikes lowered back into the ground taking the bodies with them. She looked around at the people watching and called out: "Anyone else?"

She was met with silence and eventually the fires from the torches vanished as the wielders ran away. The Grey Witch climbed out of the grandfather clock, shutting the door behind her. Her face had returned to normal but there was a grimness about her that told me that she did not enjoy what she had just had to do. She shot a glance to my brother and I did as well and saw what she saw. The horror of what she had just done was reflected on his face.

She took a few steps away from him, towards her own bed, they were slow and uneven and I could tell she was tired. "I... I will have to converse with my sisters when I have rested," she said.

"I thought you said that you did not keep in communication with your sisters," my brother said, his tone one of accusation.

She shook her head. "I don't, not usually, but this is the third time this month they've sent people to me. As if I wouldn't know when they whispered into the ears of peasants," she replied softly as she sat down. "By all mean, keep eating, I just need to rest."

I turned to my brother and saw that he wanted nothing more than to run. I couldn't help but wonder what it was my brother was thinking.

Hansel's POV

Oh god. I'm in love with a monster.