Chapter 3

Sabrina fumbled with the dial on the car radio, searching for a station with a signal. When all she got was static she sighed and turned it off. They were 5 hours into their car ride and were now in the Canadian wilderness, odds were they weren't gonna find a nearby dj anytime soon. They had spent the rest of the previous day tracking Baba Yaga with magic and when they found her in Quebec they had made the decision to drive up. It was apparently too dangerous to magically get up to her area because it was sure to be boobytrapped with the witch's own magic. So a road trip it was. The "kids" - Sabrina, Puck, Daphne, and Basil were all in one car while the Grimm parents were in the other. Mustardseed had stayed behind in Faerie.

The car was silent besides the drum of the engine. Puck looked into the rear view mirror

"And now they're both asleep" he remarked about Daph and Basil in the backseat.

Sabrina shrugged "It's been a long day for them. Lots of travel."

Puck hmmed in agreement.

More silence.

Ugh, was this actually an awkward silence or did it just feel that way on Sabrina's end? Conversation had been easy when the other two were still awake, they had some catching up to do with both Brina and Puck. But when Basil had dozed off, and now Daphne not too long after…What were she and Puck supposed to talk about?

Ugh, why were things so weird between them thought Puck. There wasn't any bad blood between them. They didn't have a huge fight or a big falling out…they just kind of stopped interacting slowly until they were...whatever this was. He had spent a lot of the conversation between the siblings trying to pick up context clues and figure out what she was currently doing with her life.

"So…" he tried "Think Baba Yaga will turn you into a toad again?"

"Frog." Sabrina corrected "And no…at least I sure hope not" she gulped.

"That's a real shame cause I bet she makes a mean frog soup", Puck mused while Sabrina rolled her eyes "although only one frog doesn't make for very good soup. Maybe she'll turn all of you Grimms."

"Hmmm or maybe she'll turn you into a rabbit. She'd only need one to make a stew"

Puck scoffed "Baba Yaga wouldn't eat me, she loves me!"

"Ten bucks says she doesn't even remember your name."

"You're on."

"And besides", Sabrina added "I'm prepared. Daph and I have been watching the occasional soap opera in my free time just to win Baba Yaga over if we ever needed to. All those stupid plotlines are finally paying off."

"Huh, didn't know you had all that free time" Puck added before he could stop himself.

And just like that the atmosphere in the car froze over again. Why did he blurt that out? Actually, no, he stood by that comment. Yeah it was said bitterly but that's only because he was still feeling bitter - he just didn't like admitting that to himself.

'Not having free time' was one of the reasons Sabrina had given for why she didn't ever see him. Even at the time she had known it was a flimsy excuse. It's true she was busy, pre-law is a hefty undergrad degree. That along with some freelance fairytale detective work here and there. And a girl has to have a social life! She didn't have the same prejudices as in her youth but she still tried to keep her "normal" and Everafter lives separate. But with Puck in particular… they had always been on the edges of something more; their relationship constantly dancing around what could be. And it freaked her out. So when their friendship slowly faded, she let it.

Okay, but now here she was, in a car at the start of what would surely be a very long case. A fresh-ish start. She was still a fairytale detective and she couldn't continue cutting off the best access she had to the largest kingdom in the Everafter world. A quieter part of her told her she couldn't keep cutting off her friend either.

After another long silence - it had taken more out of her than she expected to speak up amicably - she made what felt like a safe observation. "I didn't know you could drive".

"What? Of course I can drive!" Puck nearly swerved off the road as he turned to face her in offense.

He pulled them back onto the road, Basil stirring in the backseat, Daph as always unaffected by her surroundings in her sleep.

Sabrina raised an eyebrow at him, smirking. Puck rolled his eyes. "Okay that was the first incident in our hours of driving, I'm a very good driver. I've been doing it for like a hundred years."

Sabrina offered a hmmm.

"You know" Puck gave that lop-sided grin that he was so famous for. Sabrina didn't realize how much she missed it until now. "The first car I ever drove was a Model T that I stole". He laughs at the memory and she was reminded just how much older he is than her. "I think it was one of only like 100 cars in the whole city so they tracked me down pretty quickly but oh boy it was worth it". He laughed - that twinkling mischievous laugh - and she couldn't help but laugh along with him.

God that laugh made her feel dizzy. Wait, no, she's felt this particular sort of dizzyness before, this is a magic buzz.

"Stop the car. I think we're here".

Puck pulled over "I can feel it too".

They got out of the car and faced the woods. Somewhere in there was the cannibalistic witch who could either be a great help or kill them on sight. Cool.

Henry and Veronica pulled up behind them, getting out of their car as well.

"Here?" Asked Henry. Puck and Sabrina both nodded squinting into the forest for a sign of the chicken house.

After waking up Basil and Daphne - a less difficult task than when she was 6 years old, but a difficult task nonetheless - the group trudged onward into the woods, hopefully home before dark.

It was only a few minutes trek before they reached a small clearing, just big enough to hold the house and a narrow walkway of bones. Everyone got the shivers.

They walked up to the front porch, the sickly sound of bones crunching beneath their feet like gravel.

Henry lifted his hand to knock on the door but it swung open before he hit it.

"What do you want Grimms?" shouted the witch's voice from inside. The group looked at each other and stepped into the threshold. Not much had changed - magic items scattered all around a dingy shed.

Baba Yaga sat on a couch facing away from the door and toward the TV where an episode of General Hospital was playing.

"Um, Baba Yaga we came to ask for information about -" Veronica started but her voice was startled out of her as Baba Yaga in one swift motion jumped up onto the couch and turned around to face them.

She eyed the 6 intruders. She scowled as her eyes passed over Sabrina "Put your hands in your pockets and keep them there" the witch ordered. Sabrina obliged, she hadn't noticed her hands were already twitching at all the magic around her.

The witch continued staring at them, everyone silently uncomfortable.

"You're all old." she stated as her final assessment. "And who are you two?" she pointed her bony finger at Basil and Puck. Sabrina elbowed Puck, reminding him she was right. He elbowed her back.

"I'm Basil Grimm" when the witch raised an eyebrow he added "the second."

"I'm the King of Faerie and we came here to ask -"

Baba Yaga cut off Puck "You're not Oberon."

"Uh, no. He was my father." Baba Yaga just squinted at him. "He died. Like ten years ago."

The witch shrugged "I never like him anyway."

"Me neither" replied Puck. "But we're actually here to ask for your…assistance…"

Baba Yaga glared.

"Not so much assistance" Veronica chimed in "as information."

"Just a tiny snippet of info really" Henry added.

The witch eyed the group sneering at the idea of helping them (yet again!) with nothing for her to gain.

Sabrina had barely heard a word of the conversation her eyes were scanning the room. So much magic in such a small place. She knew better of course but she still had the urge to reach out and grab some of it - any item at all. Wands, potions, cloaks, shoes, neckties, rings, spell books, cook books- a pair of bony fingers snapped in front of her eyes, bringing her back to the present. "Don't even think about it." growled the ancient woman. "And the rest of you don't even think about it either. I've got more important things to do than hand out my invaluable knowledge." She turned back to the television.

Puck, noticing Sabrina was still shaking off the buzz of magic placed a soft hand just above her elbow. Great, now she was tingling from more than just magic.

Daphne piped up "Perhaps an exchange?" Baba Yaga tilted her head but otherwise gave no indication that she was listening. "You know, Sabrina and I are on quite a few online forums. We happened to befriend a scriptie who works on Days of Our Lives. If you tell us what you know, we could tell you what's happening with Ben and Ciara's baby?"

Baba Yaga didn't turn around and for a moment they all felt defeated. But then her rude voice let out.

"I also want to know what happens with Marlena's pact with the devil"

Daphne smiled wide "Deal."

The witch finally got off the couch and turned back around to face them. "What do you want to know?" she snapped.

Everyone gulped.

"Well" Veronica spoke up "We need to know how to stop, perhaps even how to kill, Kaschey".

Baba Yaga waved her hand as if this were a frivolous question "You have to release his death" she stated like was obvious.

"Great thanks" said Puck, snidely "Just one follow up question how do we do that?"

Baba Yaga gave a deep sigh "He keeps his death trapped outside of his body. It's actually one of my spells. Not that I'd ever do it to myself it's a hassle and I'm not that insecure. But he is, so he put his death in an egg and then he put that egg inside a duck and put the duck inside a rabbit and the rabbit inside of a trunk and then buried it on an island."

They all stared slack-jawed. Sure they were fairy tale detectives, and even fairy tales themselves but this seemed far out even for them.

"Of course" Baba Yaga continued "someone let it out of the trunk a few years ago - in thirteen hundred something I think - and someone else managed to slice open the rabbit. But as far as I know the duck is still out there."

"So we just have to find the right duck?" asked Henry, skeptical.

"It'll be on an island" Baba Yaga said "Your death likes to stay in one spot. Death is consistent"

"It's like Final Destination" whispered Basil to Daphne

"When did you watch Final Destination?" she whispered back. He shrugged.

"His death has always been on an island. It'll want to stay on one. Of course I don't know which one. And I don't care either! So that's all you're getting out of me."

They thanked her for her time. Told her about what was going to happen next on Days of Our Lives and left. It wasn't until they got to the car Sabrina noticed Puck's hand was still on her arm. She didn't say anything when he finally let go to get into the drivers seat. He didn't say anything either.

They spent the long drive back to NYC discussing theories and then eventually when they ran out of ideas, decided to save that conversation till they got back to Faerie where they would do real research. So they all chatted about nothing to distract themselves. Listening to Basil talk about Minecraft for a good hour. Daphne about all the hottest boys in school and which bands had the most inspiring lyrics for feminism. Sabrina about what she needed to do to prep for law school next year. And Puck about the troubles of running a kingdom. Before they knew it they were back in Central Park and they entered serious mode again. Fun car conversations were over. They were back at the edge of an impending war unless they could find one duck on one island. Their hopes were not high.

My lovlies. Sorry this took so long. I have no excuse other than this chapter had a hard time getting out of my head and on to the page. Hope you're all doing well. All your feedback is greatly appreciated.