Oh my, things aren't looking too good for our friends are they? Poor Wilhelm getting caught up in that terrible spell and not remembering anything from the night before, Frederick chained in the old witch's kitchen so sure he will become her dinner soon enough and oh my, Katherine! The poor thing's heart was so broken when she thought her dear, sweet Jakob was dead! Oh how sad she was! Why, I remember that when Jakob...oh well, never mind. I'll save that for another time. You know what they say, it always gets worse before it gets better, eh? All right, I suppose you're anxious to find out if Jakob got to the castle or not. Well to begin with I'll tell you what happened along the way starting with...

Jakob and The Enchanted Lake

Jakob and the lady were flying like the wind through the forest on Rapunzel. The thing was that Jakob had forgotten that the magic of the rhymes had a limit and at any time they can wear off at any given moment. They had left the forest now and began an all out run down a dirt road. Jake could see they were coming to a crossroads up ahead and wondered which direction the lady would take just a road sign flew by. It read Giftberre Kreuzung. Jake's eyes grew wide as he realized what it said.

"Banburry Cross? Oh no…"

It suddenly hit him as to what was about to happen, but it was too late. They had entered the crossroads and the horse and lady had promptly disappeared. Jakob was now flying through the air at high speed. With a short yelp he landed hard, face first in the dirt and skidded forward several feet before coming to a stop. He lay there for a few moments afraid to move and wondered if anything were broken, his hands and thighs stinging from the skid. Pushing himself up, he spat out dirt and dust that had somehow found its way into his mouth.

"Pah! Agh! Ow!" he sputtered as he pulled himself up to a sitting position.

Jakob retrieved his glasses from the dusty road, gave them a quick wipe and put them on. He wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve as he looked around trying to get his bearings. Standing up, he carefully brushed the dirt from his clothes with only his fingers, his palms still stinging a bit from the landing. With one hand on his hip and the other on the top of his head, his fingers entwined in the soft curls, he looked down the road that led to the castle.

From all assessments, he was still the better part of a day away from the castle. He had actually covered two days travel in one day thanks to the rhyme and he would have been there already if it had not been for that Banburry business. How was he to know that it really existed and it happened to be right in the path to the witch's castle? Well, traveling directly down the road wouldn't be terribly smart, he'd been seen in short order and the last thing he needed right now was another go around with the witch, at least not yet at any rate. He thought it best to try and blend in with the forest and hope he didn't get caught. He also hoped she might be a bit too busy to notice him as well as the element of surprise would be crucial with this one. She had the unnerving habit of popping out of nowhere in any form she wanted, so he had to try and trap her in a time and place of his own choosing in order to gain advantage.

Jakob also realized something else as well. That it was now growing dark and that he was very tired. Going straight through would suit him just fine, but trying to free them all and think while exhausted wouldn't do at all. That coupled with the fact that the forest surrounding the castle gave him the chills in the daytime, traveling through there at night, in the dark, was something only a fool might attempt and Jake was no fool when it came to this. He had seen first hand what can happen in an enchanted forest even under the best of conditions and he knew going in at their worst could be deadly.

Resolved to the fact that he would not be able to start for the castle until sunrise, he quickly got off the road and under the cover of the trees, as ragged and sparse as they were here and looked for what at least seemed to be a safe place to spend the night. The forest, such as it was gave Jakob a very unsettled feeling. The dry grass and leaves crunched under foot and the barren tree branches, gnarled and twisted reached up into the twilight sky. Ravens circled over head filling the air with their sharp cries as they searched out a roost for the night and the night air was growing bitterly cold even for this time of year. Jakob frowned and pulled the collar of his jacket up closer. What a miserable place to spend what could be his last night on Earth. He knew there was a great possibility the witch could be the victor in the battle that loomed ahead, but as he walked along he thought that if his brother could stand being locked up in that tower for thirty days then he could stand to spend one night in this cold, desolate place. He would have to stand it, he had no choice; people's very lives depended on it.

The sun was now touching the horizon and he still had found no place secluded or safe enough to make camp. Up ahead, Jake noticed a wall of thick pine trees that looked promising. Oddly, it was the only things around there that looked untouched by whatever had drained the life out of this land. He made for it, hoping for the best.

As he passed the line of pine trees it was as if he had walked into another land. A large open area lay before him surrounded by lush green pines, the brush below them thick with life and the area was lush with small wildflowers. The air there seemed to be much warmer than on the other side of the pine break. In the center stood a small lake and the air hung with a fresh, fog-like mist. Jakob noted that the area was also populated by a rather large gaggle of geese, some paddling slowly on the lake; others nestled down in groups along the shoreline. Thankfully they had made no notice of Jakob and were being peacefully quiet.

Jakob settled down under one of the larger pines, it's soft, fragrant needles would make a fine bed. He didn't dare start a fire for fear of being spotted by the witch, but it was warm enough here that he wouldn't need it to keep warm through the night anyway. His lack of light was answered by a very large, nearly full moon that was rising in tandem with the sunset. It was a harvest moon, if he recalled the name correctly and it hung in the sky like a large, orange dinner plate with a slice removed from one side. He knew that it would be full come the following evening. Peeking over the top of the pines it looked nearly close enough to reach out and touch and he knew that it would nearly as bright as daylight for most of the evening.

The large, orange moon reminded Jakob at the moment of a pleasant memory from the last harvest season in Marbaden. He and Wilhelm had stayed on at Angelika's after everything was over and aside from writing the book, Jakob had been helping out the local school teacher, teaching the children to read. It was a night just like this one, with the bright, nearly full moon that the whole village turned out for the last of the harvest before winter settled in. School had been dismissed for the next day and the next two as well for the older children were also helping in the fields. Jakob smiled to himself as he remembered Will had decided to position himself right in the middle of all the ladies that were clearing the last of the vegetables and fruits for the root cellars, helping them to lift baskets and all the while being his smiling, overly charming self; while he, being one of the tallest in the village was busy building haystacks and bundling wheat for threshing. All the while the children ran about playing in the bright moonlight feeling they were safe as long as the brothers were there. At the end of the night, Jakob would gather them together and carrying the littlest one on his shoulders, he would lead them all back to the village like a mother hen with chicks and make sure they were all returned safely to their parents.

Then there was the celebration afterwards. It was a wonderful party and even though it had taken him most of the night to get up a bit of courage, he finally got to dance with Angelika despite his brother trying to cut in. Oh how he wished he was back there now helping with the harvest instead of sitting here alone in this place waiting to face whatever tomorrow might bring.

At that moment Jakob's stomach decided to growl quite loudly. He rubbed it and frowned.

"Gah, why do you have to trouble me now?" he grumbled as he looked down at it with a sigh.

Perhaps if he were lucky, there might be something in his bags he'd overlooked. After laying out his blanket, he opened his satchel and began taking stock.

"Let's see…journal, two quills, knife, two ink bottles." He grimaced as he noticed the level in each bottle and hoped he wouldn't run out before this was over. "Wouldn't do to not finish the story, now would it Jake."

Setting those aside he found the only thing left inside was the flower. As he lifted it out he saw an amazing transformation had taken place. It had felt somewhat like crystal when he transplanted it into the honey jar, but now Jakob thought the moonlight must be playing tricks with his eyes. The flower was no longer a living thing; it had changed into a rich, white opalescent crystal with a clear multifaceted center. It gleamed like the finest of diamonds and pearls in the ever-brightening moonlight; reflecting it in fiery glints and brilliant flashes as he turned it back and forth in his hands. He was amazed with its beauty and resiliency having no idea that the little flower was only reflecting what was in his own heart. Carefully he placed it back in the bag with the other things and slung it back over his shoulder. He also dug out the box with the blue light and placed it inside. That satchel now contained his most precious possessions and he would never let it leave his side no matter what.

Next he laid out the contents of his pack. He pulled out the hand mirror and looked it over before putting it aside and started piling up coins as he went.

"Mirror, gold pieces, ah, wants this? Couple of pantry jars…bah, empty! Cork, more coins, oh would you look at that, bag of lentils! Wait…can't cook those, no fire…or pot. More coins and…"

The pack was now as empty as his stomach. Jakob sighed and was ready to resign himself to sleeping with that empty stomach when he heard a slight thump behind him. Turning, his eyes fell upon what could at that moment be only called a feast. There was an old apple tree, most of its leaves gone, but it was home to about a dozen small knobby apples. Grabbing his empty pack he stripped that tree of its treasure and after piling the last of his worldly possessions for the moment beside him, he wrapped himself in his blanket, sat and happily ate the apples from his pack.

The moon was much higher now and a ghostly ring was cast around it as it shone brightly through the cold air above. Jakob looked out over the lake and thought how magical it looked as the moonlight caused the mist surrounding it to glow and its light danced over the tiny waves on the water. He reached into his pack and felt around to see if all the apples were gone when his fingers brushed up against something metal. At first he thought it might be another coin, but it didn't feel quite right. Stuffing what was left of the last apple in his mouth; he grabbed his pack and fished the object out with his long fingers.

To his surprise, it was Kate's necklace. He remembered she had always worn it and the day they left was no exception. It was a simple piece of brown cord with a small silver pendant dangling from it. It looked like a small piece of silver ribbon twisted into a diamond shape, engraved inside the twisted ribbon was a rose and a sword, crossed.

'Love, faith and honor', thought Jake.

He remembered Will had asked about it the night they first met. It was one of Will's ways of getting to know about a person so he knew just how to work them and he was good at that, but sometimes he could be honest in his curiosity and Jakob assumed he was being somewhat honest in his inquiry. She had told them that she had admired it one day in a shop window, but it was far more than she could afford. Frederick knew she loved it and he had worked odd jobs to save the money for it for an entire year, so he could give it to her as a birthday gift. It had become her most prized possession, worth more than all of the king's gold and if anything ever happened to it, she would just be devastated.

Now she was separated from it and Jakob couldn't remember exactly when she took it off during their journey and put it there, but if she let him carry her most prized possession, she trusted him very much. Not like when they first met. Oh how she had loathed him back then and he, her. Jake smiled at the thought. So she had told the truth back at the swamp when he asked her if she trusted him and she must have slipped it into his pack while they were washing up afterwards. He fingered the necklace in the moonlight, missing her yet somehow feeling she was right there with him.

Inside the left side of his shirt was a small pocket that was meant to carry a few coins. It had stings to tie it shut and keep thieves from picking your pocket. He placed the necklace in there and tied it shut tightly for safe keeping. Gathering up his things, he placed them back into the pack and he lay down wrapped in his blanket on the soft pine needles.

Jakob had never felt as alone as he did right now. His brother was locked in that tower so very far away and Frederick and Katherine were captive in that awful castle. He could do nothing about either of them until tomorrow, so there he was lying in the middle of a strange wood in a far away land with nothing but a large gaggle of geese to keep him company and even they weren't being too conversational at the moment. He sighed and placed his right hand over heart pressing the tiny, silver pendant from the necklace against his chest and that is how he fell asleep.

When he awoke in the morning, the mist was still thick around him. When he sat up he found that in the middle of the night the geese had surrounded him in a great circle, all facing outward as if they were protecting him. Standing up he thought perhaps if he picked his way through carefully, he could be on his way without stirring them into an uproar and chancing being chased and bitten. Jakob knew full well that geese could become very unreasonable and had somewhat nasty tempers if provoked. However as he tried to make his way through, the geese began honking loudly at him and despite the fact he tried to shoo them away, they persisted. It was almost like they wanted something from him, but he wasn't sure what.

"What? No, shoo! Shoo!…Oh, what is it that you want?" asked Jakob dodging about and holding his hands up in the air for fear of getting his fingers bitten. The fairy had been quite enough for him.

The geese honked back at him as if they were trying to say something, but of course they could not. He became increasingly aware that they might actually be trying to talk to him. After all he had heard enough strange stories and seen enough strange things in his life that this idea wouldn't be out of the question. However, he really didn't have time for this at all. He had to focus on getting to the castle.

"Look I really don't have time for all this. I must get to the castle and free my friends", he realized how ridiculous he must look taking to geese, but there was really no choice, "Now if you don't mind, please let me through!"

The geese closed in around him refusing to let him pass, all the while honking excitedly at him as if to get his attention. Jake just sighed and gave up trying to get past them.

"Oh very well then", he said resigned to his fate, "What do you want from me? Do you want me to do something?"

The geese honked at him loudly and then stopped, as if to answer him. 'Sweet Christ, I'm in the middle of nowhere playing parlor games with a flock of geese!' he thought. Nothing else to do but keep going.

"Do you want me to do something…for you?"

In return he got more excited honks. With one hand on his hip and the other on the back of his neck, his eyes scanned back and forth in frustration over the flock of white geese as if his search would produce a satisfying answer.

"Gah! I wish I understood you. Alright then…well…Food? No, um water? Don't be an idiot, they have an entire lake. Think, Jakob, think! Um…perhaps if I had a hint? Oh…"

He was beginning to feel very foolish and he could only imagine what Will would say if he were there. Nothing terribly kind or brotherly, that was for sure. At that point the geese widened their circle around him, then turned and closed it back up again. Jakob looked very puzzled at this behavior, so the geese repeated the move. A light came on in Jake's head.

"Oh, oh! I see, its something about this place!"

He was rewarded with excited honks.

"You want me to…to…to come back to this place?"

The geese flapped and honked what could only be assumed was approval.

"Oh, right then. I shall return as soon as the girls are all safely back home", he announced sounding satisfied.

This was met with angry honks and rather aggressive behavior.

"Alright, alright then! Watch where you're nipping, thank you! You want me to return sooner?"

The honking was much friendlier this time and Jakob's hands danced through the air punctuating his words as he continued to play the game.

"You…want me to return right after I free the girls?"

More friendly honks as the geese calmed down. Jake took a wild guess at the next question.

"So you…want me to bring everyone back here? Yes?"

Their honking was even more excited now. It seemed he had hit it perfectly. Jakob had no idea just how he was going to pull this one off. He was very short on time as it was, but they had apparently needed help in some manner and turning them down was something that Jakob couldn't find it in his heart to do.

"Yes, alright then…I shall free everyone and then come directly back here. I promise!"

The geese began honking merrily as they pulled back creating a wide pathway for Jakob to reenter the woods and make his way to the castle. In the grand scheme of things, this wasn't one of the strangest things he'd ever been involved in, but it certainly was one of the strangest conversations he'd ever had.

As he stepped through the pine break on the other side of the clearing a thought came to him, 'How will I ever find my way back to this exact place?' That's when he remembered the bag of lentils in his pack and pulled them out. He began to scatter them along to make the path back to the lake, their black color standing out against light brown earth and dried leaves. He thought about how different it was out here in the bleak desolate forest compared to the small, safe place surrounding the lake. 'This place must truly be enchanted somehow and if they need my help, then they shall have it', he thought, 'that is if I survive what is to come.' Despite that fear, he made for the witch's castle with all due haste, scattering lentils behind him as he went.

First, I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I have been very busy lately helping to promote Terry Gilliam's new movie "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus". It's been a lot of hard work, but I love it. It was Heath Ledger's final film and I felt that I needed to give a little love back in return for all he has given me over the years. See my profile for a link to the support site for the film. Secondly, I would like to thank every one of my readers who have followed my, favorite-ted me or left a review. It's very nice to hear from you and to know you like this story. The reviews are very helpful so please continue to post them. Thanks.