Well, it appears that the little man was right. It seems that Jakob is finding all he needs to help complete his journey doesn't it? What was that my dear? Oh you don't believe in such things as fairies, little men who live in glass boxes or talking geese? Let me tell you something, there are a great many things in this world that you have never seen or heard of before and this whole world we live in is magic. Enchantment is everywhere and you only need to have the eyes to see it and the ears to hear it and like Jakob, you must also open your heart to it or you will miss everything that is wondrous in your life! Now where was I? Oh yes. Time is growing short for all involved, so things are going to start moving very quickly now. Let me start things off by telling you about…

The Seeker, The Witch and The Angel

Jakob had made good time in reaching the castle and he was now climbing the somewhat steep hillside the led up to the castle proper. As he reached the top of the hill, he spread the last of the lentils on the ground and stuffed the sack back into his pack. By this time the sun was well into the west and he knew he would only have a few hours before darkness fell. He had no desire what-so-ever to be out in these woods in the night for they felt as if they were haunted by things he would rather not meet, nor did he have any desire to go fumbling around the castle in the dark either.

Kneeling behind some bushes, Jakob peered around the branches and saw that he was right in front of the main entrance to the castle. It was safer in his mind to go scouting around for another way in. After all barging in the front door, as convenient as it might be, might not be the best plan at this point.

Jake swallowed hard and gathering all the courage he could muster, all else be damned, he went cautiously picking his way through the forest surrounding the castle in search of another way in which the gain entrance.

************

The sun was now high in the sky as the old witch paced back and forth in the tower room, the birdseed crunching beneath her feet and feathers puffing up into the air around the bottom of her skirts like tiny white snowflakes.

"Finally the equinox is upon us", she announced waving her hand in the air, "and when the sun sets, the kingdom will be mine!"

Slowly, one by one she checked each cage that hung from the ceiling of the tower room making very sure that all was in readiness for her plan to succeed.

"Now its time to attend to our other guest, my pets. Preparations must be made for this evenings feast!"

Out the door she went not bothering to close the door and lock it. After all only a fool would try to stop her now and that wretched little pest that was so hard to kill was now nothing more than a rotting pile of bones at the bottom a well. She was sure there was nothing that could stop her plans from coming to fruition.

She breezed into the kitchen with her long, white hair trailing behind her like tattered cobwebs caught in a cold and dusty draft leaking through an old cracked window. Humming to herself, she prepared a large platter of food and sat it in front of poor Frederick who sat on his bed of straw looking forlorn. Picking up the tray she had left for him the night before, the old witch saw he had touched nothing. She shook her head and clicked her tongue at him.

"Now, now", she chided him, "this won't do. You haven't touched a morsel!"

After setting the untouched tray on the cupboard, the old witch returned to Fred and pinched his cheek. She frowned and squeezed his upper arm as if she were checking the freshness of her purchase at a town market. Frederick pulled away from her in disgust.

"No matter, you're plump enough really. You'll make a fine meal to celebrate my taking power over the kingdom. Now enjoy your meal whilst I prepare for tonight's festivities. This is a celebration you know."

The old witch let loose a menacing cackle that was so loud and high pitched that it hurt Fred's ears to hear it.

"Oh, why don't you be quiet you ugly old bag of bones!" shouted Fred. At this point he felt he really had nothing more to lose, so being gutsy couldn't possibly get him in any further. "I hope you dry up to ashes and blow away!"

"Watch you tongue boy", snapped the witch, "or I shall be forced to remove it first!"

He began to feel cocky now and decided to see how far he could push her. All the while he had been shackled in the kitchen he had been formulating plans that used various things available to him to destroy her and as soon as she removed those shackles, he was going to strike. If he made her angry enough, she might become distracted and release him sooner. 'All the better', he thought. He had all the faith in the world that Jake was still alive and would arrive soon. Wouldn't Jakob be impressed when he found out that he had already killed the witch before he got there? He'd be a real hero then.

"Ha, go ahead and try it old crone! You won't be long in this world I can assure you! Just wait until I get my hands on you and take my revenge for what you've done to my sister and if I don't succeed then it will be all the worse because…"

Frederick stopped in mid-sentence and realized what he was about to do. He had almost blurted out the fact that he was sure Jakob was still alive and was coming here to destroy her. For the first time in his life he had used his head for something other than to separate his ears.

"Because what then?"

"Because…because…", he stammered searching for an answer, "because then you will eat me."

Frederick sat back down on the hay in a crumpled, dejected heap; all of his fire inside him burnt out. The old witch laughed as she turned and left him there pouting. Fred watched her as she went about her work. She had filled a giant caldron with water and prepared a large fire beneath it, ready to be lit later on in the evening. She had set out a large basket filled with leeks, onions and carrots and arranged many tiny pots of spices from the cupboard along side them. Pleased with her preparations she then went about sharpening all the knives and cleavers in the kitchen on her grinding wheel. The old witch sang merrily as she worked much to Frederick's dismay. It was like listening to several cats fighting in a sack.

Poor Frederick was beside himself now with despair and nearly in tears as he watched her. He had lost all hope of being rescued by Jakob and was now fairly sure his assumption was false. He knew he would die soon and no one would be there to save him. 'All is lost', he thought despondently, 'and I shall never see my sister or my home again.'

Later that afternoon, she had finished her preparations in the kitchen and in one final act she slammed a clever into a large cutting board on the counter top. The noise was so loud it broke Frederick from his self-pitying reverie and he nearly jumped out of his skin.

"There, done!" she announced, "I'm going to feed my precious doves now, but don't you worry. I'll be back later on, just in time for supper!"

Waddling out of the kitchen, her long, white hair flying behind her, she left Frederick there all alone chained to the wall to contemplate his demise which was now only a few hours away.

************

Wilhelm had awoken that morning in a strange bedroom he had never been in before. Sitting up in the oversized bed, he looked around and found he was alone. Feeling somewhat uncomfortable with the whole situation and not remembering how he could have ended up there, he thought it was best to make a quick exit. Gathering up his clothes he quickly began to dress and headed for the door. On his way out he passed the dressing room just to his right and as he reached for the handle of the bedroom door, a voice called out.

"Leaving already?"

Will stood frozen in his tracks. Something about the voice didn't sound quite right and to his dismay, he was right. A little old woman who could have easily been his own grandmother stepped out of the dressing room and smiled at him in a most uncomfortable fashion. The blood immediately all but drained from Wilhelm's face. Stuttering and sputtering out a few incomprehensible words, he bolted out the door.

"Well, what is he on about?" the old woman wondered aloud.

"I have no idea", said a voice coming from inside the dressing room.

The voice belonged to a tall, willowy brunette. She was adjusting her undergarments as she left the dressing room. She was a buxom beauty with huge, deep brown eyes and full luscious lips.

"Well he clearly had no problem being in your bedchambers last evening m'lady", the old woman laughed.

"Oh no, I dare say he had any problems last night", giggled the beauty with blushed cheeks, "Now help me with my corset please."

"Yes m'lady", the old woman replied shaking her head and snickering to herself.

Will had made it downstairs mostly dressed and had hunted up a bottle of warm wine. He took a long pull and tried to wipe the current wave of thoughts from his mind. He had grown accustomed to not clearly remembering what had happened the night before, but this was too much. What had he done last evening? This was not turning out to be one of his better days. He had finally finished pulling his boots on when the King's guard came for him. All he could think was that word of his last evenings escapade had already become gossip about the castle and now he was about to pay for something he had no knowledge of doing.

"Let me guess, the dungeon…yes?"

He sighed and resigned himself to follow them as they led the way, but they stopped in the throne room instead. Will had lost track of the days and was unaware of what this day would bring.

"Well, it looks as if your dear brother has not fulfilled his part of the bargain Herr Grimm.", announced the King, "He has failed like all of the others or he seems to have taken off for the hills and deserted you. Either way you should make the best of this evening for tomorrow you will be executed as promised." The king leaned forward and looked him straight in the eye, "You really are a conman and a charlatan as the warrants say. Go, clean yourself up and enjoy what little time you have left. At least I have the comfort of knowing that you have suffered this retched curse along with us. Now be gone from my sight!"

As the King rose and left the throne room, everyone wandered away leaving Wilhelm to stand there alone to stare at the King's empty chair. A thousand things ran through his mind and a thousand emotions shot through him. The cold, hard truth had now become very apparent, tomorrow he would be dead and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. He felt panic set into his throat and he could hardly breathe. What had happened to Jakob and why hadn't he come back for him? He knew full well he wouldn't have abandoned him; Jake was not the sort to give up easily when he set his mind to something, especially something as serious as this. That could only mean one thing and he couldn't bare the thought that his brother was dead. That was totally unacceptable in his mind, however if it were true, he would then gladly accept his fate tomorrow morning. Despite all that had happened between them since they were children; the arguments, Jakob's brooding attitude, Will's attempts at getting him the live in the real world somehow even to the point of bullying him, Jakob's infuriating habit of going off half cocked without any sort of preplanning what-so-ever only to try and figure it out as he goes along with sometimes disastrous results. Yes, despite it all he knew his life would not be worth living without his brother.

Wilhelm stared down at his boots resigning himself to his fate when a green velvet skirt framing two golden slippers came into his line of vision. His eyes followed the line of the skirt up until he was looking into the soft brown eyes of the willowy brunette whose room he had, unbeknownst to him, awoken in that morning. To his great surprise she gently cupped his face in her hands and kissed him deeply.

"Thank you for last night", she said softly, her lips just inches from his, "It was heavenly."

Running her fingers down his cheek she moved off and the little old lady who served as her lady-in-waiting followed along behind her giving Will a knowing smile as she passed by. It had now become clear to Wilhelm just what had happened the night before and at least now he didn't feel quite so grungy any more. 'Damn it all!' he thought, 'Why does she recall the last night's events and I cannot?' This selective memory business was really infuriating!

He watched her chatting with some of the other ladies of the court, her smile so sweet and infectious he had no choice but to smile as well. Her laughter, soft and lilting, made everyone else in the room seem to disappear from his sight and he could see only her, the sound of her laughter was replaced with the pounding beat of his own heart filling his ears. A sudden warmth like he'd never felt before spread from his chest up into his cheeks and he felt them flush brightly. At that moment as he looked at this woman, this delightful angel draped in green velvet, nothing else in the world mattered anymore. Of the last thirty nights of his life, last night would be the one he would have given anything to remember. As the bells began to toll in the noon hour, Wilhelm ran toward her and took her hand in his softly kissing the back of it and gently turning it over, he kissed her wrist.

"Oh…my dear Lady", he said softly.

She looked at him with a welcoming gaze and he smiled at her with a truly honest smile, his eyes shining as he traced the curve of her neck, the softness of her cheek with his fingertips. He could feel his heart beginning to race wildly inside his chest as his lips yearned to touch hers once again and he hoped that he might be able to recreate that heaven-on-earth for one last night.

Things are going to move along more quickly now as Jakob's showdown with the old witch will shortly come to pass. Sorry about it taking so long to get this chapter up, but I've had a ton of things to do lately. I promise not to take so long with the next one. Thanks for your reviews and please continue with your feedback. I truly appreciate it!