Oh, yes, yes, yes, you're right! Jakob had better hurry up hadn't he! Poor Wilhelm is going to lose his head at any moment and then what will Jakob do? Oh my, don't get so excited now! Everyone sit quietly now and listen while I tell you what happens next, for this is going to turn out to be the worst moment of Jakob's entire life! As you will see in the end, they will all end up...

Sharing Joy and Sorrow

A loud thumping noise was heard echoing from the Great Hall, then once again, another thump.

The executioner, becoming distracted, lowered his axe and looked over his shoulder towards the source of the noise. Not hearing it again, he began to start the execution over again. Several more loud thumps punctuated the silence of the throne room followed by shouting and whistles. The executioner stopped once again as the thumping continued and the shouting grew louder. He looked at the King and shrugged. The racket was throwing him off and he knew from experience a fouled execution can be a very ugly thing.

"What in the name of St. Leger is going on at my front door!" shouted the King as he slammed his hand down on the arm of his throne.

The Chamberlain was fairly sure he knew what it was, but as far as he was concerned the execution was going to go forth. He had waited too long to have this satisfying moment of watching Will's head part from his body.

"I'm sure it's nothing, Your Majesty. Please, we must continue and finish this before the noon bell tolls!"

The King however, was much too irritated at this point and sent two guards out to see what was going on. They rushed through the Great Hall and peered through the small slit windows on either side of the drawbridge. To there surprise, there stood Jakob with the ugly little man beside him and a huge crowd of people behind him shouting, whistling and throwing rocks at the drawbridge. One of the guards ran to tell the King what had occurred and the other called for help to lower the drawbridge.

"Your Majesty!" called the guard quite out of breath, "They have arrived! Sire, Herr Grimm has returned!"

The Chamberlain was beside himself. However, not one to be cheated out of his execution, he quickly intervened taking advantage of the chaos that was about to occur.

"Well, it looks as if we will not have to hunt him down after all. We can simply execute them both right here and now. Executioner, proceed!"

Before the King could intervene to stop it, the executioner once again raised his axe above his head and prepared to swing. At that moment, the crowd came pouring into the throne room led by Jakob wearing a very large and joyful smile with the Princess at his side. The smile left his face quickly as he saw the axe poised above the heads of the courtiers in front of him that blocked his view of what was occurring in the front of the room.

"Your Majesty, wait!" he shouted, "I've brought your daughter back!"

The crowd began to part as Jake pushed forward. It took mere seconds for Jakob to watch the axe fall, but it seemed like an eternity. The room grew silent and to him everything turned to slow motion. It was like a horrible nightmare. No matter how fast he tried to move or how hard he pushed against the crowd before him, it wasn't fast enough. The axe disappeared behind the crowd and Jakob heard a loud, sickening "whump" as it made contact with the large wooden block. The crowd surrounding him jumped and gasped.

Jake stopped dead in his tracks. Wavering back and forth as his knees began to give way, the color drained from his face giving him a ghostly appearance. He tried to breathe, but suddenly couldn't quite remember how and a wrenching pain took hold of his chest. Jakob felt as if his heart was being ripped out between his ribs and he grabbed his chest to try and hold it in, to stop the horrible pain, but it was all too much at once. Jakob collapsed onto the cold stone floor.

***********

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" wailed young Jakob, tears flooding from his eyes and he clutched his chest, as he lay on the floor looking up at his very angry brother.

"Not sorry enough!" shouted young Wilhelm, his eyes filled with hot, angry tears, "Our sister is dead because of you! You and those stupid magic beans!"

Will pounced on Jake and with all his might began punching him and slapping his face.

"You and your stupid magic beans! Magic Beans!…magic beans!…"

"Do you have your magic beans, Jakob? Well, I do", cooed the Thüringean Queen softly.

Jakob was on his knees watching his brother take his last breath. Looking into the huge mirror that filled the wall of the tower, he could see the reflection of his brother as he crawled toward the Queen, reaching out to her for help and clutching the wound in his chest as blood oozed between his delicate fingers.

"You leave him alone!" shouted Jake, his eyes filled with angry tears.

"Do you want to live?" she asked the dieing Will.

Reaching for the Woodsmen, she pulled the metal stake from his heart and in one swift move, thrust it into Will's.

"No, no…", whimpered Jakob, helpless to stop it.

"Come, my sweet Prince", she called as she leaned down to kiss him.

"No!" shouted Jake as he swung the Woodman's axe, shattering the mirror into a million pieces.

As the mirror shattered, the pieces of glass pelted Jake's face, striking him again and again.

"Oh, that was quite naughty of you Jakob", cooed the Queen, "Now your dear, sweet brother is dead and there are no more magic beans. No more magic beans…"

"Magic beans!" said Katherine sweetly, "Look Jakob, the magic beans sprouted in the moonlight!"

"No Kate", said Jakob insistently, "there are no such thing as magic beans! They didn't save my sister and they can't save Will! They aren't real!"

"Of course they are. They're right there in front of you. All you have to do is stay on the path, Jakob. Just stay on the path."

"No, Kate. I can't…", he said tearfully, "I can't…"

"Yes, you can", she insisted as she reached up and touched the side of his face, patting it lightly; "Follow the magic beans, Jakob. Follow the magic beans, Jakob…Jakob? Jakob?"

Her patting became harder and harder until she was slapping him, but all he could do was stand there as the tears fell from his eyes and let her continue.

"Jakob?...Jakob?..."

*********

"Jakob? Jakob!"

A honey smooth masculine was speaking loudly into his right ear and someone was slapping the side of his face quite sharply.

"Jakob, wake up you idiot! I'm not dead!"

Jake's eyes instantly shot open. Above him hovered the face of his brother Will wearing the most ridiculous grin he had ever seen. Jake blinked a couple of times to make sure he wasn't seeing things and studied the face before him.

"Will?" he asked weakly.

"No, I'm Rumplestiltskin!" said Will deadpan serious, "Who did you think it was?" he laughed as the ridiculous smile returned.

Jake sat up in a half second and grabbed his brother's shoulders and squeezed. When he was satisfied he was very real, he grabbed him up in a tight bear hug. A cheer rose from the crowd as Jake let go and Will helped him to his feet.

"How…?" asked Jakob confused by what had happened.

"Sorry", said the executioner apologetically, "I was frustrated. I've never had such a hard time separating someone from their head before!"

He shrugged and smiled as the crowd laughed and Jakob and Will stood smiling with their arms around each other's shoulders. The Princess chose that moment to burst through the crowd and ran smiling toward her father.

"Daddy!" cried the Princess as she ran to her father and into his arms.

They hugged each other tightly and the King said, "My dear daughter, I never thought I would ever see you again!"

"Looks like you did it!" said Will as he patted his older brother on the shoulder, "I always knew you could!"

"And you didn't doubt me once?" asked Jake, suspiciously.

"Not once!" announced Will confidently.

"You're a terrible liar!' laughed Jakob, "but you are my brother, Will and well…I…well I just couldn't…" he trailed off staring down at his boots.

"I know Jake, I know..." he said as he tightened the grip his arm had around his brother's shoulders giving him a squeeze.

Some things just didn't need to be spoken out loud. One look and a smile was all that was needed to say it all.

The ugly little man stepped forward and climbing the stairs, he stood and faced the crowded room. Everyone gasped at the sight of him, the King was taken aback by his boldness and the Chamberlain glared down at him. He was still fuming about the loss of the anticipated execution and was looking of any excuse he could find to remove someone's head. The little man spoke up bravely and presented a request.

"Jakob Grimm has freed me from my prison and in return I had granted him three wishes to assist him in his quest. Now that my task is complete, I have but one request, I wish to have the King's daughter's hand in marriage."

Gasps and whispers sprang up around the room and the Princess tried to hide behind her father.

"What is the meaning of this?!" sputtered the King

His gaze moved from the little man to Jakob as if he were to blame for this outrage and the Chamberlain smirked thinking he may get his entertainment after all at the other brother's expense. The little man stood with his hands clasped behind his back and looked up at the King.

"I am the one responsible for giving Herr Grimm the information necessary so he could free your daughter and bring her home. Therefore I ask that you to fulfill my request as my reward."

"He is correct about that, however that marriage thing is…well…um all his idea", said Jake nervously given the King's irritated glare.

The girl cowered behind her father and the King's face was turning a lovely shade of purple. However in an effort to keep the King from exploding in Jake's direction, the little man offered another option.

"If she doesn't wish this, I have a simpler request that would be satisfactory. A single kiss from a beautiful Princess would be reward enough. Then I shall take my leave of her."

The princess balked at the request as well and refused to kiss him. The little man was so sinfully ugly she couldn't bare the thought of it. To the King it was a bit better than the first request, but he wasn't sure he could find it in his heart to force his daughter to do such a thing and wondered if there might be something else in his kingdom that he could offer the little men as a reward that would be…well…less disturbing.

"Your Majesty", began Jakob as he took a step forward and clasped his hands behind his back, taking on a most serious and scholarly air, "being one who is very learned in such matters, I suggest the wisest course of action is for her follow through with the request. I believe it will be most beneficial to all concerned."

"Don't listen to him, Sire", interrupted the Chamberlain, "This course of action can only led to trouble for us all!"

Will decided to speak up at that moment. The Chamberlain's huffing and puffing was beginning to get on his nerves. "I beg your pardon, but my brother knows what he's talking about and is usually right in these situations. I wouldn't ignore his advice if I were you."

He leaned over near Jakob and whispered out the corner of his mouth, "Besides, this could be profitable."

Jakob frowned at him disapprovingly for that remark. Will shrugged and gave him a sheepish look that said 'Sorry, old habits…'

The King rubbed his temples with his fingertips as if his head hurt.

"Very well", he said in a resigning tone, "Just do it so that we may be rid of him and get on with business."

The Princess knew that the event at the lake had produced an interesting result, but to hope for that to happen twice would be out of the question, but the thought of kissing him made her delicate stomach churn. She looked at her father, who only returned a stern look and she knew that when he gave an order it had to be done. Taking a few wary steps towards the little man, she looked at Jakob, who gave her a single encouraging nod. With a somewhat disgusted look on her pretty face, she knelt down and holding her breath, she gave him a quick kiss.

When she opened her eyes, there standing before her was a most handsome Prince. Gasps and murmurs went through the crowd and as Kate turned to say something to Jakob, she found him with his nose in his journal taking notes furiously. She sighed and smiled, shaking her head as she looked over at Will who was still staring with his mouth hanging open like a frog catching flies. His mind fought with the reality of what he had just witnessed and his inner skeptic trying to come up with some way this obvious trick could have been pulled off and coming up with nothing. The young Prince took the Princess' hand in his and helping her to her feet, he bowed and he kissed the back of her hand.

"I am your bridegroom Prince Alaric, the one whom you rejected without every having met me. When I heard you had been taken, I was the first to come to your rescue despite your father's protestations. When the witch caught me, she turned me into the ugly, pitiful creature that once stood before you, but before she could do anything else, I ran away and hid in the box with the blue light. Much to my dismay, she took the little box with her when she took some of her treasures to be locked in her underground vault. Before she could lock me away, I pushed the box out of her pocket and hid, praying someone would find the box and use the three wishes wisely; using his heart instead of his head for to my dismay I found that is the only way the blue light would let me go. Jakob Grimm has the biggest heart of anyone I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and I thank you sir, wholeheartedly, for setting me free!"

There were applause and cheers from the crowd and Jake fussed, rubbing the back of his head, looking nervous and quite humbled at the reaction. Kate moved over to take Jakob's hand. Will had stopped staring at the Prince and was now staring at Jakob with his head tilted sideways in a most peculiar way. He was greatly confused by the sight because the last he knew there was nothing but loathing between the two of them.

"Jake, what…?" began Will, sounding very puzzled.

Jakob stuttered, his hands occupied with the book and quill in one and Kate holding the other making it hard for him to think and express himself, he lamely tried to explain, "Well, um…there were these spiders and… uh, the soup…It was everywhere! Oh, and, um...we ran and fell and…Oh, it's a long story. I'll tell you about it later!"

Will was even more confused now if that were possible with all that had gone on that morning so far.

Turning to the Princess once again the Prince looked deep into her eyes and said honestly, 'I would have spent eternity in that box if I had to just to be able to free you at last and make you my bride!"

The Prince knelt down on one knee still holding her hand and looking up at her he said humbly, "That is if you will have me."

She looked over at Jakob and smiled, then looked at Frederick. Even though she knew they could never be together, she still felt quite sad at the prospect of never seeing him again. The Princess placed her hand on her chest and looked down into the Prince's pleading eyes, "Please grant me one moment before I answer."

She went to Jakob and curtsied low, bowing her head demurely, "Thank you Herr Grimm, for everything you have done in coming to my rescue as well as the others. I shall be eternally grateful to you."

With his journal and quill in one arm and Kate holding the other hand, Jake managed a fairly passable bow in return, "Oh, you are very welcome Your Highness, but…"

Before his could finish adding it was not him alone who was responsible, she had moved on to Frederick. She took his hands in hers and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you for being so brave and coming to rescue me", she told him as tears filled her eyes, "Oh, I'm so sorry Frederick; I don't know what else to say. We both knew we could never be more than what we are to each other, it just isn't allowed. If there were some way, but there are no magic beans for us."

"Hey now, don't worry", he replied smiling sadly at her, "We will always have the memories in our hearts, that will be our magic, eh? You see, I've learned from a very reliable source that things will always work out for the best by the end of the story and I believe your happy ending is waiting for you right over there. Don't worry about mine; it will come when the time is right."

The Princess looked over her shoulder at the Prince, and then back to Fred. Then giving him another quick kiss, she ran back to the Prince.

"Yes! Oh, Yes!" she declared, "That is my answer to you and no other!"

The crowd cheered at the news and Frederick smiled, but his eyes looked very sad. He felt someone lightly take his hand and looking beside him, there he saw Greta smiling at him shyly. He blushed and turned away as he closed his hand around hers making her blush and shyly look away as well.

The celebration was interrupted by the church bells as they began to ring in the noon hour. The room became still and the inhabitance held their breath and waited for the final toll. Jakob fidgeted nervously hoping he had done everything right and hadn't overlooked anything, for if he had he would have little choice but to be trapped with the rest of them at their perpetual party. As the sound of the bells faded in everyone's ears, they all looked to the King. Surprisingly, he felt the urge to say absolutely nothing! The fiddlers didn't play, the servants brought no trays, the stewards poured no wine; the room was filled with silence for the first time in many months and was only punctuated by the twittering of the birds beyond the open drawbridge. The crowd suddenly roared to life, clapping and cheering.

"The spell is broken!" proclaimed the King.

He turned and spoke to Jakob with a broad smile upon his face, "You've broken the spell, freed us all and returned my daughter to me good sir! I must find a way to repay you, but first, let us all retire to the gardens outside and rejoice!"

With cheers and laughter; with Jake receiving many pats on the back, handshakes, hugs and kisses from all the girls, they poured out through the open drawbridge into the warm autumn sun for the first time in what felt like an age.

This time instead of calling for his fiddlers, the King called for his scribe to bring his seal and his treasurer to bring his book. As they all wandered about in the fresh air, Kate turned to Jakob and smiled.

"Just look at them Jakob, they're all free and it's all thanks to you!"

"Well, I wouldn't say it was all me…Oh my!" he began, but was cut off by Kate throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly.

When she had let go, Jake realized something had been poking him in the left side of his chest. He looked down slightly puzzled and then he thought, 'Oh, of course, where is your head at Jakob!'

"Oh, wait…here. I've something of yours that I know you want back", he said as he pulled the necklace from his inside shirt pocket.

"Oh, where did you find it?" replied Katherine in surprise, "I thought I had lost it somewhere in the woods!"

"Somehow it ended up in my pack", said Jakob slyly, "Right after that little problem with the porridge, I believe, I've been carrying it around ever since. Here, let me…"

Kate turned away and he put the necklace around her neck and tied it well.

"And you've been carrying it next to your heart all this time?"

Jakob nodded, looking at her innocently over the top of his glasses. She reached up and gave him a quick peck on the cheek that made him blush and smile at her shyly.

"It seems you've done well for yourself", said Will, teasing his older brother knowing full well it would embarrass him in front of Kate, but he couldn't help it. He had always been such an easy target for such things.

When they turned to look at him, Will stood there smiling broadly surrounded by all the lovely young girls that had paid him such attention the first night he ended up stuck at banquet. Jake gave him the requisite disgusted look indicating that for Will, this was nothing new. At that moment a tall brunette in a green gown strode up to him followed by a little, old woman that could be only her lady-in-waiting. Much to Jake and Kate's surprise, the brunette planted a huge kiss right on Will's lips, then with a wink; she took his arm much to the consternation of the group of young girls. The old lady gave a knowing glance that said she had been witness to much more than she really should have between the two of them recently and this time it was Will's turn to blush.

"This is Lady Rosalind, my um, well…my lady", stuttered Will

"Looks like you've done pretty well yourself, Will!" shouted Jake, making the crowd around them laugh and paying back the embarrassment his brother had put on him two fold.

The King called for everyone's attention and read a newly written proclamation.

"I, the King, do so declare that all wants and warrants placed against the brothers Grimm shall be null and void! From this day forward, they will be held in the highest esteem in the kingdom as heroes and I also declare that this day each year shall be forever celebrated in the kingdom as Grimm's Day! Copies of this proclamation shall be sent forth to other kingdoms of the realm so that all may know of this glorious news!"

The Chamberlain looked pained at this news and it only added to his angry irritation that he had been cheated out of a very entertaining execution. The King then bestowed upon the brothers a very healthy sum of gold.

"This will finally get our book printed and then some!" declared Will

"I will refrain for saying 'I told you so'", replied Jake smugly.

"But you almost got yourself killed to get this! What would I have done then, eh?" fussed Will.

"But I didn't, did I?"

"Well you could have!"

"The whole point is, I didn't!"

"Well, my point is, you could've!"

"Oh, stop fussing Will!" chided Jakob, "You sound like an old mother hen!"

As the brothers continued their spat, everyone around them continued to celebrate their freedom from the old witch's spell. Soon the village returned to their daily lives and the castle was returned to order. Jakob had kept the witch's gold and the jeweled hand mirror and no longer having a need for it, he gave it to Frederick and Katherine. They would want for nothing ever again. Frederick had not long to greave over the loss of his beloved Princess for he and Greta had struck up quite a close friendship and soon it was decided that they were to be married in the spring. Wilhelm and Jakob stayed on with Frederick and Katherine for the winter making plans and writing their stories by the fire together.

Author's note: Again, my apologies to everyone for leaving you where I did in the last chapter. That was mean of me, I know, but sometimes it just works out that way. Just as I had to torture poor, sweet Jakob in this chapter just a little bit more. I think the next chapter will somewhat make up for all this, I hope. That being said, I am letting you all know that this is the reason I am posting up the final two chapters together. After all, fairy tales do deserve a happy ending, now don't they? :)