Chapter Three
"Hey, Daphne. Wake up," Sabrina said.
"Wazzmattawidalladashakin?" mumbled Daphne.
Sabrina smiled. "You have to make breakfast. It's your turn."
"Go call Puck antellim…I'll…bewaidin..fuh…" she began snoring again.
Sabrina rolled her eyes and walked down to the laundry area. Grabbing a big, white plastic bin, she walked up the stairs and to the bedrooms.
Daphne's room was cluttered as ever. Sighing, she picked up any clothes that were on the floor and put them into the basket. Remembering she didn't have a bedroom anymore, she decided to go into Granny Relda's.
Sabrina entered the room and immediately came face-to-face with one of the beady-eyed masks that stared in her direction. Shrieking, she jumped back. The numerous masks cast long, lonely shadows on the walls. The place reminded her very faintly of the old witch Baba Yaga's. Shivering, she gathered the clothes and rushed out of there as fast as she could, not wanting to remain within the sight of the masks.
There was only one place left to go.
Sabrina rapped her knuckles gently against Puck's door. She turned the knob and, to her surprise, it opened. Nobody was there.
"Puck?" she called. "Are you there?"
Nothing.
She swung the door open, and it creaked.
She entered the room and gasped. Dozens upon dozens of the ugliest weeds Sabrina had ever seen were everywhere, stuffed in what looked like handmade mud pie pots. They were long and spindly, and had a sickly green color to them. Sabrina reached out and touched one. It was a little rough, kind of like a dried up leaf.
A chuckling emitted from behind one of the plants. Puck emerged, dressed in his footie pajamas. Sabrina stifled a laugh.
"These are my favorites," Puck said casually, grinning. He poked at one of them with his wooden sword.
"Pretty, huh?"
"What kind of a plant is it?" Sabrina asked. "I've never seen one before."
"That's probably a good thing," Puck replied, chuckling again. "You'll find out soon enough. Here's my laundry. Handle them carefully—they're worn by royalty."
Sabrina groaned. Puck tossed her a bundle of laundry, and she caught it.
"This is it?" she exclaimed. All he had handed her was his ratty old green hoodie and jeans.
"It's all I ever wear," Puck said. Sabrina cringed and immediately pushed them away from her, holding both with only two fingers. She thought that she should probably wash them twice, maybe even disinfect them, just to be safe.
She trudged downstairs, laundry basket in tow. Daphne was still snoring, and she smiled as she entered the laundry room. Sabrina opened the lid to the washing machine and dumped the clothes in. "Worn by royalty," she muttered. "Hah."
Before she had a chance to close it, an idea popped into her head. She pulled out Puck's green hoodie and stared at it. A mischievous grin grew on her face, one she only smiled when she was up to something.
"Bingo," she said.
She left the laundry room. "Daphne?" she called. "Where are the scissors?"
"Huh?" the little girl said, bolting up from where she was.
"Scissors," Sabrina repeated impatiently.
"In the drawer next to the toaster," Daphne replied, yawning.
"Thanks," Sabrina said, grabbing the scissors. She sat at the table and began snipping.
For a while, Daphne's eyes were closed. Then, she peeked on open. When she realized what Sabrina was doing, she sat up and stared at the hoodie. "What are you cutting?" she asked.
"Nothing," Sabrina said with a chuckle. She almost sounded like Puck.
Daphne looked at the garment hard, trying to figure out what it was. "You didn't!" she eventually cried.
"I did," Sabrina laughed, scratching at her hands.
A grin broke across the girl's face. "He's going to be furious with you!" Then she frowned.
"Actually, that's not benefiting my plans."
"What plans?"
"Nothing," Daphne said with a dark chuckle.
Sabrina shrugged, scratched her fingers once more, and continued snipping.
When she was finally done, and there were several scraps of green fabric littering the table, Sabrina held up the jacket, admiring her work. There, cut out in letters on the front, was the word 'STINKPOT.'
She giggled and tossed it in the laundry bin.
...
"My beautifully majestic robe!" Puck cried. He stormed down the stairs. Against his white skin, the word could be clearly seen.
"Murderer!" Puck wailed. "Who did it?"
"It was Sabrina, with the scissors, in the kitchen," Daphne piped. Another thick, leathery book rested in her lap. This one said, 'DIY: How To Create Love When There Is None.'
"You will pay for this!" Puck screamed at Sabrina. His wings popped out of his back in fury. "You will paaaaay!"
"Whatever," Sabrina muttered.
Puck hmphed, realizing Sabrina didn't feel at all threatened, and flew up the stairs. He paused for a second, and a smile grew on his face. "And I was even going to share the antidote with you! I can't believe it!" she heard him yell. He laughed and disappeared up the stairs.
"What antidote?" Sabrina yelled. She scratched at her hand, then her arm.
"Maybe you should go ask him about it," Daphne suggested, still buried in her book.
"Puck!" Sabrina called. When she heard no reply, she ran up the stairs and beat on his door.
"Puck!"
He opened the door unexpectedly, and she almost hit him.
"Are you needings something, Grimm?" he asked, somewhat amused. He had changed shirts.
"What antidote?"
He looked directly at her hands. "You're such a dunce."
Sabrina suddenly realized her arms itched again. She saw them and nearly screamed.
They were red. Not just a swollen red, either; they were the color of blood. The red grew in blotches all up her arms, large and puffy. Every one of them itched.
"What's happening to me?" she cried. She scratched at one of the spots.
The fingers she used to scratch it began to itch.
Puck held up one of the many weeds he had earlier in his room. "Where I come from, this plant is known as Toxicodendron Radicans. But you may know it better as Ivy. Poison ivy."
Sabrina gasped. Puck chuckled.
"They're beautiful, aren't they?" he commented. "And the things they do for one's skin!" His smile broadened. "You're looking better already."
Sabrina couldn't think of a remark. She couldn't think of anything to say. Puck was mean, rude, arrogant, and selfish. That was all that filled her mind.
That, and she needed the antidote.
She reached for the plant. She grabbed one of the leaves and ripped it off the stem.
"Eat this, dogface!" Sabrina cried. She hit him square in the face with the leaf covering her knuckles.
"No!" Puck screamed. He flew away from her, holding his face. Muttering, he dug around under the boxing ring for a while, eventually grabbing a small pink vial. He popped off the top.
"Give that to me, Puck!" Sabrina threatened. Puck smiled at her mischievously and raised the bottle to his lips. Sabrina noticed that something was crawling up it.
When she realized what it was, she smiled.
Puck tilted back the vial. Before any potion could pour into his mouth, he shrieked.
"Snail!" he cried. He began shaking the potion this way and that.
Sabrina stood directly beneath it. When Puck wasn't paying attention, she jumped up and swatted at his arm. Her fingers just barely caught his sleeve, but it was enough, and he dropped the vial. It fell a few feet, then landed in Sabrina's waiting hands.
She smiled at Puck, who was angry and fuming and reaching desperately for the antidote, and glugged the potion.
Immediately she could feel it take effect. Even as it went down her throat, she could feel it slipping and sliding, like water in a bottle that a kid is shaking. It felt a little slimy, too, but she tried not to think about it. It entered her stomach, and she began to feel tinges of magic in her hands and arms. She looked down at them. The blotches were rapidly disappearing.
She beamed and held up the empty vial, triumphant.
"Hey!" Puck cried. "I needed that, too! And you drank it all, you piggybre—wait a second, where did the snail go? It was on the—" Puck stopped. A horrible expression crossed his face.
Sabrina looked at the bottle, surprised. No snail.
Suddenly, a thought entered her mind. Was that squiggly feeling she felt down her throat the…
Both Sabrina and Puck turned an interesting shade of green. Sabrina just looked seasick. But Puck had blotchy red spots all over his face, so it slightly resembled a Christmas tree. His beautiful, stooge-inspired haircut was the garland.
...
"Puck said he's feeling a little better, so he's agreed to help me with the case, Sabrina. Do you feel like coming?" Daphne asked.
"No," Sabrina moaned. She was still throwing up, even though it was hours after she had swallowed the snail. Even Puck had seemed sympathetic. He had decided to stop pulling pranks on her for the rest of the day, so Sabrina could have a chance to recover. He had even let her stay in his room, covering his trampoline with pillows and blankets. Sabrina found Kraven the Deceiver hidden among them.
"Okay," Daphne said, shrugging. "We'll see you later."
Sabrina nodded, and Daphne left the room.
She was a little suspicious, of course, when Puck began treating her nicely. It usually ended up in him doing something really mean. But she felt like maybe this time she could trust him. After all, they both hate snails. Hate is a universal feeling, like love. Different people can be easily gathered together if they both hate the same things.
Of course, that usually means they love the same things, too.
Sabrina shuddered. She turned over in her covers, and soon she fell fast asleep.