Chapter 5 – Once upon a time

AN – So sorry for the delayed post! RL and writing difficulties conspired against me! This is another Juliette chapter and sheds a bit more light on my version of the past for both Grimms and Hexenbeists!

DISCLAIMER: Still no legal ownership!

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Juliette squinted at the book as the words blurred slightly then she sighed and put it down. Taking a deep breath, she turned to find the Crone behind her. The woman still hadn't actually given her name and that was just one of the many frustrations that Juliette had experienced over the last weeks.

"Woge."

Gritting her teeth, Juliette fought the change as annoyance and aggravation brought out the transformation more easily. She turned slowly and faced the woman as calmly as she could despite the ripples of energy teasing along her nerves.

"Woge."

Just the single word order delivered in the gritty voice but still Juliette almost flinched. She knew what was coming next. Her body was tense, poised for action as she waited for the old woman to hurl something at her.

The next moment found Juliette staring at the ceiling as her chair had suddenly flown out from under her. She scrambled to her feet, growling and with an arm raised ready to defend or attack. Her eyes flew around the room to find something to throw but the walls of books had become walls of mirrors. The Crone was nowhere to be found but every mirror reflected Juliette's altered face – wrinkled, ripped skin, glowing eyes, blackened teeth.

Rolling her head to the side with a final snarl, Juliette saw her reflection was still that of a hexenbeist. Gasping in surprise, she turned in a quick circle but every mirror retained the monster's visage.

"You are only a monster after all. You can't hide that anymore."

Laughter followed the Crone's words and again Juliette felt her blood heat as the wave of emotions rose in her – anger and annoyance were still dominant but there were other feelings there too. Closing her eyes, she refused to acknowledge the other feelings. When she opened her eyes, she found the room was again filled with books. Their musty smell was surprisingly comforting as she took her seat again. She stared blankly at the book in front of her though as she remembered just how many times she had lost that same battle to the Crone.

She had fought more at the beginning – she had screamed until her throat was raw, she had pounded her fists on the closed door, she had pulled books from the shelves and had thrown them across the room. The Crone hadn't been that impressed and had only told her to read. It was boredom and curiosity that had finally had her choosing a book at random and opening it.

Much as Nick's books were filled with terrifying images of monsters and battles, that first book of hers had been too. Juliette had flipped through the pages quickly as the words weren't in English. It had taken her at least a day before she found English translations in any of the books. It seemed the drawings were detailing the results of certain potions on various Wesen. As far as Juliette could tell, the results were always deadly and rather gruesome. The mixtures used were always created by a hexenbeist.

She had then devoted herself to reading which was made easier by the fact that the Crone mostly left her alone. She would bring food and somehow open the room to be a bedroom. It was the times that she came to challenge Juliette that she had learned to dread. At first, she hated what she had become and then she had tried to embrace it. The Crone's continually easy defeat of her though had forced her to doubt herself. Juliette hoped the books would help her find something, find herself.

The appearance of a pen and paper shouldn't have surprised her as much as it did; however, Juliette was still grateful and she had started taking notes as she researched. She continued her efforts now as she did focus on the book in front of her.

Finding the book to be new one, Juliette pushed her thoughts of Crone and her own self aside and focused only on reading. Her first sighting of the word Grimm drew her undivided attention. She read about an accounting of a Grimm working with a hexenbeist and the Royals. There had been a gang of Wesen terrorizing towns across Europe as they deliberately violated Wesen laws. Unfortunately, no names were given and the accounting ended with the death of the outlaw Wesen.

More days passed with little change in Juliette's schedule - she read, she ate, the Crone would challenge and defeat her, she read, she ate, she read, she slept. Her books were no longer chosen at random and each seemed to focus on Grimms and hexenbeist working together at various times. There were stories of battles between them as well though.

It was then she remembered the Crone's questions about the relationship not just between her and Nick but Grimms and hexenbeists in general. She read more in hopes of finding answers but it was slow going. Juliette couldn't help but remember Nick the first time she had found him hunched over a book in Aunt Marie's trailer.

The memory brought a surprising rush of emotion, Juliette again felt the ripples as she transformed. She needed no mirrors to know that the monster was visible once again. Her heart pounded but she closed her eyes and just waited. After a few moments, she was able to regain control and again felt the waves of energy not just over her skin but deep down inside her recede.

She had found descriptions of the transformation and had to acknowledge the truth of the words. It was an overwhelming wave that seemed to overtake her. With the Crone's constant challenges though she had learned to feel the signs earlier and had even learned to fight the feeling. Again, memories of Nick flashed brightly in her mind - Nick nearly white as she feared that he had died, Nick wanting to help Monroe and Rosalee when they were under attack, Nick struggling to balance his Grimm responsibilities with those he had as a cop, Nick unable to kill her.

"I asked you before. Do you think you are the first hexenbeist to love a Grimm?"

The Crone's voice reached Juliette and pulled her back to the present. She was surprised to see a gentle smile on the woman's wrinkled face.

"You have read of the potions and you know hexenbeist created them, yes? Perhaps you are ready to hear the whole tale?"

"Yes." Juliette responded but then just waited.

"Once upon a time, the Grimms came to us to be healed when they were injured in battle. Our ancestors helped as they were good witches - they healed and they even offered protection but that was all they could do. The code of their magic required them to do only good. Do what ye may but harm none."

A book flew from the shelf and landed in front of Juliette. Glancing down, she saw pictures matching the Crone's words. The first series of images showed a beautiful girl binding the injuries of a Grimm time and time again the picture repeated in various ways. In each though, the girl's tears streamed down her face. The next images showed her handing the Grimm a medallion and a shield before he went into battle. The Grimm was still injured though and again the girl cried as she healed him.

"She loved him and it broke her heart to see him hurt. It was then she made the choice to not just heal but to harm. She choose to use her gifts, her family's legacy to cause pain and death."

Juliette looked back down at the book and again studied the drawings. The images were darker but they revealed the girl mixing potions that required her own blood. She gave them to the Grimm who took them into battle and used them to kill several Wesen. The final picture showed the good witch's transformation into a hexenbeist.

"The price was higher than she had known. To do such harm, kills one's self as well." At her words, the Crone woged and revealed her own scarred, decaying flesh.

Gasping Juliette glanced repeatedly between the book and the Crone as she tried to understand the story and the Crone's words. It took several moments for her to realize that it had been love that had created the hexenbeist. There was no animal connection to the natural world as there were for other Wesen - it was a curse, a punishment but it was also a bond born of love.

"What happened when the Grimm saw her?" Juliette barely pushed the words passed her suddenly dry throat as another memory of Nick resurfaced. She could see him turning from her in disgust after she had woged in front of him for the first time.

Harsh laughter echoed through the room and drew Juliette's eyes back the Crone as it seemed the old woman read her mind. "He turned from her in disgust...and she turned to his enemies."

The pages of the book flickered in front of Juliette until a final image of revealed. The young woman was again crying and holding the body of her Grimm...as his head laid several feet away.