Chapter Nine

Herr Prinz

Through the next several days, Marbaden was a beehive of activity, worry dominating everyone's faces. The children no longer played in the streets, kept closer to home and within their parent's eyesights at all times. The roads seemed to echo with fear and several houses had fallen empty as the terrified families who were not too proud to leave moved their families to safer towns. Every little abnormality sent the villagers into a whirlwind and tempers were wearing thin.

The Grimms were not excluded from this change in atmosphere and Jakob was more on edge, although he was hiding it better than the others. He put on a brave façade when among the rest of the townsfolk, but more nights than not he was shaken awake by repetitive nightmares that left him shaking and drenched in cold sweat. Angelika did not suffer from the nightmares often, but Jakob's muttering and thrashing about woke her up most nights as well. Aurora cried and complained almost nightly from bad dreams as well, always the same dream with the musician and his haunting melody.

However of them all, Wilhelm easily suffered the worst of it. He had become more secluded and withdrawn, and dark rings beneath his eyes betrayed the fact that he rarely slept. He was often seen fingering the scar over his heart, although he seemed to do it unconsciously because he looked confused whenever it was pointed out to him. It was common for him to hide himself away from the others, especially from Jakob, and he spent the majority of his time in his house, scribbling away in his writing book.

Surprisingly, the only person who seemed to be able to get through to him was Lorita. The faerie girl apparently possessed some hidden power that allowed her to break through the barriers around the eldest Grimm's mind and there were times that he behaved almost normally again. These moments of clarity never lasted long though and soon he was retreat into his protective shell once again. While Wilhelm and Lorita bickered constantly, it was a rare occasion to see him around town without her, mostly because it was near impossible to get him to leave his house unless she had coaxed him out with her sarcastic goading.

One afternoon, nearly a fortnight after the Queen's return had been discovered, Jakob was walking back from Wilhelm's house with Lorita as the pair discussed his brother's declining condition. "I'm really worried about him," Jakob admitted for what must have been the millionth time in the past few days. "If he doesn't get a decent night's sleep soon I'm afraid he's going to fall ill."

"I think he may be getting ill already," Lorita confessed, but held her ground when Jakob's fierce expression fixed on her. "He mutters to himself when he is writing, saying strange things. There are times when he does not seem to even be aware of his surroundings at all, as if he thinks he is some place else. It is unnerving, I'll admit."

Jakob's angry mask crumbled and underneath it his face showed nothing but defeat. "I don't know what to do anymore," he said, shrugging his shoulders hopelessly. "I can't think of any way to make him better."

"Kill the queen," Lorita replied simply.

Jakob stared at her as if she had suggested they walk to the moon. "Kill the queen?" he repeated hysterically. "Kill the queen? How exactly do you propose we do that?"

Lorita shrugged. "I don't know. But you will think of something. After all, you've done it once before."

Jakob laughed hollowly. "If we had done it already, we wouldn't have this problem, would we? She would already be dead," he exclaimed. "Besides there was no plan for that. We just played through things as they came. It was luck that saved us last time."

"Then maybe you'll have to trust your luck to help you again."

"You speak foolishness," Jakob said in frustration.

"Perhaps," she agreed, completely unbothered by the anger directed towards her. She had experienced it in varying degrees her entire life, and had grown used to it while living in Marbaden, although admittedly more so from Wilhelm than Jakob. It took a considerably out-of-line statement to upset her. "Yes, perhaps I do speak foolishness. But I also remember that your brother once told me that the story of my life was foolish and it was you who defended me. Those faerie tales that you write are made from foolishness, and yet beneath your pretty words they all give truth. Think on that before you are so quick to disregard foolishness."

Jakob clapped his mouth shut, unable to conceive a good reply to that logic. It always irritated him that she was able to exploit the weaknesses and truths that he wished to forget. No matter how he tried, she was always able to outwit him, usually employing his own arguments as her weapons of choice. Bloody beans again, his mind reminded him bitterly.

To his relief, he was saved the shame of admitting defeat when a slight distraction allowed him to change the topic. His eyes caught a figure that he had started seeing more and more often as the weeks had progressed, but he couldn't recall having ever seen the man before that last fateful journey into the forest. There was nothing particularly outstanding about the man; he was a young man, several years younger than the Grimm himself, with blonde hair and simple clothing.

Jakob couldn't be sure what it was about the man that unnerved him, but the very sight of him made the hairs along the back of his neck stand on end. It was possible that most of his fears came from the man's untimely arrival in Marbaden. He sometimes wondered if he was being paranoid about the whole thing, but with times as dangerous as they were, Jakob had learned not to disregard his intuition.

"Do you know anything about that man?" Jakob asked curiously, gesturing with his chin toward the man who was sitting on the porch of the inn and chatting idly with another patron. Lorita glanced at him shortly and then immediately looked away.

"Not much," she replied, carrying on the conversation casually to not attract attention. Whenever Jakob was walking the streets of Marbaden the villagers watched him closely. He had become something of a leader in the time of suspicion, and he was behaving strangely then it would only raise fear among the people. The sudden deterioration of Wilhelm's health had already done enough there. "All I have heard is that he is a travelling man with the goal of learning of the cultures and regions of Deutschland. The only name I've heard him give is Herr Prinz."

"Prinz?" Jakob asked, the word striking the air from his lungs. He knew only too well what that word translated to: Prince. The name was too much of a coincidence to be merely that. It may have been just his paranoia, but the fact that the rebirth of the queen had come at the same time as the arrival of a man whose surname meant 'prince' was just too much for Jakob to accept willingly.

"We'll have to keep an eye on him," Jakob said, glancing sideways at the strange man again. "I see him far too often. He seems to appear wherever I am." Lorita nodded silently, struggling to retain her calm demeanour even though the developments arising around this new character had her just as worried as Jakob.

When they had reached Jakob's house, the pair of them were greeted with the scents of the dinner Angelika was preparing. Aurora looked up and smiled, instantly rushing into her father's arms. Jakob settled the little girl on his hip and planted a kiss on his wife's cheek.

"How is will?" Angelika asked carefully, surveying her husband's face hopefully. Jakob grimaced and shook his head, denying the hope that his brother had improved.

"Is Onkel Will still sick?" Aurora asked, her brilliantly green eyes widening with sadness.

Jakob gazed at her affectionately. "Yes, he's still sick, but he'll get better soon," he said, trying to believe it himself. Aurora didn't seem very pleased with the answer, but she gave a sullen nod and tucked her face into Jakob's shoulder.

"Would he not come for dinner?" Angelika asked. Wilhelm's steadily declining sanity seemed to be dragging Jakob along and she was worried that if Wilhelm didn't recover soon then Jakob would be driven mad as well.

Jakob shook his head, his face set in a grim expression. Lorita caught his glance and hastily distracted Aurora, dragging her away to play so the parents could talk privately. "In the middle of our conversation he simply turned and walked away, talking to himself. It was like he completely forgot we were there. He got out his script book and started writing feverishly. When we tried to talk to him he only answered in grunts and never looked up. There was nothing more we could do. I dared not try to force him to move again." Jakob scowled as the memory came back.

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"Come on, Will," Jakob urged, trying to get his brother's attention. Wilhelm leaned over his book, scratching away with a tattered quill. "Will, you need to eat something," Jakob pressed.

"Leave me be," Wilhelm answered, not pausing in his writing.

"Will," Jakob said, getting frustrated. "Stop writing and come along. You haven't left this house in days."

"I said, 'leave me be,'" Wilhelm repeated angrily.

"I've had enough, Wilhelm," Jakob said decisively He grasped Wilhelm's shoulder in one hand and put the other forcefully on top of the book. Wilhelm lashed out like a viper, spinning around and making Jakob lose his grip.

"I don't want to kill you!" Wilhelm shouted, his face red with rage, and he thrust his hands hard into Jakob's chest. The wind flew from Jakob's lungs and he staggered backward, falling to the floor in a heap. "Now leave. Me. Be!"

Jakob had scrambled back, stumbling out of the house. Outside had had collapsed against the wall, still fighting to regain his breath. When he glanced beneath his tunic, he could see two shining red marks, certain to leave dark bruises. Most painful of all, however, were the words that continued to ring in his ears.

I don't want to kill you...

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Jakob shoved away the words that hadn't left his mind in the days since the occurrence. Angelika placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, squeezing his hand reassuringly. "Don't worry," she said quietly. "He's the invincible Wilhelm Grimm, remember?" She gave him a weak smile and Jakob returned it without much conviction.

Who could protect the invincible Wilhelm Grimm from himself?

With a sigh, Jakob turned to watch Aurora playing with Lorita and the pet fox when something caught his attention. Visible in the street outside the window, the strange man from the inn was walking passed the house. Herr Prinz glanced through the window and for the briefest second their eyes locked. Jakob felt his blood run cold.

Although the man seemed animate and his facial expression was calculating, his eyes were as dark and vacant as death.