Gretel's Path: Door with the Peppermint

Key:

"": Speaking

(): Thoughts

*Alakazam!*: Spell Incantation

/Hello, Readers\: Magic Book Speaking

Chapter 1

I walked calmly towards the door with the Peppermint on it. I opened the door and saw the immense Forest surrounding me. Stepping through the door and allowing it to close behind me, I sealed my path.

There were trees all around me in a thick bunch. Their bark was a bronze color and the grass at their roots were a yellowish green, not sickly but full of life. Above me, the leaves were golden and what little sun shining through told me there was a few hours left til sunset. I was standing on what seemed to be an animal trail as I could see some deer, boar and sheep tracks.

I turned when I heard a 'THUD' only to see that the door that brought me here to have disappeared. "Just as I expected. The door is gone. Let's get started!' I pulled out my Magic Book. '*Ut mihi non loquaris Magicae Libro!*"

The flew open, stopped on an empty page as silver mist rose from it forming words. /Welcome to Magic Book Incorporated. Please hold. (insert annoying elevator music)\

I rolled my eyes. "Cut it out! Anyway, give me the details."

/Well, as you know, Magic Doors disappear once closed in order to prevent misuse. There are two options you have. One: You wait a hundred more years till you are powerful enough and had more training, but I doubt you'll want that.\ I growled out a 'Don't even think about it'. /So that leaves the second option: Pray for people's happiness, fulfill their wishes and grow as an Enchantress.\

I sighed. "Alright. But we can't goof off. I still will practice some of my magic daily. Don't make me be the mature one in this relationship."

/Fair enough. I'll not mess with your training, but I'll withhold anything that's above and beyond your level at the moment. Remember, this is a test for you, to make you grow into a first-class Enchantress. Use your magic to make someone in this world happy. When you do, you'll pass the test, and the door will reappear.\

The Magic Book shut itself then returned to my bag.

I looked down the path to my left, then to my right. After a moment, I decided to go right but needed to change into something more comfortable then my Enchantress outfit. I reached into my satchel and pulled out a dress with blue sleeves that went just past my elbows, a dark brown bodice and a lighter brown skirt. I also pulled out a white apron and black flats. I tied my hair back with a blue ribbon before covering my head with a white handkerchief. Placing the clothes, I took off into my bag, I started walking to my right. I continued down the path for a few hours until I found myself at a fork in the road.

"YEEHAW...!"

My head snapped to the path on my left and saw a fast-moving dot in the distance. Taking few steps forward on the left path, I muttered, "A traveler...?"

As the dot came closer I saw it was sheep, a flock of sheep, galloping strait for me at an incredible speed! My eyes widened, especially when I noticed someone on the back of one. Then I saw another man on the back of another sheep behind the leading one. I couldn't see much yet but both men rode standing up.

"HIHO, SILVER!"

"Hansel, these aren't horses!"

The first man, Hansel, rode closer and I could see some details but not his face. I saw he was young with pale skin, black hair hanging strait to his shoulders, a brown, thin strap wrapped around his head and an Indian Dreamcatcher with three feathers was attached and hung on the left side of his head. He wore maroon-colored pants with black boots, a white shirt that was outlined with gold, puffed sleeves at the elbows and attached to a black forearm bracer with three gold buttons that went to his wrists. Purple outlined with gold flower peddles speed from his bracer to the bend of his sleeve. A black vest bordered by gold with golden buttons cut a 'V' from his neck to just above his waist and reviled muscles. Over his shoulders Was a cloak with a dark red inside, blue outside with flower-like pattern from his neck to the shoulders colored a lighter maroon. His collar was as red as the inside and clasped with gold buttons. A golden chain ran from his right shoulder to his left collar where a blue gem with an elaborate white feather rested.

The second unnamed man was also pale skinned and had dark grey almost blue hair which was cut short. He was dressed much simpler then the Hansel. He wore a black shirt covered by a bluish grey jacket with silver buttons that fell past his knees, matching pants and boots. Black gloves were on his hands and his sleeves were folded back to his elbows reviling the burnt orange interior that also could be seen on his collar. Round his waist was a brown leather tool belt which held a hammer, knives, chisel and other tools used in wood carving.

They seemed not to notice I was standing frozen shock in the path of the stampede as they were shouting at each other. Hansel seemed to be the only one enjoying the wild ride. When they got close enough where I could see the wool of the sheep as if it was directly in my face did I let out a scream.

Both men snapped out of their argument and looked towards me in shock. The unnamed man yelled, "Watch out!" before leaping off his... steed... to grab me and we go tumbling and rolling on the ground. I winced when I felt some rocks digging into my elbows.

Barely missing my feet, the sheep go thundering past me. Breathing hard, I waited til the rumbling of the ground subsided before looking up to see the flock far in the distance.

"That was a close call. Are you hurt?"

I turned my head only to meet the palest green eyes I had ever seen under thin eyebrows. His nose was upturned a tiny bit at the tip, his face was a sharp 'v' with a squarish chin, high cheekbones and his lips were thin.

My rescuer looked back at me before his eyes widened in surprise. "A-A girl...!" A blush spread over his nose and cheeks giving him an adorable look.

I cleared my throat a bit as a blush fell on my cheeks. "Uh... Um... yes."

His face became more flushed, and I could see he was nervous. And from his reaction, I realized that I was in his arms in a strong embrace. He began stuttering out an apology. "I-I'm sorry! I-I had to save you, so I grabbed you and..." he was so flustered that his arms held me tighter instead of loosening.

"I-I can't breathe..." I was able to get out and he released me swiftly with a stuttered 'sorry', stepping away with his hands in the air.

(What a rush... Thank goodness I'm not hurt. But is he alright?)

"Thank you for coming to my rescue. Because of you, I wasn't hurt." I bowed to him.

"Oh no, I'm really sorry. We didn't expect anyone to be around here." He replied blushing as he scratched his face and bowed.

(He seems a bit sullen, but on closer look he's quite handsome...)

"I'm Gretel. Who are you?" he asked, finally riding himself of his blush.

I smiled to him. "My name is Annaliese."

He nodded before looking off towards where Hansel had last been seen and back to me worriedly. "Annaliese, are you familiar with this forest? If so, do you mind showing us the way out?"

I looked at him sadly. "I was actually going to ask you the same thing. I've never been here before either. I'm completely and utterly confused on where I am."

He looked at me surprised. "So, your lost in this forest too? I figured you lived here.' He pointed to my satchel, that had fallen off my shoulders when we fell, lying on the ground with my broomstick and Magic Staff having rolled out. 'Weren't you cleaning up with that broom?"

I chuckled. "Not really. I stumbled into this forest... or should I say this world?" I bent down and placed my staff back in my bag along with my broom before putting it back ogee my shoulder.

Turning back to Gretel, I saw his look of confusion and puzzlement. "This world?"

(Perhaps I shouldn't say I'm from a different world, just in case.) "I mean that the way this forest looks at sunset makes it seem like a different world.' I changed the subject. 'Um... What happened with that flock of sheep?"

He sighed and shook his head. "Well, that was going to be tonight's dinner... But I guess not anymore."

"And that other guy riding the sheep like the Lone Ranger?"

His lip twitched upward at the corner. "Oh, my bag brother, Hansel. He took off somewhere with the sheep."

I looked down the sheep trampled path that Hansel had disappeared down. "Don't you think you should go look for him?"

He shrugged. "He'll come back in time. Still, not knowing the way out of the forest is a problem."

"So, your lost too?" I asked.

"We came into the forest with our dad to cut some wood, but we became separated from him."

I turned to him fully and asked, "How did you get separated?"

He huffed and his brow furrowed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Because Hansel went off on his own. He's always like that... Even now, we're supposed to be looking for food, but he's getting his kicks riding sheep."

"He sounds both fearless and reckless." I muttered as he shrugged.

"I'm used to it. Anyway, it'll be dark soon. We need to get food."

With those words, Gretel starts looking around. I joined him, mostly looking for berries as I figured I was a bit hungry. He picked some branches of a bush, turned to me and said, "Some of these plants are edible. Would you like to join us?"

"May I?"

He nodded with a smile. "Sure. I want to make amends for Hansel's wild behavior." He began to gather some herbs and plants growing nearby. I started gathering as well, grabbing bunches of honeysuckles I found near the base of a tree.

I plucked one or two and pinched off the end, sucking the sweet nectar from the flower. I held out a twelve to Gretel. "Honeysuckle nectar?"

He looked at me in surprise. "Do you know which plants are edible?"

I shrugged. "A few. My Grandmother uses some in her herbal remedies and she taught me to recognize whether something is poisonous or not. I know about edible flowers and can recognize some plants used in cooking but that's about it."

He nodded taking the blossoms. He placed them in his pocket before saying, "It would also help if we had water..."

"I'll get the water!"

He looked up in surprise. "You, Annaliese? How?"

I smiled before pulling out my staff and Magic Book.

"A book? It's certainly not a water bottle." I heard Gretel say.

I smirked. "Hehe... No, it's not. But it's much more convenient."

"What do you mean?"

I tapped the book saying, "Water spell please."

The book suddenly floated in the air; the words appeared in the air above it along with the spell.

/You seem excited. Are you trying to impress the fellow?\

I nodded and read the words to myself with a small smile at that it wasn't trying to mess me up. Pointing my staff at a tree branch that was lying on the ground I spoke. *Girare questo ramo caduto in una grande brocca e riempirlo con acqua dolce.*

The branch suddenly turned into a large jug and fresh, clean water.

"Where'd that come from!?" Gretel asked in shock.

"I'm an Enchantress... although I'm still a novice." I replied picking up the jug.

His eyes went wide. "An Enchantress? That's amazing...! I've never met a real enchantress before."

I shook my head. "I'm really not that amazing."

"So even Enchantresses can get lost?"

I blushed with a shrug. "Oh well... I'm just a novice."

He smiled. "But whatever you did worked."

Suddenly Hansel, who had gone off with the flock of sheep, returned.

"Hey, I saw that just now! You uses magic to make water! You must be a witch, right?"

I jumped. "Good Lord, you scared me!"

Looking at him closer, he had Gretel's facial structure, but his eyes were red. (He's the older brother, yet he seems so different.) Both brothers are rather good-looking and have strong features.

"Hansel, what happened to the sheep?" Gretel asked after the two gave each other a brotherly hug.

"I let all those 100% wool animals go."

Gretel sighed "So they got away from you..."

Hansel just laughed. "Man, that was a nice stroll. Hahaha!"

I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms, pulling the water jug close. "Stroll...?"

Hansel the became serious. "By the way, Gretel, where'd you pick up this girl-witch?"

"I'm an Enchantress." I sweat dropped.

"I didn't pick her up. We met after the sheep almost ran her over. Her name is Annaliese. She's a novice enchantress."

I shook my head with a sigh but turned to Hansel and inclined my head to him. "I'm Annaliese. Pleased to meet you."

Hansel smiled back and bowed. "And I'm Hansel. Same here. Say, that book was floating in midair, right?"

"It's a recent development.' I replied turning to the still floating book. 'It's my Magic Book. And exact copy of the one my Grandmother has. Personality and all."

/Annaliese, enough. What is rule number seven?\

I sighed. "Never give away important information about our Magic unless absolutely necessary."

/Indeed.\

"Wow!' Hansel was impressed. 'The book spoke! What kind of trick is that? I want to take it apart to figure it out!"

He reached out a hand to it, but I slapped his wrist. "No touching."

/I have to agree. From the way you look, young man, you can't put what you take apart back together again\

"Save the talking for later.' Gretel spoke, defusing the situation. 'First, we need to eat."

Hansel sighed but nodded. "Alright. I'm starving." I nodded as well, and the Magic Book returned to my bag.

Gretel gathers some twigs and moss and starts a fire. While he did that, I transfigured some roots into a pot, three bowls, cups and spoons. I then dug into my bag and smiled when I found my soup kit which contained bouillon cubes, beef flavored, and some spices. Handing it to Gretel, I said, "I don't really know what I should bring on a camping trip, so I made a soup kit just in case."

He smiled, then placed the wild plants, a bouillon cube and some spices in the pot before putting it over the fire to boil. When I saw him pull out a loaf of bread from his pocket, I transfigured a small griddle, grabbed the bread when he finished slicing it into three pieces, rubbed some garlic on it and toasted it.

I watched Gretel stir the soup out of the corner of my eye. (He works so effortlessly. I'll bet my book he's a better cook then me!)

When the soup was done it was spooned into the bowls and the cups were filled with water from the jug.

"Bless this food!" Hansel said his prayer.

I smiled and said my own prayer before scooping it up in my spoon and drank. Flavors burst into my mouth, and I closed my eyes and hummed in delight.

"How's the taste?" Gretel asked.

I opened my eyes and smiled brightly at him. "It's delicious!"

"I'm glad." He blushed but smiled as he bit into the garlic toast. I dipped mine into the soup and stirred it around in the broth before taking a bite.

"Where are you from, Annaliese?" Hansel asked.

I paused. Placing my bowl in my lap I spoke. "That's a hard question to answer Hansel.' I looked up at them and, seeing their curious looks, started fiddling with my necklace as I spoke. 'As I've told you, I'm an Enchantress. Both my Mother and her Mother also had this gift... One of the many things an Enchantress can do is travel to different worlds, most of the time it's to act as a Fairy Godmother or help defend the lives of Pure Hearted people. However,... You need to be careful because, nowadays especially, different worlds are losing all forms of Magic and someone with Magic landing in those worlds are at risk of losing it as well and never be able to return home."

I looked both of them in the eye. "My Mother had this happen to her. She fell into a No-Magik World at the age of eighteen and had no way to return. She adapted as well as she could after two years of depression and met my Father, who was a soldier in the army. He pulled her from the depression she was in before falling for her and marrying her. Soon they had me, and I lived a happy life... Until...'

I stopped. Even after a year and a half I couldn't talk about the break-in, kidnapping and almost rape.

'Something happened and both of them died... Half a year later, I was pulled from my world to my Grandmother's. She was using my mother's necklace as a tracking device, so to speak, to bring her daughter home. What she forgot was that different worlds have different times. What was years for my mother, and I was only a day for her. So, I've been living and learning with her for the past year, until a potions accident caused me to stumble into my Grandmother's private study. There she has five doors. Each door lead to a world where she would often go to keep the balance. I ended up here, unable to return, by walking through one of those doors.'

I looked up at them to see them staring wide eyed. "Isn't there a way for you to return home?" Gretel asked and Hansel nodded. "Any loopholes?"

I shook my head. "Only one. It seems my Grandmother knew I would be stumbling through one of those doors. She decided to test me to see if I'm ready to be a full-fledged Enchantress. I need to use my magic to help someone gain their 'Happily Ever After' like any other Enchantress would."

Both men looked at each other before turning back to me with worried looks. "We're sorry." Gretel said.

"Well, you know Magic, so I'm sure it'll all work out." Hansel said taking my hands in his.

I shook my head. "Even Magic has rules, Hansel. Magic can't fix anything. Plus, I'm still a novice. What you've seen me do are some of the simple spells. More complicated ones take up a lot of energy and if I try something beyond my caliber at this moment, it could kill me."

They both looked shocked. We finished our meal in silence. When the pot was empty, we cleaned everything up and used the water to wash the dishes.

"Being a novice doesn't help, does it?' Hansel said. 'It's the same with us."

"What do you mean?" I asked as I shrunk the pot, and placed the bowls, spoons, pot and cups in my bag.

Gretel smiled. "We're both novices in Art. Our Father is a famous artist."

"So, we're going to be future geniuses of Art. Ahahaha!" Hansel proclaimed proudly.

I grinned. "I can honestly see that. I've always loved watching an artist at work in my birth world. Whether it was a sculptor working on a bust or statue, a painter at his canvas even the icemen who could carve beautiful statues from solid ice! But my favorite was the wood carvers! The way they take something form nature and make it into a rustically Gorgeous...' my eyes sparkled. 'Artists... That's amazing!"

Both men blushed.

Hansel then asked me, "Annaliese, do you think we can return home with your magic?"

I thought for a minute. "There are many ways I could. But I the instant transportation methods are difficult to do, and one mistake could cost a limb, literally! I would rather not try that without my Grandmother supervising."

Hansel winced. Gretel looked at him. "If she could, we'd be home already."

"I'm sorry I can't help more." I said to them sadly.

Gretel shook his head. "No, don't apologize. I'm sorry he brought it up."

Hansel sighed, closing his eyes. "Well, I feel safer with the three of us. As the say in the Orient: Three people eating monja are wiser."

Gretel raised an eyebrow. "Monja?"

"There's a dish known as 'monjayaki'..." he began.

"I've had that before. When my parents were alive we went to different countries, and we tried this in Japan. It was delicious! It's a pan-fried batter with finely chopped ingredients like cabbage is mixed into it. I memorized the recipe so if I ever got the ingredients needed I could make it." I said with a smile.

Hansel continued. "I heard while eating it, people have all sorts of intellectual discussions."

I nodded in agreement. But then I thought of something. "My Grandmother said something similar: 'Monju says two heads are better than one.'"

"What's Monju?"

I shrugged. "Either a power source or the Bodhisattva of Wisdom. It was what was in the dictionary I read."

"Hansel, you had it wrong." Gretel said.

He laughed. "But eating 'monjayaki' seems like more fun."

(What a funny big brother...) I smiled.

"Never mind that already.' Gretel said. 'We've been away for three days. We better get home; Dad will be worried."

Hansel became somber. "Has it been three days? I completely lost track because every day's been like an adventure and so much fun."

"Sure. Riding around on a sheep may be fun, but can you get serious?"

"Gretel, find more excitement in the things that come your way. You only have one life." Hansel said but Gretel shook his head sadly.

"The bread I brought is all gone. The one life I have is nearing its end."

Hansel suddenly had a half scowl on his face. "What! That's not good!"

His shoulders suddenly droop. The moment Hansel lost his self-assurance, the atmosphere turned dark, and I felt anxiety growing in me. I bit my lip in thought as I leaned back against a tree trunk and lowered my head. "Annaliese." I saw a pair of booted feet in front of me and I slowly looked up to see Gretel standing in front of me.

"You can't go home until you make someone happy, right?' I nodded. 'Wino will you make happy?"

"Well..." I haven't decided yet. But since Hansel and Gretel are the only two I've met since coming to this world... I smiled.

Standing in front of the two, I looked at them both seriously and decided to do this formally. "Hansel and Gretel, thou both hath been kind to me, though thou hast troubles of thine own.' The looked at me in surprise. 'Thus said, I know I cannot do much, but I shall use what Magic that flows through me to see thou both safely home to thine Father. May Magic seal this oath k make to thee. *Così giuro, per questo motivo.*" I felt my Magic thrum, accepting my vow, and by the look on their faces, they did too.

"Huh? Us?" "That's a great idea."

I watched as a smile spread on both their faces and Gretel asked. "So, what's next?"

"First, I need your help to get out of this forest! I know some spells that can tell us which way is North, one that can find running water if needed and one to find the nearest civilization of house with human inhabitants.' I replied. 'I shall say this only once more: Magic CANNOT do everything. Many people would be fat and lazy if it did. You both have to pupil your own weight in this."

They both nodded. "Your right.' Gretel said. 'It's meaningless unless we Grey out of this forest."

"This is exciting!" Hansel cheered and I chuckled at his happiness.

"Come on, Hansel... Get serious."

(I will help them find happiness and I'm going to get these two back home safely! Believe it!)

{Somewhere in another universe, a blond knucklehead wearing 'kill-me' orange sneezes.}

Chapter 2: Click 11