9
Sabrina knew that Baba Yaga's house was decrepit and, even after hours and hours of cleaning, it would always, always look decrepit - at least from the outside. The single shutter was still hanging by a single nail, its paint peeling off and the wood decaying. The crumbling sawlogs that had been constructed into the small cottage were decomposing and rotting - the roof looked like the balding spot on an elderly man, housing only a few, threadbare shingles.
But what Sabrina found scary was the inside of the house. With a withered, wizened hand extended in which held a long wand, tip illuminated, Baba Yaga displayed the inside of her humble home. The inside that Sabrina, Puck, and Daphne had cleaned until it was sparkling and spotless only a few days prior. The inside that was once clean.
But it wasn't anymore. The couch was now moth-eaten and singed in several places, not to mention it was turned over on its side. Some kind of sticky substance had been splattered on the floor, the wall, and the ceiling. It was glowing green and smelled like oranges. A couple of broken chairs, plaster from the walls, and several thick tomes had been strewed across the floor. The rugs were crumpled up. There were several nicks on the wall. The door seemed to be blown completely off of its hinges. It reeked of sour, curdled milk and rotten strawberries.
But the scariest thing to Sabrina was the blood-red handprint on the wall of the house. The mark of the Scarlet Hand.
Daphne pinched her nose and groaned, while Puck muttered, "This is awesome pranking material!"
Sabrina rolled her eyes before turning to the aged hag, "What. . . what happened?" she asked quizzically. She felt somewhat like her grandmother asking for clues. Tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear, she almost mimed rifling through a purse in search of her grandmother's trusty notepad and pen. Almost.
"I went to sleep last night, as normal. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I woke up around three o'clock to hear the sound of scraping metal - as if a car was being braked outside of my house. Naturally, I went to see who the ignorant trespasser was who had ignored all of the signs posted outside of my house. There was no one there. I looked out of the door once. Twice. Three times. No one was there. I went back to sleep after a period, making sure that there was, in fact, no one there."
"At five o'clock, the scraping noise sounded once more. I was angry, by this time, and I huffed out of bed to find nothing there. I went back inside, searched the house this time, to find that no one had entered my cottage. I went to sleep. When I woke up I felt very hot and very light-headed. It was nearing nine o'clock in the morning, or so that is what I guessed for I felt dizzy and queasy and it was becoming hard to read. I went in search of the only thing that would wake me up."
"What? Was it some magical brew?" Daphne asked in awe.
"No, ignorant child! Coffee. Anyway, I took out a pot and placed it on the stove. I was just about to turn the burner on when I fumbled, realizing that it was already on. Someone had turned on the gas. Someone who wanted me dead. Someone from the Scarlet Hand who wanted me dead. And I would have been, if I had not wanted the one thing that would wake me up. Coffee. But, as you can see before you, if they wanted me dead it would be only to easy. Why would they go to the trouble of wrecking my house? The answer is simple; they were looking for something. And they found it. The book that Bunny gave me - about Mirror and such things - is missing."
"But. . . why would they want that? I mean, don't they want to keep Mirror inside Granny Relda?" Daphne asked.
"I think they want us not to find out how to get Mirror out of Granny Relda's body. I mean, that's why they kidnapped Bunny, anyway. If she was around, as in not safely locked up in the Scarlet Hand's hideout, she would be able to help us destroy Mirror and save Granny Relda," Sabrina explained.
"Sabrina! Daphne! Puck!" Veronica exclaimed, a hint of anger showing in her voice. She appeared just as Baba Yaga closed the door to her house with a flick of her wand.
"There you are!" She declared, relief gushing from her throat.
"Oh, uh, hey mom," Sabrina said, bowing her head in shame as Veronica Grimm put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot expectantly.
"What were you doing?" she asked, her voice now thick with anger.
"Well. . . um, Baba Yaga -" Sabrina began, but Daphne interjected.
"Someone from the Scarlet Hand tried to kill Baba Yaga last night - they stole the book about Mirror and how to stop him," Daphne pointed to the red hand on the wall of the house, "We were okay."
"So, you go outside at night alone with a cannibalistic witch in the time of guerilla warfare? That sound okay to you?" But Daphne and Sabrina didn't even have time to respond. Baba Yaga drew herself up to her full height, which wasn't very high, and stepped closer to Veronica.
"What are you insinuating?" she croaked angrily, her eyes flashing red and burning with disgust.
"Nothing, old mother," Veronica said unflinchingly. She turned to the three children, "Go back to the tent and go straight to bed -" turning back to Baba Yaga she cleared her throat and asked, "Did Daphne say that someone from the Scarlet Hand tried to kill you?"
Baba Yaga merely nodded her head and Veronica continued. "Well, seeing as the Scarlet Hand believes you will be staying in your house again tonight, they might come back and try to finish the deed. Why don't you stay in the camp, at least for tonight?" Veronica offered.
Reluctantly, Baba Yaga accepted and sent her house back to its original plot.
"Mom! We've all been training! We have to fight in this war - I have to fight in this war! Dad, I want to stop Mirror! I want to save Granny Relda! I want to help, I want to fight alongside the Everafters!" Sabrina shouted angrily. Her face was red, a deep contrast to her blonde hair and blue pajamas. Daphne stood alongside her, though she looked remarkably calmer than her older sibling.
"I understand that, dear, but we're not like Everafters - we're not immortal and we don't live forever! Besides, you're only kids! You can't go to war!" Henry retorted.
"What would Granny Relda do? You know she would fight with the Everafters, no matter what! It wouldn't matter to her if she wasn't an Everafter or if she wasn't immortal! She would fight with them and help them win!" Daphne blurted out.
"Your grandmother was incredibly older and wiser - she knew what she was up against and she was prepared. You, however, are not!" Veronica exclaimed angrily.
"Mom, we're not five years old any more! Granny Relda trained us, she taught us how to fight and she taught us how to escape! Dad, Mom - Daphne is as good with magic as Uncle Jake. If he can fight, so can we!"
"Your Uncle Jake is an exception - he's fighting for a. . . different reason." Henry said, the vein on his forehead pulsing and throbbing mechanically.
They all knew what the 'different reason' was, though no one cared to admit it. It was still hard for Sabrina to imagine that Briar Rose was gone. . . dead, buried in the ground. But she knew that she wouldn't be the first and, as tough a fact it was to admit it, she would have to.
"Mom, Dad, if you were us would you want to fight? If you were in our shoes would you be arguing that you were prepared and read for the battle!" Both Henry and Veronica regretfully nodded their heads. "It's the same thing! Mom, Dad, we're ready for the war and we're willing to fight it, whatever the outcome," Daphne explained.
"Okay. . . you may fight the war on one condition! You have to stick to your mother and me, no matter what! You must listen to everything we say - everything!" Henry said. Veronica looked at him, shocked, like he had grown two more heads.
"Are you crazy, Henry?" she asked, punching him in the arm with anger and bewilderment.
"Possibly," was his only reply before searching for the door, opening the flap, and leaving the tent. Sabrina and Daphne danced around happily, high-fiving each other and squealing joyfully.
Sabrina went to sleep bubbling with excitement, anticipation, nervousness, and fear.
The sun lifted itself from behind the looming-pine-tree-veil as it normally did. The sky was a mixture of blues, oranges, reds, and pinks. It looked like a watercolor and Sabrina, if given the choice, would stare at it all morning long. A dew had been spread over everything and anything. It was cold, but not freezing, the chilly air wafting around the camp. Wrapped up in her thick, leathern armor, Sabrina followed Puck, Daphne, Veronica, Henry, and Uncle Jake into the armory. She was given a long-handled bow that was tucked neatly on her back. A long, glinting sword that she had wielded several times before and found to be easy to use and maneuverable had been put in her sheath and a shorter dagger for more precarious positions tucked in her belt. Her sister and Puck had been given similar weapons, though her sister also had several magical trinkets on her person and Puck had opted for his wooden sword instead of a metal one.
The armory was crowded, every Everafter getting their appointed weapons. Once prepared, Sabrina began to shake with fear and anticipation. All happy thoughts of winning the war were behind her as she realized the huge, impossible mission that loomed in front of her. Daphne, despite her usual bubbly-self, was serious and Sabrina slipped her hand into Daphne's, squeezing it soothingly. Puck, on the other hand, was completely and totally engrossed with trying to hit people on top of the head with his sword. Sabrina had already been whacked on her noggin five times when she was put into her marching position alongside her parents, Daphne, Puck, and Uncle Jake. They were in the back of the herd of Everafters, as they were in the third prong attack - they were going to follow Goldilocks and her animal army after twenty minutes, once the signal had been displayed. Then, they were going to sneak into the back and stop the Scarlet Hand at the root of the problem - Mirror.
Sabrina felt her breath hitch as the gates opened wide and they began to march. She tried to breathe deeply, but she hyperventilated instead. She felt encouraging smiles and thumbs up all around her but suddenly everything seemed so much bigger. Every minuscule detail seemed to multiply times a thousand - a mosquito bite on her arm felt like she was being burned by an ever-growing flame. The slight pressure on her lungs had been transformed into an anvil bearing down and crushing her ribs. She felt like she was suffocating. Why on earth did I have to want to fight? She asked herself. But it was to late, she had passed the gate and they were beginning to close.
The Queen of Hearts ran through the twisting corridors until she found the right wooden door. Sheriff Nottingham followed a few yards from her, not quite as eager and pale in the face. He had just seen Atticus down in the dungeons and even he found him to be terrifying. Heart had opted out of meeting their new guest, for she she was scared of everything and lost her lunch more than once when scared.
Taking a key from inside one of the many folds of her hideous garment, Heart unlocked the door, opened it, and went inside.
The same figure was still sitting in the same chair in the same position, just out of the light that the window let in. Heart rushed in and kneeled on her knees. The figure's eyes opened with a white-hot flash. Heart gulped but began to speak, "We have captured Atticus, Master. Nottingham has just been down to see that he be put into appropriate armor. He will be released on Charming's army when you desire it."
"And what about Charming's army? Have they begun to march yet?" The deep voice bubbled from inside the frail form.
Nottingham cut in, "I have just heard word: they have begun to march and shall be here before noon."
"Excellent. Prepare the army, we fight today."
And the frail figure leaned into the chair and closed his eyes - a sign that the pair were dismissed from his quarters.
A/N: Honestly I am really sorry. How long has it been? Three weeks, or something? Really, I had this chapter ready since I wrote the last chapter and I was going to update it when I went on vacation but my parents didn't let me bring my laptop! I was so mad! So don't yell at me, it wasn't my fault! At least now I know exactly what is going to happen in the next chapter which, unfortunately, will be the last chapter of 'The Final Battle'. Can you believe it? I can't, it's so sad! But, I promise you, the next chapter will be epic - it's the battle scene and Mirror is finally destroyed. . . possibly.
Anyway, I would like to tell you guys you are officially awesome! 60 reviews! And I only asked for 50! So, who thinks that we can get to 80 reviews before my next update? OK, I'm daring you to get to 80 reviews or I won't update! Happy New Year!
20 REVIEWS = UPDATE