I am going to be participating in NaNoWriMo in November so I'm not sure how often I will post in this story over the next month. Since there are very few who are reading this story, it's not going to be my first priority to update. I will return to it, but for now it will be on delay. I just wanted to give the few readers who follow this story a heads up! Thank you all for your understanding :) love you all!

"Where am I?"

When the world finally regained some light, I found myself in a room identical to the one where Chord and I had found the book. Only this room was neat and tidy, not at all like the one we had left. Perhaps this was what it had looked like at one point in time. The room was actually quite nice and I could have easily grabbed a book, sat down and stayed there for several hours without a problem. Unfortunately, that option seemed to be out of the question.

"You left this room in the quite a disaster. I do believe I have done a fine job of repairing it, don't you agree? I don't like to brag, but I was always had the best eye for perfection in the family. Heaven help us if I had left Isis to clean this up. She may be my sister but she is completely helpless when it comes to tidying up."

I scanned the room, but there didn't appear to be anyone there. "Who the heck are you? You sound like Isis alright. You have that same sickening, sweet voice, but yet somehow it's completely different." My eyes widened as I realized, "You're Iris."

"Well you're the perceptive little one, aren't you?" The woman chuckled. "Colton warned me about you. Although my brother is about as dimwitted as my sister is. It's nice to finally meet you, Taryn."

"No, no no. We haven't met yet. See, when people meet, typically, the people are able to see each other."

"How rude of me. I do apologize. However I'm afraid that won't be possible at the moment, as I am not in the room with you."

"What is it with people and 'not actually being here'. This is starting to get old. I'm beginning to think I'm the only one in the curse and everyone else I see is just an illusion."

"You're not far off. The curse you are in now is far different than the one you and August were able to escape. Yes, it was built around the same seed, but this one is far superior. It will not be as easily escaped."

"So I've heard."

"The stakes are higher this round. It's no longer only your own life you will be fighting for, Taryn Bauer. Might I direct your attention to the love seat in the corner? I think what you find there will peak your interest."

Grudgingly, I turned and stepped around a book case to find the small couch. I froze when I saw it. Hands tied behind his back, mouth gaged and unconscious, August was lying on the couch.

"What have you done to him?" I demanded, balling my fists at my side. Memories came flooding back. Memories that kept me from running to him. Fear kept my feet rooted to the spot.

"I have simply collected some collateral. To make sure you behave yourself. That little stunt you pulled in the last tale? That's a big no-no. Follow the story, Taryn. If you don't, your prince will suffer the consequences."

"You're despicable."

Iris laughed, the sound far more regal than even Isis'. "Please, don't flatter me, Taryn. You're too kind. Now get back to work. The next tale should be starting soon."

"Why? What's the point of keeping me in here?" I demanded, wiping madly at my eyes to keep the tears at bay.

"That is something you will find out in time. For now, it is best that you do as your told."

I looked at August. He didn't seem to be in pain. In fact, he seemed to be sleeping soundly. There was a good chance he had no idea what was even going on. But what about Dixie? What had happened to her? Was Iris using her as well? Had Dixie managed to somehow escape? I could only hope.

I made a silent vow to both of them then. I would make it out alive. I would find a way to break this curse again and free everyone still trapped inside.

"I promise..."

I woke to someone shaking my shoulders violently. "Come on! Get up! We're going to miss it and if we miss it, the entire story will be changed. If you don't get a move on now, we're both screwed."

"Wha-?"

I peeled my eyes open and found Chord leaning over me, his finger poking my cheek. I jumped and nearly slapped him but he managed to jump out of my reach in time to avoid the contact. "What on earth are you doing?"

"Trying to wake you up." He huffed. "You don't just sleep. You go into a full on coma. It's impossible to wake you up."

"Shut up. What are you doing here anyway?" I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. How long had I been asleep? What had I missed? It all came flooding back then and I leapt to feet, balled my fists at my sides and faced Chord angrily. This was all his fault. "I believe there's something we need to discuss. But first, I'd like your face to meet my fist."

Chord rolled his eyes and shook his head, completely unfazed. "Maybe later. The next tale just started and we need to find the parents' room asap."

"Which tale is it?"

"Hansel and Gretel as far as I can tell."

"Is that even a fairytale?"

"It's a Grimm tale. That's enough for the curse. Though I think Disney may have done some sort of rendition of it at some point."

"Wonderful. And we all know how well the Grimm tales play out in the end."

"Let's not worry about that right now and just focus on completing the first task of this story?"

"Which is?"

"You mean you don't know? Didn't you ever read this story?"

I frowned and cocked my head. "I know the general plot-line. I think everyone does, but I've never actually read the full thing. I have no idea what to expect."

He groaned and bit the nail of his thumb. "Well it's a good thing you have me then. Let's get going. We have to go listen in on our parents' conversation."

"That seems a bit rude, don't you think?" I said as I followed Chord out of the tiny bedroom and across the hall.

He motioned for me to keep quiet and then pressed his ear up against the wooden door. I followed his example.

"I can not sleep for I am worried about our children. How are we to feed them when we can barely feed ourselves?" The father said. The bed creaked loudly as he sat up.

"Since it seems you will not leave me alone until we have come up with a solution, here is what we will do," the woman answered, yawning, "early in the morning we shall wake the children and take them out into the forest where the trees are the most dense. There we will light a small fire to keep them warm while they rest. We will say that we are going to go chop more wood and there we will leave them. Together you and I will return here to our humble cottage alone. They will not be able to find their way home alone, and we shall no longer need to worry about them."

"No!" The man protested, sounding absolutely horrified. "I will not do that. How could I live with myself if I were to know that I was the one responsible for my own children's death? They would not survive for long out there on their own. Not with all the wild animals that live in those trees."

"Then you might as well begin building all our coffins!" The woman said. "We four should all die of starvation if something is not done."

"I would feel so horribly bad for the children if we were to carry out your plan."

"You are too soft," she chided, "it is decided then. Tomorrow, we shall be rid of the children and you and I shall be able to live out the rest of this famine without worry."

I sat back not the floor and stared at the door. Was she serious? I knew this was just a story, but how could any mother be willing to sacrifice her children for her own life? It just wasn't right. How cruel could she be?

Chord scoffed. "You look surprised. How did you think Hansel and Gretel wound up lost in the woods in the first place?"

I shook my head. "It wasn't anything like this, believe me. I always assumed they wandered off by themselves or something. How could she do that to her own kids? What kind of a twisted mind did those Grimm brothers have when they wrote these stories?"

"Perhaps someday, you'll discover some sort of time machine and you can go ask them yourself. For now, let's just get back to our room before they catch us."

I nodded and pushed myself to my feet. "If I wasn't bound to follow this story, I would so kick her ass."

Chord raised an eyebrow and smirked.

I shrugged. "What? I would."

"Nothing. Let's go."

We didn't have to wait long before the woman came to get us. She kept calling us 'sluggards', whatever the heck that meant, and rushed us to get ready to leave. Apparently, she couldn't stand to have us in the house anymore.

She handed us each a slice of bread and said, "There is your dinner. Do not waste it for that is all you are getting. Keep it in your pockets until it is time to eat. That way you are not tempted to eat it before then."

I made a face at her. Was she serious? Keeping food in your pocket was disgusting. She only looked at me pointedly, so I had no other choice. Looking down I realized I was in a simple, white, 1800s style dress with a cream colored apron tied around my waste. I was also barefoot. I wasn't thrilled about it, but I stuffed the slice of bread into the small pocket of the apron and followed the family outside.

Out of the corner of my eye, as the two adults looked out to the forest before us, I caught Chord stooped down and scooping a handful of small white pebbles from the flowerbed into this pocket. I smiled. I had assumed we were going to have to use the bread to leave a trail but Chord seemed to have other plans. I wasn't complaining. At least we would have something to eat later.

"Stop wasting time children!" The woman was waiting impatiently by the tree line, looking back at the two of us bitterly. "I do not wish to be out working all day."

I sighed, rolled my eyes and the two of us began our walk, with Chord occasionally dropping a pebble behind us. After a moment, I broke the silence. "That's actually pretty smart. I was thinking we would have to use the bread."

"We will," He said, dropping another pebble, "this is only the first day."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused. "From here, don't we find the house made of candy?"

He shook his head. "Not until tomorrow. Tonight we'll find our way back home. The mother will be mad and she'll figure out how we did it. Then she'll lock us in our rooms and plot against us again. Tomorrow when we go out, we'll drop the bread crumbs, but the birds and animals will have eaten them by the time we begin to head back to the house. That's when we find the old witches house." He looked uncomfortable then, like he was holding something back.

"What happens after that?"

"I thought you said you knew that part of the story."

"I know they find the candy house and the witch tries to cook them but they end up cooking her instead. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure how. As stated before, I've never actually read the story."

"You two better hush up back there or your father and I will leave you here to find your own way home." The woman scolded.

Chord didn't say anything after that. He continued to drop the pebbles every few feet, unbeknownst to the adults. Once we reached a small clearing, the parents stopped and turned to us.

The father said, "Children, gather up some kindling for the fire. We will rest here for a while before setting to work. I am sure you are both tired from the long journey."

Chord and I did as we were told and gathered the wood to build the fire. Once the man had gotten the fire going, the woman instructed us to lie down and rest while the two of them cut some wood for home. I knew they weren't coming back, but we did as they said.

I laid down on the rough ground and tried to find a position that didn't involve a tree root digging into my skin. "How long do we have to wait here?" I asked Chord once the two of them were out of ear shot.

"Until nightfall, which shouldn't be very much longer. Hopefully the curse will help us out by not stalling for too long." Chord said as he too stretched out on his back. "I would suggest getting some sleep. I honestly don't know how tomorrow is going to go and you'll need the rest. I'll wake you when it's time to leave."

"Yeah right, like I could sleep right now." I sighed and looked up at the clouds floating by. The sky was getting darker by the minute. It wouldn't be long before night was upon us. "Ever since we entered the curse, I haven't been able to sleep very much."

"I find that hard to believe. It took me forever to wake you up this morning."

"No, I don't think that was really sleeping. I was wide awake before coming here and I didn't feel at all rested afterward. If anything I felt more exhausted." I scoffed. "I haven't been able to calm my nerves since I got here. I'm on a constant adrenaline rush, and I'm terrified no matter what I do or where I go. The fact is, no matter where I go in this world, I'm still trapped. Trapped inside another curse. A curse identical to the one that caused so much pain for everyone last time, even taking a life."

I turned my head and my eyes grew big as I suddenly realized that it wasn't August lying next to me. For just a brief moment, it had felt like old times, the two of us lying together under the stars on the balcony of the east wing, staring up at the stars. Although our time in the tales had been scaring, it had also been beautiful in its own way. The days stuck in the beast's castle were some of the greatest memories I had. I couldn't deny that. Lying here with Chord had brought on that same sense of security and I had unknowingly admitted far too much to him.

Beside me, Chord kept his eyes focused on the darkening sky above us. "You weren't the only one to suffer in the curse." His voice barely carried above the breeze and I nearly missed it.

My heart clenched and I suddenly felt guilty. Here I was, complaining about my bad luck, when Chord had been trapped inside the same curse. Only his fate had been far worse than mine. Forced to play who knows which characters in the tales, unable to fight it. I could only imagine the torture that must have been.

"Chord?" I asked quietly.

"Hmm?"

"Did we ever meet? In the last curse?"

He stiffened beside me and I knew I had struck a nerve. We had met and he didn't want to tell me about it.

"I promise I won't freak out." I prompted.

He shook his head. "Those are memories I want to forget. There were so many...so many lives."

He began mumbling to himself, his words too low for me to catch. He turned his back to me then and refused to talk. I let him be. I knew all too well the horrors those memories could produce and I didn't want to torture him any more.

As night fell, Chord stomped out the remains of the fire and we began our trek back to the cottage. We walked in silence, both of us trapped inside images we couldn't escape. As much as we didn't want to admit it, the curse had changed us both. We weren't the same people we were before. I watched his face, the shadows from the moon's light cutting through the cracks in the trees made him appear almost demonic. I wondered just what this boy had been like before the curse. Where did he come from? Did he have a family that he hadn't been able to go home to yet? How many more were out there like him? They were all counting on me and I couldn't let them down. I wouldn't.

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