Once again I have to apologize for the late posting. I had this written and ready to go, but then my computer decided to go and delete all the recent documents I'd been working, including the chapters for my other fics (on FictionPress .net ) anyway, it's been rewritten and it's finally here! Enjoy!

When I got back to the house, I had to force myself to step through the door. I could hear someone humming to themselves in the kitchen, but there was no way to tell if it was the mother or her daughter. Whether the girl was alive or not remained to be seen.

The sun was only just coming up. I had to get back to the room before she called us down for breakfast.

I slipped through the front door, cringing as it groaned and creaked in protest of the slow movement. For a heart stopping second, the humming in the kitchen stopped.

Great, I thought, after everything I've gone through and a stupid creaky door does me in.

The humming resumed but I didn't allow myself to relax yet. I now knew it had to be the witch in there as the daughter, if she was still alive, wouldn't be awake yet. The stairs were in the kitchen and our bedroom was on the second floor. And don't even try to tell me, because I had already tried the outside windows. They were too high to reach from the ground, the house was impossible to climb up and of course there was nothing to help boost me up. The curse was making sure I went through the house. Talk about an impossible task.

I crossed the small family room in three strides and found myself crouching down in the same spot I'd started the tale in. The old woman was merrily bouncing around the kitchen, cooking breakfast. No, not cooking. She was using magic. Her silvery wand was clutched in her hands. She tapped a loaf of bread and it immediately sliced itself into even pieces. Again she tapped it and each slice was toasted to perfection. Another tap from her wand sent the butter into action. Each slice of toast was coated in butter within seconds.

Cheater

Well, at least I'd managed to locate the wand. Now I only had to find a way to get it away from her without dying. Of course it would be best if I could snatch the wand and get up the stairs before she noticed me, but I knew that pretty much impossible. I'd have to find another way to do things.

Fate smiled down on me then. The pan on the stove caught fire. The witch shouted in surprise, dropped her wand and ran to the stove. Personally, I would have kept the wand. Cleaning up that mess would have been a lot easier, not to mention safer, with the help of magic. Instead of pointing this out to her though, I shrugged and seized my chance. If she wanted to battle the flames singlehandedly, she could be my guest. I wasn't going to stop her.

As the old woman cursed and fought with the flames, I raced through the door, snatched the wand off the floor and clambered up the stairs. I wasn't exactly silent in the process, but the witch was too distracted to pay me any attention. I didn't breathe again until I was back in the tiny bedroom and had closed the door.

"You came back."

I spun around to find the daughter sitting cross-legged on the bed. Her beady black eyes stared at me in disbelief.

"You're alive." I said in equal disbelief.

She lowered her eyes. "Barely. I wasn't sure I'd survive if you didn't come back."

"Nah," I waved off the comment, "I wouldn't leave you to deal with the crazy witch alone. I've dealt with wackos worse than her before."

She managed a small smile. "The curse made you come back."

"Maybe."

"It's ok. Even if she had killed me, I would just revive again tomorrow. Play the same role again. It's the same thing day in and day out. I might be alive but I'm not living."

"What do you mean?"

Something inside the girl broke. She started sobbing and shaking. Words spilled from her mouth in a hurried jumble like she was afraid I'd stop her once she started. "This! Living in this wretched curse, forced to play an ugly girl destined to die. Before I came here, I worked in charity hospital. We went around and offered services to the homeless and needy. I'd never wish death on anyone, but my character plots your character's death every day. It's driving me mad. I don't know whether to scream or cry or punch a wall."

"I suggest all three." I offered. "It covers all the bases. Look, we're going to get you out of here. That's why I'm here. There are so many just like you. Their lives have all been stolen from them and I'm going to get them back."

She cracked a smile. "You're the first person to care about my life. No one has ever tried to save me before. I know I'll just regenerate and do it all over again, but it was nice of you to think of me."

"No one deserves to be beheaded every day. Besides, it didn't seem right to have you die in my place. I hate sacrifices like that."

"Who are you?" The girl asked in awe. "You're nothing like the other girls who come through here."

"The name's Taryn." I said, sticking out my chest.

"The Taryn?" Her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.

"That would be me. Taryn's the name, destroying curses and kicking douches is the game."

She giggled in delight. "I never thought I'd get to meet you! Chord told me we'd meet someday but I didn't believe him. He also told me you'd be a creepy weirdo who walked around throwing insults at everyone you met."

I opened my mouth to defend myself, but then just shrugged. "Yeah, that's pretty accurate."

"You aren't going to start insulting me too, are you? You don't seem like the kind of girl to do that."

"Nah, I only insult those who deserve it. Like my boyfriend. He always deserves it."

She laughed. "You have a boyfriend?"

"Are you surprised? I mean, I know I'm not the most lovable person, but everyone deserves love right?"

She shook her head. "Oh no! That's not what I meant. I'm not surprised at all. You seem like a great girl. I just love that sort of thing, you know? I wish I had a boyfriend." She sighed wistfully and stared out her window and I had a feeling she was thinking of someone in particular.

"So," I said, breaking the awkward silence, "you know Chord?"

"Oh yes," she nodded enthusiastically, "he and I are quite good friends. He used to play a role in this tale before they moved him to a different one. I believe he's playing some sort of animal now."

"The Big Bad Wolf," I breathed.

"That's it! So anyway, he was telling me all about this heroine that was destined to break the curse and set us all free. He said the girl was clueless and wouldn't get anywhere without his help. You don't seem helpless at all. I can tell you're able to take care of yourself. I don't know where Chord is getting his information, but once he meets you, I'm sure he'll change his mind."

"Not likely," I said, "we're sort of working together now."

"What?"

"Yup, Chord found me back in the real world and asked for my help."

"Chord went back to the real world? But how?" She looked a little hurt that he hadn't taken her with.

"Now that you mention it, that's a very good question. I don't know how he got to the real world or even how he found me."

"He never even mentioned that he knew you." She grumbled under her breath.

"Yeah well, we've only been working together for a little while. He probably didn't know me the last time you two were able to talk."

She shook her head. "I talked with him yesterday. He should have told me! I'm going to have talk with him about that. Best friends don't hide those kinds of secrets from each other."

"You're saying he's here? Now? In this tale?"

"Yes! Isn't it wonderful?" She beamed. "I haven't seen him in several years, but he still remembered me." Was she blushing? Wait, did she like him? "He even gave me a hug! Can you believe that? He's so sweet."

"Yeah, sweet." I was going to have so much fun teasing him about this.

The girl gasped and stared at me with wide eyes. "Oh my gosh. I just realized I never properly introduced myself. Here we are, talking about boyfriends and girl things like we've been friends forever but you still don't know my name! Can I be any more stupid? I'm Juniper."

I took her offered hand. Ignoring all the warts and the crooked nose, I could imagine what she must have looked like before. An innocent, pretty young girl that had been trapped by some cruel twist of fate and forced to play out the ugliest of roles. Literally and figuratively.

"I don't suppose Chord mentioned anything about the daunting task ahead?"

She shook her head.

"Of course not." I sighed. "Listen, it's a shot in the dark. You'll probably say no. There's no pressure. I'm not expecting much."

"You're making me nervous."

"Chord and I are working together to beat this curse. We need to find Iris to do that. You don't happen to have any idea where she is?" I wasn't sure why I was even asking. Why would she know something like that? But something told me I should at least try.

"That's easy. She's in her castle."

I blinked at her, shocked by the quick response. She hadn't missed a beat after I'd asked the question. "Her castle?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "You've never heard of it? I'm surprised Chord didn't know anything about it either. Although, I suppose as a predatory animal, he wouldn't be included in all the gossip."

"Do you know where this castle is?"

"Nope. No one does."

I groaned in defeat. Of course she didn't know. What had I been expecting? She wasn't just going to magically know all the answers to my problems and hand them over to me. That would have been too easy.

"But I do know that it's in every tale. The castle appears as something different each time to keep itself hidden from the rest of us. Sometimes it's a little gingerbread house, and other times it's a mansion in the woods. The castle serves as her HQ. It's where all the magic is produced that keeps the curse going. It would be easy to shut everything down if you were able to find it and get inside."

I stared at her in amazement. I wasn't sure what to say. Before I could say anything, an angry cry came from down in the kitchen.

Juniper's face paled. "Why is she so angry? I don't think I did anything to upset her. All my chores were finished."

I smiled guiltily and held up the wand. "This may have something to do with it."

Juniper scrambled further onto the bed and away from me and the wand. "You're insane. Do you know what she'll do to you once she finds you with that?"

"She doesn't scare me. I've taken down gun wielding psychos, poisonous demonic monkeys, and even Isis herself. Some old witch without her wand isn't going to do it for me." I crossed the room in a single stride and sat down next to Juniper as the witch called for us both. "Come with us. It's not safe for your here. We could use someone with your knowledge and you'd get to be with Chord." I added with smirk.

"Is it even possible?" She asked. "The part about leaving. Am I really able to leave this tale behind?"

I didn't have the heart to tell her that I had no idea. There was no guarantee that she'd be able to come with us. So I lied. "Oh definitely. Absolutely. No doubt about it."

She bounced up and down on the bed. "This is so exciting!"

"There's just one thing I have to do first. This might hurt a little." Taking her hand, I stabbed the point of the wand into her skin. It wasn't much, only enough to draw a drop of blood, but she still yelped and tried to pull away. I held her still until the blood was able to drip to the floor. Once it splattered against the wood, Juniper's voice rang out of the room and down the stairs to the which. "I'm here, Mother!"

"What was that for?" Juniper asked, clutching her hand to her chest.

I shrugged and stuck the wand in the pocket of the apron. "I figured it was better than chopping off your head." Behind the door, I heard the old woman clomping up the stairs. "That's our cue. Are you coming?"

Juniper nodded and took my hand.

"Good. Then it's time to leave." Before Juniper could realize what I was doing and could stop me, I leapt through the open window, dragging her with me.

She screamed as we fell to the ground below. I hit the ground in a roll and leapt to my feet. I pumped my fist in the air and laughed. Juniper hadn't been so lucky. She was lying on her back and her face was scrunched in pain. I cringed and ran over to her.

"Are you alright?"

"Do I look alright?" She said through gritted teeth.

I grimaced. "Come on, I'll carry you, but we have to get out of here."

I managed to help her up onto her feet and then hoisted her onto my back. She clung to my neck and I stuck my tongue out at the witch who was leaning out the window, shouting after us. Then I took off running back in the direction I'd found the man earlier. I had no idea what to expect next, but I had a feeling it wouldn't be great. Hopefully I'd be able to keep us both alive long enough to get us out of this tale, but first, we had to find Chord.