Jared was still reeling from the blow. 'You're a beast!' she has shouted angrily at him. But it wasn't her insult that had shocked him but her choice of words that had set warning bells off in his head. It couldn't be- no. That would be too cruel. Even the Story wouldn't... his mouth was dry. Of course. Why had he not recognized it before? He stared dumbly at Mina as horror washed over him. He couldn't believe how stupid he was. He had been playing his part in the Story's tale without even realizing it. But he couldn't be part of this, not so close to her- He slammed his fist on the table in rage, his breathing turning ragged. He was supposed to be Mina's guide, aiding her whenever possible on her quests. He had never once stopped to wonder if he would be dragged into this mess, to be used. He gripped the desk tightly, hanging his head so that Mina would not see the fear that clouded his eyes.
"Out." He said shakily, not daring to look up.
"This isn't over yet." Mina snapped, her voice filled with defiance. Part of him admired her courage to stand up to him. The other part of him was terrified. He might be putting her in danger by getting involved in the tale. He could feel her steely gaze directed at him. Could she see that he was crumbling on the inside? She had the unnerving ability to get under his skin, to make his happy and worried and scared out of his mind all at once.
"OUT!" He shouted, his fear and desperation hardening into crazed fury. He knew Mina flinched at the force of his outburst, and instantly regretted his actions. Mina hadn't done anything to deserve his rage.
"Fine." Mina replied coldly, though Jared could detect a slight tremor in her voice. Guilt and self-hate washed over him. Couldn't she see how her mere presence tormented him with unexplainable emotions? Jared didn't move as Mina stormed away, slamming the door behind her. Jared leaned back in his chair, utterly exhausted. Now Mina was mad at him. Again. God, couldn't he do anything right? He sighed wearily and closed his eyes. He could make out the comforting scent of strawberries, which Mina always smelled of. That helped clear his head. Coming up with a plan, Jared stood abruptly.
"Tegue!" He yelled to the room at large. A second later, a sparkling oval portal appeared in midair. Beyond it showed a babbling stream and a grove of fruitful trees. Though it was a dreary autumn here, the land it showed seemed to be timelessly held in the spring season. The sound of tinkling laughter could be heard in the felt a pang of jealousy catching a glimpse of the beautiful magical land he had been forbidden to enter. A moment later Tegue came into view and walked out of the portal into the room with Jared. After Tegue had exited the portal, it disappeared. Jared could not help but sigh with longing, staring at the place where the portal had vanished.
"You called, little brother?" Tegue asked, warily taking stock of his surroundings.
"Yes, I did." Jared answered thinly, not appreciating the 'little brother' greeting. He and Tegue were both hundreds of years old, yet his brother relished in constantly reminding Jared that he was younger. Tegue took Jared's seat and propped his feet on the desk before looking at Jared expectantly. Jared gritted his teeth, but willed himself not to loose his temper.
"Is Mina in another tale right now?" He demanded. Tegue scratched his chin lazily.
"How should I know?"
"You're the Story!" Jared burst, his hotheadedness barely in check. Tegue raised an eyebrow.
"Technically I'm not. I'm just the Story's physical manifestation. And yes."
"Yes what?" Jared asked irritably.
"Yes, another tale is taking place." Tegue answered, rolling his eyes. "Why do you want to know? You're not supposed to interfere directly."
"I know that, except it's going to be hard if I'm part of the tale!" Jared explained. "I-I am part of the tale, aren't I?" He asked faintly, dreading the answer. A single nod from Tegue confirmed his fears.
"How could you drag me into this?!" Jared spat, anger masking his worry. His fists were balled; he would have liked nothing better than to hit Tegue, square in the mouth. Tegue held his hands up in surrender.
"Hey, I can't control the Story any more than you control the Grimiore. The Story chooses for itself." Jared bit back an angry retort and instead ran a hand through his pitch-black hair.
"I just hate being a puppet. What if the Story makes me-" Jared stopped, unsure how to continue. What if the Story made him do something he would never want to, like hurt Mina? It had once forced him to abandon her in the middle of the woods; what other horrible scenarios would he be forced to act in? Not for the first time Jared wondered at the agreement between the Grimms and the Fae resulting in the Grimm Curse. To have to replay the same fairy tale scenes over and over- he shuddered, his mind once again flitting back to Mina.
"The Story can only manipulate things that are already there." Tegue said indifferently. "It can't make something out of nothing. Everything in the tale will reflect reality and vice versa." Jared nodded, only somewhat comforted. Tegue smiled at Jared's frown. "Have you guessed your role in the tale yet, brother?" Jared cringed.
"I have a suspicion." Jared admitted, hoping beyond hope he was wrong. Tegue grinned gleefully and rubbed his hands together excitedly.
"Ooh, this has to be a good one, if you're so upset. Well come on, tell me! What are you?" Jared's jaw clenched. It was just like his brother to take joy from his suffering.
"Remind me again why I don't kill you with my bare hands right now." Jared snarled. "All of my problems would end if it weren't for you." Tegue sighed, rolling his eyes and leaning back in his seat, obvious to Jared's deadly glare.
"You can't murder me. Without the Story, without me, you're nothing. You know as well as I do that if the Grimms defeat me, your purpose to protect them is gone. No curse, no Grimiore. You will melt away into nonexistence."
"I know." Jared snapped tightly. Tegue continued, his eyes glinting with malevolent light.
"And in the same way, the Curse stops me from striking you down. If the Grimiore wasn't there to protect the Grimms, I would have their whole lineage wiped out. However, the Curse would then be broken when the last Grimm died, and the Story would be useless. Therefore, I too would fade into nonexistence. Neither can live if the other dies. If either of us dies, the other is sure to follow. Our own destruction is mutually assured." Jared stayed silent, refusing to look his brother in the eye.
"Now, one last question." Tegue drawled, staring at Jared curiously.
"If you know that my demise would mean your own, why are you training that Grimm girl so persistently? Almost as if you believe she can survive." Tegue let out a barking laugh. "Oh, but I must be mistaken. You've been forced to watch Grimm after Grimm being killed by the curse. My brother is not stupid. He not let his emotions- say for a certain doomed girl- push him to believe in a false hope?"
"You've gone too far." Jared said, trembling where he stood. His brother's words brought out his deeply hidden fears as though he had reach in and tugged them out of Jared's soul. Jared was crumbling, and he knew it- he could see it. After years of aiding the Grimms only to watch as the curse cut them down, he had sunk into despair. He didn't want to care, he couldn't care…
But he did care.
Oh, he cared so much it hurt. It hurt that he could still hear the dying screams echoing in his mind. They haunted him wherever he went, a constant reminder how worthless he was, how powerless. It hurt, everything hurt-
"Don't hope, brother." Jared closed his eyes, refusing to shed tears in front of his older brother. What had he done to deserve this eternal damnation?
"Hope will crush your soul when she dies. You know she will die, don't you?" There was a tense silence.
"You can leave now. Jared said, blinking his tears back. Tegue grumbled but stood.
"Alright, you've won. But I'll be watching this tale closely. If you're so worked up, it's bound to be interesting." Jaredresisted the urge to knock some sense into his brother. Didn't he understand how dangerous Jared was? If the Story used him, he would be a very valuable pawn. Jared had spent all this time trying to protect Mina, when the danger could be himself.
"See ya." Tegue said, disappointed his brother had become so withdrawn so that he couldn't nettle him further. The portal appeared, and without a backward glance Tegue stepped through it. The portal disappeared again, leaving the room empty of its splendor. Jared started to pace with nervous energy.
He was the Beast from the tale Beauty and the Beast.
It all made sense now. The tale paralleled how in reality Jared had taken someone Mina loved, Charlie in this case, and how Mina she agreed to come with him to protect him. Jared's heart tightened. He shouldn't have let Mina convince him to trade positions with her brother. He had known that he couldn't handle to be around her, and yet when she had pleaded to him, his resolve had crumbled. So he had taken Mina instead, thus completing part of the tale.
Next came the tricky part. Jared leaned against the wall, suddenly feeling sick. Over the generations of Grimms, the ending to Beauty and the Beast had changed. In a few lucky cases, there was a happily ever after. Most of the time the 'Beauty' escaped from the Beast, fleeing back home. But more often than not it ended in bloodshed. Beauty or The the Beauty's lover would kill the beast. Other times- Jared felt nauseous. Other times, the Beast had ended up killing Beauty. Jared looked down at his hands, faintly wondering if they would sprout claws. A mangled sob escaped him. He couldn't do this, but there was no escape. As long as Mina held the Grimiore, he couldn't leave. She wouldn't be able to survive the tales without the Grimiore's help, without his help.
But what if things got out of hand? What if he lost control and became the beast? The Grimiore couldn't imprison him like it could the other Fae. He could be a threat to Mina. That was the last thing he wanted. This was part of the reason why he couldn't afford to get attached, and yet they were bound together by Fate. The only thing he could do was hope she would have to sense to stay away, that he had the sense. That shouldn't be too hard. After all, she hated his guts.
'The Story can't make something out of nothing.' Tegue had told him. Jared hung his head in shame.
He really was a beast.
Jared didn't know how he had been in that small office with only his morbid thoughts for company. Hours, probably. When he finally stepped out of the office, he sighed wearily. He would have to find Mina. Undoubtedly she would be furious at him for his outburst earlier. He would have to find her and apologize. He started down the hall towards the chapel, his morbid thoughts trailing behind him. There were just too many variables, too many things that could go wrong because of him- but he had no choice. If he stopped training Mina, her death was the inevitable end. If he continued to train her, continued to get close to her, knowing that he was the beast... he was putting her in danger. Yet there was danger at every turn, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
He was going to get hurt again.
Jared clenched his jaw tightly, determined to remain in his usual stoic demeanor. Mina could never guess the true depth of his despair, how truly broken he was-
Speaking of Mina-
Something was wrong. The church seemed too quiet.
Mina wasn't the type to keep silent. Jared stopped walking, his heart pounding.
"Mina?" He shouted, suddenly uneasy. No answer. Jared picked up his pace and entered the chapel.
It was empty.
"Mina?!" Jared yelled, whirling around wildly, hoping to catch a glance of chocolate brown hair, the glint of defiant eyes. Yet he was all alone in the Herculean chapel, stone saints glaring down at him disapprovingly. His voice echoed off the walls, making him feel small and insignificant. Jared tore down the center aisle, dread coursing through him. In a flash he was in front of the bridal room and opening the door.
Empty.
Jared staggered back. The bag of clothes he had brought Mina was gone, along with the dusty velvet she had used as bedding. Jared clung to the doorway, trying in vain to steady his panicked breathing.
Mina was gone.