AN~ Because I took so long last time, another chapter somewhat early. Don't know if you'll get your Friday chapter this week, I'm presently traveling to Georgia, where I will stay until next Monday or so.
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The Winner of Last QotD: Can I give a winner for that? It's like 'you pointed out the worst things in my story! Have a prize!' But yes, PenguinLoverGurl and PsychoBrunette told me what they want fixed, and they make good points. I shall endeavor to fix them. Whatcha want, chicas?
New QotD: Because I didn't give you your whole week and I genuinely want to know: What's wrong with this story? How can I improve? What do you want? But for those of you who already told me: Which is your favorite book? Why?
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PuckabrinaFOREVER: I'm glad you like it so much! Thanks for the review! About Art: Remember that we haven't had his side of the story yet.
PenguinLoverGurl: Glad you're happy. :) Sorry it took longer than usual. QotD: 1) Well, I guess I describe stuff I care about... (that is something I'm trying to work on, descriptions. A while ago, the story had almost NONE). 2) This chapter actually had an extra two hundred words. My average is 3,000 words of chapter and however much author's note there is because that's about how much I can write in a week, but I can try to up it a bit for you. 3) But... I can't! It's come too far! There's no way I can skew it to wrap around with what MB wrote! Though if you give me some parts that you think would fit that you like from the book, I'll try to work them in.
"Mom, we're going out." Henry told Relda, shouldering his sword. "Can you stay here and watch Basil?"
Granny, Henry, Basil, Briar, and Goldilocks had all made it to the Grimm's house safely, along with Papa Bear. The others were still unaccounted for, and nobody had contacted them through the swords. Maybe they were afraid there wouldn't be an answer.
Relda sighed but nodded. She'd made it clear the previous night that she didn't think fighting the giants was a good idea, but Henry had insisted.
"Thanks." Henry said, heading out.
Once the front door had slammed behind him, Granny turned to Basil and said, "Well, I don't think we're just going to sit around here all day, do you?"
Basil laughed and clapped his hands, running over to her. "We go too?" He asked.
Relda smiled. "We're not going with your daddy, but I'm going to take you someplace exciting."
Basil squealed excitedly, clapping his hands again. "Where?"
"We're going to go see the queen of the giants." Granny said.
It wasn't that simple, of course. She had to know how the rest of her family was doing first, so she contacted them through the swords, and found out that Sabrina and Puck were safely together, Daphne was with Art, Bella was with Wendell and several other teenagers who were hiding out inside the basement of what had once been the bank, and Veronica, Jake, Red, and Charming were inside the Chicken House.
"We're safe, Relda." Veronica assured her. "We're running around in the house trying to find any other survivors. Snow was out here, too, but she left to cut down some beanstalks, keep any more giants from coming in."
"I hope she leaves a few up." Granny said worriedly. "We can't have all the giants stuck here, and no matter what my thickheaded son thinks, there's no way we can kill two hundred giants."
"More, now." Veronica said gloomily. "They just keep coming. But she doesn't want to cut them all down, she just figures that if there are less, we can guard them, keep any more giants from coming down."
Relda nodded. "But meanwhile, the Scarlet Hand will just keep planting more."
"At least the robots are out of the question until the Giants are gone." Veronica said.
Granny nodded decisively. "Something must be done."
"You have a plan?" Veronica asked.
Relda nodded.
Veronica grinned. "Good. We need something to keep Henry from getting himself stepped on."
Relda smiled back. "If this goes right, my plan will keep that man as safe as can be."
Veronica laughed. "That's not saying much, when we're talking about my husband."
Relda knew they had to actually climb at least part of the beanstalk, otherwise she would only find herself in a very wet fog, instead of the realm of the giants. But she was a little old for that, anymore, and Basil too young, so she had the carpet take them up to almost where the cloud started, and then, the carpet firmly under her feet, she directed Basil to stand, and they grabbed the beanstalk hand over hand as they rose the last bit, through the cloud and to the sunshine on the other side.
The carpet took them to the biggest giant castle of them all as soon as Relda told it 'Giant queen', and once they'd arrived, passing all sorts of things that Basil was fascinated by but Relda ignored, brought them to a stop ten feet from the face of the giant who was guarding the entrance.
"I'd like to request an audience with the queen." Relda half-shouted at the giant. "It's urgent."
The giant glared at her and said, "She's busy."
"Can you at least take a message?" She asked. "Tell her Relda Grimm wants to know why our arrangement has been broken."
The giant glared at her for a long while before seeming to decide she wasn't going anywhere, and that he might as well do what she wanted. He stalked off into the castle, leaving Relda and Basil outside.
"Where he goin', Granny?" Basil asked, standing on the carpet.
"To tell the queen we're here." Granny said, pulling Basil down. "And don't stand on the carpet unless I tell you to, liebling, you might fall off."
"I'd lan' onna cloud, Granny! Clouds is soff!" Basil pointed out.
"Yes, but you're so small I'd lose you!" Granny laughed. "And what if you got stepped on? I'd lose my only grandson, and that would be very sad."
"Oh-kay, Granny." Basil relented. "I stay put."
Relda smiled and ruffled his hair. "Good boy," she said.
The giant came back, and his steps were louder than before, a sure sign he was angry. Relda could almost see the castle shaking, even though it was built for creatures as large as he was. He stopped back at his post and said, his voice lower than before, angry, "The queen has agreed to an audience with you."
Relda smiled at him and said, "Thank you. Don't leave your post, now, I know the way."
As they headed off, Basil asked, "We really goin'a see a queen, Granny?"
Relda nodded. "We're off to the queen of the giants. And she had better have an explanation."
Daphne woke up very early the next morning, shivering. She wasn't used to sleeping alone, and it was cold. She sat up and saw, across the clearing, Art, shivering himself, so she scooted over to him and lay back down, snuggling into him.
When she woke again, it was to Art's strangled 'Guh!' as he pushed her away.
"Don't you like hugging me?" She asked, hurt, rubbing her eyes to remove the bleariness.
"Of course I do." Art said, looking guiltily down at her. He didn't stop pushing her back, though. "It's just... I... I can't, Daphne."
"How come?" Daphne asked. Then her eyes lit up in understanding. "Is it 'cause it's just the two of us? And you're afraid of us being inappropriate?" She grinned slyly. "If you are, you don't have to worry. I'm way too young for that stuff. It's kind of gross." She frowned. "Unless it's other people. Then it's adorable. Like Puck and Sabrina, though it'd be cuter if they were together."
"Not... exactly." Art said. "It's something else."
"What is it?" Daphne asked.
"It's..." Art hesitated for a long time before bursting out with, "Sabrina. She and I got in an argument, and she thinks I should stay away from you. And I don't want to make your sister mad."
Daphne made a face. "Sabrina's stupid. I can make my own friends. And I don't care. She'll get over it. I still like you."
"Would you still say that if you knew?" Art muttered, quietly enough that Daphne almost didn't hear.
Sabrina woke up the next morning and immediately sat up and got her sword out. She had to make sure everyone else was all right. Now.
She ignored Puck's arms, which were wrapped around her, and into the gem on her sword, said, "Bella."
Bella's face appeared in the gem a little while later, bleary eyed and blinking a lot. "It's too early for whatever it is, Sabrina." She muttered.
"Too early to make sure you're not dead?" Sabrina asked skeptically.
"Oh yeah, hey." Bella said. "Glad you're alive too. But it's like, six!"
"Sorry." Sabrina shrugged. "I woke up and I was too worried to do anything else. How did you get out yesterday?"
"A bunch of us ran to the basement of the bank." Bella said. "The heavy-duty vault's down here; it's like a bomb shelter! What about you?"
"Puck and I got out as soon as the giants showed up." Sabrina said. "We're on the eastern edge of the barrier by ourselves. I'm keeping us safe, but there isn't any food."
"Poor baby." Bella teased. "We have some potato chips and stuff. There's an abandoned convenience store two buildings down, and Jonas ran in there to get some stuff."
"Who all is with you?" Sabrina asked, crossing her fingers. Please Daphne, please Daphne, please Daphne.
"Wendell, Jonas, Annie, Eve, Peter, Tiger Lily, and Renee."
"Nobody... nobody else?" Sabrina asked quietly.
Bella shook her head. "I don't know where your family is. Sorry, Sabrina."
"It's OK." Sabrina tried to smile. "I'm sure they're safe. Somewhere."
"Yeah." Bella said. "You gonna go try for them?"
"Yeah." Sabrina nodded. "Bye."
"Bye." Bella said. "Good luck."
Sabrina cut off the connection, took a deep breath to steady herself, and said, "Daf- Red." She couldn't do it. Not yet.
Red appeared in the jewel and smiled at Sabrina. "Hey. I'm glad you're okay."
"You too." Sabrina smiled, recognizing the Chicken House in the background. "How's everything over there?"
"I'm here with Daddy Jake and your mom, and Snow and Charming." Red said, understanding immediately what Sabrina meant. "And we're good. Safe. Hiding in the woods, but the grown ups are planning something right now, so I don't think we'll be hiding long."
"Mom's there?" Sabrina asked, relieved. That was one less person she had to worry was squashed.
Red nodded. "She's kind of banged up, 'cause she kept going back for other people 'til Snow made her stop, but she'll be okay."
"Great." Sabrina said, heaving a relieved sigh. "Thank you, Red."
Red smiled. "Do you want to talk to her?"
Sabrina shook her head. "She's probably in the middle of something. She'll probably call when she has some time."
Red nodded. "Probably. Is it just you, there?"
"Nope." Sabrina said. "Me and Puck, unfortunately. Tell Mom we're safe, and that if she has more important stuff to worry about, we can wait?"
Red nodded. "Of course. Bye."
"Bye." Sabrina said, but Red had already disappeared from her gem.
She sat there for several minutes, trying to get up the courage to call for Daphne, breathing heavily, but before she could, Granny's face appeared in her gemstone.
"Granny!" Sabrina exclaimed.
"Oh, liebling, thank goodness you're all right!" Granny said, smiling.
"You, too!" Sabrina grinned. "I'm on the east edge of town with Puck. We're safe, I put up a barrier. It's just cold. And wet. And I'm hungry. But we're not hurt or anything."
Granny laughed. "I'm so relieved."
"You're at home?" Sabrina asked. Of course she was. They'd had the car.
Granny nodded. "With your father, your brother, Briar, and a few others."
"No... no Daphne?" Sabrina asked. Daphne was nowhere. What if she was... Sabrina didn't know what she'd do if she lost Daphne. It might possibly be the worst thing to happen to her, ever.
Granny shook her head. "I was going to call her right after you."
"Oh." Sabrina said softly.
"I'm sorry, liebling." Granny said.
Sabrina shrugged. "It's fine."
"Would you like me to let you go, so you can see?" Granny suggested.
Sabrina shook her head. "You call," she said. "I have to see if I can find some breakfast, anyway." Just when I was starting to get dry...
"All right..." Granny said doubtfully. "Goodbye, liebling. I love you."
"Love you, too." Sabrina tried to smile at Granny, then ran her thumb over the sapphire, cutting off the connection.
She sat back with a sigh. Where was Daphne? Why wasn't she with the rest of the family? Why hadn't Sabrina gone back for her? She could be... Sabrina bit back a hiccuppy sob. Daphne was probably fine. And she'd been serious about needing breakfast, but she really didn't want to go out in the rain to get it.
Puck's arms suddenly squeezed tighter around Sabrina's middle, and she had a brilliant idea. Turning, she said, "Send your pixies to get us food. I'll let them in the barrier when they get here."
"Good morning to you, too." Puck muttered, letting go of her quickly.
Sabrina felt a little let down. She hadn't wanted to make him let go of her. "Morning." She amended. "Sorry."
"That's better." Puck grinned, scooting around so that he was facing her. "Now I'll get the Pixies."
Sabrina gaped at him. "You were playing me!" She accused.
Puck's grin slipped a little and sheepishly he said, "I just wanted to see if it would work."
"You're a jerk." Sabrina huffed.
Puck wrapped his arms around her again, squeezing. "Does that make it better?"
Sabrina very much wanted to stay just like that for a long time, but she didn't want to let Puck see how much pull he had over her, so she pushed him off and said, "No. Now go get us some breakfast."
Puck shrugged and got out his pipes, calling his pixies out from wherever they went when he didn't need them, and ordered them to find him food- and plenty of it. And maybe some more firewood and something to keep the heat in, like a blanket.
"And some sticks." Sabrina said. "Long ones, but skinny. Kind of straightish."
Puck gave her a confused look, but added that to the list, and sent the pixies off.
"I want to make a rack." Sabrina explained. "To dry things on."
Puck, whose clothes were still very damp, nodded. "Makes sense."
"I wish there was a way I could get the water out of the ground." Sabrina complained. "I could have, last year. I'd have had us dry as a rock in outer space in no time! But now we're stuck here sitting on wet grass and wet dirt in wet clothes with a pile of wet firewood."
"Yeah, well, you can't, now." Puck shrugged. "And the only way you'll be dry is if you take off your wet clothes, and you already shot that idea down."
Sabrina's face flushed crimson again, and she said hotly, "We can't."
"Why not?" Puck asked. "We're alone. Probably will be for a long time. We're safe. Why shouldn't we have some fun?"
"Because we're fourteen." Sabrina stressed. "And we've been dating for two weeks. This is a really bad time for us to be alone."
"I don't see the problem." Puck shrugged.
"Puck, the odds of us getting carried away out here and doing something neither of us is ready for are huge. And if we do do... that... what might the consequences be? I don't want that. And without somebody here to keep us from going too far... We have to set boundaries. Which means all our clothes stay on and your hands stay where they're supposed to be, and we don't kiss any more than we have been up 'til now."
"Fine." Puck shrugged. "I guess I'm not really ready for anything like that, either. I mean, what do you do?"
Sabrina, whose blush had finally been fading, turned bright pink again. "I don't know!" She snapped. "I've never done it!"
There was a tapping noise, and they both turned. The pixies were outside, looking thoroughly soaked. Sabrina got the feeling they'd been standing there for a while, so she let them in quickly with a guilty look on her face.
Puck took the food and the firewood, and began trying to build up the fire again, because it had dwindled down to coals the previous night Sabrina took the soaked blanket, the two sticks, and a bit of food for herself- a sealed bag or pretzels- then watched as the pixies left the barrier and disappeared.
"Where do they go, I wonder?" She asked. "The pixies?"
"When I don't need them?" Puck asked, shrugging. "I dunno. Never asked. But they're always there when I want them."
Sabrina rolled her eyes. "I'd have asked them."
"What, you want me to call them up out of the blue sometime to ask them where they are when I'm not with them?" Puck asked. "Most of the time I call them, I need something more than satisfied curiosity."
"No, I just..." Sabrina sighed. "Never mind."
Puck didn't answer, and Sabrina left him to his fire-building, turning to her sword. It was time to stop being a coward and find out what was going on with her sister.
"Daphne." She whispered into the blue stone, then bit her lip and waited.
Daphne appeared in the facets of the jewel, and when she saw Sabrina, her open expression turned into a glare. Sabrina's relief made her almost not care what she'd done now to get Daphne so upset.
"I can't believe you!" Daphne shouted.
"Why?" Sabrina asked, still smiling. Daphne was alive! Alive, and well enough to be angry with her!
"You told Art to stay away from me!" Daphne accused.
So she was with Art, then. "I didn't, actually." Sabrina said. "We got in an argument a while ago because of something he did, but if he's staying away from you, that's all his doing."
"Then why'd he tell me you said to stay away from him?" Daphne accused. "And what did he do?"
Sabrina shook her head. "I don't know, and that's for him to tell you. But I will say that whatever guilt he's feeling, he deserves. And he doesn't deserve you at all. Even when you're in a mood like this."
"What makes you so sure you can judge him?" Daphne hissed. "I don't think you deserve me, sometimes."
Ouch. That one hurt. But Sabrina just shrugged and said, "When he tells you, maybe you'll understand."
"I don't think I have anything else to say to you." Daphne told Sabrina hotly. "Not when you judge my friends."
"All right." Sabrina said softly. But before her sister could cut off the connection, she added, "I'm glad you're safe, Daphne. I was worried about you."
Daphne's expression softened for half a second, and she said, "Yeah, me too. But I'm still mad."
And then she was gone. Sabrina sighed, opening her bag of pretzels. She hadn't even done anything, and Daphne was still mad at her. How fair was that? If she'd told Daphne, she'd have called her a liar, and not telling made her angry. She sighed again, more quietlly. Little sisters. Who could understand them?