Chapter Two - Poor, Unfortunate Soul

Hey guys! I'm back after my second disappearance. Hopefully I make up for how long I was gone with this update. I'm excited to see what you guys end up thinking about it!

bloodjunkie20 : Thank you so much! I'm glad that you like it so far - especially the twists, as I'm really enjoying throwing twists in to my stories. c:

Evx : Haha, I shall give no guarantees. I'm glad you like Jared being in the story though! I like adding him in, considering my stories generally end up having him be a jerk and this time I'm gonna try and keep him nice. :3 And yes, Mina's mom is pretty horrible, but I felt that having her have an awful mom would be good to have for later in the plot. c; I won't be telling you why just yet though!

Guest 1 : Thank you! I'm super glad people as liking this!

09Who knew90 : I'm glad I can catch you by surprise! c: I'm glad that everything is pretty good, minus the length. Which, believe me, I know can sometimes be annoying with me, especially considering the fact that the prologue was 3,000ish words (although that was supposed to be longer than the average chapter). Generally, my chapters are over 1,000, but I do have to balance it between too much and too little, and I want to make sure I don't bore anyone with too much detail. cx Plus, last chapter couldn't have had too much more in it, seeing as the next thing that happens (the starting event in this chapter) is a day after and later in the day. However, I will try to have it be kind of longer, but I make no guarantees! And haha, I'm glad you're bugging me about updates. It helps me know that people are really liking the story, and it helps me get to work on updating!

Heywassuphelloo : Haha, Jarina is pretty sweet. I dunno what I would do if Jared and Teague were both the same and both were wanting Mina, cause I loved Jared as a character. 3 I really love Meague though, cause Teague is awesome, so I think Teague would probably win out by a smidge more. I'm glad you're liking the story, and I'm also glad you like how I write Sarah's character! I enjoy trying to write it in a way that really reflects the atmosphere between her and Mina.

PRINCESSJOSLIN : I'm glad you like the story! As for Sarah, there are multiple reasons. Firstly, I was wondering what it would be like if Mina had grown up differently. I mean, Sarah is always quite supportive and protective, and Mina's character kind of comes off of that. So, I like messing around with the mechanics a bit and making Mina struggle some. Secondly, this specific story was inspired from a wacky dream I had, and so Sarah fit into the story the way she does. Thirdly, I wanted to challenge myself to write Sarah into the story - as I find I generally don't or I forget her - and I wanted to make it even more of a challenge by changing her personality around. Fourthly, as I think I said when I replied to Evx, it's going to help the plot later to make things a bit more clear. Hopefully that's a satisfying answer to your question! If you have other questions, feel free to ask! I promise I won't bite, and I love when you guys ask questions. I also promise I'll try and answer, unless I can't for the story's sake.

Now that we've got the R&A (Reader and Author) section of this done, let's move on with the story, shall we? I'm excited to have you guys learn about what happens to Mina next!

He frowns for a moment, as if trying to figure out how to answer my questions. "Let's put it simply. I'm sort of your...Guardian for these next two weeks. I'm supposed to make sure nothing bad happens to you. I can help you with your training too. Okay?"

"Next two weeks?" I frown, and my eyes narrow.

"Till the Prince comes to claim you."

At this, I become rather angry. "I don't need help! Or guarding!"

"Mina..."

"No."

"Come on, Princess, just let me help you out for a little while. I can help you advance!"

"Don't call me that!" I snarl the words. "And I don't believe random Fae who waltz into my home. Get. Out!"

"You're going to need me later." He warns.

I chuckle. "Well then, I guess I'll just have to regret my decision then, now won't I?"

"If you say so." Shaking his head, he disappears.

"What a lunatic." Shaking my head, I go back to my knife-throwing.

When I try the tactic the boy - who remains nameless, since I didn't ask for a name - suggested, I hit all the targets dead center.

Mina's POV

Just a day after my meeting with the boy in the woods, I've found myself in a situation where I really regret not agreeing to allow him to be my Guardian.

I don't normally go into town. In crowds, people generally find that they can lose themselves and seemingly disappear. I, on the other hand, seem to draw unwanted attention to me like a magnet. I suspect that it's the little, black star's fault, and that Fae can sense it. I always seem to attract trouble in town, and while I don't go down there too much, I think Sarah might now. However, I decided to go down today to do some window shopping, because even though it makes me feel super pathetic, I like imagining what it could look like.

It was as I was walking around and the crowds on the streets were starting to get a bit thinner that I ran into the trouble. I turned on to another sidewalk where there weren't too many people - there might not have been anyone on the street at all, I didn't get a good look - and it was there that a golden-haired boy pulled me aside. Because of the night, I couldn't get a good look, but I did see that he was wearing gloves, a suit, and top hat. However, he shoved me into the wall, one arm shoving my neck - and me along with it - into the wall, successfully making it a little difficult to breathe.

That's actually where I am right now, and I've drawn the conclusion that today is definitely not a good day for me.

"So you're the current Grimm girl, hm?" He whispers in my ear, and I find myself struggling a little to get a proper breathe from the fact that my airway is being pushed on. So, I'm forced to nod instead of answering with my voice. He seems to be rather sadistic, considering he seems to be quite happy that I am having some issues breathing. "It can't be too much longer till the Prince takes you then."

"Once today is over, twelve days." I manage to choke that out as I struggle, trying to force his arm off so I can get a proper breathe.

"Twelve days, eh? Not too long then." He nods, and with his free hand brushes a strand of hair out of my eyes so he can look at my eyes properly.

"Not long at all." His arm loosens just enough for me to get that full breath of air after I make that statement.

"And what's your name, love?" He raises an eyebrow.

After a moment of contemplation, I respond with my nickname. "Mina." I decide not to get mad at him for calling me 'love,' seeing as I'm sort of stuck right now, although I'm sure my eyes widened when he said it.

"Mina Grimm?" He tests the name, and then shakes his head. "I'm not really feeling it. Is Mina short for anything?"

I sort of mumble it this time. "Wilhelmina."

"Wilhelmina Grimm? Still not feeling it. I think 'love' is much better." A smirk adorns his face as he says the words, as if silently daring me to question it.

"You can't do that." I narrow my eyes a little, and try to kick him.

He easily avoids it though, and I can hear him muttering under his breathe. When he finishes his muttering, I suddenly find that I can't move at all. What did he do, immobilize me? "Ah, I think you'll find that I can do that."

Slowly, he slides off the glove on his right hand. With his now ungloved hand, he reaches forward and touches the strand of hair he previously pushed out of my eyes. As he does, I see that his fingernails are glittering gold, however my attention is quickly diverted from that when I see that strand of hair turn gold.

"What did you do?!" I demand, scared out of my wits by the Fae magic he just performed as he regloves his hand.

"I'm sending the Prince a message." The sadistic smirk is back, and suddenly I can move again. However, before I can try and run, he grabs my arms. "Going somewhere?"

"Anywhere but here!" I try to kick him again, but once again he avoids it as if he's dancing.

"I don't think so, love." He spins me around and, and I nearly lose my balance in the process. "You see, in the two week stretch, most Grimms have their assigned guardian. You do not. And without them-"

And then there's an interruption. "Who says she doesn't have a guardian, Templestiltskin?" I can't see who's talking thanks to Templestiltskin, but he can.

Templestiltskin hisses something under his breathe that I can't make out. "I should've been able to detect that she was guarded!"

"She hasn't officially allowed me to become her guardian yet, trader, since she rejected me when I first arrived to help." I don't know what 'trader' means, but I have a feeling it's not something good for me. "My arrival was, after all, the only reason you didn't approach her tree house yesterday as planned. I'd thrown up a protective bubble around her home anyways after that, seeing as I sensed you there." He was guarding me even though I said I didn't need guarding? I guess I'm relieved now, but I'm also frustrated that he was right and I was wrong when I barely even know him. "I have a feeling she will let me now though. All she has to do is say 'I accept Jared as my guardian,' and then the deed is done." So his name is Jared? Okay then. "Then I'll have every right to kill you. So, I suggest you go, before I do kill you. Prince Teague would not be happy to know you were messing with his chosen Grimm." He glances at me. "I suggest you say it now, Mina."

I really don't have a choice now, do I? "I accept Jared as my guardian."

The instant the words leave my mouth, Templestiltskin takes off. I glance over to see the boy dressed in gray from yesterday, and he's holding a leather-bound, spiral notebook. He opens it, and I push myself up against the wall as glowing, white tendrils spill out from it. They grab Templestiltskin before he can go to far, pulling him back. He's spitting and struggling, but he's no match for whatever magic that book has in it. The book literally drags him in with the tendrils, and then it goes dark. The light in the alley has gone from being slightly lt by those tendrils to the same lighting it was when I was pulled in here from before. Maybe even darker, since it's getting later.

"Are you okay?" Jared, looking concerned, approaches slowly. He extends a hand, touching the tendril that Templestiltskin turned gold. It instantly goes back to it's normal, chocolate brown color once he touches it.

"Yes." I nod, but he frowns.

"No, you aren't." He sighs. "I'm sorry. It's very difficult to track you and keep you safe though when you aren't allowing me to become your guardian." However, his frown shifts to a rather crooked grin. "Good thing we got that sorted out, hm?"

"I suppose so." This time it's my turn to sigh.

"Hey, you're fine, okay? You're safe."

"It's not that. It's just...All this...It made me realize something...It doesn't really matter..." I shake my head.

"Hey, you can tell me, okay? I know you don't really know me. But I want to help you, and seeing as I'm officially your guardian now, I'd like to be able to at least make you a little more at ease." He extends a hand towards me.

After a moment's hesitation, I take it. "I guess this is just making the curse seem more real. It's really scary. My home may not be the best place ever, but it's still my home. I can't imagine leaving it...And yet there's less than two weeks till I'll be ripped away from it."

Biting his lip, Jared takes a minute before responding. But when he does respond, his gray eyes meet my chocolate brown ones, and I find I can't help but trust him. There's something there that I can't help but feel drawn to. "Think of it this way, Princess." I open my mouth to protest the nickname, but he plows on before I can express my dislike for it. "Would you like to stay in a place where you are not wanted, or take your chances in finding yourself a spot in a place where you are?"

Phew, that was fun to write! I promise, more of what the Grimm curse actually entails in this story will be explained later. However, considering I don't want everything explained right away, you'll have to wait a bit!

If we get three reviews, I'll update! If you do review, I'd love some opinions on Templestiltskin's appearance, the current relationship Jared and Mina seem to have, any reactions to stuff that happened, and any predictions you have for later! You guys are so awesome, so I'm really happy to be writing!

Until next time! (or until I update Killer Of My Heart, if you read that story!)

~ Dagger