Chapter Twenty Two - Wrong Way

Hey guys! Guess who's updating this story instead of updating her other stories like she probably should? That's right, me! :D I'm super excited to keep going with this story. We're getting closer and closer to the end! Yay!

Mikkey234 : I've never seen Saw before, but I know it's a horror movie, so I'm assuming the puppet isn't good. cx That's really interesting! And I'm glad you like the plot twist. As for if Teague will have a change of heart or if Mina will get the power to save her? Well, we'll just have to find out. I'm glad you liked my usage of the bone whistle! I hope you like the shorter wait for this chapter. c:

Guest 1 : Trust me, we'll find out what on the plane is going on with Teague soon. And that is true, Mina could die from Annalora. I'm glad you do feel slightly bad for Ferah. I hate her too, but I don't believe she deserved quite as bad of a fate as she got, although I suppose she could've gotten a worse fate. That is true though, no one who tries to kill Teague should get away with it. As for Jared and Teague? Hm, I guess we'll just have to see how the story finishes out. Hopefully by the end of this story the answer should be clear to that.

Evx : No, she can't get a break. cx I feel like the Grimm curse in the actual series gave her more of a break than this one was. And that's okay that you don't really remember her dream. It makes things more surprising in the story. I'm glad there are people supporting Mina. Whether or not she actually was using the Lure - even if it was unintentional - will have to be revealed later. I agree, Mina deserves to get out of this one with less harm. Whether or not that actually occurs? Well, we'll just have to see. The type of experience she has with this gnome will be revealed this chapter as well. We'll just have to see if Annalora dies, Mina dies, they both die, or something else completely different.

fanfic authoress : Oh good, I'm glad it was a good one, and that you love this fanfiction! I'm glad you liked last chapter as well. As for what's going on with Teague and whether or not he's falsely accusing her, we'll just have to see. That's good that you were thinking it through though! That's good for me that you didn't remember it, as it makes it all the more shocking. I'm glad you're excited to see what happens next! As for Mina being okay? I guess that depends on your definition of okay... cx

Life as a Siren : Haha, I'm glad it's so good! Hopefully the wait wasn't too agonizing.

But enough of my rambling (which hopefully is slightly entertaining). How about we get on with this crazy story? After all, we still need to find out what exactly Annalora intends to make Mina do, and how Mina intends to get away.

As she looks at me and grins with that deranged smile at her, I sudden realize that I've quite possibly made the worst decision I've made this entire time I've been in here. I never should've followed her. I should've known. I missed something so important. That interaction with Teague wasn't the one at the end of my dream, and the reason I know that is because there was another part to it with this messed up girl.

"Hello up there!" I look down to find a small looking girl standing there. I can't make out the details though, and so I squat down to try and look better. Another, taller girl stands beside her, but she doesn't speak. Instead, the first girl calls up again, "Do you need help?"

"I-I'm not sure!" I call back.

After everything that's happened so far, I'm hesitant to approach anyone.

"Jump down!" The same girl calls. "I've done it myself! I promise, you'll be fine!"

So, far some reason unknown to me, I decide to believe her. I come flying downwards at a breathtaking speed, but when I land my legs crumble beneath me. The pain that crackles through them makes me aware that it's possible that I broke them. Not good.

Forcing myself to stand up, I turn around and scream. Again. The second girl is dangling from a noose in front of me, very much dead. Her pointed ears suggest that she's an elf, but I can't make out anymore details. Except for the dagger in her hands, which promptly disappears.

"Was that fun?" I turn around to find the first girl in front of me, and she's speaking. Up close, she doesn't look quite as pleasant. She's small, and I think she might be a dwarf. Or a gnome. "This will be just as fun."

She raise the dagger I saw just moments ago, and I scream. "Jared!"

Oh gosh, I've made a horrible error. I just want out. I just want to make it out of here alive. I just want to be free of this stupid curse. I just want Teague. I thought, after our argument, I would never think that again. As it turns out, I was wrong, but it seems I've been wrong about a lot of things recently.

"Are you ready to have fun?" From the look on her face and the feeling I have in my stomach, I think not.

Mina's Point of View

I trudge along behind Annalora, trying to make myself go as slow as I possibly can. I can't tell if it's even making a difference, as I don't know if I can fight the bone whistle at all. However, it makes me feel slightly better that I am at least trying to put up a fight. As I go, Templestiltskin's necklace seems to get looser and cooler around my neck at a rather quick speed, while Savannah's necklace seems to keep getting tighter and hotter. I guess he's nearby, which is probably really bad for me. I don't want to have to deal with him and this maniac of a gnome. There's the slight chance that they don't get along - although based on Annalora's previous comments I doubt that is the case - and running into him would be a good idea thing. I mean, doesn't he want me to be around so he can get out of here?

Then again, Annalora acted as if she was familiar with Templestiltskin, which raises a good question. How has Temple trapped or necklaced girls before - as she implied - if he wasn't inside the Grimorie? Has he been able to get out before? I'm so confused.

Of course, that's not really my concern though. My concern should be getting away from this monster. The question is, how? How can I get away whenever I literally can't do anything unless she tells me too? My eyes lock on the bone whistle in her left hand, the object that is the reason I'm suffering. I need to have the whistle be out of play. But how? In her right hand is the dagger she obviously used to stab Ferah. I have a bad feeling about why she's brought it with her.

All planning fades away when she leads me into a clearing, and I gasp at the sight I lay eyes on. Chained to the stone walls are two people I know and don't like. The reason my one necklace has been loosening, Templestitskin, and Savannah White's sidekick who is currently muffled, Pri. I look over at Annalora, eyes wide and questioning as she has me stop. What are they doing here? And how is Pri here?

"It cost me a bit," What was this gnome even charged in this messed up place? Wait. I don't think I want to know, "to get the girl in the book. But I did it, yes, I did it. I found out you were the next Grimm a while ago, and I waited to see just who I could use in case you got here. When you stopped going to school, I had her brought in. And now you are here! So now I can use her along with Temple here."

"Use them to do what?" I ask, lost as to why she would have them - specifically these two - here. "Why are they here?"

Annalora giggles. "You still haven't figured that out?"

"No, of course I haven't, you psychopath!" I'm starting to get annoyed. Why does this all seem like just a big game to her, where the only rule seems to be torment and then kill others? What is wrong with her? Can she just get going and stop going around in circles already? I can't formulate a plan to escape if I don't know her plane. "Just tell me! I don't want to be involved in some sick guessing game."

The gnome shakes her head. "Tsk tsk tsk. So impatient to get on with this." She then proceeds to point at Pri with the dagger. "You see, I want you to murder her."

My eyes widen, and Pri looks panicked as she begins to thrash about in order to try and get away. "What? You want me to do what?"

Annalora giggles yet again. "It's not that hard, Mina. I want you to murder that girl."

"No!" I shake my head.

She tilts her head, and suddenly a rather angry and threatening look enters her eyes. "Excuse me?"

"I said no." I have a feeling I'll regret that soon, but I can't do it. I can't murder Pri. Besides, at the moment it's not like opposing what the gnome tells me does anything to me that I wouldn't already have to deal with.

"Don't you remember everything that's happened to you at school? Don't you remember that Savannah and Pri were always doing something or anther to you?" Is she actually trying to convince me of why I should murder Pri? And how does she know what's happened to me? "She had everything you wanted. Money that was spent on her. Popularity, power, and status in school. A father that is alive. A mother that loves her. No siblings to be compared to. And, with all these things, she chose to terrorize you, who had none of that. Doesn't that upset you at all?"

"B-" I begin, determined to argue with her.

Annalora cuts me off. "Now you can make her pay for everything she's done."

"I don't want to make her pay!" I'm appalled, to say the least.

Annalora groans. "Are you really going to try and say that you never once wanted her to suffer for how she treated you?"

I hesitate before saying, "No, but I never wanted her to suffer like this."

"Why are you being so insufferably kind and forgiving after all you've seen and been through?" She literally hisses the words. Oh gosh, she's even more terrifying. I eye the dagger in her hand, frightened as she and it shake from her anger. "Just get on with it and kill her!"

I shake my head, even though I'm terrified to do so. What if she kills me now, before I have had a chance to formulate a way to stop that from occurring and get away without me having to kill anyone? "N-No."

Annalora hisses again under her breathe. "Foolish girl. Don't you get it? You don't have a choice either way. I'm in control of what you do. I wanted you to do it of your own free will. But I guess I'll just have to prove to you that there's no point in this pointless nobility." It's rather stupid to say there's no point in a pointless thing. Not that I can really focus on that. The fact is, Annalora is about to do something, and I doubt that it's any good.

She blows the bone whistle, and while I try to do everything in my power in order to stop myself as I walk over to where Pri is chained up, I can't. I crouch, down in front of here, and I can hear her whimpering. My hands move on heir own accord, pulling her gag down. It's only then that I realize she's crying.

"Oh gosh, Mina, I'm sorry." She's a crying mess, and hiccups the way most people do when crying. "Please forgive me."

It's pitiful, what she's been reduced to. As much as I disliked Pri, I don't like seeing her like this even more. I hate Annalora for it. "I do." I'm not quite sure how truthful that statement is yet. But I'll make it true.

She actually looks surprised. "Y-You do?" When I don't, she says, "Then please, don't kill me!"

"I can't. I'm not in control of my own actions." I already feel guilty, and Annalora hasn't even made me do it yet. "she does. Please, forgive me."

Before she has a chance to respond - forcing me to pretend she did and answered yes to try and ease my conscious a bit - Annalora blows the stupid whistle again. My hands move so quickly; even if I could stop what's happening, I don't think I would be quick enough to stop myself from causing some harm. They grab her neck, slipping into a position I've never learned and squeezing the life out of her. She chokes and gags before losing consciousness as her face changes color and the life drains out of her. The whole process only takes a few minutes, to my horrified surprise. It's as if my hands are glued there, like they felt with Ever. Finally, I can feel the life go out of her, and I'm appalled as guilt washes over me. I've killed two people now! Basically three, seeing as the only reason Nix is dead is because he was friends with me and got sucked in here. Why is this happening?

"Beautiful." Annalora murmurs, appearing to do so more to herself than anyone else. "It would've been better had you killed her by your own free will though. Oh well. Perhaps you will play better this next round!"

She grins, the scary look finally gone from her eyes, and I bite back tears. "This next round?"

"Of course. Why else would Templestiltskin be here?" She says it in a tone that suggest I'm stupid before chuckling again. I hate her more than I've ever hated anyone, and that's saying something after the whole Savannah situation.

I glare at her. "Why are you even doing this?"

"I told you that already. I want to break you before I kill you." She's looking annoyed again. "Now go ahead and do it."

"Why do you want me to kill him?" I ask. I thought they got along, or at least tolerated each other. It makes no sense for her to want me to murder him.

"I think the real question is, why shouldn't you want to kill him? I personally have nothing against the Godmother trader." She shrugs. "However, you have every reason to want him dead, and to want to kill him yourself."

"Like what?" Finally, the golden Templestiltskin speaks, actually seeming interested to see what reasons Annalora will give for why I should kill him. Surely he knows them already though? Or is he that stupid?

"Let me think." Annalora says mockingly, tilting her heads and shutting her eyes as if thinking really hard before opening her eyes and continuing. "You held her against her will in a dark alley, putting her in a situation where she had to be saved. You turned some of her hair told gold, and threatened and probably intended to turn more of her to gold if not all of her. You sent Fae after her inside here-"

"-and then saved her life." His point is true, but it doesn't make up for what else he's done.

"But that was only so that you could scare her, tell her she had to make a deal with you that we all know you wouldn't keep the end of if it occurred, and put a painful necklace." She counters, looking rather smug. "As I said, why wouldn't she want to kill you?"

"I don't want to kill him." I say, before their bickering continues, although I suppose I should've let it as it benefited me.

"Mina, stop trying to be noble!" She pretty much shouts the words at me as she turns her attention back to me. I try not to look at her extremely angry face, but - of course - that just leads me to look at Pri, which makes me feel sick. "You didn't want to kill Pri, yet you ended up having to kill her anyways. What makes you think it'll be any different this time? Because trust me, it won't, so just do it. Doesn't he deserve it?"

He does kind of deserve it. He's a murderer. But I can't kill him myself, because I have no right. Besides, I can't deal with the guilt of anymore deaths by my hands. "I have no right to judge someone like that."

Annalora scoffs. "You seriously are trying to tell me that you never once wanted him dead? Because I'm quite sure that's not true."

"Wanting him dead and wanting to kill him are two completely different things." I respond. This is literally the exact same conversation we had about me murdering Pri, just with a few things changed. Neither of us is making any progress.

Temple grins. "Exactly, love. Glad to see you and I are on the same page."

"Hmph. I didn't say that you didn't deserve to die." I huff in response.

"Exactly." Annalora grins.

I groan. "Oh my gosh, I'm not saying that I'm going to kill him though!"

The gnome holds up her whistle again. "I'll make you then."

I quickly realize I have to act now. "Wait!" I hold my hand out in order to fully express that I want to stop her for a reason. "I can't touch Templestiltskin."

"What?" She frowns at me, and Templestiltskin tilts his head for a moment at me before closing his eyes.

Now I have to go with this, but I'm thinking I might actually have discovered a good way to go along with this. "I can't kill Templestiltskin, not just because of my morals, but because if I touch him, I'll turn to gold."

She frowns harder, obviously not believing me. "That's never happened with any of the Grimm girls before." Dang it. I didn't think about that possibility, although to be fair I didn't have enough time to think that through.

"It hasn't?" I tilt my head. "Did they ever actually touch him?"

She hesitates, and I take an inward sigh of relief. Thank goodness. "Well..." She glances at Templestiltskin. "Is what she's saying true?"

He doesn't respond for a few moments, but when it looks like Annalora is about to freak out on him, he finally does. He kinds of bob his head, making a noise that sounds like a "Yeah" but can't necessarily be confirmed as one. That seems like enough for Annalora though. She glances down at the bone whistle in her hands, and then at me.

"So you can't kill him." She states it instead of asking it this time.

"If you gave me the dagger-" I begin, an idea sparking in my head.

She stops it. "No. You're not getting a hold of this." She pulls the bone whistle away from her hands, and pulls the dagger up instead. "I'll just kill him myself."

I hold my hand out to stop her, although I don't know why. It's not like Templestiltskin doesn't deserve to die. But after seeing the results of Ferah's death and piecing together what happened, I don't want anyone to have to die because of Annalora. That's a fate no one should receive. But I'm too late. The dagger spins out of her hand, and the gold murderer isn't given any way to try and dodge it. It plunges into his chest, and Annalora steps closer. It only takes me a moment to realize that he's not dead yet, and that Annalora tends to make the process quicker. I shut my eyes, and listen to Temple scream as she obviously stabs him a few more times at least. Finally, it ceases, and I open one eye, careful not to look in his direction. That's also when a weight on my neck - not a very heavy one - drops. Templestiltskin's golden necklace has broken open and fallen off now that he's dead. Apparently there's another way to get it off besides him removing it after all.

I realize that Annalora is looking in my direction again, having stepped a bit closer, and she doesn't look like the crazy, happy killer she was a little while ago. She, if anything, seems disappointed and a bit uninterested. Perhaps saying it's a disappointed boredom is a better way to explain it.

She shakes her head at me. "You poor, poor girl. Never in all my times messing with the Grimm girls, as one failed to give me the satisfaction of breaking and doing as I ask." So I'm the first? That's surprising, although I have a feeling that that's not a good thing in this particular instance. "Never once have they refused to kill someone, or hurt someone, or anything like that. It's always been quite fun. Yet you deny me that satisfaction. You refuse to comply, even though the end result would be the same for that person anyway. The only difference is that one way you're forced, and the other you chose to." I doubt she realizes how big of a difference that truly is. "And, to say the least, I'm disappointed. I thought I'd get quite a good reaction from a Grimm that should already be close to breaking. Yet I have not, and so I've grown bored of this attempt. Do you know what happens when I grow bored of something?"

"No." Although I might, when I think about it.

"I destroy it." Oh crap. I take a step away from the crazed gnome as she looks at me. "You see, I intended to kill you all along, after I broke you. It's not like I hid that detail from you. Except, with how much of a challenge you are proving to be, you have lost my interest, and so I am just going to kill you."

She comes at me, and in that moment I see my chance. She's not using the bone whistle. If anything, she's lost her cool completely and is no longer being the calculating murderer I expected. Now she has the dagger in her hand once again, obviously having removed it from Templestiltskin, and as she runs at me raises it, no doubt in order to murder me. I grab her wrist as she comes, and it's a battle of strength that I can see from the start she obviously is going to win. So, I turn the tables, and try and use my Lure.

Stop attacking me. I have to try something, or she'll definitely kill me, although I don't know if it's going to work.

She stops, pulling back and staring at me in horror. The corners of my lips pull up into the tiniest bit of a smile. She stopped! It worked.

Get down on your knees. I continue with the orders, watching as she complies. Drop the dagger. Crush the bone whistle.

At the last one, she actually looks pained to do it. Yet, even though I can sense her struggling, she can't break my control. Her hand clenches around the whistle, and I hear the satisfying crack of it breaking as I pick up the dagger I forced her to drop.

Then, something completely foreign comes over me, and somewhere in my head a voice echoes that I don't recognize, saying, Just do it.

And then I'm horrified as I find myself stabbing Annalora in the stomach on the ground. My control over her breaks as I pull it out in horror, and then i realize that there's blood spilling out. Her breathes come out shocked and choppy, yet there's an almost satisfied grin on her face.

"That's all I wanted all along." She whispers, but I panic, shaking my head.

"N-No, I wasn't trying to kill you. I didn't mean to kill you!" I say, staring in shock at her and the fact that she's not freaked out at all.

She shakes her head at me. "But in the end you did."

"No!" I shake my head. "I didn't murder you!"

She smirks. "Denying something doesn't stop it from being true. That's a lesson I bet you need to learn and apply to a lot of different things."

"Shut up!" I cry, sinking to the ground. "That wasn't me!"

"Whatever you say..." It's not sincere at all. She's mocking me.

I turn to her, furious and guilty tears pouring out of my eyes. "Now that you're dying, will you tell me how to get out of here?" I want to know if she's changing her answer.

"Now why would I do that? I have no reason to." She looks smug. "I should take it to my grave and make you look for someone else who knows."

"But you said there was no way out!" Now I'm really upset. "What is it?"

She shakes her head at me. "I just told you, I have no reason to tell you."

"Your death is obviously taking a long time. If it isn't painful enough to not hide the pain yet, it will be soon. I can make it a lot quicker if you tell me how to get out." Will this even appeal to her at all? It is sick and twisted logic, so it should. If she possesses any sort of logic, that is.

She raises an eyebrow. "The way out is simple."

"I doubt that." I mutter, although I do kind of just want her to spit it out. If this ends out like one of those horribly inconvenient movie moments where they die right before saying the important information, I will be angry beyond belief. I try to ignore the fact that that means I want her to die.

"I think I succeeded in breaking you." Annalora whispers, and I barely catch it.

I'm horrified that she thinks that, and hoping that she'll not have actually said that, ask, "What?"

"You see, Mina, the way out...is dying." She looks me square in the eye as she says it and ignores my question, looking dead serious. My horror grows. "I don't mind dying because it means I get out."

"But Teague said-" I begin to protest. That doesn't line up.

She raises an eyebrow. "Has Teague proven to be that honest of a person, or someone you should trust?"

"Fae can't lie!" I argue.

I realize as she speaks that she's right in what she says next. "Well, one of us did if this doesn't line up with what he said. Not to mention I said there was no way out previously. So I guess the question is...Who is right?"

I stare at her, and somethings hits me. Teague wants to hurt me and my family. He wants me to suffer for something I didn't even do. But if I die, that would mean the suffering of this phase of the curse - and hopefully the last of my suffering - would be over. He kept saving my life, but was that really so that I wouldn't fail? Or was it to keep me from succeeding? There's only one way to find out.

I plunge the dagger into my stomach, and the instant I do I know I've messed up based on one fact I forgot. There are dead Grimm girls in here. How is that explained? Oh gosh, she tricked me. I'm going to die and fail.

Annalora begins to grin wickedly and chuckle like a mad woman. "You thought you escaped, but I'm still taking you with me anyways." She chokes a little. She's going to die soon., but I doubt she will stop tormenting me until then "Keeping that knife in the wound won't save you for too long, Grimm."

I cry out in pain. Oh gosh, what have I done? Why would I believe her? Yet, if death isn't the way out, there doesn't seem to be one. There's no hope. No hope at all.

Oh man. Mina managed to save her own life, yet she fell for Annalora's trick (or do you guys think it might not be a trick?). No! What's going to happen? In this chapter, Mina was forced to murder Pri. What did you guys think about that? Did you guys like seeing Pri? Do you feel Mina made the right choice to not murder her? What about Templestiltskin? Did you expect him and Pri to die, and were you expecting him to be around in that position? Were you expecting Annalora to buy Mina's reason for not killing Temple, and kill him herself? Did you expect Mina to stop Annalora's first attempt to kill her, and then land the fatal wound on the gnome? Who was that voice she heard? Did you guys believe Annalora? Did you never? Do you still? What do you think will happen next? Will Teague arrive in time if at all to save her? Will Mina somehow save herself? Will she actually die? So many questions! Let me know in a review any reactions you had, and if you want answer any questions I asked, please do!

I do have an intended sequel for this story. At the moment, it'll probably be called "Simple Bronze Key." That will possibly change, and I don't know how soon after this one it'll be published. Hopefully it won't take as long as Unfairest (which may be arriving soon!) has taken. What occurs in that one is a surprise! It'll pick up after the end of this one (which is getting closer and closer). c:

See you next time! Thank you so much for sticking with me on this rather long story. xD It is my longest yet!

~ Dagger