A clanging noise and the sound of footsteps could be heard. The outline of a woman could be seen, The Grimm brother's vision knew who it was even if their vision was hazy. The lack of food and water was taking a toll on them, weakening them. They had been locked up now for a month but to them it may as well had been longer. They could hear the door to their cell opening and there she was. The evil queen.

The evil queen stood over them a bored expression was etched on her face as She placed a plate of food at the foot of their feet.
" Are you finding your room comfortable.? I hope it's up to your satisfactory. After all I wouldn't want people to think the evil queen was treating the famous two with ill will. " The evil queen spoke with a sarcastic tone.

The Grimm brothers did not reply they was not going to give her the satisfaction. They would hold out,the entire realms depended upon it

"I'm going to ask you one last time before my patience really does wear thin, I've tried to be nice, gave you food and drink, now tell me who has the book. " The evil queens tone now even more darkened.

One of the Grimm brothers started to chuckle clearly not afraid, " We already told you, It's gone to a place where magic does not exist."

" You will never find it, keep searching high and low, Only he will have the power to stop you and we pray for that day. " He then started to cough, His throat dry and painful. The evil queen didn't show it but what he said unnerved her a bit. ~ Who would stop her?, Who was he?. ~ The evil queen walked to the end of the cell about to leave. She stopped and gave a final glance,

"Stay here and rot, I will never be defeated. "
And with a loud clang the cell door closed.The evil queen summoned one of her guards,
"I'm due taxes, go send some of your best men and collect from the lower towns. If they refuse, you know what to do." She ordered, her face without emotion.

" Yes, my queen, " he bowed and with that the guard left.

The evil queen watched the guard leave and then she turned down the corridor and went up the a spiral staircase. She continued on to she reached her quarters. She went over to her bookcase and then pulled out a book. The moment she did a passageway was revealed. She entered the room and there in the middle was a very large oval mirror.The queen walked to it and gazed at it longingly.



The queen gasped in horror at the mirrors words. she took a seat on her throne and pondered for what seemed ages. She them stood up, A dark look upon her face. It couldn't... be the one who they spoke of..."

" I must find him and then the book will be mine." The evil queen said. a plan already forming in her mind.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lucrecia was at the edge of the enchanted forest. She took a sip of her drink and then glanced around. This time she would be on a longer journey, the evil queen had to be stopped. The world was getting darker, The orcs were terrorizing villages according to the reports Some elves were dispatched to the outer edges and where disturbances had occured. Lucrecia put away her drink and then carried on walking.

Chaos and thuds echoed through the edge of the forest on the east side. A small and frail stranger was running with an object in his hand, wrapped in cloth, traversing the woodlands and close to reaching an exit. An small army of soldiers armed with crossbows pikes and swords were waiting for him, a few on horseback. Behind him however a rampaging beast was behind him. Though the forest was dense trees would fall over at the wake of an unseen monster, its rage filled roars filling the entire woodland area. The running stranger had a pale face of panic as he continued to sprint to the army, who were already readying their weapons. The man breached the woods. "I have it!" He shouted and continued to run until he reached the very back of the army, the rest of them were all facing the mouth of the forest for the coming beast. Silence suddenly following, as if the beast disappeared entirely, no more trees were trampled over and no loud rapid footsteps or deafening roars came from the wilds.



FAFNIR SIGURD

After waiting a minute, I sprang fourth from the woods, my reptilian body tearing through trees as I landed upon a pike-armed man, the blade just missing my chest. My crocodilian eyes glared at the soldier as he cried for help. The crossbow units fired their bolts but despite their high quality projectiles they bounced off of my scales as if they were solid metal. As their attack failed I struck the man with a bite, speed of an adder and force of a gator, my massive snake-like head nearly having the whole man in my mouth, with only was legs and squirming arms sticking out. Lifting the squirming soldier off the ground id violently thrash my head about which causes my teeth and jaws to tear up the man even more so, screams of agony sent his fellow shoulders chills down their spines as an arm popped off and fell to the ground. My face stained with dripping blood as I swallowed the now lifeless and turn up body whole. My eyes watched the next action of the hardened warriors turning to cowards. One brave soul tried to jab at me with his pike but my tail whipped him before he can even see it coming, the force would shatter his chestplate and cripple his body, sending him flying across the field and into the dirt. While he wasn't dead he was paralyzed. I'd open my mouth, drenched with the blood of their comrade, as flames erupted from my mouth, consuming flanks of soldiers that were about to charge me. Afterwards I charge at the frail young stranger that was holding the wrapped object, who began to sprint off. Several survivors and those on horseback tried to stop me but I merely trampled over them like an elephant as I was moving far to fast to ever hope to be out-runned. I'd spit out a projectile of saliva, which landed on the man and screamed in pain. He writhed in the acidic saliva, his body showed little signs of errosion, but he was in agonizing pain nonetheless. Falling to the ground and dropping the object.

"Do not steal from me, tell that to those that sent you." An oddly human voice, unfitting for my monstrous form, came from me, to the strangers suprise. He would still try to rub off the saliva as he ran off to the nearest village. As he left, I morphed back to my mortal form, and picked up the wrapped object. My armor had already formed over my now human body.

A sharp intake of breath and a small sigh came from a nearby tree. Red watched as the dragon and the man now conversed quietly. Damien was in a tree not too far away, but was motioning for her to follow him. The young woman wasn't sure she needed, or wanted, to stay, but if the new comer to the scene was in danger, she would be obligated to do something. However, she had never fought a dracomorph before and, though she knew of them, she had no desire to learn more up close. Jumping stealthily towards Damien's tree, she started to follow his lead. There was a rumor that there might be a magic strong enough to fizzle out his curse, or to at least help him control his urges and give him power of the wolf inside.

"Hopefully we find a place to hide you soon," Red breathed quietly, knowing Damien's ears picked up on it, "The full moon is two days from now."

With inhuman speed and agility, Damien moved so he was closer to Red for her hearing to catch his low voice, "I know, my love. I can feel the darker instincts coursing through my veins." With a small snarl, he started to leap faster, knowing Red could keep up. They didn't have the time to dilly-daddle through the forest and quite frankly, he didn't want a repeat of the last full moon. With a shaking breath, he glanced back at his love with a tinge of regret. If only he hadn't taken her out into the woods that night, he wouldn't be this monster.

Doc, hiding silently behind a tree, attempted to help one of the soldiers. He was badly hurt, but he didn't seem dead. His chest rose and fell at an odd pace. Blood dripped from his mouth as Doc propped him up, pushing him against a tree. Despite the fact that he was quite clearly destroyed, he handled himself pretty well. He could speak, he could move his fingers, he could shake his head. Whatever the dragon-like creature did, it was powerful beyond anything Doc had ever seen. And that's saying something, considering some of the horrifying things he'd treated.

"Whatever the hell that thing did to you, I've never seen anything like it. Hate to have to tell you this, but I'm not quite sure-" Doc cut himself off after realizing the soldier had stopped breathing. It'd happened so many times before, he sighed rather loudly and turned his attention to the commotion between the dragon-man and the tribal. They were arguing over something, but he coudln't make out what it was from the distance he was at.

He stepped out from the trees, crouching low to the ground, and hid in the grass in front of the treeline. Through the thick accent of the tribal, all he could understand was something about rum. He looked threatening, but he sounded slightly less so. Doc continued to move closer as the two talked.

Lucreica had walked in the forest for what seemed quite a while. She stopped and paused.. It had been dawn when she first set out.
Lucrecia glanced up at the sun above, so bright, daring to blind. She thought for a moment,

"Is it midday already? I guess, I should stop for a short rest." and with that she went to a nearby tree and climbed above and then sat down. Lucrecia looked around at her surroundings, This was indeed the largest forest in the entire realm. It's the place where all magic dwells. It is bewitching in beauty and can also be deceiving. One could become lost if one is not careful. A wrong turn in a path can set you right back from where you first entered it. It is that misleading. Not that it's a bad thing mind, It is a protection for the little magic creatures that dwell here, such as fairies and wood nymphs and other mystical creatures. It sort of their playground some have even built homes here and some just visit.

The enchanted forest at night though is said be quite dangerous.. dark creatures wonder out in the night. goblins, orcs, winged beasts, dark fairies, wolves... So if you wandering through then it's better to leave as quickly as one could. There are other woods and forests in this realm that are just what they are but this takes after it's name enchanted. For that reason alone one must not enter into it lightly.

Lucrecia wasn't afraid of course she had been coming here since she was a small child long ago. She glanced tightly at her pendant and then looked in her bag. She took out a beautiful red apple and took one large bite out of it. She munched on it and became deep in thought once more.

@Doc Doctor

I watched the well armored man yell at me in a strange accent, I wasn't familiar with its origins, and it didnt help I can barely understand what he was rambling at, just that he was apparently a mercenary for the men I had just slaughtered for their blasphemous thieving. I retrieved the wrapped up object. "I just defended what is mine, their fault for taking it." I said flatly. My head jerked up, as I thought that I smelled something off. Looking back and raising my face guard, my forked tongue tasting the air. After a short while of taking in scent my eyes fell upon a patch of tall grass hiding a black figure I could barely make out. "A survivor?" I called over to it.@louie221

Doc heard the Dragon-man's voice clearly in the calm air. A survivor. Well, he technically was surviving, but he'd not been a survivor of the attack. In fact, he'd only just arrived, plans ruined when he realized people were being hurt. Stopping to help may have been a bad idea. He adjusted his mask, stood up, and stared back to the man.

"Less a survivor, more of a... Survivee, know what I mean?" Doc spoke shakily. He knew that if it came to a fight, he'd stand no chance. And he certainly was not willing to confront a man, a dragon, whatever the hell he really was.

He took small steps back, getting closer and closer to the forest behind him. When his foot crossed the treeline, his whole body felt lighter, felt better, felt good. He hadn't even noticed when he was there earlier. It felt comforting, but at the same time, uneasy. All the same, it was better than getting slaughtered by a dragon.

The moment he thought he had a chance, he whipped around and began to sprint through hom grassy forest, dodging trees on the way. His dark robes flowed like a black river as the bounced, slamming either onto him, or the trees that came a bit too close.

Doc, while having a tough personality, certainly knew when he was in trouble. He just hoped dearly that there was someone - something - that could help him, assuming that he was followed, of course.

Meanwhile, as the worlds went on around her with their fights and dragons and warriors, the Princess lounged in the folds of a black wool blanket, tracing the lip of a gold and crimson teacup idly with a perfect porcelain fingertip. Since arriving in the grand castle of the "evil queen," as she called herself, the Princess had occupied her time in wait of developments with the Grimm brothers. After all, the queen's techniques were cruel, certainly, but they reaped results, and the Princess expected the Grimm brothers would withdraw their stories and remove their influences on the lives of her realm. Translation - far fewer husbands for her to please, which she would be nothing but thankful for.

She dipped a finger lazily inside her cup, stirring a sugar cube into the bitter concoction the queen had offered her earlier. According to the gossip of the servants, the queen had yet to kill any innocents, although they could be mistaken. In the back of her mind, the Princess had hoped that by being present and influencing the queen, her supposed "curse" on the innocents of other realms would be lifted. Still, the queen rarely acknowledged her, and she had yet to grant the Princess's request of a conversation with the brothers themselves. She suspected nothing, of course.

So the Princess acted her perfect aristocratic role on the couch, bossing around the servants who surrounded her and sucking down the kingdom's tea supplies with not a care in the world for her many concerned husbands or powerful dragons or medicine men. Perhaps she would visit the nearby wood for a stroll soon, perhaps not, but Aspen's main occupation was waiting for her future meeting with the brothers, which she was sure the queen was arranging at this very minute.

Right?

The queen entered the drawing room one of the quieter rooms in the castle. The queen paced back and forth her hands held out in front of her,she was plotting her next move. Since the brothers had been captured she wasn't allowing anyone else to see them. They were currently held in most locked up cell in the dungeons with round the clock guards posted. They were even charms and magic spells acting as a barrier,to stop any person with magic from freeing them.

It's true the queen was paranoid trusting very few unsure if there were spies waiting and biding their time. even the ones she did trust the queen wasn't budging on her decisions, Absolutely no one was allowed to see the Grimm brothers.The queen had been for sometime lost in her own thoughts and only just barely noticed Aspen sitting across the room.the queen had wondered why she had returned to the castle afterafter all the failed attempts to marry her off had failed.

Was Aspen really that bored that she came back... was there another reason? The queeen was thinking not that she was not glad of some company even the queen with all her evil plotting she often find it tiresome at times and lonely, though she wouldn't admit it.

A small smile etched in the corner of her mouth, " Aspen, you look bored my dear. Is life in this castle not measuring up to your needs." She said a brow arched slightly.

" Don't tell me your still sulking really? Is this about the conversation we had the other day?," the queen asked her manner quite amused yet calm in composure. Even though she rarely acknowleged Aspen she did find her entertaining.

After traveling a fair bit, Red and Damien started to grow a bit weary. Damien surely could have gone on a bit further, but Red seemed to need food, as foretold by the growling noises her stomach made.

"We need to stop," the older male said with a slight growl to his voice. Red looked over at her lover with a slight frown.

"I'll be alright, Damien. We can keep going for a while," the blonde said with ease, rolling into another branch to stop. He stopped mid jump and landed on a lower branch before jumping back up to meet her. He grabbed a hard biscuit out of his bag and handed it as well as a sliver of preserved meat over to her.

"Eat. I'll stand watch," Damien growled before sniffing the air slightly. Something was off, but he wasn't going to let Red know until she rested. The blonde took the food and started to eat slowly, not wanting to overpower herself and have to sit for longer than she needed. She wanted real food, but that would have to wait until they could camp out through his transformation. She watched Damien wonder off a bit, knowing he had a good sense of keeping a perimeter while he kept watch on her.

Sniffing slightly, Damien crouched in a tree trying to decipher what his senses were telling him. He could tell something was there, but he couldn't tell if it was dangerous or even smart. Looking around, he spotted a pair of feet that were unfamiliar to him hanging from a higher branch than the one he was on. He slowly climbed a neighboring tree, hoping he stayed well concealed from the other in the area. He looked around the large trunk of his tree to spot an elven girl sitting not too far away.

Growling just loud enough for her to hear, he announced, "Announce your identity or you'll have trouble." He jumped onto a tree branch in her view, sword drawn.

@Eris

Aspen's eyes lifted to meet the queen's, and the natural smile that had permanently formed on her face broadened. And there she was - Her Majesty, in all her glory, powerful, graceful, and quite cordial as well, she mentally remarked. "Oh, no, the castle is magnificent!" Aspen reassured her. "I was just lost in my thoughts, that's all." She gathered her nest of blankets to one side of the sofa, allowing the queen to take a place on the other end. "I assure you, your palace is magnificent, and the service is amazing, much better than anything I could find at home. Everything here is quite a blessing, truly. I just do enjoy being in my head sometimes, mulling things over." She gently placed her teacup on a saucer and set them both on a gothic mahogany side table. A hand planted on the pocket where a certain fairy godmother may be located so as to prevent her from escaping. She also offered the queen a second teacup and the teapot before speaking again.

"I promise, my intent is not to complain as I say this," Aspen began in a cautious tone, "but I am worried your latest policy regarding the Grimm brothers and the return of their book may be stirring the people. While I traveled here to meet you, I noticed some... some type of energy that I haven't before; a pulsing energy that screamed of defiance. I intend to travel to the wood soon or perhaps to the nearest town, just to ensure I'm not misreading the people's activity, but I fear this policy could blow up in your-" She paused and shook her head. "-our faces. I am just a princess, though, so I do understand if you feel you know more than I in these matters." She said a quick mental prayer for mercy. She knew there was quite a risk in the words she was uttering, but she couldn't find it in her to stop their coming out.

Lucreica didn't attempt to block the sword it was more out of curiosity what the motive behind it was. She looked straight into the half-breeds eyes and simply grabbed the sword and moved it out of her direction. Lucrecia got the gist that this man had wolf scent all over him. "I am Lucrecia, warrior princess of the elven people. Lucrecia replied, Her eyes ceasing contact with the other she continued, "Have you no respect? that you would come all out of your midst and dare to threaten me with a sword. Had I been a beast, or a orc, or the evil queen herself, or made a movement to threaten you. or your mate.. that would be understandable. However I am none of those reasons. So, how are you going to respond, usually I'm not this patient, better act quickly before you really offend me" Lucrecia wasn't going to be intimidated after all she couldn't call herself a warrior and it wasn't like she had not dealt with wolves before. However Lucrecia got the sense that this wolf was merely being protective of his mate, she hadn't forgotten what that was like and what you would do for a loved one.
@Chaoticmickey



The queen sat down and took a sip of her tea that had been offered to her by Aspen. She then glanced back at Aspen, " I don't fear the people, As long as they are fed and have their little bit of living then they are content with their pitiful lives. If they dare threaten me or dare to revolt, then my dear I guess I will have no choice but to go through with what I said before."The queen stood up once more and then walked a circular pace clearly thinking of what would be her next move, she paused and then had clearly decided. "Alright maybe a fresh pair of eyes would be useful to me and you clearly have a lot of time on your hands, So here it is. go investigate the woods, towns, villages and see what the word is, be my eyes and ears. Don't make yourself too obvious, you are known, so do whatever must be done to gain their trust. Understood? Aspen" The evil queen now satisfied. if she had Aspen to keep a eye on what the people were up to or if there was any other occurence or a uprising that could be a problem. then Aspen knew how to deal with it. The evil queen had enough to do with finding the book.

Fin's eyes opened to a room made of soft fabric, both warm and comfortable it was the opposite of her fading dream. Did she just dream about two pirate ship ramming each other? A quick check showed her to be dry as a bone, before one of the walls almost crushed her again.

Aspen began in a cautious tone, "but I am worried your latest policy regarding the Grimm brothers and the return of their book may be stirring the people."

Fin hugged herself remembering suddenly where she was. she did worry over The Princess but did she have to poke her so much. She took her duties in looking after her seriously. and sensed more the other presence in the room than the Princesses wish for her to remani hidden. This Princess seemed to less interested in courting and more into anything else. Fin frowned, Were they all like this? she thought to herself, Well I can set her up with some lucky man during the quest.

Finella listened in and tried not to move, there was someone else there, princesses never talked to themselves after all.

Elpha wandered through the forrest aimlessly, her arms being wrapped around her short body in attempt to stay warm. Although the sun was shining, the cool, icy air still made her shiver. Her thin silk frock wasn't any help either, as it was too light to give her any sort of warmth. Elpha sighed in defeat as she continued to walk along, her mind eventually drifting to the events from earlier that day.

Elpha watched fearfully as Alec - a scrawny looking centaur who'd been 'helping her out' on her quest- was pinned down on the ground beneath the claws of a large Alphyn who stared down at him angrily. The intimidating creature had uneven black fur, and its talons were a crimson red colour.. most likely the dried up blood of his previous kills. Alec began to struggle beneath the creature's hold, which just enraged it even further. Deciding to attack, the Alphyn began to slash at Alec's chest with its sharp claws, causing him to scream and gasp in pain. Elpha quickly fled from the scene, not wanting to see what would soon happen to Alec.

Elpha shivered in fear at the memory, her eyes lifting from the ground to scan her surroundings as she suddenly felt slightly paranoid. As she looked up, she saw a huge number corpses laying on the ground in the distance, and two men standing near the bodies. Elpha was indeed horrified at the sight, however she was somewhat impressed as well. Whoever caused this would definitely be very handy to her.
She decided to duck behind a large tree nearby the two strangers so she wouldn't be spotted whilst she watched them, and began to observe them as she tried to figure out who'd killed the load of people. One of the men wore a full suit of armour - similar to the type you'd see on a knight- and held an unrecognisable object covered in cloth. The other wore unusual looking armour which was decorated with skulls and spikes, and spoke to the other male in a loud, unfamiliar accent. Both of them did certainly look strong, but neither of them looked as if they had the strength to kill a large group of people alone.

"Understood, Aspen?" The Princess quickly scanned her hostess's eyes and expression before nodding her head in agreement. Her fingers gently stroked the length of Fin's back comfortingly. "Understood, Your Highness," Aspen replied. "I'm rather restless, so I don't believe I'll delay unless you wish me to. Do allow me a moment to change into some lighter commoner's clothes, though." She rose to her feet, knees popping rather loudly and hips feeling achy and creaky. On light feet, she padded across the sitting room along the plush ebony carpets and through the door.

As soon as she got out of sight, she parted her skirts and fished around for the pocket containing Fin, whom she swiftly freed from her confines. "Sorry to squish you up in there, Finny, but I worried the queen might have been frightened by your appearance," she murmured softly, cupping the fairy between two dainty palms. "How much of our exchange could you hear? We shan't remain in the palaces for much longer. We will have a bit of an adventure with the queen's commonfolk." She beamed brightly and rocked onto her toes, bouncing gently on her heels to release some of the energy building up beneath all of her skirts and skin. Aspen had rarely encountered anyone not considered an aristocrat, and even in those instances, such people were usually timid young soldiers or one of her insufferable husbands. But not all people must be that way when born without riches, right? she reasoned with herself. She was sure that the woods would hold wonderful humans and perhaps a few other species, too.

And so what if she was caught? The whole world respected the kingdom her parents maintained. They were mediators, not fire-starters, and all from the surrounding countries knew it. The Princess would be respected and admired, and perhaps she would be so talented as to convince the commonwealth of the so-called "evil" queen's true goodness. Nothing but good could come of this adventure, she was sure of it. Nothing but good would come of her mission.

@Doc Doctor@midnightt@louie221



FAFNIR SIGURD



"survivee eh?" I chucked a jolly laugh though I stopped as he ran off, a bit disappointing. "Hmph, well I don't blame him, I did just perform a slaughter." I said, looking to who I assumed was some mercenary, an exotic one at that, offer me a fruit. "Business? I just live in the woods right now, guarding what belongs to me." I finished as I hoisted the wrapped object on my shoulder. My eyes were glowing like orbs of dim fire as I watched him, until I picked up another scent, a more femine fragrance. "We have another watcher." I said to the exotic stranger as I looked back to a tree where I could smell someone hiding behind it. I'd take the banana from the merc's hand as I continued to stare at the tree. "Oi, I can smell you, show yourself."

Elpha gulped nervously as she was called out from behind the tree, her eyes widening slightly. After a few seconds of planning she stepped out from behind her hiding place gingerly, making sure to look and act as innocent and shy as possible. They wouldn't kill someone as sweet as me.. That'd be inhumane…

Elpha stared at the two with wide, fearful eyes, her lips trembling. She stared at them wordlessly for a few seconds, as if she was dumbstruck. Unexpectedly, she burst out in tears, hugging herself tightly to feel some sort of security - this was all acting, of course. "I-I'm sorry! I was curious.. I wa-anted to see what'd happened." She weeped, slowly approaching the two with her head lowered. "Do-ont kill me, I'm innocent." She continued to sob softly, coming down to her knees at their feet.
Elpha would've never done this if she wasn't acting as it would've been humiliating, but her usual demanding attitude would've had her killed almost instantly.

@Doc Doctor@dragonmancer