Where to? | An Unfortunate Fairytale Fan Fiction

Chapter 2

When they turned off the highway onto a narrower, dirt road, Mina knew they were close. Teague drove silently through the wooded roadway, and she was bombarded with a thousand unappealing memories. The Fae prince glanced at her as they neared the lake.

“Ah, remember the Snow White tale? I particularly liked the part where you chucked a bushel of fruit at that poor, defenseless tree.” Teague grinned somewhat manically, “And that impressive storm you produced. What a plot twist! I mean-”

“Just shut up!” Mina interrupted angrily. Yes, of course she remembered that awful party. The night she almost killed- no- the night she did kill her best friend. How dare he joke about it, as if it was something to laugh over?  

“This is just a sick game to you, isn’t it? Nan almost died in that crash! And it was all because of you and your stupid obsession with ruining my life, you jerk!” She yelled at him- anger at herself, at him, and at the Fates boiling in her chest. If it wasn’t for her deal with the Queen, Nan really would be buried and gone forever. And Mina would have likely lost her mind from grief and guilt.

Her outburst didn’t seem to rile Teague in the slightest. He pulled into the long, sandy driveway and parked alongside the other cars, taking his own sweet time in shutting off the car and turning to look at her.

“Oh, come now, Mina. Surely you don’t believe all that. My ‘obsession’, as you put it, had nothing to do with the role you played in that tale. That was all you. Need I remind you- I offered you the choice to be Snow White, and you ran off.  Nan was the perfect replacement, under the circumstances.” He told her, as if his reasoning was perfectly logical, and she was a confused child.

He did have one thing right. It was Mina’s own jealousy that made her into the evil queen. And the object of her scorn became the princess of the tale- a princess that was nearly killed in a freak accident in a freak storm.

Teague seemed to be able to tell that she was working his comment over in her head. It must have prompted him to continue, “And really, sweetheart? Who do you actually think caused that storm? It wasn’t me.”

His words made Mina freeze. “W-what?” she stuttered. “What are you talking about? You’re the one with the magic powers, not me!”

Teague laughed somewhat coldly, “Oh? And you’re certain of that, love?”

She clenched her fists together so tightly they cracked. “Of- of course. Humans c-can’t use Fae magic. And I wouldn’t know how anyway.” But there was a slight dread creeping into her chest all the same.

“Well, news flash, darling. I don’t assist in tales. And my parents certainly don’t, unless it benefits them directly. Any extra pizzazz spread through the story was you and you only. Yah see, the Grimms have always had a closer connection with magic than most humans. Likely because they’re so frequently exposed to Fae enchantments. It rubs off.”

Mina couldn’t- and didn’t particularly want to- believe what she was hearing. “What, are you trying to tell me that the storm, the magic mirrors… that was all me? Are you crazy?” She demanded.

He snorted, rubbing at a smudge on the sunglasses in his hands. “Me? I should be asking you that. Sane people don’t create massive lightning-rainstorms to kill their friends over a guy.”

Mina leaned back, insulted. “It wasn’t- I wasn’t- you- you don’t know what you’re talking about! I’m not crazy. You’re the psychopath here!”

Teague only shook his head, as if she was soft in the head, and he was simply humoring her. “Look, babe. What you need to know is that you’re the first Grimm that I know of to actually use Fae magic. And the first one to almost murder someone with it. And for that, I congratulate you. I’m not going to argue semantics with you at the moment, because I’m hungry, and I want to raid the snack table inside. Maybe you’re a crazy bat, maybe you’re not. But, right now, there is a plate of mini corndogs in there calling my name. Now lighten up, loser. There are worst things in life than having powers.”

And with that, Teague shoved his car door open and left Mina sitting in the passenger side, gaping and confused. All she could do was scramble out after him, struggling to keep up with his long strides.

He unzipped his leather jacket and tossed it lazily over his shoulder, which left his strong biceps bare, and revealed a dark t-shirt that did very little to hide his muscular physique. Not that Mina noticed or anything.

“But- but- what? Are you telling me I can still do that stuff? That it wasn’t just a part of the tale?” She stammered, trying and failing to wrap her head around it. Teague rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his shaggy hair, which seemed to catch the eye of a familiar girl not too far away, surrounded by a posse of preps.

“Yeah, Grimm. Do I need to spell it for you? Drop the clueless act. It doesn’t suit you.” He replied, looking at Mina pointedly. She narrowed her eyes at him sulkily for a moment, yet still not entirely convinced.

He groaned in frustration , rubbing his eyebrows, then turning  his attention back to her. “Think about it this way. Have you actually tried the magic mirror gig since you completed the tale?”

Mina’s eyes widened. She hadn’t… she hadn’t even thought of it since then. The look on her face must have answered his question. He gave her “the snerk”. Mina belatedly realized that that had been their longest conversation without his signature look so far.

“Well, there you have it, Gimp. Next time you go upstairs to clean up whatever you end up dumping on yourself, give it a try, would ya? Sheesh. It’s like I’m talking to a wall. You’re hopeless.” He chuckled a bit at her offended expression. “Now, now. Let’s not get our panties in a wad. Can we go get food now? I’m hungry enough to eat a wyvern.”

Her eyebrows bunched in confusion. “I have no idea what that is.”

He laughed, genuinely this time. “Trust me, short stuff. You don’t want to know.”