Deep in the forest near far far away, hides an ancient power one needs to say, in a village near the river long, that commands any living with just a song.

In the deepest vault of the temple; among the piles of gold, wine and ivory; lies framed a brown parchment; with this written on it in blood. "To those who read this, you'll never find me."

A retelling of the original fairy tale. Part 3 of the Abstract Compilation

Damian Ryker wakes up in his room, the one with the chirping alarm and the mirror hanging on the door. All is as it should be, but something isn't sitting right with him. Something that only one other person will be able to understand. -------------- Thanks for all the love and support for "a.u.", everyone! As thanks, here's a short story featuring the main characters that's been ruminating in my writing notebook for months. Literally none of it will make sense if you haven't read the original story, so would recommend checking that out first, especially since this takes place after the fact. Is this canon? That's up to you to decide! For more information, check out the "Updates" chapter at the end of the original story. Enjoy!

[Watty Awards 2019 Winner - New Adult!] Damian Ryker is something of a nomad. In his 22 years of life he's moved a grand total of 14 times. But he's here to stay this time, honest. He's already got himself a cushy new job in town and he's exploring the popular local shops, like that coffee shop down the road. It seems nice enough, perhaps a little too hipster for his taste and the barista is awkward, if not the slightest bit weird. But there's something strange about the innocuous café, like-oh I don't know-earthquakes that seem to destroy it every morning before miraculously repairing themselves and leaving him with the only memory of it. And just when that sounded a tad off, things start to get...a little out of this world. ------------ This was my 2017 Nanowrimo story that I couldn't quite fall out of love with. Inspired by the fun and fascinating world of fan fiction AUs, I hope you'll have as much fun with this as I had writing it!