Young Writers Society

Dear Grimm,

I'm sure that you've noticed that there's no return address on this envelope. There's too much at risk for me to let you know who I am. My parents always told me that I couldn't trust one of you. I guess that's stuck with me all these years. Still, we can't go killing each other forever. Even though it's only a piece of paper, a letter can go a long way in bridging the gap.

Or at least that's what I hope.

I'm not sure when they start brainwashing you. Maybe they don't need to. Maybe you just pop out of the womb and you have a burning hatred for us. But if you still don't know the truth about who you are, for whatever reason, I guess an explanation is in order. You're a descendant from the Grimm brothers. Fighting us – the monsters that they wrote about – is in your blood. Your family probably has a treasured weapon that's been passed down through the generations, and you're probably able to see us even when we try to hide among the humans.

But we're not all bad people, just like you guys. The Grimms were convinced that we were, and that's why their descendants kill us to this day. And that's why I'm writing this letter. It's 2017, but more bodies are still added to the tally of the dead each day. It's a nightmare. Grimms attack us out of a cruel sense of duty and justice, and fighting back only reinforces their twisted beliefs. Even though neither one of us wants to admit it, we need change.

It's funny. You'd think that's something that all of us monsters could agree upon, but I'd probably be killed for being friendly to a Grimm. You see what I mean? This world is falling apart, and someone has to do something to stop it. I'm not sure if you believe me, or even think that this world's worth saving.

But if you do? There's an old warehouse not far from where you live. You Grimms live surprisingly close to each other. I've included the address on a separate sheet of paper. I'd appreciate if you burned it after you committed it to memory, but I also understand that secrecy probably isn't something that you're used to. Meet me there this Friday night at 9 o'clock. Come alone, unless you're certain that you can trust whoever you bring.

See you there, I guess.

Grimm
1-@saentiel
2-@XxXTheSwordsmanXxX
3-@Steggy
4-@Chaser
5-@ThemagicalEbonyFox

Monsters
1-@saentiel
2-@Feltrix
3-@FalconerGal9086

Rosaria Waters

Her feet dangled over the edge of the bunk bed as she removed the knives from their intricately decorated sheaths. Leo softly snored beneath her. She was normally awed by his ability to fall asleep at the most random of times, but she was currently more intrigued by what had once belonged to her mother. The blades were mesmerizing. She wondered if her mother had spent as much time as she had contemplating their history.

She gently placed the knives down beside her. Then she carefully picked up the letter resting on her lap. She shouldn't have believed the words written in a messy scrawl, but its contents contained the explanation she had been seeking for the past month.

“Grimm,” she muttered. The word held a dangerous power. According to the sender of the letter, it inspired fear in the monsters her family had hunted for centuries. She repeated the taboo word once more, though her voice was louder. “Grimm.”

Leo shot up in the bunk below her.

He uttered a startled cry of pain as his head collided with the bottom of her bed. Holding back a laugh – it wasn't the first time he had done so – she began to climb down the bed's ladder. Her sock-covered feet touched the wooden floor. She looked over at him, expecting to see him holding back tears.

The letter fell out of her hand.

It was only for a brief second, but it was enough for her to get a good look at his true appearance. His face had elongated into a beak, and a layer of feathers covered what had once been skin. His eyes remained the same brilliant blue. Then it returned to the face that she had known for years.

“Rosie?” Leo innocently asked. “What's wrong? Do I have something on my face?”

She couldn't find the words she needed to say.

So she avoided his question and leaned down. Picking up the letter from its spot on her floor, she wordlessly handed it over to him. She waited for a reaction. He could have only skimmed the beginning of it, but he dropped the letter like it was a handful of hot coals.

If anyone could confirm what the letter said, it would be him.

He frantically got to his feet and started to rush towards the door. His backpack lay forgotten next to her desk. Was her heritage so terrifying that it made her own best friend afraid of her?

“Leo,” she said.

His hand was shaking as he rested it on the doorknob. He slowly turned to face her. For a second time, his face took on the form of what appeared to be a raven.

“Don't kill me, Rosie!” he pleaded. Tears rolled down his black feathers. “The person who wrote that letter is right! We're not all bad! I know that it's your duty to hunt us, but we're honestly good people.”

“Leo, I've known you since before you were potty-trained,” she quickly reassured him. It was odd that she was the one doing the comforting – her best friend was the one that had suddenly become a monster. “I'd never hurt you just because of because of my heritage or whatever it is.”

He sniffled. His face returned to its more human form.

“Really?”

She nodded.

He sighed in relief. Rather than return to the bed, he settled down in front of her door. She opted to sit backwards on her spinning desk chair instead of joining him, but pushed it towards him. “So, all of that stuff in the letter,” she began with a wave of her hand. She rested her other one on the back of her chair. “Is it really true?”

“Yeah,” Leo quietly answered. “It is.”

A tense silence fell upon them. Something about what she had asked seemed to upset him, and she was guessing that it had to do with Grimms killing monsters like him. How many of his family and friends had fallen victim to them? How many funerals could have been avoided?

“If I can tell if someone isn't human, does that mean you can tell that I'm a Grimm?” she asked, deciding a change in the topic was for the best.

He crossed his arms and thought for a moment. After coming to a conclusion, he replied with, “Sometimes? I wasn't aware of it until just now, but that's probably because your powers are starting to awaken. I bet it'll be more obvious in a month or two.”

She held up her pointer finger. “One last question,” she said, giving the chair a quick spin. “Do you want to come with me to the warehouse on Friday?”

He grinned at her. “I wouldn't be a good best friend if I didn't!”

Oliver Guff

Rubbing his eyes beneath his silver rimmed glasses, Oliver sighed as he picked up the letter once again. In truth, he should be reporting this directly to his line of Grimm, but just that piece of paper in his hand was so…strange. Not that the letter itself was strange, or even the things written in it. It was the letter itself. It shouldn’t exist. Monsters weren’t supposed to feel…this. Worry. Regret.

Fear.

This isn’t normal. At least…not what the books say is normal. They depict creatures with blood-lust and anger, even hatred. He threw the letter onto his desk as he leaned back in the chair. He sighed as he ran through everything in his head again. Thinking about how stupid a choice this was.

But he had to know…

He needed to know. Something clashed with the books, with what he was told. There had to be a reason why things didn’t make sense. But if he told anyone they would report it to as many Grimms as they could and come down on that warehouse with as many guns and relics as they could muster.

No. He had to go alone.

“Working late?” a voice asked making Oliver jump. Moving a book onto the letter he sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose again. Looking over he saw Alex, one of the few other scholars.

“Yeah…some creature that they can’t identify. You know the hunters. No details. Just how big and that silver didn’t work.” He said with a grin.

“Don’t be up too much, Oliver. You’re probably the best informant we have. Need you on top of your game if we want to get these things eradicated.”

“Yeah…I’ll keep that in mind. I won’t be too much longer.”

Alex left. Leaving Oliver alone with the books and files. Pulling the letter our once again he read it twice more and threw it on the table again. Could it be that they actually wanted peace? That they wanted the fighting to be over? It seemed too good to be true. Maybe just another ploy to get Grimms alone, but what if?

He hated that question. It always got him in trouble.

“This is the dumbest decision I have ever made,” he sighed getting up and grabbing his coat. Pulling it on, he grabbed the notes before burning the one with the address. Shoving the letter into his jacket pocket he left. Grabbing a small notebook on the way. It was something that always made him feel better. Filled with notes and details of things that he wanted to investigate, find the answers to.

Boarding the train he was forced to take many of the back ways through the city. More to avoid Grimms than anything.

On the train, he paused as he saw the young woman right beside him staring at him with wide frightened eyes. He locked with her, and for a moment he could see the mouse-like features that flickered for a moment. It hit him. He understood why she looked ready to jump out the window of the moving subway.

He sighed before he moved in close to her ear. “I don’t want to fight. You go your way and I’ll go mine. No one gets hurt. No one follows the other,” he said gently. Of course that didn’t mean that she would listen. She could turn on him right now and likely kill him. Just another Grimm fallen by another Monster.

As the doors of the train opened, Oliver breathed a sigh of relief. It didn’t seem that either of them were wanting to die today. A few more minutes of travel and he headed up into the warehouse district of the city. Large, foreboding buildings on either side. Having to hide from the night time security.

Counting the buildings as he went he found it. It was either a trap or a chance to learn something new. Something that could change the very foundation of the world that he lived in. He had to take a chance. Pulling open the door he walked in. It suddenly hit him that he was severely under prepared for if this all went wrong. Just the family knife that he had since his powers awakened.

They likely had guns. It was much easier to kill a Grimm that it was many of the monsters. He swallowed as he closed the door behind him and walked into the darkness.

“Hello?” he asked in the echoing space. “I’m Oliver Guff. Is anyone there?”

Erin Harper

Erin strolled down main street, hands in their pockets, head tilted down, looking for all the world like an average teenager. At least, that was the hope. In reality, they had been tailing a girl and a boy for several blocks. One of them, the girl, was descended from the famed Brothers Grimm, while the other was a fairytale monster. Erin's mother had been killed by a distant relative of the girl and they were a monster themselves. They weren't an average teenager.

The fact that Erin had spotted a Grimm or monster wasn't altogether surprising. New York brought all types of people, although Grimms and monsters tried to keep their identities hidden, though for very different reasons. The fact that they were walking side by side in earnest conversation... that was far beyond normal. Erin could believe that a monster wouldn't recognize a Grimm or vice versa, but neither recognizing the other was too much to count on.

Erin ducked out of sight and transformed into a crow. Pigeons were more common in New York, but a crow would never be called out of place. Besides, Erin could never take themselves seriously if they became a pigeon. Their vision telescoped as they shrank and their hair and skin was buried under ebony feathers. Erin's hands and arms became wings, their feet became claws, and their face elongated into a beak. In a heartbeat, the transformation was complete and Erin was in the air.

If it had been anatomically possible, Erin would have grinned as they watched the Grimm and the monster from above. Shapeshifting made it laughably easy to follow people without their knowledge. It also made it more difficult for Grimms to discern Erin's identity as a monster.

Erin swooped closer to the pair until they were just within earshot. "...You don't know what it's like, Rosie," the boy said. "Being a monster. Always on the run. Never knowing who to trust. That's why the person who wrote this letter was so vague. For all they know, you could just try to kill them. Anyway, a lot of us, the monsters, have grown to hate Grimms as much as you hate us."

"But, Leo, I don't hate you," the Grimm, Rosie, said. "Or any monsters, really. I mean, you're the only one I've met, but how bad can they be if you're one of them?"

So, Erin had been right. Both the girl and the boy knew about the other's heritage, yet they weren't trying to kill each other. They were also intrigued by the reference to a monster writing a letter, presumably inviting the duo to... something. No matter what the end goal was, inviting a monster and a Grimm to the same place was a recipe for disaster, even if they did seem friendly towards each other.

"I didn't mean you personally," Leo continued. "I just meant, you know..."

"Grimms," Rosie finished. This was followed by an uncomfortable silence, which the girl finally broke. "Do you think this could work? Peace between monsters and Grimms?"

Erin squawked in surprise. Someone was trying to organize peace? This could end in a bloodbath!

The girl glanced up at Erin, finally noticing the crow following her and her friend. They watched in horror as Rosie's expression shifted from blank to confused to realization.

"Leo," she said, voice hushed. "That's not a crow."

Erin released a long and colorful string of curses, which destroyed the last shreds of their already blown disguise. Thankfully, no humans were in the general vicinity to witness the swearing crow. Erin decided the game was up and they should just go for broke.

They swooped lower to the ground and shifted back into human form. "This is a bad idea," they said without waiting for the confusion to register on Rosie or Leo's face.

"Who are you?" Rosie managed to say.

"Hah! Like I would tell a Grimm my name. Do I have the word "gullible" tattooed on my forehead?" Erin spat. "As I was saying, turn around, go home, and forget about any of this letter stuff."

Rosie's brow furrowed. "But you're a monster. Don't you want peace?"

"Peace? Sure. I'm all for peace." Their lips curled scornfully. "But it's not going to happen, and it will probably get you both killed. Grimms have been slaughtering us for two hundred years. You think you can make a difference? You can't. Anyway, peace isn't a new idea. You, Leo, isn't it? You're a monster. Tell her what happened last time."

Rosie turned to the boy.

"Uh...he...she..." Leo flushed red.

"They," Erin supplied.

"They kind of have a point," he said, staring at the ground. "The last time there was talk of peace, it went bad and a lot of people died. But there's no reason to think that will happen this time."

"No reason except all evidence and past events," Erin growled.

"Well, I think you're wrong," Rosie said. "Leo and I are proof that we don't have to fight. And we shouldn't. You may not think it's possible, but that doesn't mean it isn't. This world is still worth saving, and someone's got to do it, so why not us?" With that, she walked past Erin towards a warehouse farther down the road. Leo followed.

For a moment, Erin stood there, looking at the warehouse. Finally, they cursed as they shifted into a mouse and skittered after the pair. I'm just going to watch, they thought, changing into a house fly before settling into the shape of a starling and flitting towards the warehouse.

He received the letter while writing the day's orders. It slid underneath the door and laid there for a good twenty minutes before Jonathan looked over. The store was closed for the day since it was a Sunday. The warm summer sun shone through the window and created a warm atmosphere and the workstation where Jonathan was working at was a messy, with ink-stained letters and papers with scribbles. He walked away from his workstation and towards the letter, picking it up. There wasn't a return address or a stamp but only his name in curly black writing. He threw it onto his table and was leaning over it when there was a female voice coming from the left of him.

"Jonathan. Someone's here to see you," she said. There was a stillness in the room as Jonathan looked up and frowned slightly.

"Tell them the store's closed today, Michelle," he muttered, looking back down at the envelope. The woman sighed and went out of the room, stomping lightly. Jonathan felt that he needed to open this letter and without any further hesitation, he ripped it open. The penmanship of the letter was elegant but rushed. He quickly read over and then again, trying to grasp at what it was trying to say. It mentioned an old warehouse (and probably the only warehouse in the town) where he must go at nine on a Friday, which meant he'd have to close the shop early. Another piece of paper fell out and onto the desk. There were addresses of people he didn't recognize that supposedly lived throughout the town. He read over it again and it began to sink into his brain. The note had suggested that he burn the note in order to keep it away from anyone who might be snooping through the rest of his junk. Jonathan grabbed another heaping stack of letters and papers, including the letter, and threw inside of a fire chamber. It smoked quickly and then soon turned to a bright warm fire. He watched in amazement as he tried to figure out what the letter was meaning. It mentioned the Grimms of long ago and how there were others out there. Jonathan had figured that he was the only one that lived in the town but also figured that the town itself had some secrets that were left unsaid.

Michelle's light stomps caused Jonathan to snap out of his thoughts. She was back by the door with frustration written across her face. "They aren't willing to leave unless they see you," she quipped.

Jonathan nodded, running a hand through his hair and moved passed, Michelle. There was an old man waiting patiently near the front desk. There was the worry in his eye but he didn't show it in his movement. He was wearing blue overalls, a red and green checkered button up, and grey shoes. When he caught sight of Jonathan, his facial expression changed into relief.

"Sorry for the wait. How can I help you today?"

"My daughter. She was taken by a monster late last night. I didn't get to see the monster but I heard my daughter's screams and when I went to see where or what had taken her, it was gone. I looked for hours to find her but I couldn't. That's why I'm here. I need your help, please," the old man pleaded. Jonathan nodded, crossing his elbows.

"Do have any evidence that it was a monster who took her?"

The old man nodded and reached into a pocket of his overalls. He then pulled out a thick piece of matted brown hair inside of a plastic baggie. Jonathan took it gingerly and examined it.

"Where did you find this?"

The old man blinked. "Outside of our barn. At first, I thought it was one of my dog's hair but I realized that it was a lot thicker than hers. Do you know what it might be?"

Jonathan pressed his lips together and smiled. "I'll do my best, sir." He then stuffed the hair into his jean pocket and the old man smiled back. It seemed like it was the first time he had smiled since his daughter was kidnapped.

"Thank you very much. I hope you have luck." He then walked out, shutting the door behind him. Jonathan then turned around and stared at Michelle.

"We got some work to do. Get the supplies and the notebooks. I'll head out to the shed and grab the rest. Let's met up front and start packing," Jonathan ordered as he moved past Michelle and headed back into the room. The fire was still burning and the smell of the papers was now filling up the room. He went over to the desk and grabbed some papers before moving over to the coat rack, grabbing his jacket. Jonathan knew that this would take all and he had hoped it wouldn't last longer than only one day.
As he walked out to the shed, he began to think of the letter and what it might hold for him. He supposed that it meant monsters were afoot and could this kidnapping be connected to the letter? Questions like that continued to rack his brain and would continue as he began to search through the shed.

The history of the Grimm is not to be underestimated. They are masters of assassination, with skills honed by centuries of hunting monsters. And it is such that no one could ever suspect a Grimm for their true nature.

“Oh, you’ve grown up so big!” The old lady squeezed Lanzo’s cheeks, stretching them like rubber.

“Ah-hrah,” Lanzo agreed, trying to smile. “Wrelcome back, Mrs. Gint.” Mrs. Gint was a regular to the shop, and always brought with her the plush scent of cat fur. Its source, a tortoiseshell tom named Tailor, was weaving through Lanzo’s legs, batting at his broom bemusedly.

“Edith! Let the boy alone, would you?” A warm voice called from the back of the shop, where Lanzo’s grandfather stood at the counter, smiling.

“Oh, don’t worry about it, Locksie.” Mrs. Gint patted Lanzo’s head, then walked to the counter. As she did, Lanzo shook his head and returned to sweeping. Only, now Tailor had parked himself right on top of the broom.

Lanzo crouched down, addressing the cat. “Could you please move?” he asked.

Tailor meowed, then licked himself apathetically.

Lanzo sighed. “I don’t know why I let you do this.” Saying this, he drew a piece of ham leftover from his lunch, tossing it further down the aisle. Tailor purred approval and relinquished his spot, going over to enjoy his spoils.

“Lanzo!” his grandfather called, “Could you please grab Mrs. Gint’s order from the back room?”

Lanzo stood up, resting the broom against the shelf. “Sure!” he called back. As he began to walk away, he met eyes with Tailor, the ham still dangling from the cat’s jaws as he eyed the broom greedily.

“Don’t you dare.” Lanzo walked past the counter and through a door, entering the back of his grandfather’s candle shop. Drying wax hung like cocoons from the strings on the dipping rack, while the stylized candles lay unfinished on his grandfather’s work desk. This batch’s scent was Sahara Midnight, and Lanzo enjoyed the dry, dusky aroma emanating from the pool of wax. Still, he walked past it all, and came to a second door.

The second door was made of a hard metal, with some rubber around the frame to make it airtight. He always had to be careful when opening it too, in case one of the seals had broken. Tentatively, he cracked the door open and took a whiff. Poison.

With a sigh of relief, he opened the door and walked inside. The overwhelming smell was unmistakably poison, but that was to be expected of the area where it was made. At such a low concentration, it had no harmful long-term effects; though, from his grandfather’s behavior, it was hard to believe that was true.

The room featured various flora taken from the woods around the town, sitting neatly in buckets around the room. An ashwood table centered the room, stained dark in pools of decay. One of the metal canisters had fallen off of it; Lanzo reached down and scooped the bones back into the can.

Grandfather’s newest fragrance concoction was tightly corked into a beaker, with gallons of his made-to-order specialty in jugs on the floor. On the back wall, countless airtight boxes were packed onto shelves. Reaching for the top shelf, Lanzo found Mrs. Gint’s order and left the back room, pulling the door shut behind him.

“Oh, thank you Lanzo dear!” squealed Mrs. Gint as he brought her package to the counter. “Now, Locksie, did you put in the extra kick that I asked for?”

“The ingredients came in this morning,” said Lockser Blake, Lanzo’s grandfather and owner of the Burning Posies candle shop. “I’m sure you’ll love what the aroma does for you.”

“Ah, but the rats won’t!” Mrs. Gint laughed, a high crystalline trill. “Lanzo dear, have you ever considered hunting with me? I could teach you what I’ve learned over the years.” She grinned, pinching his cheek again.

Lockser shooed her hand away. “No, thank you. This boy is heir to the Blakes; it’s my pride and joy to train him. Besides, don’t you have your hands full with your work already?”

Mrs. Gint smiled. “It’s a labor of love.”

At that point, Tailor got up from Lanzo’s broom and dashed over to Mrs. Gint, pawing at her dress.

“Oh!” Mrs. Gint’s eyes shone with a proud light. “I think he smells a rat. We should go chase it, shouldn’t we?” Saying this, she grabbed the box from Lanzo and left. “Have a nice day, Lanzo dear!”

“What a lovely woman,” Lockser mused, rolling his neck to the cracking of joints. “Still out there hunting rats at her age! She’s going to outlive me, probably,” he sighed. “Ah, that batch of Sahara Midnight is done, right? Man the counter for a bit.” He clapped Lanzo on the shoulder and moved to the back door.

“Do you plan to train me?” The words stopped Lockser with his hand on the door. Lanzo was staring down at the counter, counting the scratches he’d made into it during all of his long days in the shop. Blinking, he looked up at his grandfather. “Do you?”

His grandfather looked at him for a moment, then walked back, hobbling slightly, slowly drew out the metal stool by the counter, and sat down. Lanzo’s eyes watched him all the way.

“I don’t blame your spirit,” Lockser said, “and I don’t want to stifle it, either. But, Lanzo.” He shook his head, searching with his eyes for something to say. “Do you think you’re not doing the right thing?”

“No!” Lanzo waved his hands immediately. “I know what we make here, it’s indispensable. It’s saved dozens of hunters; but then why couldn’t it protect me? Think of how easily I could fight the monsters!”

His grandfather inhaled sharply, clutching his head. Lanzo’s eyes widened, and he turned away. “The rats,” he amended. “Sorry.”

Lockser nodded, wincing slightly. “You could, probably. But, Lanzo, the toxins of the Blake family are a greater good than all of us. What we make is holy air; it’s a sanctuary for humanity.”

“But if I actually fought, couldn’t I protect everyone that way?” persisted Lanzo.

“Don’t be silly, Lanzo. You don’t need to do any of that,” his grandfather said. “I’ve taught you all you need to know about my best brews, and I’ve seen what you can come up with. Just don’t think about the rats, and you’ll do just fine as a Grimm.

“Lanzo, please trust me.” Lockser looked deep into his grandson’s eyes. “Just let the rats die.”


Lanzo stood up, brushing past his grandfather to the back room door. “I’m taking out the trash,” he muttered.

“Are you upset with me, Lanzo?” His grandfather was sitting with his hands in his lap, looking down.

Lanzo looked back, then shrugged. “Yeah. I’m sorry.” With that, he grabbed the trash bag from the candle room and went out the side door.

Mrs. Gint was standing in the alleyway, watching with concern as Tailor turned in circles, meowing. “Lanzo dear!” she called, spotting him. “You wouldn’t happen to have seen a monster here, would you?”

Lanzo shook his head. “Sorry, no.”

Mrs. Gint pouted. “Such a shame. Well, tell Locksie I said hi!” She then bent down and scooped Tailor into her arms, carrying him away.

Lanzo watched as she turned on the sidewalk and disappeared. “I’ll tell Lockser Blake you said hi,” he muttered, opening the dumpster hatch and slinging the trash bag in. Dusting off his hands, he moved to go back inside before he noticed an envelope on the pavement.

It had fallen from the lip of the dumpster as he opened it; the creased end was curling up as an ominous wind flew through the alley. Lanzo’s pulse jumped as the envelope blew up from the ground, and he instinctively snatched it, grasping tentatively at the seam.

As he opened it, the dread became more and more palpable, the smell intensifying into something he’d only ever sensed once before.

“A monster,” Lanzo breathed, his hand shaking and nearly dropping the letter. But as he steadied it to read, his tremble changed, a high-pressure breath releasing from his chest.

“They want- to talk?” He shook his head in disbelief. “And they sent this to the other Grimms? Incredible.”

A sound came from the front of the alley, Lanzo whipped his head towards it, watching as a tin can rolled around the corner and into the gutter. His grandfather was still in the shop. Looking around, Mrs. Gint didn’t seem to have returned, nor the monster who must have delivered this letter. No one else knew about the letter but him.

He stashed the letter into his pocket, leaning back against the brick wall. “We’ll all be headed there,” he mused. “We’ll all be square, in peace or war.” And it would be him, finally, fighting the monsters on even terms, as the ancient Grimms had done.

“Well, then,” he murmured, a gleam of danger in his eye, “I know what I’m doing with my day off.”

Eliza finished reading her letter, then neatly folded it and slipped it into her pocket.

"I know you're there, father." she said. The door to her bedroom opened and there stood her father, Regulus Woodwick. He was a tall, muscular man with dark hair and fierce, hazel eyes.

"How? I tried my best to conceal my presence." he said, smiling wearily.

"Call it hunter's instinct." Eliza said, grinning. Her father was not able to hide from her anymore.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing to the letter.

"Just a letter from a friend." Eliza lied. Her father looked stern.

"Human?" he asked.

"Of course." Eliza said, a little quieter than usual.

"Good. Your mother is coming home this evening, so I'd stay on your guard. She'll probably want to check how you're training is going. Her father said casually. Eliza grimace. 'Checking how her training was going' often meant a full on duel, and her
mother wasn't the type to hold back.

As her father left the room, Eliza walked over to the silver cage where her pet raven Cassius was sleeping.
"Come on Cass." she said, stroking his long black feathers. "We're going out." Eliza opened the cage and placed Cassius on her shoulder. He pecked her neck playfully as
she climbed out of the window and dropped down onto the lawn below. Eliza walked a few paces before pulling the letter out of her bag and examining it.
"Not all bad, huh?" she said, before pocketing it once more. "I wish it could be true."

Ula Aethelwulf

The silvery-haired girl watched the exchange between the crow-person, the Grimm, and the monster, a bit intrigued. Peace? Was that even possible? Her mind flashed back to Cael's battered body, his raggedy breath, the beast-hunters in pursuit...

No. There was too much hatred; even as she thought it, she knew she could never trust a Grimm.

Ula shifted position on the balcony of the apartment she was on, moving her bow a bit. She was perched a good two stories up, sitting outside someone's home, unseen. Cael had taught her a lot, and this was one of those times she thanked him for his lessons no matter how hard and long they had been.

She dropped down to the next balcony to get a closer look as the figures discussed. It seemed Crow-person was trying to convince the Grimm and the unknown monster that peace was impossible. Ula didn't disagree.

Intrigued, she leapt to the ground across the street in a shadowed alleyway, daring to move closer to better understand the situation. In her curiousity, however, she failed to notice the bit of broken asphalt on the sidewalk as she stalked closer.

They turned, appearing to head towards the warehouse down the road, the crow-person still trying to convince them out of it. Ula followed, trailing them.

Evidently she wasn't the only one used to be hunted, however, as after only a few minutes the crow-person stopped, looking around, followed by the Grimm and the other monster. She ducked into an alley, holding her breath and praying that they hadn't seen her.

But it was too late. "Who goes there?" the Grimm called.

Nikki Atwood

She popped in an earbud as she approached the abandoned warehouse. Her fingers hovered over the play button. As she glanced up at the twinkling stars above, the song began. She softly sang the words she had memorized long ago. It had been her mother's favorite song. Listening to it now for comfort only seemed right. Tonight was the first step towards a future her mother would have approved of.

The building came into view. There were several people standing in front of it, and she could see the silhouette of someone inside the open doors of the warehouse. She didn't need to hear their voices to know that an argument was happening. Fearing the worst, her pace quickened.

“Who goes there?” a girl, who had to be Rosaria Waters, asked. Nikki came to an abrupt stop, assuming that the question was addressed to her. But then a monster – another wolf, from the looks of it – slowly crept out of the shadows. She let out a sigh she hadn't realized she had been holding. Though she certainly believed in what she was doing, she couldn't ignore how terrified it made her.

“I do,” the wolf replied.

Rosaria scrunched her face in concentration. After several moments of doing so, she triumphantly declared, “You're a monster! Did the sender of the letter give them to monsters too?”

Nikki paused the song.

As she briskly walked over to the four, she gave them a cheerful little wave. When she was certain that she had gotten their collective attention, she replied, “I didn't. I'm actually incredibly confused by how many monsters are here, but, as my dad used to say, 'The more the merrier!'”

“You're a fool,” the shapeshifting monster was quick to declare. “It's impossible for Grimms and monsters to ever get along.” They crossed their arms and gave her a pointed glare. How many people had they lost to the Grimms? Her own heart ached at the thought of her mother. Though they were currently on two different sides of an argument, she could connect to the teen.

“Then explain Leo and I,” Rosaria interjected. She pointed at the raven boy beside her, who looked terrified at being the center of attention. Were they friends? The idea shocked her. She hadn't expected that such a friendship was already possible. It couldn't be that hard to mend the wounds each side had inflicted if such a powerful type of relationship already existed. The sight of the two holding hands melted away any doubts she had. This wasn't some crazy, foolish dream. She could make it a reality! All she had to do was try.

She perked up when she heard people approaching from behind her back. She spun around, eager to see more of the Grimms she had sent letters to. There were two boys coming from the opposite ends of the street. She recognized them almost immediately. While Rosaria's mother had been the recognizable Grimm in her family, both Jonathon Lucas and Lanzo Blake had already become important figures in the magical side of the world.

Nikki gave the two a grin when they were only a foot away. She was sure that they had each brought weapons with them, but, if they had, they weren't out. Before she could say anything, another Grimm appeared from the direction Lanzo had come in. She was Eliza Woodwick. Eliza was immediately a stretch, as she was already known for being a skilled hunter. But she knew that the girl would be a valuable asset.

“I thought we were meeting in the warehouse,” the person she had noticed earlier called out from the doorway. Oliver Guff was one of the more elusive Grimm because he dealt with books and not actual fighting, but he was equally as recognizable as the other newcomers.

Nikki laughed. “That was the plan, anyways. But we can head in there now to start talking. I'll introduce everyone, and then we can talk about what I called you here for.” She gestured at the two unnamed monsters. “You guys can come too, if you're interested.”

To her surprise, they followed her inside.

There wasn't much in the warehouse. The most noticeable things were the stacks of empty boxes, but even those were dust-covered and scarce. She sat down on one of the boxes. Rosaria, Leo and the silent monster did the same. Everyone else remained standing. If that's how they were going to do this, fine. If anyone tried pulling anything funny, she knew how to fight.

She quickly said who each of the people were. The other monsters – some more reluctantly than others – supplied their names. The shapeshifter was Erin. The one sitting was Ula. And Leo's full name was Leonardo Carter. When all of the other introductions were completed, she pointed at herself.

“My name's Nikki. I know this sounds foolish, but let me explain before you decide what to do-”

People were approaching the warehouse.

She checked the time on her watch. It was 9:30. While someone could have theoretically been late to the meeting, that seemed unlikely. She got to her feet. She could hear weapons clattering together as the group came closer.

Had one of the Grimms decided that killing her was more important than hearing what she had to say?

“It’s a trap,” Erin snapped, vaulting to their feet. “I knew these Grimms couldn’t be trusted.”

“Hey, none of us told anyone to come here!” Lanzo retorted, pulling out his lantern. “And nobody asked you to come, so don’t act like this is our fault.” The two of them glared at each other, only broken from rage by the heavy clang of swords and maces down the street.

Oliver whirled to Nikki, twitching apprehensively. “Nikki, who did you invite?”

Nikki was standing up slowly, horrified at the approaching sounds. “J-just you five! And, one more…”

“What? Who was it?” As Oliver interrogated Nikki, both of them distraught, Jonathan moved to close the door. His hand reached for the metal handle to find it smashed clean off. Time stood still as the nine of them turned to see a green-feathered arrow quivering where the door handle had been.

Eliza was moving as the handle hit the ground. “It’s Rohan Geist. Dammit, of course he’d tell his folks. We need to move, now.”

Leo forced the back door open and peered out of it. “We can get out this way!”

“Wait! It’s no use going out of here,” Oliver muttered. “This city sector is a grid; the Grimms will have blocked every path downtown.”

“We can head to my place,” Nikki offered, “it’s not too far away. All we need to do is get down the street; we can blend in from there.”

“You really think we still want to stick around?” Lanzo snapped.

Jonathan moved between them, putting his hands up. “We have to stick together here! If we get caught, we’re in it just as bad as they are.”

“But where do we go?” asked Ula. “Each and every one of us can’t possibly escape.”

“I think that’s wrong.” Everyone stopped and turned to Eliza, who was thumbing her knife thoughtfully. “Whether she meant it or not, Nikki’s letter was ominous; those Grimms are expecting to catch a meeting of monsters.”

Oliver snapped his fingers. “Of course! They think that there are a large number of monsters in this warehouse. Who’s to say we can’t use that to our advantage?”

Erin nodded. “I think I’ve got it. This warehouse is pretty close to the harbor, isn’t it?” They turned to Lanzo. “Lamp Guy. What kinds of candles do you have?”

“The combat kind!” Lanzo replied indignantly. “Smokes and poisons and...one ‘Sardine Paradise.’”

When the others stared at him, he shouted, “I’m just trying it out! Leave me alone!”

“It’s a good thing you’re weird, Lamp Guy,” Erin said, grinning. “Now, I think I know how we’re getting out of here. First, let’s all get these boxes stacked.”

--------------------------------------------------------

With a swing of the monster-hunting axe, the warehouse door burst from its hinges, the Grimms filing cautiously into the room. It was an empty, dust-ridden sight, save one feature: a pyramid of crates stacked beneath the open window.

Slowly, the Grimms circled it, observing the structure carefully. Eventually, one spoke up. “So, uh...did they go out through the window?”

The lead Grimm looked around, and narrowed his eyes. “No.”

He fired his gun straight up at the ceiling, and instantly there was a great flapping as twenty winged shapes flew from the rafters, a screaming calamity that fled across the warehouse. The crowd of Grimms shouted and fired at them again, missing their white wings as they flowed out the window. Some of them shouted to their cohorts outside, pointing to the escaping flock.

In all the commotion, they couldn’t have noticed Lanzo’s Sardine Paradise candle burning quietly in the eaves.

The Grimms poured from the warehouse, yelling at the flock of seagulls escaping overhead. In the meantime, nine conspicuously-stacked boxes had begun to move.

“They really bought it!” Erin whispered, shaking with laughter. “My God!”

“Quiet,” Eliza hissed. “They could still be out there.”

They waited for another two minutes. Not a sound was made.

“Alright, they have to be gone now, right?” There was a scrape as Jonathan removed his crate and set it to the side. The others tentatively did the same.

Oliver stood up and stretched, looking at the ceiling. “That is a nice candle, though, Lanzo,” he said. “In it’s own...pungent, way of smelling.”

“I said, I was trying it out,” Lanzo glowered, getting out from the bottom of the pile. “And it just saved all of us, didn’t it?”

“That thing’s a freaky seagull magnet,” Leo agreed. “So, what do we do now?”

Ula looked exhausted with the suspense of things. “We leave?”

“More or less.” Nikki led them out the side door into the alleyway. Lanzo frowned at the tight space again, moving quickly down it to get to the street.

“Hold it,” Eliza’s arm at his chest stopped him; she was staring into the street. “It’s Rohan.”

A lone archer stood in the street, a longbow tucked loosely beneath his left arm. “Monsters!” he called, his face shaded beneath a green cloak. “I’m very sorry, but we’re going to kill you now!” He then took an odd stance, one arm dragging the arrow down as the other aimed it straight skyward.

“What’s he doing?” Rosaria asked, moving out of her hiding place.

Eliza reached for her as she leaned forward. “Wait, don’t-!”

Rohan’s body twisted on itself, his back arching as he swung the bow in her direction. Eliza yanked Rosie back as he loosed his arrow into into the wall beside her head.

Dangling from the arrow shaft was a note written in large cursive letters: “Sorry,” Lanzo read in disbelief, then stared at the distant archer. “This guy can’t be serious.”

“Lamp Guy, less chitchat,” Erin said, peering around a corner. They beckoned the group, pointing to a narrow inlet between the warehouses. “This way should be safe.”

Each of them slipped down the passage, Lanzo having to shove through the narrow space. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed what you’ve been calling me,” he called to Erin, who was wedged somewhere up ahead.

“Then why say anything about it?”

“Because it’s not a lamp, it’s a lantern!”

Leo turned to Rosie and smiled. “This is a fun crowd, isn’t it?”

“Move,” ordered Eliza, exasperated.

They burst from the narrow space onto white pavement. Ula and Erin stood guard as they all filed onto the busy sidewalk.

“We made it,” Ula sighed.

“What do we do now?” Lanzo asked. “Are they still after us?”

“Everyone’s headed for the harbor,” Oliver reminded him. “I don't think they'd try an ambush at this point.”

“We’ll go to my place,” Nikki declared, looking both ways down the street for cars and monster-killers. “Let’s move.”

They made it across the street and to another alleyway, which Nikki estimated should let out somewhere close to her cafe. Despite Oliver’s reassurance, they checked it for ambushes anyway, and when Eliza signaled that the coast was clear, there was a huge internal sigh of relief.

The group proceeded in single file, Rosaria and Leo going first. The afternoon sun cast dark shadows between the buildings, swallowing them up, and they turned the corner to move deeper between the buildings. Lanzo was one of the last. Standing there, he lamented his claustrophobia once more, but moved down the alley after them.
Nikki was about to follow when a wizened hand spun her around, and she was looking into the frantic cowled face of Rohan Geist.

“There you are!” Rohan shouted with glee, clamping her by the shoulders. “Ah, now you’re a real monster!”

The group froze, their identities hidden by the shadows. Lanzo watched as Eliza broke them out of their trance, quickly leading the others down the alleyway and out of sight. Ice shot down Lanzo’s spine as he moved back towards Rohan, who was gripping Nikki giddily.

“So tell me. Where’re the killers?” Rohan asked, like a child looking for Easter eggs.

Nikki shook her head. “W-what?”

“A bunch of seagulls can’t do much in a fight, even as monsters. So! You,” he said, shaking her for emphasis, “had to be hiding them, right? The wolves and vampires and demons! Your ambush! Where are they?”

Nikki stared back, trying to keep her voice even. “I don’t have any,” she said, but Rohan wasn’t listening.

“There are more of you, right? This was a trap, wasn’t it? Wasn’t it?!” he screamed, tears forming in his bright blue eyes. “I did the right thing. I...” He stopped, and, bracing against the wall, slowly crumpled to his knees.

Nikki moved to comfort him, but Lanzo’s hand stopped her. The boy looked pensively down at Rohan, then sneered. “Let’s go.”

As they ran down the alleyway, Nikki glowered at Lanzo. “Why’d you leave him there? He was just trying to understand!”

“Then why’d he bring in the Grimms?” Lanzo snapped, making them both stop running. He stood there, glaring at Nikki with the fire of red-rimmed eyes. “He’s not trying to understand anything.

“That look in his eyes,” he said, turning away. “It’s the same one my grandfather has. He’s scared. So scared he wants to die. You can’t teach someone who’s not thinking at all.” He paused, looking for something else to say, but not finding it. With a sigh, he started off again, following the rest of the group.

“I’m going to change that,” Nikki vowed, three steps behind him. “I’m going to make it so that nobody has to be afraid anymore."

Lanzo didn’t look back at her. “You’d better,” he replied.

"Let's get inside." Erin whispered, attempting to break the tension. "Staying out here is bound to attract more notice."

Nikki nodded, and she led the group inside. The cafe was filled with small oak tables covered in gingham, and pictures of the countryside dotted the walls. Each chair had a small blue cushion placed upon it, and a pile of silver menus were pilled up on the counter.

"We're usually closed by now." Nikki explained as she straightened the pile. Lanzo watched her out of the corner of his eye, then pulled a chair up to the counter and sat down. Slowly, the others started to do the same, until only Nikki was left standing.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do." Jonathan said, looking straight at her. Some of the other Grimms nodded in agreement.

Nikki sighed. "I know you all have a lot of questions, and I'm afraid some of them might have to go unanswered for the time being. All I can say for now is that I need you to trust me if we want this alliance to work."

Nikki waited for someone to say something, and was quite shocked when no one did. She walked over to the kitchen door and typed the four digit code into the keypad. The door clicked and swung open, revealing a small hidden room.

"Follow me." She said, and walked inside.

The party found themselves in what looked like a small museum, filled with shelves and shelves of books and priceless artefacts. Obscure paintings and tapestries hung from the walls, stacks of paper littered the floor.

"Wow." Oliver said, trying to hide his excitement. "This is amazing."
Eliza walked over to the weapon stand in the corner of the room, examining a large silver knife. Erin watched her sceptically.

"Where did you get all of this?" Rosaria asked, flicking through a particularly large book.

"Most of it is family inheritance," Nikki explained, "but some of it I've collected myself."

"Look at these dates." Ula whispered. "These are hundreds of years old."

"I've become a bit obsessed." Nikki admitted. "But I didn't just invite you to show you this."

All heads turned to look at her, all except one.

"You invited us here to make peace, didn't you?" Eliza said, holding up the knife. "If you're not going to do that, then I guess you've wasted my time."

Erin literally bristled when Eliza picked up the knife. Stiff hairs reflexively sprouted from their back in response to the Grimm picking up the dagger. Erin forced themselves back into human form. Erin didn't trust the Grimms, but so far they hadn't done anything hostile enough to provoke an attack.

Erin settled into their true form, their monster form, to gauge the Grimms' reactions. Their incisors lengthened, their hair became mixed with blue feathers, and their eyes flared gold. The monsters were mostly unconcerned, this was normal life for them, but the Grimms' were overall a bit startled, although they tried to hide their reactions. Eliza's steely gaze locked with Erin and then shifted away.

"Uh, yes," Nikki said, eyeing Erin warily. She was worried that Erin was going to undermine her efforts to make peace. "I did bring you here to make peace. You see, monsters like Ula, Erin, Leo and I have lived lives on the run for no crime other than our existence. I understand that Grimms have also been killed, but there's no reason-"

"You understand that Grimms have also been killed?" Eliza repeated. "No you don't. We may be on the offensive, but we've sustained at least as many losses as you monsters. You don't understand any of this. We are fighting enemies that are stronger, faster, and more powerful than us. We don't do this because we want to. We are protecting human lives, fighting a fight that has been fought by generations of our family. Many monsters track down and kill Grimms, just as we do to them. This isn't a hunt, this is a war. I'm sure some monsters aren't all bad, but if you don't believe you're dangerous, just look at the history books."

"Listen-" Nikki interrupted.

"No, you listen," Eliza continued. "Maybe you're not all bad. You seem like a decent person. But as a species, you are what your name implies: monsters."

"Shut up," Erin snarled, hands clenched into fists.

"Why?" Eliza asked, unswayed by the shapeshifter's emotion. "Do you deny the truth?"

"Just shut up!" Erin had only once felt such fury, and that was when they were confronting their mother's murderers. Eliza's speech only confirmed what Erin had always known: that Grimms were the real monsters. "People like you murdered my mother!"

"And they did so because they felt it was right."

That was to much. Erin surged towards the Grimm, hands becoming paws, teeth becoming fangs, short, black hair covering their body. With a howl of rage, Erin charged Eliza in the form of a panther.

Before Erin could dig their claws into the Grimm, Eliza rolled out of the way. "You see?" she told the other Grimms. "You see what they're like?"

"Stop this, both of you!" Nikki shouted. Eliza and Erin ignored her. For the first time Erin had seem, Nikki's features shifted towards something other than human. She began to look almost wolflike, but shifted back into human form before the transformation was complete.

Eliza brandished her knives at Erin while slowly retreating down the hallway. Erin pressed towards the hunter, their tail flicking erratically. Without warning, Eliza ducked into a small side room, flicking on the lights as she went. Erin charged in after her, and heard the door shut and lock behind them.

"Now we won't be disturbed," Eliza said.

Erin lept at Eliza again. She dodged out of the way, but came away with a set of claw marks across her forearm. Eliza grunted in pain, but didn't seem fazed by the injury. She had fought monsters before. Before Erin could regain their senses, she was out of sight.

"This doesn't have to end in a fight," Eliza said. Erin's feline hearing directed them towards Eliza's location. "I just wanted all of the cards to be on the table before negotiations were made."

I knew it would end like this, Erin thought. The last peace effort ended in bloodshed, and so will this one.

Erin jumped at where they were sure Eliza was hiding only to find nothing. There was a swish of a blade flying through the air and a hunting knife skimmed Erin's shoulder. How had Eliza managed to get behind them? Erin shifted into a mouse and skittered under a box before Eliza could make another more accurate throw.

There was a moment of tense silence, which was broken by the other Grimms and monsters hammering on the door.

"Let us in!" Nikki said. "It's not too late to resolve this peacefully." When it became clear that the door would not be opened, the knocks became thuds as people began trying to break down the door.

Erin didn't move. They weren't sure they would be safe out of the box, but they couldn't see Eliza from in there, either. After a few silent minutes, Erin shifted into the form of a spider and began slinking up the wall. They were painstakingly aware of the fact that Eliza could kill them with her thumb if they were found, but they had to trust their small size and the poor lighting of the room to keep them safe.

Erin made slow progress across the ceiling, searching the room with their eight eyes until they saw a darker patch of shadow in the shape of a figure crouched in the corner. Erin crept closer to Eliza, who appeared massive in comparison with their tiny, fragile form. At last, Erin was close enough to strike. They shifted into human form, and Eliza turned around just in time for Erin's fist to slam into her face. The girl was knocked to the ground and Erin was on her in a second.

The two grappled on the ground for a moment and Erin quickly realized their error. Erin's only advantages had been when they were an animal. As a human, Eliza was faster, stronger, and trained to kill Erin's kind by people who had been hunting monsters for generations. Eliza quickly had Erin pinned to the ground, one hand wrapped around their throat. Erin struggled to get up, but it was futile. Their lungs screamed for air, and black spots blinked across their vision. Erin was dimly aware of the door finally splintering. Eliza released their throat and Erin gasped for air. They saw a crowd of people clustered over them before they finally lost consciousness.



Erin was lying on a cot when they woke. Old wallpaper and a plaster ceiling were the only things in view, until the dark haired face of Nikki Atwood appeared.

"Oh, good, you're awake." Nikki sounded somewhere between frustrated and relieved. She groaned and shoved her hair out of her face. "What were you thinking? I'm just trying to create peace, and you... you..."

"I'm sorry," Erin said, and for once, there wasn't a trace of sarcasm in their voice.

Nikki sighed again. "I'm sorry, too. You weren't meant to get dragged into all this."

"It's fine. I could have left at any point."

"You know Eliza could have killed you if she wanted to. She let you live on purpose."

"I know."

"But you could have killed her if you had tried, since she was holding back."

"Yes."

Nikki stared at the ceiling for a moment. "No one said this was going to be easy," she murmured.

"But we've gotten through the part with bloodshed this time," Erin said, attempting a smile. "That's farther than the last peace treaty got."

Nikki returned their weak smile. "There is that. Erin?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry about your mother."

"So am I." There was a brief pause. "I think you're doing the right thing, Nikki. Maybe, just maybe, I was wrong."

Oliver Guff

It took some effort to get Eliza off of Erin. He couldn't believe he had to pull rank on her. Of course, it wasn't really a rank. Oliver was a scholar, and when a scholar says something, generally the hunters listen. Erin was set to rest while Eliza was taken to cool off.

"That could have gone better," Ula muttered.

"Actually, it's going better that I would have thought," Oliver mentioned, not really realizing that he was speaking with a monster until after he said it.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I figured someone would have pulled a knife on somebody back at the warehouse," Oliver admitted. "Grimms aren't really known for hearing things out."

"This coming from one of our own?" Johnathon mentions with a grin. Oliver glanced over a little nervous at the sudden accusation. "Relax, bookworm. I'm just trying to ease the tension."

Oliver nodded a little. Sighing as he wandered around the room of treasures. His eyes flittering over the leather bound books and scrolls that piled the shelves. Some caked in dust and other more recent. His fingers had just grasped the smooth leather of a bound journal before Nikki returned.

"I think it's clear to head out. No one seems to have followed us." Nikki stated. "Now that we have a minimal level of...well I don't know if it's trust, but..."

"A common ideal?" Lanzo mentioned.

"I guess that is what we can call it...let's try to meet again. Maybe in not so big a fashion until we are sure we can get a safe place."

Oliver was a little sad to leave the treasure trove of knowledge that he had only began to scratch the surface of. Everyone took turns leaving the café. Too many at once would cause suspicion.

Oliver left on his own. He preferred it that way. Time to mull over everything that had happened in just the last few hours. He was likely still in shock that he hadn't been filleted on a monster's claws, but it seemed that there was a genuine attempt at peace.

His home was a small apartment, not far from the Grimm's library. Plopping on his bed he stared at his ceiling trying to get a grasp of the thoughts racing through his head. Thoughts that raced through his head before he really got a chance to understand what it was that he was thinking, but enough that it was keeping him from sleeping.



The morning came before Oliver could really get to sleep. Sitting up in bed, his body aching from his lack of sleep. Brushing the red hair from his eyes he sighed as he thought back to the monsters that were trying to find their own peace among the war that carried on around them.

But as he thought about how strange the monsters were being, it just brought him back to all the questions that constantly plagued him. How did it all start? If all monsters are to be destroyed as evil beings, then why are their stories that contradict the everything that Grimms are told. He needed answers.

Answers he couldn't find with the Grimms.

Getting up he headed out and back to the subway. To keep himself from being followed he took the subway beyond the café and began walking back to the café.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when a body bumped into him.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to..." Oliver trailed off as he seemed to recognize this girl. Was she a monster? No. He would have sensed if she weren't human. Could she be someone he ran into before?

"Wait your that guy from last night...Bookworm or something like that," Rosaria said a little embarrassed.

It suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks. She was one of the Grimms from last night. Why didn't he recognize her? He knew the face of just about every Grimm in the area.

"I'm uh...Oliver Guff. I'm a scholar for the Grimms," he said making sure to glance about so that no one was too close to hear. "You shouldn't speak so loudly about those things. You never know who is listening. I thought you would have been told that already."

"Who would have told me that?" Rosaria asked.

"Whoever trained you, parents usually."

"Well I didn't even know things like monsters or Grimms even existed until last night."

Oliver's brow furrowed. "You didn't? How old are you?"

"Sixteen. Why?"

Oliver nodded and sighed as he moved past her. "You've only just awakened then. That makes more sense."

"So you're a scholar?" Rosaria said here eyes aflame with curiosity as she hurried to catch up. "What is it you do?"

"I study old scrolls and books to learn everything I can about monsters. Well...how to kill monsters. With that knowledge I search news stories and claims from all over and advise on which monsters might be in the area and how to deal with the problem."

"Really?!" Rosaria said, her excitement beaming from her face. "What can you tell me? Why are you called Grimms? How did it all start? How many have you met? Why are they fighting each other?"

Oliver put up his hands a little defensively to calm her. "You'd be surprised what you already know."

"How could I know anything about this?"

"Geeze, you really haven't been in the loop about this. Okay. Have you ever seen any of those old Disney movies?"

"What like Little Mermaid and Aladdin?"

"More like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White. Those are Grimm legends. Watered down, but they're there."

"Really? Those are about monsters?"

"They're really watered down. The reason we are called Grimms is because of our ancestors the Grimm Brothers. They were said to be the first hunters to catalogue everything about the monster world. Every Grimm alive has some sort of a heritage with the Grimms. As for most of your other questions...I ask those a lot myself. It's one of the reasons that I became a scholar."

"So you don't believe that monsters are all evil?"

"I don't believe everything of anything is one or the other. There is always a mix." Oliver stopped when they arrived at the café. He took a moment to look around and make sure that no other Grimms were in the area. "If you want to understand the Grimm side of things, there are a few books that I can let you borrow. Though most of the truths are hidden within the fairytales written by the Grimm Brothers. You'll have to filter the fairytale from the cores."

Stepping back inside the café he gave Rosalia a small nod before he headed to the girl he knew as Nikki. "I would like to see that room of yours," he said rather quietly.

"Well aren't you dirty minded Grimm?" Nikki smirked. "Already trying to get into bed."

Oliver's face turned so red that he was certain he was about to pass out from embarrassment. "That isn't what I meant!" he hissed. "I meant your secret room!" Nikki's eyebrow raised, that damn coy smile tugging her lips up. "I mean your...that is...I'm going to stop talking now."

Oliver sighed, his face hot and red as he just looked down at worn floorboards. He half considered just walking back out. He was certain that everyone was ridiculing him.

"I'm just messing with you Oliver," Nikki said giving him a gentle punch in the shoulder. Of course, gentle is subjective. Oliver was sure he was going to have a bruise. "Come on." She waved him in with a smile, taking him to the secret room again.

Oliver was speechless again. Truthfully, the room hadn't changed since he left. But the mountains of knowledge just waiting for him to read through was amazing. "You got this as an inheritance?" Oliver said in wonder.

"Most of it. The rest I gathered afterwards. I have to be honest...I didn't think you would come. Reading all those books, I thought that you might see it as a means of getting you alone."

"I would be lying if I didn't admit the thought had crossed my mind. Of course, I don't really know why anyone would want me out of the way. I just read books."

"You do more than that. You give experienced and inexperienced hunters information that will potentially killed hundreds of Monsters."

Oliver looked down, more apologetic than before. "I guess you're right."

"But that is in the past. Come with me. I have something I want to show you." Leading Oliver to the back of the room he paused as he saw several items on display. Several he recognized from fallen Monsters. Skulls and teeth mainly. Then he saw something that made his eyes widen in amazement. "Good God..." he whispered. In front of him, on a very nice stand, was a brilliant, green coat. In the pocket he could see the outline of coins resting. Coins of gold. "You found Bearskin's coat?!"

"I did. Discovered in German in 1910, by a German shepherd in the ruins of a once illustrious mansion. If I am not mistaken, this coat is often seen as a sign of the Grimm's victory over the Monsters, am I right?"

"Yes. A man managed to out due the devil. It's amazing. I thought it would have been destroyed or damaged."

"Nope. In fact, how do you think the Germans manage to pay for World War I? Besides, it's a magic coat. It would take something like dragon fire to harm it," she smirked before she looked down to the knife at Oliver's side. "Or maybe that. Can I see your knife?"

Oliver pulled his eyes from the case before he was reaching down for the weapon he had forgotten was with him. "Be careful. I'm told that it can cut through anything," he warned.

"You haven't tested it?"

"I'm in a library all day. Didn't see much point in using it." Nikki's eyes wandered over the cold steel with a sad light in them before she gave it back. "I couldn't find anything on it, but there a lot of stories involving knives. All I know is that it has been in my family for generations."

"I know the story," Nikki said standing and going somewhere in the assortment of shelves. "I'm not surprised that you haven't heard it. It shows that Monsters are not all evil. It belonged to an Elf once. The story goes that a young girl was sent out every day to dig a heath because her mother loved her three brother more than her. The Elf was an admirer of hers and every day he would stick his hand out of a boulder and give her that knife. When her work was done, she would return the knife. Her family became suspicious and followed her. When they saw what she was doing they took the knife from her and cut off the Elf's arm. The Elf was never seen again and the family kept the knife."

Oliver felt sick. To know that the knife on his hip was actually from a monster that had tried to help someone. It was completely against everything they were taught. The Grimms only told them stories that would inspire hatred and anger for the Monsters. Stories that painted them as the villains of the world. Pulling the sheathed dagger from his hip, he dropped in on the table. He walked past it before Nikki spoke up again.

"What are you doing?"

"I don't want anything to do with that knife. It belonged to someone that didn't want to hurt anybody. He..."

"What happened then is not what you are now."

Oliver took a moment to breath as he looked through the stacks upon stacks of documents and objects that were likely the missing pieces that he had found within the Grimm's library. "Do you know if there is anything here about how all of this started? Why the Grimms and Monsters are at war?"

"I haven't read all of it so I can't give you a definitive answer," Nikki stated, slightly worried about him.

Pulling off his coat he draped it over a chair before grabbing a stack of books to begin reading. "I would greatly appreciate some tea if it isn't too much trouble. Green with three teaspoons of sugar and a shot of honey."

Nikki nodded. Oliver's eyes were different. They weren't as lost as before. There was determination. He wanted answers and he was going to find them in the mess of this secret room.

Before she left she picked up the knife from the table and set it down beside him. "Whatever the reasons that we all came together. There is a reason that you are who you are and that this knife is in your possession. I firmly believe that there is a reason for each and everyone of us that came to that warehouse last night. If all the stories I have read have told me anything, it's that magic objects don't just turn up in someone's hands. There is a reason for them to have them. You were meant to have this knife. If you don't like the history attached to it, then give it a new history."

Nikki gave him a smile.

Oliver blushed. Not just because of the fact that he had been acting like a toddler, but because her smile made him feel warm and comforted. His words clammed up and he just gave her a nod before hiding his face in the book.

Once Nikki had left, his fingers gripped the handle so gently and slipped it from the sheath. The edge was so sharp and the ware of time couldn't be seen on it. Pressing it to the table, it glided through the wood as if it were air. Sheathing it again, he set to learning as much as he could before someone noticed that he was gone. One of the downsides of being one of the scholars is that if he were to suddenly disappear...people would notice. If a hunter suddenly disappeared, everyone assumed that he was on a hunt.

A scholar disappears...and people start looking for them.