Twisted Ever After

by Celeste Thrower

  "Hansel, no!" I yelled.

  The beast whipped around. A slimy hand smacked me across the face.

  "But I’m so hungry." Hansel shoved the meat in his mouth like an animal.

  The termagant clapped. "That’s right my boy. Eat!" Then it squatted before me. Its claws pushed the meat to my lips. "You will eat too. You will do everything I say or I will force you. Do you understand?"

  The creature squeezed my jaw until my lips parted. The meat hit the back of my throat. I choked.

  "Swallow," the termagant demanded. "We do not waste meat here."

  I had no choice. I managed to get the meat down.

  "Good girl. Now, I will put you to work. This cave has a deposit of gemstones and you will mine them for me. We need them to buy credits to gain access to the colony."

  The being lit a torch in the fire. I was unhooked from the wall. The termagant led me by my chains further from the entrance.

  Eventually, we stopped. The torch was lifted to the rocky surface of the wall. It glittered like a thousand stars. I had never seen anything like it before.

  "Humans do crazy things for diamonds,” the termagant seethed. A pail sat on the ground by my feet. "Get to work."

  My chains were reattached to loops on the wall. I was given a small pick to pry the gems from their beds. I was left alone.

  At first, I toiled over the stones. When the bucket was almost full, temptation led me to use the pick on the plate that held me to the wall. I pried at the metal plate for hours. The screws wiggled before I heard the termagant come back.

  I dropped another stone on the pile.

  The creature bent over its treasure. "You may be useful yet. We are surprised by an emaciated thing like you. We thought all we’d get was your bones to munch on." It bared its yellow teeth at me.

  "I may be skinny, but I am strong," I said in defiance.

  The termagant lifted the pail. It poured the valuable stones into a familiar leather bag. "So it seems."

  The next couple of weeks carried on much the same. I mined. I loosened the hooks. I put meat in the oven. We ate. Hansel regained his strength and put on some weight. I fetched water from the stream.

  If I took too long with my assignments, the termagant whipped me with my own chains. I was never fast enough. I learned to separate myself from the pain.

  All the while, I devised an escape plan. I waited for the right time.

  One day I was taken to the seams of gems. The termagant’s terrible hand secured me to the plates on the wall.

  The beast’s mouth spewed saliva upon my face. "Work hard today, Gretel. Tonight we will harvest Hansel’s skin and we will dine upon his flesh."

  My arms were stronger than they had ever been. I felt the muscles tense beneath my skin.

  Once a full pail of diamonds sat at my feet, I set to free myself. I was frantic. Adrenaline coursed through my veins.

  At last, I pulled the screws from the wall. I plucked the plates from the rock and then gently hung them so it would take no effort to release them again.

  Not an hour later, the termagant came to check on my progress. My one opportunity to free us finally arrived.

  As the creature ran its gnarled fingers through the diamonds in the bucket, I yanked the shackles from the wall. Swiftly, I spun the chains around the termagant’s neck. My whole existence tightened around my captor. Its legs kicked in desperation. I tightened the noose inch by inch.

  To my shock, the termagant cackled. "You are already dead."

  The hair tingled on the back of my neck. Those words were once spoken by Mother.

  Ragged claws raked my arms. One of the talons pierced my flesh and broke off. The warmth of my own blood felt strange when the pain from the lacerations didn’t come.

  With all my might, I pulled on the chains. I felt the termagant’s spinal cord snap and its body went limp. I made sure there wasn’t any sign of life from my captor

  When I let go, I slid onto the floor. The termagant’s head rested on my calf. I kicked it away in disgust.

  My arms slightly prickled from jagged cuts in my skin. I was immune to the pain.

  The gnarled claw remained in my forearm. I jerked it out as quickly as possible.

  Once I composed myself, I realized the chains still hung from my wrists. I snatched the key from the corpse"s limp neck.

  Suddenly, I was overwhelmed with anger. It dawned on me that I had been someone’s prisoner my whole life. I dragged the termagant back to the oven. I unraveled the noose and hiked up the head of the carcass with my knee to put it in the flames. I watched it burn.

  I was aware of Hansel’s calls the entire time, however, I didn’t acknowledge him till I was satisfied. I stumbled to his cage, flicked the lock open, and held him tighter than ever. My bloody arms smudged his shirt.

  I tore strips of fabric from my skirt to use as bandages. I wet them in the stream and Hansel helped me tie them around my wounds.

  Through tears of relief, I asked him one question. "Do you feel like playing a game?"

  We left the cave with our suit pockets full of diamonds. I did not care who won the game.

  Hansel was stronger from the meat he was served by the termagant. I could hardly keep pace with him. He held my hand as we walked. He jerked me forward when I became too slow.

  His small face was lined with worry over the crimson soaked strips under my transparent atmosphere suit.

  I tried to reassure him not to worry, but it wasn’t long until I felt weak. My body became lethargic. Sweat poured from my face in the helmet. I burned from deep inside my core.

  While I was still functional, we found the path of blue pebbles we had placed to find the way home. I kicked sand over them so no one else could find the precious mine inside the cave.

  That was when my legs crumbled. I fell to the ground on my back.

  Hansel screamed. "Look, Gretel! Home!" He pointed to a speck on the horizon.

  My eyes rolled back in my head. "I don’t know if I can make it. There is no way they will let me in like this. Hansel, I think I have the termagant’s sickness."

  "You have to go home." Hansel pulled my fingers into his. He tried to lift me by my arms.

  A strange sensation tore through one of my arms. The skin raised and a small lump wound its way to my palm. Something alien crawled inside my body.

  Hansel gasped. The intruder stopped then coiled back to my elbow.

  My senses switched from forlorn to fight or flight in an instant.

  "It’s in me!" I screamed. "Help me, Hansel."

  He was petrified.

  "Step on my shoulder as hard as you can," I instructed.

  He did.

  I fumbled with my free hand to find a sharp diamond in my pocket. I dug around until I found one that pricked my finger. I used it to cut the sleeve from my suit.

  The skin on my arm singed instantly. Blisters formed from exposure to the star’s heat.

  I used my teeth to untie the bandage from my wounds.

  "I need you to wrap this as tight as you can around my shoulder." I held out the dirty cloth to him.

  He didn’t move.

  "Now!" I yelled.

  The cylindrical lump made its way past my elbow.

  I laid on my back again.

  Hansel sat in the sand and pulled with all his might.

  "Harder!" I ordered.

  He positioned his foot under my ribs to put all of his weight behind the force.

  I grit my teeth. "Turn your head. Don’t look."

  I put the sharpest edge of the gem above the lump of flesh. I took a deep breath and plunged the diamond as far into my arm as I could. The tail of the parasite coiled beneath the pressure.

  I wailed as I pressed even deeper. Every muscle in my chest quivered. I was thankful that I could block out the pain.

  Hansel moaned loudly. "Is it done?"

  "Don’t let go till I say,” I breathed.

  I drew a line down the length of the intruder’s body. Bl
ood cascaded from the slice I made. My gloved fingers pushed the flesh apart until the spine of the parasite became visible.

  Hansel looked at me. "Gretel!" He loosened his hold.

  My vision blurred from the loss of blood.

  "Don’t look. Turn your head." I reminded him.

  I poked my thumb and pointer finger inside the hole. My stomach lurched. I pulled the nasty worm out of my arm.

  It writhed back to life.

  Hansel and I screeched in terror.

  I squeezed it as hard as possible. It wasn’t enough.

  "Die!" I howled.

  With one last burst of energy, I clamped down on its head. The thing released a horrific squeal and burst like a puss-filled boil. Parasitic entrails sprayed my visor.

  Hansel let go of the tourniquet.

  "Not yet." I shook my head.

  I let my body relax on the sand. My eyes cursed the star that blazed over our heads. The heat continued to burn my mangled arm.

  I took a deep breath. I smelled my own flesh as it charred. I grinned. Ironically, the sun cauterized my self-inflicted wounds as well as the ones the termagant left. I’d never use that arm again if I was allowed to keep it, but it also meant that I would have a chance to make it to the colony before I bled out. I tied the cloth around my torn sleeve.

  Hansel wept quietly.

  "You can let go now," I sighed.

  My brother leaped on top of me. His tears blotted the inside of his visor.

  "I promise, you will never have to do anything like that again." I consoled him. "Promise."

  When we approached the iron-clad doors of the colony, I told Hansel to press the intercom’s button. I held the door frame because I was dizzy. It had not been an easy last leg of our journey.

  Cameras zoomed in on our faces. I knew we looked like hell. Hell was exactly what we had been through. A mixture of blood and guts smeared our suits.

  "Hansel and Gretel for re-entry. What happened to your arm? Are you sick?" the attendant asked.

  "I am not sick, but severely injured." My voice was tight.

  "A healer will meet you upon entry." The airlock hissed.

  I pressed the intercom again. "Make sure the healer doesn’t have amber eyes. Also, we request a bodyguard upon readmission; the best you have. We can pay."

  The voice on the other end crackled. "That is expensive. Please give proof."

  I held out a palm-full of diamonds. The camera focused and there was a moment of silence.

  "Yes, ma’am. You will be met upon entry." There was the sound of quick movement and then the reception switched off.

  Several of the colony’s leaders, a blue-eyed healer, and our promised bodyguard met us inside. They groveled at our feet. The gigantic guard shielded us from their questions. He lifted me into his giant arms and whisked us down the corridors with the healer in tow.

  The healer worked as hard as he could to save my arm, but it wasn’t possible. In the end, it had to be amputated at the elbow. I wasn’t surprised.

  A diamond afforded me the best prosthetic the colony offered. It was attached post-surgery to allow synthetic connection with any nerves that remained undamaged.

  After I was stable, I placed a couple of diamonds in the guard’s beefy hand. "Take us to our new accommodations, please."

  We were led to a part of the colony I had never seen. Waterfalls cascaded over sculptures. People were dressed in silks. They smiled to greet us.

  Our new doors swung open to lavish tapestries, luxury furniture, and a view of an ocean situated behind the colony. The surface of the water glittered like a thousand diamonds.

  Hansel and I had found our heaven.

  Days passed before news of our new fortune reached Father. One morning, he banged on the elaborate doors to our suite. The bodyguard marched to our surveillance screen. I insisted that he take me to the door. A part of me craved the chance to speak to him.

  I pressed the speaker. "Yes."

  "Gretel, thank God! Please let me in. I am starving. The woman is gone. It’s just me now."

  I faked my most empathetic voice. "I am sorry to hear about your termagant wife. One would have thought that after hunting them all that time, you would have recognized one. There is no room for you here in our new accommodations. Please feel free to attend my speech in the grand hall today. The speech will focus on how the colony can live side-by-side with the termagants. The failure to do so will lead to an uncertain future for the colony. Humans must begin peaceful diplomacy. The killing on both sides must stop."

  "I did the best I could for you! You will take away my livelihood." He was angry.

  I cut him off. "Seems your livelihood wasn’t bringing in the credits anyway. Maybe it is time for a career change. I do thank you, because without your wisdom, we would still be in that rusty box you called an apartment. Now, move away or the bodyguard will remove you."

  My bodyguard carefully deposited me upon the cushioned fabric of my favorite chair. The ocean gleamed through the panoramic windows. I admired the view in its entirety.

  The front door banged with Father’s madness. Hansel crawled into my lap with a book of old fairy tales for me to read to him. Father continued to knock.

  "Bodyguard, will you take care of that please?" I asked politely.

  I used my new fingers to find Hansel’s favorite story.

  "Yes, madam." He stomped out the door.

  I felt a grin spread across my face.

  Father never knocked on our door again.

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  THE WITCH AND THE WOLF

  BY ASHLEY MCLEO

  A CONTEMPORARY RETELLING OF THE CLASSIC RUSSIAN FAIRYTALE, VASILISA THE BEAUTIFUL.

  Photographer/Illustrator: Tamara Rokicki

  Model: Arianna Rokicki

  Russia, 1990

  Vassa

  Deep in the woods, in a dark place where only those with no other options ventured, a witch’s hut stood.

  And that’s where I was heading.

  An autumnal moon shone high above, almost full as I ran through the forest, leaves crunching under my paws.

  Is this the right choice?

  The question passed through my mind for the hundredth time since I’d left the village. Once again, no answer presented itself. The silence only encouraged my desperation.

  I needed to know there was light at the end of the tunnel, even if it meant seeking Baba Yaga, the creepy, hunchbacked, iron-toothed witch who lived in this forest. The witch rumored to have cooked and eaten those who could not deliver on bargains made. The witch who particularly disliked wolf-shifters like me. The witch who, it was said, could make anything a reality.

  For a price.

  I caught an unusual scent mingling among the smell of pine needles and the first hints of decay that preceded fall, and I slowed to a stop to sniff the air more deeply.

  Woodfire. Roasted meat. I’m close.

  My paws hit the ground again, as I dashed off to meet my fate.

  Baba Yaga

  I opened wide, ready to devour the roasted rabbit and turnips I’d prepared for dinner when a disturbance made me freeze.

  The barriers around my cottage had been breached. I licked my finger and held it in the air for a moment, sensing my surroundings.

  I frowned. Blasted wolves.

  “Adrik! Yana! With me!” I commanded as I set down my fork and made my way across my cottage. Both servants had been laid flat, palm down, over my large and notorious oven, soaking in the heat. However, obedient as ever, they sprang up at my word.

  Their fingernails clicked against the wooden ledges I’d constructed for them to walk upon so they were not always underfoot. Yana leapt onto my shoulder first and I winced as my skin pinched. “We must cut your nails soon, darling. They are becoming quite claw-like.”

  In response, her pointer finger bobbed up and down—a nod.

  Ad
rik, never one to be ignored, began jumping on my other shoulder, and my attention turned to him.

  He had once belonged to a man and was more calloused and larger than Yana. She had been attached to a delicate woman daring enough to steal from me centuries ago. Both servants began their lives with me defiant and sullen but now obeyed adoringly, like well-trained dogs.

  “I shall groom you too, Adrik. Your hairs could use a wash.” The dismembered hand stopped bouncing and nuzzled my neck.

  Needy little thing.

  “A wolf-shifter has arrived. What do you say we see what it wants?”

  Adrik and Yana bobbed their pointer fingers up and down.

  “Cottage, stop!” Everything around me gave a lurch as my cottage ceased spinning as it was usually wont to do. “Lower.”

  The sound of old creaking knees hit my ears, and I braced myself for the building to descend. Once upon a time, the scrawny chicken legs that were the foundation of my home could leap and kneel with the grace of a ballerina. But after centuries of spinning and supporting my cottage, their light-footedness was waning. We landed on the ground like a bear jumping out of a tree. The force jostled a few of my cups off the shelves and they shattered on the floor.

  I sighed. At the rate those are breaking, I’ll soon need to be paid in ceramics.

  A second passed, then ten, then a full minute, and I shook my head. “Apparently this wolf isn’t going to knock. Perhaps it’s a bit of a coward? Let’s hope so. Weaklings are always the easiest to bargain with.” Yana danced along my collarbone. “Too right, darling. I suppose we need to make the first move.”

  Vassa

  Traditional mezen patterns from the far north of Russia outlined every window and the doorway of the witch’s home. The dancing red birds, grazing deer, galloping horses, and stylized black symbols stood out against the stark white paint of the cottage. The painting was the only part of the witch’s home that appeared normal.