Sitting outside the castle, Loki told them all that happened. Even Lucy couldn’t resist. She sat next to them listening to Loki tell about his adventure in the Dreamworld.
“I knew I was right,” Axel said. “Didn’t I tell you about the liver theory, and the heart, and that the Queen wanted to eat them? And didn’t I tell you about the Huntsman? I also remember reading the part about the Brothers Grimm changing Snow White’s mother into being a stepmother in the later versions. I just didn’t tell you because I thought it was irrelevant.”
Fable didn’t comment that Axel didn’t discover any of this by himself and that he had read it in the diary entitled J.G. he’d found in the secret library. She decided she’d keep treating her brother as an un-useless hero for the night.
“I know you’ve been right about many things,” Loki laced his hands together. “But what does all of this mean, Axel? There are so many missing pieces.”
“Loki is right,” Lucy commented. “Knowing Snow White’s story doesn’t fully explain what is going on. It seems like there’s something much bigger about this fairy tale world—and I totally sympathize with Carmilla by the way.”
“And we’re going to find out,” Axel said enthusiastically. “We’re a team now, and this is our adventure. We’ve just started it.”
“Don’t think too much about it, Loki,” Fable patted him. “What all of this means is that you didn’t kill Snow White and that’s what matters,” Fable hugged him. Axel scratched his back, a little uncomfortable with her touching Loki. “Didn’t I tell you from the beginning that she needs your help, Loki?” she said.
“You did,” Loki nodded. He wondered if he should have listened to Fable from the start, but he knew that he had to take this journey to find out what he really wanted.
“No more thinking about going back home?” Axel wondered.
“Don’t worry,” Loki said. “I’ll stay here for a while.”
“You see it’s not so bad here,” Axel looked around. “I understand the town’s name is creepy—who wants to live in Sorrow? And I understand that the town is a part of a place called Hell. But what the hell? Who cares about names and labels? If you stay here with us, we could make this Heaven. Our Heaven. We’ll make the rules, and keep saving lives. You don’t need to be immortal or a half-angel to be cool, right.”
“Right,” Loki nodded, pleased with Axel’s spirit.
Loki heard Carmen’s radio buzzing faintly in the distance. The Pumpkin Warriors were back. They were singing:
You don’t have to be an angel to be my friend.
You don’t need to be immortal to rock my world.
Fable giggled.
“I think we should go now,” Axel said. “We have a lot of cleaning to do before our foster mom arrives.”
“You’re right,” Fable said. “The house is a mess. We should also leave Loki with the princess,” Fable winked at Axel.
“Yeah,” Axel said. “Just don’t kiss on the first night—ah; I forgot you don’t believe in a true love’s kiss.”
“Don’t blame me if she eats you alive,” Lucy stood up, pulling out her car keys. “And you Crumblewoods, today is your lucky day because I’m going to give you a ride home. Only you have to sit in the backseat. I only allow boyfriends in the passenger seat.”
They all waved goodbye to Loki who watched them walk away. Fable was reminding Axel that she’d clean the house but not the places where he ate, and Axel started whining about stopping at the Belly and the Beast to get a bite.
“Lucy,” Loki summoned her, and she turned around. “Aren’t you mad that I didn’t kill the vampire princess?”
“Me?” she said over her shoulder. “I don’t really care. But I think my dad will be mad. You’ll have to deal with him later. By the way, you should know something, too.”
“What is it?”
“I know this will upset all of you but I am entitled to my own opinion,” Lucy said. “From what you’ve just told us, I totally sympathize with the Queen of Sorrow.”
“I can understand why,” Loki said. “But you just said that a minute ago.”
“No, you don’t understand,” Lucy gazed at the castle. “I don’t believe Snow White’s story,” she said and walked away.
After they left, Loki walked back into the castle and entered Snow White’s room. He knelt down beside her and didn’t hesitate to pull the stake.
It took her a moment to adjust to her surroundings before she snarled with her black eyes at him. Loki kept still and didn’t move. He was counting on her remembering him and appreciating what they’d been through together.
Although her monstrous nature didn’t change, she recognized him. Her love for him inside surpassed any curse caused by Carmilla’s apple. She lay back in the coffin and placed her hands on her chest.
“You should go,” she said. “I won’t be able to stop myself from hurting you forever.”