“And?” Loki was getting impatient.
“There’s also another original edition of a Brothers Grimm book called ‘Children’s and Household Tales.’ It’s handwritten, and it contains original versions of the tales before the book was published. After the crazy night we had at the castle yesterday, I had no doubt this tiny girl that kicked your butt and killed Big Bad and Cricketkiller was Snow White herself. I mean, did you take a good look at her? Like really take a good look? In spite all of the blood and gore, I have no doubt who she is. She fits the profile exactly; lips red as blood, skin pale as snow, and hair black as night. So I asked myself one single question: how come she is a vampire? “
Axel’s long speech was interrupted by someone outside the secret door. Moments later, Fable came crawling inside.
12
The Brothers Grimm
“Miss me?” she said with that irresistible smile on her face.
“What are you doing here?” Axel’s face knotted. “Didn’t I tell you that Loki and I are on a secret mission, and that it’s dangerous?”
“I love danger,” she said. “And I’m the one who told you about the secret library. I deserve to get involved. I finished my homework—and yours. I washed the dishes, fed the spiders, and now I’m bored. You have no idea what a girl can contribute to your quest. Try me.”
“She has a point,” Loki said, even if he wasn’t comfortable with too many people getting involved.
“Alright,” Axel muttered. “As long as you don’t do anything stupid, and listen to what your bigger bro has to say.”
“Alrighty, bro,” Fable stomped her feet on the floor and raised her hand sharply, saluting him like a soldier. “He thinks because he is older than me, that he’s smarter,” she winked at Loki. “So I have to pay my respects.”
“So,” Axel coughed, pretending he didn’t hear her, now posing as if he were a professor in a lecturing room. “Like I said, all you need to know about the real Snow White is here,” he rapped his knuckles upon the book, and dust flew in his face again.
“Come on, spit it out, Axel,” Loki mocked him. It was fun having Fable around.
“Yeah,” Fable giggled. “Spit. It. Out.”
“Stop swearing in front of my sister. She is only fifteen.”
“’Spit it out’ is swearing?” Loki said.
“I am fifteen and a half,” Fable ranted, hands on her waist.
Loki disliked that Axel thought his sister needed to be treated like a retard. She was smart, cute and had great energy oozing out of her.
“One day, all of you will know what kind of genius I am,” Axel said. “Here is why I think that the vampire princess is really Snow White. First of all, you have to know that the real story of Snow White in the un-forged books was considerably different than the famous story we all know. Snow White was not portrayed as innocent, shallow, giddy, and useless.”
“Snow White isn’t useless,” Fable insisted. “She is awesome, and Prince Charming is possum,” Axel stuck his tongue out like an annoyed lizard.
Loki couldn’t escape the feeling that he was in kindergarten all over again—although he didn’t remember one, but it wasn’t hard to imagine it. Axel and Fable’s childish behavior showed how little interaction they had with others their own age, and why they had no friends. Loki shrugged, reminding himself that when it came to loneliness, he wasn’t that different from them. He just owned a car, traveled around, and met a lot of Minkins. Even though Axel and Fable acted younger than their age, it puzzled him why he liked them so much, even when they were Minikins. He felt good around them. It was a great feeling that his inner voice resisted, because he was going to leave this town in the end.
“After reading the original stories and commentaries on the history of fairy tales,” Axel elaborated, “I found that certain aspects of the original story, written by the Brothers Grimm, hinted to the fact that Snow White could have been a vampire. It’s all in the original texts, if you read between the lines. It’s as if the story was some kind of a hidden message, or as if they wanted to hide the truth, making it sound fairy tailish and suitable for children.”
“She wasn’t a vampire!” Fable protested.
Loki advised her they should give Axel a chance and listen to what he had to say.
“Before you claim she wasn’t a vampire, you’d need to ask yourself some questions. For instance, why would a fairy tale for children start with a mother pricking her finger and dropping blood on the snow?” Axel wondered, “Gory stuff, right?”