"I saw it!" Sabrina cried. "I saw that happen outside our window. He was shot with an arrow."
Granny Relda shared a confused expression with the older women and Puck. "I don't remember that happening."
"I certainly don't remember it," the grown-up Sabrina replied. "How can these things have occurred in the past but we don't remember them? Our Prince Charming didn't disappear. I never saw Uncle Jake murdered when I was young. We didn't just pop up in the future, either."
"How long have you been here?" Charming asked the girls. "A couple of hours," Sabrina said. "What about you?"
"Three months."
"So, you're not a future version of Prince Charming?" Sabrina asked, doing her best to understand all the new information.
"No, I'm from the past--I mean, the present... it's all still very confusing. I went for a walk after I lost the election to the Queen of Hearts. I wanted to clear my head, think of a way to change my fortunes, and then I found myself here. It took me several hours to figure out that I wasn't where I was supposed to be. It appears the same thing has happened to the two of you."
The older Daphne shook her head. "Something is happening back then that shouldn't have happened," she said. "We believe it's creating tears in time."
"Tears in time?" Daphne asked.
"Yes, they're doorways that suck people out of their time. They're not supposed to be possible, but whatever or whoever is causing them is somehow blending their future and our present."
"And maybe all of our pasts," Sabrina interrupted. "We saw a band of Indians attack Baba Yaga this afternoon. I mean, fifteen years ago."
"Now, I
know that never happened," the older Daphne said.
"So this is worse than I suspected," Granny Relda replied.
"When the two of you vanished, did you see a storm come out of nowhere?" Charming asked.
Sabrina nodded. "And there was one when I saw Uncle Jake die."
"And when the Indians appeared and attacked Baba Yaga," Daphne added. "By the way, where is she?"
"The witch was one of the first of the resistance to die," Granny Relda said. "She made a foolish error when she destroyed her guardians. She never took time to replace them and it left her vulnerable. The Scarlet Hand cornered her in the forest and killed her, but not before she took out nearly forty of them."
"The house ran off," Puck said. "We found it cowering at the top of Mount Taurus and we've been using it ever since."
"Maybe all this has something to do with the case we're working on," Sabrina said, watching the older version of her sister standing cold and distant, away from the group. She shuddered to think what had happened to steal the happiness from Daphne, or what had caused the horrible mark on her face.
"What case?" Granny Relda asked.
"Someone's been stealing magic items. The Wand of Merlin, the Wonder Clock, and some water from the Fountain of Youth have all been ripped off."
"I remember that case," Granny Relda said. "We never solved it."
"Unbelievable! Relda Grimm would never let a mystery go unsolved," Charming said with a hint of disdain.
"There were other things, urgent things that needed our attention," the old woman said.
"The taxes," Sabrina asked.
Her older self nodded in agreement. "Yes, among others. Uncle Jake had his hands full with Baba Yaga. After that, things got even worse and we just never had time to do any more investigating."
"What got worse?" Sabrina asked, suspiciously.
The adults were silent for a long, heartbreaking moment. They looked at one another with strained expressions, as if weighing how much pain their next words might cause.
"They should see the house," the older Daphne said.
"Don't you think that's a little harsh?" Granny Relda asked.
"If we don't show them the truth, they will go and discover it for themselves. You remember how we used to be. We were always running off in the middle of the night. We can't allow them to do that. They wouldn't survive. It's best if we feed their curiosity, no matter how painful it may be."
"She's right, Relda," Charming said. "They'll sneak out, and this time, they might not come back."
"If they were to be killed, we would die with them. They're us," the grown-up Daphne added.
The older Sabrina shrugged. "I guess it's for the best."
Sabrina and Daphne stared into each other's eyes. Silently, they shared their fear for what they were about to see. What could be so bad?
"Show us," Sabrina said.
*
Sabrina felt the house make another abrupt turn. She glanced out the window and saw abandoned homes and a forest charred with black smoke. Roads were ripped in half and littered with abandoned cars.
After a while, the creepy shack came to a lumbering stop.
"We're here," the future Daphne said as she glanced through the window. "We can't stay long."