Quitetly, Quiggly stepped into the darkness as he stealthily approached and steeled himself for the battle. When he was close enough he said, "I know you're alive! I know you're the one who left them all," and he aimed his sword for one of the men. He drew blood.
"I know it's you," said a voice above him.
"Who's there?" yelled Quiggly.
"It's I, your dear brother," said his brother. "I am Jabbered, the second from the oldest of the seven. My twin brother was the one who left them all. Oh, brother, I regret so many times I have used you, because I thought I was using them. I am sorry I never looked into your eyes, and I would have been wise not to speak so many unkind words. I hope in your next life, if there is one, that you never speak to me again. But I will always remember you and my memories will always burn. I will also remember this moment, and I will take it as a lesson from you." He then reached over and flicked the sword out of Quiggly's hand with his finger and tossed it into the tree. It fell and landed with a clang on the ground beside Quiggly.
"And I wish I hadn't been such a stupid fool, in your last life," said Jabbered, the second oldest brother. "And that was the only point I thought I was making." And with that he placed a claw over Quiggly's face, lifted his brother up into the air, and tossed him into the trees.
Quiggly fell onto a log that was covered with moss. He got up in a hurry and found himself face to face with the youngest of the seven brothers, a boy who was barely twenty feet tall. He placed his hand over Quiggly's face, stuck a fork in him, and carried him away. "This is a good one," he said. "I'm taking the poor man with the dirty mouth." He lowered him onto a large, freshly cut log that was full of meat. "I hope he cooks well."
Quiggly looked around and saw that all of the brothers had gathered around the fire.
"Wait, brothers," said a voice from behind him. He turned around and saw Fiddled. "Please, don't eat him. Take the poor sinner and be done with him."
The brothers looked at Fiddled, and as if in unison they said, "Yes, we want him to suffer," and they immediately started eating their father.
Fiddled fell to his knees and cried, "Have mercy!"
The seventh brother came up and looked over the edge of the log at Fiddled. "Don't worry. I'll save him."
Quiggly was tossed on the fire and spit over the fire like a lizard over a flame. Soon he started to burn and he screamed and started to cry. Fiddled threw himself down beside him and rolled him out of the fire and into the grass.
Quiggly rolled over, put his hand to his mouth, and looked up at Fiddled. "I'm scared. I'm sorry I said those awful things. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Fiddled said to him, taking him by the hand. "It's going to be all right. You don't have to be scared, Quiggly, but you've got to be quiet for a minute. I need to talk to you."
Quiggly heard the brothers as they walked away. He felt around the ground and found Fiddled's sword. He felt sick because he knew he was going to kill his father. And he couldn't take his eyes off of him. He heard him talk to the six other brothers, and then heard them scream. He felt the blood freeze in his veins as the last one screamed, "Brothers! The Devil! The Devil is among us!" and then he heard them attack him.
"I'm so sorry," Quiggly said to himself as he watched his own father fall onto the ground. He then picked up Fiddled's sword, held it with two hands, and stabbed Fiddled over and over and over until there was nothing left of his father.
Later that night he walked back to the farmhouse where his mother and siblings were sleeping. As soon as he approached the house, he stopped and waited for the first one out of the door to be his brother. He recognized the face of the little sister, the one who had been the youngest brother at one time. He smiled at her. "Well, sweetheart," he said, "I guess you don't have to worry about growing anymore." He then saw the boy walking up, and he knew it was going to be his brother. He thought to himself, I'm going to have a new little brother. "I'm so happy," he whispered to himself as the boy came running up and grabbed him. "I'm so happy I'm so happy."
# CHAPTER NINE
# Dirty Words and Tears
**L** etta walked up the stone steps to the mansion. She had her sword with her, but she left it inside the room because she didn't want to make a loud sound or draw the attention of the other residents of the mansion.
The two guards posted at the door of the mansion gave the woman who resembled Letta a sharp look. They said, "Don't look so much like her, dearie. The one who's coming isn't too pretty."
"It is me, you fools," said Letta, and then she walked up the steps and through the door.
As she walked by the man who looked like Fiddled, he said, "You don't belong here, miss. We haven't seen you in some time. What has been your name, dear?"
"Letta," she said. "And don't call me dear. I hate that name. And it's not your place to ask me about my name."
"Yes, ma'am," he said. "I am so sorry."
She walked past all the residents to the room with the picture of the two boys and the five girls with the golden hair. She saw the golden girls' names inscribed on the picture frame: Anni, Berne, Cate, Kara, Lissa, and Lana. "Where are they?" she asked herself. "And where is Fiona?"
She went to the doors and locked them. She said, "And you can keep your tongues, as well," as she went to her own room and closed the doors behind her.
Leta sat on the bed, but she couldn't sleep. She felt like she was walking through a foggy dream, or a memory she had. She kept getting flashes of these golden-haired girls, but she wasn't exactly sure where she had seen them. And who was Fiona?
"I know, I know," said Letta, "I'm going crazy."
She began to walk around the room and ran into the wall because she wasn't expecting it. She fell onto the bed and then onto the floor. "I'll get myself together. I have to get through this," she said as she pushed herself back onto her feet. She placed her hands on the floor, got her balance, and slowly stood on the tips of her toes, but she felt a sharp pain in her back. She let out a scream and placed her hands on the floor again, this time pushing herself up off the floor. She stood there for a minute, feeling like she was floating in the air.
"It's like I'm invisible," she said to herself. She then bent over and looked at the floor. On the floor, she saw the knife. She picked it up and saw the name, Fiona. "My Fiona, you're alive. And you're all alone, with no family, no friends." She said all this as if it were happening right in front of her. "And I'm so sorry." She walked over to the wall and sat down and then said, "I'll just stay like this for a minute. I don't think it will do any harm. And I know I can't do this on my own. I need to find some help." She then saw a picture frame with a picture of Fiona as a young girl holding a puppy. She tried to lift it off the wall, but it wouldn't move. She screamed for help, hoping that someone would come, but no one came. She started to cry. "Oh, my god, I didn't mean to do that."
After a couple of minutes she said, "Oh, come on now, you are Fiona. You are Fiona, and I'm not. Maybe you need me." She went to the other pictures and saw that they were all of the other girls, but she couldn't remember their names. She searched through the room, trying to remember if she had put Fiona in a closet. She thought that she had. And then she remembered that they were all supposed to be in the closet. "Oh, well," she said, "I'll just wait till morning. I'll go back in the morning and help." She went over to the bed and lay down, but she was too afraid to fall asleep. "I can't let my guard down. I can't risk falling
