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The next memory was of his parents taking him for a picnic in the woods.

He was so happy; perhaps it meant his mother and father loved him again.

Just like they had before his first accident.

They laid a blanket under the trees and ate delicious food, and for a few wonderful hours, everything was perfect.

Then his parents asked him to keep an eye on the food while they went to get a present for him.

They never came back.

He had been wandering alone for hours now, crying for his parents. The tears eventually dried up, and he sat down on the forest floor shivering, wishing he were home in his bed.

He felt angry then—angry at his parents and the world. He tried to tamp it down, but it was no use, he felt the change happen, felt himself become the monster. His body hurt, every bone ached, and he collapsed in this monstrous form under a giant oak tree.

“Poor creature,” came a rumbling voice over him a few hours later.

He jolted up to see a man who looked like he was made of rock standing over him, his face one of pity.

The child didn’t think, he just attacked.

But it was no use; he simply fell through the figure instead.

The man chuckled and bent down, patting him on the head.

The gesture took all the anger out of him, and he once more reverted to being a small boy shivering in the cold.

“My name is Grendel. What’s your name, son?”

“I don’t have one,” he said defiantly.

“Very well then, from today on, your name is Grim, son of Grendel. Now come, let us get you warmed up.”

The next memory was of a young Grim standing behind Grendel as the five people who wanted him out of the forest surrounded his foster father.

“He cannot stay, Grendel,” said the woman with cold eyes and voice.

“He shall not leave,” replied Grendel.

“Come now, friend,” said the man with the booming voice and crown over his head. “Surely you understand that he cannot stay here.”

“We could just kill him if you refuse,” whispered the girl in the red cloak.

Terror flooded his veins, and his knees began shaking. Grendel growled at the threat and stepped forward.

“Enough! You are scaring the child.”

But it was too late, the transformation happened, and the five spirits stared at the small monstrous creature where the human boy had stood.

“Well,” said the woman with the cold voice, “this is an interesting development.”

The man in armor placed a hand on the first woman’s arm, and she looked at him for a minute before nodding.

“The boy shall stay. Perhaps, he can be of use to us in the future. For now, let Grendel amuse himself with him.”

They left then, and Grim turned back into a boy, but he never forgot that first interaction with the Five.

He was seventeen now, standing in front of them again.

“Grendel is gone,” said Lady Wilde in her usual granite voice. “It is time for you to be useful to us.”

He nodded, careful not to let them see how his heart cracked at the mention of his adopted father.

“You will find the Spirit Wand for us,” said Lord Jack. “Do so, and we will give you what you have always wanted.”

“Your freedom,” said the Red Maiden.

“The Spirit Wand can break your curse,” said King Arthur.

He kneeled in front of them then and swore to bring back the wand.

Years later, he had finally tracked down the place where the wand was mostly likely to be. With a reclusive scholar who lived in a backwater village in the middle of nowhere. He got there only for the villagers to inform him of her passing and instead directed him to her niece.

Who was the strangest person he had ever met.

She talked more than anyone he had ever met, constantly keeping up a stream of chatter.

She was quick to take offense and quick to laugh.

Her hair was the strangest shade of pink, and her pale-green eyes were always dancing as if she was enjoying some secret joke only she knew.

She feuded with squirrels and was addicted to tea.

And she had the kindest heart of anyone he’d ever encountered.

He didn’t even notice when he let her within the strong walls he had erected. She didn’t break them down. No, she simply smiled at them charmingly, and they opened a Serena shaped hole to let her through.

She called him the best friend she’d ever had.

And he knew then he had lost his heart forever.

Serena came back to herself, gasping. She had no time to ponder, she simply picked up her skirts and started running again.

Out of the room, and down the long corridor.

The sparrow and the robin flew behind her singing, “The forest, beauty, he’s in the forest.”

Nodding her thanks, she didn’t break her stride, not for a moment. Her legs were cramping in agony now, but still she ran. Past the suits of armor, past the rows of portraits lining the halls. The castle door lay in shambles, ripped apart by Grim, and she followed the trail of destruction.

She ran through the rose garden, and the iron gate, ran through the path she had first come through. Ran until she heard a now familiar roar, and instead of flinching, she braced herself and ran even faster, her hair and skirt billowing behind her.

She had to go get him.

She had to go get Grim.

She didn’t know what she’d say, or what she’d do, she just knew she had to go to him right now, or he would be lost to her forever.

She had to bring him home.

A memory flashed into her mind then, of her sitting in the birch tree in her garden while Grim lounged against it, holding a cup of tea in his hand, grinning at some teasing remark she had thrown at him.

Her own cup balanced precariously in her lap, and she rolled her eyes when Grim warned her it would fall and ruin her skirts.

Home.

Yes, that’s what it was, that’s what they had.

Home.

She entered the forest and paused, looking for a sign of the haunted man she sought. Her chest suddenly grew warm, and a familiar white light emerged from it, illuminating a path through the bushes in front of her.

The Crystal.

Privately offering thanks to Nerida for the gift, she set off again. Branches tore at her skirt, scratching her skin, leaving angry red lines, but she doggedly kept going, kept moving.

“Grim!” she cried. “ GRIM!”

Grim was standing on a boulder, still in his monstrous form. She ran straight at him and took hold of his massive shoulders. He flared a giant wing, and swiped at her with his claws, leaving a deep cut on her shoulder. She cried out in pain but refused to let go.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he raged. “What is so broken inside you, that you are clinging to a monster right now?”

Refusing to let him hurt her, knowing how much he was hurting inside, she simply held on.

“Let go,” he seethed.

“No,” she said, tightening her grip.

“Damn it, I said LET GO.”

This time he sent her flying into one of the bushes. The thorns in them scratched her further, but she ignored the pain and got up, stumbling toward him again.

The bulging eyes widened, then narrowed with anger again, and he crouched, growling at her approach.

“Stay back! Can’t you see I’m a monster? Can’t you see that I’m ugly and horrifying?”

“ Yes, you are!” she screamed back, “ BUT SO THE FUCK WHAT?”

“ Why can’t you be normal? ” he snarled. “Are you really that messed up? Are you that pitiful that you must resort to caring about a monster like me?”

“So what if I am?” she cried out. “And so what if you are? What does it matter, Grim?”

He roared with anger again and turned to run, but she saw it coming. She charged at him once more and grabbed him by his fur covered waist.

“Stop running,” she said. “Stay and let me in .”

“You’re being pathetic right now. Let me go!”

“I won’t,” she yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks, “and no amount of hurtful words will change that. ”

“I thought you were smarter than this. But here you are begging for love from a monster.”

“Well, I’m not! Please, Grim—” Her voice cracked. “Please, why can’t you just accept that I care about you?”

He paused at that, and she took the opportunity to hold him tighter.

“Come back, Grim!” she sobbed. “Come home. Don’t you want to go back to Primrose Cottage with me? I want to have tea with you, I want to chase squirrels and laugh at bad jokes. I want to tease you and make you roll your eyes at me. I need you, Grim, please.”

“You…need me?” he rasped, in a guttural voice.

“I do,” she whispered, burying her face in his furry back. “I don’t understand any of it—I don’t know why you look like this, and yes, I’m scared. But I want you to come back and help me understand. And I want to let you know I see you. I see you, and I’m still here.”

There was a flash of light then, and she was holding a bare chested Grim by his midsection. The skies opened and released a downpour of icy rain.

“I didn’t want you to think I’m a monster,” he whispered.

“I would never think that,” she replied, tears streaming down her cheeks, mingling with raindrops.

He turned and hugged her then, tightly, his fingers grasping her hair and pulling her close by the waist. His face dug into her shoulders, and he broke out into heaving sobs, as she pulled him even closer, letting him know he was finally home.