Greymist Fair


 
 
 
 
 
 
 Map
 
 
 
 Dedication
 
 ANNABELLE DIRR
 For Annabelle and Adalynnand future generations
 
 ADALYNN DIRR
 
 
 Epigraph
 
 “I don’t have the heart to leave my children in the forest. The wild beasts would soon come and tear them apart.”
 “And when the full moon had risen, Hansel took his little sister by the hand and followed the pebbles which shone like newly minted silver pieces and showed them the way.”
 “Hansel and Gretel,”
 The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
 
 
 
 Cast of Characters 
 The Children
 Heike (tailor)
 Wenzel (innkeeper)
 Liesel
 Katrina
 Fritz
 Hans
 Villagers
 Hilda (tailor)
 Doctor Death (doctor)
 Ulrich (carpenter) – Gabi (midwife)
 Tomas (carpenter’s apprentice)
 Gottfried (hunter) – Oswald
 The Duke (dog)
 Johanna (baker) – Dagny (baker)
 Lord Greymist – Lady Greymist
 Falk (fisherman)
 Jürgen (butcher)
 Elma Klein (farmer) – Norbert Klein
 Ada Bosch
 Oliver
 Curt
 Godric (blacksmith)
 Albert Schafer (shepherd)
 Travelers
 Prince Altan
 Evren (prince’s aide)
 Jocasta (caravan leader)
 Omar (caravan guide)
 Others
 Death
 
 
 
 
 
 Table of Contents 
 Cover
 Title Page
 Dedication
 Map
 Epigraph
 Cast of Characters
 Home
 The Girl Who Outran Death
 One
 Two
 Three
 Four
 Five
 The Prince’s Riddle
 One
 Two
 Three
 Four
 Five
 Six
 Wolf Children
 One
 Two
 Three
 Four
 Five
 Six
 Katrina
 One
 Two
 Three
 Four
 Five
 Six
 The Secret of Grey Lake
 One
 Two
 Three
 Four
 Five
 Six
 Seven
 Doctor Death
 One
 Two
 Three
 Four
 Five
 Six
 The Wargs of Greymist
 One
 Two
 Three
 Four
 Five
 Home Again
 Acknowledgments
 About the Author
 Books by Francesca Zappia
 Back Ad
 Copyright
 About the Publisher
 
 
 
 Home 
 
 
 
 A road leads into a dark forest. It passes through a village some travelers never see. The village is not meant for everyone. To outsiders, it’s a place of darkness and whispers, threatened by bright-eyed creatures that live in the wood. Its people are friendly, but insular; its routines familiar, but not inclusive.
 A tall man in a dark coat walks the road. Death follows on his heels. Greymist Fair is their home, but only one of them is welcome. The man is a doctor, a healer. Death can only ever be themself. Curious eyes and spiteful hearts follow them through the forest but do not touch them; the road is safe. The doctor and Death don’t waste any time; there are many who need the doctor’s help.
 The village’s noble family.
 The widowed fisherman and his son.
 The orphans in the wind-slanted shack.
 The butcher, inspecting his many knives.
 The kind old innkeepers and the abandoned boy.
 And the tailor. Always, the tailor. She is not ailing or hurt, and the doctor will make sure she stays that way.
 As they walk, Death hums a tune. It’s a popular rhyme with the children of Greymist Fair. When they approach the outskirts of the village, Death stops while the doctor continues on. Gradually the village emerges from the mist. Cozy fires burn on cobbled hearths, walls and roofs thatched tight against the darkness. Neighbors trade wares and stories. They keep one another company in the long lulls between visitors, and on the nights when they are sure evil is real, and it lives in the forest.
 The doctor wishes he could calm their fears, but he would have to lie to them. He, better than anyone else, knows that Death waits in the trees. That Death is patient. And that Death will do anything to return home.
 
 
 
 
 The Girl Who Outran Death 
 
 
 One
 
 Only one road led to Greymist Fair. It cut a winding path through the forest, wide enough for two horse-drawn carts to pass side by side, or for six men to walk comfortably without their shoulders touching. Large stones paved it all the way from one misty edge of the forest to the other, and on one side of the road iron lanterns hung on iron hooks, illuminating the path with a spectral blue light that never went out.
 When Heike was very young, her mother had led her out of the village and down the west road. The heels of her mother’s boots made a solid thumping on the stones in time with the rustling of her bright skirts. Heike, her small hand sweating in her mother’s grasp, hurried to keep up. Mist crept from between the tree trunks on either side of the road but never moved past the glow of the lanterns.
 As the last cottages of Greymist Fair disappeared behind them, Heike’s mother stopped and kneeled beside her.
 “Listen to me, Henrike.” Hilda was calm and spoke softly. “It’s okay to come down the road. As long as you don’t stray from the path, you will always be able to find your way home, and nothing bad will happen to you.” She released Heike’s hands and began to retie the small red ribbon at the end of Heike’s braid. Her mother had quick, deft fingers, tailor’s fingers, and the ribbon went back in place without a strand of hair slipping free. “If you leave the road, there are creatures in the woods that would steal you away and eat you up,” her mother said, tugging the end of Heike’s braid just once, gentle but firm. “You must never go into the woods, Heike. Do you understand?”
 “But you go into the woods,” Heike said, suddenly uncomfortable with her back to the trees.
 “I do,” said her mother. “I go to speak to the witch, to make sure she and her wargs stay far away from you and everyone else in the village. I can run very fast, and that keeps me safe.”
 Her mother had let Heike turn and peer between the tree trunks to see that there was nothing there, and then led her back to Greymist Fair.
 When her mother was still alive, Heike had no reason to leave the village. After her mother’s