Jillian sat on the edge of the town square and watched the people go by. Happy couples. Mothers and children. Friends talking and laughing. Where did she fit in this perfect little town? Where did any orphan, really? Jillian wondered if she could stowaway on a ship and sail away to a new land, far from here. Grimm held nothing and was nothing to her. Perhaps sarting fresh was the way to go.

She was about to leave when she heard the call of a horn. Two uniformed guards thundered into the square on horses. The smaller man, the one with the horn, cimbed unto a platform and faced the growing crowd. The other man remained on his horse and surveyed the townspeople with the glare not different to a hawk's. He turned his head and for one moment, he and Jillian locked eyes. SHe shuddered and looked away. His eyes were as hard as diamonds.

The other guard blew is horn again, silencing the buzzing crowd. He unwrapped a scroll and began to dramtically read from it. "Hear ye! Hear ye! By the royal proclaimation of our beloved and most noble King Palumer the Third, any magical people of any kind are considered enemies of the crown!"

The buzzing returned. Jillian frowned. What did he mean, magical people?

"As you are aware, the fight to squash out magical creatures since our King Palumer took the throne has been nothing but successful, but now he has taken notice of a new threat." He pasued and scanned the crowd. "Magical creatures have a distinct look and have certain features we can easily identify but this other threat does not. I'm speaking of, of course, the horrific race of humans with magical abilities."

The buzzing became a roar. The creepy guard on his horse bellowed, "Silence!" and it was quiet once more.

"These persons are classified as witches, wizards, enchantresses, and sorcerers to name a few. They look like ordinary people, can dress like them, act like them, pass off as them, and they could be here right now."

Jillian glanced around curiously. No one looked particularly special. She wondered why magic folk were considered threats if they could blend in so well with ordinary people.

"Furthermore!" the guard continued. "The Great King Palumer has issued a specialized officer to join each town's society. Their job is specifically to arrest any magical people they can find and give them justice for breaking our most important laws. I give you, Sheriff Anton."

The other guard urged his horse forward and began pacing back in forth. "Dear village of Grimm,"he began with a leering smile, "I am so honored to be appointed with the task of guarding your piece of haven. Some of you may be questioning the validity of our King's statement and that is ludicrous! I am here because this threat is real. It is not coming for you. It is already here, most likely amongst you right now. If any are here today, watch yourselves. You can't hide forever."

Sheriff Anton paused and seemed to have an internal fit. His face tightened and his eyes bugged slightly as he shook with rage. It was frightening to watch. Finally, he composed himself and continued. "These so-called people are nothing short of monsters, regardless of appearance. An azure plant is beautiful but is as deadly as they come! These folk are no different. I'm sure you've heard the stories of witches luring children into traps, away from their homes and families. Or of sorcerers tricking innocent people into taking their magical objects, sending doom upon them. You must keep a wary eye out at all times and report to me if you see anything out of the ordinary. Any ideas, behaviors, or attitudes. You are dismissed."

For a moment, the townspeople just stood there, staring at this scary man. Then they turned and went back to their normal activities, but with a more cautious air. Jillian stood there a bit longer, staring at the royal proclaimation that was just posted to the wall. She didn't know why, but it gave her the chills. Things were goingto be quite different, she was sure of it.

That night, Jillian luckily found herself sleeping in the basement of an inn on the edge of town. The innkeeper said she could stay one night if she helped out the next day and that was more she could ever ask for. She turned on her side and struggled to find a comfortable spot on the ground. The hard-packed earth wasn't the only thing keeping her awake. This new proclaimation was going to make things alot harder for people. One toe out of line and-

A loud knocking on the inn door above jarred Jillian out of her thoughts. She sat up and heard the muffled footsteps of the innkeeper as she went to answer the door. Jillian heard voices but couldn't make out the words. She krept up to the basement door and put her ear to the keyhole.

"...come barging in here this late at night!" the innkeeper shouted angrily.

Jillian stiffened as she heard the harsh voice of Sheriff Anton. "I have orders to search every inn surrounding this town for magic folk hiding out!"

"There are none here!"

The man laughed coldly. "I'll be the judge of that. Fan out!" he barked. The sound of several boots thundered into the inn. Jillian heard the shouts of people being dragged out of their rooms by the guards. She backed up as someone approached the basment door. "Is someone in here?" a guard asked.

The innkeeper, unfortunately, didn't hesitate. "Yes, a girl. But she's only staying for one-."

The door was flung open and Jillian didn't have time to react as she was yanked into the main room of the inn, already occipied by a dozen angry guests. Sheriff Anton ordered them to turn out their pockets while his guards ransacked their rooms searching for anything that might give a clue.

An older woman crossed her arms, annoyed. "Can we go back to sleep now? You didn't find anything."

Sheriff Anton glowered at him. "Not yet." He turned towards a young man dressed in a dark cloak, his hood pulled up. "Empty your pockets," he ordered him.

"No."

Even Sheriff Anton was taken aback by this abrupt refusal. "What do you mean no?"

The young man rasied his head and Jillian could see his blue eyes were practiccally glowing with anger. "I meant no, I won't turn out my pockets to you or anyone. But I guess that might be hard for one to understand if their brain's the size on an imp's."

A collective gasp issued from the other guests. "Stand down, son," a man said.

"Yes, listen, "the Sheriff said with mocking kindness. "If you have nothing to hide, then this shouldn't be a problem."

Jillian had a feeling something terrible was about to happen. Slowly she inched away and slid behind a table and continued to watch. The cloaked figure stiffened slightly and slowly put his hand in his pocket. "You're right. I don't have anything to hide." With the sudden movement of a stricking serpent, he pulled out a wand and blasted the nearest guard off his feet and through the wall. The guests screamed and ran out of the inn.

Sheriff Anton's face turned purple. "A wizard!" Before the other guards could move, the wizard subdued each one. One found himself bound in ropes, another was stuck to the celing like glue, and the third was turned into a bird.

Only the Sheriff remained. The wizard raised his wand, about to do something horrible to him. She could tell, the look on his face was pure rage and hatred. Jillian rasied her head to see better and the wizard noticed her. His eyes widened in surprise and he hesitated. Sheriff Anton saw his chance. He lunged at the yound man, tackling him to the ground. The wizard's head struck the stone floor and went limp.

A some other guards ran into the inn and grabbed the unconscious person. His hood was pulled back and Jillian saw his face. The wizard was practically her age. She felt a stab of guilt. His capture was her fault.

"Take him to the cart with the others," Sheriff Anton ordered, as they left, he reached down and pocketed the wizard's wand. He was about to leave when he spotted Jillian. "Hey! What are you doing back there!" He ran over and grabbed her arm, twisting it painfully.

"Nothing!" Jillian yelled, trying to get away.

"Hiding doesn't look like nothing! You're coming with me!" He began to drag her out the door.

"What for?" she snapped. She smacked him with her free arm. He ignored it and continued pulling her. Jillian wasn't finished with him. "You're just a bully abusing his power! Why should that wizard be arrested? He was just fine until you threatened him!"

That got his attention. "Siding with the monster are we?" The fierce look in his eye was unnerving but she didn't stop.

"He's not a monster!"

Sheriff Anton stared at her for a moment. "Just what I suspected. Men!" he called. Two guards hurried over. He shoved Jillian to them. "Put this magical sympathizer with the others. She'll be tested tomorrow."

Jillian fought and kicked but it was no use. They tried her wrists together in front of her and threw her in the back of a deep cart full of six other people. Some looked scared. Others with a sad, deafeated look. The young wizard was the only unconscious one, lying on his side. The other people ignored him. Jillian wriggled to sit next to him. She awkwardly stroked his hair. He didn't stir.

"I'm sorry," she whisphered.