Fairy Tale Devices

Chapter 1 - The Boy in the Tower

"I bet you couldn't steal a cabbage from her garden!" 

"What? Of course I can!"

"Then do it!"

Gabriel rolled his eyes and climbed over the stone wall. It was only a cabbage  and he wasn't going to let his friends think he was a coward. Especially not Will Herondale. As annoying as he was, he was pretty much the leader of the group and if Gabriel wanted to enjoy the next month he had to make a good impression. There was no other way to entertain himself, with his father teaching his brother how to be a proper prince or what not. 

Gabriel managed to pull himself over the wall and sat with a sigh. He didn't even want to come along on this trip. He was just going to be ignored anyways. 

"You're not chickening out, are you?!" Will shouted at him.

No way in hell. Gabriel shoved himself off of the wall to the other side. He stumbled a little when he landed, but thankfully no one could see him. 

"Alright, a cabbage for some friends. Not a bad deal, right?" he murmured to himself, scanning the garden. Flowers, carrots, potatoes, beets, tomatoes. Gabriel's eyes finally landed on the cabbage. 

Leaves rustled suddenly, making him jump. A flash of black, followed by loud squawking. It was just a stupid crow. 

Gabriel advanced nervously, trying to decide which of the cabbages would satisfy the boys waiting for him. They all looked the same, so it couldn't really matter that much, right? He grabbed the nearest one. 

"What are you doing in my garden?!" 

Gabriel whipped around and dropped the cabbage, startled by the angry woman behind him. 

It was her. The infamous sorceress who owned the garden surrounded by tall brick walls and overlooked by a stone hut. A woman with long and shiny black hair, who would've been beautiful if not for the fact that she had snakes for eyes. She was known for cursing people for the smallest of mistakes or for whatever she deemed a wrongdoing. The town's people avoided her like the plague and they had warned him to do so as well. Gabriel hadn't even believed she existed. Yet there she was, standing with her hands on her hips and glaring at him. 

"I... uh... I was just adm-" 

"Hey! Lightwood? Are you done stealing the cabbage or did you crack your head open jumping over the wall?"  Will shouted mockingly. 

Gabriel bit his lip anxiously. It was perfect timing on Will's part. His half baked excuse stood no chance now. 

The sorceress sneered. "I do hope you weren't going to say you were admiring my garden!" She grabbed his arm roughly and dragged him out the gates. A little whimper escaped his throat.

"I'm going to give you one chance to apologize! I've been in a very good mood recently and I'm not going to spoil it by punishing a group of stupid boys." She snapped, digging her arms into Gabriel's arm. 

"Alright, alright! I'm sorry!" Gabriel whined as he tried to pull his arm away from her grasp.

"Not just you, I want an apology from all of you little rats!" She cried.

The group looked at each other nervously. Then they looked at Will.

"I don't see why we should apologize. We were not the ones stealing." He said, crossing his arms.

The sorceress let out an angry hiss and twisted Gabriel's arm, pushing him in front of her. She dug her long, claw-like nails into his throat. Despite Gabriel's shriek, Will didn't react.