Pied Piper Comes to Town (The Heroines Fairytales Book #1) (1st Version)

Missing

The whole congregation stopped when the three disabled children came in and interrupted their worshiping to their lord.  They stared at the young children, upset they were interrupted and wondering what this was about.  The adults turned to their neighbors and whispered to each other.

"We have an emergency!" Adelheid shouted so that everyone in the congregation could hear her.  Their mothers rushed up to them, crouching.

They whispered to them angrily, "What are you doing?  This is a sacred day and you're making a ruckus."

The children looked at their mothers and then to the rest of the adults and Adelheid called out, "We have an emergency!  The children have all been kidnapped by the Pied Piper.  The only reasons we weren't was because I," she put her hand on her heard, fingers spread out, "couldn't keep up because of my lameness, and he," she pointed at Adelman, "couldn't follow because he was blind, and Cunrat, here," she pointed at Cunrat now, "couldn't hear the music because of his deafness."  Adelman nodded his head when she pointed him out.

Cunrat read her lips the whole time she was talking and folded his arms, closed his eyes, and nodded his head in agreement.  Then he put on a thoughtful face and thought, I do wonder what it sounded like, though.  Actually, what any sound sounds like, he thought enviously.  Oh, well, what I get is what I get.  He didn't like that at all and made a sour face thinking about it.

The adults thought it over and agreed to go and check it out.  "Okay.  We'll go and check it out.  Now move."  They pushed the children aside, knocking both Adelheid and Adelman down and almost knocking Cunrat down, having only been able to stay standing up because he had both balance, unlike Adelheid, and could see, so he wasn't being caught off guard as much as Adelman would because he was blind.  Adelman, who was still holding the dirt in the box at the time, dropped it as he fell down, destroying the picture along with it.

"Oh, no!" Adelman exclaimed.  He figured that since he dropped it the vision he drew disappeared.

 Cunrat wasn't happy about the pushing and knocking his best friends down along with Adelman's drawing, and so he lost his temper and tackled one of the adults, making him fall to the ground with himself on top of him.

"Rotten kid!"  The man kicked him off, and he stood up and continued on his way, leaving Cunrat curled up in the fetal position and guarding his stomach with his eyes closed.

"Cunrat!" Adelheid exclaimed.  She got up and dragged her clubfoot along behind her on her way toward him.

An adult male came in and shouted, "The children are right!  All the children are gone!"  Everyone froze and began panicking and talking all at once.  They ran out through the doors pushing Adelheid down once again as they left to see for themselves, hoping to find their children safe and sound, hoping that the the man that confirmed the children's cry wrong.  They found out that he wasn't.  They went into an even deeper panic.  Some crying, others in shock, and others that felt numb.  Most of the people shouted that something must be done.

The mayor walked to the middle of the crowd, holding his hands up in a placating gesture, trying to calm the crowd.  That tactic didn't do much good, but he kept at it while saying, "Attention everyone!  Attention everyone!" His voice was rising so he could be heard over the crowd.  "I've got an idea of how to get our children back!"  Those who heard him quieted down, and those that saw others quiet down were curious as to why and so they themselves quieted down to hear what was being said.  "I have an idea of what's happened and so I have a plan.  We will go after the Pied Piper in an attempt to free our children from her evil clutches!"  He raised a fist in an angry gesture.  He didn't bother to tell them that he was pretty sure that she took their children because he didn't give her the full amount owed.  "I don't know where she is, but we'll find her, don't worry.  We'll find her along with the rest of the children."

"Actually, sir, we do have some idea of where she might be, along with the other children."  A young girl hobbled forward towards him, using a crutch to help her walk.  He could see she could be no more than twelve, and that she was one of the children that managed to escape the Pied Piper's clutches.  She raised her arm as she slowly hobbled towards him, dragging her leg behind her.  Poor girl, to be that young and to have to suffer like that.

Adelheid saw the pity in his eyes upon seeing her.  She didn't like it.  Cunrat had slowly managed to walk over to her still hurting and covering his torso with his arm.  Adelman had managed to get up and find his way to her and Cunrat, although he managed to bump into about everyone on his way to meet us due to his blindness.

The mayor waved his arm out in front of us in a sweeping motion, landing in front of Adelheid, "Go on.  Continue," he said, waiting.

Adelheid narrowed her eyes and continued, "We had a vision!  The children are safe and they are sleeping!  It looked like they were all on a hill!  The Pied Piper looked to be playing her magic pipe and dancing to the tune!  I suspect that if we find a hill and hear her music, we'll find everyone if we follow her music!"

"That's right!" Adelman agreed.

Cunrat read Adelman's lips and guessed at what they were talking about and made the signing for "That's right" as well, and then nodded hard once in agreement, crossing his arms while doing it.

The mayor thought it might be Koppelberg Hill they were talking about and heard enough of what the children were saying now and clapped his hands high above his head and said, "Alright people, I'm assuming that the hill mentioned by the children is Koppelberg Hill.  I suggest we go there and demand our children back.  Who's with me?!"  He shouted louder the last part when raising a fist above his head.

The villagers each raised a fist above their heads and screamed, "We are!"  They gathered in a mob and followed the mayor all the way to Koppelberg Hill to meet the Pied Piper saying chants of how they were going to get their children back from the Pied Piper and make sure the Pied Piper leaves and never returns again.