The Glass Slipper

A warm breeze flowed across the headstones. The graveyard was lit brightly under the sun, giving it a false sense of beauty. The dozens upon of dozens graves scattered about showed the true nature however. People who had died in just this one city. The Grimm Graveyard is what it was called. Named both for the nature of the cemetery and the city it resided at the center of. Grimm City.

Amongst the stone and grass was a young man. Alone and silent. His slender form hidden beneath loose jeans, cotton shirt and leather jacket. Shaggy black hair shone under the bright sun, hiding his grey eyes.

The young man breathed slowly as he read over a single headstone over and over again. His family. His parents. Murdered before his own eyes when he was just a baby.

James and Jillian Nimble.
Father and Mother.
Husband and Wife.

The son of murdered parents sighed. He wished he could say something, but knew better than to try. It would only annoy him further. Ever since birth, he had been a mute. Unable to speak, but it had never stopped him from getting his point across.

“Jack,” another young man spoke next to him suddenly. Jack had heard him sneaking up, but had no reason to reveal it. “Sinbad wants to see us.”

Jack nodded and turned away from his parent’s grave to his friend. Ali Baba was his name. He had been at Jack’s side almost as long as their mentor, Sinbad. Looked a lot like him too. Slim, but athletic. Brown hair hanging loose, but longer and tied into a small ponytail, kept away from his gold eyes. Together alongside his light tan skin and loose clothing, Ali looked like any other street kid, exactly what he wanted.

The two turned away from the grave and started out the cemetery. On the way out, Ali asked, “Do you know what Sinbad wants? He wouldn’t tell me.”

Jack shrugged and hopped over a grave. The lightest motion sent him sailing through the air and landing gracefully ten feet away. The Nimble heritage showing itself.

“Show off,” Ali commented with a smirk.

Jack turned on a heel back to him and smiled, still bouncing from foot to foot. Turning away, Jack stopped his bouncing and let Ali catch up to him.

“You seem happy for some reason. Good visit with the folks?” Ali asked when he took pace with Jack.

Jack smiled. This was just another moment he hoped he could say something. Turning to Ali, he raised an eyebrow.

“Sinbad hasn’t told me. Maybe it’s what he wants to talk to us about,” Ali answered the silent question.

He knew what Jack wanted to ask. He’d written it down hundreds of times. Who killed his parents? Sinbad is the only person who knew. He was there, but he had yet to tell Jack for fear that he’d do something stupid.

Jack sighed and kicked a blue and green can. Putting more force than he wanted into it, the kick sent the can flying into the sky, never to be seen again.

“Overzealous,” Ali said as he watched the can fly into the clouds. “I wonder where that will land.”

Jack listened to Ali prater on about the can as they walked through Grimm. Not paying attention to what Ali was saying, Jack looked to the buildings. Dark grey stone towered over the streets, people and creatures. Jack turned his attention down an alley and caught a sight that would weird anyone else. A cat dancing with a bunch mice while someone in green played a pipe.

“Wow. That’s unnatural,” commented Ali when he caught on to what Jack was watching.

Jack smirked and kept moving. Just another day in Grimm for him. Walking some ways further, Jack and Ali ducked into another alley and looked around.

“Where is…,” Ali started, but got cut off by someone emerging from the shadows, “Oh there he is. I liked the hiding in the shadows thing. Made you look really cool.” Ali put up a thumb just to taunt the man further.

“Quiet, Ali. It’s a wonder you’ve survived this long,” spoke the man.

“Just lucky I guess,” Ali shrugged. “What are we breaking into this time, Sinbad?”

Sinbad sighed and stepped into the light, fully revealing himself. Dressed a lot like the two boys, he had on loose pants tucked into leather boots and a cotton shirt. His light tan skin matched perfectly with the red bandana covering his cropped brown hair.

“Sure. Jack?” Sinbad turned his attention back to the silent child. “Are you ready?”
Jack leaned against a wall and yawned.

“Mysterious,” Ali joked.

Chuckling a bit, Sinbad led the boys away from the alley onto their mark.