The makings of my book...

The Master of Fairy Tales
by Grant Boothe
Chapter 1- The Beginning
Once upon a time there was a young boy named Hayden Sorenson who was born July 16, 1991. His birth was unwanted by his parents and Hayden’s parents would have opted for an abortion had Hayden’s well off grandfather not stepped in and threatened to leave Mrs. Sorenson out of his will should she ever do this.
His (Hayden’s) parents were married when Hayden was born but they never really wanted a child. Hayden’s father was a highly respected man who acted for a living and his mother was an elite socialite who lived in a mansion far off in L.A. Why Hayden’s parents ever married was a complete mystery to Mr. Grondelf (Hayden’s grandfather). The two didn’t love each other as far as Mr. Grondelf could see. Their wedding was nothing more than a gigantic party on a ridiculously lavish cruise boat where tons of people came and got drunk and it was during this time that Hayden was conceived.
Mr. Grondelf and Hayden’s mother were so far apart that apples and tacos from the taco truck were more alike than these two. Mr. Grondelf was a quiet man who feared God more than anyone or anything. He gave service to others in his free time and was not one who cared about fame, wealth or money. Whereas Hayden’s mother never believed in God from the start. All she did was shop, spend, show off her new house, party on the weekends and stay in connection to the wealthy, social elite, and whoever had the most bling-bling.
The only reason why Hayden’s mother wanted Hayden’s grandfather to put her in his will was because Hayden’s grandfather wrote and sold the most popular books for children in America. Surprisingly enough Mr. Grondelf only kept enough to live off of for himself; The rest was given away, all for charities or the building of new hospitals. Money from those books still poured in like a heavy rainstorm, and since Mr. Grondelf was getting pretty old he was expecting to give those funds to his daughter, once he put her down in his will.
There was also a height difference between Mr. Grondelf and Hayden’s mother i.e. Mr. Grondelf was a short stocky man who hunched over in his old age. He had black hair, and brown eyes with a full grown beard whereas Hayden’s mother was tall, blonde and walked and sat upright all the time. She had an elegant poise and she had bright green eyes and very fair skin.
So, having barely been born, Hayden was taken away by his Grandfather and it is here that the real story begins.
Mr. Grondelf was a highly learned man who was home schooled at a very young age. Then, when his parents died, when Grandpa was 12, he was sent to live with his poor uncle in the streets of Detroit Michigan where he went to a public school. It was here that Mr. Grondelf was exposed to life outside his once quaint home. There were no classes in the school that could teach him anything! Grandpa Grondelf had read the Odyssey, The Iliad, Machiavelli’s The Prince, Tolstoy, and Dickens at the age of eight and had read them all in their original format by age twelve. There were constant fights in school and whosoever was deemed as a weakling for a smart kid was picked on endlessly and there wasn’t anybody who gave a darn unless somebody had been almost killed. Kids were making out in the hallways which Grandpa saw as hideous, he having been raised in a Christian home and was taught against these sort of things. Kids didn’t care about learning, to Grandpa they were like cattle, big, ugly, stupid cattle that were being herded from one classroom to another wasting their time and doing stupid things and wasting the poor teacher’s time.
There was only one girl who gave Grandpa Grondelf some relief admist this dark and dreary time. She was like Grandpa in the since that she loved to read and whenever Grandpa saw her she always her nose in some book. Although she loved to read, she only read fairy tales, which was completely unlike the Odyssey or The Prince. The fairy tales passed the time and Grandpa Grondelf loved to read these kinds of books.
For five years the bond between Grandpa Grondelf and this girl, whose name was Shannon, grew and grew like the beanstalk in Jack and the Beanstalk. Unfortunately fate had plans for Shannon that evening. That evening a fight broke out between two gangs in Shannon’s neighborhood. There were no casualties on either side, except Shannon. The grievous news of Shannon’s death shocked Grandpa Grondelf and on the inside he felt torn and ripped apart. Grandpa Grondelf was the only person there to mourn for Shannon’s death. Despite the loss of Shannon she had left her fairy tales to him. It was only a few minutes later when Grandpa Grondelf’s poor uncle told him about his rich brother. With nothing more than the clothes on his back and the fairy tales he inherited from Shannon Grandpa Grondelf set out for his rich uncle.
After many long years Grandpa Grondelf found his rich uncle and his rich uncle surprisingly took him in. Since then Grandpa Grondelf found his life only getting better and better as his rich uncle continued Grandpa Grondelf’s education that he had received as a small boy.
Now, however, Grandpa Grondelf was getting old and his only joy was Hayden. Grandpa hoped that Hayden would never have to experience the same kinds of things that he once did. Grandpa’s hatred of the public school system caused him to raise Hayden at home and it was here that Hayden learned Greek, Latin, Dutch, German, Slovak, and of course English. Grandpa also taught Hayden mathematics and history but the one unifying factor that held the two so close were fairy tales.
Hayden and his Grandpa loved to read the fairy tales and they even made up some fairy tales themselves. Grandpa Grondelf loved to say to Hayden,
"Always value education, knowledge is what separates us from the beasts of the field."
Hayden was an interesting combination of both sides of his family. He had inherited his mother’s height and her green eyes but his hair was brown like his father’s and his strong chin also came from his father.
It was now fifteen years since Hayden was born, and the time would come when his journey would begin. It started when he and his father were creating a new fairy tale. They titled it "The Black Hearts Empress". The story alone was Hayden’s idea and there were many hours that Hayden spent on it but when it was done Hayden felt a proud sense of accomplishment. However Grandpa Grondelf was forced to tear out the story. He never explained to Hayden why he did but he had a sad look on his face. One night, when Hayden was asleep, he smelled smoke and wondered what was happening. Next he heard crackling and felt the house growing warmer. A fire! Hayden thought. He ran to his grandpa but Hayden heard a conversation going on,
"Stay back Karen! The boy stays here!" yelled Grandpa.
"Here? There will be nothing left for him to stay to once I’m finished with you!" the woman retorted. Hayden couldn’t believe this! His Grandpa was fighting some mystic woman while his house was burning down to the ground! Hayden could not see that much since the smoke had risen so high.
"The boy is here," the woman replied. What? She knows I’m here?! How?" Hayden thought.
"Hayden stay back! This woman is dangerous!" wheezed Grandpa Grondelf through the smoke.
"I’d say it’s high time I finished you!" Screamed the woman. Above their heads Hayden heard the rafters crack and then...
"Grandpa look out!" Hayden coughed. CRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCKKKKK! The entire rafter fractured and it fell right on top of Grandpa and the woman!
"Grandpa!" Hayden yelled. I gotta save Grandpa no matter what happens to me! Hayden thought desperately. He ran over towards the rafter that fell on Grandpa and the woman, but nobody was there. Hayden searched throughout the room, while trying to avoid the rooftop crashing down on him. Haaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyden!! The voice called.
"That sounded just like Grandpa!"Hayden said to himself. Before Hayden knew it, a rafter fell on him and rendered him unconscious. Grandpa where are you? Was Hayden’s last thought before he blacked out.