"That was what he called himself," Baby G returned.
"Oh, I am sure he did," Cinderella returned, and, knowing the prince was named neither Friedrich nor Salimen, she allowed herself a moment to roll her eyes. "What did he want?"
"He bought us a round," Baby G replied.
"Mmm, quarts," Tater murmured from his half-sleep.
"Then what?" Cinderella prodded.
"We told him about all of you, and about how Snow White is half-dead in her coffin, and he asked if she was pretty and Esteban told him all about her prettiness." Baby G broke into a fit of giggles. "Do you want to know what Esteban said?"
"No," Cinderella said.
"Heh," Esteban proudly snirked. "It was a good one. I said Snow White's mouth is the perfect size for..."
Wadding a disgusting stocking from the foot of Baby G's bed, Cinderella hit Esteban square in the nose. Eyes flying open, he pulled the offending article from his face, hissed at Cinderella and yanked his pillow over his head as he turned his back on her.
"G... G... G..." Cinderella snapped him awake again. "What else did you tell the prince?"
"You know," Baby G replied. "How Snow White cooks and cleans real good and sometimes her clothes are see-through. And the prince got all excited and said he could make her wake up."
"Tell me you did not tell him where she is," Cinderella implored.
"Of course we told him where she is," Baby G returned with a laugh. "How else could he be coming for her with a hundred gold pieces?"
"You sold her?!?" Rapunzel's voice mixed with Cinderella's own, and Baby G's eyes flashed open.
"No!" Baby G responded instantly. "Iz just a trade."
Watching his eyes fall closed, Cinderella glanced again at Rapunzel, who stared gaping in her direction, her eyes justifiably worried.
"All right," Cinderella declared, shaking Baby G awake by the front of his shirt. "Up. Up. Everybody up."
Six of the dwarves glaring instantly at her, Esteban clutched his pillow tighter around his head, and Cinderella stalked over to grab it, pulling it from Esteban's hand and smacking him on the top of the head with it before flinging it across the room.
"Hey!" Esteban shouted.
"Yesh!" Big Papa aimed for authority as he sat up. "You cannot just order us around in our own..." he paused, looking down at himself, mouth smacking as if it had a bad taste in it. "...vomit. It does appear I have thrown up."
Grimacing at the announcement, Cinderella watched the dwarves come as alive as they were going to as Esteban climbed out of his bed. Moving to fetch his pillow, he became distracted by the fruit Rapunzel had already put out on the table and jumped onto a chair to help himself.
"So, the lot of you made a trade with a prince for Snow White," Cinderella summarized the dwarves' tale. "When is he coming?"
"Dumno," Tater slurred. "Some time."
Watching his eyes fall closed, Cinderella took brisk strides to his bed, pinching Tater's nose between her thumb and forefinger until his eyes shot back open.
"Three days!" Tater sat up, scrubbing his hand over his aching nose.
"Three days?" Cinderella returned, feeling time utterly not on their side.
"You know what?" Mo jumped up in his bed, jabbing an angry finger at Cinderella. "He was going to come anyway. He said he was. We just did a smart thing and told him that she was our Snow White and he had to pay for her if he wanted her."
"Ahhh!" Rapunzel cried out, and Cinderella turned to see a spoon whirling through the air. Dinging off the pot that hung over the fireplace, it sent bits of food flying as it clattered upon the floor. "What is it with these princes?" She threw her hands wide. "Just deciding who they will have and then going after her? Do they think maidens haven't thoughts in their own heads?"
"Do maidens have thoughts in their heads?" Esteban snarked, and Cinderella stepped back to the table. With the lightest of shoves, she sent Esteban keeling backward off the chair, before grabbing his shirt front and heaving him back up.
"Why you..." he growled. "I will..."
"You will what, you little misogynist?" Cinderella returned. "The next time, I shall let you fall."
While the rest of the dwarves rubbed sleep from their eyes, Big Papa finally got out of bed, folding his sheets up with a pout, and Cinderella realized the dwarves looked surprisingly displeased with the conversation. Normally, when they made a big trade or had a good-looting day, they returned with far more gratified looks than those they wore as they began to sober up.
"Why would you tell someone about Snow White?" she asked more calmly.
"We did not know he would come for her," Big Papa admitted with a sigh, and the rest of the dwarves appeared quietly shamefaced.
There was nothing they could have done differently, she realized. For, if things in Aulis were as they were in Troyale and Naxos, the prince was going to come for Snow White anyway. All the dwarves had truly done was given them fair warning.
"He is coming in three days?" Cinderella asked, and, turning from his bed, Big Papa gave his official nod.
"He said it would take him that long to assemble his troop and put together the trade."
Turning her gaze back to Rapunzel, Cinderella met Rapunzel's nod with resolve. "Well," she said. "We told her about the perils of the aristocracy. I guess it is our duty to protect her from a most determined sounding member."
"We cannot let that prince become her true love," Rapunzel declared.
"True love?" Esteban looked up from the table, letting the fruit slice fall from his hand, his attention absolute.
"Well, well..." Cinderella uttered. "Look who is suddenly interested in having a civilized conversation."
"What is this about true love?" Esteban questioned.
"I heard Snow White might be awakened by a lover's kiss, and that whoever kisses her will be her love forev..." Cinderella's words were interrupted by a blaze of color streaking past her, and she caught Esteban halfway to the door. "Where do you think you are going?"
"I am not a prince!" he said, straining to get away.
"No kidding," Cinderella responded.
"I shall wake her up!"
"You think so, do you?" Cinderella laughed as she hauled Esteban by the scruff of his neck back to his bed.
The instant he dropped free, Esteban flipped off the opposite side of the bed and bolted for the door again, running straight into the sturdy barrier of Cinderella's legs and falling back onto his butt with a tiny thud.
· · ·
Cinderella and Rapunzel took only enough time to stuff packs with necessities, but, in that time, Esteban attempted to sneak out of the cabin in a number of ways. He struggled at the window ledge, discovered himself too big for the hole made by a rodent at the base of a wall, and eyed the fireplace, before seeming to determine it too much of a climb.
As he went again for the door, Cinderella, who was rather tired of chasing after him, remained seated at the table, watching from the corner of her eye as he reached for the handle.
"Try it, Little Man, and see what happens," she warned at the last second.
Glancing her way, Esteban reached for the knob again, testing his luck, but at the sound of Cinderella's chair leg skidding an iota across the floor, he decided better of it.
"You want her to wake up, do you not?" he queried, hands clasped behind his back like an innocent child.
"Not to be forever attached to a criminal whose mouth is as dirty as his gnarly feet," Cinderella responded.
"I can't help it!" Esteban countered. "I have fungus toes!"
"You have fungus mouth," Cinderella returned, and an aggravated sneer chased the innocent facade from Esteban's face.
"Why do you get to decide? You should not even be here. It was fine when we took care of her before."
"Took care of her?" Cinderella scoffed. "You made her a servant. Perhaps, you should steal yourself a dictionary."
"Esteban," Rapunzel offered more gently. "I know you care for Snow White. We all do. Some
in more unique ways than others. But do you not think, if you and Snow White were meant to be in love, you would have fallen in love living here together?"
Smirking when Esteban failed to come up with a response, Cinderella turned to Big Papa. "She will need protection," she said.
"We shall watch her in shifts," Big Papa promised with a nod.
"I shall go first." Esteban turned for the door, and Cinderella caught him once more.
Feeling the determined pull against her grip, Cinderella turned to Big Papa again. "Keep him from kissing her and we will pick up some valuables for you along the way," she bribed.
When Big Papa's eyes lit up at the prospect, Esteban looked panicked.
"On your honor?" Big Papa asked.
"What honor?!" Esteban cried.
"On my honor," Cinderella promised.
"And mine," Rapunzel added.
"Agreed!" Big Papa shouted at once, taking over the restraint of Esteban as Cinderella threw her pack over her shoulder.
"Take care," Chauncy said, meeting Cinderella and Rapunzel at the door.
"Don't be nice to them!" Esteban growled.
"I like them," Chauncy declared.
"We will. Thank you, Chauncy," Rapunzel replied, bending down to kiss the top of his head.
"Do not let him kiss her," Cinderella stated again, turning in the doorway, and with a nod of confidence, Big Papa held tightly to the back of Esteban's pants. "Oh, and Esteban, don't be upset," she added. "Maybe we will happen upon a nice gnome for you."
Breaking free of Big Papa's grasp, Esteban rushed toward her, and the last thing Cinderella and Rapunzel saw as the door closed were six dwarves tackling Esteban to the floor.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The Return to the Cottage of Sweets
Early morning sun still lit the sky as Cinderella and Rapunzel arrived at the house of treats where Hansel and Gretel had been forced to make their home. Clinging tightly to each other's hands, they approached the door with trepidation, and Rapunzel cast her eyes about the candies that seemed to close in on them. Their scents baiting her senses, she wondered how such a pleasant place could feel so ominous.
"I do not like coming back here," she declared in the shadow of the gingerbread-encrusted entrance.
"I know." Cinderella's voice was unnaturally quiet as she squeezed Rapunzel's hand. "I just do not want them to think we have forgotten them. We both know how it feels to be forgotten. Perhaps, if we have his name, we might find their father. Perhaps, their stepmother is gone. Perhaps, he regrets what he has done."
Glancing into bright green eyes, Rapunzel knew Cinderella awaited permission, and, when she nodded, Cinderella knocked upon the spongy gingerbread door, and they took an oversized step backward to wait.
Time slipping by without response, Cinderella knocked again, her knuckles sinking in with the firmer blows, and a few hard candy petals shook free of the flower box to land in the fluff-candy bushes below.
"They could not have left," Rapunzel said, swallowing nervously at what other possible things might keep Hansel and Gretel from coming to the door.
After only a moment of hesitation, Cinderella turned the candy stick handle and pushed the door open into an empty room. Staring into the cottage from the threshold, there appeared only silence and vacancy within.
"Hello?" Cinderella called out, and the sound echoed throughout the hollow space. "Hello?" she said more quietly, taking a step inside the giant delicacy.
"Cinderella..." Rapunzel shook her head.
"It will be all right," Cinderella assured her. "You can stay out here."
Clasping tighter to Cinderella's hand, Rapunzel stepped in beside her. "I am staying with you."
Gaze going at once to the kettle burned black over the low cooking fire in the hearth, it moved on to the two half-eaten bowls of porridge on the table, and the spoon lying on the floor next to one chair, porridge splattered around it, as if it was dropped mid-bite.
"If I did not know it impossible," Cinderella stated quietly. "I would say it looks as if they..."
"Vanished," Rapunzel supplied, waiting for Cinderella to correct her and swallowing uncomfortably when Cinderella nodded her agreement instead. "Perhaps, they did not. Perhaps, a wild animal..." Rapunzel suddenly realized her alternative brought no greater ease and let the thought dissolve midway. "We should leave," she declared, feeling the sudden urge to be anywhere but the cottage, and pulled Cinderella's arm.
"Just one thing," Cinderella responded, walking off, despite Rapunzel's attempts to hold onto her.
Following her to the only doorway, Rapunzel's foot nervously tapped the floor as she watched Cinderella move between the beds along either wall, which appeared to be two halves of a single, large bed cut down its middle, and up to a small wardrobe.
"Cin," Rapunzel called when Cinderella lingered too long over the wardrobe's contents, and Cinderella returned to her, a shiny red jewel in her hand.
"We did promise the dwarves," she said. "I will leave a note for Hansel and Gretel."
"Outside," Rapunzel ordered, pulling Cinderella's arm unrelentingly until they were back beyond the cottage door. The smell of its sweets suddenly cloying, it bent Rapunzel double.
"Are you all right?" Cinderella knelt before her, and Rapunzel reached out, her hand on Cinderella's shoulder ensuring her they were both safe.
"Something is not right," Rapunzel declared. "Where could they have gone?"
"Perhaps, they found a way to leave," Cinderella offered, but Rapunzel felt the words a lie for her sake, and, when Cinderella glanced past her toward the cottage, she felt alarm tense the shoulder beneath her hand.
Turning to face Cinderella's fear, Rapunzel's own fear crept over her as her gaze was met with nothing but the vast stretch forest. Where the giant confection had, just one moment before, stood, not a single morsel remained. The ground was not even marred by outline. The cottage was simply gone, all of it, as if it had never been there.
"What is going on?" Rapunzel queried, tears coming to her eyes as she made the mistake of wondering what might have happened had they still been inside.
Apparently without answer, Cinderella only came closer, the arms sliding around Rapunzel's waist providing less comfort than usual. Gripping Cinderella with desperate hands, Rapunzel worried she was just as fleeting, that she too might simply disappear.
"Excuse me," a small voice came suddenly upon them, and Cinderella and Rapunzel rounded as one, instantly on guard.
Screaming in surprise, Rapunzel stumbled backward, but Cinderella was there to catch her, and the strange creatures screamed back, whether in response to her scream or to the dagger Cinderella pulled from her pack was difficult to say.
Rapunzel had never seen anything like them. There were nothing of their kind in Naxos, she was certain, nor even in the books she read. With only a passing glance, the bizarre beings could have been mistaken for very small bears, but they walked on only two legs. The ears atop their heads were more cat-like than bear-like, stretching to high points, and their tails were longer than the creatures were tall, puffing out like those of squirrels. On the creatures' faces were huge, bushy eyebrows that covered the tops of their eyes, and each had a patch of fur on its belly a different color than the rest. Rapunzel was fairly certain the furry protrusions on their backs were wings, but she was not certain of it until the one with the tan fur and dark brown belly gave them a flutter.
"What are you doing here?" Cinderella's tone was distrustful as she moved before Rapunzel, hand steady on the dagger as her other curved around Rapunzel's hip.
"Most sorry," the one with dark brown fur and a tan belly spoke, his voice - at least, Rapunzel thought it a he - high-pitched and squeaking. "We do not mean to intrude, but could you tell us where we might be? We seem to have lost our way."
"You are near Aulis," Cinderella replied tersely. "We do not know the name of this kingdom."
"Kingdom?" The dark-furred one cocked his head and looked to tan fur
. "Where is that?"
"Here?" Tan fur responded.
"Who are you?" Cinderella asked, voice less threatening, but no less forgiving of their sudden appearance.
"Oh, again I am most sorry." The dark-furred creature bowed as he apologized. "I am Norco."
"And I am Togo," the tan one stated with a bow of his own.
"We are twins," they chorused together, sticking their chests out with pride.
"Twin what?" Rapunzel blurted, and, tilting their heads to the side in the exact same manner, Norco and Togo appeared perplexed by the question.
"What is that you ask?" Togo said, voice slightly deeper than Norco's, but not by much.
"What are you?" Rapunzel asked him.
"I am Togo," he said again.
"And I am Norco," Norco reiterated.
"Yes," Rapunzel replied. "Those are your names, but... what are you?"
"What are you?" Norco asked in return.
"We are humans," Rapunzel answered, so confused she looked to Cinderella for confirmation, but, dagger still clutched tightly in her hand, Cinderella was more concerned with Norco and Togo's purpose than with what they might be.
"Hello, Human," Norco cheerily greeted Rapunzel, padding closer to her. "Hello Human," he greeted Cinderella as well.
"What do you want?" Cinderella questioned, and Norco's giant eyebrows dipped inward in consternation as he looked to Togo.
"I believe he would like you to put that pointy stick down," Togo declared.
"Yes, yes. He is right," Norco admitted. "I would like you to put the pointy stick down."
"Not until I know what you want," Cinderella countered.
Staring up at her, Norco looked at a loss, but when his eyes met Rapunzel's, Rapunzel sucked in a sharp breath at the gentle understanding she saw within them. The bad feelings that lingered from the cottage released her at once, and, reaching across Cinderella's back, she pressed down the arm that held the dagger.
"They could be trying to trick us," Cinderella said, and Rapunzel knew Cinderella had seen the truth in Norco's eyes too, even if she had difficulty trusting in it.
Black Forest: Kingdoms Fall (Black Forest Trilogy) Page 20