“He needs to be taken to Rapunzel,” Yaga spoke up, and all eyes were suddenly on the seer. Yaga was standing next to the stone statue of the gorgon. The crystal ball was still in the seer’s hands and he had a serene smile spread across his face.

Blue let out a heavy, resigned sigh. “I hate to say this, but I think Yaga is right. Rapunzel is Snow’s only hope. With Rapunzel’s incredible healing ability…the prince will be as good as new.”

“I guess that means we’ll be able to go rescue Rapunzel and Dr. Henrietta Jekyll from the Inquisitor’s clutches after all,” Snow said, and gave everyone a lopsided smile. “Yay.”

“Don’t look so pleased,” Blue grumbled. “Going off to save Rapunzel so that he can heal you…how the hell did this happen? Why is nothing ever easy when it comes to you?” The fairy threw his hands up into the air in an exasperated manner.

Fern hung her head dejectedly. “I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt Snow.”

“Except for that time you were actually trying to kill me,” Snow teased, and shoved his shoulder into hers.

Fern was caught off guard by the gesture and stumbled forward a few steps. She shot Snow an irritated glare. “That was then and this is now. And right now keeping you alive is in my best interests.”

“Women sure change their minds awfully fast,” Snow remarked in a dry tone, his sapphire eyes glittering with amusement.

Blue cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “Let us make the necessary preparations for our departure to Cross Kingdom.”

“What about me?” the elf asked.

Blue waved his wand at the Dark Elf Witch. The vines uncoiled from her body and released her. “You’re free to go, Milady.”

The elf was dusting herself off, but raised an eyebrow when Blue called her ‘milady’. A cat’s paw smile formed on her face. “Thank you, Fairy Godfather. This encounter of ours was…interesting. Perhaps, we can do something a little similar again sometime. Although, with less fighting to the death and more moaning in pleasure.” She blew a kiss in Blue’s direction.

Blue instinctively dodged the air kiss. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to decline. But, farewell, Milady.”

“I’ll have to see about how I can change your mind,” the elf said, waving her hand and summoning her broom from her pocket dimension. She mounted her broom, pushed her feet against the ground, and took off into the sky.

Snow playfully nudged Blue in the side with his elbow. “Ooo Blue’s got a girlfriend.”

Blue shot Snow an irritated look. “No, I don’t. Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Hey, Yaga, what do you think about Blue and that elf chick? Think they have a chance? How does their future look?” Snow asked.

“Well…” Yaga began to get a far-off look on his face.

“Gah!” Blue tackled the seer to the grassy ground. “Don’t you dare look into my future!”

Snow and Fern shared a look before they both burst out laughing.

 ***

While Yaga’s enchanted house traveled to Cross Kingdom, the seer made chicken soup for his guests. They were making surprisingly good time. The monsters that dwelled in the forest were giving the strange house a wide berth. Snow found it entertaining that the monsters thought Yaga’s walking house was more monstrous than they were.

Blue had offered to help Yaga cook, and Snow and Fern watched the two bickering like an old married couple. Snow made a mental note to tease Blue about it later, and how he and the seer seemed to be getting along now. Fern declared that she only knew how to cook food on a stick over an open fire, and that it was for the best that she didn’t try to help.

By the time they’d finished eating they’d arrived at Cross Kingdom. Yaga waved his hand through the air and yelled out ‘sit’. The house obediently settled down on the ground with a large thud. From the house’s windows they had a good view of the high, stone wall that enclosed Cross City. On the far side of the city the castle was located.

Frankly, Snow preferred the way his Kingdom was set up with the castle in an isolated spot close to the forest and not using the city or his people as some kind of buffer zone against potential enemy attacks. Yaga had chosen a good spot to have his house settle down and they were completely surrounded by several thick, tall trees.

Blue cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “Cross City is a ‘magic free’ city where only dullards live. That means we have to be careful not to perform magic while we’re there and draw unwanted attention to us from the Inquisitors. That means you Snow.” The fairy shot the prince a stern look.

Snow pouted. “Oh ye of little faith.” But he took Blue’s advice to heart. He’d have to be careful not to instinctively use his water magic for something. A sly smile curled his lips. “And you’ll have to keep your temper, Blue, if you don’t want your wings popping out at random.”

“Ha. Ha. Very funny,” Blue said dryly. “The next issue we have is our clothes.”

“What’s wrong with our clothes,” Fern and Snow said at the same time.

Blue looked at the hooded capes both Fern and Snow were wearing and shook his head. “Capes and cloaks are too conspicuous. Also, pointed hats are out.” Blue turned his attention to the seer whose expression turned chagrined as he removed his purple, wide-brimmed, pointed hat.

“I happen to have clothing from Cross Kingdom that all of you can wear,” Yaga said. “I prepared them for this moment a long time ago. I think.” Yaga stalked over to a large wooden chest, opened it, and began to remove different articles of clothing. He held up a simple, conservative, black dress with a white collar for Fern.

Fern looked at the dress with a horrified expression on her face and began to shake her head. “Oh, no. There is no way I’m wearing that prudish dress! I’ll look like a nun!”

“That’s the idea,” Yaga said serenely.

Fern opened her mouth to retort, but then nodded in grudging agreement before taking the dress.

Snow was laughing until he saw the dusty, wrinkled black suit and frayed top hat that Yaga and holding out in his direction. “You have to be kidding me.” He wrinkled his nose. “That suit is a fashion disaster.”

“We’re not going to a ball, Snow,” Blue chided. “There’s no reason for you to worry about looking handsome. The less attention you draw to yourself the better, in fact.”

“Here’s your suit,” Yaga handed the fairy a matching suit.

“Thank you,” Blue said through gritted teeth.

Yaga pulled out the last suit in the trunk and grinned at his friends. “We’ll all match.”

“Yay,” Blue said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

The three young men turned their backs to give Fern some privacy while she changed into her dress.

“Your house has like zero privacy, man,” Snow pointed out to the seer.

Yaga shrugged. “I don’t usually have guests so it’s not really an issue.”

Afterwards, the men had Fern close her eyes while they quickly changed into their suits.

“No peeking,” Snow teased.

Fern flushed. “You wish!”

Snow made sure to keep his top hat lowered as much as possible in order to shadow the features of his face. There were probably Wanted Posters of him up all around the city. Yaga slung a brown leather satchel over his shoulder and stuffed his crystal ball into it.

Fern used her fingers to comb her hair over the left side of her face to conceal her scars. Then she put the white, cotton bonnet on her head that Yaga had given her, and tied the straps under her chin into a bow. Snow thought Fern’s bonnet was hilarious, but what was even more hilarious was that the top hat Yaga had gotten for Blue was too large and kept sliding down until it covered the top half of his face. Blue flushed in embarrassment, and decided to just hold the hat’s brim in order to keep it above his eyes. “Shut up, Snow.”

“Sorry,” Snow said, wiping a tear from his eye.

Once their disguises were in order the group exited the house, traveled through the forest for a few minutes, and began to approach the city. They joined a line of tradesmen on the road that were also traveling to the city, and making their way to the front gate: fishermen, jewelers, butchers, bakers, and textile sellers.

The stone wall that surrounded the city in a complete circle was forty-feet-high, making the only way to enter the city through the front gate. The closer Snow and the others got to the wall, the more nervous he felt as the Inquisitors that had been stationed on the wall’s battlements came into view. “Blue, are you really sure about this? What if there are bounty hunters around? What if I’m recognized?”

“If bounty hunters attack you we’ll just have to-” Blue was saying lackadaisically when Fern enthusiastically interrupted him with: “Kick their asses!” The fairy raised an eyebrow at Fern. “I was going to say ‘defeat them’, but you’re right.”

“What if they’re Wizard Knights?” Snow asked, wringing his hands together. “And they use their magic against us?”

Blue snorted. “No Wizard Knights would be stupid enough to use their magic in the middle of Cross City. There are Inquisitors everywhere, and they’re allowed to execute witches and wizards on sight if deemed a threat.”

Snow’s gaze went to the Inquisitors that were strolling along the wall-walk again. Now that they were closer Snow was able to see what they were wearing better. The Inquisitors were sporting steel armor, and wore dark blue tunics that had the pattern of white crosses on them. Snow was startled by the sight of female Inquisitors. They were wearing dark blue dresses with the pattern of white crosses. The females had minimal armor consisting of vambraces and armored boots with high heels.

Snow’s eyes narrowed on the Inquisitors and he frowned. “I thought you said Inquisitors didn’t use magic. I’m sensing magic from them.”

“The Inquisitors are dullards, but they do wield enchanted weapons, which as you know can draw their power from sources beside the wielder, such as from sunlight or moonlight. This energy is converted into magical energy that can be used to cast a variety of spells. The Inquisitors only need to know the proper spell words or chants to utter and then the spell is cast. They claim that what they’re using is not magic at all, but the ‘Lord’s Blessing’. And they call the spells they cast ‘Miracles’.”

Snow’s gaze immediately went to the broadswords and battleaxes that were strapped to the Inquisitors’ sides. “So the Inquisitors are using magic to hunt down witches and wizards that practice magic because they think all magic is evil. That’s a little hypocritical, don’t you think?”

“The Inquisitors and especially King Solomon Cross believe that magic is dangerous,” Blue corrected. “And it is - in the wrong hands. Take Reginald, for example. He is currently the most powerful wizard in all of Fantasia, and he seeks to do evil. They’re not wrong to think that such a man is a threat to the peace of all Fantasia.”

“So Reginald is giving good witches and wizards a bad name through his evil actions,” Snow said, shaking his head. “That’s not fair.”

“Life is rarely fair,” Blue said grimly.

“Head Inquisitor, King Solomon Cross, is wrong,” Fern snarled. “Magic doesn’t make a person evil - it’s how they use it. A person’s actions determine the kind of person they are. And King Solomon Cross is a bigoted tyrant. He’s also cruel, shortsighted, and narrow-minded.”

Yaga was the only one who knew that King Solomon Cross was, in fact, Fern’s biological father, and shot her a concerned look at the scathing way she was talking about him.

Snow had noticed the almost personal way Fern had begun to talk about King Cross and grew curious. “How do you know King Cross exactly, Fern?”

“That’s…none of your business, Playboy,” Fern snapped.

“King Solomon Cross may have his faults, Fern, but he can surely be made to see the light,” Blue interjected firmly. “I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but King Cross will become Snow’s father-in-law. Snow is engaged to Princess Florinda Cross. They are to be married.”

Fern’s jaw dropped open in surprise. “Engaged?” she squeaked. To my evil sister! She thought this last part to herself.

Yaga scowled at the fairy. “They haven’t gotten married yet, Blue. A lot can happen between now and the day of the wedding. Snow may change his mind and fall in love with someone else-”

“Snow will marry the Princess Florinda for the good of all!” Blue yelled back, clenching his fists at his sides in anger.

Snow glanced between Yaga and Blue with an amused expression on his face. “Hey, guys, no need to fight. To be honest, I’m more concerned about staying alive right now than worrying about who I’m going to marry. Also, I don’t even know if I love Florinda…”

“You will,” Blue swiftly assured, placing a hand on Snow’s arm, and giving him an intense look. “You’ll see. A prince is destined to marry a princess. And Florinda is a proper lady.” Fern snorted at the word ‘lady’. Blue shot her a questioning look, but Fern just shrugged.

Snow’s brow was furrowed in confusion. He didn’t really understand why Blue seemed to be so emotionally invested in who he was going to marry, but he decided to just play along for now and nodded in agreement. “I’ll do my best to fall in love with Florinda.”

“Ha!” Fern burst out, giving the prince a disbelieving look.

A flash of hurt crossed Snow’s face. “What?”

“I may not know a lot about love, but I know you can’t force it like that,” Fern sneered, raising both of her eyebrows at the prince. “Love is this…” She waved her hand through the air. “Uncontrollable and unpredictable thing. When it happens - it just happens. You can’t control who you fall in love with. Love is the one thing in life beyond everyone’s control.”

Snow gave the Huntress a pensive look. “Have you ever been in love, Fern?”

Fern stiffened. “No. And with this face…” She raised her hand over the left side of her face. “I’ll probably never get to experience ‘love’.”

“Your scars do take some getting used to, sure, but then you stop noticing them after a while,” Snow said, and a blush started to rise to his cheeks. “That’s when you just start to notice…you, and how amazing you are.”

A flash of surprise crossed Fern’s face. Snow notices me? And thinks I’m amazing? Pffft. No way. He must be pulling my leg. “Don’t waste your time trying to flirt with me, Snow. I have no interest in you. I hate flashy playboys like you.”

Snow frowned. “I wasn’t trying to flirt. I was just being honest. And what if a playboy becomes monogamous, huh?”

“Hmph! That never happens,” Fern scoffed. “A tiger can’t change its stripes. Once a womanizer - always a womanizer.”

“Unless he finds ‘true love’,” Snow countered. “Then he’d only have eyes for her…I think.”

“What are you saying exactly?” Fern narrowed her eyes at the prince. “Are you saying you only have eyes for me?”

“No,” Snow denied quickly as his heart began to beat hard inside of his chest. “I was just thinking as two single people that we could go out on a date while we’re here in the city. Maybe go to a nice tavern and have a drink together. You know, have fun. Something casual. No strings attached.”