“A date?” Fern scoffed and rolled her eyes. “We don’t have time for such frivolous activities. We need to concentrate on buying supplies for our trip north. And we also need to find and rescue your friends.”
“Taverns happen to be great places to get information,” Snow said, folding his arms over his chest. “You’d be surprised all the things a bartender knows about the city he works in. We’d really be killing two birds with one stone, babe.”
Fern seemed to consider this for a moment, but then shook her head. “No. It’s much too dangerous. You’ll end up drawing too much attention to yourself at a place like that. We stick to the plan - buy supplies, find your friends, rescue them, get the hell out of here, and head north.”
“I thought nagging me was Blue’s job,” Snow complained, giving Fern an irritated look. “I thought you, at least, would have some sense to see the logic of my suggestion, but you’re such a party pooper.” The prince turned to face the seer. “What about you, Yaga? What do you think?”
“I think…” Yaga began as all eyes turned to him. “I hope they sell candy here. I like candy.” The seer blinked owlishly.
“Ugh.” Snow scrubbed a hand down his face. So much for Yaga’s help! He offered Yaga a crooked smile and patted him on the back. “Don’t worry, Yaga. I’m sure they do.”
When the group finally reached the front gate an Inquisitor holding a long, open scroll of parchment and a quill approached them. The Inquisitor was quite young and probably somewhere in his teens. He was wearing a blue tunic that had the pattern of white crosses, black leather pants and matching boots. Since he wasn’t wearing armor, Snow figured he probably had a low rank. “Good day, please state your business for visiting Cross City.”
“We’re here for pleasure, of course, my good man, ow-!” Snow was saying before Fern elbowed him in his side to shut him up.
Fern giggled nervously and the Inquisitor’s scrutinizing gaze went to her. “We’re here to visit The Market and do some shopping.”
The Inquisitor took in their winkled, dusty clothes and nodded to himself. “Yes. I think that’s a good idea. There are textile sellers from all over Fantasia at The Market. We even get people selling silk from Glass Kingdom. You all live in one of the villages nearby?”
“Yes,” Blue smoothly answered. “We’re farmers.”
The Inquisitor’s gaze landed on a piece of straw that was sticking out of Snow’s top hat. “I thought so. Well, sorry for the hold up. I hope you all enjoy The Market. Have a nice day!”
“I told you these clothes were a fashion disaster,” Snow muttered darkly to himself.
“Thank you very much, Sir. I’m sure we will,” Blue said.
The group let out a collective sigh of relief as they passed through the front gate and entered the city. “That guy was nice…for an Inquisitor,” Snow remarked thoughtfully.
Fern shot Snow an amused glance. “Not all Inquisitors spend their days torturing witches and witches. Other just try and keep the peace as best they can in this city.”
“Torture?” Snow shuddered. “I hope Rapunzel and Dr. Henrietta Jekyll are okay.”
Fern placed a comforting hand on Snow’s arm. “I’m sure the hero who defeated Demon King Gothel can take care of himself. I’m more worried about you, actually. You’re prone to getting hurt for the sake of others.” She ran her fingers nervously through the hair covering the left side of her face to make sure it was properly concealing her scars.
“You do realize you’re the one who shot me, right?” Snow pointed out in a dry tone.
Fern blushed out of embarrassment. “Yes. And I already said I was sorry. It won’t happen again! I’ll be sure to factor in your ridiculous, reckless, and selfish behavior before I loose my next arrow!”
Snow placed a hand over his heart and pretended to swoon. “I’m touched you care so much about me, Fern.”
“Argh. I don’t,” Fern sneered. “Remember, Yaga told me that if I protect you…my heart’s desire will be granted.”
“Heart’s desire?” Snow echoed, stroking his chin for a moment before a leer spread across his face. “You’ll find a boyfriend?”
Fern’s eye twitched at Snow’s teasing tone. “No. I’ll have my revenge on the one responsible for my mother’s death.” A dark shadow fell over Fern’s face.
“But I thought the grizzly bear, Scar, killed her?” Snow asked in befuddlement.
“He did, but that bear was being controlled by someone, who is also just being controlled by someone,” Fern explained and let out a sigh. “It’s that person I want dead.”
“Yeah, that’s not at all confusing,” Snow muttered and shook his head. “All I know is, beautiful ladies shouldn’t be going around killing people.”
A crooked smile formed on Fern’s lips. “Well, I’m not beautiful so I guess that makes me exempt from that rule. And are you implying that it’s okay for men to kill people?”
Snow shrugged. “Only if necessary. A person should only kill in self-defense or if they’re trying to protect someone. A man has the duty to protect women when they’re in danger. Men are stronger than women.”
“I’m as good a warrior as any man,” Fern argued, looking down her nose at Snow. “I can take care of myself. I don’t need some man to protect me. Besides, I’ve been protecting myself for years now.”
“It’s not that I doubt your battle prowess,” Snow said, tucking a stray strand of hair carefully behind his ear, so that he wouldn’t knock the top hat off of his head. “I know you’re strong. I’ve seen it. My mother used to say ‘a lady shouldn’t get blood on her hands’. Men are supposed to protect the fairer sex. You shouldn’t have to kill anyone ever, Fern. And if you end up having to that means you must be surrounded by useless men.”
“Oh, ho. Are you saying you would kill for me then? In order to prevent me from getting blood on my pretty hands?” Fern said in a mocking tone.
Snow gave her a serious look. “Yes.”
Fern blinked at Snow and then let out a nervous laugh. “Y-You’re crazy! I’m warning you now, Snow.” She narrowed her eyes at the prince fiercely. “Don’t get in the way of my revenge.”
Snow pouted. “You’re so uncute.”
It didn’t take the group very long to reach The Market. The Market was a series of streets lined with stalls and vending booths that were selling various wares: food, jewelry, weapons, and clothing. Fern and Blue came to a stop when they spotted a stall selling winter fur coats, scarves, hats, mittens and fur-lined boots.
“Candy for sale!” one of the stall owners called out loudly. “Come and see my rare assortment of candies never before seen in Fantasia!” Yaga’s attention was immediately piqued. He made his way over to the stall and began to sample all the different types of candy the vendor had to offer.
Even though Snow liked fashion, he began to grow bored as Blue and Fern began to debate what mittens they should buy everyone since they all looked exactly the same in Snow’s humble opinion. In fact, all of the winter clothes looked so alike he couldn’t tell them apart. “Boring,” he murmured to himself, and let out a yawn.
“Ow! Oh, dear!” A feminine cry of pain reached Snow’s ears, and he whirled around to see that a gorgeous woman had collapsed to the ground. Snow quickly made his way through the crowd and over to her. He gallantly offered her his hand so that he could help her up. “Are you alright, Milady?”
The woman peered up at Snow from beneath her floppy, wide-brimmed hat revealing her gray eyes that had been lined deeply in kohl. The hat was unlike any Snow had ever seen before. It wasn’t pointed like a witch hat, but had a domed-shape that covered the crown of her head. She was also wearing a very unusual dress. It was black, low-cut, tight, and knee-length.
The shoes on her feet were even stranger - black with thin, five-inch heels and pointed toes. The soles of the shoes had been painted a bright red color. Snow quirked his head at the woman and wondered what Kingdom she was from. She looked familiar, but Snow didn’t know very many redheads, and he was pretty sure he’d remember this one.
“The heel of my Louboutin broke,” the woman bemoaned. “I can’t walk like this.”
“Your what now?” Snow asked with a furrowed brow.
“Ah, my shoe.” The woman waved a hand towards her shoe. “The heel of my shoe broke.”
“Oh,” Snow said with a nod. “Where were you headed? Home?”
“No. I was headed to work, actually. I work at a bar not too far from here,” the redhead explained.
“A bar, huh?” Snow’s sapphire eyes sparkled with interest. “Well, allow me to take you there, Milady.” The prince crouched down in front of the mysterious woman. “I’ll give you a piggyback ride. Don’t be shy. Get on my back.”
“Oh, thank you. You’re too kind,” the woman said as she wrapped her arms around Snow’s neck from behind and hopped up so he could grab her legs.
“Which way?” Snow asked as he straightened.
“That way,” the woman said pointing down the street in the opposite direction that his friends were going. Snow shrugged. He’d catch up with them later. “What’s your name, Milady?” Snow asked as they meandered down the street.
“My name’s Anna. And you are?”
“Oh, er…Preston,” Snow replied deciding to use the same fake name he’d used for Alita.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Preston,” Anna said.
Snow continued walking past several vending stalls until Anna finally pointed to one of the establishments on the side of the street. “Here we are. This is where I work.”
Snow glanced at the outside of the establishment and raised his eyebrows. It reminded him of one of his favorite haunts back in Apple Kingdom - the Gentleman’s Club known as Forbidden Fruit where sexy witches would serve him copious amounts of expensive alcohol. The sign that was hanging over the door read: Dream Duchess.
“Dream Duchess?” Snow echoed, and raised an eyebrow at Anna.
Anna giggled. “You’ll see. It’s a place where we make men’s dreams come true.”
Snow entered the bar and immediately all eyes were on him. He lowered his head and tried not to draw too much attention to himself. “Where should I take you, Milady?”
“Just set me down on that sofa over there,” Anna instructed, pointing in the direction of one of the booths. Snow obediently carried Anna over and set her down on the red leather sofa. “Bernadette!” Anna called.
A woman dressed in a black dress that was even shorter than Anna’s came over. “Hey, Anna. What happened?”
Snow let his gaze rake over the girl surreptitiously as she chatted with Anna. The girl was wearing a white apron over the dress and there was a lacy, white hat on the top of her head.
“I broke the heel of my shoe, but this fine gentleman was willing to carry me all the way back here,” Anna gushed, waving a hand at Snow as she presented him.
“Oh, how chivalrous!” a girl that was dressed up like a black cat cooed.
“He must be a knight,” another girl who was wearing a white dress that resembled Anna’s remarked. The dress had a large red cross on it, and the little white hat that was sitting on her head also had a single red cross on it. The red, high-heeled shoes on her feet were so shiny; Snow wondered what they could possibly be made out of. He’d never seen leather look like that before.
“What a gentleman,” another girl with bunny ears remarked. Snow squinted at her. He was pretty sure those ears were fake.
“Bernadette, be a dear and get me my spare shoes,” Anna said.
“Sure thing, Anna,” Bernadette said as she sashayed away. Snow raised an eyebrow when he caught sight of the feather duster she had in her hand.
“Er…is she supposed to be a maid?” Snow asked.
Anna laughed behind her hand in a demure manner. “Oh, you’re sharp. Bernadette is supposed to be a ‘French Maid’. Although, you won’t know what I mean by that. Rosie is supposed to be a Nurse. Kitty…is well, a cat. Bunny is a ‘Playboy Bunny Girl’. You won’t know what I mean by that either. Suffice it to say these girls bring men’s dreams to life…for an otherworldly experience, you could say.”
“I’m a little confused by their outfits,” Snow admitted before flashing the girls a charming smile. “But you all look very sexy. I’m diggin it.” Rosie fainted as Snow caught her eyes. “Er, will she be alright?”
“Oh, she’ll be fine,” Anna said, waving her hand dismissively in Rosie’s direction.
Snow realized in that moment that he was the only customer and frowned. “Where are all your customers?”
“Oh, it’s pretty early in the day for that,” Anna explained casually. “The men like to come and drink with us at night.”
“Oh, I see…” Snow said. “I was hoping you’d have a bartender here. Well, I should really get going. Blue is going to kill me if he finds out I was in a place like this. Kind of think of it, Fern will probably kill me too. She’ll accuse me of womanizing.”
“Oh, is Fern your lover?” Anna asked curiously.
Snow chuckled. “Hell no. That girl is so uncute. Totally not my type. I wouldn’t go out with her if she were the last woman in all of Fantasia. I prefer beautiful, delicate, ladylike women. Women who care about their appearance and don’t have scars. Women who don’t fight or drink or swear.”
“I didn’t think you were so old-fashioned.” Anna made a face. “You sound like a Grandpa.” She muttered the last to herself.
“What was that?” Snow asked.
“Oh, nothing,” Anna said evasively. “Before you go…at least allow me to mix you an Appletini. It’s the least I can do after you helped me.”
“That’s really not necessary, but…what’s an Appletini?” Snow asked with interest. He’d never heard of that drink before.
“Oh, you’ve never had one before?” Anna asked. “It’s a cocktail.” At Snow’s blank look she continued. “An alcoholic drink. It’s made with vodka and apple juice.”
“An alcoholic drink, huh? I do love apples,” Snow said with a wistful note to his voice. “Okay. I’ll try it. But just one drink.”
“Excellent. You won’t regret trying it,” Anna assured, her gray eyes sparkling.
At that moment, Bernadette returned with Anna’s shoes. These shoes were just as unusual as the ‘Louboutins’. They were made out of green and black snakeskin, strappy, and had thin, three-inch-heels.
“I’ve never seen shoes like that before,” Snow said as he watched Anna putting them on.
“Oh, they’re of my own design,” Anna said flippantly. “The shoes here in Fantasia, I mean, Cross Kingdom are boring.” Once she’d finished putting on the shoes she stood up from the sofa and made her way over to the bar to mix Snow his drink.
***
Meanwhile, Fern and Blue had nearly completed buying everything their traveling party would need for their trip up north. With a wave of his hand Blue sent the preserved food, fur coats, mittens, scarves, hats and boots into his pocket dimension for safekeeping, and not a moment too soon.
“Aha! There you are, you foul Huntress!” a booming male voice exclaimed in a haughty tone. “You shall not escape me this time!”
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