Unexpected Assistance
Chapter 1
It had been short of two days since Bigby had caught The Crooked Man, had Auntie Greenleaf imprison him in his Gilded Cage, and Nerissa had run off to who-knows-where. Since Bigby and Snow White decided to change how Fabletown was run, both of them were up to their elbows in complaint and files. All he was longing for was a big, greasy cheeseburger and some Grey Goose to wash it down. Hoping that the hands of the clock moved towards closing time, Bigby cast a look; but much to his dismay, it was only 4 PM. A knock on the door shook him out of his food dreams as he yelled "Come in!"
Snow White tentatively stepped through the open door. "Hello Bigby. I'm sorry if you're busy, but we have an asylum application, and I wanted to give you some information before you interviewed her."
Scowling at his finished cigarette, Bigby lit a new one. "I'm listening."
"Well, it's not actually one of ours. Our applicant is from the Eastern Parts of the Homelands. Her name is Shahmaran, also known as "The Queen of Serpents". She didn't tell me that though, Bufkin looked it up. Anyway, she told me she was seeking asylum because Mundies were after her meat in the literal sense, and for some reason she decided to come here. I guess you can hear the rest from her." She moved to the side to let a woman who slightly resembled Snow in.
Bigby sized up the newcomer in a few seconds. She was dressed in a demure black suit, had her dark hair pinned up in a bun. Not a lot of makeup, no heavy perfumes. Whatever her form was, she appeared fully human, a pretty one at that. A thought in the back of her mind pointed out how she looked more like Snow than Rose Red did. He watched silently as the woman slowly sat on the swivel chair.
"So, Miss…Shahmaran. Please excuse me if I say your name wrong…"
"Oh no Mr. Wolf, it's perfectly fine." A lilt could be caught in her accent. "I cannot thank you enough for not rejecting my application. Please call me Maran, the first bit is more of a title anyway."
"See Miss Maran, this is the point where I decide if your application will be rejected or not. If you tell us the truth, you have nothing to be worried about. Now, why don't you tell us why you applied?"
"Well Mr. Wolf, it goes on like this: As Miss White said so, I am the Queen of Serpents, and I used to live underground since our part of the Homelands had been annexed. Unlike you Fables however, I didn't hide my identity, and even bestowed mild powers on people who proved themselves to be worthy. I had no idea it would cause me so much trouble!" At that point Shahmaran's breath hitched and she began sobbing quietly.
Seeing that he was short on tissues, Bigby handed her a cigarette. "Erm…What exactly happened, Miss?"
Maran gratefully took the cigarette between her lips and smoked it as if her life depended on it. Bigby silently gave her credit for not complaining about his Huff n Puffs. "Well, not only did I rule over the snakes, and shift shape-this is not your glamour you see-my scales have healing properties." She paused for a moment for another drag. "The local TV channel made a document about me for tourism purposes. Well, before you know it, people all over the region were flocking over to take a chunk out of me! While I can defend myself just fine on one on one, I had enough when thousands of people tried to kidnap me so that they could sell off my scales. I shifted, hitched a ship to Fabletown, and here I am. It's possibly the only place where nobody will look for me. At least, I'll know that Mundies can't."
Bigby could tell from her scent that she wasn't lying, that she had indeed crossed oceans out of sheer desperation. He could also couldn't help but notice that she smelled of cinnamon, and shoved that thought deep aside.
"Well then Miss, what do you plan to do, assuming your application is accepted?"
Maran shrugged. "You know, find someplace to live, get a job, stay off the Mundies' radar-basically what everyone here is doing I think."
Bigby looked at her through squinted eyes, scratching his stubble at the same time. "Let me talk to Miss Snow. You can wait here, it shouldn't take long."