Wow, just wow. What's this? What's this? There's chapters everywhere..

I am sorry for lack of creativity in this chapter. This part of the story is necessary and so hard to write in my own words. I admit I cheated a litte :(

I liked the idea that some Fables already knew about Ann. I mean, come one. A mundy working in their office and no-one would notice? What was Bluebeard thinking!? *rolls-eyes* Looking forward to Toad's apartment! :D

Remember; English is not my mother language. So forgive any kind of grammatical errors etc. etc.


Chapter 08: Sherlock

"So you have found this ribbon with the ring attached to it?"

Ann squinted at the heavy ring and the ribbon. The ribbon held a print of a pair of lips at the end and the ring some kind of symbol that she just couldn't figure out.

"It was inside her mouth, someone wanted us to find it," Bigby said and popped another cigarette in his mouth that caused Ann to roll her eyes. Snow looked at it and her jaw tensed.

"Crane doesn't like people smoking in his.. office." Her words died on her tongue when Bigby shot her a glance and lit the cigarette anyway.

"Crane is an asshole."

Bigby obviously did not care what Crane liked or disliked. His defiance made Ann snicker and shake her head. Something rummaging behind them made Ann to clutch the ribbon and ring and turn around. Something green and furry looked at them from behind a large closet.

"Is.. is he gone?"

Snow sighed and smiled. "Yes, thankfully."

At her words the oddest thing flew from behind the closet. It was a monkey. A fucking green monkey with wings and a wine bottle clutched in his hands. He flew above their heads and landed on Snow's desk. Ann felt her throat gone dry when she swallowed and glanced at Bigby and Snow for some kind of explanation.

"And who is this lovely lady?" The monkey spoke with an oddly pitched voice. He sounded strangely sophisticated and Ann could see intelligence reflect back at her in his coal black eyes that held no pupil or iris whatsoever. He hopped over to Crane's desk and held out his hand. Like a robot Ann shook it and blinked.

"I.. I am Annemarie Smith, but just call me Ann," she stammered and slowly let go of his hand.

"Ann, this is Bufkin. He is our librarian as it were," Snow explained and if on cue the monkey took a large sip out of the wine bottle. Ann felt a nerve twitch in the corner of her eyes.

"Bufkin is the flying, talking, alcoholic green monkey in front of me right? Please tell me that I don't hallucinate?" Ann slowly drawled and glanced with a flicker of despair from Snow to Bigby, who snickered a bit despite the glare that Snow gave him. Ann was hoping that she was either dreaming or that this was as real as it gets. Please don't let her go mad..

"Yes he is," Snow confirmed giving Ann a sympathetic look when she was rubbing her pounding temples. "The flying, talking, alcoholic green monkey that is now drinking the wine that I had purchased on Crane's orders." Bufkin grinned a bit apologetic at her sharp words, not flinching when she snatched that bottle from his grasp and walked away.

"So you are the Mundy?" Bufkin directly asked. Ann's lip twitched, she really hated that word.

"I am mundane yes. Wait, what do you mean by The Mundy?"

Bigby's eyes narrowed and Bufkin hopped from one foot onto the other as if he was unsure whether to continue or not. "Well, people talk you know? The word of Bluebeard getting a Mundy secretary was slowly getting around as more people saw you. I must say that their descriptions of a fair red-head where true!"

Ann felt her cheeks flush a soft pink and then huffed. "Let's keep to the task at hand shall we?" She briskly whisked the obnoxious monkey away and grabbed a book. "We have the symbol on the ring right?" Ann began paging through the book, closed it and grabbed another one.

"Yes, but we first need to know who she really is. There is no Fable who truly goes by the name; Faith. It's a nickname," Snow started. "Bufkin, get us the books with all the Fables in it."

"That isn't really specific," Bigby muttered with a hint of amusement causing Snow to roll her eyes.

"Alright, bring the first three. Meanwhile, you two can snoop around. There bound to be some information of her here. I need to go shift some appointments," Snow walked to her desk and picked up her phone.

"Great, where to start?" Ann muttered and stroked a few stray strands from her face.

Bigby pointed at the odd looking mirror standing a bit hidden between two enormous book cases. "We can try the mirror first."

'Whoa, is that the mirror from Snow White's evil stepmother?'

The mirror he talked about was ancient, just like every other thing here in this office, but it was well kept and held a certain vibe that Ann couldn't quite place. If it truly was the mirror of Snow White's stepmother then it was incredibly powerful.

"Hey mirror, I got a question."

Their reflection darkened as they approached it further and finally emanated a strange green glow. A giant green face appeared in the mirror. Instead of a normal face, it look more like a mask one would put on with its black slanted eyes, sharp nose and mouth. The mirror heeded them in what almost seemed like amusement.

"You know the rule."

"I don't have time for this shit," Bigby huffed and rubbed his forehead.

"Your impatience is callow, you're needlessly cruel, but do have some respect for the history rules," the mirror rhymed with its deep booming voice. Ann could feel her skin tingling of the energy it was emanating and looked at Bigby who was engulfed in a green hue just like her.

"I take you need to rhyme to get an answer from it?"

Bigby nodded and gestured to the mirror. "You must make it rhyme otherwise it won't answer any of your questions." Bigby then took a deep breath and hesitantly began. "Mirror, mirror. If you are.. able. Tell me all about this Fable."

"I can't tell you about this Fable, because she isn't able to be a Fable," the mirror answered back and set his eyes on Ann. Bigby gritted his teeth in frustration and growled.

"You know that I am asking about other Fables!"

The mirror shook his head berating. "Sheriff Bigby Wolf, you must rhyme. Otherwise you won't get any answers from mine." Bigby was about to lash out when he felt a small hand on his shoulder and glanced to the side.

"Let me try, alright?" she muttered softly. His hazel eyes searched her for a moment, taking in the ghostly shadows in the green light that the mirror emanated. She was after all a writer and must be good with words. He gestured to the mirror and took a small step back to give her some room.

"Go ahead," he said as he forced down his anger. Bigby hated the mirror and he was pretty sure the mirror shared his feelings. Ann took a step toward the magical mirror and looked at its swirling depths. The face in it looked at her, patiently waiting for a question in rhyme.

"Mirror, mirror. If you are able, we need to find out more about this murdered Fable. It plagues our minds and we want others to live, so we hope we have use for the answers you give," she drawled after a short pause of thinking. A small flicker of pride filled her heart when the mirror smiled and turned its attention to Bigby standing next to her.

"You see? It isn't that hard."

"Yeah, I am about two seconds away from kicking a hole in ya," Bigby threatened and crossed his arms over his chest. Ann shot him a look.

"Well, there is no need for that," the mirror chuckled and behind it the swirling imagery seemed to intensify just like the green hue. "To the two in front of me; which Fable do you wish to see?"

Bigby and Ann looked at each other. "The last time we saw Faith was with the Woodsman.." she muttered.

"Show me the Woodsman," Bigby commanded the mirror. The face smiled and nodded, disappearing.

Inside the mirror's swirling depths an image formed. It was the Woodsman from afar stumbling down the side-walk in a drunken manner. His flannel shirt was stained with god knew what and his feet would have given out on him if he weren't steadying himself against the brick wall of a building.

"Where is this?"

"What you see is complete," the mirror answered. The image disappeared and his face was once again looking at them. "The Woodsman is stumbling down the street."

"No shit Sherlock. Which street?" Ann said. At first she was patient, but now she also felt some form of irritation bubble up inside her as the mirror only gave them half answers.

"I can only show you what can be seen."

Ann nodded. "Thank you Mirror," she said and with her words the face disappeared and the mirror's magical green hue disappeared. Once again she saw her and Bigby's reflection. She then turned to the Sheriff. "Well that was much help, all that is left is Faith but that is not her real name."

"We need to find it out somehow. Bufkin! Have you found the books yet?" Bigby roared through the library. There was flutter of wings.

"Yes.. yes. God damn it!"

The green monkey swore like a sailor as it flew over to Miss White's desk and dropped what looked like the heaviest of books on it. Bufkin then plumbed down on his ass and wiped some invisible sweat from his small forehead.

"These are the first three books of Fables right?" Ann asked for confirmation. Bufkin merely nodded as he was retrieving his breath.

"Correct," Ann looked up to see Snow White approaching her and Bigby. "Any information of Fables in our community will be somewhere in these books."

Curiously she picked the one that was laid open on the desk; surprised by its weight she cradled it in the crook of her arm so that she had one hand free. The page that was open was double paged painted picture that felt coarse to the touch probably because of its age. She saw Beauty and Beast, Snow White and her dwarves and a castle in the distance.

A chuckle escaped her lips when she noticed Ichabod Crane running away from the headless Horseman and saw Toad in suit. Her fingers traced the Woodsman and saw that he was defending Red Riding Hood from..

Ann looked up from the book and watched how Bigby Wolf was searching through a smaller one himself. Taking in his wild auburn hair, intense hazel eyes beneath his heavy brow and the muscles clenching in his jaw when he frowned at the little book. She could not imagine him being the terrifying yellow-eyed black wolf on the painting, perhaps dark and mysterious.. But terrifying?

She snapped her eyes back to the book when Bigby closed down his book and searched for another one. Not noticing how Bufkin quirked an eyebrow. Her emerald eyes searched the page, she must have missed something. Then she noticed two males standing above a girl hiding herself in a donkey skin. One male was one with long black hair, the valiant prince Ann mused.

The other was much more interesting though; the painting depicted a taller male with greying hair and a crown. On his tunic he wore a familiar symbol. Placing down the book on the table she fished out the ribbon with the ring still attached to it. It contained the exact same symbol as on the guy's tunic.

"Bigby, Miss White," Ann muttered and attracted their attention. "Look, this guy wears the same symbol as depicted on this ring." Her finger tapped at the king-like figure.

"You're right," Bufkin gasped.

"It could be her father, or husband," Snow muttered then grabbed a book from the middle of a huge pile. "This book had most of the emblems of the old days and usually what family they come from. If it's in her, we'll have her name."
Bigby took the book from Snow's hand and patched through it. He was displeased to see that the book wasn't written in normal English but ancient gibberish.

"Great, I can't read any of this shit," he grumbled.

Bufkin jumped up and settled down in front of him with a cheeky grin on his face. "I can help. We have to help each other out." This earned the monkey a glare.

"Don't overdo it."

Ann peeked in the book as Bigby turned page after page, her shoulder brushing against his. She halted him and pressed her finger on the symbol that was on the ring. "This, this is it. Bufkin can you read this?"

Bufkin took the book and scrunched his face. "That's an odd one. A family name? All-lair-lie-lau," Bufkin drawled, effective butchering the name.

"Allerleirauh, it means every-kind-of-fur in German," Snow said. Restoring the massacre of the name. Bufkin then shrugged and flew to another book where he furiously turned some pages.

"AH!" He exclaimed and pressed his large finger on a page. "Donkeyskin girl, A.K.A. Donkeyskin, A.K.A.-" Bufkin chuckled. "Ass-skin, prefers to go by the name Faith. Hm, poetic."

"The story of Donkeyskin; there was once a great king with a beautiful queen. The queen grew ill and had her husband promise to only marry the most beautiful girl in the kingdom," he began. Drawing in Snow, Bigby and Ann to listen to his amazing story-telling skills. "After a long search, it became clear that the only woman in the land to match her beauty was.." Bufkin's face fell.

"The only woman in the land to match her beauty was his daughter.. Faith."

Snow placed a hand on front of her mouth and Bigby wrinkled his forehead. Ann frowned and looked down at the painting in the book that she had been previously holding. She looked at the girl hiding under the donkey's skin.

"She had a magic cloak made from the skin of her father's prized donkey that would hide her beauty, so that she could escape the kingdom. Eventually she married a prince who could see passed her magic cloak and see her true beauty. They married and lived happily ever after," Bufkin finished and wrung uncomfortable his hands.

"Should I..?" Snow nodded. Bufkin then reached for a stamp and pressed it down on the page. It now said with big angry red letters; DECEASED.

"What is the prince's name?" Bigby asked.

"Lawrence, Prince Lawrence."

Snow sighed and straightened out her skirt as her Sheriff paced around. "Then we got what we came for. Her name is Faith, A.K.A. Donkeyskin girl and was married to a Prince Lawrence. I mean that is more than we-"

"Her name was Faith," Bigby interrupted and stopped his stride. Ann pushed herself away from the table and took a shivering breath.

"We need to speak to this Lawrence. Whether or not he did it or is even aware of this has happened, we need to investigate him," she said and walked towards Bigby and Snow. "To find his whereabouts we can use Mr. Green-and-flashy over there," she nodded to the mirror.

Bigby turned and walked towards it. The magical item instantly awoke in his presence. "Mirror, blah blah blah able.. blah blah blah Fable."

"Which fable do you wish to know about, Sheriff Bigby Wolf?" The face of the mirror regarded him with mild irritation because of his poor excuse of a rhyme. But Bigby was not in the mood for that and glared at him.

"What if you told him to show Faith?" Ann meekly asked. Bigby regarded her with a torn look in his eyes then took a deep breath.

"Show me Faith."

It did not have the effect they hoped for. Instead of an image the face remained visible and chanted; "Through powerful magic her whereabouts concealed. Unfortunately for you, these lips are sealed."

Ann's eyes widened. "What?"

"These lips are sealed."

"Then what about her father, the king?"

This time the face disappeared and a skeleton came into view. It was lying in a field in the middle of nowhere with it mouths agape and empty eye sockets staring into the blue sky above. There were mere tatters of clothing left on the bones and around one finger there seemed to be a mud covered ring.

"Well, at least we can cross him off the suspect list," Ann muttered and turned around to leave Bigby with the mirror. She headed for Miss White and Bufkin who were silently staring at Faith's page in the book of Fables.

"Sad isn't it? To run away from your own family because of something that isn't your fault," Snow muttered to her as she approached.

"Happens all the time unfortunately. Family isn't always unicorns and rainbows," she slowly said. Trying to find the right words.

"You speak of experience." Snow looked up from her musing and glanced at Ann, who merely shrugged her shoulders and avoided those deep blue eyes. "Who doesn't?" Was merely her answer before Bigby joined them.

"Do you know where Prince Lawrence lives?"

Snow nodded firmly with determination flickering in her eyes. "If he is a prince than probably in the South Bronx, yellow building with red shutters. I can take us there, let's go."

When Ann was going to retrieve her coat and purse the phone rang. Causing Snow to stop in her tracks and roll her eyes in annoyance. "I'm sorry, I have to take this." She walked to her desk and picked up the phone. "Hello Woodlands Business Off- yes. I- He is. Hold on," she held out the horn to Bigby with a worried look. "It's for you."

As Bigby was on the phone Ann shrugged on her coat and twirled her scarf around her neck. She walked to the desk of Ichabod Crane and noticed three tarot cards on it. A glance over her shoulder told her that Bigby was going to be on the phone for a little while so her fingers plucked one card from the desk and flipped it.

Strength. She huffed. 'Hell yes I am going to have to need that,' she thought and flipped another card. That displayed The Tower. The picture was quite gruesome as someone was looking down at a mangled body from the top of the tower. A shiver ran over Ann's back and clutched her purse a little tighter.

Her eyes looked at the third and last card that was face down on the desk. Did she even want to flip it? Hesitantly she took the card and stared at its back for a few seconds before flipping it. It was a man lying face first in the dirt with ten swords standing erect on his back with blood trickling down.

"That was Toad."

Bigby's rough voice resonating through the Office made Ann startle and drop the card. She turned on her heels and walked back to the pair with hurried steps, the image of the card still burning in her mind.

"What's wrong?" She asked, hoping she didn't sound to shaky.

"I don't know, but something is going on at his place."

"But we need to get to Lawrence too," Snow said and looked at Ann with a torn look.

"I will go to Toad's place," she sighed as she volunteered. 'God I could use another cup of coffee.' Grabbing a note and a pen from her purse she scribbled something down and gave it to Snow. "That's my number. If you find anything at Lawrence's place, call me alright?"
"Are you sure?"

Bigby regarded the red-head with worried frown. He remembered how scared she looked when she opened the door from his just one night ago when she was being harassed by Dee and Dum. Ann just pulled up her shoulders and smirked at him faintly.

"Don't worry, I know Toad. He is one scared bastard, plus, I will first retrieve my baseball bat," she said with a faint trace of humour in her voice trying to lighten up the situation.

"We will check out on you the moment we are finished at Lawrence's apartment, alright?" He pressed.

"Fine, fine. I will see you there!"

And with that Ann turned on her heels and left the Office, going down the staircase instead of the elevator and walked out of the Woodland Building. The sun was hiding behind thick grey clouds, unable to radiate its heat on the earth below.

As Annemarie Smith was walking down the pavement with her hands stuck in her pockets and purse high on her shoulder she couldn't stop thinking about that final tarot card. About the swords and the corpse. Shaking her head, she hoped to shake out those thoughts and took a deep inhale of oxygen mixed up with toxic fumes of traffic.

How bad could it be?


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