Bloody Mary part 4 – Revelations

Snow returned to the living room minutes later in her usual work attire, her hair was up in a bun and she looked determined; and she was clearly still frustrated with Bigby's little charade of resenting her.

Bigby just continued to look through the files on the table for fear that if he looked up at Snow he would start laughing again and he really wasn't in the mood for a pointless argument.

"Are you planning on staying here all day?" Snow was almost out the door before she poked her head back into the apartment.

Bigby looked up at her "I wasn't exactly planning on going anywhere else, doctor's orders remember. Wait, are you afraid that people will start speculating because you let a badly injured man stay at your apartment for the simple reason that he couldn't move?"

Snow blushed and stared at the ground, silently answering his question; then she told him "Bufkin saw us yesterday in the Business Office, he knows about 'us' but I made him keep it a secret"

Bigby didn't change his expression "I guess we can trust him to keep quiet; Beast heard the screaming by the way and now he, Woody and Gren have all given me the sympathy vote thinking that you were with someone else!"

Snow blushed even more as her expression turned to one of shock "Oh God this is going to turn awkward very quickly"

Bigby leant back and grinned "We could always just tell people that we trust, lessen the blow when the truth comes out"

Snow considered the thought and kind of agreed with it "I'm meeting Briar Rose and Cinderella today for our monthly get together... I guess they should know at least"

Bigby nodded "You think Blue should know? I mean he's been a good friend to both of us for years and we know he's definitely trustworthy"

Snow nodded her concurrence, but then pulled an evil smile "Ok, but you have to break the news to him yourself"

Before Bigby could protest Snow shut the door and headed off down the hall towards the elevator, in his condition there was no way he could catch her; accepting defeat Bigby turned the TV back on and left it as background noise while he scanned through his reports and began to fill them out.

O Lunchtime, Briar Rose's apartment

The 3 women had decided to meet up at Briar's luxurious apartment for lunch as part of their get together; they talked about anything and everything and of course their good-for-nothing ex-husband Prince Charming. Honestly, they really enjoyed their little monthly get together, but for a reason that currently only she knew Snow was distant from it all.

"Hey Snow are you ok?" Briar looked at Snow from her expensive leather recliner; Briar was the second richest Fable in Fabletown next to Bluebeard, thanks to her curse she would never go poor, if she lost all her money one day then she could win it all back on the lottery the next day.

Snow snapped back to reality and took a long sip of her tea "Yeah I'm fine, it's just work getting to me you know".

Cindy suddenly changed the subject to one that was never really discussed by the women of Fabletown anymore: the attractiveness of Sheriff Wolf.

"So, has anyone managed to steal the Wolf's heart yet? Or is he going to continue living in solitude all his life; I don't believe in 'Happily Ever After' anymore but I certainly wouldn't say no to sleeping with him..."

Briar gasped at the subject "Cindy! Well come to think of it he is certainly rugged, but he's never shown an interest in anyone and it's kinda put me off him."

Cindy retaliated "Briar, I've seen his body and that man was carved by the Gods themselves out of marble! He puts Charming to absolute shame, trust me"

Briar suddenly became more interested "Really! When?"

Cindy pretended to ignore her but couldn't help herself, this time she was telling a half-truth "I caught him coming out of the shower one time and he didn't seem to notice me standing there..." Cindy was so used to lying now that it almost felt like every lie was a truth and vice versa, it kinda scared her sometimes.

Briar was unconvinced but still intrigued by the thought of a naked Bigby "Since when did you ever see Bigby Wolf showering?"

Cindy looked more intently now "It was when he was looking for the thieves that robbed my store a couple of years back; he left the door of his apartment open for me and I walked in and I sorta had a peek into his bathroom before he got the towel around his waist..."

In truth, the two had been on an operation in Italy in the early 1900's and had to share a room under the pretence of being a couple, Cindy had accidently walked in him after he had finished showering but had seen enough to make her want to pounce on him.

Throughout the whole conversation Snow had gone along with the act of giggling and being shocked, but sooner or later her little trump card was going to come out and now seemed like the best time "I think I'm falling for someone"

Cindy and Briar perked up from their childish giggling and rude thoughts to focus on Snow; Briar spoke "Well we heard all about the screaming on Halloween night and some folks say it was you"

Snow blushed furiously and nodded ever so slightly in embarrassment, but it was enough for the two women to crowd around her like a mob, both frantically demanding to know who it was she was with.

Snow glanced down biting her lip before looking between the two fair women and bluntly said "I stole the Wolf's heart".

The 2 Fables gasped collectively with their hands covering their mouths; Cindy broke the silence "I knew it would be you!"

Snow and Briar both looked at her confused, Snow spoke next "How exactly?"

Cindy just looked at Snow in disbelief "You two have been so damn close for centuries now we were practically making bets on how long it would be before you got together"

Briar shook her head with a chuckle and looked at Snow "Well I'm happy for you, knowing Bigby he'll definitely try and make things work between you"

Snow smiled at her friend and held her hands "Thank you, Briar"

Cindy once again broke the moment "So he was good right?"

Snow glared at Cindy but she wasn't budging, with a small sigh and a feint grin Snow responded "He was more than perfect; he made Charming feel like an amateur and he's big."

The two women instantly became more interested at Snow's response, but they weren't getting any more details and they would just have to live with it.

O Lunchtime, Snow White's apartment

Bigby and Boy Blue were sitting on Snow's sofa; he had brought Bigby up some sandwiches from a Mundy store under the assumption that he couldn't make his own lunch himself.

"Wait seriously!?" Blue had a combined look of shock and happiness on his face as Bigby told him what had happened on Halloween and how one thing had led to another.

"Yep, I told her everything and then my wildest dream came true" Bigby had a huge smile plastered on his face, he was like Snow in that he didn't have many friends, in fact Bigby and Snow both kept pretty much the same company of friends.

Blue patted Bigby on his good shoulder "Well, I'm sure you'll make her happy Biggs" Only Blue ever called Bigby 'Biggs'; Flycatcher had done so once or twice but most of the time it was just 'Sheriff' with him.

Bigby took a bite from a ham and cheese sandwich and changed the subject "How is our newest house guest doing?"

Blue turned serious in a flash "She's cooperating at least; knows how to push people's buttons but what do you expect. Bluebeard keeps trying to talk to her though and I keep thinking that he's a part of this somehow" Bigby remembered how Bluebeard attacked Flycatcher and forced his way into the Tweedles office and trashed it looking for something 4 months ago, something which he apparently found in the end.

"Bluebeard might be involved in a financial sense, but he's good at covering his tracks and Mayor Cole won't do anything about him unless I build a strong enough case... which I've been doing now for well over a century."

Blue nodded his concurrence, he personally had never taken any nonsense from Bluebeard; in fact since Snow had become Deputy Mayor Bluebeard had been appearing around the Office less and less, starting after the Crooked Man was dealt with in which Bluebeard had tried to become Snow's assistant, but he quickly proved to be terrible at the job and left voluntarily after one day claiming that too many people complained about nonsense and he was bored of it.

The decision to appoint Blue as Snow's assistant had been a collective one on Snow and Bigby's part, with Snow pointing out that he was hard working and Bigby pointing out more obviously that they both knew him well.

After all had been said and done, Snow returned to the Business Office and noticed the passive smiles that Blue was giving her "So Bigby told him then" the thought made her smile and she melted a little inside.

Going back to business; Cindy stopped by Snow's apartment to discuss matters with Bigby, who still hadn't changed his clothes or showered since last night despite the fact it was now late afternoon "Ok Boss, what is it you want me to do exactly?"

"Simple reconnaissance for now, keep your distance from the bar until you have an idea of what's surrounding it and who's going in and out especially"

Cindy nodded "Ok, I'll report back to you tomorrow then; by the way congratulations Mr 'I'm gonna be a lone wolf forever'" Bigby smiled bluntly at her as she turned and left the apartment. Resting back against the sofa for the millionth time that day; Bigby's boredom made him snap inside and he got to his feet and walked out to the elevator, it was time to pay Mary a visit.

The lower levels of the Woodland's were cold, damp and very medieval looking, a perfect reminder of home. Bigby made his way towards Mary's cell; she had been moved from the interrogation room yesterday night and hadn't made a sound since then.

Bigby peered through the 3 bars that allowed vision into the cell; it wasn't spacious but it possessed two single mattress beds, thin pillows and itchy blankets, the sources of light were mounted torches on the four walls of the cell.

Mary was sleeping on the left side bed like a baby, Bigby had to admit that her delicate face looked rather cute while she slept but he knew better than to let her looks deceive him. He banged on the door 3 times and Mary tightened her eyes and rolled over onto her other side; he banged another 3 times but louder and she finally spoke "Fuck off Wolf; I'm trying to catch my beauty sleep".

Bigby unlocked the door and stepped into the cell, shutting the door behind him but not locking it; he sat down on the opposite bed and stared at Mary until she rolled over onto her other side once again and met his gaze; she nearly laughed when she saw him.

"Awww, you're all fixed up again, I should pay Swineheart in gold to not help you" Bigby stood up and leered over Mary, she stared into his eyes before looking down at his cane, the steel Wolf's head made her chuckle "Where'd you get that, Lord Wolf?" Bigby glanced down at the cane and looked back up "West Germany, 1943, belonged to a Nazi official and I 'retrieved' it from him".

Mary sat up and stretched out, Bigby stepped back a little; she wasn't chained down or tied up or anything like that, therefore if anything went down then it would be up to Bigby alone to stop her and right now his chances of doing that were slim.

Mary edged back to lean against the cold stone wall with her legs crossed in front of her; she was wearing the same ripped and blood-stained clothes from yesterday and there were still tiny cuts and bruises on her face.

"Nick fought in the war as well you know, in the Navy though; that guy loves the sea more than anything else." The 2 Fables just kept staring daggers at each other, almost as if they were waiting for a penny to drop so they could charge at each other and fight to the death.

Bigby sat down on the bed once more; he didn't move a muscle below his neck when he spoke "Is Nick going to become a problem for us?"

Mary shrugged "Hell if I know; he does what he wants just as much as I do, the only difference being that he solves his own problems without help from other people, he's that good" Bigby furrowed his brows even more, he was getting bored of the stonewalling but at the same time something inside kept telling him that Mary was telling the truth.

Mary yawned and spoke again "Have you heard of the Scottish myth called the Nuckelavee, Bigby?"

Bigby slowly shook his head, but he was interested.

Mary sat up straight and stretched her legs out in front of her "It's not much of a story as it's a bunch of tales and sightings related to the same being; the Nuckelavee is a sea monster of sorts that comes to land during seasons when it doesn't rain in order to kill off crops and livestock and generally scare the locals shitless. It is incapable of touching freshwater for reasons unknown, hence why it never appears during rainy seasons."

"So what you're saying is that I'm dealing with a sea monster that can come onto land? Somehow I think you're full of bullshit"

Mary cracked a brief smile before closing her eyes and resting back up against the wall "You'll see Wolfie, you'll see."

With that Bigby got up and walked out of the cell, making double sure to lock it on his way out; Mary just sat there resting, she was being calm for a reason and Bigby still had no clue as to what that reason was.

Next time: We flashback to after the Crooked Man's trial and finally meet the villain of this story, Nick