The next day would be one of the most enjoyable days since the quest had begun, for Kara at least. But it began in quite an unexpected way.

Clang!

Jolted out of a sound sleep, Kara sat up quickly, rubbing her eyes. "Wha...what happened? Where's the fire?"

"There isn't one," Cat said, standing in the center of the campsite with a sizable brass gong in her hand. She waved her other hand, and the instrument vanished. "But it's time you were up. There's no time to waste today. Come on, chop-chop."

She arched an eyebrow in the direction of Winn, who sat blinking blearily, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "Especially," she said, "if we're going to make royalty out of...that."

She turned, extending one finger as if it was a magic wand. There was a bright flash, and a table appeared out of thin air, groaning under the weight of a breakfast feast as extravagant as any that Kara might have had back in her cousin's palace. "Help yourselves," Cat said. "We've got a long day ahead of us."

Kara was on her feet in an instant, remembering at the last second to grab Alex. "Gangway! I smell potstickers!" Winn wasn't far behind her, and M'gann followed at a slower pace with J'onn leaning on her shoulder. Cat, for her part, sat down on a boulder, sipping delicately at a cup of golden liquid that, if Kara had to guess, was whatever fairies drank in lieu of alcohol.

The food was as delicious as Kara had expected magical food to be, and it replenished itself as they ate. When they were finished Cat clapped her hands, and the whole feast, the table included, shimmered into nothingness as if it had never been there.

"Now," Cat said, dusting her hands together briskly, "where's the man of the hour?"

Looking more than a little uncomfortable with the whole situation, Winn stepped into the center of the campsite, twisting his hands together nervously and shifting from one foot to the other. "Stop that," Cat scolded. "Princes don't fidget."

She clapped her hands again, and another strange set-up appeared- an ornate full-length mirror and, off to the side, three soft-looking velvet chairs. "The rest of you might as well make yourselves comfortable," she said, snapping her fingers to create a footstool so J'onn could keep his injured leg up. "This might take some time. And, Alex, I'll need your help when we're done here."

"My help," Alex said, looking only mildly surprised. "Of course. With what, exactly?"

"In due time, in due time. Winslow, will you please stop hunching your shoulders? I'm your fairy godmother, not an ogre; try to at least act like you've got a little confidence. And haven't you ever made the acquaintance of a hairbrush before?"

"Poor Winn," Alex said, keeping her voice low so that only Kara could hear. "Cat's not going easy on him, is she?"

Kara watched as the fairy circled Winn, glancing him over critically while Winn shied away from her, looking more and more rattled. "No, she isn't," she agreed. "And you're having too much fun watching this, Alex."

Alex smirked wickedly. "Maybe."

Finally, Cat finished her pacing, obviously less than impressed. "Well," she said, with a dubious look at Winn's rather shabby clothing, "you certainly...prefer to make an understatement. Never mind, I'll fix that. I just have to recall what the fashions were like the last time I visited a mortal kingdom. Of course we can't have anything that looks too Kryptonian, and I'll probably have to modify it some. Most princes aren't as vertically challenged."

Winn bristled. "I am not vertically challenged!"

Cat waved a hand dismissively. "Oh please, you could pass for a misplaced elf." Kara had to work to hide a giggle, and Alex proved herself entirely incapable of holding back a snort. Even J'onn and M'gann passed a hand over their mouths as if they were erasing their smiles.

Without warning, Cat snapped her fingers again. Suddenly Winn was dressed, not in his typical plain clothes, but in a long red velvet robe that spilled from his shoulders to the ground, edged with black and white fur. A heavy gold chain hung over it, and an enormous golden crown perched on top of his dark hair.

"Too much," all four spectators said at the same time.

"Quite." Cat flicked her hand, and the gaudy outfit disappeared. "After all, you're trying not to be noticed. We need something simple."

For the better part of an hour the cycle repeated- Cat inventing something new, the others commentating on it, and Winn getting more and more nervous.

The black and gold silk tunic? "It's a ball, not a funeral," Alex said.

The orange shirt with blue embroidery? "What happened to not being noticed?" J'onn asked. "You can see that from a mile away."

The brown shirt with absolutely no decoration? "Too drab," M'gann said. "That's trying too hard not to be noticed, which defeats the purpose."

Finally, after outfit number twenty-six, Cat poured herself her third glass of whatever she was drinking and tried again. This outfit was unassuming, but not too much so- gray pants, a black shirt and a pale blue jacket, with a simple silver circlet instead of a crown.

Kara clapped her hands. "That's it! Winn, you look wonderful!"

"I feel ridiculous," Winn protested, but Kara could tell by the pink tint in his cheeks that he was pleased.

"It's alright," Alex said. "But you're still short."

Winn glared at her, and then happened to glance down at his feet. Instantly his eyes went wide, and he gasped, grabbing for the mirror as if he might fall at any moment. "Why are my shoes made of glass?"

"Well, I've been doing this for almost an hour, I'm bound to get a few things wrong," Cat said irritably. "But the fairies have been wearing glass shoes for years. You'll be alright. They're actually quite comfortable."

"I wouldn't know, I'm afraid to put any weight on them!"

"Oh, don't be such a ninny." Cat flicked her hand again, and the mirror vanished. "Well, onto the next task, then. Alex, this is where I need you."

She extended her finger like a wand again, and another table materialized. This one, however, was far more formal, set with sparkling golden dishes, elegant crystal goblets and more gleaming silver forks and spoons than Kara could count. "Now that we've got you properly disguised, Winslow, we need to make sure you can actually play your role convincingly. It'd be a shame to reveal yourself due to some accidental breach of etiquette. Normally logic would suggest I enlist Kara to help with that, but, well, you've never exactly fit the usual mold of princesshood, Kara dear. As your lady-in-waiting, Alex at least understands the social graces, even if she isn't really known for putting them into practice." Cat smoothed her skirt, her wings unfurling behind her. "It's a simple enough task, Alex. I'm sure you'll be a suitable teacher. Enjoy yourselves, the five of you; there are a couple of small matters I need to attend to, but I'll be back later tonight. And then, Winslow, we'll see about your dancing."

Winn froze. "My what?"

"Oh, this I can do," Alex said, a sly glint in her eyes. "Come on then, Your Highness. We've got work to do."

"Like I said, Alex, you're enjoying this too much," Kara whispered.

Alex grinned. "I most certainly am."

Kara wouldn't have thought it possible, but Alex somehow managed to be even more merciless than Cat. Though the rest of them enjoyed the magical meal, watching the goings-on in amusement, Alex hardly gave Winn a moment's peace once they'd all taken their seats, managing by some miracle to be far more intimidating than a five-inch frog should have been.

Although, if Kara was being completely honest, she did have her work cut out for her. It hadn't been as noticeable during their simple meals on the trail, but when he was surrounded by finery it was obvious that Winn was out of place. Clearly his stepfamily's luxurious living hadn't rubbed off on him.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were raised by cave trolls!" Alex shouted in exasperation. "For the fifth time, sit up straight. Do not slurp the soup- no, that's the dessert spoon- Winn, I swear, if you don't stop fiddling with the tablecloth-"

And so it went. Kara couldn't help her smile, even though she did feel a little sorry for Winn. She remembered all too well having the same lessons from her mother as a little girl, and they had gone just about as well as Winn's were.

But by the end of the meal, he was at least starting to catch on. "Finally," Alex said. "Your stepmother threw enough parties; I would have thought you'd have some idea how nobles act."

"Um, Alex, I ate in the kitchen. By myself. And I usually only had a few minutes to spare before somebody was screeching my name again, so no, learning the proper way to manage a fish fork was not exactly my priority."

"Well, you'd better make it a priority tomorrow, because you can't afford to make a mistake. We've got to find the Luthor girl."

"Maybe you should take this with you," Kara offered, pulling the small painting of Lena from her pocket and pressing it into his hand. "Don't go around showing it to everyone, of course, but if you find somebody who seems like they might know something, it could come in handy."

"That took longer than I thought," Alex commented, glancing up at the sky. "We've probably only got an hour or two before Cat gets back."

Winn shuddered. "She can take as long as she wants for all I care."

"Nervous about your dancing?" Kara teased.

"My dancing is dismal. I'm not exaggerating."

He wasn't. No sooner had Cat returned (announcing her arrival, and scaring the five mortal travelers almost out of their wits, by conjuring a full orchestra of instruments that played while floating in midair without any musicians in sight), then Kara learned the truth of his words firsthand. Cat was busy supervising the instruments, and both J'onn and Alex were out of commission, which left Kara as Winn's dancing partner. It was definitely a one-of-a-kind experience.

"Sorry," Winn said for the eighteenth time, after stepping on her foot for the seventh.

Kara did her best to produce a smile that wasn't a grimace. "It's...fine. You're doing fine. I still have three functional toes left."

Winn, however, wasn't convinced. "I'm terrible at this, aren't I?" he said. "I'm not cut out to be a royal, even for just three nights. I'm going to mess this up."

"No, you're not," Kara reassured him. "You know what? Don't worry so much about being a royal. Just be you. That's all I wanted when I was growing up at court, for someone to be real with me. Not so proper and stuffy all the time. Of course, you should keep up the act well enough that no one suspects you, but you don't have to be perfect. All you have to do is ask a couple questions and have a good time."

"I'll try," Winn said, and Kara smiled.

The smile quickly turned into a wince. "Ow. It's alright, Winn, I still have two toes that work."

Finally, as the sun was going down and Winn was starting to show a little bit of progress, Cat clapped her hands. The instruments vanished in a discordant blast, and she put a hand on her hip. "That's enough for today," she announced. "I wouldn't call you every inch a prince, Winslow, but you're not entirely hopeless. Get some sleep, and practice again in the morning. See if you can make it through a minuet without mangling something, or someone, as the case may be. I'll be back for you tomorrow night, when the first ball begins."