A/N- Thanks for the reviews guys. I figured the Cinderella thing had been done, but I had an idea…and ideas don't just leave you alone, y'know? So if I'm copying someone, I apologize.

Rule #2: Work, work, work, and then you can play.

Oscar and Morris's favorite game was "Tackle Mush while mom isn't looking and when she does look, hit him even harder because she'll laugh."

Mush hated that game. It hurt. A lot.

He held a wet washcloth up to his swollen face and sighed, scrubbing the lunch dishes with one hand, a task he was used to by now, and generally loathing his stepfamily.

He would leave but…

They needed him. Mush wasn't one to let people down, evil or not.

Lunch dishes complete, Mush discarded the cloth in exchange for a large bucket, which he swung lazily at the chickens as he crossed through their coop, watching his step this time, and made his way to the cherry orchard.

He liked the cherry orchard. It consisted of three giant trees and it was quiet and far from prying, nosy, meddling family members.

There was a small creek nearby, and Mush listened to it running lazily down its course to the lake near the castle.

He had a lot in common with the creek. Running the same course day after day. The creek was one up on him though; it would reach its destination. Mush wasn't so sure that he would.

He hummed as he picked, daydreaming.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he finally dropped the last bright red cherry into the bucket. He grinned at the knowledge that he could carry the full bucket one handed. He was sure his stepbrothers would have trouble carrying the bucket one handed when it was empty. That thought made him love cherry season even more.

Thoughts aside, it was time for a bath.

The creek was calling his name, or would have been if it had been able to talk. "Alright, alright," Mush said, pulling his shirt over his head. He dipped it in the water, scrubbed as much of the grime off that he could and then laid it over his bucket to dry. He tested the water before throwing himself into it.

It was pleasantly warm and refreshing, and surprisingly deep. The creek was swollen this year, almost four feet deep he guessed.

He floated on his back for a while, staring up at the clouds drifting sluggishly by.

"I envy you," he said to no one in particular. "So much freedom."

"Freedom?"

Mush was startled by the voice and would have drowned if the water hadn't been so shallow. Even so, he swallowed a mouthful before he was able to right himself.

He stared up at the stranger, a peculiar man with a patch covering one bright blue eye. The uncovered eye was wide and unblinking and a lock of blond hair fell into it. He was dressed in a heavy red cloak.

"Uh…sorry?"

Mush continued to stare.

"I know we just met and all, and this is going to seem like a weird question but—"

The stranger and Mush both turned their heads at the sound of thundering hooves approaching. The stranger jumped into the creek with Mush and grabbed his shoulders, turning Mush so that they were face to face. "Hide me?"

Mush noticed the desperation in the boy's face and pushed him under the murky surface of the water just as the horses with men on their backs came to a halt in front of them.

"You there."

Mush looked around and then up at the man who had spoken. He pointed a finger at himself and then said, "me?"

"Yes, you. Have you seen a boy around here?"

Mush shook his head.

"Are you sure?"

Mush nodded. The boy was starting to struggle beneath him and he pushed down harder, hoping that the red cloak wouldn't surface and betray them both.

"Well, if you see anyone. Let us know."

Nod and smile, Mush. Nod and smile.

The men rode away not a moment too soon. Mush released the boy who surfaced and gasped for air, clinging to Mush with one hand for support. "I…thought I was…done for," he said.

Mush shrugged out of the boy's grip and exited the water. He grabbed his shirt and slipped it over his head.

Still damp.

"I'm Blink by the way."

"That's a weird name."

Blink grinned. "You got a name, or should I just call you my savior?"

"Mush."

"And you think Blink's a weird name?"

Mush rolled his eyes and started to walk away.

"Wait!"

Mush stopped, hid the grin that was creeping onto his face and then turned around. It was nice having someone around that wasn't family.

"I mean it, Mush. You're my savior."

"Are you running from the law or something?"

"Or something just about covers it." Blink caught up to him and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "I'll get caught sooner or later, but thanks to you, it'll definitely be later than it usually is."

"What did you do?"

"Curious little fellow aren't you?" Blink laughed. "I escaped."

"From jail?"

"Imprisonment of the worst form. No windows, no doors…no company…so cold…" Blink shivered for dramatic emphasis and then laughed at the horrified expression on Mush's face. "It wasn't that bad really, but sometimes, a guy's just got to get out, y'know?"

Mush nodded. "I think I do." He grinned. "I'm not, strictly speaking allowed to have company over but…if you promise to be quiet, would you like to stay for dinner?"

"That sounds great! What are we having?"

"I just butchered a pig yesterday, so the meat's pretty fresh, and I could pick a few carrots, they're ripe now and just bursting to be eaten and…" Mush trailed off.

Blink was giving him the strangest look.

"Is something wrong?"

"No," Blink said, smiling. "I just…I've never met anyone like you before, Mush."

"Well, I've never met anyone before, so I can honestly say the exact same thing about you."

Blink laughed and then draped an arm over Mush's broad shoulders. "I think we're going to be friends."

"I've never had a friend before," Mush said, quieter and less cheerfully, but still somewhat cheerfully because Mush was naturally cheerful.

"You do this every night?"

"Morning, noon, and night," Mush corrected, hoisting fresh dinner platters onto his arms and head.

"Can I help?"

"Just make sure the bacon doesn't burn," Mush said. " And don't make any noise, I'll be back in just a minute." Mush felt Blink's eye on him as he ascended the stairs gracefully and then provided his family with their dinner.

"'Bout time, Mush. My stomach's so hungry it's starting to eat itself."

"I knew I should've waited a little longer," Mush said, placing the tray on Morris's bedside table. Morris said a few not very nice things and sent Mush on his way.

Oscar was more pleasant. He was asleep.

Mush had a burning desire to wake him up just for spite, but decided against it. One beating for the day was quite enough. And besides, he had a guest.

Remembering Blink gave him a sudden rush of adrenaline. He had a friend! An actual living breathing friend that talked back and had a face and an eye patch, which was kind of strange, and it was Blink's idea that they be friends in the first place!

"Mush, Darling. Did you clean the ceiling?"

"Every inch stepmother."

"And the drapes?"

"Yes, stepmother."

Mush removed the tray from his head and set it on his mother's lap. She glanced at the clock and then at her stepson. "You're late tonight…Dreaming again?"

Mush nodded quickly.

"Don't make a habit of this, Mush. I am tired of waiting for dinner every evening because of your insistent dawdling. I am a hard working mother," she placed a hand on her forehead and closed her eyes. "Raising three boys isn't easy."

"Yes, stepmother."

Mush backed out of the room, leaving his stepmother to eat in peace.

He hurried back to his bedroom and grinned when he saw Blink exactly where he had left him. "You're still here. Good."

"That smells really good, Mush."

"I know." Mush harvested the bacon from the stove top and then placed it on a plate on the floor between them. "It isn't much, but…there are carrots for dessert and—"

"Mush, this is great. I don't think I've ever felt more like a king than I do right now."

"Speaking of kings," Mush said. "I noticed that you have a patch over your eye and I was wondering well…"

"What happened?"

"Yeah."

"I fell."

"Oh." Mush decided not to push it. It made no sense to ruin a friendship when it had only just begun.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course." Mush hoped it wouldn't be a hard question. He hated hard questions.

"What happened to your eye?" Mush touched the tender bruise around his eye and flinched. He had totally forgotten it was there.

"I fell," he replied. Blink grinned.

Mush smiled back.

It was nice to have a friend.