4.
Casphus ignored the clamor outside of his door; despite the fact it'd been nearly a week since the robbery, the mansion was still in a state of uproar, especially after he'd decided to change the way things were being run and had started telling Krayve what changes to make. Overdressed, under-experienced guards tromped up and down the hallway. Nervous, twittering maids still shrieked at the smallest of shadows. Those courtiers that could brave the dangers of the outside world had ventured out of their room to tell him in sniveling, whimpering tones how wonderful the changes he was making were and how glad they were to have such an inspiring and thoughtful prince to take command.
And Grisby -- poor, dear Grisby -- had worked himself into such a tizzy over the whole affair that he'd fainted and was currently in his room recovering from his nerves.
Silly gits, all of them.
Through it all, he was no closer to finding his little thief. He ran his thumb along the heel of the shoe that he gripped, raising his eyes to look out over the balcony's railings, his gaze wandering to the small gate he'd first noticed the thief slipping in through. The shoe was cheaply made, obviously a peasant's shoe, but it had been patched up with what his father called 'solid' craftsmanship -- not the best, but showing a care to detail and quality that sidestepped their relative lack of skill. The small size of it, barely larger than his palm, only served to remind him that he'd been beaten by a slip of a girl no less. The thought made him chuckle; what would his fencing instructor have to say about that?
He shifted, frustrated. He'd sought out every single maid or female servant that lived in or around Krayve's grounds, but to no avail. The few that had been able to fit the shoe on their foot had been too big, too small, or lacking the beautiful honey-colored eyes he remembered. So, he was at a loss.
It was endlessly frustrating, the thought that she was out there, somewhere close, but still so far from his reach. He balled his fist around the shoe. "Where are you?" he whispered to the distant horizon.
"Do you really want to know?"
He turned to stare at the iridescent bubble that had asked him the question. There it was, just floating in midair, its surface pearly colored. He blinked at it. "... huh?"
The bubble rapidly began to grow in size, as if someone from the inside was blowing it up, and Casphus took several steps back, one hand going to grip the small dirk he usually wore tucked in his belt. Then the bubble pop!ed, leaving him staring at ...
... a girl.
Well, young woman, he supposed. Really young woman. She looked to be no more than sixteen years old, her strange silver hair pulled up into pigtails swinging from the sides of her head. Her amethyst eyes were bright with a cheerful sort of naivete. Her slim frame was clad in an oversized robe that a monk or scholar might wear, only it was decked out with tiny jewels and flower-shaped fabric sewn lovingly onto the sleeves and bottom in a colorful pattern.
Strangest of all, she was waving this tiny knob of a stick around.
"... who're you?" he asked after a minute.
"Why, I'm your Fairy Godmother!" she chimed happily. One of his eyebrows arched as he looked over her.
"Aren't Fairy Godmothers supposed to be... well... older?"
The girl flushed. "Well. Yes. Technically I'm still in training. But The Fairy Godmother is busy, so I'm here instead! Don't worry, Prince, I'll help you find the Princess you seek!" She giggled, reminding Casphus of the girls that sometimes followed him around, always peeking around corners at him and making googly eyes at him and making a general nuisance of themselves.
Just his luck.
"Well... okay," he said, finally. "How can you help me? All I have is this shoe..." He held it up. The Fairy Godmother (in training) regarded it for a moment but didn't touch it. Instead, she rolled up her sleeves, wiggled her stick at the shoe, and made a few sparkles leap back and forth.
Then she went, "hmm, hmm, yes, I see..."
She trailed off and was silent for so long that Casphus had to finally prompt, "see what?"
She blinked up at him. "Oh! Right! Um!" She straightened up, gathering herself together and then told him, "to find the lady your heart so desires, go to the Village Square tomorrow at noon. Bring with you a pumpkin from this manor's gardens as well as two white mice that your servants will find next to it."
She tapped her wand lightly on the shoe and it sparkled a moment. "When you find her, simply slip the shoe onto her foot and it will turn into a glass slipper -- that is how you will know for sure it is she that you seek. But be forewarned, good prince! If you do not slip the shoe onto her foot by midnight tomorrow night the magic will be broken and you will never know for sure!" She finished with a deft swirl of her wand, then beamed at him.
Casphus stared back at her.
"... a pumpkin... and two white mice..." he repeated, as if not quite sure if he'd heard her correctly. The Fairy Godmother-in-training blinked at him.
"Yes. Did I stutter?"
"Can't you just... wiggle your little stick and transport me straight to her?" he asked, and she flushed.
"It's not a stick, it's a wand. And I can't very well do that, you know that! You have to find her. It's how the Story goes." She huffed, flustered, and Casphus held up his hands to appease her, chuckling softly.
"All right, all right. I'll take the pumpkin and the mice. I just hope you know what you're doing."
"Verily, verily, I do!" she assured him. "You don't have to worry -- Verum is nothing if not a great Fairy Godmother!"
"In training," Casphus added on helpfully.
Needless to say, noon the next day found an odd sight. There was Casphus, standing with a pumpkin in one hand and a small cage containing two white mice in the other. The village square was more of a lop-sided shape that defied definition than a true square, with odd corners and half-plazas added haphazardly to the sides. The only real discernable feature was the large well that sat in the middle, around which people thronged to trade gossips and the story of the day.
On many people's lips was the story of Casphus taking Krayve down a notch. He couldn't help but grin and was rather glad he'd dressed plainly today, tying a scarf around his head to help him blend in. It seemed to be working, but it still left him standing there and wondering just what good a pumpkin and two white mice were going to do in helping him find his thief -- unless, of course, said thief was deathly afraid of orange vegetables and small rodents.
He sighed.
Getting lost in thought while standing in the middle of a village square was probably not the smartest of ideas, because someone jarred his elbow and he dropped the cage with the white mice.
He cursed as the tiny mice leaped from their broken cage and scurried off through the crowd.
Great, now what? he thought annoyedly, but then froze when he heard a rather familiar yelp. Almost desperately, his eyes scanned the crowd, following the trail that the mice had taken. There, standing just a few feet from him were two young woman, one with hair the color of sun-kissed hay, the other with fire in her strands. The redhead had pressed a hand to her chest, laughing as she watched the two mice run off.
"--scare me every time," she was saying. "Horses and mice! Anyway, what did you need for this pie, again?"
One of Casphus's hands slipped down to grip the bag hanging tied to his belt. She was about the right size, he thought. The shoe could fit. But... how could he be sure? Just because she'd made a sound that resembled his thief's...?
So absorbed was he in that conundrum that he hadn't realized the young women had parted ways and that the blonde was approaching him, eye on his pumpkin.
"Excuse me?" she said, politely. "Are you selling that pumpkin?"
Casphus blinked. "What? No, I was just..." He trailed off. 'Just standing here waiting for it to lead me to someone'? Yeah right. "Just... holding onto it for someone who is. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I sold it to you, though. Is it for you and your sister...?"
The blonde giggled. "Who, Elsa? Oh, goodness no. She's not my sister, just my friend for many years. How much would you like for the pumpkin?"
Casphus named a price that was too high. The blonde was expecting it, however, and proposed a price that was far too low. They haggled for a few minutes, making Casphus glad that he'd spent as much time in his people's marketplace as he had. Finally, they settled on a price and he handed the pumpkin over to her, pocketing her money.
Before she could walk off, however, he reached into the sack and pulled out a small shoe. "I noticed your friend is wearing woven sandals instead of heavier shoes and, I couldn't help but wonder, did she perhaps..." He raised the shoe into the blonde's vision. "... lose a shoe somehow?"
The color bled from the blonde's face. "Oh... Oh no," she breathed, her blue eyes raising to Casphus's face. Recognition raced through those blue eyes. "Oh... Oh, Prince Casphus..." was all she could get out, and he reached out and put a firm hand around her upper arm before she could bolt or shriek and alert everyone in the immediate vicinity, including her friend.
"Miss -- Magnolia, was it?" The blonde nodded dumbly and he smiled. "Miss Magnolia, your dear friend Elsa has stolen something very, very important from me."
Magnolia gripped the pumpkin desperately. "Oh please Prince Casphus, she wanted to give it back, she just didn't know how and she wouldn't have stolen it in the first place except that her father was so sick you see and it was so very important to her not to have to leave this is her home after all and you've already helped her so she was going to return it but-- oh, please don't chop her hands off her throw her in jail for stealing your treasure!"
Casphus couldn't help but chuckle softly. "It's not my treasure I'm concerned with, but something far more valuable."
Magnolia paused, blinking at him. "... more valuable?"
"Yes, Miss Magnolia. She has escaped on me once, but I do not think I could bear it if she was to escape a second time. I think I would chase her to the end of my days if need be... unless you were willing to help me spring a trap on my pretty red-haired thief."
Magnolia stared at him for a long moment. He could see the terror fade from her, replaced by understanding. Finally, she swallowed, once.
"What do you want me to do?"