"So everyone at the house is talking about this ball."

My hand stopped midway through Cinder's sentence, the round brush caught in the tangle of her hair—she had of course managed to return to the Salon looking as if she had never met me but had lived with a pack of squirrels or however lived in stead. "Ball?" I echoed, and fervently and silently prayed that she was not referring to some Renaissance basketball.

Linda looked up in interest and probably the same thought. She was giving a perm to someone who strangely reminded me of Alice, of Wonderland.

"Ball," Cinder repeated with a jaunty nod before proceeding to assist me in her beautification by cleaning out the dirt from her nails with a pocket knife. "It's a huge dance thing, a party, at the royal palace."

Thank heaven she didn't think it was basketball.

I yanked out my brush and went back to attacking the snarls. Boy, she was going to need extreme conditioner. Was it so hard for her to stay good looking? Especially if she were going to a ball? Because at that moment I decided, possibly against her will, that she would be going. My brain was already working at it, imagining what color would look best against her skin. What kind of dress she would need. Her hair, her make-up… I realized my heart was pounding. "You're going, right?"

She flicked a bit of under-nail dirt onto our clean Salon floor. "I guess so. It sounds fun."

"You're going." It was a command.

She laughed and nodded. "All right. I figured you would say that. I can tell, Tansy, that you are not about to let me wiggle out of anything. So, yes, I am going unless I am able to escape."

I laughed. "You probably could."

Linda patted her belly. "I wish my husband would take me to a ball. But he can't even dial a babysitter."

"But your kids are so cute!" Cinder gushed. Linda kept pictures of the twins at her station.

"Thanks. Except I don't feel cute."

"Back to the ball," I said. I tossed my round brush onto the counter and prepared the sink. "Cinders, your hair disgusts me. It's so pretty when you do something with it."

"I tie it back. That keeps it out of my face. What else do you want me to do with it?"

"I did cute stuff with it last time. And I'm going to do it totally cute for the ball. That you will be attending. Gah, I need shampoo." I dashed to the closet to get some. Plus the extreme conditioner. My wand was ready. I was going to magic the snarls out of her horse's mane if I had to.

"I don't know if I can handle being cute all the time."

"I've seen girls who ride horses who look absolutely adorable!" Personally, I didn't think I would be able to pull off that English countryside saddle girl charm, but I admired those who could.

"I clean them before I ride them," she replied over the rushing water and the smell of rose shampoo. "And then I have to wash them again."

"So you never get yourself clean." She was impossible.

"I'll just get dirty again."

I squirted more shampoo onto her hair and began the massage. I loved the feel of the bubbles and the hair, even the greasy hair, under my skin. I had always been known for giving pretty decent head massages. "So tell me more about this ball. When will it be?" I half-wanted to invite Kendra as a girls' night out kind of thing, but she would probably freak for the worse.

Cinder bit her lip. "Uh… two weeks, almost, I think."

Hmm. That didn't give us much time. "In high school, we had a whole month to prepare. Do you have any dresses?" I regretted the question the moment it was out of my mouth. Look at the girl. Why would she own a dress?

"No," came the obvious answer.

"Mine are huge!" Linda called.

I didn't wear a lot of dresses myself, actually, come to think of it. But I did know when Dilliard's had their clearances…

"No, wait!" Cinder spat out a ball of bubbles she had accidentally inhaled. "I do. I mean, my mother had a dress. Not from her wedding, it was actually her garden party dress or something, but it's nice. It's in my chest underneath my second pair of boots and my sling-shot."

"You shouldn't fold dresses," Linda scolded.

I was more worried about the boots and the sling-shot. Who owned a sling-shot? Wasn't Cinderella supposed to have glass slippers or something? "Well, you are going to be stunning by then," I said cheerfully. "You are going to charm that prince and make him fall in love with you."

Cinder let out a sharp laugh that signified just how ridiculous she thought such an idea. "What?"

"The Prince. You are supposed to fall in love with the prince."

"What do I want a prince for?"

"Yikes," I muttered.

Linda nodded in agreement.

Fortunately by the time Cinder was out of there, she looked amazing. I had done her nails myself. And I had commanded her to bring by that dress. I wasn't exactly sure what the latest fashions were in Cinder's world… but who cared? Vintage was always cool. She was going to look fairy tale stunning, and hopefully she wouldn't roll in any mud.

I sent her on her way and began cleaning up. Linda was still working on Alice's perm. We closed in an hour, and Snow White was supposed to be dropping in for a trim soon.

"A ball," I said fondly. "I didn't think they really existed. I mean, now. Though I guess it's different for them. I've always wanted to go to one."

"I went to one a few years ago," Linda said. "Held by some queen or another. It was a lot of fun until witches started casting spells. And these were the good witches, mind you. You should go."

I used a Clorox wipe to go over my counter. "Are we allowed to go?"

"Sure. Mr. Maser has some kind of deal with the worlds. And usually the princesses like to invite us, sort of a payment thing. You should take Rowe."

Rowe? I hadn't even thought of him. Had I really been single that long to ponder girls' night out with Kendra? I blushed. "Oh, I can so see him in a tuxedo."

"He would be cute," Linda mused. "Thank goodness I'm married. Where is your Snow White?"

I glanced at the clock. "No idea. She'll show when she wants to. I mean, you've seen her."

Linda nodded, disgust written all over her face. "Believe me, she will be attending the ball."

I rolled my eyes. It was a horror story waiting to happen. "I cannot stand her! She would probably try to steal Cinder's prince."

"You're still aiming to get her that prince?"

I threw on my most dramatic smile. "Of course I am. I don't step down from a challenge! And she looks fantastic when she's clean."

"Who knows? Maybe the prince will be the outdoorsy type."

I finished cleaning and spun myself in the chair while Linda finished up Alice. The girl hadn't spoken a word, just stared off with a faint smile into Dreamland. Not all there, apparently. Wonderland. And then Linda was finally done primping the final golden curl in Alice's hair.

Snow White had still not made her appearance. Where was she? I couldn't imagine her hating me enough to skip out on a beautification ritual. She was addicted to herself enough.

"What do I do if they don't show?" I asked.

Linda shrugged. "I say whatever. Mr. Maser usually demands us go in and drag them out, but it doesn't really matter, it's up to them."

"Sounds good to me." But the Snow White story was flashing pell-mell through my mind. Still, I forced myself to grab my bag when Linda did so.

"I'd stop to chat," she said. "But I'm supposed to fix dinner tonight. I'll you tomorrow, Tansy." And with that she sprinted out the door as fast as she could, briefly waving at Mary as she passed the front desk.

Hmm. Mary. Maybe she would like to attend the ball. Fairies attended balls, didn't they? I threw my bag down on her desk. "Hey, Mary, do you want to go and do anything? Go get some dinner?"

For a split second she looked terrified that I had dared speak to her. But then a grin split her face apart. "That sounds like fun! I've recently discovered this awesome smoothie place…"

I laughed. "I would have never pegged you for a smoothie girl. I'll drive. Dude, I hope I have cash on me…" And that was when I realized that my wallet was not in my purse.

"You probably left it back in the Salon," Mary suggested. "I'll walk with you."

Sure enough, it was sitting on the floor underneath the counter. I must have knocked it over.

"You're taking so long!" Mary uncharacteristically teased. Healthy for her personality.

"You brat," I returned. "I apologize for having no memory, since you probably wiped it." I hoped it was all right to joke around with a half-fairy. "So if you're going to turn me into a frog or…" My voice trailed off. One of the doors was hanging ajar.

Snow White's door.

"I swear it was closed," I said. I glanced at Mary, who looked more than nervous.

"Those really aren't supposed to be left open," she whispered.

"Is it that serious?"

She nodded, lips tight.

I closed it. Problem solved. "It's just a door."

She sighed and locked eyes with me. "Tansy, in case you have not noticed, these are not normal doors. I know you think it's just hair and make-up, but these doors are very serious business. If it's open…"

"Snow White probably just came in late," I said. "She was supposed to have an appointment."

"I've worked here for a long time, Tansy." She was now speaking with more ferocity than I had ever heard from her. "I know this Snow White. We would have heard her yelling for us by now. Come on, let's check it out." And with that she marched past me, reopened the door, and marched into the sunlit morning forest. Morning already.

I followed her closely. The woods looked different in daylight. But I didn't seen anyone menacing, if that's what Mary was looking for. Just squirrels and birds and a fox that ran away from us when I screamed.

"Mary," I whined. "This is silly. I'm hungry."

But the half-fairy just shook her head and kept marching along the trail until I could see Snow White's cottage in the distance.

Nothing seemed wrong. It hadn't burned down, blood was not smeared anywhere, no signs of a bomb, just…

Snow White's limp form outside the door. I screamed again.

It was her, wearing an elegant pink dress that was now covered in dirt. Her loose hair lay around her head like spilled ink, and her eyes were closed. Still.

"Is she dead?" I asked. No, wait. I knew the story. Snow White never died.

Mary shook her head and bent over her. "She's breathing, faintly. I can't believe this happened already."

"The story coming to life," I murmured. I sat down beside the girl and tried to remember if I had ever learned first aid.

"Exactly," Mary said. "That's what happens around here. Now to see if it's that damned corset or the…"

"Comb," I finished. I had already found it, nestled right in her scalp. Someone wasn't very good at inserting a comb. I pulled it out. It was pretty, made of jade and carved like water. And the tips were sprinkled in head blood. Eww.

"Poisoned comb," Mary said with a faint smile. "A classic. Probably would be fine if they wouldn't jab it in so tight. It's not good. Another hour or so and she would have been dead."

"You certainly know a lot about this stuff."

The smile went deeper and shyer. "Yes, well, it comes with the job. You'll figure it out, too. Besides the magic, it's smart to know your poisons and the basic ways of killing someone. I mean, some of this stuff is really scary. I'm just glad we found her before all of those stupid dwarves. What should we do with her now?"

I assumed the door was open. "I dunno. Take her inside and dump her on a couch?" It wasn't exactly congenial, but she was a brat.

Mary shrugged. "Sounds as good as anything."

Despite her height and curves, Snow White was, of course, as light as anything, even to decrease the burden of two girls carrying her sorry butt into the cottage. As for the cottage, it was actually pretty cute in a country sort of way. I was sure Kendra would be able to glean many an idea from it. I assumed Snow White had decorated it, because no male would put flowers in painted vases. There was no couch, but there was a pile of furs which I figured suit the purpose. Color was returning to her cheeks, and she even muttered something about ponies when we set her down.

Mary wiped her hands in a finishing sort of way. "Okay, we've dealt with that."

"Now for smoothies?"

"Sure. But I still don't know why the door was open."

I didn't care to think about it. "Maybe she was feeling woozy from the poisoned comb but was able to stagger to the Salon, didn't feel well enough to yell at us, and almost made it back to the cottage."

Mary raised an eyebrow. "I guess… that's plausible. Or maybe Brittany left it open. She's an airhead."

Wow. "I'm proud of you. I can't believe you just insulted someone."

"Why? Don't you like Brittany?"

"I adore Brittany. Brittany is a doll. But you!" I squeezed her shoulder. "You aren't being this little mouse!"

"Thanks, I guess."

We trotted outside and down the path towards the door. I was enjoying the morning sunshine, probably much nicer than the dusk back in our world.

"Maybe we should have a picnic," Mary suggested.

"Here?"

"Why not?"

"Today?"

She laughed. "I don't want to plan for that."

"We could make it a double-date," I said. "I'll ask Rowe, and you can take Michael."

"Michael?" Her face went red.

I sighed and shook my head. "I think you like him, Mary. And I bet he likes you, too. You're very cute."

"Tansy, I'm a half-fairy, I don't have time to—"

Something snapped behind us. Before I could look back a thread-thin line of what looked like white fire jumped up around us. For the third time I screamed, as did Mary. Squirrels scattered as the flames leaped as high as our heads.

"So easy to trap," a voice murmured. "Too easy."

I turned around.

Standing about ten feet from the circle of flames was Rowe. Smiling.