An eternity seemed to pass while Mimi and the dwarf creature stared at one another. Every ounce of blood within her little goosey body was churning through her head along with a strange mixture of bravery and the most terror she had ever before felt.

"You did speak," the dwarf finally said.

He was too surprised to be a threat at this time. She summoned more courage. "Yes, I am a magical talking goose and will make sure whatever you do to me comes back tenfold."

The dwarf blinked its tiny eyes and looked around. The road to the manor was, thankfully, empty save for the two of them and the other stupid geese. "A magical talking goose? Really?"

Mimi was taken back. Any shock the dwarf was in had melted into disparagement. "I mean it! I will kill you. My father is a powerful sorcerer and he will certainly have his revenge."

"How can you kill me if I've already killed you?"

She did not like this dwarf at all. Without thinking she beat her wings against the cage. Her fellow inmates squawked. She hated them. Why could he not kill those two useless birds? "I'm not a goose! That's why you can't kill me."

"Well, you look like one." The dwarf folded his gnarled arms over his chest and smirked.

"But I can talk!" she said. "You can understand me."

"I think we've established that."

"Why can you understand me?"

"Right now I'm theorizing you may be some sort of vision of guilt for all the animals I've slaughtered in the name of manor food over the years. Clearly I am losing my mind, though it would easily explain why I now hear some goose claiming to be a human begging me to spare her skinny little throat." The smirk changed to a grin that displayed disturbingly sharp teeth.

"I'm telling the truth!" Mimi felt on the verge of tears. "You can't kill me! That would be murder."

"I'm a little surprised you did not bring this up before with dear Elva or someone else. It's a little reckless to wait so long. At some point did you consider geese are sold for meat in this town?"

"No one else can understand me." She thought wistfully of Blake. What was he going to think?

"So let me get this straight, Miss Goose," said the dwarf. "I went out today simply to do my job. Buy a few geese, bring them back to the manor for the Duke's dinner. And you claim to be some poor enchanted girl and no proof to this claim aside from a few words. I've seen parrots with the same ability. Your cage mates don't seem to mind; they haven't said a single word."

"They're just geese."

"Maybe they're enchanted as well and yet do not have the ability to talk to you or me."

"I hate you," she said. Tears were coming now. "I hate you! You're mean and you're hideous and… I want to go home."

"Where's home?" the dwarf asked. "Because I need to be getting back to my home soon because I actually have a job."

She realized she had no idea where the castle was from here. "I don't want to die."

The dwarf sighed. "Miss Goose, I'm not going to kill you. Far be it from me to slaughter a talking goose."

She stopped crying. "Then why did you say you would?"

Another sigh, and she found herself almost humiliated. Did the question really sound that stupid?

He approached the cage. His fingers had what seemed to be claws at their ends. "How about I let you out right now? I'm sure this town will be kind to an enchanted creature." The sarcasm was clear.

And he was right. She shook her head. "No."

"No? You changed your mind about being cooked."

Mimi was trying to think and this ugly creature would not be quiet. "You claim to be needing to get back to your job! What, as some ignored messenger and shopper? I doubt you'll be missed!"

He laughed. It was a horrible laugh. "Ignored messenger? Miss Goose, I will have you know that the reason I have so much clout in this town is because I am the Second Cook to the Duke. I do my own shopping because everyone else is too dense to pick out decent ingredients."

"Oh." In all of the stories she had never heard of a dwarf as being anything that important. "I'm sorry."

"Glad to hear you are. Now do you want out or not? This is your chance for freedom, Miss Goose."

"It's not Miss Goose, it's Mimi. And I'm supposed to meet someone today. A friend."

"Someone with whom you can talk, I hope." He placed one sharp claw in the cage and shredded it open.

"Yes, actually," Mimi said. "But then that horrible woman drove me here and you know the rest. Can you get me back to her home? Elva's, I mean?"

"You're kidding me," the dwarf said. "I can't return a goose. I'm not that cruel. It would ruin her business."

"I don't care about her business!"

"Well, as a shopper I do. Besides, I don't know where she lives. No idea."

She was not going to see Blake again. She was to be trapped like this forever.

"Oh, goodness, Miss Goo—Mimi, don't cry again. It's weird." He stopped making the slit. "I'll help you. How's that? I'll take you to the manor with me and we'll figure out someway to find your friend. I won't kill you."

She was not sure how much she trusted him. "You won't?"

"I swear. I have my own quarters. You can stay there for the night. Just keep quiet, out of the way, and I'll make up some lie about fattening you up or something akin. And you won't die."

"What about the other geese?"

"I'm the Second Cook and I have a recipe all ready for your friends. You just won't be a part of it. Happy?"

"And you'll help me find my friend?" she asked. This situation seemed to be the best she was going to get.

"When I have the time. Yes."

She took deep breath then nodded. "All right. Thank-you." What had the women called him? "Dwarf Long-nose."

"I'm going to be mocked for this," he muttered as he picked up he cage again.

He did not even have the decency to let her walk.