The sun shone brightly as the swallows chirped in the trees. Far Far Away was known for its good weather, and today seemed to be a reflection of this, so Cas decided it was a good day to initiate his plan.
He walked down the grand staircase, where King Zach was waiting. "Castiel, I want you to get fitted for your suit today."
Cas tried to contain his groan. "I was actually on my way to…" He faltered as Zach descended upon him a look that basically bashed everything he was about to say.
"Yes, father," Cas mumbled compliantly, knowing full well that was the only acceptable answer at present.
Zachariah seemed pleased enough with this. "Good. Come with me."
Castiel followed his father down to the front of palace, where they went out into the village to a royal clothing shop, that used only the best material. He was measured and fitted by the three little fairies who worked there.
"Well! You look very dapper, son," Zachariah said, admiring how Cas looked in the form fitting white suit.
Flora, the little fairy dressed in red, flew over, tightening his cuffs. Fauna, the fairy in green, smoothed out his lapels, and Merryweather, the one dressed in blue, adjusted his bow tie. Cas merely looked at himself in the full length mirror.
"You are right, your majesty," Gepetto, the owner of the store, said meekly, "He looks… fit for a ball!"
Zachariah smiled at this. "What do you think, Castiel?" Cas turned to the side, inspecting himself with no overtly obvious excitement. "It looks alright."
"Just alright, Darling?!" Fauna asked, and Merryweather set her hands on her hips with a frown. "This is our finest work!" Cas put his hands up. "I'm sorry, I meant no disrespect..." "Oh, now, of course you didn't, Deary," Flora, who seemed to be the nicest of the three, said, "It must take some getting used to, the idea of becoming King!"
You have no idea, Cas thought.
But he simply nodded politely, thanking them. "We'll take it," Zach announced, and gave Gepetto however many gold pieces it cost (and it cost a great many).
It was almost evening when they returned to the castle, and Castiel was beginning to get antsy. He was going to do it- he would meet Red tonight, and drink regular wine with regular people. Just the thought of it excited him.
Anticipating the unknown... that was the hard part.
Dean took a drink from a mug of... something. Whatever it was, it was strong alcohol, therefore, he liked it.
The brothel was slow, most of his usual customers absent today. That being said, it was only early evening, and the interesting ones always came in at night.
Dean took a deep breath, looking down into his dark, murky drink. He figured in his head how much he made in gold this week.
He was getting by. He was good at his job, and frankly, more than getting by because of that, but not enough to call himself significantly rich. He swished the liquid around a little, before downing the rest.
"Worn out, sweetie?" Mabel's unmistakably high, sickeningly sweet-as-sugar voice came out behind him, a false sense of genuine interest in her voice.
Dean turned, feigning a smile. "Me? Nah! I never get tired," he said, though he fought a yawn coming on. He worked mostly at night, and when he had mornings off, well... he hardly ever slept. He just couldn't bring himself to...
"Well, good, cause we're starting to get busy now." Just then, they both heard a deep voice, calling for service. "Later!" the ugly stepsister said. Dean gave her a two finger salute, and turned fully around, rubbing his hands together.
Back to work.
Castiel made sure the hallway was clear. Of course, there was always the guards he had to get by as well, but he would cross that bridge when he came to it.
He pulled his cloak tight to himself, the navy blue, almost black as night, material concealing him well.
This was dangerous- he could get in a lot of trouble for this. But he didn't care- his father had no clue what he wanted, and if he did, he certainly didn't care.
To hell with proposals, and suitors, and rings, and weddings, and perfect brothers, and royal expectations. He would forget all that tonight.
He made his way down, slipping quietly past the guards, and went to the stable where he saddled and mounted his white horse, Honey.
They set out at a nice pace toward the Factory, where he could look for a potion.
He saw the large building, the three big chimneys spouting puffs of multi-colored smoke out. He made it just as the sun was over the hill, so he hurried in.
"Excuse me?" he asked the bearded pixie with spectacles at the desk. "Yes?" he said, rising above him. He sparkled with pixie dust, but it looked as if his weight were fighting to defy his flight abilities.
"Um, are you Mr. Singer? I'm looking for a potion." The pixie nodded, and beckoned with one hand. "Follow me, boy." Castiel was glad he hadn't recognized him as royalty- this cloak proved useful.
"Here's the selection we got," the pixie informed him, opening up doors to a huge room filled to the sky high ceiling with colored potions. "I'll leave you to find the right one- just don't break nothin'."
Cas nodded, in awe of the sight around him. There were bottles tall and thin, short and wide, blue, pink, yellow, green, even rainbow. He used the impossibly tall ladder and unstable looking to climb and go over them, and eventually, he came to a tiny blue vile, shimmering with silver.
This must be it, he thought. He inspected the label. 'Happily Ever After,' the title read, 'Turning your physical flaws into desirable perfection to create a happy ending for everyone.'
Cas smiled. It was perfect! He took it down, and went out.
Mr. Singer calculated the price, and suddenly squinted at Cas. "Don't I know you from some place? You been in here before?" Castiel felt a stab of panic. "Um, no. I suppose I just have a common looking face." The pixie just shrugged, and turned back to his business.
Cas exhaled, and bought the potion from the pixie, leaving the factory as swiftly as possible. As he rode back toward the west side of the kingdom, he opened the nozzle just in time- and with a deep breath, he drank some down.
For a moment, nothing happened, and he began to question its effectiveness. Then, he began to feel tingly, and went through a slight dizzy spell. He had to hold Honey's neck for support…
After a second to recover, he checked everything. The sun was down… it was dark out now… and his back… he had no wings!
Castiel felt like jumping for joy- the potion had worked, and he felt like a normal man. For once, he felt… handsome. And it looked like he still had enough potion to last two more nights, at least.
Honey and Cas made their way into the Deep Dark Woods, where he could usually find his friend, Jo Harvelle, otherwise known as Red Riding Hood to everyone else.
They had been acquainted when his father had hired her to track down a notorious villain, since she was Far Far Away's best hunter. She was his source of newsworthy information from outside the kingdom and tales of things he never thought he could see himself.
"Red?" Castiel hissed softly. "Red, are you there?" Just as he was looking through the trees, a sharp arrow flew whistling by, mere centimeters from his nose.
His eyes widened, and he abruptly stopped the horse with a little noise of fear.
"Ha!" Someone laughed from the shadows, "Just wanted to make sure it was you and not that damn sonofabitch wolf. Pain in my ass, that thing."
Castiel got off his horse. "Hello, Red." "Evening, your Highness," the girl with the long blonde said, grinning as she bowed, her red cape swirling behind her tight red mini-dress.
Cas rolled his eyes. "Stop it." She grinned. "What're you doing out this late? In disguise, no less?" Castiel looked around, as if someone could possibly be eavesdropping, and whispered, "Do you know any good taverns around here?"
Red snorted. "Taverns? Am I hearing right?" "Yes. I'm getting married off in a few weeks, and I want an adventure before that." Red shrugged. "Well, if you want an 'adventure'... you'll want to check out the Poison Apple," she smirked, pointing northwest.
"The Poison Apple..." Castiel repeated. "Yep. Slimiest, scariest place you'll ever be." Castiel nodded slowly. "I'll go there, then."
Red chuckled. "Uh… I was half joking, you know. No place for royalty, that's for sure. But, if you really want to, your funeral. Just make sure you hold your cover. Have fun, Prince-y," she smiled, and Cas thanked her.
He got back on his horse, following where she had pointed. As the path went on, the woods began to get darker and darker, dead leaves crunching under Honey's hooves as they followed.
Castiel bit his lip. Maybe he hadn't thought this through... maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. But he pushed on, determined to find this place, no matter how foreboding and evil it sounded. The scarier it was, the more exciting and new it would feel, he supposed.
He eventually came to a clearing, much to his relief, where a loud-sounding tavern was. A sign hung above the door, 'The Poison Apple.' This must be it, Cas thought.
Just then, a crack of thunder went off above him, and it started to pour rain. He quickly tied Honey up by the door, and put the hood to his cloak up, walking in.