"Bigby! Snow! Sorry, I'm late," Sunny said as she approached the others at the front door.
"It's alright; we just got here too," Snow told her.
The three of them rushed down the hall of the apartment building. Stopping at a door marked 23.
"This is it," Bigby said.
"Alright," Sunny said between pants. She was still out of breath from how far she had run. "How do you want to do this?"
Bigby knocked on the door. They waited there quietly until a small girl who couldn't have been older than 10 opened the door.
"Hello?" She said as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
"Um, hello," Sunny greeted. She was somewhat surprised there was a girl in the apartment of the witch.
There weren't many children in Fabletown.
Maybe she had gotten the address wrong.
"You woke me up," The dark-haired girl told her with a sigh.
"Sorry about that," Sunny let out a small awkward laugh.
"Is something wrong? I don't think I've ever seen you before," She asked them.
"Who are you?" Bigby asked.
"Who are you?" She asked back. "Just so... We're not strangers."
"Well, I'm the sheriff, this is my deputy, Fei," Bigby gestured to Sunny. Who gave the kid a small wave. "And our boss, Snow."
"Pleased to meet you. How do you do?" Rachel smiled. "Is there, um... Is there anything you need? I'm not allowed to let people in."
"Does an Aunty Greenleaf live here?" Sunny asked her.
"You mean my mom?" The freckled-faced girl wondered.
"She ever...you know," Bigby started rattling off examples. "Make the nightstand levitate? Turn frogs into cats, that kind of thing?"
"Is she a witch, dear?" Snow cut to the chase.
"Oh, no, I would never call my mommy that. She treats me alright," Rachel shook her head. "Is there...uh, something you want? I don't think I can really help you. Maybe come back in the morning?
"Rachel, do you mind if we take just a quick peek around? Sunny leaned her head to try and get a better look inside.
"We'll be very quick, and they won't touch anything," Snow assured her as the three of them made their way in.
"I've been here all night! Nobody's been here!" Rachel squeaked. She looked at each of them and let out a sigh. "Okay, Sheriff. I'm gonna trust you not to break anything. Don't get me in trouble."
"What are we looking for, specifically?" Snow whispered.
"Any signs of Crane, I guess," Sunny replied.
The deputy looked around. The first thing to catch her eye was a large potted tree over by the window. She made her way over to it and placed a hand on the trunk curiously.
"You're a long way from home," Sunny muttered to the tree.
"Do you like it?" Rachel asked from the other side of the room. "Mommy uses that to carve her trinkets. It's from the old world."
"It's very well taken care of," Sunny smiled at her.
"Wait? Trinkets? Like glamours?" Snow looked her Rachel. Who just shrugged.
"This is all very… old school," Sunny laughed. Looking at the burner shove and crochet blankets everywhere.
"Dowdy. That's how we like it," Rachel yawned.
"And is your mom a hunter?" Bigby asked. Nodding to the deer skull hanging on the wall.
"Oh, no, she'd never-" Rachel rubbed her arm. "That was found in the woods around Dix Mountain. I think."
As Rachel talked, Bigby walked over to the side of the room where she was standing. She seemed awfully nervous as he checked behind the partition. She kept looking at the table behind her.
"There's nothing that looks like Crane was here, either." Bigby shook his head in annoyance.
"See?" Rachel smirked in that 'I told you so' way.
Bigby opened up a nearby cupboard. He reached inside and grabbed a small round container. "The Butcher."
"That tell you something?" Sunny wondered.
"I saw something just like this at the Tweedles' office," Bigby said as he passed it to her.
"Well, it's empty," Sunny sighed.
"Goddamn it," Bigby sniffed.
"Shouldn't say that," Rachel quietly scolded him.
"What is it?" Snow asked.
"I keep getting whiffs of that aftershave of his," Bigby frowned.
"Oh, that's what that is," Sunny shook her head. She thought she smelt something odd.
"Can I go to bed now? Please?" Rachel groaned.
Snow nodded to her, and the two of them started walking towards the door.
"Hold on," Bigby said suddenly. "Is that a glamour tube?"
Sunny looked towards the workbench. Seeing there was, in fact, a glamour tube that looked eerily similar to the one Lily had.
"Mommy really doesn't let anyone play with that," Rachel snapped around. "Trust me, I've tried."
Bigby ignored her and picked up the tube.
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, please, please, please just put that back exactly where you found it. No one is allowed to play with that!"
"It's alright, honey, Bigby's not going to break it." Snow tried to assure her.
Sunny didn't say anything, but something felt off. It was one thing to leave your kid home alone. It wasn't like New York had any laws against it, but leaving magic shit out in the open for your kid to grab didn't feel right.
How quickly had Rachel's mother left the apartment? Could she have gone somewhere with Crane?
"No, you don't understand. She will freak out if she discovers I've let people in here and let them touch her stuff, okay? She checks all the time to see if things move. I don't wanna get in trouble. Look, I'm already grounded! Just put it back exactly where it was, please."
"I'm not gonna break it, I just want to open it," Bigby told her as he fiddled with it.
"No! Put it down!" Rachel jumped forward. Only to be held back by Snow. Sunny could have sworn she felt the room shake. "Pleeeeease! Don't! This isn't what you think! You've gotta believe me, that guy isn't here! I promise!"
"It's going to be okay, Rachel!"
"Please. I'm begging you. I don't wanna... I don't wanna get in trouble."
Bigby continued to ignore her as the glamour clicked open. There was a sudden flash of green light. Sunny shielded her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, Rachel was gone. In her place was an older woman.
"Auntie Greenleaf," Snow's eyes widened.
"It hurts when you do it that fast," Greenlead hissed. Everyone stared at her in confusion. "What? Not spritely enough?"
Bigby stomped towards her. "You picked the wrong night to lie to me. No more lying, no more ring-around-the-rosie, no more bullshit non-sequiturs, you're done, it's over, and you're gonna tell me what I want to know right now."
"I think you owe us an explanation-"
"Well, I was born in the woods to a jackal and a deer-" Greenleaf smirked as she sat on the couch.
"Oh no, she thinks she's funny," Sunny groaned. "Please, Greenleaf, just help us catch Crane. That's all we care about."
"That's not all we care about," Snow frowned.
Sunny just looked back at her. Not really knowing what Snow was talking about.
"I ain't a fortune teller, Spirit. I have no heavenly idea where he went to," Greenleaf crossed her arms.
"You have to know something," Snow pressed.
"If you're withholding information, you could be considered an accomplice to murder," Sunny tried to tell Greenleaf.
"You might wanna check your facts on that," That caught Sunny off guard. "It doesn't matter. I can't help you. I have no interest in being turned into a skink and crushed under boot heels. There's powers at work here beyond your pathetic authority."
"Whatever it is, Greenleaf," Snow said. "Whatever it is that's keeping you from saying something? You have to forget it. This is more important."
"Is it?" Greenleaf rolled her eyes.
"We can protect you, okay?" Sunny desperately said. "Whatever it is you're afraid of...we can make sure that it won't come to pass."
"You have no idea what's going on, do you?"
Sunny was really starting to dislike this woman. She was the only thing standing between Sunny and strangling Crane. Sunny wasn't in the mood for her cheeky comments.
"Why do you think I'm here?" Sunny narrowed her eyes at Greenleaf. "Because, just to be clear, it isn't for the good company."
"Okay, you know what I think? I think we've been more than patient with you." Snow shouted before turning to Bigby. "This witch has been selling illegal glamours that continue to undermine everything we've built... She's harbouring a fugitive that took advantage of it, and now she's resisting every attempt to make things right. I frankly don't give a crap if she's afraid for her life. We can at least make sure she never hurts us again. We're destroying the tree."
"No!" Greenleaf stood up in a panic.
Sunny felt the room shake again. She got a hold of her footing before looking at Snow. "Wait a second-"
"How dare you come in here and threaten to take from me the one thing that-" Greenleaf stopped for a moment. "That tree is ancient, it's part of the family, and it's the only thing paying for this shithole apartment! And the Fables who can't afford the glamours from you come to me for help. Without them, where do you think they could go?"
"Don't give me that!" You're making money off of other people's misery," Snow turned to Bigby and Sunny. "Two Fables are dead because of this crap. It's too dangerous leaving this stuff with her."
Sunny didn't want to destroy the tree. Funny enough, it had nothing to do with Greenleaf. It wasn't something she couldn't explain to Snow or Bigby. She could feel the old magic in that tree… she didn't want to see it snuffed out.
"You think I like being the old woman in these stories?" Greenleaf yelled. "The men are heroes, the ladies are whores...and the old hags like me get to watch everyone they love die!"
"We have very different ways of handling our fate," Snow yelled back.
"Very different means to handle it too," Greenleaf muttered.
"And I don't use it as an excuse to wreck people's lives!"
When Greenleaf realised Snow wasn't going to back down, she turned to Sunny. "I'm sorry, Fei, but please... Don't do this. You understand why she can't…"
"I… I don't-" Sunny fiddled with her watch. "Does it have to be this way?"
"What?!"
"I know it doesn't make sense. I know I should want anything to do with that pervert thrown into the deepest pit of hell, but I'm sorry, Snow. I can't burn this tree."
"It's not a request," Snow stated. "Bigby."
The sheriff had been pacing back and forth during this whole conversation. He looked to Snow, then to Sunny before letting out a sigh.
"Is there any other way? She's a witch, can't she just...work for us? That way she'd be official-"
"You want to reward her for criminal behaviour? We can't trust this woman on the Thirteenth floor." Snow told him.
"It doesn't matter, 'cause I'd never do it. I'm not a house cat, and I don't play well with others."
"Oh, trust me, no one would confuse you for a cuddly animal."
"What if we-" Sunny started to say.
"No," Snow glared at the two of them. "Burn the tree. That's an order. Not a request."
"No! Look, look, I'll tell you, I'll tell you," Greenleaf rushed over to the tree. "Crane was here, he was here, and he left. He went to the Pudding N' Pie to try to use my ring on the girls over there to get information."
"What's the ring do?" Sunny questioned.
"He thinks it's the Ring of Dispel...you know, that it will pierce the protection around the girls' speech. He says pulling the truth out of them will prove his innocence. It won't, though...damned thing lost its power decades ago."
"We have to go," Sunny said to Bigby.
"Hang on a second!" Snow stopped them. "I'm sorry, but...we still can't let you keep the tree. It wouldn't be right after what's happened."
"Please, Fei," Greenleaf begged Sunny again.
Against her better judgment, Sunny stepped in front of the tree. Shielding Greenleaf and the plant from anyone else in the room.
Bigby looked at Sunny. She stared back at him. Silently asking him not to do it. He could probably see how nervous she was at that moment… or maybe he saw something else?
"Today is your lucky day, Greenleaf," Bigby announced. However, he seemed a bit annoyed as he did so. "I'm hiring you as the Business Office's newest witch in residence."
Sunny's eyes widened in surprise. She eased up immediately.
"Bigby!" Snow scowled.
"The witches over there will keep her out of trouble, and we have a glamour shortage as it is. It makes the most sense, Snow," Bigby explained to her. Then turned to Greenleaf with a mildly annoyed frown. "And you get to keep your fuckin' tree."
Greenleaf looked around. She turned to Sunny. "Thank-"
"Don't," Sunny side-eyed the woman. It was like if Greenleaf wasn't careful, she'd get a hole burned through her head. "It wasn't for you."
Sunny moved to leave. She had wasted enough time there. She needed to find Crane and give him a good punch. Bigby followed after her.
"Don't think for a second that this is over," Snow warned Greenleaf as she exited the apartment.
"So what, are moving trucks gonna show up here or something?" Greenleaf tried to joke.
"Something like that," Snow grumbled.
"We'll call you," Bigby said as he closed the door.
Can I be honest about something? It's been a stressful couple of weeks. I keep finding myself bursting into tears over what's going on in the world. The longer it goes on, the more hopeless I start to feel. I don't know what to do other than keep supporting through spreading information. Sorry it's not the happiest end note, but I don't really know what else to talk about.