Little Red Cinderella and the Three Beanstalks

Previously...

"But where is he?" I asked, trying to think about other things. Jack paused and glanced around. I did likewise, the effects of the near blinding light having worn off mostly. We stood in front of the inn. Across the dirt road was what appeared to be a butchers, and next to that was a building selling produce. I could see thick, black smoke rising from a building some ways off and could hear the sound of metal on metal, and assumed it was a black smiths. Beside that was a tanners, evident by the long, thin pieces of hide stretched out in the sun to dry.

Beyond that were rows of cottages, all haphazardly placed with no evident order or organization. I looked as if the inhabitants of the town simply found a place they liked and built a house there.

But Ezu and his girlfriend were no where to be seen.

"Trust me." Jack said, grabbing my hand again and taking off down the street at a quick trot. "We'll know when we get close."

And know we did. We hadn't made it fifty feet down the street, just coming up to the first cottage, when we heard the screaming.
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I stopped dead in my tracks.

Screaming? That was... ominous. I wondered what Ezu's temper was like. I'd never actually seen him really mad, only generally ticked off. Maybe Ezu was some mad psycho killer after all, and when that little... his girlfriend freaked, he snapped and flew into a rage and started hacking her into tiny bits, so he could take her mutilated body and dump it in a--

"Rikki? Rikki!" Jack was waving his hand in my face. I snapped out of it, pushing the grisly scene to the back of my mind.

"Sorry. Do you think..." I began slowly, glancing nervously in the direction of the shrieks. Jack grimaced

"Listen closer," Was all he said. I concentrated hard, trying to pick out words. Then I noticed that the noise wasn't just mindless screams. Someone--a girl by the sound of it, probably that Mary chick--was shouting her head off, a stream of unintelligible words pouring from her mouth at an incredible rate. She sounded beyond pissed. As I listened, another voice interceded, drowning out the girl. This second voice was much deeper, and considerably louder as well. I recognized it immediately as Ezu's. He, on the other hand, didn't sound angry. Beseeching was more on target. Pleading, imploring, begging like a filthy, lying dog...

Ok, now I'm being ridiculous.

"What should we do?" I asked Jack. His face suddenly light up, and a rather impish grin slowly spread across his face.

"What do you think? We watch." He took off at a slow trot, jogging backwards so he could still face me, and motioned for me to come. I hesitated. By the sounds of it, Ezu was really getting ripped to shreds. And I didn't blame the girl, not really. She had walked in on her boyfriend draped over some random girl in only his underwear. It was bound to be one intense fight.

But then again, Ezu, in his knickers, trying to explain that away to some psycho chick?

Like hell I was missing that.

I grinned back at Jack, and ran towards him. I pulled up parallel to him. He grabbed my hand, returning the smile.

Somewhere, deep inside of me, I felt something flutter.

We sped off down the dusty road, the shouting voices growing louder with every step we took in their direction. As we ran, I realized a few things. One of them was how most of the time I had spent so far with Jack had been time spent running. I wondered with a frown if this trend would continue. I wasn't particularly lazy or anything, but running around like a chicken with its head cut off definitely wasn't something I did just for the heck of it.

The second was one that I was rather surprised had escaped my mind. I hadn't changed my clothes since I had woken up, and was still running around in the white cotton dress. Admittedly, it wasn't as bad as the condition Ezu was in, but I immediately started to feel self conscious upon realizing this minor detail.

Thirdly, we weren't the only people rushing to see the source of the commotion ahead. I noticed several others coming out of their houses, whispering to each other in hushed, slightly alarmed tones. Some of the younger ones began to hasten in the direction of the angry shouts, evidently determined to see what all the ruckus was about.

Almost subconsciously, I began to study the people we passed intently, trying to see if I recognized any of them. Not as if I had actually seen any of them before in real life, but if I had maybe seen them in a drawing of a fairy tale, or nursery rhyme.

Most of the faces meant nothing to me, just nameless men and women, boys and girls. But as I ran my eyes over the growing crowd, a few instantly leapt out at me, making my heart race.

There was one girl, with raven black hair and pale, almost white, flawless skin. She extremely pretty, with bright red lips and rosy cheeks. She couldn't have been much older than me.
Snow White? Perhaps.

Obviously pre-dwarf days, seeing as she appeared to be... well, not with the dwarves.

There was a pretty dark haired youth in a distinctive shepherdess dress, a bleating lamb tucked under one of her arms. he had evidently just came from the fields, tending to her sheep. Little Bo Peep, I guessed. I hoped this wouldn't be the moment when she lost her sheep, because then I would be, if indirectly, responsible for her plight.

And I noticed two little, rather round, children as well, a boy and a girl, obviously brother and sister. Hansel and Gretel? Who knew. I was probably surrounded by characters from fairy tales at the moment.

Speaking of fairytale characters, I glanced up at Jack.

"Looks like it's going to be quite a show," I panted. Jack glanced down at me and flashed a rather dazzling smile.

"Of course it is! I don't think you really get the magnitude of the situation here." He said steadily, apparently, unlike me, not even the slightest bit winded by our endless flight. "Ezu has been... well, the guardian angel of this town for years. The guy gets paid a fine fee to keep us safe from wolves and witches and giants and what not. He's a local hero, but he is so standoffish, no one really likes him all that much. And Mary... well, some of the kids made up a song about her. 'Mary Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?'" Jack began to sing in a lilting voice.

"'With silver bells and cockle shells, and pretty little maids in a row.'" I finished, familiar with the children's rhyme. Jack looked surprised.

"Yeah. How did you know that?" He asked, looking at me quizzically. Then I realized my mistake. That was a song the kids here made up. Jack knew I was new to the town. I technically shouldn't know that poem.

I swallowed, and fished around for an excuse.

"Uh... I heard some kids singing it... when I first arrived... um, right outside the inn... and stuff..." I stammered.

God, I was a crappy liar. But Jack didn't argue or dispute my claim. He just watched me for a few more seconds, lips sightly pursed, then turned away, shrugging.

"Whatever. The point is, she isn't known for her sweet temper and lovely disposition. The orneriest girl you will ever meet. She and Ezu are a match made in heaven." Jack finished, and in the last part, I detected more than a hint of contempt. I kept my silence, but inwardly marveled at the amount of dislike Jack had for Ezu. What had happened between the two that had spawn such harsh feelings? Did Ezu feel the same way about Jack?

I shook my head, unable to fathom it. It was probably just some stupid dominance-testosterone-boy thing.

Suddenly Jack stopped, and I crashed into him, smacking my nose painfully against his back.

"Why'd we stop?" I asked, rubbing my sore extremity. Jack didn't answer, rather he pulled me around him, so I stood directly in front of him. He was still, like, a head taller than me, so I didn't impair his view. He wordlessly pointed, and I followed the path his finger took with my gaze, and nearly choked on the air I was breathing.

Standing not twenty feet from us, a small mob already beginning to form around them, were the people we had been chasing after for the last three chapters.

Ezu and the girl, Mary, stood ten feet away from each other, and appeared to be shouting at one another at the top of their lungs, either oblivious of the surrounding crowd, or uncaring. The girl still wore the blue frock and spotless white apron she had appeared in earlier that day, and Ezu was likewise in the same clothes.

Or lack thereof.

It was a cold morning, and that was evident from the look of Ezu's bare flesh. His arms and legs were covered in goose bumps, and he shivered slightly whenever a particularly chilly breeze blew by. His white boxer-type underpants looked very, very short suddenly. His arms were crossed over his bare chest, and his shoulders were hunched inwards, either shielding himself from the cold, or the onlooker's stares. His stance was significantly different from the girl's, who, on the other hand, had her chest out, feet planted squarely on the ground, and her chin up in a defiant way, obviously ready for a fight.

The sight alone was enough to make me snort with laughter, but the exchange that followed between the two almost sent me over the edge.

"Please, Mary, you're making a scene! Stop shouting, would you?" Ezu pleaded, though shouting himself.

"Me? Making a scene?" Mary screamed. "Good! I want to make a scene! I want everyone to know! I want every one to know that you are a filthy, lying...whore!" She shrieked, red in the face. "How could you? That... that... that slut wasn't even pretty!"

Oh come now, that was just uncalled for.

"Mary! Please, shut up! It wasn't what it looked like! You're being an idiot!" Ezu implored.

"Me? The idiot? Ezu, she was draped over you like icing on a cake! Don't tell me it wasn't what it looked like, you-"

A stream of very unlady-like curses poured out of her mouth like a tidal wave, most of which I have never even heard.

I shouldn't have found this funny, but I couldn't help it. My feelings of betrayal at Ezu's hands, however unfounded, were enough to make me feel Ezu had gotten his comeuppance, and I felt considerably better. I firmly ignored the guilt that began to creep up on me, seeing as this whole mess was partly my fault. Though my giggles started to die down as this lovely moment began to feel more and more bittersweet. Sure, I was mad that Ezu had completely neglected to mention he was taken. You know, not that I really cared. Really.

But... seeing as I didn't care... and I DIDN'T, I couldn't help but start to feel bad for Ezu.

However, the next moment, both my feelings of guilt and vindictive amusement were wiped away as Ezu's eyes scanned the crowd, desperately searching for help, and they alighted on me.

His jaw dropped and he pointed, gaping like a fish. I went tomato red and spun on my heel, ready to make a dash for it.

Unfortunately, I found myself face to chest with Jack yet again. I tumbled, my arms windmilling wildly trying to keep myself upright. Jack automatically grabbed me, saving me from plummeting, but unwittingly simultaneously signing my death sentence.

While I was recovering from my near spill, Ezu had just enough time to bound over to our side and grab my arm in a vice like grip. He yanked hard, and I jerked towards him, but was suddenly yanked back in the opposite direction.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Jack snarled, pulling me towards him.

"I'm saving my love life, thank you very much!" Ezu snapped back. "Come on Rikki, you're going to explain exactly what happened to Mary!" He said, jerking me in the other direction.

"No, she isn't!" Jack said firmly, yanking me back. "She obviously doesn't want to."

"How do you know?" Ezu growled, tugging on my arm firmly.

"Didn't you see? She obviously tried to run when she saw you coming at her. What did you do to her?" Jack countered, pulling me back.

"Shut up! I didn't touch her like that! I'd NEVER-" Ezu began, with even more force than before. He looked beyond mad, and he gave a final wrench, finally freeing me form this painful game of tug-of-war. However, he never finished his statement, because at that moment, a leg came flying out of nowhere and kicked Ezu squarely in his unmentionables.

He gave a little shriek and immediately dropped my arm, grabbing at his nether regions. He slumped to the ground, ashen faced, and I looked around wildly for his attacker.

Mary had managed to sidle up to us while Jack and Ezu fought over me, and took her chance to plant one of Ezu. She glared at his writhing figure with all the hate she could muster.

"Don't you ever come near me again, do you hear me, Ezu? Or there'll be more where that came from!" She squeaked, her voice high with strain. She spun on her heel, her dress flaring widely with the ferocity of her turn, and she marched off, leaving Ezu crumpled in the dirt, me thoroughly confused, and Jack slack jawed with amazement.