Little Red Cinderella and the Three Beanstalks

CHAPTER 26

Previously...

"Hans knows where the kingdom is. At least, we're pretty sure it's the right kingdom. It won't take too long to get there, but like Hans said, it isn't going to be easy." Ezu informed us as he neared. "We'd better get going now, and not waste any time. The later in the day it gets, the more dangerous the forest becomes." Ezu turned around to face Hans a final time, his hand on the door handle.

"So long, Hans. I hope I see you again soon."

"Good bye, Ezu, and friends," Hans said with a wave. Ezu opened the front door, and we were out, taking the first step on what I was sure was going to be a very long, very insane, adventure.
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The first half of the walk was grueling.

It had to have been over ninety degrees in the sun, and even under the cover of the thick foliage overhead the forest provided, it was still swelteringly hot. All of our shirts were drenched in sweat, and I had tied and re-tied my hair up countless times, wishing it wasn't so thick. Even Jinx, who had emerged from his hiding place in Ezu's pocket and was flying behind his owner, seemed more lethargic than usual.

"Dammit Ezu, how much longer is this going to take?" Jack growled, voicing the question I had wanted to ask but didn't have the energy to do so.

"Shut up. We'll be there before dark." Ezu snapped back. I groaned.

"Who'd guess this whole time we were only a few hours away? It figures. Nothing else has exactly gone according to plan so far." I complained.

"I said shut up, the both of you! If I have to listen to you two run your mouths off the whole trip, I swear to God I'll throw myself off the next cliff we pass, and then you'll be on your own!" Ezu threatened, hacking a branch out of the way with his axe with a little more ferociousness than was necessary.

"If only..." Jack muttered under his breath. I considered adding a similar sentiment of my own, but settled for rolling my eyes to the sky instead. I knew we were only all so pissy because of the unbearable heat, but that fact wasn't much consolation. I only thanked God that we'd arrive at the kingdom before nightfall, and we'd only have to suffer this for a few more hours.

Though admittedly, the day did seem to be cooling down, just a little. I glanced at the sky, and tried to peak a glance at the sun's position through the small breaks in the nearly solid roof of foliage above us. If I had to guess, I'd say it was around four-ish, which, with any luck, meant we only had about two hours to go. But it wasn't soon enough for my tastes.

As I tripped over another rudely protruding rock and added another tear to my growing collection of the bottoms of Ezu's loaned pants, I spoke up again angrily, though who or what I was directing my anger at, even I wasn't sure.

"Why are we stumbling through this stupid forest again? This has to be the millionth time we've done this, and none of those times have actually ended up well! If this is some big fancy kingdom, shouldn't there be a road or something there? I mean, kingdoms don't usually just sit smack in the middle of a stupid forest with no paths leading out, do they?" I demanded to know, tearing my shirt sleeve loose from a random grabbing twig.

"You'd be surprised exactly how many kingdom are just sitting randomly in this damn forest with no way out." Ezu said dryly. "And for the last time, the road Han's house is on leads in the opposite direction from where we are going. The quickest way to get the the Main Road than we need is a straight path right through this area. So unless you want to add an extra day and a half to this walk, I suggest you suck it up." I considered replying to his oh-so-helpful answer with a saucy retort, but on second thought I bit it back. He had a point, as much as I was loathe to agree with him. All our bickering and complaining was just going to make the trip feel longer than it really was, and it was already bad enough as it was.

So I shut up and trudged between the moodily silent boys, keeping my opinions to myself and hoping that the road wouldn't be much farther.

Thankfully, it seemed like fortune was on our side, because only a little over twenty minutes later, we stumbled out of the bramble of the forest thicket and onto a wide, deeply rutted dirt road. The second we were beyond the reach of the trees, the temperature immediately dropped considerably, without the impenetrable leafy covering over our heads to trap in all the hot air.

"Praise the Gods!" Jack shouted into the sky, arms raised high above his head.

"Praise from me to!" I called upwards as well, pushing Jack out of the way and assuming his position. Even Ezu seemed as glad as we were to be finally free of the forest. He grabbed me by my outstretched hand and spun me around, like a ballet dancer, much to my surprise.

"And from here on out, no more trekking around God Forsaken woods! Just them fancy, modern roads for us!" He half laughed as we spun in circles. Jinx buzzed around our heads, making cheerful little chirping noises as well. Our escape from the confined forest trail, and the greenhouse-esque temperature had made us all a little giddy, but at the moment none of us really cared if we were acting like fools.

"Compared to that torture, breaking into a castle and rescuing a princess who has been sentenced to death should be easy!" I giggled, as I spun away from Ezu and grabbed Jack's hands instead. We probably would have continued on like this for quite some time, but thankfully (for the princess' sake), we suddenly heard the clattering sound of a horse drawn carriage coming up from the road behind us. The three of us turned, our silly grins still plastered on our faces, and saw the carriage racing towards us. The driver was urging the horse on desperately, despite the obvious strain on the creature, and the carriage itself was rocking back and forth so hard I was surprised it wasn't shaken to pieces even a it bounced behind.

"They're not going to stop!" Ezu cried suddenly, and I was painfully aware of our positions smack dab in the middle of the road. Still holding onto Jack, I flung myself out of the way, dragging him with me. Jinx, who had been weaving between our bodies like we were maypoles suddenly latched himself onto my hair as I jumped, getting dragged out of the way of the careering cart with the rest of us. We narrowly avoided being trampled as the buggy shot past us, the driver not even giving us a backwards glance.

"Shit. Are you OK, Rikki?" Ezu asked, a little breathless. He practically pried me from Jack's grip and gave me a thorough once over. Twice.

"I'm fine." I snapped, wriggling out of his grasp. "And you can stop checking. I'm not suddenly going have a delayed reaction and break and arm." I said dryly, and I turned to Jack. "Are you OK too?" I asked him. He nodded.

"Yeah, just a little startled. What was wrong with them? Why didn't they stop?" He asked no one in particular, looking out towards the road at the dust trail still lingering in the air that the buggy had kicked up. I heard Jinx, who was still tangled in my hair, give a winded sound buzz, as if to express similar sentiments. I reached up and helped the little golden bug untangle himself from my unruly curls.

Ezu slowly walked back into the road, squinting in the direction the buggy had come from. For a second he didn't speak, but I could see from his posture-- legs spread slightly, shoulders tense-- that something wasn't quite right.

"What is it?" I asked slowly, not entirely sure if I wanted to know.

"I can't say." Ezu said hesitantly, not looking back. "But if it was enough to make someone drive that recklessly on this road, then it can't be good."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked, as if he knew exactly what Ezu meant but was hoping he'd say something different.

"Driving that fast on this stretch of road is dangerous." Ezu said, turning and walking back towards us quickly. "Not only is the road itself in poor shape, but this area is famous for it's... attacks." He grimaced, bending down to grab our fallen bags and spilled items, that had been strewn around in our leap to safety. Jack and I exchanged worried looks, but followed suit, collecting our scattered things as quickly as possible.

"Attacks?" I asked. "Like what exactly?" Ezu sighed, and held out a hand for Jinx to land on.

"Wolves mostly. They prowl along this stretch of highway, waiting for... well, you know."

"Oh joy." I groaned. More wolves.

"And the occasional ogre." Ezu added, avoiding our gaze.

"Ogres. Of course. Just what we needed." Jack said sarcastically.

"So going that fast on this road would end in disaster if anything... unpleasant leaped out at you as you were going. The horse would freak, and you'd crash, and be out of a safe way to travel, even if you managed not the get eaten." Ezu finished, pretending he hadn't heard Jack's or my constructive remarks.

"So what could be bad enough to make someone run like that?" I asked, glancing down the road nervously myself.

"Not wolves, they usually only hunt alone up here, and are easy enough to handle if you have someone who knows what they are doing. Likewise, and Ogre, though harder to fight, can be easily outrun on a horse, even with a buggy, so it's unlikely that was the problem."

"So what was it?" Jack pressed. Jinxed whirred angrily, as if defending Ezu's hesitation in speaking up.

"My best guess would be highway men. A big group, or a particularly infamous one anyways." Ezu admitted.

"Highway men? Like robbers? With horses and weapons and no morals and all that?" I asked.

"Yeah. And a fondness for pretty girls." Ezu said reluctantly, heaving his bag over his shoulder and tossing mine to me, and Jack's to him. "And judging by the quality of that carriage, I'd have to say it belonged to someone wealthy, which usually means a rich Lady, since a man alone would ride a horse, not use a buggy. So they aren't going to be happy they lost both the spoils and the... um... girl." Ezu explained, shooting me an awkward look. I understood what he was saying, and paled.

"God... we've got to get off the road!" Jack exclaimed.

"We can hide in the forest, in the undergrowth." Ezu said. "As long as we wait there until they pass, we'll be fine. They'll continue to chase the carriage, and we'll remain undetected."

"Shit." I breathed. Wolves, giants, crazy midgets, hormonal teenage boys, and now a band of vicious, sex starved, thieving robbers. This just kept getting better and better.

"Come on Rikki, before they come around the bend..." Ezu reached out for me, and Jack put a firm hand on the small of my back and propelled me forwards.

"Hold on," I said, opening my bag and digging around in it. I pushed aside the Book-- that damned thing, I'll burn it when I get back home-- and grabbed one on the sheathed knives Ezu has so kindly supplied me with, just for good measure. I swung my pack back onto my shoulder and followed Ezu, stepping off the side of the dusty road and preparing to disappear into the flora beyond.

But when has anything ever been that easy?

Just as we were about to commence Operation Hide And Try Not To Be Killed, Jinx began buzzing and whirring frantically, pulling at our hair and zipping in front of our faces. Seconds later, we heard the sounds of several heavy hoof beats on the dirt road, and not a heart beat later, their owners came galloping around the bend.

Six glossy, heaving steads, tossing their heads and pounding a tribal rhythm into the dirt with their hooves. They riders were whooping and shouting, bent forward and urging their horses on.

Before we could make a move, they spotted us and pulled up short, their horses rearing and snorting.

"Damn." Ezu hissed, his fingers finding my wrist, and he clutched tightly, almost dragging me towards him. My pride flared up, and I almost pulled away defiantly, but then I considered the situation at hand and figured now was not the best time to assert myself. Instead, I settled for carefully unsheathing my knife one handedly, and hiding it just out of sight behind my back.

"Come on, let's go, they're still far enough away that we can hide before they catch up." Jack hissed, pulling at Ezu gently.

"No, they've seen us. If we did run, they'd just follow us into the forest. Even if we did loose them, their commotion would attract something far worse. Trust me, it's safer this way." Ezu replied, sounding strained. He obviously didn't like it, but he was right-- it didn't seem like we had much of a choice. Stuck between and rock and a hard place. And when the hard place involved ogres, wolves, witches, and giants, suddenly the rock was seeming a lot cozier.

So instead of running, like all of our instincts told us to, we stood our ground, and waited for the Highway Men to approach us.

With every step closer they took, my heart plummeted a little farther down my chest. Each of the men were big, even the shortest must have been on eye level with Jack. They all appeared to be in their mid-thirties as well, giving them each a good ten years more experience than any of us had. Well, admittedly, they had thirty years on me, but I knew from firsthand experience Ezu was no lightweight, and I was sure Jack could put up quite a fight. Unfortunately, it didn't look like the three of us would stand much of a chance against these six. Big and brutish looking, they rode their horses with a ind of easy swagger, their hands resting on the hilts of the swords that were sheathed in the scabbards at their hips. Even while mounted and covered in a cloak, I could easily see at least three more bladed weapons concealed on the nearest rider as he approached. I desperately wracked my brains and tried to remember when the first guns were invented.

By now we were face to face with the nearest Rider. Or face to horse chest, anyways. The creature he was riding was a monster, at least 17 hands tall, with shiny blue black fur and restlessly prancing hooves that looked as if a single solid kick could take down a military tank. It snorted heavily as it's rider pulled him up short, and stared down at as thoughtfully from his God-Like perch.

Ezu, Jack, and I all stared back, squinting against the bright sunlight that formed a halo ring around the man's head, his face just a dark silhouette against the gleaming sky.

"And what do we have here?" The man said, in a deep, almost gentle voice. "Three little mice, come out to play. Oh, and look!" He cried suddenly, in mock surprise. "One of them is a little girl mouse!" The five men behind him whooped and wolf whistled, their horses pawing the ground restlessly. Ezu snarled, and pushed me slightly behind him, into Jack.

"Oh my!" The robber, obviously the leader, exclaimed. "This one isn't a mouse, but a pussy cat!" You could hear the sneer in the man's voice, even though we couldn't see his face. "Is this lovely mouse your tasty little morsel, pussy cat?" His men snickered, and a few drew their swords.

"How's about we carve 'im up a little, Boss, and show 'im what a couple of no good dogs can do to a pussy cat?" One of them rasped, leering nastily at the three of us.

"Shut up, Jeane." The thief said, quietly but firmly. The man, Jeane, stopped talking immediately. "Tell me, what are three darling creatures like yourselves doing out here, on such a forsaken strip of road? Don't you know there could be danger afoot?" The robber asked, with the barest hint of sarcasm lacing his words. "These are troublesome times, my friends."

"There will only be trouble for you, if you choose to continue to stand in our way." Ezu snarled fiercely. The robber seemed to reel back a little, as if he hadn't expected Ezu's words to contain so much venom.

"What a little cheek..." He said under his breath, but he didn't seem terribly offended. Instead, the man swung off his horse with incredible ease, despite the steed's height. As he touched the ground, he moved out of the glare of the sun, and we could finally see him properly.

He was taller than Jack, easily reaching the 6'4" mark. He was dressed from head to toe in black, including his long black cloak, despite the heat of the day. The hood of the cloak was currently drawn back, exposing the man's face. It had the weather beaten, hardened look of a criminal who had spent most of his life outdoors, and there was a long, pale scar that stretched from his temple almost down to his chin. Shaggy black hair and a mustache goatee combo ((AN: I can't describe it. Think of Aladdin's dad in King of Thieves)) completed the whole world-hardened-vagabond thing he had going on.

His dark, sharp eyes seemed to study us, calculating. He took a step forwards, his hand still resting lazily on the hilt of his sword. I saw Ezu's knuckles turn white as he tightened his grip on the short axe he still held in his hand, and I noticed his stance shift ever so slightly, until he was lightly balancing on the balls of his feet. Jack likewise carefully slid one hand into his pocket, no doubt searching for a weapon of his own, and kept a careful grip on my shoulder with his other, no doubt to keep me from pulling one of my signature "Whoops, I can't remember how to work my feet” moves and landing a face plant in the dirt again. I myself had no intention of doing this, and I made sure I had a firm grasp on my own little dagger.

The robber was now barely two feet away from us, hands on hips, a challenging glint in his eyes.

"I am impressed by your bravery, I'll admit, but I'll ask again. What brings the three of you out to our neck of the woods." He asked, in a dangerous voice.

"I told you. None of your business." Ezu growled. I winced. I admired his bravery and what not, but not if it was going to get us all killed. I wished the stupid boy could set aside his pride for a moment and at least pretend like he cared about not being shish-kabobed. And yet, the thief still didn't seem perturbed, though his men had responded to Ezu's insolent reply with growls and threats of their own.

"Well then, if you wont tell me, then maybe your pretty little mouse will." The robber said, his gaze flicking to me. He reached out a hand, as if to stroke my face. I flinched and reeled backwards, slashing instinctively with my knife before anyone else had made a move. The robber cried out in pain and took a dancing step back out of reach; just in time as it happens, as Ezu, who had acted a second after I did, lunged at the man rugby style. But he was already too far away, sucking on his bleeding hand. I immediately regretted my actions. It had been reflexive, a sudden, thoughtless act of self defense, but I had probably just signed our death certificates myself with the man's blood.

Though instead of commanding his band of men to kill us all on the spot, the thief instead looked mildly impressed as he surveyed his bloody hand.

"You're a quick little mouse, my dear. Not many can land a blow on me." He commented, and he raised his good hand to silence the vengeful cries of his subordinates. He paused for a moment, his gaze flickering from Ezu, to me, to Jack, and back again, as if considering what to do with us.

"Well," He finally said, calling his horse to his side with a click of his tongue. "I don't feel that there is anything more to be done here." As he pulled himself onto his horse single handedly, his men rose into an uproar.

"Come now, friends," He turned to the others, instantly quailing their shouts. "As lovely and entertaining as the Lady is, I believe she would be far more useful abroad, where ever it is she is going, than with any of us. A Lady that quick with a knife is sure to stir things up a little. And what do we stand for, men?" He asked is slightly grumbling crowd. "Apart from pillaging and thievery and other black hearted deeds, I mean." He added as an after thought. When no one replied, he huffed, a little exasperatedly. "Excitement. Adventure. And to stand in the way of this fine Lady, and her devoted escorts, would be no less than a crime. And even I have my limits, fellows."

The man turned back to face the astounded trio of teenagers.

"I admit, I'm rather taken with you, miss. I mean what I say, you've peaked my interest, and therefore you and your companions bear no fault with me."

"You... you're letting us go?" I asked, in disbelief.

"You are as free as birds." The man said.

"How can we believe you?" Ezu asked coldly.

"I give my word, as the Black Thief, you shall not fall under the harm of me or any of my men." The Black thief promised solemnly.

"The word of a thief doesn't mean much." Jack pointed out. The Black Thief frowned slightly, but then appeared to think of a solution.

"In that case, why don't you let us escort you to your destination? With me and my men at your side, you'll not be troubled by any other highway men, and if any manner of magical creature were to attack, it would be child's play to fight it off."

"Even a giant?" I asked, a little bitterly.

"I've been in more trouble than that, and managed to escape alive, my dear." He said.

I exchanged glances with the boys. The offer sounded good, having our own posse would keep all manner of baddies away, and if the Thief had wanted to rob and kills us, he didn't need to feign friendship and use trickery to do it. He could have us all dead on the spot if he wanted to right now, so it didn't seem like a trick at all. And yet...

"I don't think where we are going would like it very much if we led a group of thieves into town." I said slowly.

"Then we won't follow you into town. We can follow until you don't wish for our assistance anymore. However, if you don't want our help, than that is no matter. It was only an offer." He turned on his horse, motioning for his men to follow.

"Wait!" It was Ezu, calling back out to the gang of robbers. "Wait. Actually... yes, your presence would be much appreciated." He said through grit teeth. He obviously loathed the idea of asking the highway men who had waylayed us for help, but the fact of the matter was, the company of a helpful gang of cutthroats was much more preferable to that of a ravenous wolf or hungry ogre.

The Black Thief turned back to us, a certain twinkle in his eyes. "Wonderful. And where exactly is it you are headed, young master?"

"King Francis's Kingdom." Ezu muttered bitterly.