Page 5 of The Broken Mirror
“No chance you have cheeseburgers and fries, is there?” Alistair asks hopefully.
“Can’t say I know what that is, son, but I do have bangers and mash. Maybe that’ll tickle yer fancy?”
Alistair nods, resigned.
“Lasses? Lad?” the White Rabbit asks, turning to the rest. “Same?”
“Sure…,” says Filomena. “But aren’t you late for something?”
“Late?” The White Rabbit blinks and checks his timepiece.
“Don’t you work for the Queen of Hearts?” she persists.
The White Rabbit chuckles. “Oh yes, yes. A long time ago, lass. But when my cookbookThe White Rabbit Entertains!went to the top of the bestseller lists, I was able to open my dream pub.” The White Rabbit proudly looks around at his establishment. “How is the Queen of Hearts these days?”
“Restored” is all Filomena says with a smile.
“Tip-top,” says the White Rabbit, who hops away to put in their order.
“Does anyone know what bangers and mash is?” Gretel asks with her nose wrinkled. “The White Rabbit might be a celebrity chef now, but he could at least give us a menu! If bangers and mash is anything like kidney pie or liver with onions, I’msoout.”
Jack is shaking his head, food the furthest thing from his mind.
“You’re still thinking about the robbery?” Filomena leans in to ask. Gretel and Alistair continue debating the topic of dishes they are least likely to eat.
Jack nods. “I just don’t get what happened. Normally I can take on twenty highway thieves! I’ve done it before, evenwithouta Dragon’s Tooth sword. I don’t understand how they got everything from us so easily.”
“We weren’t prepared for them. Don’t be so hard on yourself, Jack.”
“It’s not that I’m being hard on myself. I’m always able to fend people off. If I can’t protect us against a bunch of kids, something else is afoot. They must be more than they appear. And who was that guy? He almost seems familiar.” Jack frowns, thinking.
Filomena considers this. At first she thinks Jack is still just being too hard on himself, but it did seem odd that Jack the Giant Stalker, the prince who slayed the ogre king, could be so easily hoodwinked by a bunch of teenage ruffians.
“He said something when he left,” she says. “Remember?He said it was nice to see us again. What was that about? We’ve never met him before, have we?”
Just then the White Rabbit comes back carrying a tray of frothy hot drinks. “Courtesy of the young lady at the next table,” the White Rabbit says, motioning to the group of pretty maidens.
“Hot cocoa! No way!” Alistair takes a mug gleefully. “Do you guys think the girls over there have a crush on me?”
Filomena looks over at the girls, puzzled. She turns back to her friends and wrinkles her nose. “Well, I don’t know why they wouldn’t, Alistair, but maybe we should be careful before drinking these. You remember what happened the last time we took something sweet from a stranger?”
Gretel shivers, remembering the days they spent in sugar-fueled fugue states. “Can we please stop bringing up the gingerbread house? I’m really trying not to relive that in my dreams.”
One of the maidens walks over to their table. She’s a beautiful Black girl with a crown of curly dark hair. She looks to be about sixteen years old and wears a red velvet dress with golden lace cuffs and collar.
“Do you not care for hot cocoa?” she asks the table. “I thought that was a safe choice; I thought everyone likes hot cocoa. I can get you some mulled wine if you prefer.”
“Oh no, we love hot cocoa! We were just wondering why it was sent over is all, and we hadn’t gotten to drinking it yet,” Filomena responds.
“Of course! How rude of me to proceed without introductions!” The maiden giggles. “I’m Princess Jeanne. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintances.”
The princess holds a hand in front of Jack for him to kiss, which makes him redden profusely. He looks to Filomena as if to sayhelp, and she just shrugs. But the princess isn’t discouraged and waits for Jack to take her hand. He kisses it sheepishly.
“Pleased to meet you, Princess Jeanne,” he says.
Filomena ignores the pinprick of jealousy that blooms in her stomach. He’s just being polite, after all.
“May I join you?” the princess asks, still looking at Jack.
