impatient bartender leaves their place of work before they are roped into doing the final steps of closing up, night plans already sent down the drain. faye would be lying if they said they are looking forward to this empty headed meeting of all of fabletown ━━ a gala to make them all forget that their little safe haven might not be as safe after all. if nothing else, tink is looking forward to whatever drama other fables might cook up ( and it might make up for the lack of good entertainment ).
familiar figure catches the fairy's eyes and, for half a beat, faye considers merely walking past and ignoring the other's existence. and then, he speaks. "the celebration hasn't even started and you're already speaking like you're on your third glass of wine, debbie downer." as if faye has any qualms with the thoughts lancelot is sharing ━━ it's not like he's the only one.
"if any mundanes came tomorrow, i think we'd be alright. i'm not above kicking someone in the crotch. and i found a cute butterfly knife i'm just dying to use." morality is far too expensive these days. if mundanes came looking for a fight, who could blame the fables for rising to the occasion? "what would you do?"
mise en scenè ⸺ the crooked mile, at the juncture between the open arms hotel and the lucky pawn, an hour before sunset.
in a few hours, fables from each parcel of their sequestered town will march their inexorable way to the woodland in the opaque night, beneath the cool balm of stars. the sun will slope beneath the horizon—the world aflame, then put out as if drowned—and the shoulders of the sky will falter, will capitulate to the black sails of darkness. the day’s light, extinguished in but a short breath, a short-lived exhalation of time.
natural occurrences still startle lancelot, but he supposes it is to be expected, even excused: after all, he was only recently roused from an interminable stupor. hanging from a tree for the better part of four centuries will do that to you, king cole had said. the symbol of death marks him still; no signet of valiance or virtue or the life he paraded and prided himself in when camelot still stood tall and unfallen. no fate could be so final and so essentially pathetic. nothing, not even the glory of a name, could absolutely survive death.
this world, this mundane world, had prevailed and thrived long before the fables arrived. it will continue to do so long after they are gone. one way or another, he thinks. how long before their magic is depleted? before the cardinal bond between birthplace and creation is severed completely? until no one who has entered the heart of their collective tale can remember it, can pass it on?
for now, he waits, a sombre sentry hemmed in between the open arms and the lucky pawn. the fleet of footsteps draws neither his eye nor his ear, but he inclines his head nonetheless. “for how long do you think we’ll remain hidden? another decade? another century? tomorrow, perhaps, we’ll wake to the mundane authority storming our homes.”