Prin had noticed his steps were much more assured than they used to be. His knees and leg muscles wouldn’t suddenly go weak and make him topple. It was possible he didn’t even need the stick anymore, but it made him feel better to hold on to it.

He knew he had been a little hard on Elwin back there, but he needed to realize that Prin was capable of making his own decisions, and doing what he himself thought best. He was willing to compromise a little, but enough was enough.

The prince could barely resist looking back over his shoulder as he walked away, because he knew Elwin would be standing there looking at him like a lost puppy, watching him go.

He instead tried to walk back towards the main street like he knew what he was doing.

There were a few more people milling around, going in and out of shops and restaurants. He could see now that maybe it came alive in the evening. Did this have something to do with what Lila had been saying? The night parade?

A middle aged man with a round belly sticking out in front to announce his presence, and an altered sway to his step came over to where Prin was standing, surveying the scene and puzzling out his next move.

“You buying or selling?” his words slurred, and the smell of alcohol escaped with every word.

“Huh?” The prince asked. “What?” He didn’t have anything to sell, nor money to buy, and he was quite sure he looked it.

The man leaned a little closer. “Buy ya a drink?”

“No thank you.” Prin said firmly, backing away.

“Whatsa matter with you? Eh, you look like something the cat dragged in anyway. And who wants to play around with half a mole, or a garden snake’s tail.” He guffawed at his own joke. “Unless yer a cat.”

Prin was wondering if he would have to leave and go back to the docks in defeat, just to escape the man, when he spotted someone coming towards them from across the street. A colorful blur.

“Speak of the cat itself!” The man said, delighted.

When the prince was very young, giving the memory the soft edged quality of something almost unreal, someone who worked at the castle had brought him a little fox kit with an injured foot to see, that they had freed from a trap and been nursing back to health.

How he had dreamed of that fox, vivid dreams where he could feel it’s fur beneath his fingers. And the wave of sweet nostalgia he felt upon seeing his rescuer brought it all flooding back to mind.

She was almost a head shorter than Prin, with hair like a fox’s back, no, redder, like the reddest leaves of fall. Parts where the light hit just right were even blood-red. A color Prin was, by now, intimately familiar with. Piled in curls on top of her head and held in place by gold bands. Her eyes were that quick and clever as she gave Prin a sideways glance of reassurance. Lined with kohl like some ancient queen, but fox’s eyes still, not queen’s eyes.

“Are you over here making an ass out of yourself?” The person who had come to his rescue, had to tilt her head back and look way up at the man she was confronting. Of course at her size she probably had to do this with most people, and seemed completely unphased by it. Her hands were on her hips and she exuded nothing short of complete competence. She wrinkled her pretty nose, making the freckles across its bridge dance.

“Aww, Rose, I wasn’t hurting nobody!” The drunk’s tone was that of a falsely accused child, whining that his mother shouldn’t be informed.

“Shoo along then.” The fox-girl said, waving her hands at him like he was a piece of stubborn dust.

The man reached out to touch her voluminous skirts of turquoise, gold, and rust, and she dodged away from his grasp. “Are you busy? Rosey-Posey.” He cooed.

“Ah, ah, ah, you know better. Hands to yourself.” Rose said. “Watch out or I’ll get you banned from Mamma Kris’s establishment. I mean it.”

"Okay." He put his hands up in surrender. "I aint gonna hang around where I'm not wanted." He grumbled as he turned and shambled off.

"Come back when you have a full wallet!" Rose called after him with a giggle. She turned back toward the prince. "Sorry about that. What a welcome to the island." She linked her arm with Prin's. "Now, tell me all about yourself."

"I-" Prin started, not knowing what to even say. She smelled nice, like lavender and pancakes. His stomach growled in recognition, and he realized he was no longer too excited to eat.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"You poor thing! You've come out here with nothing to your name, haven't you?" Rose asked, steam rolling ahead without waiting for any answers. She led him over to one of the outdoor tables in front of the restaurant. "Wait right here, don't go anywhere. Promise?" This time she gave Prin a pointed look, expecting him to agree.

"O-okay, I won’t. I mean, I do. Promise." Prin was a bit uncomfortable making a pledge, but she wasn't someone to refuse lightly, he had a feeling.

Not two wags later, she was back with a plate of food and a tankard. "Cold spring water. I figured quick was better than choosey and had them throw something together with what they already had made." Rose sat down the most delicious looking turkey and cheese sandwich with fried potatoes on the side.

"I can't pay for this." Prin said regretfully.

"I know, don't worry." Rose assured. "Eat up. It's on me."

Prin felt bad eating without Elwin. He wondered if it would be rude to ask for a napkin he could wrap half of it up in. "My friend -" he stared to say.

Rose put up a hand. "About that, I couldn't help but notice the bruise on your face, and your general . . . forgive me . . . bedraggled appearance. I can't stand people who hit their partners." Her feral eyes flashed an unforgiving look. "That wouldn't be a situation you find yourself in, would it? You can tell me." She gave him a toothy grin. "You're under my wing now!"

"Oh no, no!" Prin almost spit out his drink of water, aghast. "Never." It had not occurred to him that people may have such a thought.

"Okay, just had to ask." Rose said. "So, you're looking for a job?"

"How did you know?" Prin took a bite out of the sandwich. It was so good he could almost cry.

"You just said you didn't have any money." Rose reminded.

"Oh. Right." Prin said. "I am."

"You're in luck." Rose said. "I can get you an interview! And you would be perfect for it. Room and board . . . On the job training." She made a frame out of her fingers and looked through it. "All you have to do is look pretty."

The prince looked away sheepishly. "That right there is a problem." He couldn't imagine what job there would be where the primary requirement was being pretty, but he was quite sure he didn't qualify for it.

"Seriously, bunny, have you seen yourself in the mirror?" Rose asked him, although it sounded like a rhetorical question. "All you need is a good focal point, and you've got absolutely million dollar eyes! The rest of you is not bad either, sort of on the tall and gangly side but . . . Hey, if I looked like you I would be dancing on all the biggest stages with people throwing gold and flowers at my feet. Let’s be real, I mean, I could be doing that right now. But circumstances." She sighed. "All we need to do is polish you up. You ever heard the term diamond in the rough? Before polishing and cutting they just look like any old pebbles, true story. It just takes someone to see the potential is all."

"The job doesn't require dancing, does it? I'm sort of clumsy." Prin said. He was starting to think that she had an angle that he wasn't quite able to catch on to. Like, possibly the overabundance of talking had a nervous edge to it. Still, he liked her. You couldn't help it.

"Oh no, I mean not unless you wanted to. But that’s more of where the training would come in." Rose said. "Listen, do you trust me? Oh, what is your name anyway?"

"I'm called Prin." Prin said.

Rose nodded. "We'll have to do something about that too. So, do you?" She leaned closer. "Trust me?" Her red tinted lips held the hint of a smile that said she had untold adventures planned for the two of them. Despite her intoxicating quality, there was that edge of nerves, of wanting it too badly.

"No." Prin said. He smiled to show he was a bit sorry about it, but it was just honesty, nothing personal.

"What have you got to lose?" Rose asked.

"There's always something more to lose." The prince said. What was going on here really? Was she the one that needed help? He put his hand on her arm. "I really do appreciate the meal. You have no idea." He had eaten the potatoes and half of the sandwich. He really wanted the other half but was afraid more food would be hard to come by, and Elwin would be hungry, especially after unloading freight on the docks.

"Hathor, help me! You are a smart one, bunny." Rose winked. "Otherwise you would be perfect. How about this, I take you over there and I buy you a bath, I don't like to hang around with stinky people, and we will have more of a chance to talk and get to know each other. What do you think I'm going to do? Pick you up under my arm and throw you onto a ship bound for the mines? 90 pounds of me, or what?" She laughed.

"There could be a big man waiting to help you." Prin said seriously. In a way, he didn't want to scare her off, but he figured if his honesty made her run then she really was up to something nefarious. The fine cloth of her embroidered sleeve was soft, with the arm underneath feeling bird boned, delicate, like if he pressed down too hard it would snap under his hand.

"I don't mean you any harm." Rose said. "If you don't buy what I'm selling, so to speak. You might as well content yourself with spending some of my money. I'm not busy. Are you? Why not."

The sound of a bath was so enticing, and her face so reviving of the memory of the little fox that he had briefly loved, that the prince decided to let himself be lured. He still fundamentally believed that most people were good at heart and didn't want to throw away such a lovely notion. "Okay, but when I do get a job, I'll pay you back for the food and the bath." Prin said firmly. He didn't know what she did for a living, but even though expensively dressed, he figured she may need use of her money.

"Alright, deal." Rose laughed again. "You drive a hard bargain. Oh, here." She pulled a neatly folded handkerchief from her silk laced bodice and handed it to him across the table.

"Hmm?" It took Prin's mind a moment to catch up and realize what it was for. He shook out the sweetly scented cloth and wrapped up the half a sandwich in it. "How did you know I wanted something like this?"

Rose shrugged. "How does anyone anything?" She got up from the table, finally sliding her arm out from under Prin's hand, where she was letting it rest. "Let's go. When night falls it gets a lot busier out here and there may not be a bath free."

Prin stood up and followed her to the bathing house, even though he felt like he was taking a bit of a chance. Oh well.