All Too Well

♚ Chapter Twenty Two ♚

"Snake!" Freckles and I cried as we struggled to keep up with Snake. I held the skirt of my dress up so I wouldn't trip over the hem as we followed Snake.

"Snake, don't let what those nobles said get to you!" I yelled.

"Yeah!" Freckles nodded. "They're just spewing nonsense! Your scales are nothing to be ashamed about."

Snake shook his head as he continued forward. "It's not that?" Freckles asked.

"Then what is..." I started but Snake opened the door, revealing a cargo room. As we stepped inside, Snake lifted the lid to one of the boxes and his snakes poked their heads out, hissing. I watched as he held the plate out towards them, allowing them to feast on the food.

Now that we away from the nobles, I sat down, leaning against a box as I kicked off my heels, Freckles doing the same as well, sitting down next to me. "Thank god I can take these off..." I sighed.

"Wearing these makes me never want to walk again!" Freckles added as she massaged her feet.

"Hey, Freckles, aren't you hungry?" I asked her. "You haven't eaten much since you've been here."

"Nope," Freckles shook her head as she covered her mouth, turning slightly green. "Haven't had much of an appetite since I've been on here."

"You better not vomit while we're in here," I glared playfully at her.

Snake, Freckles and I began to laugh as we relaxed, enjoying the peace and quiet down here. "Hey, you still aren't hurt about Smile and Lady Elizabeth?" Freckles asked.

"No," I shook my head. "I told Smile that he had one chance to fix everything and regain our trust, and he took back that promise faster than I expected. Guess he really did have something to gain by trying to get back together with me. Honestly, I didn't put much faith in the relationship to begin with. Back then, I was such a naïve little girl, thinking he was just a poor pageboy..."

My eyes softened, recollecting the good times back at the circus. Freckles placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, "You weren't the only one fooled."

"'We all were.' ...We think alike, don't we, Donne?" Snake said.

"Eh," I shrugged. "Burn those bridges while you still can. That's how the sayin' goes, right?"

We sat in comfortable silence and I closed my eyes, resting for a bit, until I heard footsteps and whispers. I immediately shot up to my feet, hand in my ruffles as I grabbed my pistol, ready to fire at the sight of danger. Snake shifted and bumped his knee into the crate, and I heard a gun being drawn. I jumped in front of Snake and was face-to-face with Smile. We had both our pistols pointed at each other. Elizabeth was in the back, holding a plate with cake on it.

"Snake...Freckles...Violet..." Smile muttered before lowering his pistol.

"'Did you notice only now?' ...Says Wordsworth," Snake said.

"What are you three doing in a place like this?" Smile demanded.

"'The cooking was so delicious, so I thought I'd share it with everyone.' ...Says Donne," Snake replied.

"Violet, Freckles, where are your shoes?!" Smile cried as he looked down at our stocking-covered feet.

I shrugged and sighed as Freckles placed her hands on her hips. "Well, try walking around in heels all day, mate!" She shouted.

"Well then..." Elizabeth grinned. "By the way the cake was really tasty! It's the cake with strawberries that you liked so much, I wanted you to eat it! Here!"