Lily’s soup was delicious. She had loaded it like a baked potato minus the sour cream, but with extra chives and real bacon bits and tons of cheese. Rogue had had a bowl and a half of soup while Antonio had helped himself to two large helpings and had offered to take the left overs home. Lily had been more than content with the outcome. She even wrote down her recipe for him despite her failed attempt to actually vocalize her words audibly and look him in the eye.

At first Rogue noticed Lily’s apprehension towards him, but eventually after observing him and coming to the conclusion that he was a nice guy with gentle mannerisms, she was able to awkwardly look in his direction before jerking her face away when he felt her staring. She was now watching him try to have a humorous conversation with her while she awkwardly looked everywhere except his face and laughed down at her feet.

Rogue shook her head. She really had to work on her friend’s awkward shyness. She went to the door with Antonio shuffling his feet backwards as he hit the punchline of his joke. Lily laughed quietly, baring her pristine white teeth and shrugging her shoulders as she laughed. “I take it you’re heading home now?”

Antonio’s mirthful face turned in her direction and his grin broadened tenfold. “Yes, I should go. I’ve inconvenienced you both long enough. I have had a late lunch and an early dinner in the process. I guess I had linner!” He laughed, smacking his thigh and Rogue couldn’t help laughing at his corniness.

“You’re a mess, Toni.”

“Toni? You’ve given me a pet name already?” he teased, stepping close to her.

“Well, you call me X, so I figured…”

“I like it,” he whispered in her ear before kissing her cheek. “No one has ever called me Toni to be honest.” His cheeks flushed as he backed away towards the door again. “Oh, I was thinking, I have a lightweight match coming up this weekend. I was wondering if you ladies wanted to come watch me kick some ass?” he offered hopefully.

“He means get his ass kicked,” Rogue snickered to Lily who actually giggled audibly at her jeer.

“Oh yea, want to try kicking my ass?” Antonio offered with a quirked eyebrow. He took a challenging step in her direction causing her to squeak and run off. He looked at Lily and winked, “Let me know and I’ll get you both ring side seats.”

Lily sighed deeply now that he had left, turning to slowly look at her companion, “H-he’s so h-handsome.”

“And you’re very beautiful,” Rogue complimented her likewise.

Lily dropped her vision, staring at her feet as she shook her head. “Me? I can’t do anything right. That’s what my mother t-tells me.”

Rogue became upset at Lily’s confession. “Lily, your mother tells you hurtful things like that?”

Lily’s head popped up quickly, “Oh, she only does it to make me a better person. I know she doesn’t really mean it,” she defended. “M-my mother loves me.”

Rogue busied her hands with cleaning off the table. She couldn’t fathom a mother being so mean to her child. Even when her twin siblings were going through the testy teenage years, her mother had never once lost her temper. She remained firm, loving and strict when absolutely necessary. Her mother wouldn’t dare dream of speaking to her children in such a manner. She used her words to encourage them and build them up as her parents had done to her in her youth and even to this day. She had told her children constantly how smart they were, how blessed and happy they were; she reminded them that failure wasn’t the end but only the beginning of a new start, that they could do anything and everything they set their minds to do.

But breaking their spirit was not in her vocabulary. Rogue actually hurt for Lily. No wonder she was so withdrawn at times and unsure of herself even when she was right. She stopped what she was doing, planting one hand on her right hip and the other on the counter in front of her. “Lily, I mean no offense to your mother or your upbringing, but what she did to you wasn’t nice. You’re more than capable of doing everything you believe is possible. Do you believe me?”

Lily looked escort genuinely conflicted, the gearwheels were rapidly turning in her head as she considered what Rogue had told her. “I don’t know. I guess so. I’m not good at making decisions,” she whispered.

“Yes, you are. I’ve watched you clean up more messes at the office than Mr. Clean on your own. You’ve had to make more than several vital choices that could have sent Angie’s under, but time and again you got it done and we made it through another crisis. Some of my projects, I wouldn’t have been able to meet the deadlines without you pulling all-nighters with me. I’m a workaholic and you work harder than me. You’re better than you think you are which is why I don’t want you to be my secretary. It wouldn’t be fair to you,” Rogue told her.

Lily’s bottom lip trembled, her fingers twisting and contorting painfully as she dropped her eyes and nodded her head. “Oh, okay, I understand.”

“No,” Rogue chuckled softly, “I don’t think you do. I don’t want you to be my secretary because I want you to be my partner. I want this to be our business venture, our very own baby.” She grasped Lily’s hands hopping in excitement as she began to think of all of the possibilities.

“We’re going to be one of the hottest agencies on the market. Our projects are going to be phenomenal! We’ll be booked for weeks—no, months!” Lily’s frown turned into a bright smile as her eyes glimmered with delight. “Can you see it, Lil?”

Rogue mushed the side of her left cheek against Lily’s right cheek as they both looked forward, her brown arm extended and splaying an invisible path before them. “Our office is going to be on the fifth floor of an all glass exterior building, our employees will be fun and easy to get along with. We’ll have a large reception area with a dark mahogany desk and beautiful receptionists to greet our clients. Our waiting room will have vivid colors and spicy artwork with holograms of our future projects on display.”

“Holograms?”

“Holograms,” Rogue repeated.

She separated their faces to stand suddenly in front of Lily and stare in her eyes. “Can you see it too? The clients ascending and descending the glass elevators, our phones ringing off the hook, our assistants’ assistants running haphazardly throughout the office spilling paperwork…and in the midst of all the chaos, we push the wooden doors open, feeling the cool metal handles press into our palms, as we walk like models full of confidence to intercept calls, sign documents, sip burning hot coffee all while going towards our joint office?”

Lily nodded her head vigorously, looking deeply into her friend’s eyes. “I see it too,” she stated quietly.

“We can do everything and more, but you have to believe it’s possible and we have to start small before we make it big. Are you with me? Will you be my business partner?”

“O-only your business partner?” she questioned in concern.

“Well, yea, you’re already a great friend, what else is there for you to be to me? You’re probably the only real friend I’ve had since I moved to California and graduated from college,” Rogue confessed, staring off into space. “I studied too much to actually have a social life.”

Lily hid her giggle behind her hand, shaking her head at Rogue, “I never imagined we would be so similar. I moved to California from Missouri my junior year of high school and didn’t really have any friends.”

“I came from Virginia on a full ride and I never stopped studying.” She busied herself with cleaning the kitchen and packing her dishwasher before preparing two bowls of bourbon and pecan ice cream.

“Ice cream after soup?” Lily asked incredulously.

Rogue laughed, “Yeah, it’s the best of both worlds. Let’s brainstorm some ideas about our name and start scoping locations.” She led the way to her sofa, dropping down in the middle with Lily taking the left side. How about a location with a nice view? We could find a spot away from all the traffic if you’d like to. What do you think?”

Lily spooned the ice cream into her mouth, her eyes widening in shock at the strong escort bayanlar flavor of bourbon on her tongue. “You eat this often?”

Rogue nodded proudly. “I used to be addicted to Rum raisin, but over the years it stopped tasting like rum and more like vanilla ice cream with raisins.” She scrunched up her face while shaking her head. “Then, one glorious day, as I was grocery shopping late at night, I happened upon the ice cream section only to find that my beloved rum raisin was sold out. Heartbroken and distraught, I staggered to the next row over and there it was like a beacon in the night. Since then, my life has never been the same,” Rogue recounted, wiping away a fake tear.

“Have you ever th-thought of writing? You sure do have a flair for the dra-dramatic,” Lily told her, her eyes darting from her bowl back to her friend. She had never been invited to stay at someone’s house longer than thirty minutes. Usually she went on business and was rushed off as soon as she had finished. This was different and she really liked it.

“I used to write poetry in high school, but that was as far as I took it. I had my first, real computer class my Sophomore year. Hey, I was thinking,” Rogue stated, popping up to sit on her knees. “We should think of a catchy name that has something to do with web design.”

Lily nodded, scooping a large portion of ice cream into her mouth then grabbing her head and chest from the chill. Rogue laughed, jumping up to get her a warm cup of water and watching her gulp it down quickly. “I’m sorry, I haven’t had sweets since I was seven. My mother told me empty calories would make me fat and that I was better off eating a tub of lard.”

“Your mother was wrong. Anything can make you fat. It’s all about moderation. You have to use more energy than you’re consuming and you’ll lose weight. To maintain, you just eat the same amount you’re burning up.”

“What?”

“My college roommate often used me as her class model. I might as well have majored in health science. I’ll be back. Let me grab a pen and pad and we’ll start brainstorming a name for our web design agency.” She entered her room once again appreciating Antonio’s help with rearranging her furniture. Her eyes landed on the floral crown still resting on her dresser.

“I haven’t heard from Grandma in a while. Grandma?” she whispered, looking around her room just in case she appeared. “Grandma?”

She sighed, exiting her room to rejoin Lily in the living room. “Maybe she’s busy.”

Grandma leaned against her wall, pain shooting through her side as she used the solid structure to support her aching body. She had used a little too much magic. She knew better than to have done so, but she had to make Rogue understand that she was serious. She would recuperate, but with her being separated from her kingdom, she would take a longer time to do so. How she survived twenty-seven years in this realm was by sheer will power. Though she had been banished for protecting the King and Queen, she would not have changed it for the world. The Wicked Witch thought that she was getting rid of her greatest foe, but instead had sent her to the same realm as the baby Prince Charming.

Because of her waning magic, Grandma had not been able to locate him directly, but she had been able to gradually track his essence which had led her to California. It had only taken her twenty years to get here and another seven to locate his city. At this rate, the human aging process would have aged him beyond recognition. The Prince Charming she remembered had been a beautiful little cherub with rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes and a giggle that literally made the sun shine. She was preparing to perform her God-motherly duties by blessing him and his never ending reign, but the Wicked Witch had intervened and stolen him from his cradle.

The kingdom had been plunged into chaos, the King and Queen had been locked away, frozen in a castle of ice, never to be released unless the prince saved them. The entire kingdom was left in suspended animation while the Wicked Witch had her way, spreading darkness in her wake. If her memory served her correct, the Wicked Witch was trying to find the source of the kingdom’s power, if only she knew that said power could only be found in Prince Charming. He was born to usher the kingdom into never ending light and peace. With his birth, darkness would never again be able to conquer the kingdom.

Grandma dragged herself against the wall arriving in her room and staring at herself in the mirror. She looked tired yet not defeated. Now that she had found the chosen princess, Prince Charming wouldn’t be too far behind; at least she hoped she had found the chosen princess. Seeing Rogue had evoked a feeling of hope and joy she had long forgotten years ago with her arrival in this realm. Grandma had merely followed her instincts. Only time would tell if she had made the right decision.

“Look at you…look at you…look at you.”

Grandma gasped, straightening her hunched posture and glaring her eyes at the mirror. It acted as the only connection she had remaining of the kingdom. It was also the only way the Wicked Witch could communicate with her. “What do you want, Genevieve?”

A beautiful porcelain visage began to amass in the center of the mirror. Dark red painted lips, nearly resembling a reddish black hue, followed with a wicked smile. Her narrowed face, though long was still long and elegant. Her black eyebrows were arched high on her broad forehead while her midnight black hair was modestly coiled behind her head with the kingdom’s golden, where the jewel bedazzled crown rested on top. Her green eyes were a deep lime green, glittering in the somewhat obscure light emitting from the mirror as she observed her foe.

“What do you want, Genevieve?”

Genevieve gracefully lifted a pale hand, red colored fingernails tapped on her painted lips as she continued to smile. “Have you considered what we discussed in our last conversation?”

Grandma turned her head, ignoring the woman, holding her chin high. “That was always your problem. You’re so self-righteous that you cripple yourself. How father ever deemed you worthy as the Grand Fairy is beyond me. I was always better suited. Mother knew.”

“Your wicked mother knew nothing. I loathe the day my father looked upon her with mercy. He should have ridden the kingdom of your kind, but he was ever naïve hoping a wicked witch could step into the light.”

“Watch your tongue. We are still blood!” A green fire flared behind her, rising to heights beyond Grandma’s scope of vision through the mirror.

“We may resemble and share a father, but you are no kin of mine. A dark witch and a light fairy should have never crossed paths.”

Genevieve tilted her head ever so slightly to the right as her smile dropped. “I had hoped after twenty-seven years of banishment that you would fall to your knees and bow to me. I should have known that your stubbornness could never be remedied with time. How is it working out for you, wasting away with humans? You look horrible. I remember when flowers bloomed at your mere presence and the forest offered up her fruit for your blessings. Now, look at you.”

Grandma snarled, wishing that she could wrap her hands about Genevieve’s neck. “Mark my words, Genevieve, I will see you again.”

“Yes,” Genevieve chuckled, spanning her hands out across the mirror. “From this looking glass, of course. Enjoy your life with the humans. It’s a shame, Priscilla, how my heart still aches for you.” The image faded away leaving Grandma with her reflection. She felt tears stream down her cheeks and closed her eyes. She couldn’t hate Genevieve, it was in her blood to be wicked, but she had hoped that her half-sister would have fought to resist her baser nature.

Like her father, she too had thought that there was hope for her step-mother and her half-sister, but the darkness was too strong in their hearts to break them free from their own confinements. She waved her hand before the mirror watching Rogue laugh with Lily as they tried and failed to create catchy names.

Grandma smiled, the good, pure energy Rogue possessed was filtering through the ache of her body and slowly strengthening her. She needed to rest before she could make good on her word to start the search with the new princess. But Princess or not, Rogue possessed a certain magic of her own that could help save the kingdom.