“Probably,” Nina agreed with a grin. “But ask anyway. I need some shit to snark while we figure out what to do next, and you amuse me.”
Toni looked down at her hands, fiddling with the front of her dress. “When you first met your husbands, did you see a glow around their heads and hear a harp strumming softly in the distance?”
“Oh, ’tis true love, milady!” one of the handmaidens said on a wistful sigh as she gathered brushes and bows, putting them back in her basket.
“I don’t understand.”
“When a maiden falls in love—real love—her true mate presents himself with music and beautiful lights shining down from the heavens. ’Tis how you know he’s the one,” she said on a wink.
“But it’s so soon…We’ve only known each other a little while,” she managed to murmur. Not a chance in hell would she hook up for life with a guy she’d only known a few weeks if she were back in Jersey.
The handmaiden smiled knowingly. “That is what the inside of your head tells you, but the inside of your chest, right here,” she said, pointing to her heart, “it always knows best. For now, I must go tend to the others, but I wish you, your true love and everyone in your party the very best of the holiday season.” She waved and skipped off to the door of the bedroom.
“A harp, huh?” Nina asked. “I saw stars for sure. I think I remember flashing lights, too.”
Marty nodded, a soft smile spreading her lips. “Yeah. No music, but I knew. I just knew.”
Wanda gave Toni a tight squeeze. “I need you to trust me about something, Toni, okay?”
“Okay,” she said with great hesitance.
“I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know why no one seems to know who Jon is, but I promise you this—he’s crazy about you, and I think you’re crazy about him, too. I know you’re warring with that notion because it appears he’s deserted you and you want to hate him for making you care. But don’t. Not yet. Your heart is sending you a message your head wants to overrule. But something’s happened with him, to him. Something, and I intend to find out what that something is. Until then, promise me you won’t let your crazy imagination get the best of you. Jon did not desert you. He just wouldn’t do that.”
How Wanda could be so sure baffled her. Maybe Toni was too thick in the mud to see clearly.
Her nod was slow, but she still wasn’t totally convinced. “You know, you once said to me something wasn’t right about him. Should I trust that, too?”
Wanda nodded, her hair never moving. “You absolutely should. Something isn’t right. I think I also said I thought he was a good guy or something to that effect. I don’t necessarily think what I said has to do with some kind of deceit that would hurt you. I refuse to believe he’s willingly not by your side. So until we figure this out, promise me you won’t jump to conclusions? Let’s get the entire picture first. Until then, it’s Christmas, for crap’s sake, and I believe in miracles.”
Toni shuddered a breath and prayed for one of those miracles. “We don’t have a lot of time left. Once we see the king and he gives me whatever I’m supposed to get, and you all prove you’ve done your tasks as fairy godmothers, I’m assuming you can leave. At least that’s what Brenda implied anyway. I’m not going to let you waste another second here in this realm if you’re missing the holiday with your families. I just won’t.”
“Then we go find the fuck before we meet the king,” Nina said. “Then I beat Flawless’s ass for ditching us like so much landfill and make him squeal like a girl. And if I find that damn knock-off of Shrek, I’ll beat his ass, too. Can’t believe after all that all-for-one-and-one-for-all musketeer bullshit, he just left us like we didn’t mean shit.”
But Toni offered a sobering thought. “Have you seen the size of this castle? It could take a week to find the kitchen, and that’s if you know where you’re going. How will we find him in this maze in less than an hour? No way am I letting you guys miss this appointment with King Dick. If I’m not going back to Jersey, you three most certainly are. No matter what. Especially you, Nina. You can’t hold out much longer like this without a good infusion of some blood.”
Marty rushed to Toni’s side and grabbed her hand, her blonde hair erect as ever. “No one’s leaving anyone anywhere, honey. We’re a team—Team Toni. Period. Now, I’m not a werewolf for nothing. I know Jon’s scent, and if he’s still here in the castle, or on the grounds, I’ll find him. Nina’s got the same superpower I do, as does Wanda. Our senses might be dulled because of whatever Brenda did and this crazy fairy godmother stint, but I’m pretty sure I could smell a man as fabulous as Jon even without my full werewolf senses. So I say we split into groups of two and we do this. You in?”