Theater Lobby:

"Do you want a coupon and free candy?" Florence asked Thackeray, trying to divert attention from her mother. She leaned against a video game called Candy Village Rat Patrol.

"No, I'm fine." He patted Blackstone on the back. "Florence, your friend impresses me."

"She could do better." Queen Petunia's hand landed on Florence's arm.

Petunia commanded a burly guard, and he spun her around like Florence was a toy.

"You might do nicely. I think I can arrange a marriage for you. Maybe I will give you to Griffin or Victor for a bride," the princess said. 

"Griffin is a huge no." Florence's eyes widened.

Blackstone stood in front of her. His voice deepened. "Hello, your majesty, could you consider me for Florence's hand? Griffin is broke, and a man as prestigious as Prince Victor should have women fighting over him. Women would have to pay, and you could sell tickets and ale."

"You sound like my brother, so you must be wealthy." Petunia walked over to the video games.

"I was joking." Victor smirked to himself. "Whatever my sister wants—Florence's hips are lovely, but I am more interested in Miriam. Though Florence is a passable backup." He grunted in pain. "Sorry, my foot hurts."

"Someone's probably cursed you," Petunia sang out.

"It's not a curse," Victor snapped. 

"You wouldn't want him to have another heir, would you?" Thackeray asked. "Women fighting over Victor is a bit tacky, but he'd bring in money."

"Uninterested, it's going to be Miriam. I would've been happier if she was my first wife," Victor said.

Petunia spoke to Miriam with a doll-like grin. "I'm sorry that my troops attacked you. Victor and I had the entire group placed in the stocks for a couple of days."

"Okay." Miriam stepped back.

Petunia clutched a coin in her hand. "Aren't you the royal who came to marry my brother, but instead went to rent a cramped room from the theater man for over 40 years?"

"Yes, but I also worked in the military as a general," Miriam said.

"You've led such a sad and dull life," Petunia smirked. "Where do you come from?"

Florence's father walked in.

Queen Petunia rolled her eyes. "Choose. Marry my brother, or Florence does. I know you're close friends."

"Did you talk to me about this?" Florence's father asked.

"Do you own your daughter and the people who rent from you?" Petunia stuck her tongue out. 

Miriam sighed to herself. Her eyes misted, and she couldn't speak. "Give me time."

Petunia put a coin in Love Crush Defender and blasted vampire hearts with a laser cannon. "She's about to sacrifice herself. Isn't this fun? If I have to marry someone I don't love, everyone else should be consumed by loveless marriages, too."

"No! Tribeca is a better choice," Prince Thackeray said.

"But Tribeca isn't royal." Petunia blasted at unicorns with magic wants.

Thackeray spoke calmly. "You want to control Tribeca, and my brother deserves a worthy bride who won't produce another heir and has her own money. Miriam wouldn't be renting from the theater owner if she were wealthy. Her eggs are frozen. She is a worse match than Florence."

"I do not have my family's money," Miriam lied.  

Thackeray's voice softened further. "After Tribeca opens the vault, we can corrupt her, and then she can't use her magic against you."

"Well played," Victor said to his brother. "You kept Tribeca alive. How did you know we planned to kill her? Unlike Petunia, I don't care about the vault. She has the power to destroy us. If it's about your daughter, yes, marrying Tribeca might save them both."

"You better not make Tribeca the queen consort." Petunia placed another coin in and shot at hearts. "I won't share anything with Tribeca or Cora. The crown is mine! And I also want to play matchmaker by force." Petunia screamed and cried. She kicked Thackeray. Her tantrum echoed through the theater lobby.

"Don't forget who gave you the crown," Victor said dryly.

"I'll scream if you get in my way." Unicorns shot at her avatar until she heard a game over. Queen Petunia sighed to herself and slid more coins in. "I probably need to find a new man to marry, but the only one with an heir should be me."

"Alva was good-looking, but an idiot, unworthy of you," a guard said.

Petunia didn't look up from her video game. "Never say anything bad about my one true love. Victor picked him, and my brother is always right. I just loved kissing a man whose breath smelled like cat urine." She pretended to cry. 

Victor smacked her hand away from her game. "We can blame all our problems on Prince Alva." He started talking to Thackeray. "Talk to the media about my search for my bride." 

"Too bad Blackstone is gone. He could have baked a groom's cake." Queen Petunia continued to play her video games. "I miss his roasted chicken."

Blackstone guided Florence out of the theater while the others were distracted. "We need to talk."

"I have the place." She took him out of the theater through a side exit.

Within fifteen minutes, they finished their giveaway. She guided him to a one-bedroom home.

Mead jugs and bottles, some half full, stuck out from the huge trash bin in front.

Florence unlatched the door, and the house smelled of pine.

"This is Edgar's party home." She touched the newly painted walls.

He sat down on a wooden chair. "I can't believe Victor didn't figure it was me, but he's always been disinterested."

"No one recognized you but Thackeray. Um... I've been wanting to talk to you about this. Is Victor really your father? Honestly, you look and act more like Thackeray. And how he acted when he found us sounded like a confession. Did he abandon you?"

"He's my father. He never abandoned me. Thackeray worked as a servant in his own home to have access to me." Blackstone rocked his chair. "Well, every time I called Thackeray, Dad, Victor would toss my father into the dungeon, but he couldn't stop me from saying it in private."

"Victor what?" Florence stood up.

"So, as I always say, Victor is my father publicly. It's because I want my father to survive. It's a lie, I tell myself, and I hate lying, but it's a half-truth since Victor illegally adopted me..." he paused. "Once, when I was six, my mother and father attempted to flee with me but were captured and punished. I didn't understand at the time, but they only stayed in the castle because of me. They protected me and allowed me to pursue my dream of being a chef because they made a deal with Uncle Victor."

"So, Cora is your cousin? And is Wendy your adopted sister?"

"Cora will always be my sister." Blackstone stood up and paced. "But Wendy and I have the same biological parents. Rhonda is our mother. Petunia pretends she doesn't know, but she knows Thackeray is Wendy's father."

"What?" Florence asked.

Prince Blackstone's hair darkened. "Wendy and I are half-human gelatinous shape-shifters, but I pass for human because genetics are weird that way." His skin color changed to pink, purple, then green, and back to his normal human coloring. "That's all I can do. I can't fully shape-shift, and even Victor doesn't know I can do even that. Wendy, my parents, and you are the only ones who have seen this unless I am disguised."

Florence hugged him. "Thank you for trusting me."

His hair lightened again. "My mother and father gave up everything to protect me and my sister." 

"Same with my mom."

He spoke. "The judges illegally sold us to Victor, and the courts refused the DNA tests and wedding license, so my parents had to adopt my sister. Victor used it to hurt Dad and me. Wendy is officially my father's only heir. The courts wouldn't allow him to adopt me back because Victor was the real king, after my great-grandmother's death."

"Did Victor force Wendy to be the dome?"

"No, she sacrificed herself when Izz backed out." Blackstone didn't disguise his sadness. "It wasn't supposed to be the job of a seventeen-year-old to give up her solid form, but as the oracle book states, the real chosen one rejected the responsibility."

She hugged up.

His voice cracked. "In the end, my sister might fall to her death because she wasn't selected. Everyone reads the book wrong, even you. She isn't going to kill anyone but sacrifice herself again. I don't want to lose my sister."

"Before we go, if we run into Griffin, could you color-shift? I want him to think that you are someone else."

"Sure, I can do that, but I need food to perform it, like candy apples." Blackstone rubbed his tummy.

They left Edgar's house and walked around town.

A local church set up the engagement tree and decorated it with apple-shaped lights.

Couples placed tickets and coins in a bucket. They shoved their hands into a fishbowl and pulled out silver engagement bands.

Florence and Blackstone watched from a distance.

"The engagement tree costs 25 gems because it's costume jewelry. It's romantic, enchanting, and cheap. My dad asked my mom that way. I bought the tickets, but no one ever wanted to go with me. It doesn't have to be an engagement, but a friend will do. It's too late now."

Blackstone pulled her into the line. "You can use your ring for whomever you want, but you deserve this experience."

"I left the tickets at home." She touched her hair.

"It's just pretend, but it's for you." He paid for their tickets, and they embraced her under the tree. They dipped their hands into the bowl and pulled out a box. Inside were two polished stone rings.

"I guess it's unlucky that these are not the engagement rings." Blackstone winked.

"No," Florence said. "These are good fortune rings. It guarantees we'll both find true love in a year." She put hers on.

Blackstone placed his band on. "I think I found mine," he mumbled to himself. 

Vendors pulled carts full of fresh grapes, cheese, and candied apples.

Another vendor sold roses and carnations.

"We're late for the tunnel of love." Blackstone bought her a carnation.

"He'll have to wait." She purchased him a candy apple, and they sat and talked with Wendy for a half hour while he ate the sweet and sticky fruit off the edible stick.

"We call these caramel apples at the castle. I made them, but mine were not covered in bacon bits." Blackstone finished. "I didn't think I'd like it. Bacon has become too trendy."

"Do you have to rant about bacon?" Wendy formed an arm and snatched Florence's apple. She ate the apple and tossed the candied spice stick in the closest trash can. "I'm hungry, and I'll buy you a cake, I promise."

"Enjoy, it was for you anyway." Florence laughed to herself.

"What are we going to do besides eat candy apples?" Blackstone asked.

Make wishes in the fountain. She tossed a coin in the fountain. "The money goes to the children's home, and we earn wishes."

Blackstone tossed a coin in and wished for a happy ending.

"I guess we made him wait long enough." Florence pointed at the tunnel of love. "I have a feeling this is a trap, so I'm hiding a laser gun."

They sat inside the cloud-shaped cart. Blackstone handed the man a gold coin.

A heavy wire slowly pulled the cart. A giant spider popped up. Florence squealed and clutched Blackstone. "It's just for show. Griffin is close by."

"I'll help." Blackstone turned sky blue, and he squeezed her hand.

They passed an idealistic romantic picnic scene, and then the scene changed to a moon in a twinkling sky. The cart stalled.

His skin appeared to be a deeper purple, like deep space, with patches of light.

Griffin sat in the front and stared at Blackstone. He climbed in and slipped a heart-shaped letter in her purse.

Blackstone turned colors again.

"I realized this free ticket was a scam, which is why I made you wait." Florence clutched her side piece.

Blackstone turned green, and he lowered his voice. "Is this that annoying Damsel you're always talking about? Women always throw themselves at you."

"No, I'm not Blackstone." He turned to Florence. "I thought you were going to bring Victor's son."

"Well, I can honestly say I'm not Prince Victor's son. I want what my parents have—a forever marriage." Blackstone ran his fingers through his properly attached wing.

"Florence, where is Blackstone, and who is your shape-shifter date?"

"Hi, I am Alv. It's short for Alva, but that name isn't popular right now. Our blind date was arranged for us by Miriam, but I'm trying to impress Florence. I might try the engagement tree again. She picked the costumes and everything. Wow, she must really like me to set me up with a woman this beautiful and intelligent," Blackstone said.

The ride started up again.

Bubbles filled the air.

Griffin smirked. "You won the stone rings. Wow, I guess you're impressed by cheap dates." He shoved tickets into her hands for rides and outdoor movies. "There are specific seats you need to find. Ditch the date, though he probably is not trustworthy."

"Thanks." Blackstone turned pink.

Griffin smirked to himself and caressed her hair. "I can show you how to kiss her."

Florence contorted her face. "It never went beyond kissing, and it wasn't that good."

"Stop being rude." Griffin stepped out of the cart. "I'll leave surprises for Victor and anyone who doubts me. Even if it tracks back to me, you said Petunia won't kill me."

"Please, let me help," Florence said.

Griffin didn't answer and left.

"And I didn't lie. Alva is one of my real middle names. I find telling the truth far less complicated."