From Underling to Uva

The Ugly Duckling

Uva led them out of Corona to a pub called The Ugly Duckling. She opened the door with almost childish glee. She felt like a kid who pulled her first prank. She almost giggled as she pushed past the ruffians until she found who she was looking for: a short, old man with a white beard. He reaked like spoilt milk and appeared anything but intelligent.

"Well, who do we have here?" He asked as he wobbled on his feet.

"I'm a good stanger helping these two dumbbies figure out what this scroll says." Uva motioned for Annabel to show the old man the scroll.

"Let’s see." He started then paused for a moment. "It looks like a recipe for a tasty cake. You should make some and bring it to me." He concluded.

Annabel and Antonio gaped at the answer. There was no way Segunda would encode a cake recipe.

"Thanks, Shorty." Uva waved.

"Hey, you know my name!" Shorty grinned.

Annabel rolled her eyes. "This is a wild goose chase." She whispered to Antonio.

"Well, you heard the man. It's cake baking time." Uva smirked.

Just then, a couple walked in - a couple that could mess up Uva's plans. Before she could redirect Annabel's and Antonio's course, they bumped right into the couple.

"Uh, oh, excuse us." Anontio was the first to respond.

"It's okay. Though I'm not sure we've met." The lady aanswered.

"Right, and we should get going." Uva interrupted hastily.

A shadow of a smile graced Annabel's lips. "I'm sure we can exchange a few pleasantries before we depart." She paused to look at Uva's slightly concerned face. "After all, we wouldn't want to be rude after so carelessly bumping into them."

The groups exchanged names and greetings. It just so happened that these people were Princess Rapunzel and Eugene. Annabel, Antonio, and Uva were about to leave when Shorty brought up the "cake recipe."

"Let me know when the cake is ready!" Shorty called out.

"Oh, you're making a cake?" Rapunzel asked happily. "Can we help? I love baking!"

"Sure, if you can read the recipe." Annabel agreed handing Rapunzel the scroll. Annabel shot a side glance to Uva. Uva started fidgeting slightly.

Rapunzel's eyes widened. She quickly showed Eugene the scroll. "This is Ancient Coronan!" She gasped. Rapunzel and Eugene looked back at the group.

"I doubt this is a cake recipe, Blondie." Eugene commented. "Looks like it's time to visit Old Corona." The pair exited The Ugly Duckling leaving Annabel and Antonio to drag Uva along with them.

"Looks like the deal's off, Uva." Annabel sneered. Uva was about to fire back a snarky remark when it struck her that Annabel called her by name. "Nice try though." Annabel concluded.

Antonio just gave her a sad look. He'd really hoped Uva would do the right thing. Uva lowered her eyes. Maybe she should've just helped them. After all, Segunda wouldn't swerve from her plan to save her. Uva felt loneliness consume her. For the first time since meeting the two, she almost wished they'd give her a chance. She even almost wished Annabel would sass her. However, all she had now was her own thoughts and the blabbering of a happy-go-lucky, friendly princess. She only hoped that they'd reached Old Corona soon.