Ever After - Ella Enchanted AU

Ever After - Bonus Chapter (17.5)

 Alya swore up and down as she finally stumbled down the main road of Giantville. It was past midnight and she was missing the greatest party of the century, all because Marinette had finally lost her mind. Alya had always known that her friend was a tad odd, no one normal was ever so compliant, but sending her off to her death in the Forest of Pim would put a remarkable strain on their friendship. She'd never let her hear the end of it.

Giants thumped past her on the main road, making Alya feel more like a mouse among elephants as she rushed about trying not to get stepped on. Alya panted from exhaustion as she tried to read the building signs that felt like they were a mile above her head.

"Music Store... Music Store... Music Store..." Alya chanted under her breath as she searched in vain for her destination. Before she had left Giantville with her friends, Nino, the gorgeous musician, said that if she ever wanted to look him up again, she would find him working in the music shop on the main road. So far, her search had been fruitless from her perspective so close to the ground. She was about to give up and turn around to head back to Lamia when she heard the telltale sound of expertly played trumpet music. After spending a night listening to him play, Alya could recognize that playing among thousands of others. She dodged a few more monstrous feet, dashed under a few fruit carts before she stumbled through the doorway where she thought she heard the music coming from.

The music store was filled to the brim with different musical instruments; mandolins, harps, lutes, trumpets and every percussion instrument under the sun were organized in their various sections. Siting in the store window were bins upon bins of music transcripts and sheet music while at the back looked to be a repair station with dozens of interesting looking tools. Naturally, no one was actually working when Alya wandered in. Nino and one of his bandmates were huddled around the back desk as Nino played a chromatic scale as fast as he could. When he had finished, the other boy, a mandolin player by the name of Luka Couffaine, held up a pocket watch with a grin.

"36 seconds up and down the scale," He laughed, giving Nino a high five. "That's 3 seconds less than it was last time."

"What can I say?" Nino grinned, setting his trumpet aside. "With skills like mine, improvement was to be expected."

"Spoken like a cocky musician, Lahiffe," Alya called from the door, still catching her breath as she watched the scene unfold. The young giant and his bandmate looked to the door curiously, but they seemed to brighten in harmony when they realized who it was intruding on their lackadaisical work ethic.

"Alya!" Nino hopped down from the counter, the shockwave nearly knocking Alya off her feet. He jogged over to the front door before crouching down to the diminutive elf. He grinned, making Alya smile in spite of her breathlessness. "You took me up on my offer then! Hope you didn't get lost on the way here."

"Miraculously, I didn't despite only seeing people from the shin up," Alya quipped, accepting Nino's outstretched hand so that he could carry her back over to where Luka was waiting for them.

"So what brings you back to Giantville so soon?" Nino asked, setting her down on the counter. "Are you actually going to take me up on my offer on that music lesson."

"Sadly, no," Alya sighed, settling herself to where she sat with her legs dangling off the side of the counter. "I'm afraid I'm only here on business."

"Sounds serious," Luka chimed in, crossing his arms on top of the counter.

"Who knows at this point," Alya groaned, leaning back on her hands as she closed her eyes. "Marinette's gone off the deep end, I think. She sent me on a mad quest to round up people to bring back to the castle in order to save Adrien for some reason. She thinks he's in danger for some reason from the king."