Fables #45

The screams from the cell have gone on for two days straight. Frau Totenkinder sits outside in her rocking chair, waiting. As King Cole and Prince Charming approach, she tells them she was determined to personally see the last wish, for the Djinn to return to its bottle, fulfilled. She can neither command the monster to stop or do anything to cut Yusuf's suffering short, lest it potentially disrupt the delicate wish structure and make the third wish null and void. Yusuf commanded the Djinn to make his demise slow and painful, and the Djinn will do just that. Charming and King Cole turn away from the horrid yells, continuing down the dungeon to a different cell. It wasn't going to be pretty, but it's time to talk to Sinbad. They open his cell door. The tired sailor speaks in his native tongue, asking how long he's been there. King Cole answers him; two days.

On the Farm, Rose Red shows Boy Blue the duties he'll be expected to perform during his two-year stint. The wolf cubs follow him around, asking endless questions about his adventure in the Homelands. He's a hero to them, Rose says. Blue seems uncomfortable with all the questions about how many lords and knights heads he chopped off, so Rose tells them to stop. She shows Blue Bagheera's cage, where he's to feed Bagheera two meals a day, make sure his water dish is always full, and clean out his cage at least once a day. To do that he'll need to get inside and wipe it down and sweep it up. Rose promises Bagheera won't eat him. Bagheera agrees he probably won't eat him, though he adds he may just be repeating what his jailor says. Rose tells Bagheera he's as bad as the kids. As she and Blue move on, he tells her that while he's grateful to her for showing him the ropes, all the duties she's given him so far don't appear to be that difficult. He reminds her he's supposed to be doing hard labor up here. Rose sends the kids away so she can have "grown up talk" with Blue. She tells him that, up here at the Farm, they all consider him a bona fide hero for what he did, no matter how the dignitaries down in Fabletown see it. So, while they'll have him put on a show of it, sweating in the fields whenever any visitors come knocking, right now she would much rather have him join her and Snow for lunch.

While they have concluded that Yusuf acted alone in summoning the Djinn, it didn't absolve Sinbad of bring the creature into Fabletown in the first place, which is considered by the laws to be a hostile act. Thanks to Kay, they already have most of the details down, but Prince Charming wants to give Sinbad a chance to explain why he brought the Djinn with him. Sinbad replies that it was the most powerful weapon they had to use against the Adversary. He was given charge of it, so he took it with him because it wouldn't do to leave the bottle behind for the Adversary's armies to find. He only left it out in the open because he knew his slaves wouldn't dare touch his property, and he truly believed Yusuf to be ever loyal to him.

Beast sees Bufkin in the Business Office and asks if he's seen Beauty. Bufkin becomes agitated and defensive, saying he saw nothing, that he's a good monkey! He flies off, leaving Beast very confused.

Sinbad is back in his guest room, far more comfortable now after having showered. He listens as King Cole and Charming give him his sentence. Normally, even an unintended act of war must be met with the death penalty; However, the extenuating circumstances surrounding the case means that they can settle on just exiling Sinbad from Fabletown. In his current role of envoy, he can't return, though as Charming and King Cole exchange glances, they add he could if he were suddenly made into the mayor of a new Fabletown in the east... The Djinn did remove any competitors for the job, and it can be assumed the Arabian Fables would prefer their own community in Baghdad anyway. Of course, Prince Charming tells Sinbad a new Eastern Fabletown could only be officially recognized if it adopts many of the vital provisions in this Fabletown's compact. Mo slaves, for instance.

Outside, the Arabian Fables gather as Sinbad announces to all his slaves that they're now free. He also gives his entire entourage a choice, to join him back home in Baghdad, or to remain here where they're promised full emancipated citizenship. King Cole, too, was accompanying Sinbad as the new West Fabletown Ambassador to East Fabletown. A role he was most excited to play.

It took over a week and a half to get back, but Sinbad and King Cole make it to Baghdad. A city under American occupation by the Mundy army. But Sinbad tells King Cole they won't be building their Fabletown in this dreary place. He leads him down an underground passage, where two guards are stationed, protecting the entrance to a gateway. Stepping through, Sinbad welcomes an astonished King Cole to their Baghdad. The Homelands version, still untouched by the Adversary's forces. It would actually take quite some time for the empire to get this far, and by the time they strike here, Sinbad will have some strong defenses set up to combat them. They won't be caught unprepared like the West Fables. If they are eventually forced to go, it'll be in a more orderly fashion. As for now, King Cole needed a place to room, and both Ali Baba and Aladdin have petitioned for the honor of hosting him. Sinbad also throws his own abode into the mix, should he choose.

Life returns to relative normal for Fabletown. Beast and Beauty take a walk down the street, discussing Bufkin's odd behavior. Flycatcher is sharing a bag of candies from Edward Bear's Candy shop with Red Riding Hood, who has never tasted such delicacies before. He promises to take her up to the Farm with him to visit Blue whenever he was allowed. A group of the Arabian harem-girls approach him and begin talking to him in not-quite-perfect English. Which leads to an unfortunately flirtatious misunderstanding which Flycatcher tries to explain to Red, but his words send her running away in tears.