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He slid his chair over to the large cabinet behind his desk, swinging open the large, heavy, wooden doors. Inside were stacked cartons upon cartons of cigarettes. It didn't matter what brand, he didn't care. All he needed was the intoxicating smoke to drown out the flood of smells, sights, sounds, and thoughts of this world. Who would have thought the quaint, empty place he escaped to all those years ago would have become a sardine can in so short a time. Sure, it seemed like eons for the Mundanes, but a few hundred years were like a mere two decades to the Fables, if that.

Slipping a pack out of a carton and quickly lighting up a stick, he took a deep drag while his deputy sighed, "You know those things are bad for you, right?"

Boy Blue had been a scount in the Fable Resistance Armies in the homelands, and a good one at that. He was a brave lad, and had served with dignity, including the Battle of the Last Castle. In fact, he had been one of the Fables on the last boat to the Mundane world Bigby had fished out of the water. Blue felt like he owed him something, even though Bigby never felt that way. Still, he was a good deputy, and the good cop to the wolf's bad cop. Bigby didn't know what he'd do without him.

"They're bad for the Mundies, Blue," Bigby shook his head. "I've been smoking for nearly a century. It'll be fine."

"Well, they smell awful," Boy Blue coughed.

Before the wolf could answer, the Mad Hatter burst through the door to the sheriff's office, sweating profusely. He took off his oversized hat and began dabbing his large forehead with it, "S-s-sheriff! It's horrible!"

"Hatter, what are you doing here? I thought you lived on the Farm," the wolf responded out of the side of his mouth not holding the cigarette.

The Mad Hatter of Wonderland was an eccentric if Bigby had ever met one. He wasn't sure if the Hatter was mad or a genius, though it was likely he was a little of both. He had chosen to stay on the Farm in upstate New York where the non-human-looking Fables lived. He resided with his best friend the March Hare. Bigby went and checked on the Farm periodically, but hadn't been there in years.

"Had to come tell you! The March Hare...he's lost his head!"

"Blue," Bigby said to the boy in a calming voice, "get the good Hatter some tea. I'm going to have a talk with [i]her majesty[/i]."

Bigby stood, passing by the trembling Hatter and out the door. If what the loon was saying was correct, then they had their first Fable murdered on Mundane soil in nearly a century. The last one was a doozey, and he had hoped he'd never have to do it again. The sentiment was a foolish one, of course. The Fables had historically been a violent people in the Homelands, whether they wanted to remember that or not. It would always come out of them in the end.

But a murder on the Farm was a whole different matter.

The sheriff stopped in front of his destination, taking a deep before pushing the door open. In the utilitarian office on the other side stood a singular desk. At the desk sat a beautiful, but serious looking woman. Her raven black hair was pulled back in a tight bun, allowing her alabaster skin to shine against the dark wood of the office. Her lips were as ruby red as the most vivid rose, and her eyes were a sparkling blue. Snow White was the reason Bigby had come to Fabletown in the first place. He had never told her, but he had loved her since the day he saved her from the Adversary's troops in the Homelands. There was only one problem.

"What?" Snow asked, not looking up from her work.

She hated Bigby's guts, and was a bit of a bitch to boot.

"You might want to come to my office," he said after a drag of the cigarette. "Mad Hatter's here. Says someone murdered March Hare."

Her piercing eyes darted up from whatever she was doing to stare down the sheriff, "You're not kidding."

"I'm not. Who knows if the loon is or isn't," the lawman shrugged. 

"Well, let's go then," Snow White hustled by Bigby, waving the smoke out of her face as she did.

[center][b]Bigby Wolf
in
~Off With Their Heads~
-A Fables Tale-[/b][/center]