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And so, leaving the perfect tea table behind, she walked through the forest with her hand on Hannibal's arm. It was a strange thing to be the one to lead, but that was what the City brought to her -- many strange things. Beauty had long ago grown accustomed to the truth of that, if not the happenings that made it true.

The sun was coming down, and the forest cast long shadows over them as she found the path she'd used to come this far. She hummed a meandering tune as they progressed. It'd taken hours for her to walk to the clearing where she found this older version of the man. Although it shouldn't be, it was unsurprising when they almost immediately broke through the tree line and onto a City street.

"Ah!" she cried, gesturing with her free hand. "And there it is -- The City." And, because she knew it was a surprise when one first saw it, she edged a little closer to Hannibal, then, and rubbed his arm lightly. "It's really quite lovely," she assured him. "I can't wait to show you the cafe where we first met."

Beauty had been walking through the woods for some time, lost in her own thoughts. She hadn't expected to enter a clearing and see what she did. In the center of that great expanse of grass and trees, a tea table waited. It was covered with all the expected accoutrements - perfect little biscuits, a healthy amount of sugar cubes, jam, lemon, cream, a touch of fruit and some cheese, crumpets, and of course, one very large and steaming teapot.

She looked around, but saw no one waiting, no one present at all. With quite a bit of curiosity, and, she was a little embarrassed to admit, hunger, Beauty walked to the table and circled once. It seemed rude to sit down without permission, but there was no one about to give it.... and it also seemed such a shame to leave everything uneaten.

Finally, and without a single thought to whether or not it was actually safe, Beauty did take a seat.