With the ladies gone to SanMyshuno, Prince decided to take full advantage of the situation and have a guys night out.  He wanted to celebrate Mike joining the family soon.

A dinner of good draft beer and brats was a grand start to the evening.  Snow, being concerned for his health, did not often allow Prince such an indulgence.

The table banter was lively and fun.  He was seated next to one of his dearest friends, Alfonso and surrounded by beloved new family members.

Even with all that, there was still a big void at the table. Walter (aka Officer Theis) was unable to join them as had been planned.

**~~~~~~**

He and some trusted members of the WPD were pulling overtime.  There have been a number of complaints about a prowler skulking about in Windenburg.

A black-cloaked figure has been seen on surveillance cameras on the island and on the bluff.

Officer Theis sighed, “Ok you guys, back to work! That video surveillance will not view itself. ”

He hated to be a grumpy Gus but this serial prowler had him shook.  He did not like this one bit.  His gut told him that he needed to find out more about this person, FAST.

**~~~~~**

Now anytime Prince is involved in any event you know there will be music and singing at some point.  The local hose band hopped off the stage to take a break and Prince and the boys grabbed the opportunity to lead the Gasthaus in some rowdy rounds of pub songs.

True, Prince is a classical pianist but he still knows how to bang out some classic bar tunes.  From Sweet Caroline to The Piano Man to Don’t Stop Believing,  Prince and the boys had the crowd belting out the songs in unison.

By the time he hit Friends In Low Places, well, everyone in the pub dropped everything to sing along.  The boys had them convinced that this was the greatest song on the planet.

Once the house band returned Prince and the boys hit the dance floor to show off a few moves.  When Jack led them out in the Wabadebadoo stomp and the Gerbit hop it brought the house down.

In need of a bit of libation, after all that steppin’ they hit the bar.

Sadly it was Knight night and it was so frustrating trying to hear each other because of all that clanking about.

So they grabbed their beers and withdrew to the relative quiet of the game tables.

OHH Caiden!  Poor winners are just as bad as poor losers.

“BOOYA,” Caiden shouted.

Alex muses, if he is going to keep any friends he will have to learn to be a gracious winner!

“Hey son, nice sweater vest you got there.”

Bruno sensing his father’s ribbing, stammered a “Thanks, Dad!”

“Rosie get you that for Christmas?”

Bruno nodded sheepishly.  “EEYEP she did.”

“Made you wear it tonight did she, son?”

Bruno chuckled at his father’s insight, “Yeah she found it under the bed where it had fallen … uh slipped under somehow.”

Alfonso roared with laughter and gave Bruno a hardly pat on the back, “Been there too my boy.  You will get better at hiding it.”

With a wink at his boy, Alfonso returned to his darts game teammates.

Father …

against son …

and neither of them any good at darts!

To be honest none of the rest were any good either.

The only one who scored was Caiden and when he did he treated them all to his looser gooser dance.

I’ll spare you the agony of seeing that .. it was not pretty.

Neither was the midnight bowling …

Beer, brats, and late-night buffoonery.  They all agreed it was a grand time and they did not go home til the wee hours of the morn!!

**~~~~~~**

Rising early to beat Jeeves to the kitchen, Snow made good on her thoughts to treat everyone with her pancakes from the night before.

She has truly taken pancake making to a new level!

“Perfection,” she whispered gleefully.

A quick stop to the abbey to meet with the Father who will be officiating the nuptials and to see what arrangements have been made in the chapel so far is the first thing on today’s agenda.

Another quick stop by Auntie’s Atelier to check on the status of the bridesmaid’s dress and then on to the business of flowers.

Nope, not showing you either .. venue or dresses ;)

The flower shop was a kaleidoscope of color.

“Claudia, you are so right about this place.  It is pure perfection.”

The girls chatted, OHHing and AHHing over the different arrangements and delightful scents that met their noses.

They were early for the appointment with the floral designer who would be in charge of creating the floral arrangements and bouquets.

Rose’s head was spinning with questions and her concerns over the perfect “look” for the wedding flowers mounted!

Snow and Auntie Matilde were having way too much fun in the gardening section.

“Like either one of them would ever root around in the garden,” laughed Claudia.  Both girls giggled at the thought of the two proper dames with dirt on their knees.

Recollecting at the front of the store when the time for the appointment was near.  Rose’s sweet face was still showing her distress.

“Darling girl,” admonished Auntie, “you need to stop fretting so much over the details.  It is why we have hired a professional.  Now relax that face so you do not get puffy eye bags for the wedding.”

Rose smiled, Auntie was right.

Rose was glad for the small distraction when Bella Goth came into the shop and stopped to greet the ladies.  She looked terrible!  She must have been crying for a long time.

“Alex and Lily moved out last night,” she related tearfully to Rose.  “My heart has been so heavy with worry.  Alex just is not being himself!”

Rose gave Bella a supportive bunny hug.  “It will be ok,” Rose said reassuringly, “They will visit a lot I am certain.”

Bella seemed relieved.

One thing that was for certain, those worry bags under Bella’s eyes were enough to cause Rose to reconsider her penchant for brooding.

Finally, with coffee in hand (my kind of girl), the floral artist arrived for the meeting.

“Hello,” she greeted the ladies, “my name is Katrina Caliente and I am so looking forward to this consultation.”

The gals smiled, they liked her a lot.  Snow thought she was spunky.

“Let’s go up to my office and see what we can decide.”

All four dutifully followed her up.

Once they were out of sight something unsavory slithered out from behind the displays …

“OH happy nuptials indeed little princess.  Hmmm! We will see about that!” the vile scoundrel uttered to herself.

“Simplicity, Hon.  Simplicity is best! Simplicity is what we are after,” crooned Katrina.

Her plan was wonderful.

Yes, they all could see the vision!

Rose finally felt like she could breathe.

**~~~~~~**

“Hello.  Hello and welcome!” The bakery owner sang out, her Danish accent heavy but delightfully exotic.

The bakery was heady with the smells of sweet breads and coffee.

Rose, auntie, and Snow were drawn into distraction as they inhaled the delightful aroma.

Only Claudia kept her head about her.  Smiling she returned the owner’s greeting.

“I am Clara Bjergsen and this is my shop.  I am delighted to have you here.  This is so very exciting.”

“Charles,” Clara barked, “get over here and make the ladies a fresh french press.

The boy acknowledged and moved slowly toward the machine.

“Chop Chop,” she snapped and turning to the ladies, ” Please follow me.”

The discussion lasted far longer than you might think a discussion about cake could last.  Three pots of french press in and a decision was finally made.

They would need two cakes to accommodate all requests.  The boys had made their desires known ahead of time and the girls had a far different vision of what a wedding cake would be like!

The main wedding cake would be a light, delicate almond flavored white cake with a jellied cherry filling.  It would have royal frosting (of course) and be adorned with blossoms and butterflies.

The second cake would be a dark rich chocolate cake frosted with a simple chocolate whipped cream frosting AND no adornments what so ever.

“Who wants all that in the way of the cake?”  Mike had said to Rose.  This had brought riotous approval from her father and brother.

“There we are, finished,” the very patient Clara remarked, though no one seemed to be listening.  On their fourth pot of french press their brains were buzzing and their mouths moving quickly to try to catch up.

In fact MUCH later that evening, Auntie Matilde, who is staying at the chalet til the wedding, was still feeling the effects.

**~~~ Author’s note. ~~~**

There was so much happening in this update that I decided to split it.  I know you are all waiting for the wedding and I promise it is coming BUT I have to get this next one out before the wedding 🙂  Since it is nearly ready (I only have a few shots to go) I will post it early Saturday.  ❤

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An Era of Charming Tales #1 (complete) Table of Contents

**~~~ Credits ~~~**

A very special thank you to my dear friend Canadiansimmer77 who built the beautiful flower shop/bakery for Rose and Mike. TY Abs ❤

The incomparable Simoniona provides this sweet build ❤

Although this one has been featured before .. it has been a while and we will be seeing more of it to come in the next few weeks (or so).