When Joderick and Brian popped out of mid-air and landed in the middle of the market, no one batted an eyelid. Brian fluttered her wings, floating down to the ground gracefully while the prince fell right on his bum.

‘Where’s Muffin?’ Joderick asked, rubbing his rump. His horse was nowhere to be seen.

‘Oh, I sent her home,’ Brian replied, tightening the orange shoelaces on her pink trainers. ‘She wanted to be back in her stable by dinnertime, and I couldn’t quite see that happening.’

Joderick wasn’t sure what was more alarming: the fact that this fairy had had a conversation with his horse, or the fact that he was on track to miss his next meal.

‘Look at all these strange people,’ he whispered, gazing round the marketplace. He didn’t get out of the palace very often and, when he did, he was almost always with his family and the royal guards, which meant he saw practically nothing.

Brian looked at him, a little bit confused.

‘Strange? How are they strange?’

‘Well, you know …’ Joderick pointed at a green-skinned man with purple hair as he trotted by, walking a pink-and-yellow striped cat on a lead. ‘They’re all so … different.’

‘Different to you,’ Brian replied. ‘Everyone here is as colourful as a rainbow. To them, you’re the strange one. Boring, to be honest. Have you ever thought about doing something fun with your hair?’

The prince gulped as he noticed more and more people giving him shifty looks. He was a prince – he was used to being stared at – but normally people were cheering his name and taking his picture. Here, in this odd market square, no one looked especially pleased to see him. He stuck out like a sore thumb.

‘Maybe they wouldn’t be staring if you weren’t wearing that ridiculous neckerchief,’ Brian said, nodding towards Joderick’s ruff. ‘What’s the point of it anyway? It looks like you’ve thrown a lace doily round your neck. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone mistook you for a table and tried to place a cup of tea on your head!’

Sheepishly, Joderick tugged on his collar.

‘Or maybe they’re looking at me because of that,’ he said, pointing across the way and gulping with fear.

Hanging right next to one of Cinderella’s wanted posters was a huge piece of parchment, inscribed with the words:

‘I never should have brought you,’ Brian went on, muttering to herself. ‘No one is going to help me find that goddaughter of mine with you trailing around behind me. And honestly! Extremely handsome? I’m not sure about that, Noderick.’

‘It’s Joderick,’ Joderick replied, not sure whether to be offended or not.

‘I like Noderick,’ Brian said. ‘And I think we should send you home.’

But the prince wasn’t ready to give up just yet.

‘No!’ he exclaimed. ‘I really want to help Cinders. She’s the best friend I’ve ever had. I can’t just let the Huntsman catch her.’

Brian considered the young man. He seemed truthful enough, and it was very brave of him to trot out into the Dark Forest all on his own, but any one of these market traders would happily turn him in for a hundred gold pieces, and that would only make her job more complicated.

‘Do you think there’s something you could do to help me blend in?’ Joderick asked as a man rode by on a purple polka-dot giraffe. ‘Perhaps a disguise of some kind?’

‘I thought you’d never ask,’ Brian said with a grin. ‘Let’s have a go, shall we?’

With a flick of her wrist,

‘How do I look?’ he asked as the sparkles began to settle on the floor.

Brian stepped back to admire her handiwork.

‘I don’t see you winning any beauty contests, but you’ll pass,’ she said, fishing around in a handbag she produced from nowhere to pull out a mirror that couldn’t possibly have fitted inside. ‘Whaddya think?’

Joderick couldn’t believe it. The face staring back from the mirror was still his, but now his skin was a very fetching shade of navy blue, his eyes were neon green and his hair shone silver and gold in the sunshine. He looked up at the people bustling around him and no one in the marketplace gave him so much as a second glance.

‘I like it,’ he said as Brian slid the huge mirror back into the tiny bag. ‘Now, where shall we start looking for Cinders?’

‘Anywhere but here,’ Brian said, grabbing hold of Joderick’s arm and dragging him away from the middle of the square and off behind a stand selling dozens of different delicious-smelling cakes that made Joderick’s mouth water.

‘What’s wrong?’ he asked as Brian pulled a very large pair of sunglasses out of her bag and put them on over the top of her normal glasses.

‘See that chap over there?’ she hissed, pointing at a short man with a very long grey beard, wearing a tall, pointed hat.

Joderick nodded.

‘I went to school with him and he’s the worst,’ she said. ‘Total braggart, always going on about how brilliant he is. Haven’t the time to deal with that particular goblin today.’

Ooh, a goblin! thought Joderick, craning his neck to get a better look. He’d never seen a goblin before. In fact, he hadn’t even thought they were real until now. Fairies, goblins, talking bears … he was starting to wonder what other kinds of creature he was going to meet on this adventure.

‘What you waiting for?’ Brian said, snapping her fingers at the distracted prince. ‘We’ve got a half-fairy to find – there’s no time to waste!’