A Runaway Princess at Sea (bill x fem.dipper)

Chapter 20

Stepping into the store, the little gold bell above the door greeted her. Dipper closed her eyes and deeply inhaled in the sweet, musky smell of paper and ink that wafted from old and new books. Paradise. That was what it felt like. Whenever she felt down or needed a quiet place from everyone in her previous town, she would go to the library or a bookstore, just her and shelves upon shelves of thick and thin literature alone for hours. Being in such a familiar place gave Dipper some confidence and she slid off her hood.

Opening her eyes with excitement clearly evident in them, Dipper smiled and immediately went to explore. Her first instinct was to go to the non-fiction area and pick out the thickest book. Then she went to the fiction part of the store and grabbed a one hundred chapter book with 32 pages for each one. As she looked at the cover and read a little of the first chapter, she was unaware that there had been another person inside.

"Excuse me?"

On reflex, her hand flew to the dagger strapped to her leg and with a quick flick of her wrist positioned the tip at the throat. The person's eyes went wide and lifted his hands in a surrender position, telling Dipper that he was no threat. It was an older man with short graying brown hair and black eyes. He wore a white collared shirt with a black vest that had a pocket watch on the side, a light brown coat, brown pants folded at the ankles and brown shoes. A pair of round spectacles sat on a rather big nose. The man grinned.

"Careful now, ya gon' put out an' eye if ya ain't used to that."

When Dipper saw that it wasn't an enemy her death like stare faded and she retracted the weapon. She tucked it back into its holder and looked back at the man.

"Talk about being reckless old man." She scolded. Crossing her arms, Dipper stared up with her eyebrows narrowed. "I have a 'trigger finger' so to speak, and it's a good thing I can control it. If it had been someone else, you would've been dead in a matter of seconds." She said huffing.

The man chuckled. 

"I see," He said. "Then I best be careful next' time."

Dipper let out a puff of air before smiling. They decided to get acquainted with each other, and it was then he decided to finally reveal his identity. His name was Fiddleford McGucket, and it turned out that he was the owner of the bookshop. McGucket was an inventor by trade but then decided to settle down and sell books.

"I am actually looking for a friend of mine." He said sitting down, pushing up his glasses that had begun to slip in the process. As they were talking, the two had walked into the back of the shop and sat at a table. He handed Dipper a cup of tea to which she politely accepted. "He wen' missin' bout twenty years ago, he did. Not a trace of him to be found. Like he disappeared off th' face of th' earth." He gestured his hand in an arch motion for a bit of dramatic effect.

Dipper was curious. How could someone disappear? Did he die? Or maybe did he change his name and start a new life? There were so many possibilities!

"How long you've known him for?" Dipper asked.

McGucket cupped his chin and hummed in thought, before pushing the glasses up once more. "Ummm...met him as a young'n, so bout thirty-forty years now I believe."

This made Dipper smile. It was nice to see a dedicated and long-lasting relationship between the two people. It made her wonder if her and Mabel's relationship was going to last as long as that.

"Do you know when you last saw him?" Dipper suggested. "Maybe that might give you a clue of some kind." She felt bad for the man and wanted to help just a little bit and give some advice that may be helpful.

McGucket lowered his head. "'Fraid already tried tha'." He said sadly. "Said be back in three months. En' of year, never came back. Spent ten years serchin' for him."