No, he cried in the depths of his soul, no! He wouldn't allow it! He would not let this child, whom he loved more than his own life, be subject to the pain he had had to suffer. He would not have his child lose his parents, as Wolf had. He would not have his child live in fear of others, of himself. He would not have his child live in shame simply because he or she was different. He would not!

Wolf would demand. He would demand that his son be given the one thing that had been denied him and his siblings. He would make Queen Riding Hood III see, even if he had to kill himself in order to do it! He would have what was rightfully his, so that he could pass it on to his son, as it was supposed to be.

"King Wendell," he said, addressing the man who had been a dog until just recently, "Has Queen Riding Hood left yet?"

Wendell was a bit startled. What would a wolf want with member of the House of Red? He had two ideas as to what it could be, and both of them resulted in a major interkingdom incident. But Wolf had saved him, and the least he could do was answer.

"No. She has not returned to her kingdom. She wished to remain for a while to work out a trade agreement concerning - "

"So she is still in her quarters?" Wolf asked, interrupting him, "Up the stairs, left, down two hallways, and the first door on the right?"

"Well, yes..." replied Wendell who was a little confused. How would Wolf know the traditional rooms for members of the House of Red?

"Good..." said Wolf, pawing his eyebrow, "I'll just be going to see Crim then. Bye!"

And without another word, Wolf bounded off up the stairs. Wendell, who still had absolutely no idea as to what had exactly occurred, stood and watched him until he no longer could see. From the look he had seen on Wolf's face, Wendell had a feeling he would be negotiating not only a trade agreement, but a peace treaty as well.

"Majesty?"

"What is it, Wilfred!?" the queen of the Second Kingdom responded irritably.

"There is a man here to see you, Your Majesty...He won't leave."

"Who?" she asked, aggravated that she would be bothered over such a petty problem.

"I don't know, Your Majesty. But he wants to see you and...well, I suggest, in my most humble of opinions, that you go and see him." Wilfred looked as if he was going to faint in a moment. He'd made a declarative sentence, which made a suggestion. It was a first.

"Why?" she snarled.

"Because, Your Most Serene Majesty, I have a feeling something bad will happen if you do not. The man looks quite angry, milady..." The last was a whimper. The whimper of a man who has to choose if he wishes to be chewed on literally or physically.

The queen looked as if she was going to yell at him, but stopped when she saw the look of pure terror written on his face. It wasn't that she was unfamiliar with the look; she saw it all the time on her servants. But usually it was she who caused it. Queen Riding Hood III didn't like that someone was frightening her servants. That was her job to do!

And so, the queen got up off her very soft chair, fixed her red hood, clenched her teeth, and set off to the door. Her riding boots made a very unlady-like thump on the soft floor of her quarters as she stomped over to the door. When she got there, she opened the door roughly and was about to begin an earth-moving rant when she saw just who was at the door.

"What in the faerying forests are you doing here?!?" asked the queen as she looked into the eyes of Wolf.

"I'm here to talk to you, Crim..." Wolf answered. He sounded irregularly somber and his normally bouncing form was still.

"About what?" the queen named Crimson asked irritably, "You know, you aren't supposed to contact me in public!"

"I don't care what our parents agreed to!" Wolf cried, moving towards her angrily, "I need something, and you, Crim, are going to give it to me!"

"What, you mangy flea bag?" Crim responded with an anger that matched his own.

"I want my title!" Wolf demanded, "I want my birthright! It is my right, as a son of the House of Red, no matter what my species! I DEMAND that you name me Duke, as is my due!"

Crim laughed. "Do you really expect to get what you ask for? A Duchy given to a wolf? How would the kingdom take that!"

"How about the knowledge that a daughter, the eldest I may mention, of the House of Red went off and married a wolf?" her cousin replied with a hard smile, "Don't think that would go over too well with the nobles, eh cuz?"

The Queen exploded. "You are not to call me such a thing in public, you - "

"Cousin to the queen?" Wolf finished, "For that is all I am when it comes to you, when it comes to this discussion. I am your cousin, and so I am due a Duchy."

Crimson sighed, then put her head down in thought. She stayed that way for a moment, then lifted her face to his, an odd mixture of sadness and confusion on her features.

"But why, Wolf?" she asked, her tone almost pleading, "Why now!? Why, after all these years, do you want to be a duke? You've never asked for anything from me, or my mother before..."

Wolf breathed in for strength, then looked her straight in the eyes, eyes so similar to his, yet owned by someone who would never know how it felt to be cast aside for things you couldn't control. "Because Virginia is pregnant..."

"What?"

"The young woman, the one who saved the Nine Kingdoms, the girl I love...is pregnant, and I refuse to let my son or daughter grow up the way I did..."

"The way - "

"Living on the edge of the woods, barely scratching out a living because only certain farmers trade with wolves, and they tend to have the highest prices. Hated and rejected when they go to school, simply because they have a tail! Losing their parents, or themselves even, to the insane hatred there is for wolves!"

"I - "

"I won't have it for my child, Crim! I won't!" Wolf cried, his voice passionate as tears began to stream from his almost-amber eyes, "I won't..."

Crimson pulled him into the room then, carefully covering his face so that none could see the animalistic eyes. Still holding him, she sat on the bed, then quickly dismissed her servants. Which left only her...and him.

"Shush now, dear..." the queen of the Second Kingdom cooed quietly, "Don't worry...it'll be all right..."

"But - "

"I know what happened to your parents was a horrible thing, and the life you lived after and before worse than any child deserves, but you survived, you lived."

"But-"

"And while I know you think me a cold and cruel monarch, I do have feelings. And seeing in you pain like that, realizing just how horrible a life many have simply because of their heritage, I...I can't just stand by and do nothing anymore."

"Crim?" he asked, straitening up to look her in the eyes, "What are you - "

"There are going to be a few changes in the law..." the fiery-haired monarch said, "and Wendell's decree will make it all the easier..."

"Crim, what are you going to do? You aren't teasing me, like you did when we were children?"

"No, Wolf..." she replied, patting down her dress, "I am not kidding. I've lived all my life in a castle, pampered and primped over and over, and I was always told things instead of shown them, which has caused me to be wrong in many instances in the past. But now that I see a man, a friend during childhood, in truth a relation, in such pain, which I can work to stop, I am left no other alternative but to change it."

"Do you mean - "

"Yes, Wolf...I mean it!" she snapped proudly. "I'm going to get some Wolf Civil Rights passed...I'm going to change things! And the first thing I'm going to change is the ownership of Greyswood..."

"You're kidding?" he asked in disbelief.

"No, for the first time in my rule, I am not," She replied. "You are now Duke of Greyswood, married to the Duchess of Greyswood, and you should be expecting the Baron of Greybrook within the next few months..."

There was a pause as the half-wolf digested all of this information, and then he moved quickly to hug the lady who sat next to him. While she was not exactly delighted, she took it gracefully. Until he started to squeeze...

"Asphyxiating me is not the right way to get change, dear..." she whispered. He quickly let go.

"Sorry..."

"No problem..." she answered. "Just don't do it again..."

"Promise. Solemn wolf word..."

The queen grimaced. "I'm sure..."

There was another pause, but this one was more from embarrassment. "Um, Crim?"

"Yes..."

"Virginia and I...we aren't exactly married..." he admitted with a grin.

"Well!" the monarch cried, "You had better get it done soon! I won't have a scandal to start this off with! What will they think!"

The last was said in jest, and it sent both of them into hysterical laughter. To think, they hadn't spoken for fifteen years, and yet now it seemed as if they were children again, children ignorant of species, politics, and intrigue, totally unaware of how they governed the lives of the people. Crimson smiled as she remembered all the games of hide and seek she had played with her cousin, which he always won by using his nose.

But the laughter soon stopped, and when it did, Wolf stood.

"I'll be going now..." he said quietly with a small wave.

"Come back any time," she told him, meaning it. "I'll need help from my new Duke, since he knows the problems so well..."

"I won't be a stranger..." he told her as he reached the door.

"Okay."

"But," Wolf asked suddenly as he opened the door, "Can I ask you something?"

"Okay."

"Why did you...change so quickly?" the half-wolf questioned intensely. "I mean, when I was at the door, you were rather cold to me, but when we went in you were...nice. Kind. Loving. The Crimson I remember from when we were kids..."

"Well, Wolf," the queen replied slowly, "The face you saw at the door was my public face. Cold, calculating, hard, and anti-wolf. But inside, away from others...I am a different person. And no matter what you are, I am a your family, probably the only part of it left, and that is important. I can't turn you away. But furthermore, I have never truly supported the hatred of wolves. It was my mother's campaign, and her hatred sunk into my own rule, and it is something I have covertly tried to change for many years.

" "Truly?"

"Truly..." she answered with a smile. "And with your help, and Wendell's proclamation, I can finally do something in public."

"I'll try to help you as best I can, Crim. I now owe you that much..."

"Yes, but you have already done the Nine Kingdoms a greater help than many understand," she told him, her words solemn but warm. "Not only have you and your darling wife saved us from the Wicked Queen, but you have saved us from ourselves. And for that, I personally thank you."

"No problem, Crim...so I'll be going now..."

She waved. "See you soon, Duke of Greyswood..."

"And I you, my Queen..." Wolf replied with a smile.

"Bye Wolf."

"Bye Crim."

And then Wolf walked out the door, a smile on his face and his heart light with joy. This was certainly, like nothing before, Happily Ever After.