It had been four years since Wendell's coronation. Things were finally quiet again in the Kingdoms and it seemed that a period of peace had returned. Some were hinting at another Happily Ever After but Wendell wasn't so sure. All he knew was that good times were among the land again and he didn't want that to end.

He was preparing for a small get together of the "heroes" of the land. Or rather, the heroes that had helped him get his throne back. Tony had stayed in the Fourth Kingdom making bouncy castles. Work with the Dwarves had produced some sort of material that Tony could use to makes these castles. The Nine Kingdoms were in love with this product. To them it was more folklore that everybody could get their hands on. Tony seemed to be happy, too. He had a career that wasn't going to go under. He was even getting used to the way things were run in the Kingdoms. Wendell felt quite pleased with himself that he was able to give his "manservant" something more to live for then cleaning and fixing.

Wolf and Virginia were also doing well. They were currently living in the Kingdoms, though there was talk about them returning to the Tenth Kingdom. Wendell remembered hearing about problems with something called social security and the lasting results of the dragon dung bean that Tony had eaten.

Wendell looked up as he heard footsteps enter. It was more the pitter-patter of little feet.

"Conell!" Virginia yelled from outside.

Wendell then saw a little boy come running into the room. He had dark hair, just like his father and as he turned the corner Wendell saw a gray tail bouncing behind him. Wolf soon appeared behind his son and grabbed the little one's tail to stop him. The child was fast but it appeared that Wolf was faster. With the boy in his arms he went to greet Wendell.

"Hello, sorry for the grand display of energy exerted by my son. I assure you, there will be plenty more to follow."

"It's perfectly all right, it's not often that a young wolf comes in here. Especially one with a tail wagging about," Wendell replied.

"We've been working on that," Virginia said as she too entered the room, "but he refuses. The more we try to get him to hide his tail the more he tries to get his father to show his." Virginia then gave Wendell a hug hello and patted her son on his head. To which Conell gave a low growl then squirmed out of Wolf's arms and ran towards the door. Virginia looked at Wolf questioningly.

"Grandpa's here," was Wolf's response.

"Hiya Boy!" Tony said as he walked into the room. He was holding Conell, "I take it I'm last to arrive?"

"Hello Daddy, "Virginia said and she went over to her father to give him a kiss. As he exchanged greetings with everyone else she noticed how happy he seemed, happier that she had ever remembered seeing him. Maybe this whole trip into the Nine Kingdoms was best for – her mind stopped suddenly and she jumped as fur brushed up against her leg.

"Hello Conell," she said, "I still jump every time he does that. I guess a part of me still can't believe that my son has a tail."

"Aarr?" whined Wolf.

"Or husband," Virginia chuckled.

Wolf buried his head into her shoulder. Tony shot them a look then cleared his throat and changed the subject.

"Can you believe his Royal Highness himself was a furry little dog just four years ago?" Tony said as laughter broke out in the room.

"Dog?" Conell asked. He looked up at Wendell with his big blue eyes, just like his mother's. Wendell bent down in front of the child.

"Yes, I was. Your grandmother had put a spell on me. It took the help your parents and grandfather to return me to my original form."

"Huff-puff!"

"Sometimes I miss having a tail. Can you imagine not having one?"

"Cripes!" Conell said and clutched his tail. After a few moments he tugged on Wendell's pant leg.

"You can have my tail," said Conell, though he was still clutching onto his tail very tightly.

"How about we strike a bargain? I want a tail, but I don't want to take yours away from you. If you hide your tail from the sight of others then it will be our little secret and we can both enjoy the tail."

Conell looked up at a Wendell for a moment, then at his tail, then back to Wendell.

"How will you know if my tail shows?"

"I'll know in my own magic way, just like you can tell who is coming into a room before you see them."

Conell took his tail, pushed it down the back of his pants, then shook Wendell's outstretched hand.

"Have we got a deal?" Wendell asked.

"Yes," Conell replied and then he started running about the room as if nothing had happened. Virginia and Wolf were looking at Wendell with stunned faces.

"How did you get him to do that?" Virginia asked.

"Oh, I used to baby-sit Queen Rapunzel's grandchildren. You'd be amazed at the tactics one develops in order not to trip over hair," Wendell replied.

"Cripes!" Wolf said. "That's what we should have done with your hair, Virginia!"

"Well that doesn’t help me now, does it?" Virginia said to her husband.

Wolf scratched his temple. "No, but it would have been a good idea."

The five of them went into another room in Wendell's castle to eat. It took some maneuvering for they had to catch Conell first. Once caught they all settled down for dinner. They were chatting quietly about Nine Kingdoms politics when the food came out.

"Meat!" Conell shouted. This time it was his father who reprimanded him.

"Conell?"

"Yes Papa?" Conell looked up at his father with his eyes large and shining. Wolf cursed the fact that his son had Virginia's eyes; they made it so hard for him to scold Conell.

"What have I told you about manners??

"I know, Papa, but I haven't had any meat in so long!"

"Conell, you had bacon for lunch!" Virginia exclaimed.

"But that was lunch."

Virginia looked at Wolf. He just shrugged.

"The kid does have a point," Wolf said.

"I will never understand these two," Virginia sighed.

"Hey, I never told you to go out and marry a wolf," Tony said to his daughter.

"But you did tell me that there was no such thing as a tooth fairy and look at how that turned out," Virginia responded as Tony touched his two front teeth.

"Well, uh, that's different! How was I supposed to know that the stories were true?"

"Can we eat now?" Conell asked Wendell.

"Yes, we can, unless Virginia and Tony need more time?"

"No, I'm fine," Virginia said.

"Me too," replied Tony as they all started to eat. "Oh, Wendell, I've been meaning to ask you, how is that Truth Mirror working out?"

"Well, besides from showing my real form at Dragon Mountain and saving your neck it has just been serving as a normal mirror. Why do you ask?"

"Some of the dwarves that work for me have been spreading a lot of rumors about that mirror."

"What kinds of rumors?" Wolf asked. "Dwarf rumors are normally quite truthful but I don't have to tell Wendell that."

"Of course not. They were my grandmother's greatest advisors. She believed everything they said, especially when the knowledge came from one of the mirrors. I can't say that it was a bad move, I never heard of a time where they steered her wrong."

"Tell us the rumor, Tony." Wolf said.

"Well, it is actually quite strange. On one hand I hear them talking about how the mirror can tell Happy Ever After but that doesn't seem to fit into the equation."

"Why not?" asked Wendell.

"Because the mirror seems to serve a double purpose. The rumors say that somehow this mirror also developed the ability to show death."

"Death?" all three said simultaneously.

"Yes, death, there's a secret catch some where, kinda like the one the traveling mirror has, that shows death, it makes no sense."

"Actually, Tony, it does. Happy Ever After isn't always perfect but the way one dies is. Obviously the happy part is noticed before then but this would be a pure way of finding out whether this time was back or not," said Wolf.

"He's right. There have been some who were thought to be Happy Ever After but ended up dying in horrible curses. This mirror can show us what we do and do not want to see. Nobody wants to know if they are going to be killed by a curse but that allure of knowing that your death would be something grand is quite high," said Wendell.

"Do you people really need more magic to mess with your brains?" asked Tony.

"Apparently," replied Virginia.

"We must go look at this mirror after dinner. I need to find out where this catch is and see if it can be disabled," said Wendell. "I think it might be better to not let anyone use this mirror at all."

A small silence fell over the room and they ate in peace, at least for a little while.

"Papa?"

"Yes, Conell?" said Wolf.

"Can you let your tail out?"

"What?"

"I miss a tail, can I see yours?"

"Conell, you have your own tail."

"I know," whispered Conell. "I gave the king my word and wolfies don't go back on words… but I miss my tail!"

"Conell," Virginia said. "Can you still feel your tail?"

"Yes."

"Then it's not going anywhere."

"It's confined."

"Only for a little while."

Conell let out a huge sigh. "But Mama, it's itchy!"

"That takes a little getting used to, son," Wolf said, scratching his temple.

"Tell me about it," said Virginia.

After dinner they all went into the mirror room. Wolf was holding Conell, just in case.

"Tony, did you hear any mention about where the secret catch is?" Wendell asked.

"I think it's on the back somewhere," Tony said as the two began looking at the back.

"I see something near the bottom," Virginia said. Tony and Wendell looked where Virginia was pointing and saw a section that looked different from the rest. Wendell pressed the area, ever so slightly, and they all heard something move inside the mirror.

"Cripes! It works!" Wolf was standing to the side, suddenly very thankful that the mirror was not reflecting him. Conell squirmed and Wolf put his son down behind him. Tony, Wendell, and Virginia joined him, all careful not to become reflected.

"What should we do now?" Tony asked.

"Unless any of you are feeling brave, I suggest we find a way to make sure that this mirror will never show death," Wendell said.

"Where's Conell?" Virginia asked.

They all turned around, and couldn't see him.

"Conell!??!" Wolf yelled.

"Yes, Papa?" They all gasped when they saw Conell, on the other side of the mirror.

"Stay where you are! I'm coming to get you."

Wolf started around the backside of the mirror to get his son. Unfortunately Conell thought this was play. Wolf stopped cold in his tracks when he heard Virginia scream. He quickly came back around, half afraid to even look at the mirror. He could have handled seeing his own death, but his son's?

As he came around he saw everyone standing still, even Conell, staring right back at his image in the mirror. Wolf grabbed on to Virginia and she held back, unable to take her eyes off of the mirror, dreading the moment it would start to move.

The image stayed still for too short of a time. It started to move, first becoming very dark, clouds circling up ahead. Conell's image was erased from the scene. Thousands of wolf-like images appeared, seemingly in some sort of battle. Conell was excited to see tails, but the image was scaring him. He wanted to run to his mother but his feet were frozen and he kept watching the scene.

"No," Virginia whispered. She couldn't stand to watch anymore. Then the battle faded away and a man appeared, sitting on a tree stump. The sky appeared blue again and the grass became green and rich. The man became clearer and everyone gasped when they realized it was Conell. He was the spitting image of this father, but he possessed his mother's delicate features. He was old, though his hair was still black. A small smile formed on his face as he stood up. He turned to walk away and as he turned they all saw his tail, unmistakably Conell's, wagging behind him as he walked deeper into the woods. The image faded into a throne, and then faded altogether until Conell, young Conell, was pictured in the mirror.

"Mama!" Conell yelled, finally able to move and ran into his mother's arms. She held him tight and Wolf grabbed on from the other side. The family held each other tightly for a few minutes.

"What was that? Conell asked.

"Just an image, son, nothing to worry about," Wolf said, hoping he could keep this from his son.

"But that man had my tail!"

"He just had a tail that looked like yours, kiddo," Tony said, cuddling Conell up into a huge bear hug.

Wendell went around the back side of the mirror and turned it off. He then took a rock and broke the latch so that the mirror could never be turned on again.

"At least it wasn't completely horrible," he said.

"It doesn't make sense, the image just doesn't make sense," Virginia said.

"He has a great destiny," Wolf said. "One that will cause strife and conflict but will not harm him. Thankfully, his story is one the ends in Happy Ever After."

"Yes, we can be very grateful that what we saw was positive," said Wendell.

"Here's what I don't get, why can't we get away from mirrors?" Tony exclaimed.

"Destiny, Dad, destiny."