Gabrielle - After Happy Ever After

“Don’t fret, sweet lady
And have no fear for your baby.
The daddy will return to you
Never fear, for this is true.”

“Thanks, ring,” Virginia mumbled. She pillowed her head on her hands and tried to believe in what the ring had said. She fell asleep and dreamt of good times far away from evil witches with Wolf and their baby boy.

Ivy looked over at Faolan again. He was staring at her. She had to admit, she didn’t mind the attention. All the guys she knew from work and school were either jerks, geeks, or just friends. Sometimes all three. Faolan was cute. That, too, she had to admit.

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing,” he said, shaking his head, but still staring at her. He was staring at her so intently that he walked right into a tree. Ivy burst out laughing so hard, she was doubled over and her breath came in squeaks. “I thought…wolves…always watched where they were going,” she said in between laughing.

Faolan scowled at the tree, as if mad at it for getting in the way. He looked at her and smiled that way people do when they don’t think it’s funny. “Oh, ha ha. That was all your fault, you know,” he said, walking again, but angling around the tree.

Ivy jerked upright. “What? How so? I didn’t do anything!” she protested.

“I would have been paying attention to the path if you weren’t so…” he broke off quickly.

Ivy stared at him. “What?” she asked.

Faolan shook his head and ran to catch up to Randal. Ivy followed. If he had been about to say pretty or anything along that line he was wrong. Ivy had always been quick to point out faults, mainly her own. Ivy shook her head. She needed another distraction. She rummaged through her backpack, looking for that apple. She was getting hungry from all of this. She pulled out her CD player as well.

The CD player had cost her a bunch of money, but it was brand new and was the best one she could find. It had AM/FM radio and didn’t skip and all other kinds of added gizmos. Her favorite feature was that you could take out the headphones and press a button and it would play out loud like a stereo.

Ivy pressed the open button and looked to see what CD was inside. Sherrie Austin. Second CD, the one called Love in the Real World. Her current situation made it impossible not for her to play the title track.

“There’s a picture of a happy couple
In a frame, on a mantle, in a house.
Piece by piece they put their world together.
Some kids, a mortgage, and a pair of wedding vows,” Ivy sang along with the CD.

She looked up to see Randal and Faolan had both stopped and looked back at her. Ivy smiled. This song was just too ironic in this situation. Parts of it, anyway.

“She’s a mother and a working woman.
He sweats 9 to 5 with big dreams in his head.
There’s too much month at the end of the money.
Wolf’s at the door and the bankbook’s in the red.
Guess every fairytale has a monster underneath the bed.
Whatever happened to the Prince and Cinderella, that wide-eyed boy and girl?
What happens after happy ever after? Love in the real world,” Ivy sang and couldn’t help but grin.

“What is that?” Faolan asked over the continuing music.

“My CD player,” Ivy said. She saw he didn’t understand. “It plays these little discs called CDs and makes music.”

“How does it know about Queen Cinderella?” Randal asked, reaching up a tentative hand to touch the CD player.

“Back on my world we call all the stories about this place fairytales. Like I know the story of Snow White because I read those stories and so does the lady singing. But the stories stop after the bit with her stepmother. We don’t know that they were real. We think that they are just made up,” Ivy explained.

“Your world?” Faolan asked. He had explained about the Nine Kingdoms while they were walking, but she had not explained about Earth.

“I came through a…well, a mirror to this place. I followed this dog who, apparently, is King Wendell of the Fourth Kingdom. We were fighting a bad witch when she did a spell that sent me out into the beanstalks. I don’t know what happened to my friends,” Ivy explained.

“You’re from the Tenth Kingdom?!” Faolan cried, “Cripes! I mean, huff-puff, I can’t believe it!” Faolan started pacing and muttering to himself. Ivy didn’t catch a lot of what he said. Something about how what had happened to Wolf was now happening to him.

Ivy stopped the CD. “Problem?” she asked quietly.

Faolan looked up at her like he’d never seen her before. “We have to go back to the castle. You must defeat that witch,” Faolan said with finality. “It’s what Virginia did, so you must, too. I wonder if we can stop at Kissingtown, too. No! No, we have to get to Wendell’s Castle.”

“What? You’ve lost me,” Ivy said, confused.

“We’ll stay here for the night and move on in the morning. No fire, it might attract trolls and that’s the last thing we need. Randal, can you find a good spot to sleep for the three of us? Good. I’ll catch something for us to eat.” Faolan growled a little as he thought and pawed at an itchy spot on his nose. “Ivy, come with me?”

Ivy nodded. She shucked her backpack and set it down near Randal. “Watch this for me?” she asked quickly. Randal nodded. “Thanks,” she said and hurried after Faolan.

Once they were out of Randal’s hearing range, Ivy said what was on her mind. “Did I do something wrong? You seem…?” she shrugged, unsure of the right word.

“No! Huff, it’s just that…Wolf and Virginia almost died many times. It was a very dangerous journey. I’m worried about Randal. But I can’t pass up this chance.” Faolan growled again in frustration.

“What happened to Wolf and Virginia?” Ivy asked.

“You don’t know? Oh, no, you wouldn’t. You’re from the Tenth Kingdom. I’ll explain later, after we catch something. I always do better on a full stomach.”

“Mmmm. Me, too,” Ivy agreed.

Faolan looked at her again and there was an expression on his face that Ivy couldn’t name. He smiled again. “You fit in perfectly,” he told her.

“Thanks.”

Wolf jerked and spluttered as water was thrown on him. He opened his eyes in a panic, looking around quickly. He struggled to his feet. He was in Riding Hood’s reception room or something of the like. She was seated on a throne in front of him with guards on either side. A skinny man in a ridiculous outfit stood at her arm, glaring at him. There were more guards surrounding him. One had a bucket, which the water had come from. Wolf discovered his hands were chained.

“What’s going on?” he asked, his eyes still darting about the room. “You have to let me go right away.”

“I give the orders here, animal,” Riding Hood said coolly. “Do you know why I have brought you here?”

“No.”

“Liar! Are you as stupid as that, not to have figured it out? Every since that ludicrous decree of Wendell’s pardoning wolves, they have been flocking to the borders, trying to get into the Fourth Kingdom. I’ve had to triple the guard. And it’s all because of you! My kingdom is in an upheaval. Plus, a new evil queen has surfaced and who do I find? You. Has this become routine for you?” Riding Hood asked.

“If you think that I’m somehow involved with the witch, you’ve got it all wrong! She put a spell on me…” Wolf tried to explain.

“So you admit it! You have been in contact with her!” Riding Hood cried, sitting up in her seat and pointing an accusing hand at him.

“No, no! Huff-puff, you don’t understand!” Wolf cried, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu to the trial in Little Lamb Village.

“Have I? I don’t believe so. Are you getting all of this, Weylin?” the Queen said to the scribe at her side. He nodded and continued to write fervently on the scroll in his hands.

Wolf shook his head emphatically. “No! You see, my Virginia’s out there somewhere and she needs me! I have to…” Wolf began again.

“Virginia?! The Evil Queen’s daughter from the Tenth Kingdom? Yes, Wendell was a fool dealing with her as well. She’s a nice enough girl, but with that blood in her veins and with no sense in her skull…” Riding Hood made ‘tsk’ sounds and shook her head, “I suppose she didn’t know any better than to trust a wolf like you, but still. Aw me. Wendell is not fit at all to rule his kingdom. I believe I will call a meeting of the council. Wendell himself did not pass the tests and he hasn’t shown himself to be the best king. If this proceeds I think someone else may have to take the task of ruling Wendell’s kingdom.”

Wolf shook his head some more. This couldn’t be happening. The House of Red wasn’t known for having the best timing when it came to predicaments like this. Riding Hood was just adding to the tradition. “You have no idea what you’re doing,” Wolf said. “Why do you even care? I thought you hated wolves. Why keep them in your kingdom?”

“Because, if they all go to Wendell’s kingdom there will be an overflow of all the vermin that your kind keep down. Plus, as much as I am disgusted by it, they are part of the economy. If I let Wendell have them, they will take part of this kingdom with them. Whatever you wolves think of me, I am not an idiot,” Riding Hood said. “Now. What to do about our little wolf friend? Lance, any suggestions?”

A guard near her with a few more ribbons on his uniform and a fancier hat took a step forward. He glanced at Wolf in contempt. “I think we should make an example of him for those other wolves,” he said and the way he said it left no room for speculation on what kind of example would be made. “We could put him on the border for those wolves to see.”

Riding Hood thought it over. Wolf began to get even more panicked. “You can’t do this!”

The comment stirred Riding Hood’s anger. “I can and will! You wolves should learn to keep your mouths shut!” Riding Hood snapped, her eyes flaring.

Wolf knew that he was really in for it this time. What he wanted to do was break free and tackle the queen and scare her out of her wits. Make her understand what he had gone through when his parents had been killed and she had let them. It was her ordinance that let wolves be burned or shot or maimed or tortured.

Those thoughts just fueled Wolf’s rage. And he knew that to do that would get him killed immediately. He couldn’t get killed. He just couldn’t. He had Virginia and the baby to think about. Not to mention that he still had to stop that witch. So instead Wolf switched tactics and as much as it sickened him, he tried to charm the queen.

“I apologize, Your Majesty. You are right. We wolves, it’s just one of our faults that we can’t seem to hold our tongues,” Wolf said in his most charming and persuasive voice, flashing his eyes at the queen.

“Too true,” she agreed with a nod.

“One of many, I’m afraid. If Your Majesty sees fit to be rid of me, then so be it. But I had another proposition in mind.”

“Yes?” Riding Hood asked, leaning forward.

Wolf took a few steps closer and flashed his best smile at her. He could see it was working. “Well, I’m sure Your Majesty would love to get her hands on some of those wolves that are making her life, as well as all Second Kingdomers,’ miserable.” Wolf paused, timing his speech perfectly.

“Yes, yes,” the queen urged, just as she was supposed to.

“I propose that I could first rid the queen of that pesky witch in the Fourth Kingdom that keeps sending those awful threatening letters, then I could go and find out exactly which wolves would need to be brought to justice for the rest of the packs to be put in line. I would send a message to the queen giving the exact information needed for her to be rid of her little wolf problem,” Wolf said, lowering his voice so the queen had to lean forward to hear.

She sat back once she had heard and turned the idea over. Wolf made an elegant wave of his arm to regain her attention. He didn’t need her thinking, he just needed her to agree. He turned the wave into a deep bow. “But if the queen does not like my proposal I’m sure she can deal with that problem on her own…” Wolf said, turning as if to walk away.

The queen held up a hand and Wolf stopped.

“No. I believe…your way would be more expedient. Fine, Wolf. Your request is granted. But if this has been just a ruse to save your filthy hide, I assure you that my men will track you down and kill you, even if they have to drag you out of your Virginia’s arms to do it. And if they happen to find any little wolf mongrels, I’ll have them do away with them, too. Am I clear?” the queen asked in a dangerously cold voice.

“Oh, yes, Your Majesty!” Wolf agreed, bowing again. “Have no fear. You have my complete and solemn wolf word. And a wolf always keeps his word.”

“So you say,” the queen allowed with an incline of her head.

“If you would be so kind as to have these removed,” Wolf said, holding up his chained hands, “I will be on my way.”

The queen nodded to her guards and they unchained Wolf. Wolf rubbed his wrists and then the bump on his head. He bowed a final time to the queen and hurried from the castle. He had lost so much time! He would have to travel all night.

Wolf was soon out of the castle and into the woods. He took off at a run, determined to make up for the delay. It was already getting dark, the sun was almost completely set. He would have to hurry.

Back at the castle, Lance, the Queen’s captain of the guards approached her. He knelt on one knee, bowing.

“Lance?” she questioned.

He rose from his position, inclining his head to her in added respect. “Was that wise, Your Majesty? Wolves are known liars,” he said.

“Yes, but wolves are also only animals. And very protective of their families. He will do as he said. I know that wolf. Even if he doesn’t remember me, he knows that I, too, am always true to my word,” the queen said quietly.

Lance bowed again. “As you say, my queen,” he said.

Danielle was having a little trouble following this fairy. She just kept flitting off and Danielle would lose track of her. Then, she’d have to stop and call out until Breena came back. It was making both of them pretty impatient.

“Would you just wait up?” Danielle cried, running after the fairy.

“You humans are too slow,” Breena said. “If you can’t keep up, you’ll never get back to Wendell’s castle in time.”

Danielle stopped, wishing her hands were small enough to strangle the stupid fairy with. “Why don’t you just ride on my shoulder or something and tell me which way to go,” Danielle suggested through gritted teeth.

“Oh, all right,” Breena relented and buzzed back to land on her shoulder.

Danielle began walking again in the direction that she had been pointed in. She was all too glad to leave that idiot by the well and those stupid, giggling shepherdesses behind. Danielle glanced up at the sky and saw that the sun was already setting.

“I suppose that since I’m so slow, I should walk all night, too,” Danielle said and couldn’t keep the annoyance out of her voice.

Breena considered it. “No, best not. You’ll need all the strength you’ve got when you get back to Wendell’s castle. That might be pushing you too hard,” she said.

Danielle wanted to open her mouth and give some kind of smart remark back, but didn’t. She could travel all night, but that didn’t mean she wanted to. Let the stupid fairy think what she wanted.

“Is there a safe place to sleep here? Should I be worried about any native animals or anything?” Danielle asked tiredly.

“Mmmm, mildly. Always best to be cautious. This forest used to be very dangerous, but since the Huntsman is gone, I think we should be safe. Gypsies have probably returned. Wolves, too. And others,” the fairy broke into a yawn. “Just find a spot where you won’t be easily visible and you should be okay. I’m a light sleeper, don’t worry.”

Breena’s yawn was infectious. Danielle yawned, too, covering her mouth with her hand. She moved off the path and into the woods a little ways. She found a reasonably comfortable looking space in between the roots of a tree and settled down. Danielle tried to find a position that was comfortable enough to sleep in. She finally settled into a position where she was leaning against an exceptionally big root with her head on her arms. Breena stretched out on a nearby fern and promptly fell asleep with a little sigh. Danielle soon followed her.

Ivy had been a little surprised at the way Faolan had caught that rabbit, but she hadn’t commented. One way was as good as another was, she supposed. He was a wolf, after all. But when he had held the rabbit up in front of his face and growled at it, she had started getting fidgety. It was unnerving. She had wondered why he had kept it alive in the first place. Ivy wasn’t exactly the fidgety type. She gutted her own fish when she went fishing and such. It didn’t bother her. But this was starting to.

“I’ve never liked rabbits,” he said to her, but without even looking at her. “Look at the way she’s mocking me! She knows what I think of her, she does. Grrrrrr, mocking little fluff-ball.” Faolan shook himself and looked at Ivy, embarrassed. “I’m sorry. It’s just…I’m so hungry,” he said, glancing at the rabbit again. He shook his head and dragged his eyes away. He shoved the rabbit at Ivy.

“Here, take it. I can’t stand it anymore,” he said.

Ivy took a firm hold of the rabbit and kept it away from Faolan. Her brain couldn’t come up with a single thing that she could say after that little episode. Although, she had to agree a little with him. She had always thought rabbits had a bit of evil to them. And they did seem to mock you, sometimes. She had been scratched bloody by a rabbit before and it hadn’t seemed the least bit sorry.

“Um…how are we going to cook this?” she asked quietly.

Faolan’s eyes widened as if he had forgotten that. “Cook it! Um…well…?” he didn’t seem to have an answer.

Ivy had the sickening suspicion that he had planned to eat it raw. She forced the feeling down. He was a wolf. That’s what wolves did. She watched National Geographic. It had never bugged her before. “Yes, Ivy, but that’s not exactly the same situation,” she said to herself under her breath.

“What?” Faolan asked.

“Nothing,” Ivy shook her head. “You know, I’m really not that hungry. I’ll just eat some of the jerky in my backpack, okay?”

Faolan seemed surprised. “You must be hungry! I could hear your stomach growling!” he insisted. He shook his head again, “Nevermind. I’m sorry. I forgot that you don’t…well, that humans…” He gave up and tried to convey the message to her silently.

She nodded. “It’s okay. Really. I can live off jerky. I almost did one summer,” she said and smiled at her own private joke.

By now, they had returned to their own little camp. Randal had arranged everything nicely. He had cleared all the brush and rocks from the area so they could sleep there comfortably. He had set Ivy’s backpack against a tree stump. Ivy wondered with amusement if he had looked through it.

Randal saw that they were back and jumped up from his spot on the ground. He looked at the rabbit and Ivy could tell that he had no opposition to eating it raw either. Ivy didn’t think she really wanted to be around to watch that.

“Um…I’m just gonna go…and…well, give you two some privacy for a little. Be right back,” Ivy said, taking up her backpack and backing off into the woods.

Faolan glanced after her with a strange look on his face. Randal seemed confused. The little boy shrugged and turned back to the rabbit. Ivy quickened her step and walked a good distance away. Now that she was alone, Ivy sighed deeply. There was just too much going on. Too much to think about and try to make sense of.

“No more making sense of things, Ivy,” she said to herself. “Just doing. From now on, you’re going to have to go on your instincts.”

Ivy sat down on a log and pulled her backpack into her lap. She pulled out the bag of jerky and popped a piece in her mouth. She chewed, savoring the taste. It was her favorite kind: teriyaki. Ivy pulled out her brush and brushed out the ever-present tangles. For some reason, brushing her hair always calmed her down. She liked to brush her hair, as stupid as that sounded. It made it all soft and nice. Ivy pulled out the ponytail and quickly did up her hair. It would make it easier to brush out in the morning if it was in a ponytail while she slept. Next, Ivy dug out the books that were in her backpack. In all that had happened, she forgot which ones she had put in there. “Oh, my god,” Ivy breathed. Now, if this wasn’t too strange to be a coincidence, she didn’t know what was. The library book was a book on wolves. She remembered now that she had been reading up on wolves for a report in one of her classes. They had gotten to choose the topic and she had decided to do wolves. Well, if that wasn’t the all time most ironic thing…

What was the other book? This one she had bought at a used bookstore. It was about a girl dumped on a planet with a bunch of people and a few aliens. It was good so far. Ivy was in the long-standing habit of being a thorough bookworm. She had to read every night or she almost couldn’t fall asleep. It was nice to be alone for a while. Although she really liked Randal and Faolan’s company. She had been lucky to run into them.

After a good amount of time, Ivy headed back. She stopped and listened before going back into camp. All traces of the rabbit were gone. That thought sent a small shudder through Ivy’s spine, but she quelled it.

“Have a nice dinner?” she asked in a light voice.

“Oh, yes,” Randal nodded, his eyes gleaming.

“That’s good,” Ivy nodded. The sun had already set and the stars would soon come out. Ivy, for one, was tired. She looked around, trying to figure out where she should sleep.

“Oh!” Faolan cried, realizing what she was doing and jumping to his feet. He took off his overcoat and spread it out on a patch of grass. He motioned for Ivy to sleep there.

Ivy shook her head. “You don’t have to…” she began.

“Sure, I do. Besides, I’m not cold. Now don’t argue. You’re probably exhausted. Get some sleep. You, too, Randal,” Faolan called over to his brother.

Randal groaned, but curled up on the ground. Ivy followed his example and laid down on Faolan’s coat. He watched her, nodding with approval. He turned and moved off a pace, then sat down and leaned back against a tree. He folded his arms across his chest and got comfortable. Ivy propped herself up on her elbow and looked at him.

“You’re not going to sleep?” she asked with concern.

Faolan looked at her and the way he looked at her made her want to sigh. It was kind of comforting to have him close by, watching over her, them while they slept. Still, he needed sleep, too. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll get some sleep,” he assured her.

Ivy relented. She was really too tired to argue, anyway. She slipped her arms out of her jacket and drew it over her like a blanket. Curled up under it, with her head on her arm, she fell asleep.

Faolan smiled at her sleeping form. He really hadn’t anticipated this. But he was by no means unhappy with the situation. If Wolf had found a mate in a Tenth Kingdomer, he could, too. Although, he wasn’t so sure that he would be able to pull it off. He was no hero like Wolf. Faolan shook his head. “You’re chasing chickens before they hatch,” he told himself. “Slow down.”

Maive, Tony, and Cinnamon entered the castle on the other side of the mirror. They hadn’t been there twenty seconds when Wendell was jumping on Tony, looking panicked.

“Hey, boy. I mean, Wendell,” Tony said, petting him on the head. “Sorry about that whole being under a spell thing. Wasn’t my fault, you know. Where’s Virginia and them?”

Wendell dropped to all fours and turned in a circle. He obviously wanted to tell them something, but couldn’t.

“Let me see if I can help with this,” Maive said, rolling up her sleeves. She was feeling a lot more confidant with her spell casting after the last go. Maybe she would be able to return King Wendell to his former state.

“Dog that is not a dog
Be what you are
King receive your crown.
Let no spell it mar,” Maive chanted.

She gathered magic in her hands and pointed it at Wendell. There was a flash.

“Great, Maive. Now we have a royal dog,” Tony said bitterly.

Wendell was now dressed royally. He had a crown on his head and a royal cloak. But he was still a dog. He barked and the bark showed clear annoyance.

“Hmmm. Must have been the wording. Let me try again,” Maive said, thinking quickly. “Okay, I’ve got it.

“Your true form that is not.
Change from that body, I bid thee.
Change to the form worthy of the crown.
So mote it be.”

There was another flash. This time there was no dog. But in its place was a frog.

“You turned him into a toad!” Tony cried.

“A frog is worthy of the crown?” Cinnamon asked.

“Oh, that’s not right,” Maive said in dismay. “One more try, I’ll get it right this time, I promise!”

“Oh, no! You’re likely to turn him into a troll or something,” Tony said, picking up the frog that was Wendell. Amazingly, he still wore the crown and cloak, although they were now frog-sized. Wendell didn’t look too happy. “Can you at least do a spell so we can figure out what happened? So he can talk to us?” Tony asked.

“I think I remember a communication spell from training,” Maive said. “Right.

“Let the tongue speak true
In a way that we can understand.
This I bid you do.
Speak thee the language of this land.”

“You idiot!” the frog raged, “You turned me into a frog! In the name of Snow White and Cinderella, you are the most…”

“It worked!” Tony interrupted him. “Wendell, what happened to Virginia and Wolf and those two girls?”

Wendell calmed down momentarily. “Well, they told me to stay here, but I peeked out to watch. I saw Virginia run out in front of the witch and then kind of freeze. The witch was talking, but I couldn’t hear her. Then Wolf ran over and yelled, ‘That’s not true!’ and the witch sent him flying into a table. Then, those two girls started talking to her and she flung magic at them, but they deflected it. They must be witches, too. But then the witch did another spell and they all disappeared,” Wendell finished with a croak.

“So you don’t know where they are?” Cinnamon asked.

“No, I’m afraid not,” Wendell said.

“They could be anywhere!” Tony cried.

“I could try scrying,” Maive offered.

“Haven’t you screwed up enough for one day?” Tony snapped.

Maive recoiled slightly. She was used to Tony’s complaining and bitterness, but his remark had hit a soft spot. She had always been touchy about her talent. She hadn’t been the best of pupils in the Council. She had really been proud of herself today and Tony had just shot her down.

“Tony,” Cinnamon growled, “she is probably our only way of finding them. Unless you plan on waltzing out there and asking the witch?”

Tony glared at her angrily, but gave up and shrugged. “Fine! What do I care? Do what you want. You two can gang up on me all you want. I know Wendell’s on my side. Right, Wendy?” Tony asked.

“Actually, Anthony. I think we should let her have one more try. She may be a complete incompetent, but she is our only hope,” Wendell said with a much cooler head than earlier.

“Thanks…I think,” Maive said slowly.

“Quiet!” Cinnamon announced suddenly, motioning at all of them. She moved to the doors and put her head against them. “Someone’s coming! Turn off the mirror and let’s hide,” Cinnamon said quickly.

Maive turned off the mirror and they all dived into various hiding places, Tony keeping Wendell with him. A few moments later, the doors to the room were flung open and Marissa entered, trailed by a pair of guards. She looked around the room and her eyes lit up.

“Well, well, well,” she said. “Thank you, Wendell.” She walked over to the first mirror and ran her hands along the edges. “A spying mirror. Useful. So much more efficient than scrying. A travel mirror. This must be the only one of its kind still working! Oh, this is wonderful,” she said as she surveyed the mirrors. She turned to the two guards. “Watch this room closely. Keep constant track of these mirrors. I want the traveling mirror to remain on in case Tony and Cinnamon return. Notify me immediately of any change.”

“Yes, ma’am,” they both bowed.

“That’s ‘my queen’ to you two,” Marissa said with a glint of anger.

“Yes, my queen,” they both amended quickly.

“Good,” Marissa said with a nod and exited the room.

The moment the doors closed behind her, Cinnamon sprang out of hiding and jumped one of the guards. Tony saw what she was doing and hurried over to help her. He grabbed a decoration off the wall and hit the other guard over the head with it. Both guards were soon unconscious.

“Let’s get out of here,” Cinnamon said.

Tony nodded his agreement. Since he knew the way best, he led the group out into the hallway and to another room with a low balcony. They slipped inside, then through the room, and climbed over the balcony to drop to the ground outside. The three took off, running away from the castle before they could be seen.

Wolf navigated the forests carefully, using all of his wolf capabilities. No more delays. No more mistakes. Just tracking and finding Virginia.

Wolf crossed the border into the Fourth Kingdom with no resistance. He started sniffing, looking for scents, straining his nose as much as he could. He had one of the best senses of smell in all the Nine Kingdoms and he used all of it. He couldn’t find Virginia’s scent, though.

He was about to turn and head farther into the Fourth Kingdom (he sensed that she had to lie in that direction) when another scent caught his attention. It was one of the girls! Danielle, if he remembered right. She was close, in the woods somewhere. Wolf was glad she was in the woods. They were close to Little Lamb Village and he was in no hurry to revisit that place.

Wolf picked up the scent and started after it. She wasn’t alone, he could tell that as well. Although who she was with he wasn’t sure at this distance. That particular scent was strong enough. Hers was, and he could tell that she was a little scared. And something else, something that wasn’t the same as when he had first smelled her. He didn’t know what.

It was getting close to dawn when Wolf finally found her. She was fast asleep, curled up next to a tree root. The other scent was strong enough now for Wolf to know that her companion was a fairy. He looked around and finally spotted the little thing sleeping on a fern shoot. Wolf took a step closer, kneeling to shake Danielle awake. The noise awakened the fairy and she flitted over in a hurry, ready to defend her sleeping friend. Wolf motioned to her to wait, that he meant no harm. She stopped, hovering in mid-air and considered him. Then, she recognized him as Wolf, the half-wolf that had helped to save the Nine Kingdoms! She started buzzing around excitedly.

“Danielle. Wake up,” Wolf said softly, turning back to her. He gave her a gentle shake. Danielle groaned and waved at him to go away. “No. Huff-puff, you have to wake up now. I need to talk to you,” Wolf insisted, shaking her harder.

Danielle covered her face with her arm and turned away from him. She was set on not waking up. It was too early anyway. Her internal clock told her as much. Although, according to her, any time was too early if it was before 9:00 AM.

Wolf gave her a hard shake and forced her into a sitting position. Danielle blinked at him in surprise. “Wolf?” she asked sleepily.

Wolf nodded. “Yep. Come on, get up. We need to get going. Apparently the witch scattered us across the kingdoms. We have to find Virginia,” Wolf said, taking her hand and pulling her to her feet.

“And Ivy,” Danielle added.

Wolf nodded again. "Yes, yes. And Ivy, too, of course."

Danielle rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and tried to get her brain to work. That was really hard to do. It didn’t like to work even when she was fully awake. “But…how did you find me?” she asked.

“I smelled you,” Wolf shrugged, glancing over his shoulder at the sky to see what time it was.

“You did what?” Danielle asked.

“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t explain to her yet about wolves,” Breena said, flitting in between them. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Wolf. I’m Breena. I came in response to her wish.”

Wolf was getting very anxious. They needed to get moving and find Virginia as soon as possible. “Yes, yes. You, too,” he said hurriedly. “Can we talk on the go?”

Danielle stretched out her sore muscles and followed after Wolf as he began walking back towards the path. She had to jog to catch up to him. Breena landed in her position on her shoulder and began explaining about wolves.

“You know the story of Red Riding Hood, right?” Breena asked.

Danielle nodded and grimaced. “Hated that story. The poor wolf!” Danielle commented.

Wolf smiled slightly at that comment, but didn’t turn around or say anything.

“Well, wolves in the Nine Kingdoms like the one in the story can walk and talk just like people,” Breena tried to explain.

“Wolves are people. Just not humans,” Wolf interrupted.

“Okay, just like humans,” she amended. “Well, anyway, full blooded wolves tend to stay in wolf form. It’s easier for them. But they can change to a kind of human. They still have some wolf parts, like a tail, for example. Wolf here, is a half wolf. There’s a growing number of them across the kingdoms. They are more like full blooded wolves in human form. Only they can only change to wolf form during the full moon. At least, that’s the only time that they do.”

Danielle stared at Wolf’s back in an emotion that was kind of like disbelief mixed with shock.

“So one of your parents is a wolf?” Danielle asked.

“Was,” Wolf corrected stiffly.

“Sorry,” Danielle said quietly. After a moment of silence, she couldn’t resist asking. “So you have a tail?”

“It’s absolutely natural!” Wolf said quickly. “There’s nothing wrong with having a tail!”

“I didn’t say there was,” Danielle said and kind of half-smiled.

This time Wolf did look back at them. He seemed a little surprised at her.

“So…you…don’t mind a person having a tail?” Wolf asked hesitantly.

Danielle thought the question over carefully, mentally exclaiming at how odd it was. “No, I guess not. But I think I’d like to know. That’s not the kind of thing you would want to surprise someone with,” Danielle joked. She thought how it would sound to walk up to your friend and say, ‘Oh, guess what? I have a tail!’

“No, I suppose not,” Wolf said with a grin as he remembered when Virginia had first made that discovery.

“Where are we going?” Danielle asked after a short silence.

“I think Virginia is this way. Probably Ivy, too. In fact, I’m sure that they’re this way,” Wolf announced.

Danielle nodded, figuring his guess was better than hers. She smiled slightly to herself. This was the perfect adventure, if she thought about it. And now that she had two people to show her the way, it was even better.