Gabrielle - After Happy Ever After

A lieutenant entered his cabin and saluted. He waved aside the formalities.

“Any word, commander?” he asked. “The Troll Border is getting harder and harder to hold.”

Forswell shook his head and was about to pour himself another glass of ale, but chucked the glass and took a swill from the bottle itself.

“Your orders, sir?” the lieutenant asked, nervously shifting from foot to foot.

“Do what you have to, lieutenant. I’ll send more men when I get them,” Forswell assured him and dismissed him quickly.

The Commander picked up his map of the kingdoms and spread it out on the table, weighing down the corners with his ale bottle and his arm. With his free hand he traced the advances in the borders. This wasn’t good. Not good at all.

Danielle was still running as night fell. She had surprised herself making it this far. She'd never known that she had this much stamina. Although, she had never really wanted to know. The truth was, she was kind of a couch potato. But now that she needed to keep going, it was good to find she could. Of course, every time she tired she just reminded herself of how much trouble she would have been in with that wolf pack if not for Wolf. And of how happy he and Fiona had been to find that they were both still alive. And of how worried Fiona had been when she had left.

Danielle was panting so hard she could barely breathe. Every muscle in her body hurt. But she felt she had made it a long way. She had left the thick forest sometime in the early afternoon. But no matter how far she had come, she still wasn’t in sight of that castle.

“Just a little farther tonight, Danielle. You’ll get there tomorrow. What good will you be to anyone, panting and worn out? Just find some water and a place to sleep, Danielle,” she said to herself.

When Danielle heard the little trickling sound of running water, she nearly fainted from relief. And when she actually found the source, she dropped to her knees and crawled over. She remembered enough not to drink too fast. She didn’t need a cramp or a stomachache on top of everything. When she had had her fill, she sat back and looked around. She might as well stay here. She really didn’t have the energy to go any farther. She didn’t think she could stand up at that moment if her life depended on it.

A ribbit right next to her made her jump and give a little yelp of surprise. She turned to see a frog had hopped up right next to her when she wasn’t looking. But what…the frog was wearing a crown and cloak! Danielle carefully caught the frog (who really hadn’t put up any fight at all) and picked it up.

“It’s about time one of you found your way back,” the frog said indignantly.

Danielle screamed again and jumped to her feet. Well, maybe she could get to her feet after all. “What the…? Who…? How…?” Danielle sputtered, backing away from the frog slowly.

“I’m King Wendell. The dog. That stupid witch turned me into a frog,” the frog reported.

Danielle pointed at the frog and her eyes went wide. “You’re the…oh, my god!” Danielle said and swayed on her feet, terribly close to fainting.

“Get ahold of yourself,” Wendell snapped. “Pick me up and let’s get back to the others.”

Danielle shook her head to clear it and gently picked up the frog. “But how do you get…un-frogged? What breaks the spell?” she asked as she slowly started walking.

“Not that way. The other way,” Wendell corrected her. “Well, let me think. This has happened before. Let’s see, I believe a princess let a frog stay with her for three days, then cut off its head and broke the spell. That way is not an option. I like my head where it is. Um…”

Danielle stopped and she, too, tried to think. What was it about that story? Oh, yes! “Wasn’t there one about a princess kissing the frog and turning him into a handsome prince?” Danielle asked.

“Yes! That’s it!” Wendell agreed. “But where will we find a princess at this hour? I simply cannot stay a frog another day.”

Danielle thought about it, but she really didn’t know where to find a princess. Even if she knew a…uh oh. No way! Uh uh. Not going to happen! She was not going to tell him that she had played a princess in the last play she had been in or that in the stories she and Ivy liked to write, that she was princess in a place called Venos. That didn’t count anyway, did it?

The frog made a sound that was kind of like a sigh. “Any ideas?” he asked, as if it was really the all-time last reserve to ask her for her thoughts.

“As a matter of fact, yes. But I am not going to tell you,” Danielle said, returning the snooty royal attitude right back at him. She had always kind of felt that she was a princess at heart. She could sure do the royal attitude thing well. And sparkly crowns were always a good thing.

Wendell stared at her in what could have been shock. She wasn’t sure if it was about her attitude or about her statement. Maybe both. “I command you to tell me!” Wendell said, but there was a note in his voice as if he was unsure that would work.

“I am not one of your subjects, Wendell,” she said, dropping his title.

“But…but…” he protested weakly. “Oh, I give up. I’m going to spend the rest of my life as a frog. Which will probably be a very short time anyway with that witch on my throne.”

Danielle grimaced. He was playing for her sympathy. And that whiny voice was not helping. “Stop that or I throw you,” she warned.

Wendell was silent quickly. He had never been ordered around like that. Well, except maybe by his parents and when he was really young, his nanny. “Please tell me,” he said finally, so quiet that she had to lean in to hear him.

Danielle sighed. She really, really, really did not want to tell him. But how could she refuse that? His voice just sounded so…pathetic wasn’t a good word. He was desperate for her help. She had gotten a king to say please. She couldn’t just say no.

“Oh, all right. I don’t even know if this counts, but I…my character…is a princess in these stories that Ivy and I write. And I played the princess in my last play,” Danielle admitted and fake coughed.

Wendell looked excited. “That’s close enough!” he said. “Okay, quick. Kiss me.”

“I am not going to kiss you!” Danielle cried.

“Oh, come on. It’s not going to mean anything. I just want to be a human again,” Wendell pleaded.

“No! No way!” Danielle protested. “I will not kiss a frog!”

“But I’m not a frog! Not really. Don’t think of it as kissing a frog, think of it as helping a king.”

“Nothing doing,” Danielle shook her head.

“You are being completely unreasonable,” Wendell objected.

“I am not, you are! Asking me to kiss you, king or no king. Frog or no frog. You can just forget it. And don’t try that please thing either,” Danielle warned, shaking her finger at him.

“It’s not fair, you know. A dog I could handle, but a frog! And why, why, why do I have to deal with another evil witch? How many evil witches are there?” Wendell demanded. “All I am asking is for you to help me get my body back. I’m no help to anyone like this. I can’t rule my kingdom as a talking frog. If we can even get my kingdom back. You have to help me.”

Danielle’s eyes widened when she saw what he was going to say next. “No…” she began.

“Please?”

Danielle sighed again. She gave him a dirty look. “That was low. I said no please stuff,” she said.

“So, you’ll help me?” Wendell asked, excited again.

Danielle nodded slowly. “Yes. But this is it! And you owe me big time for this, too,” Danielle said.

“Yes, yes. Of course. Could you…um…get on with it…uh…please?” Wendell asked.

Danielle raised the frog up near her face. She was not going to like this. She closed her eyes tight and decided she had better get this over with. Danielle quickly kissed the frog.

There was a bit of a spark and she felt a little like she was spinning. Danielle opened her eyes, almost involuntarily. And saw she was now kissing a young man with blonde hair and an aristocratic face. Danielle jerked backwards so hard that she fell on her butt. She stared at Wendell.

Wendell patted his arms and legs as if he couldn’t believe that he was human. His eyes got wide and started beaming. “I’m me again!” he cried happily.

Danielle just blinked.

Wendell dropped on one knee next to her, forgetting about acting kingly for a moment. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I will never be able to thank you enough,” he said.

Danielle opened her mouth to reply, but for once in her life, she couldn’t get anything to come out.

Wendell looked at her with concern. “Are you all right?” he asked.

Danielle blinked again and finally got her voice to work. “So…so, you’re the guy, huh?” she asked finally and felt like smacking herself for saying something so stupid.

“Pardon?” Wendell looked confused.

Danielle shook her head. “You said that there were others nearby?” she asked instead.

“Oh, yes! Anthony and Maive and Cinnamon. Won’t they be surprised to see me back?” he laughed happily and helped Danielle to her feet. “When this is all over, you can be assured that you will get the finest treatment in my castle. My kingdom!”

Danielle nodded absently. She was really too tired for this. Much, much too tired. Um…Wendell…er, King Wendell? I’m just gonna go to sleep ‘cause I’m really, really tired. I’ve been running all day looking for Wolf and I just don’t have the…” Danielle started laying down as she explained and cut off when she broke into a yawn.

Wendell backed off. He nodded. “Right. Of course. You can talk to them in the morning,” he agreed, still backing off.

Danielle sighed once again and fell asleep before Wendell even finished talking. She was too tired to even sing in her sleep.

Marissa paused in front of the mirror for spying. Her hand traced the etching on the frame. She hadn’t meant to come in here, but she couldn't get those two stupid girls out of her head. How did they block her magic? How? And what if they had not been killed? The suspicion and doubt about them had kept her from sleeping all night and had finally pushed her to the mirror.

Marissa turned the mirror on and commanded it to seek out the girls. A picture formed of the dark-haired girl sleeping on the ground. So, at least one of them had survived. Marissa waved her hand at the mirror and asked it to show the other. The picture changed to one of the blonde girl. She was walking next to a young boy. A young man followed after. Her companions weren’t human. She could sense that. But what they were she wasn’t sure.

“So you’ve both survived, then. Good girls,” Marissa mused.

“Mirror, mirror on the wall.
The girls will bring about your fall.
Mirror, mirror on the wall.
You cannot fight them all.”

Marissa spun around to see a face in one of the mirrors. “What mirror are you?” she demanded.

“My name is of no concern
For I tell it only to those who it earn.” the mirror said.

Marissa’s mouth twitched angrily. “You say these girls will defeat me? How?” she asked.

“If together they do stand
The rose will drop from your hand.
If against you they do turn their will.
You can be sure that you they will kill.”

Marissa paced before the mirror. “What then? What must I do?” she asked, spinning towards the mirror. “How can I stop them from turning against me?”

“Find the weakness inside each.
Then victory is in your reach.
But opposition you will meet.
For not only the living will oppose the feat.
A woman known as Snow
Helps them in their journey, so.”

With that the mirror darkened.

Marissa pondered what it had said. A weakness. She would have to weed out their weaknesses if she wished to win. At least she was good at that. But the mirror had said more. Something about opposition and snow.

“Snow…Snow White! But she’s dead!” Marissa protested. But wait! Weren’t there rumors that Snow White had become some kind of fairy godmother? That she had even helped in defeating the Evil Queen? Maybe she was helping these girls now. “This will be more difficult that I anticipated,” Marissa said. She would have to get to work.

But wait… She already knew a major weakness for more than one of her opponents. The full moon. “It has never been done before,” she hesitated, but a wicked grin spread across her face. “There really is a first time for everything.”

“Can we build a fire tonight?”

Faolan looked a little nervous about that. He glanced over his shoulder as if mentioning a fire would bring someone down on them. He wanted to refuse the fire idea, but he saw that she was shivering even with her jacket and Randal seemed cold, too. “Oh, all right,” he agreed. “But I will stand watch, just in case.”

Ivy nodded in vigorous agreement. “If you want, I’ll go get the wood,” she offered.

“No, I’ll get it,” Faolan shook his head.

“Would you stop being so…I don’t know, stubborn. I can do something, you know. I’m not helpless,” Ivy protested. She hated it when people treated her like she couldn’t do anything. It grated on her nerves.

Faolan must have sensed that she felt that way because he raised his hands in defeat. “Okay. Have it your way. Huff-puff,” he said.

The three of them looked around and all silently agreed that where they were was as good a spot as any for the night. Randal began collecting rocks for a fire-pit. Faolan nodded approval and half-turned to go off into the woods for the wood. He looked at Ivy and raised an eyebrow. Ivy nodded, yes she was coming.

“Be right back, Randal,” she said quickly and hurried after Faolan.

They didn’t say anything as they walked in the woods, just picked up sticks quietly. The silence was okay at first, but it started getting uncomfortable and Ivy felt she had to say something. She looked around for something she could talk about and something made her look up.

“Oh, my god,” she said, dropping all the sticks she was holding.

“What? Grrrr, stop goofing around and help me, would you? You said you could do something,” Faolan said a little snippishly. When Ivy didn’t move or respond he sighed and walked over to her. “What are you…oooooh!” he said, looking up and seeing the moon.

“The moon’s full. That’s impossible. It wasn’t even close the other night,” Ivy whispered, so astonished that she couldn’t speak any louder than that.

“Oh, who cares about that? Look at that moon. Isn’t it the most beautiful thing?” Faolan asked. He turned to Ivy quickly. “Howl with me.”

“What?” Ivy asked, startled.

“Howl with me. At the moon. It’s not that complicated,” Faolan said, as if she were being incredibly dumb.

“I don’t think so,” Ivy shook her head.

Faolan’s look darkened and Ivy heard the low growl forming in his throat.

“Um…okay,” she said quickly. Whatever happened to Faolan on the full moon that made him act like this, she didn’t think it would be a good idea to make him mad and see what happened. Best just to go along.

Faolan’s entire expression changed and he grinned.

“But…I…I don’t…I’ve never…” Ivy stammered.

Faolan’s eyes widened as if he were surprised. “Oh, it’s easy. Just look at the moon and just howl. Just let your feelings flow. I’ll start, he said. Faolan tilted his head back and let loose with a long howl. Ivy hesitantly joined in. It wasn’t that bad. Of course, she did feel a little silly. If she did this at home, they would lock her up and throw away the key and then barricade the door just in case. But she wasn’t at home now, was she?

Both howls drifted off and stopped. Faolan looked at her. “See, I knew you could howl. I told you I’d teach you to be a wolf. Okay, next lesson. We’re going to need to find a sheep. Or a rabbit. Chickens would work,” Faolan’s mind started drifting and he started rambling under his breath about chickens, sheep, and rabbits.

Ivy was really getting creeped. Faolan had been right before when he had said she didn’t know what happened on the full moon. “Uh…Faolan?” she asked hesitantly.

“Hmmm?”

“Shouldn’t we get back to making that fire?”

“Which fire's that?” he asked, sniffing the air.

“The one we were gathering wood for just a minute ago,” Ivy said a little impatiently.

“Oh. That fire. If we have to. But wouldn’t it be more fun to track down a little bouncy rabbit?” Faolan asked.

Ivy tugged on his arm and pulled him back towards their “camp”. “No, I really think we should get back,” Ivy insisted.

Faolan sighed and rolled his eyes. He let himself be pulled back to their little camp area. “That was a good howl!” Randal said when they came into view.

“Thanks,” Ivy said absently.

“What’s for dinner?” Randal asked.

“Mmmm, dinner…” Faolan mused.

Ivy was glad at least that Randal didn’t seem as bad as Faolan was. He did seem a little edgy, though. And he had been grumpy and moody before. But still… “Maybe we should skip dinner…” Ivy suggested, her mind coming up with some scary ideas about dinner.

“Skip dinner?” Faolan asked as if she had spoken blasphemy. “No, no, no!”

Randal, too, seemed astounded at her suggestion. “I’m too hungry,” he whined.

“See. I knew we should have found a rabbit. No, two rabbits. Oh, I could eat a dozen, I’m so hungry,” Faolan muttered.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to find a dozen rabbits,” Ivy said slowly.

“Mmmm, probably not. Well, as many as we can find. You humans really need to learn the magnificence of raw…I mean, rare meat,” he said and turned to bound back into the woods.

Ivy didn’t want to leave Randal and she didn’t feel to comfortable with being alone with Faolan right now, either. But she couldn’t let him go off on his own. Who knew what he would do? “Randal, stay put,” she called over her shoulder as she ran after Faolan.

He grumbled something, but looked like he would do as he was told. Good. Now to find Faolan.

Virginia, Wolf, and Breena walked back to the path and followed it for the rest of the day. Breena rode on Virginia’s shoulder this time. But as night fell and they still hadn’t reached the castle, Wolf grew edgy.

“I’m hungry,” he said, bounding from one side of the road to the other.

“What else is new?” Virginia said with a small smile at his antics.

Wolf growled in annoyance. “Don’t patronize me!” he snapped.

Virginia stopped in her tracks, she was so surprised at his outburst. Wolf only acted like this during the full moon. But it wasn’t a full moon yet. It couldn’t be.

Virginia looked around and finally found a perfectly full moon rising in the night sky. “It can’t be…” she said.

Breena followed her line of sight and saw the moon. The fairy shook her head. “How…?” she asked.

“Wolf?” Virginia asked and forcefully broke off her staring at the moon. She looked around and didn’t see him anywhere. “Wolf!” Breena and Virginia exchanged a worried look. “He’s gone,” they both said.

Virginia started yelling Wolf’s name louder and searching frantically, with Breena hanging onto her for dear life.

Wendell was so incredibly happy to be back that he almost ran back to the others. He restrained himself to a very quick walk. “Anthony!” he called.

Tony turned around where he was sitting on the ground. He did a double-take when he saw that Wendell was human. He jumped to his feet. “Pri…I mean, Wendell, you’re human!” he cried.

“How?” Maive demanded, getting to her feet as well.

Wendell hurried over to them. “You won’t believe it. I found one of the girls, Danielle. She played a princess in a play and something about stories, but the point is she kissed me and turned me human again!” Wendell said quickly.

“Yes, I suppose that would work,” Maive admitted.

“Where is she, then?” Tony asked, looking behind Wendell as if he might be hiding her.

“Oh, she was very tired and fell asleep over the hill, but I’m back!” Wendell insisted.

“That’s great, Wendy,” Tony said absently and turned to go back to his spot.

Maive had already lost interest and was reading some kind of scroll. Wendell frowned. This wasn’t the response he had been hoping for. Where were the “Oh, it’s so good to have you back to yourself, Wendell”‘s and the “It’s such a relief that you’re you again, Wendy”‘s. Did they even care? And what about that Cinnamon girl. She hadn’t even looked up.

“Um…you three don’t seem to understand. I’m no longer a frog!” Wendell said.

“Oh, we understand,” Tony insisted.

“Uh huh,” Maive agreed with a nod.

Cinnamon didn’t comment.

“Is there something wrong with her?” Wendell asked, pointing at Cinnamon.

A growl came from Cinnamon’s direction. That got Tony and Maive’s attention. “You can at least address me, you know! I’m not just some animal that you ask the owners if it’s safe to pet,” Cinnamon said angrily and when she looked up her eyes were glowing.

Everyone backed up a few paces from her. Maive looked at the sky and saw the moon. “No,” she said.

“What?” Tony asked.

“The moon,” Maive gestured. “It’s full.”

“Oh, yes. You’re a sharp one,” Cinnamon said sarcastically, taking a step towards them. “You know if it weren’t for you guys messing up this whole situation with that witch, I wouldn’t even be here. I’d be home in the Fifth Kingdom munching on a rabbit. Maybe a squirrel. Or maybe I’d come across a little farm. With sheep and chickens and pigs. The farmer would fall asleep and the shepherds would get careless. I’d be in and out before they knew what happened.”

Wendell, Tony, and Maive exchanged worried looks. They backed up again as Cinnamon stepped closer.

“You humans aren’t too great at guarding against wolves. You think you know us. You think you know what we’ll do. But you can’t know. If you did, you would be a wolf,” Cinnamon said with a predatory grin.

Tony was sure he saw fangs in that grin. He didn’t like the way this was going. He had seen the damage Wolf had done to those chickens in Little Lamb Village. Tony did not want the same kind of damage done to him. He looked at Maive and Wendell, wondering if either of them had a plan.

Cinnamon’s eyes dimmed and she shook her head. “What am I doing? Why is it a full moon already? What’s happening?” she asked frantically. She was so worried, she started panting. “I can’t be near you three, I might do something bad. I’ve got to get away!” Cinnamon spun and ran off.

Neither of the three humans moved. They were all breathing hard.

“What do we do?” Tony asked finally.

“What can we do?” Maive challenged.

Tony shook his head. “I don’t know. But we have to do something. We can’t just sit around here. Can we?”

“No.” Wendell shook his head. “You’re right, Anthony. We have to do something. But you’re right, too, Maive. There isn’t much we can do.”

Tony glared at him. “Don’t pull that crap. You got an idea?” he demanded.

“I think we should stand watch for Cinnamon until the full moon is over. Beyond that, I don’t know,” Wendell admitted.

Maive and Tony both nodded agreement.

“Watches would be a good idea,” Maive said. “I’ll take first watch.”

Wendell and Tony both slowly sat down. Maive found a spot on a tree stump and looked around cautiously before seating herself. They were all very quiet, listening for any sound of Cinnamon. After a few moments they heard a howl pierce the air that sent shivers down their spines.

Suddenly, Wendell’s eyes widened and he jumped to his feet. “Danielle! She’s all alone!” he cried and ran back the way he had come. Tony and Maive followed him slowly. They both glanced around nervously, imagining they saw the gleam of eyes in the bushes or heard a rustle from behind them.

“Faolan, where are you?” Ivy called, straining all her senses trying to find him. He had gotten ahead of her and she had lost him. There was a slight noise to her right and she spun that way, but didn’t see anything. “Faolan?” she asked uncertainly.

Suddenly, Ivy was knocked down from behind. She twisted as she fell so she landed on her back. Faolan had pounced on her. He landed next to her and placed an arm on either side of her, trapping her. He sniffed at her and made a whining noise. “I like your smell,” he commented.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded, trying to shove him away.

Faolan caught her hands and forced them down. His eyes flashed. “I could eat you,” he growled.

Ivy couldn’t respond. She was frozen, staring into his eyes. They dimmed all of a sudden and he jumped back to his feet. He paced in front of her and she just stared at him, still frozen.

“Oooooh, this is bad. I’m bad. The moon…and you. I can’t control myself. You should run away from here. No, then I might chase you and who knows what I’d do when I caught you. I…” Faolan broke off as he crumbled back to the ground clutching his middle.

“W…what’s wrong?” Ivy asked quietly. She slowly crawled over to him. She hesitated a moment before touching his arm to get his attention. He jerked at her touch and she snatched her hand back. But he grabbed it and pressed it against his cheek.

“I’m okay. I’m okay. Just cramps,” he panted. He was breaking out in a sweat and he started moaning. He didn’t look too good. “It hurts, though,” he said, his grip on her hand getting painfully tight.

Ivy didn’t protest. She hoped it helped. “Should I get you some water or something?” she asked getting to her feet to do as she offered.

“No!” he yelled, jerking her back. He quickly lowered his voice. “No. You stay. Stay with me.”

“Okay,” Ivy nodded, forgetting that she had been afraid of him a moment ago. Now all she wanted was to help him. She understood cramps at least. And he was really hurting. “What’s happening to you?” she asked.

Faolan growled, but Ivy thought it was at the question, not her. “Every full moon my…um…cycle comes on. It’s something wolves have to deal with. I get really angry and irrational and…hungry. Randal is too young to have it very bad. He doesn’t change yet. I do. I will. And I don’t want you around when that happens. I could hurt you. Or worse even,” Faolan gulped.

Ivy was silent. What could she say to that? It was another one of those things that had no real response to it. Plus, she had to absorb what she was hearing. The part of her that was rational and dealt with every day society and reality said it was impossible and balked at his explanation. Of course, that part of her had balked at this entire world. That part of her had no place here. So she stuck with the flexible part of her that said to heck with reality and just accepted the situation as it was. That was the part of her she used the most anyway. The part of her that daydreamed of worlds like this. Funny, she had never imagined kneeling on the ground next to a young man who was part wolf and was suffering from cramps as a side effect of the full moon.

“Well? Aren’t you going to say anything?” he demanded moodily.

“What do you want me to say?” Ivy replied angrily, his tone getting to her.

He whimpered and rubbed his face against the hand that he still held. “I don’t know,” he said quietly, his whole manner changing in an instant and making her feel guilty about her outburst. “I know you’re scared of me. You probably hate me, now.” He got angry again and continued, “Huff-puff, everyone hates wolves. And why? What did we do? We were just being ourselves! Okay, so maybe a few of the wolves in the past did some bad things. Maybe some wolves in the present did some bad things. But it’s not like humans never did anything wrong!” He was growling again.

“I agree,” Ivy nodded. “You’re right. I’ve always felt that way. Wolves are always the bad guys in fairy tales. There has to be more to the story then what is told. And not every wolf can be that way. Judging from the wolves I’ve met, I think I dislike humans more than wolves, myself.”

Faolan seemed startled. “Cripes, you do?” he asked, then turned away from her. “You’re lying. You don’t mean that.”

“Come on. You haven’t known me long, but it doesn’t take long to know that I don’t say things I don’t mean,” Ivy said.

Faolan looked at her again and was quiet. Neither of them said anything for a moment, before Faolan sprang to his feet again. Ivy looked at him in surprise. “Cramps have passed,” he explained. “I feel great again.”

“Are you sure?” she asked skeptically.

“Oh huff, of course I’m sure. Let’s howl again,” he said and pulled her to her feet. He howled, but this time Ivy didn’t join in. She was too worried. What would happen next?

Wendell ran over the hill to see a wolf standing over Danielle’s sleeping form. “Danielle!” he yelled loudly.

The wolf looked over at him and Wendell somehow recognized her as Cinnamon. Danielle jerked awake to the sound of her name being shouted. The first thing she saw was reddish fir. Her mind processed what she was seeing and she saw it was a wolf standing over her. Her movement caused the wolf to growl and bare its teeth. Danielle scooted backwards fearfully. The wolf growled louder and raised its hackles. Danielle froze, realizing her moving was making it worse.

Tony and Maive arrived and the wolf, seeing that it was outnumbered, ran off. Wendell hurried over to see if Danielle was all right. He owed her. She had saved him. Now he was saving her. “Are you all right?” he asked.

Danielle nodded, her eyes wide with fright. She normally wouldn’t be this afraid, but waking up that close to an angry wolf’s fangs…that was enough to make anyone feel like peeing their pants. “W…w…what…?” she tried to ask.

“It’s Cinnamon. The full moon affects wolves here and somehow it’s full moon tonight. She changed,” Wendell tried to explain.

Danielle was clueless to what he was talking about. “That…that was the girl?” she asked in disbelief. “She’s a…werewolf?”

“’Were’ means half, so yes. She is,” Maive said from behind them.

“She’s Oz? Woah,” Danielle said, shaking her head. That got confused looks from all of them, even Tony. “Buffy,” she explained.

Wendell and Maive still looked completely confused. Tony thought he knew what she was talking about. “The Vampire Slayer?” he asked.

“Yeah. You watch?” Danielle asked as if nothing had happened.

Tony shook his head at the pure insanity of this girl. “You don’t get it. She could have…probably would have killed you,” Tony insisted. “You’re lucky that we got here in time to scare her off.”

“I probably am,” Danielle agreed. “But it’s over. What’s the use dawdling over it? If it’s the full moon doing this, we have two more nights to worry about.”

Tony groaned. “After this, no more wolves. None. This is absolutely the last time I am traveling with a wolf.”

Virginia found Wolf moaning on the forest floor. Cramps had caught up to him, it seemed. She dropped down on her knees next to him. “Wolf, you can’t run off like that…” she began.

“There you go again with my list of can and can’ts. You are not my mother! They burned my mother, remember,” Wolf growled.

“Wolf…” she tried again in a reasoning voice.

“Maybe it’s because your mother abandoned you. Is that why you have to mother and smother everybody? Well, stop it! I don’t like it!” Wolf interrupted.

That had hurt. Virginia felt her eyes well up and wiped at them quickly. It wasn’t his fault. It was his cycle. It probably didn’t help, either, that it was way too early for it. “Do you need a rabbit?” Virginia offered hesitantly.

Wolf closed his eyes at the mention of a rabbit, as if envisioning it. “Mmmm, a rabbit. Yes a rabbit would be nice. You know I like the long-eared ones, right?”

Virginia nodded. It kind of disgusted her, since she knew what would happen to any rabbit she brought him, but it was better a rabbit than a coop of chickens in a nearby village. Or a person.

“Breena’ll stay with you while I go find one. Okay?” she said, brushing his hair out of his face. Wolf nodded, but he was staring past her at the moon. Virginia rose and backed away slowly, looking at Wolf worriedly. Breena landed near him and nodded at her. She would keep an eye on him.

Virginia turned and went to look for a rabbit. How she would catch one, she had no idea. It wasn’t like last time when she had picked one up out of someone’s rabbit hutch in Little Lamb Village. She would have to actually catch a wild rabbit. “What I do for you, Wolf,” she said to herself with a small shake of her head. “This had better turn out better than Little Lamb…wait a minute!” Virginia stopped in her tracks. Something didn’t make sense. Wolf had gotten a spell to release him of the full moon. It had worked during the last one. How come Wolf was back to feeling the full moon again? Virginia smacked herself in the forehead. “Duh, Ginny. Like the witch is going to help you out and let Wolf stand by during this full moon,” she said to herself. “Find a rabbit, girl. Just find a rabbit.”

Faolan ran ahead of her, sniffing. Ivy followed him quickly, not wanting him to get out of her sight, but he lost her again. She stopped and opened her mouth to call out to him when she was pulled down into the bushes. Faolan motioned quickly for her to be silent. His eyes were bright and he seemed excited. He pointed through the bushes and Ivy peered through to see a little rabbit poking around.

Ivy pulled back and shook her head no at him, but he nodded and stopped her silent protest by placing his hands on her face. “You watch me,” he mouthed at her. “Then, you try.”

Then, before she could refuse, he turned away and pounced through the bush on the rabbit. He was on hands and knees with the rabbit pinned under his hands. He looked so wolfish he might as well have been one. His tail was even wagging back and forth behind him. “Okay. Come on,” he called back to her.

Ivy hesitantly stood up and stepped out into the tiny clearing.

“I want you to eat some of this rabbit. You haven’t been eating nearly enough just chewing on that jerky,” he said without looking at her. The rabbit struggled wildly and he growled at it.

“No!” Ivy said, feeling appalled in spite of herself.

This time Faolan did growl at her. “Yes. You will eat some rabbit,” he said in a dangerously low voice and flashed his eyes at her.

Ivy shook off the effects of his eyes.“No!” she yelled and ran back the way they had come.

Faolan followed her with his eyes and thought about chasing her, but the rabbit struggled again under his hands and drew his attention back to it. He grinned and there were fangs in his grin. He snarled at the rabbit and it froze in fear.

Ivy burst through the trees back to the camp. Randal jumped awake and growled at her grumpily. “Where’s my brother?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Ivy said. “I thought you were too hungry to skip dinner.”

“I was. I got my own rabbit, thank you,” Randal said with a curt nod of his head. He sat down and stared up at the moon. “I like the moon,” he told her. “During the full moon I can hear and smell and see everything!” Randal sniffed, then looked at Ivy in surprise. “You’re afraid,” he said.

Ivy started to say no, but gave up. “Yes, I am.”

Virginia wandered aimlessly looking for a stupid rabbit. She heard a little rustle and froze. A rabbit hopped slowly out of hiding. Virginia held her breath. She didn’t want to scare it away. Ever so slowly Virginia lowered herself down to where she could jump and catch the rabbit. The rabbit froze for a moment, then continued eating and hopping slowly around.

There was another rustle and both the rabbit and Virginia froze. A wolf emerged from the darkness. A red wolf. It growled low in its throat and bared its teeth. It was growling at Virginia.

Wolf sat up. The cramps were gone, but he felt the change coming. He didn’t want to change. No, not with Virginia out in the woods somewhere all alone. But he couldn’t stop it. Wolf’s eyes glowed and he felt fangs grow in his mouth. He twisted as his body changed until he was all wolf. He absently heard frightened noises coming from the fairy, but he ignored her. Fairies were bad to eat. Wolf raised his nose to the air and caught the scent of another wolf nearby. And close to that scent was that of a human. But this human had another scent mixed in with hers, her mate’s scent. It took a moment, but Wolf recognized that other scent was his! That she-wolf was going to attack his mate! Wolf tilted back his head and howled before racing towards the two scents.

Cinnamon took a slow step closer to the human. She could smell the scent of another wolf on her. And that she was carrying a wolf-cub. But Cinnamon didn’t care. She was too hungry to care. The human’s fear was strong. This situation seemed all too familiar, but Cinnamon’s wolf mind dismissed all that. All it cared was that she had found fresh meat.

A howl broke through the air, drawing both her and the human’s attention. Cinnamon sniffed. It was another wolf, the human’s mate. Even as a wolf that seemed a little strange to her. Suddenly, the owner of that howl appeared. He growled and placed himself between her and the human. Cinnamon growled back, but backed off. She didn’t want the human bad enough to fight its mate.

Virginia let her breath out and her entire body shuddered. She couldn’t feel her legs and she couldn’t seem to move. Her heart was beating so hard inside her chest that it hurt. Wolf - she knew it was him - looked back at her. Then he trotted off. It took Virginia a few long moments before she was able to move. She hurried back to the place where she had left Wolf with Breena. She found the fairy sitting on the same leaf she had been, hugging her knees. When she saw Virginia she quickly got to her feet.

“I’m sorry. He changed and I didn’t know what to do,” Breena apologized quickly.

“I know, Breena,” Virginia stopped her. Virginia plunked down on the grass next to Breena’s leaf. She shivered and rubbed her arms. She did not want to go through another forty-eight hours of this.

“Miss, are you alright?” Breena asked hesitantly.

“I’d be better if this were all over,” Virginia sighed.

Ivy paced nervously. Randal scratched his nose and growled at her irritably. “Why do you keep doing that?” he asked.

“I’m nervous,” Ivy replied. She stopped suddenly and turned towards Randal. “If we kept moving, would your brother track us?”

Randal rolled his eyes. “Are you kidding?” he said in answer.

Ivy nodded, satisfied. “Okay. Good. Let’s get moving,” she said, adjusting the straps on her backpack and starting off.

Randal grumbled some more and kicked apart the stones he had arranged for a fire-pit. He ran after Ivy and quickly caught up to her. “Next time you’re going to not collect firewood, tell me not to make a fire-pit,” he said moodily.

When day broke, Ivy and Randal found themselves just outside a village. The entire village seemed to be colored pink, red, and white and there were heart-shaped balloons all over. A sign, also heart-shaped, read Now Entering Kissingtown.

Ivy looked around as they entered the town. She had never been anywhere so corny. So lovey-dovey. Her initial feelings were she thought she might puke. She saw signs for kissing lessons and romantic restaurants and all other sorts of things along that line. “Oh, my god,” Ivy muttered.

“What a gross town,” Randal said, sticking out his tongue and scrunching up his face in a disgusted look.

Ivy grinned at him. “Yeah, cooties all over the place.”

“What’s a cootie?” Randal looked confused.

Ivy was a little surprised. Oh, well. She couldn’t expect him to know stuff like that. “I’ll explain later. Let’s get some breakfast,” she said, glad that Randal’s mood had improved, at least for now.

A little girl ran up in front of them and held out a hand to stop them. She held a bow and arrow and lights shimmered around her head in a halo. She had wings strapped to her back so she looked like some kind of cupid-girl. “There you are. About time you showed up,” she said.

“Huh?” Ivy asked, confused.

Randal looked as lost as she was. Did someone know they were coming?

“You will be faced with the truth again. But I’m afraid that love will have to take a back seat to evil’s ploys once again. Your slightly…changed…friend will arrive later, I assure you,” she said and skipped off to be lost in a crowd of unnaturally cheery people.

“She was talking about Faolan! That girl must have been psychic!” Ivy exclaimed.

Randal seemed to be pondering something.

“What is it?” Ivy asked.

“This seems all so familiar. Like I heard about it before. A story, I think. I just can’t remember…” Randal growled in frustration, ”I’m hungry.”

“Come on,” Ivy said, steering him towards a restaurant. She stared in the direction the girl had gone and wondered what she had meant.

Faolan fell asleep curled up under a tree. His belly was full; he was happy. For now. Now he would sleep. Faolan put his tail over his nose and let out a long wolf sigh as he drifted off. He was soon fast asleep.

Faolan found himself in a white room. He scrambled to his feet and looked around. He immediately spotted the woman, but something was wrong. He couldn’t smell her.

“Hello, Faolan. I wasn’t planning on bringing you here, but that evil witch has pushed me to it. She should not have messed with something as powerful as the moon. Mr. Moon is furious,” the woman said.

Faolan was astounded. So astounded that it wasn’t until now that he realized he wasn’t in wolf-form anymore and that he was on hands and knees before the great Queen Snow White! Faolan quickly stood and bowed. “Queen Snow White! I…” Faolan was at a loss for words.

Snow White smiled, amused. “Relax. I have some things I need to discuss with you,” she said.

Faolan was still trying to catch up to what was happening. His memory was already pretty fuzzed. He thought he remembered being in the woods, collecting sticks with Ivy, but he wasn’t sure. “Mr. Moon? You mean the Man in the Moon? He’s still alive?” Faolan blurted.

Snow White nodded. “Of course. As long as the moon lives so does he. And he is not happy about this unscheduled full moon. Technically I can’t interfere directly with this, but I can grant you a wish…” Snow White said.

Faolan nodded quickly, getting her gist. “Right. I wish that the full moon was over and the regular moon schedule was back on track,” Faolan said immediately, then regretted it. He could have wished for no full moons at all. He could have put an end to his monthly madness. He frowned and a whine escaped him. He looked to Snow White. She seemed pleased, but understanding.

“Thank you. That had to be tempting. Before you leave I have to tell you some things. First, you will find your brother and Ivy in Kissingtown, but beware. The witch is plotting something. I don’t know what, but I know it involves Ivy and Danielle. Ivy is going to need you to support and protect her, no matter what she thinks or says. I’m counting on you to do as much.” She paused for Faolan to nod. “Second, talk to Wolf and Virginia. Yes, you must speak with them, but I think this evil witch business must come first. All right?”

Faolan nodded again.

“Oh, and give this to Wolf. Tell him that it should put his problems with that bratty grandchild of Red’s to an end,” Snow White said, handing him an envelope.

Faolan bowed again as he took it. “All that you say, Queen Snow Whi…” he began as regally as he could.

“Oh, call me Snow,” Snow White interrupted. “Now, it’s about time you go. Remember what I said.” Snow White and the white room all faded away until everything was black.

Faolan snapped awake. He was human again. Well, as human as he ever was. And he had an envelope in his hand with a royal seal on it. The seal had a fancy S.W. carved into it.

Cinnamon woke up with a jerk. Her hands flew up in a front of her face. They were hands, not paws! She wasn’t a wolf! Cinnamon always suffered a little identity crisis after the full moon. And now she had added anxieties. Had she eaten one of her friends? What had she done? Where was she? In her woods there weren’t really too many bad things she could do. And she knew every inch of that territory so she was never very lost. Maybe a little disoriented, but never lost.

Cinnamon got up and sniffed, looking for the now familiar scents of her friends. Or, at least, so-called friends. Cinnamon didn’t have real friends; didn’t deserve them. Cinnamon shook her head, dispelling those thoughts and the memories they brought up. There! She smelled Tony! If she sniffed some more she could smell Maive. And two other scents. One familiar, the other vaguely…it was one of the girls! Yes, she vaguely remembered Wendell saying something about finding the girl named Danielle. And there had been something about Wendell, too, but she couldn’t remember what. Oh, well. She would find out when she rejoined them.

Had all three nights of the full moon passed already? That thought stopped Cinnamon. The full moon had been early! And she was pretty sure it had only been one night although her memory of it wasn’t great. More questions for her companions to hopefully have answers to. Cinnamon trotted off quickly to find them.

Virginia would not admit to crying, but she was way over-stressed and pregnant. She had a very good excuse. Not that she needed it. Breena was still buzzing around nervously. She seemed pretty re-energized. There was the snap of footsteps approaching and Virginia tried to jump to her feet. It was getting harder to do.

Wolf stumbled into the clearing and Virginia gave a wordless shout of relief. She hurried over to him and hugged him fiercely. He returned her hug, but not as strongly as he usually did.

Virginia pulled back and looked at him worriedly. “Are you all right?” she asked.

“I was so worried. I couldn’t remember what happened, but I remembered your smell and…” Wolf said and Virginia knew by his voice how tortured he had been.

“No, Wolf! You saved me! Another wolf was going to attack me and you scared it off,” Virginia explained. There were tears of relief welling up in Wolf’s eyes and Virginia quickly wiped them away. She cradled his face in her hands. “I know you would never let anything happen to me, Wolf. I love you,” she said.

Wolf raised his own hand to touch her cheek and kissed her forehead. “I love you, too, my dreamy creamy Virginia,” he said. “But how long has it been? It doesn’t feel like more than one night has passed, but my cycle’s over.”

“It has been only one night,” Virginia said, confused.

“Maybe the witch could only change the moon for one night?” Breena suggested.

“Maybe,” Wolf nodded. He took a step back and looked around as he turned everything over in his mind. His gaze finally settled back on Virginia. “Boy, our little cub has grown!” he exclaimed and Virginia smiled to see Wolf back to his old self. Wolf placed a hand on Virginia’s stomach and both their eyes went wide when the baby kicked. “Cripes,” Wolf said quietly.

“Cripes is right,” Virginia nodded, all her questions and doubts rushing back to her. “Why am I so pregnant already? I feel as big as a house! I look like I’m eight months along now!”

“You are not as big as a house, Virginia. Maybe a small cow. Joking!” Wolf cried as she punched him in the arm. “You look beautiful. Absolutely succulent.”

“Thank you,” Virginia said shortly, but with a smile. She turned serious again, though. “I mean it, Wolf. Why am I so big already?”

“Maybe because wolves have their cubs quicker than humans,” Wolf shrugged.

Virginia’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe? What do you mean maybe?” she demanded.

“Good to see she’s controlling those mood swings,” Breena whispered to Wolf as she buzzed by.

“I heard that! And I don’t have mood swings,” Virginia said, but the next moment she was crying. “I’m just so worried. What if I’m as bad a mother as mine was? How do I raise a baby with a tail? Will I have to lock up my baby every full moon?”

Wolf quickly jumped over to hold her. He stroked her hair. “Shhh. It’s okay. You’ll be the best mother ever. Don’t worry. I’ll be right there to help you raise our baby with a tail. And you know what?”

“What?” Virginia asked, sniffling.

“He’s gonna be the most drop-dead gorgeous boy with you for a mother. And me for a father, of course,” Wolf said with his wolfish grin.

Virginia laughed and smiled again. “Maybe he’ll be even cuter than you. Ever thought of that?” she asked.

“Uh oh!” Wolf said in mock-worry, “Competition!”

Breena coughed loudly to get their attention. “Um…there’s still the matter of an evil witch bent on destroying us all,” she reminded them.

Wolf growled and his eyes flashed at the mention of the witch. “Huff-puff, that’s right! Time to be heroes again!”