Gabrielle - After Happy Ever After

“Why must it be Kissingtown?” she asked in disgust as she watched the girl and the young wolf-cub (how interesting to see that more than she had thought had fallen because of her full moon plan) ate at a sickeningly love-oriented restaurant.

Her thoughts trailed back to the full moon. Somehow the spell had been broken and she had been cut off from the moon. Someone powerful had done that. And the only one who came immediately to mind was Snow White.

Nevermind all that. Her ploy had given her time and openings. That was all she needed.

Ivy had to admit that despite the incredibly corny titles labeled on all the food, it was still good. She had the First Crush Casserole and it was excellent. The waiter was awfully nice. Ivy was suspicious of such niceness, but didn’t pass up a chance for information. “What is this town, anyway?” Ivy asked.

“This is where the dwarves brought Snow White and placed her in the glass coffin when they believed she was dead. And where the Prince found her and revived her. The magic of that moment is what makes Kissingtown what it is; the most romantic spot in all the Nine Kingdoms,” the waiter said, and Ivy could tell it was a rehearsed speech.

“The short version?” she asked.

“It’s a magical love town. Everyone falls in love here,” he said with a small smile. “Well, almost everyone.”

“I remember now!” Randal exclaimed suddenly.

“What?” Ivy asked.

“The story. It was the story about the ‘Four who saved the Nine Kingdoms’! They came here!” Randal said, excitedly.

“Yes, yes, they did!” the waiter agreed. “In fact, we have a V and W Tour running through town. That stands for Virginia and Wolf. It’s a hot commodity lately.”

“Okay, that’s it. I have to hear what happened to Virginia and Wolf,” Ivy said.

The waiter’s eyes went wide. “You haven’t heard? How could you not hear the tale?”

“Uh…well…” Ivy stammered, uncertain of what she should tell him.

Luckily, he saved her the trouble. “You’ll have to visit the Storyteller then. He’s been telling the tale a million times over already. You’ll find him at the end of the street…”

Tony had taken the last watch. And unfortunately Wendell had remembered to wake him up for it. Stupid Wendell and his stupid standing watch idea. Tony yawned again and grumbled. “You’d think they’d have a little pity for an old man. I should be kicking back in a recliner and relaxing, not hiding out from an evil witch, watching for a crazed wolf,” he said.

Tony blinked in surprise when he turned and saw the sun was coming up. He stretched his aching muscles and got up. “Wake up, people!” he said loudly.

Maive stirred and sat up. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. Wendell curled up in a tighter ball and ignored him. Danielle didn’t even move that much. Tony frowned. Great. He would have to wake up two people who were both set on doing the exact opposite.

“Wendy, you’re a frog again!” he cried.

Wendell jerked awake, his eyes wide with terror. When he discovered that he was still human, he fixed his worst glare on Tony.

“Now for the last one,” Tony said, ignoring Wendell. “Danielle, …uh…vampire!”

Danielle waved an arm around as if looking for someone standing nearby. She dropped her arm and curled up again. “Liar,” she muttered.

“Oh, wake up!” Tony said impatiently, fed up with her already.

“Not morning yet. Too early,” Danielle said without opening her eyes.

Tony thought he might strangle her. He was not a morning person and Danielle wasn’t helping. Wendell apparently saw what was going on and intercepted him.

“I’ll take care of it, Anthony,” he said quickly.

Tony crossed his arms and grunted. He watched as Wendell went over to Danielle and knelt next to her. He whispered something to her and she jerked up into a sitting position. “You can do that?” she asked, her eyes wide.

Wendell shrugged. “I’ll have to pull some strings. But I am a king, after all,” he said. “But first you have to wake up and we have to get all this horrible business over with.”

Danielle nodded and quickly got to her feet. She walked over to talk to Maive.

Tony stared at Wendell. “How did you do that? What did you say?” Tony demanded.

Wendell had that smug looked on his face. “I told her I would make her a real princess in thanks for making me human,” he said.

Tony’s mouth dropped open. Wendell grinned and started past him, but Tony ran in front of him and made him stop. “I helped make you human once, too!” he protested.

“Would you like to be made a princess, too, Anthony?” he asked in reply.

“No! But…but…” Tony stuttered.

Wendell’s grin widened. “Don’t worry, Anthony. I could never forget the only manservant to turn me into gold.”

“You know, for a king you’re a real smart…” Tony began.

“Would you boys knock it off! I had another vision!” Maive called.

Tony and Wendell exchanged a look, then hurried over to Maive. Danielle was already at her side looking very curious.

“What was it?” Tony asked.

“I saw Marissa. She was in Kissingtown. And she was talking to Ivy,” Maive said.

“Ivy?” Danielle asked. “Woah, wait a minute. Ivy wouldn’t talk to that evil witch. Fight, yes. Foolishly insult, most definitely. But just talk? I don’t think so. Are you sure?”

Maive nodded. “Very sure. I think Ivy was falling under Marissa’s spell,” Maive said. “She has the power to turn your worst fears on you. Isn’t that what she did to you, Tony?

“Yeah. It was like she could read my fears and doubts like an open book.” Tony shuddered just thinking about it.

“Was this happening now or in the future? What do we do?” Wendell asked.

Maive paused and considered. “I think it was the future. But I…” Maive broke off. She clapped her hands to her head and gave a small moan. She was having another vision. When she recovered, she looked up to see the three of them staring at her expectantly. “It was Snow White again,” she said quietly.

“My grandmother!” Wendell exclaimed.

Maive held up a hand to silence him so she could continue. “Yes. She told me that there isn’t anything we can do about Ivy, but that we should take care to guard Danielle. The witch is going to be coming for you next,” Maive told Danielle.

“Then, we have to prepare for her! You have to teach me to fight her. You may not be a Prue, Piper, or Phoebe, but you’re still a good witch. Tell me what to do,” Danielle insisted.

Maive shook her head. She couldn’t help her. Maive wasn’t that good herself. She was only an apprentice. Danielle was probably a better witch than she was. She would have to fight Marissa on her own.

Faolan followed his nose and was astounded when it led him into Kissingtown. Snow White had been right. He had never been to Kissingtown before, but of course he had heard all about it. And it was everything it was said to be. He passed half a dozen people laughing and kissing just on his way in. Happy couples. There was romantic music playing from an unknown source. He could smell the love in the air.

And he could smell his brother and Ivy. He turned onto the main street and soon found the two of them. They were sitting underneath a long lean-to, listening with rapt attention to an old man telling a story. Neither of them noticed him. He was downwind, but still. It must be a good story. He edged around the back and sat down behind Ivy. He realized why they were so spellbound. They were listening to the tale of Virginia and Wolf, Tony and King Wendell. It was a mesmerizing story. And it was coming to an end.

“…And so King Wendell granted a royal pardon for all wolves across the kingdoms with the regal words that it was a noble wolf who once saved the Nine Kingdoms. He bestowed a medal of honor upon Tony Lewis, naming him Anthony the Valiant. A special award was given to the dog known as Prince, who now lives in a golden kennel. And lastly, to the fair Virginia he gave a rose, given to him by the wondrous Snow White herself. And an addition to the tale, we have received word that Wolf and Virginia were wed over two months ago!” there were claps and cheers by all around. The storyteller nodded and smiled, “Happily Ever After, my friends? Maybe so.” The storyteller nodded again to let them know he had finished. People began leaving, dropping coins in the old man’s hat as they left.

Faolan leaned forward and put his head on Ivy’s shoulder. “Good story, huh?” he asked and smiled when she jumped and gave a surprised yelp.

“Faolan!” she cried, turning to face him, “The girl was right! You are here!”

Faolan scratched his head, puzzled. “Girl?” he asked.

“Yeah, this girl came up to us and said you would be here soon,” Randal filled him in quickly. As soon as he had done so, Randal jumped up and gave his brother a hug. Faolan pushed him away gently, seeming embarrassed.

“Are you…?” Ivy paused uncertainly. Faolan seemed better, but the full moon lasted three nights, not just one.

Faolan nodded emphatically. “Completely. Back to normal. It’s a long story, but the moon’s back on track,” he said, then quickly added, “I’ll tell you later.”

Ivy smiled with relief. She got to her feet, followed quickly by Faolan. They exited the tent, Faolan supplying the tip to the storyteller.

“We already ate. Are you hungry?” Ivy asked as they walked down the street.

“Actually, I’m kind of full,” Faolan said. Before Ivy could get suspicious about that, he steered her toward a parked carriage. “Did you like that story?” he asked.

Ivy’s eyes brightened and she nodded. “Oh, yes!” she agreed.

“You want to see something from the story?” he asked, stopping next to the carriage.

“Sure,” Ivy shrugged.

“Uh…what about me?” Randal asked, waving his arms to get attention.

“I gave you some coins. Go explore,” Faolan said quickly, pushing Randal along.

“But I had to use most of it to pay for breakfast! Faolan! Oh, huff-puff! Fine!” Randal said, stomping off.

Ivy looked after him. “You sure he’ll be alright?” she asked.

“He’ll be fine. Come on,” Faolan said, opening the carriage door. Faolan held out a hand to her, hoping to help her inside. But Ivy ducked under his arm and walked around to the horses. She didn’t even seem to notice that she had blown him off. She held out a hand to each of the horses to sniff and stroked them on the noses. She looked up and saw the driver. “Oh, hello. You have a beautiful team,” she said.

“Not compared to you, miss,” the driver replied, leaning forwards on his bench and smiling at her. Faolan growled at him and he quickly leaned back again. Again, Ivy didn’t seem to notice. “You…uh…know horses, miss?” the driver asked, stiffly polite.

“Well enough,” Ivy said with a smile as she scratched the horses’ ears.

Faolan took her arm and pulled her back towards the door. “Better get going,” he said over her half-formed protests. “Driver, Snow White Hill.” Faolan opened the door again and before he could even offer to help, Ivy had climbed in. Then, she turned around and held out a hand to him! Faolan shook his head and got in on his own. The driver clucked and snapped the reins and the horses moved out.

Ivy stared out the side window in amazement until Faolan finally got impatient with her paying attention to everything but him and pulled her back into her seat. “I’m trying to tell you something,” he said.

Ivy blinked at him in such an innocent manner that any annoyance or impatience he had disappeared. He scooted a little closer to her. “This is where Wolf and Virginia went when they were looking for the traveling mirror. You know that this is where the Prince met Snow White, right? Well, her glass coffin was placed on top of the hill that we’re going to,” Faolan explained. Ivy didn’t respond for a long moment and Folan nudged her shoulder. “Ivy?” he asked.

“I just…I still can’t believe it’s all real,” she said. She turned to look at Faolan with wide eyes and he smiled.

“As real as I am,” he assured her.

Doubt flashed across her face. “Maybe you’re not real. Maybe I finally went totally, completely nuts. Maybe this is all just a dream. Maybe…” Ivy began, her voice getting panicked at the idea that all this wasn’t real.

Faolan put his fingers to her lips to stop her. “It’s real. I promise,” he said.

Ivy pulled his hand away. “But how do I know? Haven’t you ever had a dream you were sure was real?” she asked.

“Tell me this, do you dream of half-wolves in a land you didn’t know existed often?” he asked with a grin.

Ivy had to allow herself a small smile at that. “No. I do now. But seriously…” she persisted.

Faolan sighed. “If I do something to prove to you how real this is, will you promise not to get mad or anything?” he asked.

“Uh…okay, I guess,” Ivy said uncertainly.

“Okay,” Faolan repeated. Before she could change her mind, Faolan leaned over and kissed her. He had been thinking about doing so for some time, but he had never known how he should ask or how to start. It was everything he had imagined. He wondered what she was thinking. He wondered if it had been the same for Wolf when he had first kissed Virginia. Hadn’t that been in Kissingtown, too?

Faolan pulled away slowly and opened his eyes. Ivy’s eyes were still closed, her lips parted. Faolan nuzzled her cheek to get her to open her eyes and look at him. “You believe me now?” he asked.

Ivy nodded. Faolan slowly smiled. “That was…well, that was better than three little pigs,” he said.

Ivy couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Marissa saw every moment of their little carriage ride and realized that she had to act fast. She could not let the girl fall in love. Love was one thing she couldn’t control. So Marissa had to pay Ivy a little visit. And just to be absolutely sure, she would have to remain invisible. “No matter,” Marissa said to herself. “She’s given you enough openings to destroy her. She doesn’t have a prayer. Not even Snow White could cover all those insecurities. Not even Snow White.”

“Please, Maive,” Danielle pleaded.

“You don’t understand. I can’t. One, I’m not a teacher. I’m only an apprentice. And not a very good one. Second, you’re not a witch. It’s too dangerous for you to be taught any spells or anything without going through training and initiation and cart-loads of other things. Besides you fought her before and did all right,” Maive tried to explain. Why couldn’t she understand that she just couldn’t teach her any magic?

Tony’s face twitched at Maive’s last words. “All right? All right?! They got scattered across the Kingdoms!” he yelled at her.

“But they survived. And they’re still under their own wills. More than you could say for your encounter,” Maive replied.

“You know what…just…oh, shut up,” Tony snapped.

“You’re…” Maive began, heatedly. “Ow!” Maive pressed her hands against her head again. Another vision. But this one was very short. A moment later, she looked around and locked her eyes on Danielle. “Snow White says that you have to do this on your own and to believe in yourself,” she said.

Danielle didn’t look too reassured.

The carriage stopped just then and Faolan jumped out. Before Ivy could protest, he put his hands on her waist and swung her out of the carriage. Finally, everything was going the way he wanted. “Come on,” he said, leading her towards the main attraction.

Ivy almost couldn’t believe it. A giant arch with a red heart in the center that said “Snow White” on it read True Love Never Dies. People with carts advertised corny trinkets. An artist paitned faces on a pre-painted background. Tourists posed for the picture with the girl lying in the coffin and the guy leaning over her. It must have been the worst tourist attraction she had ever seen, but for some reason she was okay with it. She had never felt like this before.

Faolan was looking at her. She turned to him, wondering what he wanted. “What?” she asked.

“You want to?” he asked, nodding towards the people posing. “You know, Wolf and Virginia posed here.”

I vy rolled her eyes. She wasn’t as naïve as all that not to know what he was doing even though it was still hard for her to believe he liked her. Using Wolf and Virginia as his excuse was really not the best…but what did she care? “If you insist.”

Cinnamon slowly entered the clearing, almost afraid of what she would find. She quickly spotted the group of her companions and heaved a sigh of relief. They were all there. “Um…hi, everyone?” she said uncertainly.

The entire group spun to face her. “Cinnamon!” Danielle cried.

“I’m fine now, so you all know. The full moon’s over. But how long has it been?” Cinnamon asked.

“One night,” Maive told her.

Cinnamon shook her head in confusion. None of this made sense.

“As long as it’s over,” Wendell said, glancing at her in a way she didn’t like.

“What?” Cinnamon demanded.

Wendell just shook his head and walked off. Danielle ran after him.

“Well, let’s get back to worrying and arguing and waiting, shall we?” Tony asked dryly.

Ivy couldn’t believe she had let Faolan talk her into this. He was talking now, but she wasn’t really listening. He was telling her the story of Snow White (as the guy before them had told the girl; she figured it was routine).

Suddenly, Ivy heard another voice. It was soft, so she had to listen closely, but not too much so. The voice was strangely compelling.

“Why are you doing this? This isn’t you! He’s half-wolf, for pete’s sake! You saw how crazy he went the other night. He could have done anything when you weren’t around. He said he could eat you! What did he eat? He said he was full. You read the fairytales. You know how the wolves were in those stories. He’s probably lying to you!” the voice said and Ivy began to doubt.

Faolan was leaning closer to her. She could feel it. Ivy sat up quickly and pushed Faolan away. He looked hurt and confused.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I…I have to leave,” Ivy said quickly, jumping up and running off.

“That has to be it! He can’t possibly like you. No, you’re delusional, Ivy. He’s been lying to you the whole time. You can’t trust him. You can’t trust anybody, really. You know that. You knew that. You were always alone and always will be,” the voice continued.

“No,” Ivy whispered, shaking her head weakly as she ran.

“Yes. Don’t deny what you know. Stop kidding yourself. You’re not good for anything, who could possibly love you? Deep down you’ve always known. Haven’t you always feared that when you got the chance you prayed for, that you would fail terribly? That you would fail your friends? You can act brave and tough, but inside you know you’re a coward.”

“Leave me alone,” Ivy said, almost pleading now. She couldn’t take this. It had to be true; the voice wouldn’t lie. She was crying now! She hated to cry. She hated feeling sorry for herself.

“You are nothing but an ungrateful, ugly, little brat! Don’t try and tell yourself otherwise.”

Ivy couldn’t run any further. A brook blocked her path. She had completely left Kissingtown behind without realizing it. She fell to her knees next to the water. She wiped her eyes, but couldn’t stop her crying. Her throat hurt and her mouth was dry. Water would help. Ivy scooped up water in her hands and bent to drink it.

“No!” Faolan yelled, running up behind her and pulling her hands apart so the water fell. “Don’t drink it! Didn’t you see the sign? Or the fence?”

“What?” Ivy asked without looking up. Her voice was cold. Faolan didn’t like it.

“You ran right through the broken part of a fence. There was a sign, too. It said, Beware! Don’t drink water. It has to have been put here for a reason,” Faolan insisted, pointing back the way she came.

“Why should I believe you?”

“What?!” Faolan asked, astonished. “Why not believe me? What’s gotten into you?”

Ivy shook her head, unsure how or if she wanted to explain. “What did you do before you got to Kissingtown?” she asked instead.

“What are you talking about? Why are you doing this?” Faolan asked.

Ivy was silent. She scooped up more water in her hands.

“Ivy, no!” Faolan said, reaching for her hands so he could dump out the water again.

Ivy pulled her hands away from him and drank the tiny drop of water still in her hands.

Faolan looked horrified. “What have you done?” he said.

Ivy was about to tell him that he was wrong, the water was perfectly fine when she felt a stab in her chest. It spread through her body like fire. She cried out in more surprise than pain. Faolan hurriedly moved closer to her and held her from behind. A shudder ran through her and her eyes flashed a wolfish color. She felt something extend from her behind. Her teeth grew to sharp points, then returned to normal. She felt her ears change shape then change back. Something inside her was definitely different, but she didn’t know what. “W…what happened?” she asked.

“Um…I don’t know how to tell you this…” Faolan said slowly.

“What?”

“You…uh…well, you…” Faolan said haltingly.

“What?!”

“You have a tail,” Faolan finally blurted.

Ivy jumped in surprise and reached behind her, panicked. She found something furry and bushy. She pulled it around and twisted herself so she could see. She had a silvery, gray tail!

“No!” she cried, shaking her head. “How? What? It can’t be!”

“This must be one of the three brooks,” Faolan said in amazement.

“What brooks?” Ivy demanded and growled without knowing it.

“Have you read the story of the Brother and Sister? They ran away from home because their stepmother was very mean and beat them every day. But when they ran, the stepmother, who was an evil witch, cursed all three brooks nearby so if they wanted to drink they would suffer her revenge. The brother got terribly thirsty and wanted to drink, but the sister stopped him. She could hear in the trickle of the water, a warning. The first brook would turn him into a lion, the second, a wolf, and the third would turn whoever drank from it into a roebuck. The sister kept the brother from the first two, but couldn’t keep him from drinking from the third. He drank his fill, then was turned into a roebuck. The sister cried for her brother and promised she’d always take care of him…” Faolan was really getting into storyteller mode and for some reason that annoyed Ivy.

“They found a house in the woods, king comes hunting in the area, stupid brother can’t resist the hunt, king follows him to the house and finds the sister, king marries sister and takes her and brother back to his land, happy ever after, bla bla bla,” she finished. “The point is, I have a tail!”

“Yes, this must be the brook that will turn you into a wolf. You must have only swallowed enough to become a half-wolf. Huff-puff,” Faolan said and it bothered Ivy that he wasn’t upset about the situation.

“You’re happy about this, aren’t you?!” she accused.

“No! Well, not unhappy. Maybe a little okay with it, but…” he began hurriedly.

“You are, too! I can’t believe you! I knew you didn’t care about me! I knew.”

“Cripes! No, you’re wrong!” Faolan cried. Faolan tightened his arms around her, trying to hold her there.

Ivy struggled and he let her go. “Leave me alone,” she said quietly.

“I can’t. You shouldn’t be alone right now,” Faolan insisted. Suddenly, they both heard shouts back the way they had come. They didn’t sound like happy shouts. And they were getting closer.

“Something’s wrong,” Faolan said, getting up. “Can’t you smell it? Can’t you smell the anger on those people?” For some reason, it seemed important to him that she use her new wolf sense of smell. She didn’t really want to, but she sniffed without realizing it and smelled what he said. Her sense of smell was crude, not as fine-tuned as Faolan’s, but she could tell that it wasn’t happy couples coming this way. Something inside her said she would have to run or fight and that it wouldn’t be good to fight if she didn’t have to. Ivy turned to run, but Faolan caught her arm and stopped her.

“No. They have Randal,” he said quietly. Randal. That made it personal. She would stay and fight if she had to.

Marissa smiled. That had gone well. She had driven a wedge in between Ivy and Faolan. She was turning against him. It wouldn’t be too hard to get her to turn from most of those other nuisances. Danielle, the other girl, might be a bit of a problem. The little boy, Randal, too, might be a small obstacle. But if he became too inconvenient, she would arrange his death. It was that simple. She might not be able to kill them all just now, but one little wolf-boy wasn’t a problem. And now there was the angry mob coming, just as she had planned. Soon, the girl would be hers.