Kimberly - Our Little Chop

"Especially you, Tony," Wolf said, wrinkling his brow. "You’re the one who exposed his crimes."

"Thanks for the reminder," Tony said dryly. "You’re still the one he cursed. What are we going to do?"

Wendell stepped in, trying to be the voice of reason in all of this. "The first thing we have to do is find this Peep man. Once we’ve done that I’ll convince him that it would be worth his while to forgive you. If he doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life in the maximum security ward of the Snow White Memorial Prison, he’ll find it in his heart to do so."

"Wait a minute," Tony said, eyeing the witch suspiciously. "You just said hate can keep the spell from being broken. How do we know you won’t prevent us from breaking it yourself?"

"Oh dear," the witch answered in her sweetest old-lady voice. "I can see how you would be concerned about that. I suppose you don’t know, do you?" She smiled.

Wendell stepped forward, looking as regal as he knew how, and pointed a finger at the witch. "If you know what’s good for you, you won’t interfere with them anymore," he said quietly, hoping he sounded commanding. "Promise that you won’t interfere with their breaking the curse!"

The witch looked up at him, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "Well," she said, "I’m sure Your Majesty can ensure my safety and continued freedom if I make such a vow?"

Wendell stood firm. "By no means," he said. Tony put a hand on his shoulder to protest, but Wendell waved him away. "You will be going to prison. I cannot tolerate witches cursing my friends and subjects. It would be a terrible precedent. But I can ensure your safety, as you asked. I can also ensure the safety of your cat," he said, and smiled smugly, folding his arms in front of him.

"My cat?" the witch asked, remembering that they had carried it away. "What are you doing to my cat? Bring him back at once!" The guard by her side laughed gruffly, pushing her back down as she tried to rise from the chair.

Wendell shook his head and sighed. "Magic pets are no longer allowed inside the prison since the unfortunate incident with my step-mother. I’m afraid it will have to be destroyed. Unless…." he trailed off, dangling a hope before the witch.

"Oh, all right!" she shouted angrily. "I promise," she said, "not to interfere with the breaking of this curse. If you allow me to keep my cat with me, I will even help you to find Wilfred Peep."

"Deal!" Wendell said, pleased with himself. "Where can we find him?"

The witch tried to get up, but the guard pushed her down again. "Let go of me you oaf!" she shouted at him. "I’m trying to help you." She got up finally and crossed the room to her mirror. Reaching out, she wiped the blood from its surface with her finger, considered it briefly, then licked her finger. She then looked into the mirror, and spoke. "Show me Peep," she said, and the mirror began to waver.

They all looked intently at the mirror as it showed a man tending a scraggly garden. The plants were thin and spindly and the fruits of his labor didn’t appear to be faring very well. He picked a tomato off of a vine, regarded it intently for a moment, then threw it to the ground in obvious disgust. He squashed the tomato underfoot, then stalked out of the garden. He walked across a dusty road and into an Inn. The shingle out front read Last Stop Inn.

"Oh I know that place!" cried Wolf. "It’s a terrible little Inn in an awful little town. It’s Bordertown. It’s the last stop in the Fourth Kingdom. If you cross the stream, you enter the Troll Kingdom. The town doesn’t have a very nice reputation," he said to Virginia and Tony. "It’s the kind of place you go when you’re not welcome anywhere else. Believe me, I’ve been there… But that was a long time ago."

"Great," Tony said with as little enthusiasm as he felt. "Let’s go."

"We can’t!" Virginia cried. "Not yet anyway. Wolf isn’t well enough to travel, and we don’t even know what we’re going to do when we find him."

"I think," Wendell said, pleased with himself once again, "that I have a plan." He took his men aside, giving them their orders. One of them took the witch back to the shed, while two others set out on horseback immediately. Wendell thanked the elves for all they had done and invited them to a party in their honor at the palace after all the troubles were resolved. They left happily to return to their home, leaving Wendell alone with Virginia, Tony, Wolf and Hansel, all of whom were looking at him expectantly.

"I have a plan," Wendell said, "that I think will work out wonderfully. I sent two guards to go and arrest that dreadful Peep man. It will take them at least three days to retrieve him and bring him to the Snow White Memorial Prison. They were given strict orders to find the cloth in his belongings and ensure that it returns with him. That gives us a few days for Wolf and Hansel to continue recovering with the help of my Physician, who has gone to fetch more of the magic well water. When it is safe to travel, my driver will drop us, along with the witch, off at the prison. He will then take Hansel to his sister. I have sent her word that he has been found alive and she is ecstatic. She is awaiting your arrival, Hansel."

Hansel beamed at Wendell, then around the room at his friends. They had never seen him smile like this. It transformed his face and they could almost see the brave child who had once defeated the first Gingerbread Witch.

"I thought you would be pleased," Wendell said with a grin.

"Thank you Your Majesty. I am grateful," Hansel replied, smiling for joy.

"This all sounds just dandy so far," Tony interjected, "but what are we going to do once we get to the prison? Are we just going to threaten this guy into not hating us? I don’t know about him, but I don’t think that would work on me."

"Don’t worry old man!" Wendell said, clapping his gloved hands together. "We’ve plenty of time to discuss that. Now let’s see if my driver knows how to cook. No offense Tony, but your soup smells rather… well, common."

The guard returned from settling the witch into the smokehouse and was sent right back to fetch meat for supper and more wood for the fire. With no windows, the little cottage had a terrible draft. The driver, sadly, was not gifted in the arts of cooking, so Virginia did her best with what was there to prepare a meal that she and Wolf would be proud to serve at their restaurant. She located a few herbs that she recognized for certain and she was pretty sure they were safe. There were more potatoes as well, so she cleaned them, rubbed them with salt and put them at the edge of the fire to roast a bit. Then she set about dealing with the meat. They had decided it was still safest to stick with fowl, so she prepared a whole bird for Wolf and a second for the rest of them, hoping that Wolf’s appetite would be back in full force. While the food was cooking, she went to his bedside, where the doctor had returned and was cleaning and re-dressing his wounds using the magic well water. Virginia peered over his shoulder.

Wolf was bare from the waist up and was covered in bruises. There were several small cuts and scrapes as well, but these and the bruises seemed already to be healing nicely, she supposed because of the magic water. The stab wound, however, still looked very serious. She could tell it was deep and as the doctor tended to it she could see his abdominal muscles tense, recoiling from his touch. Wolf bit his fist, trying not to howl in pain, and Virginia had to look away. She wondered how long it would take for the water to help heal this wound. There was no sign of infection, at least, and she felt good about that, but she was worried that he wouldn’t be ready to travel within three days. She supposed Peep wouldn’t be going anywhere once he reached the prison, but she was anxious to get to him, break the curse, and get back to her own world with Wolf. She knew the Royal Physician was the best doctor in the Nine Kingdoms, but she wished Wolf could see a real, modern, Tenth Kingdom doctor. She headed back to tend to dinner, hoping Wolf couldn’t sense her worry, but suspecting that he did.

Wolf was beginning to regain his strength. He knew that he shouldn’t rush it but he wanted nothing more than to get to Peep and resolve this mess. He knew Virginia was worried about him, and about the baby, and he wanted to fix it. He felt certain that none of this would ever have happened to Virginia if it hadn’t been for him and he wanted to make it right. He was used to being strong and capable and he was used to rescuing her. Now she had to take care of him and, while he was blissfully happy that she was still willing to do so after everything that had happened, he wanted nothing more than to jump up out of bed and fix everything. As soon as he was well enough they would go to Peep and he would convince him to help them break the curse. He’d be so nice to the man that he’d want to break the curse himself. He nodded to himself - he’d make him see that they were good people and never wanted to hurt him.

The guard did not want to take food to the witch - in his mind she deserved to go hungry, and it was silly to waste good food on someone who would rather kill you than look at you - but Virginia insisted. At first she wanted to go out there by herself, but he’d talked her out of that. He insisted on accompanying her to protect her from the crazy old bat. They entered the room to find the old lady snoring again in a heap in the corner. Virginia approached to wake her, but the guard nudged her with a foot and yelled at her to get up if she wanted any food.

Virginia bent down in front of the old witch, who she’d been trying to see through Wolf’s eyes. She handed her the plate and sat down on the dirt floor beside her. The witch grabbed the plate, sniffed again perfunctorily, although she was sure this time that nobody was trying to poison her, and began devouring the food. Virginia watched her eat, wanting to demand that this woman answer for her crimes against her family. She shook the negative thoughts out of her head instead and said, "Is there anything else we can bring you?"

The old woman only grunted and waved her away at first, but then stopped, seemed to consider, and called her back. "What’s it like," she asked, smiling through a mouth full of food, "carrying a lamb in there? Can you feel him kick?" She looked up at Virginia and smiled a horrible smile, then reached out and placed a hand on her belly, which was only just starting to grow round. Virginia flinched, but forced herself not to pull away. She didn’t want to be afraid anymore.

"He will kick," the witch said knowingly. "Soon."

Virginia stood and took a step away from the old woman. "Of course he will," she said, trying to sound confident. "That’s what babies do." She turned and motioned for the guard, who held the door open for her. They left the witch alone in the little shed.

The moment they were gone the witch returned to her plate, shoveling down the last of her food. Wiping her mouth on her skirt, she laughed. "Little tart!" she said with disdain. "I may have promised that I wouldn’t interfere with your breaking the curse, but if I’m going to prison you will pay, little girl…. Yes, that baby of yours will be kicking sooner than you think." She chuckled to herself as she dusted a pale, sweet-smelling powder from her hands. "By the time you get to Wilfred Peep, it may just be too late!"

Walking quickly back to the little cottage, Virginia felt a chill. She wasn’t sure whether it was from the breeze or from having been with the witch, but she buttoned her oversized sweater and pulled her hands inside the sleeves. When they entered the cottage she found Tony clearing away the dishes that they’d been finishing off when she went to serve the witch. She smiled, wondering how long it had been since Tony had cleaned up after himself, much less anybody else. Thinking back, she was pretty sure it was the day she herself had first cleared the table at home. He’d been very proud, and told her what a good job she’d done. She was so pleased with herself that she’d insisted on doing it every day. Soon it became a habit for her and Tony had taken it for granted. The more she matured and became responsible, the more he had let her become the parent and himself the careless child in their relationship. All of that had changed in the last few months and she was thankful to have her father back. It was good to see him feeling productive and useful again.

"Well," she said to the group at large. "What should we do now?"

"Oh I know!" Wolf said, excited. "Let’s tell stories! Virginia, why don’t you tell them that story you told me last week?"

"What story?" Virginia asked. She wasn’t much of a storyteller, and couldn’t remember having told him any stories at all. Besides, what story could she tell that they wouldn’t either already know or think was a bore? There weren’t a lot of good stories in her kingdom that hadn’t been stolen from theirs.

"Oh, you know, Virginia, the one about the great green lady giant in the sea who welcomes people from all over your world to the Tenth Kingdom. She was a very special lady," Wolf reminded her, and returned to gnawing on a drumstick bone.

"Oh," Virginia laughed, remembering their trip to the Statue of Liberty. Wolf had been so excited, asking again and again who had frozen the giant in the sea. Virginia had tried to explain - she told him the statue was a gift from the French and that it stood in the harbor to welcome immigrants to the United States - and she'd thought that he had understood. She'd read him the famous quote - Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door - and seen tears in his eyes.

"Your kingdom really is a special place," he’d said. But he had laughed at her when she'd suggested they go to the top, and wondered at her fear in his world if she was accustomed to climbing giants in her own. She'd shaken her head and smiled, and taken him by the hand. They rode the elevator to the top and Wolf was very proud of himself for not getting sick. He’d found that elevators were not his favorite mode of transportation; he tended to get nauseous. He had even managed to stand still the whole way up. And it was a long way. He had apologized profusely when Virginia protested that he was squeezing her hand too tight, but they had arrived at the top unscathed. She led him to the overlook and he’d been more than a little concerned about the height, but she promised him they were safe. Wolf had had a ball running around, checking the view from every angle, but she was sure it was more fun for her. She loved seeing him like that. He was so happy and excited. He was as impressed as any small child would be. He’d tried, after realizing that people were staring at him, to behave nonchalantly, as if he were not brimming over with excitement, but soon he was panting again. She remembered a time very recently when displays like that would have embarrassed her to no end, but she no longer had a desire to be invisible. She laughed along with him and found that through his eyes even the boring old world she’d taken for granted for so long really was a magical place.

"Well?" Wolf said, finishing off his bone, and Virginia came back to the present and realized that Wendell and Hansel were watching her expectantly, waiting for a good story. Tony, too, seemed to be somewhat intrigued, until she mouthed to him Statue of Liberty, and he laughed.

"Go on Virginia," he said. "Tell them about our kingdom’s green giant of the sea."

Virginia shrugged and did her best to explain about the Statue of Liberty. Her audience seemed to find the whole thing fascinating. She guessed it was a pretty good story after all. They continued on like this long into the evening, she and Tony sharing stories of their world with an enthralled audience of a king, a hermit and a wolf. Wolf would add his own tales occasionally, telling his friends about such wonders as television, phones, and his personal favorite - the microwave oven.

"You wouldn’t believe it!" he exclaimed to his friends. "It’s a miracle how quickly the food is prepared. But it’s only for when you’re really hungry," he cautioned. "It can’t brown meat and the food sometimes feels funny. I don’t think they’ve perfected it yet. Still," he brightened, "when you’re stomach’s growling and you can’t wait another minute, you can still have hot food. It truly is magic."

When he awoke the next morning Wolf was feeling much better. The pain in his gut was improving. It had gone from a constant sharp stabbing that caused his whole middle to burn to a somewhat more manageable ache, with only the occasional jab of fire when he tried to bend at the middle or move too quickly.

He looked around - it appeared that everyone was still asleep. His sweet Virginia lay with her head on his chest. Her breathing was slow and steady. He watched her for awhile, wondering at the incredible good fortune that allowed him to be loved by such a girl. Wanting to test his limits a little, he slid out from under her, laying her head gently on the pillow, and got up. He felt dizzy almost immediately and nearly fell back on the bed on top of her, but he managed to steady himself, holding onto the mantelpiece, and his head began to clear. He wondered if there was any meat left from dinner the night before - he could smell that there were at least some bones remaining somewhere in the cottage. He began shuffling toward their aroma. Halfway across the room he struck a toe on the leg of the chair. He bent forward in reaction, causing pain to shoot through him from the wound in his side. He stifled a howl, but couldn’t keep a yelp from escaping. Virginia sat up in bed, looking around in confusion. Seeing Wolf, panting and holding onto the back of the chair, she ran to him. He gave her a weak and sheepish grin as she led him back to the bed.

"Wolf, are you okay? What were you thinking?"

"I’m sorry, my sausage, I was feeling so much better. And I was hungry. You were sleeping so peacefully I didn’t want to wake you."

"Okay, Wolf," Virginia laughed. "I can tell you’re getting better - your appetite is back in charge over your judgement. Let me see if I can find you something for breakfast."

She turned to go rummage for food when Wolf took her by the hand, pulling her back to him. Sitting on the edge of the bed looking up at her, he placed a still-bandaged hand gently on her belly. "Virginia - our baby is starting to grow. You’re beginning to show!"

Virginia looked down. That’s strange. Why hadn’t she noticed before that she was showing? She had noticed over a week ago that her clothes had started to feel tight, but she was quite sure that it hadn’t been evident to anyone else. Now as she looked down, even with her oversized sweater there was a definite telltale bulge. She didn’t like to think of herself as vain, but how had she not noticed this happening? It seemed like it had happened overnight. She covered Wolf’s hand with hers and looked at him questioningly.

"What is it, my delicious darling?" Wolf asked. "Are you worried about the baby? I promise you, we are going to get to Wilfred Peep. I am going to pour on the charm and let him know that we’re his friends for life. He’ll give us the cloth and we’ll break the curse if I have to serve him breakfast in bed for the next hundred years. I give you my solemn Wolf word!" he said, and gave her the cute little wolfy salute she remembered seeing for the first time when he rescued her from the Trolls.

She smiled, shaking off the uneasy feeling. "I know, honey, we’re going to be fine. All three of us." She looked around. "I’ll go out to the carriage and wake up Dad and the others. Would you like to sit up in the chair for awhile?"

Wolf said he would, so Virginia helped him to get to the chair and get settled down, then headed out to the carriage. When they entered the cottage they found that Wolf had scooted the chair up to the cupboard and was rummaging around with his whole head inside.

"Oh good, everyone’s up," they heard his muffled voice say. "What shall we have for breakfast?"

Hansel was feeling better than ever by the afternoon, and Wolf was getting stronger with each meal. Both of them drank glass after glass of the magic water, eager to be well enough to get on the road. The Royal Physician declared that their recoveries were going quite well, and that while Wolf should continue to get plenty of rest and stay as calm as possible, they should be well enough to travel by morning. That night they began packing up provisions and at first light the next morning they set out for Snow White Memorial Prison.

The driver was under strict orders from King Wendell to give his friends a gentle ride. He did not want Wolf jarred by too many ruts and bumps. They brought the blankets from the cottage to help cushion his side. A whine escaped him as he tried to climb up into the carriage, but Wolf was determined not to complain. He did not want them to go slowly on his account, so he bit his lip and kept silent when they hit the inevitable holes and ruts in the nearly nonexistent path. He felt that his self-control had paid off when they arrived at Beantown by the afternoon.

The driver said that the witch had been complaining loudly from the back of the horse she was riding on with the guard, and that perhaps they’d better stop here for a bit. Everyone agreed reluctantly. Virginia looked out the window of the carriage - she hadn’t seen all the destruction that the Trolls had done in Beantown and it was a bit of a shock to her. She could tell that the rebuilding was nearly complete, but there were still many telltale signs of the violence a couple of months before. They had pulled up next to the little tailor’s shop where the Troll king had had his first mirror-conference with the queen. She saw it and turned to Wendell.

"Do you think we could have some clothes made while we’re here? Wolf could use a shirt, and my clothes are beginning to get tight, what with the baby and all."

Wendell blushed scarlet and nodded. "I had noticed that," he said, trying not to stare at her belly. "Your sweater seems to be a little snug. I’m sure they will drop anything they are currently working on for a pair of national heroes."

"My sweater?" Virginia said, stepping out of the carriage. She looked down and saw that he was right. Her sweater, the one that that morning had still hung loosely on her, was stretched across her clearly pregnant belly. She blinked, shook her head, and looked again, but it was true. Her belly must have grown substantially just in the last few hours! What did this mean?

"Wendell…" she said, reaching out a hand to steady herself. "Do you remember my sweater being tight yesterday?"

"Why, no, actually," Wendell said, staring openly now. "Come to think of it, I remember, when I first arrived at the gingerbread cottage, thinking that you didn’t look pregnant in the least!"

The footman had been helping Wolf out of the carriage during this exchange and as soon as his feet hit the ground Wolf was at her side, his brow furrowed in concern.

"What can this mean?" he asked the group at large as Tony joined them and did a double take at his daughter’s growing belly. "Doc!" Wolf cried out to the Royal Physician, who emerged from the carriage last. "What is wrong with my scrumptious sweetheart?"

The doctor’s eyes grew large and round as he approached the by now panicking Virginia. The footman was sent out to the tailors to put in the order for new clothes for the couple as the doctor led Virginia to sit down on the step of the carriage. After all, even injured, it was rather inappropriate for Wolf to be out in public with no shirt, and the one he’d been wearing before the attack was a shredded, bloody mess. And it was clear that Virginia’s seams would not hold out for long.

"How are you feeling?" the doctor asked Virginia, feeling her pulse at her wrist.

"I feel okay, I guess," she said, shaking her head in confusion. "Just a little hot."

As she began unbuttoning her sweater, Wolf exclaimed, "What is that?" pointing to the t-shirt that was now stretched tight across her belly.

The doctor looked where Wolf had indicated and saw a pale, shimmering handprint on the fabric across her tummy. Reaching out, he wiped some off with his finger and brought it close to his face for further inspection. He sniffed it, considered, and then ever so carefully tasted the powdery substance on the end of his finger.

Wolf, by now frantic, could hardly stop himself from grabbing the man by his collar, injury or not.

"Well?!?" he demanded. "What is it?"

"It’s just as I suspected," the Royal Physician said, dusting the remaining powder off of his hands and Virginia’s shirt. "Quickening powder."

"Quickening powder? What -err, what the heck is that?" Tony asked exasperated once again at the seemingly unending supply of craziness in the Nine Kingdoms.

"Well, I’m afraid it’s just what the name implies, Sir Anthony," the physician replied. "It has certain properties that speed up growth and other physical processes. The witch must have had a supply of it in the smokehouse. It is often used to speed curing of meats. Especially in warm or humid areas where meat goes bad more quickly."

"You’re kidding, right?" Tony said. "Tell me you’re kidding. Are you trying to tell me that this witch put some meat tenderizer on my daughter and now she’s six months pregnant instead of three or something?"

"Better make that seven months, Tone," Wolf said, indicating his quickly growing wife. Tony looked at Virginia, who was still sitting on the step of the carriage, staring incredulously at the doctor, her eyes as round as her belly.

"At this rate," she said slowly and deliberately, "how soon will the baby come?"

They all looked at the doctor expectantly.

"It’s hard to say," the doctor said, trying to soften the blow, but when he heard Wolf’s warning growl, he decided it was best to cut to the chase. "Virginia will probably be in labor by morning. As this is her first pregnancy, though, it should take awhile. The baby probably won’t arrive until this time tomorrow."

"No," Virginia stated firmly, as if refusing it would change her fate. "We haven’t broken the curse yet. We have to get to the prison and befriend a murderous monster before we can even try! And besides, I’m simply not ready yet. I should have another six months to get used to the idea of being a mother. It’s just not fair to expect me to do it tomorrow. I can’t. I won’t. You’ll just have to go out there and find some ‘hold your horses’ powder to reverse the effect, because there is absolutely no way I am going to - OH!" she interrupted herself, her hand rushing to her belly.

"What is it?" Wolf cried, dropping to his knees in front of his beloved wife, his own hand rushing subsequently in pain to his own middle. "Is it the baby?"

"Yes - the baby," Virginia said, her voice changing subtly. She looked up from her own stomach into the eyes of her loving husband. Wolf’s fear melted as he saw the expression in her eyes. She was smiling, an expression of utter joy on her face. "He’s kicking," she said.

Taking Wolf’s hand, she placed it on her bulging stomach, and his eyes, too began to twinkle with the light of a proud father. "Wow," he said in a hushed voice. "That’s my cub in there. And he’s almost ready to come out!" They looked each other in the eyes again. "Cripes!" they said together. Even Tony momentarily forgot their troubles and beamed at the thought of being a grandfather.

"Err…" Wendell began, reluctant to interrupt a tender family moment. "Hadn’t we better get moving? I mean we’re on a much tighter schedule now than we ever imagined…"

Everyone agreed immediately, and as the footman had just arrived with the new clothes, Wendell sent him off again in search of dinner that they could eat along the way. Wolf smiled as he pulled on his new shirt of fine soft chamois. He’d never had a shirt so nice in all his life. He checked his reflection in the window of the shop - he thought maybe he even looked the role of a hero and a father. And since feeling his baby kick, he thought that if could find a way to reverse the curse and protect his child, he might even feel the role. The truth was a wolf has no real interest in being a hero. At least not outside of his own pack. As long as he could take care of his family, and they loved and trusted him, Wolf would be happy.

Virginia went into the carriage alone to change into the loose maternity dress the seamstress had made for her. It was not quite what Virginia was used to wearing but she was so thankful to get out of her tight clothes she didn’t mind at all.

She was in a daze worrying about their new time constraints. What if they couldn’t get the curse broken in time? What if something was wrong with the baby? Surely growing that fast couldn’t be good for him. What if she was a terrible mother, just like her own mother had been? She really wasn’t ready - she hadn’t fully dealt with the idea of being a mother and she had planned to read all the books that Wolf had bought on the subject before the baby came. At this point she hadn’t even gotten to look at the baby name book. She wondered if there were an appropriate name for a wolf-human hybrid with wool, and was terrified. The baby kicked again, however, and the idea of having him here with her so soon didn’t seem so terrible after all.