Macster - The Last Dragon

Not a day she wished to spend cooling her heels in this isolated grove of trees and underbrush, waiting on his Majesty, the esteemed monarch of the Fourth Kingdom, to grace her with his presence.

"What do you suppose could be keeping him?" Virginia muttered as she rearranged the armload of packages she carried. They were presents--a gigantic meat-flavored bone for Prince (which she would first offer jokingly to Wendell), several handsome and expensive suits for her father courtesy of the Murrays, and Wendell's real present, a Walkman with a judicious selection of Earth music from various genres, time periods, and artists. The young king had shown an intense interest in the culture of her world, and Virginia was pleased to oblige him--although she had not realized how much trouble it would be.

Beside her, Wolf too was fidgeting impatiently, his hand scratching instinctively at his temple, although she was not certain of the reason for his nervousness. Did he not wish to remain under cover, unable to view the sky and run free? Was he worried about Wendell too, or did he simply wish they could be in each other's arms again?

"I haven't a clue, my creamy love," he replied, eyes darting about suspiciously, as if he expected some secret danger to pounce upon them unawares. Smirking slightly, he rolled his eyes. "Perhaps the king has dirtied his lovely clothes and had to change."

"None of that, Wolf." Virginia was quite aware there was still no love lost between him and Wendell, despite the pardon given to all the wolves in the Fourth Kingdom. Wolf still saw her stepbrother as an arrogant, presumptuous coward and Wendell saw Wolf as a selfish opportunist and was always on the lookout for any sign that he was using Virginia. But for her sake the two of them got along and kept quiet about their private distrust of one another. At moments like this, though, it arose, and even a badly-placed joke could cause trouble.

Sighing, she peered around the shadowy glade, along the paths and between the trunks and branches, and then she placed a hand on Wolf's arm. "Are you sure this is the right place?" She had an unswerving belief in his ability to track and scent, and of course they had both been here before, but it was remotely possible they'd made a mistake...

But Wolf nodded firmly, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and drawing her close. "Absolutely, little cupcake. There's no question of it!" He smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

She returned his smile, somehow reassured by his warm voice--he always had such a comforting effect on her. But before she could acknowledge him further or advance any other theories about Wendell's absence, the air around her grew warm, then hot, and began to ripple as if filled by the heat waves of blistering asphalt. This had to be the sign that the portal of the magic mirror was about to open, and she watched with rapt interest, having never seen it before from this side. The rippling grew more pronounced, and then with a rush of argent light, reality distorted, and the familiar shimmering rectangle appeared, hovering about six inches from the ground. Dimly she could make out a darkened room on the other side, circular and filled by tall, sheeted objects. It was the alcove in her mother's bedroom, where she had finally confronted her after fourteen years of abandonment.

Virginia felt Wolf clutch her arm, and at first she thought he was trying to comfort her, but then she saw it too...a faint silhouette approaching the mirror. By the height and build it seemed to be a man, but it was not tall enough to be either Wendell or her father. A chill ran up her spine. Had some criminal gained access to the mirror and planned to cross over to cause mischief?

Before she could warn Wolf, the unknown man leaped toward the portal. Stumbling back, she shrieked in fright, dropping all of her packages. She heard Wolf snarl, and then there was a stretching surge in the mirror's liquid, a tumbling body, and a flurry of arms and legs as Wolf tackled the man. Grabbing him by his lapels, Wolf wrenched him upright--and froze in place, at the same moment Virginia recognized the high-pitched, frantic voice crying out in fright and desperate warning.

It was Lord Rupert.

"Unhand me, you disreputable cur!" The courtier batted his hands at Wolf's as he struggled to free himself, his expression harried and horrified. "You have no idea what's happened!"

For a moment Wolf rather looked as if he wanted to shake the truth out of the poor man instead of release him, but Virginia intervened. "Wolf, let him go!"

Flinching at the note of command in her voice, he complied, letting Rupert tumble to the earth again, which prompted a cry of indignant annoyance from the fastidious man. Wolf turned to her and scratched self-consciously at his temple. "So sorry, Virginia...a wolfie can't control his instincts sometimes."

She frowned doubtfully at him; that sounded rather like a cop-out. But she had no time to deal with him. She rushed to Lord Rupert, who was groaning and muttering as he brushed dirt and leaves from his uniform jacket, and helped him to his feet. "Lord Rupert, what are you doing here? I thought only Pri--King Wendell was supposed to meet us! What's going on?" Her voice trembled despite her resolve not to lose control, as she recalled Rupert's exclamation. And then she saw his face, as pale as chalk, and she swallowed with difficulty.

Biting his lip, Rupert tried to maintain his composure, but then he quivered and began to wail like a lost child, tears streaking his cheeks as he grasped her sweater. "Oh, Lady Virginia! It's awful, it's dreadful, it's catastrophic! You won't believe what's happened!" He sniffled and looked at her shirt as if he wanted to wipe his nose with it.

Virginia fought the urge to throttle him; perhaps she should have let Wolf shake him into submission after all. Pulling free of him by main force, she grabbed his shoulders and fixed steely eyes upon him. "What...happened...Rupert?"

"It's...it's his Majesty! Your father! The entire court! I'm the only one left..." Seeming newly frightened by this thought, the courtier leaned against her, his knees weakening.

Icy fear gripped Virginia's heart. No. No, they could not be dead. Wrenching Rupert upright, she finally did shake him. "What do you mean? Spit it out, Rupert!"

Running a hand through his hair, the dark-eyed lord gestured shakily with his other hand toward the mirror and the Nine Kingdoms that waited beyond. "They...they've been frozen...ensorcelled...by the Ice Queen! I escaped...I knew I had to find you..." Then, hurriedly, he laid out all the details of the snow enchantress's arrival and the spell that had encased everyone in blocks of ice.

Letting go, Virginia took a long step backwards, eyes flicking from Rupert's pasty visage, to the shimmering portal, to Wolf, who stood in a half-crouch, as if about to transform fully into his animal form and launch with fangs bared into the mirror where an Ice Queen waited. She didn't know whether to hold him back or urge him on, both choices seemed equally worthwhile at this point.

Mind whirling, she latched onto the only fact she'd been given that she could learn anything more about. Reaching out to grab Wolf's shoulder, she waited until he looked her in the eyes, tried to ignore the flare of golden-yellow irises. "Wolf--who is this Ice Queen? What is Rupert talking about?" Behind her she heard the courtier snort huffily at being dismissed, but she kept her attention on Wolf.

His rakish face was pinched with anguish, fear, and loathing, an expression she'd never seen except when he'd spoken of her mother or the Huntsman. "She rules the Eighth Kingdom with an icy thumb, has for a hundred years or more. I have never had the dubious distinction of meeting her, but I have cousins who dwell in the Northern Forests that have, and feel lucky they lived to tell the tale. She hates everyone in all the other Kingdoms with a passion, and seeks to rule them all. It is rumored that she has great magic and can bring the cold of her domain with her wherever she goes." Wolf looked guardedly at Rupert and licked his lips nervously. "It seems the rumors are true."

Virginia felt her stomach twisting in knots. Now she knew more, but somehow it had made things worse.

Before she could ask another question, Rupert was at her side again, wringing his hands in despair. "What are we to do? We have no magic to counter the Ice Queen. She will conquer all the Kingdoms!"

Virginia put a hand to her forehead, feeling the onset of a headache. How could a day that had begun so wonderfully, full of love, have degenerated so rapidly? She had known when she and Wolf returned to New York that Happy Ever After would not last forever, but she hadn't thought it would vanish in only a few months' time. And now she was being asked once again to face danger she barely understood, for people she didn't know but who counted on her to save them, and to use magic she was only somewhat more accepting of than before. Assuming magic could be found.

Her mind sharpened. That was the first step.

"All right," she said briskly, recovering her sense of poise. Clearly she had to take charge here; she understood now why Lord Rupert had not been designated as a regent in case of emergency. She took the courtier by the hand and squeezed it gently. "Here's what we're going to do. First, we have to return to the palace and find out what the situation really is, what we're up against. Then we have to find a way to defeat this Ice Queen. Everyone has a weakness. We just have to learn it and exploit it."

Wolf wrapped his arm around Rupert's shoulders from his other side, nodding firmly. "You would do best to listen to the Lady Virginia, Rupe'. She did save your bacon the last time Wendy was in peril."

Lord Rupert frowned and looked as if he longed to brush Wolf's hand away and any germs it might have deposited on his jacket, but he nodded, straightening up and managing to recover at least a semblance of dignity. "Yes...yes, of course. We must return at once, I don't know what I was thinking." He pulled free of Wolf and led the way toward the mirror.

As the three approached the rippling surface of the portal, Virginia felt her insides quiver in a similar motion. But it was not fear she felt, not really. No, it was excitement, eagerness. Despite the gravity of events and the very real threat to those she cared about, she was somehow looking forward to this, to testing her mettle and proving anew that she had the strength of character and resolve of purpose to act when it truly mattered. To prove her first adventure in the Nine Kingdoms had not been a fluke.

Drawing abreast of the magic mirror, she glanced aside at Rupert and Wolf. The lord's face was a mask of fear; Wolf's eyes were overflowing with devotion and unshakeable trust. She tried to smile at him.

"Here we go again..."