Tiffany Dunn - If I Should Never Find You

"What, by the queen, was that?" he asked, eyes wide.

Melissa helped Wendell settle into a comfortable position before responding. "It was the souls finding peace."

"Then she's dead?"

"Yes." Melissa thumped to the floor next to Wendell, all of her energy gone. She struggled just to keep her eyes open. Dennis whooped congratulations and started chattering to them about all that Soul Ravager had done to deserve her fate.

"Rena," Melissa murmured, when she heard the name the fisherman called her.

"What?" Dennis looked over his shoulder at them, his brows furrowed.

"Her name was Rena."

He mulled over that and fell silent long enough for Melissa to sleep.

Some time later, a warm hand shook her gently. "Wake up, Princess. We've returned."

Her eyes fought to stay closed, but Dennis' soft urgings and her own willpower won out. She stretched her arms above her head and stood. The sun had already risen, but the air still nipped coldly at her cheeks. They had docked at the pier and it seemed the entire village was out, stretched along its length, waiting for them.

A great roar erupted from the crowd when she helped Wendell stand, and they were both neatly lifted from the ship to the pier. She met his startled gaze, grinning tiredly.

"Wendell!"

Melissa searched the crowd for the familiar voice and saw Tony pushing his way through, followed by a handsome, dark haired man. She sobbed once when she saw Sport in Tony's arms.

The older man arrived, depositing the big tabby in Melissa's arms with a smile before turning on Wendell. She buried her face in her cat's warm fur, and listened with half an ear to the reunion next to her.

"Look at you! What happened?"

"I fell off the side of a mountain, actually."

"You what?"

"It truly looks worse than it is."

"We have to get it fixed, where's a healer?" A man shouted at them to wait and ran off back to the village. "We saw the light last night and rode into town, we just got here an hour ago. We were worried about you." Melissa grinned to herself at the rugged emotion in his tone.

"Yeah, Wendy. Huff puff, you gave all of us a fright! My Virginia would bite my head off if we let something happen to you!" She felt someone watching her intently. "Are you all right, miss?"

She glanced up, nodding to the unfamiliar man. She remembered Wendell's story and smiled. "You must be Wolf," she said.

He gave a low bow, flourishing his hand grandly. "The one and only!"

"And we give thanks for that every day," Tony muttered.

Wolf glared sharply at him, then put on a smile that charmed Melissa. "Princess Melissa, your carriage awaits!" He bounded back through the crowd to a roomy wagon, eyeing the three of them impatiently.

"Is he always like that?" Melissa whispered.

Wendell rolled his eyes. "Always."

"He's exhausting!"

"Why do you think I stayed here?" Tony asked, supporting Wendell as they walked. "I don't know how Virginia does it."

They paused while the village healer pushed through the crowd and bandaged Wendell thoroughly, making sure he would be all right on the journey. Wolf and Tony got him into the wagon with as few pained moans as possible, and then helped Melissa in as well.

"Is Virginia here, too?" she asked, settling herself next to Wendell. She took his hand in hers, energized by his touch. She wanted to tell him everything but there were too many people surrounding them.

"Oh yes!" Wolf replied. "My luscious lamb is waiting for us back at Tony's."

"She's excited to meet you, Ms. Duke." Tony glanced at her, and Melissa saw the familiar glaze of hero-worship in his eyes. "For now, you and Wendell just get some rest."

"As long as you call me Melissa," she said on a yawn. Sport snuggled into her lap, purring furiously.

"Caterina."

She glanced to the side of the wagon and saw Joffrey, his eyes soft and filled with hope. "Thank you. You have done your family proud. Please, come back to your home. It is yours to rule, and we will gladly have you." There were a few murmurs of agreement from the villagers, and some dark stares that said much to the contrary.

"I'll think about it," she said. She had to talk to Wendell first.

Joffrey patted her free hand and stepped away from the wagon, accepting what she could give.

Wendell was watching her as the horses started forward, harnesses rattling. She could see all the questions in his eyes but he remained quiet, giving her time.

"I love you," she said suddenly.

His eyes widened and then his face glowed with a joyful smile. "I was hoping you did," he murmured.

Melissa felt an endless well of love open in her heart, and she regretted all the hurt she'd caused him. "You waited for me. That's an incredible thing, Wendell. You had no reason to, but you still stayed with me."

"Of course I had a reason, Melissa. I love you." He swallowed, turning serious. "I want you to stay here, in this world. I had planned all along on letting you return, but I can't. Not even if I have to fight your every step back."

She bit back tears and wondered if she would always be this amazed by him. "I'll stay. Of course I'll stay. I couldn't leave you now, even though I don't really know your world."

He shifted a little to face her more fully, squeezing her hand. "You are my world," he said softly. He leaned forward, kissing her with gentle lips, and her soul felt complete again.

Wolf leaned down between them, grinning. "So, who's castle are you gonna live at?"

They looked up at him and laughed. "That's a good question," Wendell said. He moved again, wincing at the pain. "Mine for awhile, I think. While we have Melissa's renovated."

"And while I take care of things at home. Maybe I could fake my death, like Elvis." Tony began snickering and the other two men gave her blank stares. "Never mind," she said.

Wolf nudged Wendell, and the king groaned, glaring at him. "What?"

"We can have a double wedding now!"

"Really, Wolf, don't you have to navigate or something?"

The dark haired man huffed and turned in his seat after flashing Melissa a smile. "Life is definitely going to be interesting," she whispered.

Wendell nodded. "We're going to need a lot of energy. Let's rest now, while we can."

Sport meowed loudly when she moved him to settle down more comfortably next to Wendell. The big tabby got up and curled on Wendell's legs, his eyes closing again quickly. Melissa lay her head against Wendell's chest, warmed by his presence. She fell asleep quickly, lulled by the rhythmic sounds of his heart.

Grojavek woke up with a mouth full of sand.

He pulled himself into a ball, staring around at the long expanse of beach. In the distance he could see ships and a shining castle towering over them.

"I'm alive!" he squeaked, jumping to his feet. He bounced around for a long time, doing cartwheels and somersaults and covering himself in wet sand.

He sniffed the air, coughing on the overpowering combination of sea and fish. The recent events were fuzzy, but he did remember attacking Soul Ravager. He was sick of her calling him stupid.

"I'm not stupid!" he announced to a nearby seagull. The bird shrieked at him and flew off.

He also remembered Muklavuk being very angry. Groj sighed to himself, feeling the familiar presence gone. The little imp shrugged it off. He didn't really want to be king anyway, not if being courageous was so terrifying, and that was all Muklavuk thought about. Grojavek started for home, skipping and spinning in circles as he went. The mermaids had saved him, the remembered that, too. One had pulled him off of Soul Ravager's leg and landed him here. He dug a slender finger into his ear and pulled out a huge ball of wax. It had been too long, he thought, chewing on it happily. He was definitely not the adventuring type.

When he got home, his mother pinched his ear and demanded an explanation of his absence, and he didn't mind at all.