DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of "The 10th Kingdom" characters. They belong to Simon Moore, Hallmark Entertainment and the others, whom I can't remember now. And I want to thank them for creating such a story, and letting us, fans, play with the characters through our fanfics:)
Characters that were not in the original "10th Kingdom" are my own creation.
A/N: I'm re-writing this story because I didn't like how it looked before. I've merged the first two chapters into one and I guess the reviews I received for this one are going to be deleted. I hope that you'll read and review again :)
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Kissingtown Nights
Night 1
It was dark outside. She stared out of the window, looking at the crowd gathering outside - laughing, singing and dancing around the fire. He was standing not so far from them, his face full of concern. Something was wrong.
She got dressed and went out. She walked slowly to his side, and stood there looking at the others dancing.
"Alex, what's wrong?" she ask him.
"Nothing." He replied, not even looking at her.
Kissingtown seemed boring when you didn't have the one you love with you. Alex was her best friend and almost her cousin. Her father, King Wendell and his mother, Virginia are stepbrother and sister.
She kept looking at him. Their parents were around the fire with the citizens of Kissingtown singing and dancing with them. Alex seemed bothered by something, and Emi had to find out what it was.
"Alex, go and look at yourself in a mirror. You look like you're going to…"
"Going to change." He continued for her.
"What do you mean?" Emi looked surprised.
"Look at the moon, Emi." He said.
She raised her head and noticed the moon. It was almost full.
"Full moon, huh?" She asked. She looked into his eyes with concern.
"Unfortunately, yes. I don't know what to do. And there is no forest around."
"What is your dad going to do?"
"I don't know. I haven't talked to him about this, yet. He seems to be enjoying his time." He nodded his head toward his parents.
Virginia and Wolf were dancing happily and Wolf gave her small kisses from time to time on her lips. They were so much in love, and have been married for 22 years now. Emi looked at the couple with some jealousy. She always wanted to have a husband who would love her like Wolf had loved Virginia.
"You still have a day ahead," she turned to Alex, "you can talk to him later or next morning."
"I will." He said and went to the inn, where they were staying. Emi sighed and went to sit next to her mother, Queen Caroline.
"What's bothering you honey?" the queen asked.
"Alex acts weirdly, mother."
"What's wrong?"
"It's the full moon. He is concerned about it, and there's no forest around."
"He'll be fine. I'm sure Wolf will take him and go for a hunt together," the queen held her daughter's hands and smiled. Emi had always loved her mother's calming smile. She has always been there for her daughter, and she has never failed to lighten her spirit.
"Hey Emi!" Virginia called, "Why don't you join the fun?"
"I'm coming." Emi replied and went to join the crowd with her aunt.
Wolf invited Emi for a dance, while Virginia danced with her father.
"Emi, where's Alex?" Wolf asked.
"I think he went to his room. He wasn't feeling good."
"I can imagine that. He must be concerned about spending the full moon night here."
"He is. He said that he needs a forest, but there aren't any around here. Not a close one at least."
As the song ended, Wolf bowed with his wolfish smile. "It was a pleasure," He said.
"The pleasure was mine," Emi replied.
"I must go and talk to Alex." Wolf said.
"OK. Tell him not to think a lot about it."
"I will dear. Huff-puff! This is his first time away from a forest. He must be nervous about it," he kissed her forehead and headed to the inn.
Emi felt so alone that night. Alex was the only person who was almost at her age. They have been exploring Kissingtown for three days now, and they have spent the days together. At least, until tonight.
"What am I supposed to do? This could be dangerous. I can hurt Emi and her parents. I can even hurt my mom! Well, not exactly. She's family. I can't hurt her, even if I wanted to." Alex was talking to himself in his room, thinking of a way to spend a safe full moon night.
"Hey Alex! What's wrong? Why aren't you outside celebrating with us?" his father asked as soon as he entered the room.
"I don't want to," Alex replied.
"That's not the main reason isn't it? You're scared," Wolf told him. How come he knows this stuff?
"Yes, I'm scared. I'm scared of the full moon, dad. I can't stay here that night. You can't stay here either. What are we going to do?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?" Alex started to think that his father was losing his brains. "Dad, are you suggesting that we stay here that night? Lots of people could get hurt! And humans will burn us to death!"
"Not when Wendell is around. But that's not the point son," Wolf sat next to his son, "You see, Kissingtown is the town of love. For me, it's easy to spend the full moon night here."
"How?" Alex couldn't understand anything.
"When it's full moon, we feel like our blood is boiling inside of us and we are full of energy. Is that right?" Wolf asked.
"Yes."
"So, we go out to forest for a hunt. Hunger isn't the reason for us to go hunting on full moon. It's the energy that we have on that time of the month. That's what makes us want to go out and spend it. And hunting is the best way. But since we are in Kissingtown, there's another way to spend your energy."
"Dad, are you suggesting..?"
"Mating." wolf said before Alex could say anything.
"That's easy for you to say. You have mom," Alex said and stood near the window and looked out. He saw Emi sitting next to her mother. She didn't look like she was enjoying anything there, but at least she didn't have a full moon to be scared of.
"You can try and find your mate. You still have tomorrow." Wolf said.
Alex kept looking at Emi. "And what if I don't find anyone? What should I do?"
Wolf got up and stood next to Alex. He looked at the same direction where his son was looking and smiled. "You'll find her," He said and left the room.
How am I supposed to find a girl in one day?! And it's not even a whole day! I have to find her and force her to sleep with me? That's stupid! She would be in more danger than anyone else! I could rape her! I could kill her and then eat her! Dad didn't seem to care about that part. Whom can I ask? I don't think that I can ask Emi about how to convince a girl to sleep with me. Alex kept thinking about his father's suggestion, but he didn't seem to be able to find a good solution.
He turned back and lay on his bed. He closed his eyes and tried to think. But there's nothing to think about. I can't do it. I shouldn't. What if I don't like her later? That night, I will go out of the town. He kept debating with himself, not knowing what to do next.
Emi was talking to her mother while the rest of the people were still dancing.
"Mother, you noticed that Alex wasn't alright?" she asked.
"Yes dear. That's one of the side effects of Kissingtown on Men."
"What do you mean?"
"Kissingtown is more a feminine town. A woman could find everything to cheer her here, even if she doesn't find love. But it's not the same for men. If they come to Kissingtown all alone, they get depressed. They can't find love here unless they really want to. If they don't, they just lock themselves in their rooms and stay there, or they just leave the town."
"But what if they find someone who would love them?"
"If he finds his love here, he would be normal. If he loses his love… well, most of them leave. Both men and women."
"No mother. I didn't mean that. I mean, that's obvious. What if there's one side love?"
"There no such thing as one side love my dear. Either they are a couple, either there's no love at all," the queen replied with a smile.
Emi looked at the ground. So she had no chance for any closer relationship with Alex. She didn't know anything about his feelings to her. He treated her good when they were at the palace, but as soon as they were here he started to change. 'Maybe it's just the full moon?' Emi asked herself, but couldn't find an answer.
"I think I'll go to sleep, mother. Good night." Emi gave her mother a kiss and went to her room.
"Good night honey." Queen Caroline replied.
"Caroline, dear?" King Wendell called.
"Yes?"
"Why are you sitting alone? Come on, let's dance," Wendell took her hand and she got up. He took her to the dance floor and they enjoyed their royal dance.
Meanwhile, Emi went to her room. She stood in front of her door but didn't open it. She wanted to see him before heading to bed. She turned and headed to the opposite direction and headed to Alex's room. She stopped in front of the door, took a deep breath and was about to knock when the door was opened.
"Alex… hi."
"Emi? What're you doing here? Come in," he knew that she was coming. He could smell her scent as soon as she stopped in front of his door. "What's brings you here?"
Emi sat on his bed, "you look terrible, Alex. Please let me help you."
"There's nothing you can do Emi. Nothing. You'll put yourself in danger. I might hurt you."
"Why would you hurt me? I mean, you can't hurt someone who didn't cause you trouble. Could you?"
"Well, no. but it's the same thing. I can't control myself on full moon and I don't know what will I do. And the worst thing is, I can't remember what I did on the next day!"
"Listen, why don't you just go to sleep now, and tomorrow, we'll think of something. There must be a place here where you can run and hunt."
"Well, maybe. I hope so." Alex said in a low voice.
"OK, I'm leaving you now. But, I will come here in the morning and we will go to find a place for you together. The full moon is tomorrow, as you know. We don't have much time."
"OK. You go and sleep too. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."
"Good night," Emi said and kissed him on the cheek.
"Good night Emi," Alex replied and stared at her as she left. He put his palm on his cheek. He couldn't believe it. She kissed him. It wasn't the same kisses that she gave him before. Those were childish kisses, but this one felt different. She kissed him as a woman. As a girl who had some hidden feelings. He saw her blush a little when she left. He knew that there's something on her mind. And he was going to find out. Her scent had betrayed her. Alex was about to find out about her feelings for him, sooner or later.
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A/N: So, how was it? Review!