It was a beautiful, sunny day on the Shiz campus. The courtyard was bustling with students soaking in the sunshine, chatter, and the occasional loner studying. Most of them were artists working on their sketchbook assignments. Under a willow tree sat an emerald-skinned, raven haired girl.
Today she caused a bit of chatter. She wore pants today along with her Shiz blouse, and black lace-up boots. When asked, she simply replied "They're comfier". When Nessarose saw her, all she could do was shake her pretty head and sigh.
Elphaba preferred the Willow tree. It's shade kept her cool, she could peer out from behind the branches but no one could peer in. Honestly, she wore the pants because grass never grew under the Willow tree. The first few times she was picking twigs and dirt out of her stockings for days.
She pushed her glass up with the back of her hand and skimmed her fingers along the box of pastels.
She had joined an art class because her father pushed for a lady-like practice on both girls. Nessarose played piano and sang. Elphaba took up drawing because it meant she could hide behind a sketchpad or a canvas. She found that it relaxed her and so, she took Art to hone in her skills. She felt like she was becoming good.
Blending in the colors with her finger tips she saw the green shadows blend in with the main pink color. It was amazing that shadows needed to be complementary colors. Satisfied with the drawing, she wiped her hands on her pants, and picked up her pen. She wrote on the opposite page of her drawing.
Elphaba found that she had a knack for writing as well. Her essays were so eloquent and creative, as the professors put it, she decided to write stories that suited her needs and desires rather than the ones that she normally read.
Not that she didn't enjoy those too. There was just something satisfying about writing something just for you.
The courtyard clock tolled 5, signaling everyone that dinner was ready in the cafeteria.
Elphaba slammed her book shut and shoved everything as quickly as she could into her bag. Dinner lasted until 8 for students that were still in classes, but she wanted to wash up and eat as quick as she could. Her main tormentors didn't show up until 6:30 for dinner.
Galinda joined her at first but then complained of hunger before bed.
"Eating before bed is how you gain weight, Elphie," she had said.
She made a quick job of washing her hands in the women's restroom before fast walking to the cafeteria. She paused in the doorway and looked at the 5 different "restaurants" she could pick from. Because of university, she had to give up her vegetarian lifestyle. She couldn't survive off of lettuce and cheese sandwiches for 4 years.
She sighed and went chose the one with roast beef sandwiches and the funny looking fried potatoes. She was pretty sure it wasn't real Beef anyways. She figured that out when she could stomach it when she had the flu.
She sat off in a corner and pulled out the notecard labelled I'm still eating. Stepped away for a moment.
Elphaba tied her hair back and set to work on eating. She flipped to a blank page in her notebook and started writing, knowing anybody would think it was just homework.
"Hey, you busy?"
She snapped her notebook closed faster than the sentence could end.
"I guess you are," Fiyero chuckled. "Can I sit?"
She shrugged. "Don't you have other people you can sit by?"
"Yes," he said and sat down.
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Whatever."
"Elphie, Fiyero," a high voice sang out. Galinda flounced over and sat across from both of them. "How nice for all of us to have dinner together."
"Yeah, it's… peachy keen," Elphaba slapped Fiyero's hand when he reached for her curly cut potatoes. "I thought you didn't like eating so early."
"I'd rather go hungry so I can spend time with my most wondiferous friends," she replied and began picking the bacon out of her salad.
"What are you writing?" Fiyero asked Elphaba.
"Nothing," she answered quickly.
"You looked pretty intense when I walked in," Galinda pointed out. "It's gotta be important. A class assignment?"
"Oh yeah," the green girl sassed. "It'd a sociology essay called Why Are People So Nosy?"
"Alright fine," the blonde stuck her nose in the air. "Be that way."
"I will," Elphaba smirked and went back to eating.
"Loving the pants by the way," Fiyero commented. "Where did you get them?"
"From a dumpster."
"Must you be so sarcastic Elphie?" Galinda sighed.
"Sorry Glin," the green girl gave her a wry smile. "Force of habit."
"Where were you today?" she asked. "I was looking everywhere for you. I saw those pants and I knew that it was definishly going to become the next fashion statement. You could be a trendsetter Elphie."
Elphaba listened to her friends rambling but part of her it her to get back to writing.
"Oh, did you hear? That girl from our Sociology class is getting married! Isn't that wonderful."
"So magical," Elphaba replied.
"Oh yes, I wonder what her dress will look like," Galinda tried sounding nonchalant. "Maybe it'll be in a chapel or on a beach by a lake."
"Okay, Glin," Fiyero sighed and gave an indulging smile. "What is your dream wedding?"
"Oh I'm so glad you asked," Galinda went on into a rant about the wedding she'd planned since she was ten.
It was going to be a fairy tale wedding with an ivory and rose color theme.
"What about you Elphie?"
"What about me?"
"Don't sulk, you have to have some idea of a dream wedding," Galinda pressed.
"Like someone would marry me."
"Don't be like that," Fiyero placed his mahogany hand on her shoulder. "You never know."
Elphaba flinched at the sparks and shrugged him off. "Maybe if they're blind."
"You're so negative," Galinda chided.
"Whatever."
Fiyero wrinkled his forehead in concern. "Are you okay? You seem a bit gloomy. Well… gloomier."
"I'm just tired. Nothing to be worried about."
"Alright."
They ate their food in silence after that. Well, Elphaba and Galinda did. Fiyero kept staring at Elphaba.
She felt the pressure on the side of her face from his stare. "What?!" she snapped.
"You got a little," he reached towards her cheek. "Red stuff. Let me- just- come on."
She turned her head from side to side and slapped at his hands. When he persisted she bit him.
"Ow," he sounded more surprised than hurt. "Your teeth are sharp."
"Then don't touch my face," she felt her stomach clench, her heart racing. She quickly looked back at her meal. "I think I'm done eating."
She leapt up and took care of her trash before rushing out of the Mess Hall.
Galinda pouted. "She's been so twitchy since she started taking art class."
"Elphaba's in art?" Fiyero widened his brown eyes.
"Yeah, Dr. Dillamond recommended it," she picked out the meat from her salad. "I swear, she's been very Un-Elphaba. She's got her head in the clouds. Mind you, she still aces all of her classes but I've seen her doodle in class and still give in-depth answers!"
Fiyero hummed and ate his lunch.
"Oh! There's ShenShen," she jumped up and smoothed her white uniform. "Bye bye Fiyero."
He simply waved since his mouth was full of something that definitely wasn't meatloaf. He watched her go and looked around at his empty surroundings.
A black book caught his eye. He picked it up and saw Elphaba's name written on the front. He itched to open it, but decided to do it back when he was in his room.
After all, she claimed it was notes and essays. Maybe he could copy down a few.
After scarfing down the rest of his food, he scooped up the book, and hurried out of there ignoring any friends or fans that tried to greet him.
He ran across the courtyard to his dorm building and hustled up the stairs. He couldn't have been happier to have a private dorm.
He slammed and locked the wooden door behind him. In his haste, he tripped on the edge of his Vinkun rug and sprawled on the ground. Here was fine.
He picked up the book and sat in the nearby armchair. He settled into the plush pink cushions and studied the black book. He ran his dark hand across the cover and flipped it open.
The first page had splashes of colors on it. Next to each splotch there was a note written in Elphaba's scribble.
Skin tone 1
Skin tone 2
My skin
Pink/green
Orange/blue
Purple/yellow
Analogous warm
Analogous cold
He flipped to the next page and saw scratches and marks made with different size pens. They too, were labelled with the size of pen she used. The opposite side had blends of water colors.
Maybe all she did was try out different supplies. The next few pages were sketches of plants and animals one would see in the school courtyard.
He stopped and stared at the page after that. It was… him. His mouth was stretched in a grin, like he was on the verge of laughing. He stared off somewhere to the left at an unknown object. His blue diamonds on his face stood out against the darkness of his skin.
Elphaba drew him?
He flicked through a few more pages that consisted of him. Some were his hands, his eyes, black and white sketches of his face or him from the waist up doing some sort of action.
The ones after that consisted of Galinda, same layout but different actions. There was one full body of her twirling in a pretty dress. Galinda was in pen and the dress was in full color. A gradient from a lavender to a dark purple.
Flip.
The left page was filled with writing, the page opposite had a picture. The next few pages were like that.
He studied the first picture. It showed a chubby green baby looking innocently at the two people standing over the crib looking on in horror. The baldheaded man in glasses was dressed in deep scarlet robes, his face twisted in disgust. The pale-faced woman, who looked a lot like Nessarose, stared up to the heavens like she was wondering how could such cruelty befall her.
While the picture was beautiful, he couldn't help but cringe at what it depicted. He turn and read what was written.
Once Upon a Time, there was a beautiful manor perched on a green hill that overlooked a bright and colorful little town. Literally, it was little. The people there were no larger than a child. With the way they lived, if they had any magic in them, one would call them elves.
Residing in the manor was the governor of this town. He wasn't one of them, but you could suppose they needed someone to look up to. He was a stern man, but the one thing he cherished more than anything in the world, was his beautiful wife.
Like, couples so often do, they prayed to the Unnamed God for a child. A child as pretty as her mother or a strong as his father. As luck would have it, the woman became pregnant.
Nine months later, on a stormy night, the baby was ready to greet the world. An Antelope Midwife was called in to deliver the child.
The governor and his wife were excited for their child. A child as perfect as child could be.
Much to their horror, the child was far from perfect. The baby was born green. The couple cried over how this beastly creature could be in their presence and ordered the midwife to take the child away.
Fiyero pursed his lips. Was Elphaba writing about her life? He flipped to the next page and studied the drawing, this one in pen. It was of a formidable castle covered in brambles in thorns, the way it was drawn showed the castle sat on a cliff face. Whether it was a sea or a canyon, Fiyero did not know. He hoped it was the sea. Strangely, the castle reminded him of Kiamo Ko. Upon closer inspection, he saw a cloaked figure on the path to the castle.
The midwife was, in fact, not a midwife at all. The minute she left the manor she transformed into a fairy. Fairies were meant to be kind and tiny creatures that associated with nature and caused all the beautiful things in the world to happen.
This one was the opposite, she was a fairy that brought ugliness to the world. She was spiteful to the happy little town and wanted to strike fear in the people that lived there.
However, she could not do it herself. She needed a presence, a reminder that not everything in the world was Good.
She cursed the pregnant Governess to give birth to a beast that defied anything considered Good or Normal. When the fairy left, dawn was approaching and the townspeople were leaving their homes for work.
She presented the baby as their reminder before whisking it away to a castle that could be seen from the fields where they worked.
Invisible servants would raise the child, but she was to be left alone behind cold walls for the rest of her life.
Unless.
Unless she found someone who could truly love her.
But, there was no love for a Beast.
The page after that was halved into two pictures. One depicted a young green girl sitting by a window, the other showed the same setting except there was a green dragon. Both child and dragon were surrounded by gold and bones.
The Beast grew up knowing only herself and the fairy, who would come by and give her lessons. Her most important lesson was on becoming a Drakon. The fairy warned her that she must protect herself from those who would come to kill her.
Being a Drakon was dangerous. The longer she stayed one, the more she would lose herself. She would burn things down, eat livestock, but most of all she would desire gold and jewels. She hoarded these things and littered the grounds with bones.
She wanted to believe that her human-like form wasn't as mean. Rather than devour livestock, she devoured fruits from her garden and rather than hoard and crave gold and jewels, she hoarded books and knowledge.
When she turned 13, the fairy bade her last farewell and the girl was left all alone. Her last curse was uttered.
By her 25th birthday, she had to find someone who loved her wholeheartedly. Be it friend or lover. If not, she would be doomed to stay a monster forever.
The Beast did not dwell on this, knowing it would be an impossible feat. Instead, She entertained herself by tending her garden, reading books, and playing with a little cat that wandered into her castle one day.
She still turned into a Drakon anytime she was attacked. Knights from all over would come and slay her. She would retaliate, then go to their home and steal gold and books for her hoards.
The one thing she desired, more than anything in the world, was a companion. Someone to give her affection. To comfort her when she cried. To help her no longer need her Drakon form.
Fiyero's heart broke a little. Did she really see herself this way? He flipped to the next page and did a double-take. It was him, riding on a white horse through the woods.
Ten years had passed since the final curse was placed,yet no one friendly had even crossed by. The Beast grew hopeful in finding a companion and tried to make her castle comfortable. Rooms were cleaned and aired out. Books and Gold put neatly away in their respective places. Not much could be done for the exterior.
One fateful day, a Prince from a far off land was on the path to her castle, unbeknownst to him. He wore no armor and had nothing but hunting supplies for small game. He seemed to be the rather stupid sort, singing away when he wasn't hunting. But, kindness was not lost. He played off as shallow and self-centered to every village he came too, yet the poorest family was blessed with a full meal just before he left.
On this particular day, a heavy downpour fell upon the Prince. He needed to find shelter soon, lest his horse hurt himself in the mud. He dismounted and led the creature by the reins, until the dirt road turned into a red brick path. He felt a surge of relief upon finding the castle.
Thinking it to be abandoned, he hurried his way up the path, across the bridge, and let himself, and his horse, into the foyer.
He shivered, the cold from the rain seeping into his bones. He scanned the dark corridors for some sign of a parlor. A warm, flickering light caught his eye. He ran towards it.
"Hello?" he called out. "I let myself in, since it's raining. I'll leave once it stops, but I just need to get… warm."
He entered the parlor and found nobody there, except for a fluffy white cat looking quite annoyed at the disturbance.
The Prince ignored the lack of humans, for he was cold and weary. He removed his cloak and hung it up on a stand near the fire. Upon, sitting down, he found a still steaming bowl of soup on the table next to him.
"I'm eating your dinner," he called out, before lifting the bowl up to his lips and draining the broth, eating the vegetables next.
He propped his feet up and let the fire warm him. Slowly, he drifted off into a comfortable sleep.
Fiyero didn't understand why he was in the story. What role would he play? Eager to find out, he continued on. The next page showed him staring up at a darkened creature. She had twisted horns growing from her head, her mouth was bared revealing fangs, and her raised arm ended with claws.
The Beast, who had grown more twisted from her times as a Drakon, was curious about the newcomer. She never had a person as non-threatening as he was even come close to her home.
She studied the Prince through a one way mirror. He seemed to be around her age. He was as good a candidate as any to break the curse. At the very least, she would have company for her last two years.
Any company, positive or negative, was better than none at all.
"Who goes there?" she boomed.
The Prince remained asleep.
Annoyed the Beast tried again. "WHO GOES THERE?!"
Still no response. She stormed into the room through a secret door and smacked the Prince atop his head with a book. He jumped awake and stared up at the Beast.
"What gives?" he said. "I was asleep."
"I noticed." She pointed down at him. "Do you always make a habit of intruding in people's homes, eating their dinner, and falling asleep."
He gave her a cocky grin. "Normally, I introduce myself first."
Fiyero snorted a laugh. He'd never said that in his life, but it cracked him up, because he probably would say that.
Beast was confused. He wasn't screaming, running away, or crying for his mother.
"Are you blind? Or just plain stupid?" Beast asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Take a look at me," she snarled, showing her sharp teeth. "What am I?"
"Really tall?"
"Besides that."
"Really green."
"Yes— no besides that!"
The prince knew exactly what she was. He just thought it was funny to infuriate her. He figured if she was going to hurt him, he would have done it by now. He shrugged in reply.
"I'm a Beast! A Drakon! You know, fire breathing?" She raised her claws. "Grr grr? Doesn't that bother you?"
The prince shook his head. "Nope."
Beast blinked, taken back by his answer. "Really?"
"Really really."
Frustrated beyond belief, Beast decided to move on with her plan for freedom.
"You know what?" she said. "You're my prisoner now. You can't go home and you have to stay here. I'll have my servants take your horse to the stable."
His eyebrows flew up in shock. "Prisoner? I just wanted to get out of the rain."
Fiyero furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. The next two pages of writing was smeared beyond legibility like an arm was dragged across it. Elphaba must have done it when somebody came by.
The only clue he had as to what it was about, was the drawing that remained in tact. It depicted the prince and the Beast staring at each other in surprise, both grasping their own hand like they'd been stung. This one had been done with great care and detail. It took up two pages, was done in full color, and even had a border.
Fiyero could even see how carefully she placed his diamonds in the exact spot. It broke his heart a little to see how ugly she'd made herself, however. Tusks and a hooked nose with pitch black eyes was a huge stretch.
He flipped to the next drawing, this one a sketch of a garden that surprisingly looked like the one at his home. The prince in the story lounged lazily on top of an ivy-covered wall, a piece of fruit in his hand. Beast knelt down beside a flower bed tending to the plants that grew there. A hedge of roses grew to the right of the page and to the left could be seen more of the gardens, mainly a pathway, a fountain, and trees bearing fruits.
He read on:
Things changed between Beast and the Prince ever since that day. They were softer towards one another. Beast grew shy whenever he came near and he showed his true colors and opened up to her about why he behaved the way he did.
They never talked about that day, but something was planted there that wasn't there before.
The prince took to following Beast around as she did her daily hobbies, whether it was reading, embroidering, or working in her garden. He started voicing his thoughts to her and they would carry on conversations that would last for hours.
Beast felt a small bubble of hope, that the prince would break her curse. The day of her 25th birthday drew closer each day and she feared for the prince if they lost track of time and he was still here by her birthday.
She swore to chase him away should that happen.
For now, she thought about how to fully gain his trust. She wanted to do something for him that would secure their bond. So, she decided to try something risky.
That day, in her garden, she slowly set down her tools and turned to him.
"Fiyero Prince?"
He looked to her and smiled. "Yes?"
She took a deep breath. "You are no longer my prisoner. You are free to leave if you wish, but… I want you to stay."
He stared at her in disbelief. "You're letting me go?"
"Yes." She wrung her hands together.
He jumped down from the wall and knelt down beside her, taking her hands. "Thank you. I want to go see my mother and father."
Her heart fell. He was leaving. It wouldn't have been real, no matter how much she forced it. She was glad she ended it here, before she ended up hurting him she turned 25.
"Aw, don't look so sad," he tipped her chin up. "I'll be back. I promise."
She felt a flutter of hope at that. "You will?"
He nodded. "I will."
A servant packed up his things and he was soon on his way, whistling a merry tune.
Beast watched him leave from a tower so that she could watch until he completely disappeared. She wished she could go with him. She wished she could be anywhere, but in this godforsaken castle. She could fly anywhere, but she could never be truly free. Not with this curse lingering over her.
The castle was too quiet and too empty once more.
She watched for him in the morning until the sun was high in the sky and she'd watch for him after dinner until she couldn't keep her eyes open.
It wasn't until the dead of winter she saw a red cloak stark against the white snow and ebony trees. She cautiously waited to make sure it was him and not a knight sent to slay her, but that dark skin with blue diamonds was unmistakable.
Beast raced out of the castle to meet him. He grinned at her and dismounted his horse. They met each other halfway and
It ended there. Confused, Fiyero flipped through the next few pages but only found an outline for the next illustration. "This can't be it," he muttered.
There were a few more illustrations in the very back of the book. Two of which depicted Elphaba in two very Galinda-esque gowns. One of them was definishly a wedding gown filled with layers of tulle and a bodice lined with flowers at the top. The third was of the school courtyard. He slapped the book shut, but placed it gently on his coffee table when the rough movement caused the spine to make a crinkling noise.
He leaned back in his chair to process all of this information.
Elphaba. Passionate, loud, walking commotion Elphaba. He assumed that she hated all things girly, but come to think of it… he couldn't remember her pushing away too hard at her Galindafication.
She claimed the nickname Elphie was "perky" but said nothing else. When she was Galindafied she even tried the "toss toss". Fiyero thought she was mocking it, but maybe she really did want to feel like Galinda.
There was a loud pounding at his door, he jumped up from his chair and ran to answer it. Elphaba was standing there looking frazzled, her eyes wide with anxiety.
"My book, Fiyero," she panted. "Did you see it? I can't find it anywhere."
He intended to casually give it back to her in class telling her she left it, but that clearly wasn't going to happen now. She looked so frantic at the thought of someone else finding it, he found that he couldn't cover it up.
"I have it," he said softly and let her in.
She swooped in and snatched the book up off the table. She cradled it to her chest like it was the most precious thing in the world. She looked over at him and stared at his hands and lap for a moment.
He looked and saw he had traces of ink, charcoal, and some of sort of brightly colored chalk dusted on his hands and pants. He shuffled his feet and bowed his head feeling ashamed, like he read her diary.
She stood there frozen, unsure of whether to run or confront him.
He decided to speak first, but not about reading her story, but rather what it was about. "Do you really see yourself that way?"
She looked away and picked at the corner of the black book. "I should go."
He stood in front of the door. "No. I want to talk about this. Elphaba, since when do you like girly things? Since when do you want a big, poofy cupcake gown? You always act like you're above fashion. What next? You reading Cover Girl or Ozmapolitan?"
Her breathing hitched and she looked even more embarrassed.
His eyes widened. "No… When did you get like this?"
"When you rolled into town, Galinda and I became friends," Elphaba explained, her voice so soft he had to strain to hear. "She put makeup on me and when I looked in the mirror I felt… pretty. I never had a mother to show me how to do girl things Fiyero. Nessa knows because she's just been thrown girly things her way all her life and she doesn't need makeup.
"I want to wear pretty flouncy dresses. I want to wear jewelry. Sometimes, I want to wear a flowery skirt and twirl around and around. Do you know why I don't? It doesn't suit me. They don't match my personality and I'm not going to change just so I can wear pastels."
She took a deep breath, like a weight was taken off of her. "I've never told anyone that."
"Not even Galinda?"
She shook her head. "I don't know why. She'd be thrillified. I probably don't want her to expect me to act like her."
Fiyero could understand that. "And… the story?"
She pressed a hand to her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut. "Oh, dear Oz. You weren't supposed to see that ever."
"Do the prince and Beast get together when he comes back?" he asked, needing to know.
She shrugged. "I had to have a climax. The enchantress was going to pop up once more and try to tear them apart, but…"
He slowly approached her. "But…"
"It's stupid… I might as well have written Mrs. Fiyero Tiggular-Thropp on each page," she huffed and crossed her arms.
He blinked in surprise. "Tiggular-Thropp?"
"So that when I write books they don't get confused," she let out a frustrated shriek. "Why am I talking to you about this? You should be running for the hills!"
"Why?"
"Because normal people don't write fairytales starring themselves and a prince," she shouted. "You can't—"
She stopped when she realized how close he was to her now. He gazed down at her softly, brown eyes full of warmth and not a single trace of disgust or contempt. "Elphaba… you're a really good writer and an amazing illustrator." He brushed his hand against her cheek. "I'm dying to know the ending. What happens to them?"
Sarcasm crossed her face and she smirked. "If you really want to know, he gets turned into a scarecrow and him and Beast run off to the desert in search of a cure meeting wacky friends along the way."
Fiyero snorted. "That's the ending?"
She nodded. "Yep. Thinking maybe of turning it into a series."
"That's one of the things I love about you. You say such surprising things," he inched just a little bit closer. "Can I offer a bit of an editors note? It really needs a better ending."
"What would you recommend?" she breathed.
"Maybe something like this?" he kissed her tenderly and pulled her close.
She rested her hands on his chest and pushed him away looking surprised. "Fiyero…"
"I feel it too," he murmured. "I was just scared."
She smiled wryly. "There's a problem with you showing me the ending. The beast is supposed to turn beautiful."
"But you are beautiful," he cupped her cheek.
"You're an idiot," she scoffed.
"If being stupid is what it takes to see you for who you truly are, then I count myself lucky," he retorted.
For once in her life, she was speechless. "But… I…" she tsked not able to find an argument.
"Please," he said. "Let me love you?"
"Love?"
He nodded. "Ever since the Lion cub."
Her heart swelled and she almost felt like she was floating. "Me too…"
"Elphaba?"
"Yes, Fiyero?"
He chuckled. "Can you put us down?"
She looked around and saw that they actually were floating off the ground. She gasped and they came crashing down. His knees buckled and they toppled over onto the ground knocking a chair over. He let his forearms take the most impact so that they wouldn't knock heads together. It stung like hell.
"Oh, Oz. Are you okay?" she groaned. "Please, run now. I'm a walking disaster."
"Hey," he said sharply. "I'm not changing my mind anytime soon. You're a walking disaster? Fine. You're not a normal girl? Good. Who needs normal anyway. I'm not expecting you to be anything but yourself and only they you you know. Not what everyone assumes about you."
For the second time, she didn't know what to say. "Okay."
He nodded, pleased that he got through to her. "Now, maybe we can continue on that happy ending?"
She slid her arms around his neck. "I think some inspiration would be helpful."
They met halfway and were finally wrapped up each other's arms, after months of longing. Their kisses were long and passionate. They were going to have a storm of people who didn't think they belonged together, but that didn't matter.
The curse was broken and as long as they had each other, nothing could stand in their way.
Who says fairytales can't come true?