Life was going great for Will since the wedding; she had just turned 15, her husband was kind and warm to her, the people adored their new Queen, the rebel group is pleased, the economy is on a steady increase, and the tensions between Morovia and Ero have decreased to a low rumble; it couldn't be more perfect. Furthermore, she found it easier and easier to balance her school, work, private, and married life with each passing week. Mer mother was still hesitant and interrogated her every time she visited, but Will could live with that; Susan was simply concerned for her safety. Lastly, Irma had invited her, her friends, and her husband out for a 3-day vacation to her cousin's cabin in the Canadian backwoods which Will was excited about; Irma had also invited Elyon and Will hoped her and Phobos could patch-up their relationship and finally act like brother and sister instead of strangers.

However, there were a few things that bugged the young queen. Cedric still hadn't accepted her and shot her angry glares whenever he could get away with it; Will didn't mind that since she didn't care much about the Lord herself. Cornelia still hadn't spoken a single kind word to her and has resorted to petty bullying at school; Will could weather that too since Cornelia hadn't done anything too extreme, just some petty insults, comments about Will's dress wear, and dirty glares. Next, Will hadn't been feeling completely herself for a couple of weeks; she wasn't sick, and she could eat and drink, but she simply felt off. The feeling wasn't too noticeable, and she often forgot about it, so she simply wrote it off as her body adapting to the new nutrition she was exposed to. There was a popular fruit in Meridian called bitter-plum which, true to its' name, was bitter. Will tried it a few times and even tried a liquor made of it but couldn't get past the tongue-biting bitterness. Lastly, her husband was a workaholic.

She knew, when she married him, that he would work every free moment, but it was getting ridiculous whenever she and Phobos decided to do something together. Now, with only 3 hours before they had to get ready and meet the girls before Cedric's bookstore back on Earth, Will was resting in bed waiting for her husband to finish the last batch of letters addressed to his cousin in Ero. She hadn't seen him since dinner, so Will wasn't too worried about his health, but she couldn't sleep without him by his side. The bed felt too cold without him.

Annoyed, Will got out of bed, wrapped a warm, emerald green, robe around herself, and made her way to his study where she knew she would find him. As expected, when she reached the threshold to his study, she found him bent over the table with a neat stack of letters in front of him. Will just rolled her eyes and walked up behind him; wrapping her arms around his shoulders and resting her head against his. "Would this husband of mine please come to bed? We have to leave for Earth in 3 hours and the bed is too cold without you."

"In a moment, my dear. Let me finish this last letter to the Morovian general and I will join you."

"I am not leaving until you come to bed." Will hummed and gently ran her nails against her husband's jaw. "Besides, this room sees you more than I do."

"Wilhelmina, you are exaggerating at this point," Phobos replied and leaned his head back against his wife's chest to listen to her heartbeat. "You know I am just doing this to Morovia doesn't decide to go to war while we are gone."

"You don't trust Morovia enough to leave them alone for 3 days?"

"I trust them only as far as I can throw them." He replied before signing the bottom of the letter and sealing it with wax. "There, the last letter signed and sealed. My attention is all yours."

"Great, now come to bed for a power nap before we leave for the cabin." Will quipped and pulled her husband by the arm. Just before reaching their bedroom, Phobos leaned close to his wife's ear and whispered.

"You look great in green." Will just blushed and playfully elbowed him in the side. He made a comment like that every day, just to see if she would blush; so far he was always successful. When they lay down, he put his arms around her and held her close. Will took the opportunity to run the tips of her fingernails along the back of his neck; after walking to the study and back, she wasn't tired anymore and she knew her husband was sensitive there. Phobos's eyes shoot open and he grabs Will's hand to stop her before giving her a confused look.

"You aren't tired."

"Not anymore because of you. Besides, you never complained in the past about me touching you, so why are you upset now?"

"I am not upset. You wanted to get some sleep before we leave." He then got a mischievous grin and began to tickle her sides, which caused Will to curl into a giggling ball. Will tried to stifle her giggles while swatting his hands away, but it was no use. After a good moment, he stopped and allowed Will to catch her breath. "However, it seems rest is the last thing on your mind now."

"I was tired earlier, but then I had to go and find you, so I don't freeze to death." Will giggled and grabbed hold of Phobos's shirt front and pulled herself a little closer to her husband for warmth.

"Now you are overreacting. I would have come to bed anyway."

"Sure, you would have, which is why I had to go out and practically drag you bed."

At this, Phobos rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around her middle. "Oh, my poor neglected wife." He said in a sarcastic tone of voice. "What ever could I do to earn your forgiveness?"

"Hmm, I don't know." A mischievous grin spread across her lips and quickly rolled on top of him, pinning her husband to the bed, and placed a quick kiss on his lip. "Try a kiss or two."

Perhaps they weren't going to get any rest tonight.

XXXXX

In the ungodly early hours, the next day, Will and Phobos patiently waited in front of the antique book store for the other girls to arrive. Will's excitement grew with each passing minute, to the point where she didn't mind the cold of the late winter weather. It hadn't snowed yet, but it was cold enough for ice crystals to form on windows and for their breath to be visible. Just as Will was going to ask her husband for the time, the couple heard approaching footsteps and the familiar giggling of her friends. Looking up the street, Will couldn't hide her smile as she saw her group of friends approaching. Irma was the first to notice Will and Phobos and immediately broke from the group to crush Will in a bear-hug. "There is my favorite married friend."

"I am your only married friend." Will gasped. "Give it some time and then you'll be married yourself." She squeaked out as her lungs were being crushed. Then Irma released her friend and attempted to give Phobos the same treatment; however, he gracefully sidestepped the water-witch and shook her hand instead.

"Nice to see you too Irma."

"Great to see Will got you out of the castle at last. I got Mr. and Mrs. Brown to let Elyon come along. It is too late to say no, so you are gonna have to accept it- "

"Will told me Elyon would be joining us. What I would like to know, is how we are going to get to our destination." Phobos interrupted Irma. He knew she was trying to be funny and friendly, but with their past, less than a year away it simply felt too awkward for him. Besides, he didn't feel like having his ribs cracked by her boa constrictor grip. Meanwhile, Will was greeting and hugging Taranee, Hay-Lyn, and Elyon; she saw them every day at school, but their social time together had been cut short since she became Queen, so Will was happy to spend some time with them.

"My cousin Danny should be here any moment," Irma said loud enough for everyone to hear. "However, I should warn all of you, she can be a bit difficult to deal with."

"Are you talking about the same Danny that pushed you out of a tree when you were 7 and caused you to almost break your arm?" Hay-Lyn asked with a frown. Irma nodded as she remembered the event and how Danny never apologized for it.

"The exact same. Danny is staying with her grandmother. Thankfully we won't have to deal with her siblings. They are currently going through some custody issues since her mother died so she might be more of a crab than usual." She added just as the headlights of a mini-bus came into view. The bus sat 9 people, not including the driver, comfortably. It was white with dents and rust spots marring its' surface, which fit the rattling sound from the motor. Clearly, that bus had seen better days. With a hushed groan, Irma muttered: "Here she is."

The bus came to a screeching halt in front of the group and the driver's side door opened and slammed shut again; just as the driver came into view, Irma leaned over to Will and whispered. "I told Danny over the phone that you and your husband are 18 and 20 years old, that way she won't think this is creepy."

Will quietly thanked Irma as the driver came into view and stood before the group. In the early morning sun, Will could hardly understand what she was seeing; the woman in front of her was a perfect example of a mismatched mess. Danny's blond hair couldn't be much longer than Will's but the way she wore it in two mess pigtails, made it look even shorter and the countless cowlicks didn't help. Her short stature told Will that Danny couldn't be much older than her as well; perhaps 2 years older at the most. Her clothes were a mess, consisting of nothing but hand-me-downs and nowhere near warm enough for this weather. Her outfit consisted of a messy, gray shirt that was 2 sizes too large; a pair of olive-green cargo shorts held up by red suspenders; a mismatched pair of blue and white baseball socks; sloppily tied combat boots; everything finished with an old, black, leather jacket. This woman looked like she had simply rolled out of a laundry basket before diving to meet them. However, Will could look past all that; what she couldn't look past of was Danny's mismatched eyes. Danny's left eye was a gray-sapphire blue, similar to her husbands, while the right was a bright bottle green; Will knew this condition was called heterochromia but had never seen it in person or thought she would in her entire life. Will's thoughts were cut short when the woman opened her mouth and roughly greeted Irma. "Hey Irms, so these are your friends?"

"Yes Danny, these are my friends that I told you about." Irma gestured to her friends and was about to introduce Danny to them when Danny kept talking.

"Lemme guess." She then pointed to Hay-Lyn. "Pigtails is little Hay-Lyn." She then pointed to Taranee, "You fit Taranee's description from the phone." She then points to Elyon, "You are li'le Elyot- "

"Elyon." Elyon tried to correct, but Danny was already past her.

"You must be Will and you…" Danny stopped when she reached Will's husband and simply stared at him, clearly forgetting his name. "I forgot your name, but you are married to the red-head."

"His name is Ph- "

"Phobos Escanor and yes, I am married to the red-head." Phobos interrupted before Will could give Danny his false name.

"That is a very stupid name, but it fits your weird looks." Danny shrugged and pointed to his tattooed eyebrows. Then she addressed Irma again. "Where the hell do you meet these weirdos Irms?" When Irma didn't respond fast enough, Danny simply shrugged. "Ah what the hell am I talking about? This is Heatherfield, weirdness is preprogrammed."

Will froze and looked up at her husband; sure, enough he wasn't using an illusion to disguise his Meridian heritage. Except for his clothes, a black sweater and tan jeans, he was himself. Before Will could silently ask her husband what he was thinking, Danny opened the sliding buss door and gestured for the crowd to enter. "Come on folks, we got a 7-hour drive ahead of us and I ain't plannin' on gettin' stuck in traffic because of you slow-pokes."

Then, Danny returned to sit behind the wheel, leaving the group a little stunned and Taranee leaned closer to Irma to ask, "This is your cousin?"

"Sadly, yes." She replied and stepped onto the bus, placing her small suitcase under her window seat in the middle row. Taranee only sighed and muttered to herself.

"This is going to be an interesting vacation." With that, she stepped onto the bus and to her window seat right behind Danny. Hay-Lyn, visibly uncomfortable, stepped onto the bus intending to sit beside Irma but Taranee pulled her onto the seat beside her instead. Hay-Lyn didn't argue because Elyon took the seat beside Irma which made the air-witch realize that the group was attempting to have Elyon socialize with her brother during this vacation; starting with the drive to the cabin. Before Will stepped onto the bus, she took hold of her husband's hand and told him in thought.

"I want you to sit in the corner by the window. That way I can rest against you and you can't escape."

"I am more than just a pillow for you."

"That is true, you are a pillow and a blanket that didn't let me sleep last night, Now sit in the corner." Will gently nudged him, and he relented and took his seat in the back corner of the bus; he didn't have the energy to fight her. Will took her seat beside him after closing the sliding door and entwined her fingers with his; she still wasn't done with him. "Why are you not in disguise?"

"I wasn't in disguise when I introduced myself to your mother."

"That was different, and she almost went catatonic because of you."

"Well, Danny doesn't seem to care about my appearance or anyone's appearance for that matter."

"Still, what you did was incredibly reckless."

"Which is why we are married." at this, Will gently elbowed him at that comment with a smirk on her face. Within moments, Danny started the rickety bus and the group was on its' way. The bus vibrated more than it should, wobbled whenever it hit a pothole, and smelled of old fabric; however, it was toasty warm, and the seats were comfortable so the group couldn't complain. For a moment, the group drove in silence, which quickly became unbearable for Irma. Taking a small risk, she knelt on her seat and turned around to face Will and Phobos. "So, you told him that Elyon was coming alone?"

"I have no secrets towards my husband," Will replied and leaned against him. Phobos simply put an arm around her while holding open a book, that he had taken along for the drive, with the other.

"So, what is it like to be married?" Irma continued. Will was sure that, if Irma had a camera, she would be taking a picture of this scene.

"It is like having a boyfriend except I call him husband and I share a bed with him." Will then sent her husband a message over the mind to escape a potentially cringy situation. It was already awkward enough that Susan interrogated her of their private life, she didn't need her friend to add onto that mess. "Find a way to change the subject now and quick."

Quickly, Phobos closed his book and addressed his sister. "Elyon."

Elyon quickly turned around in her seat to face her brother; she was hoping to befriend her brother since he was now married to her best friend. "Yeah?"

"Will told me your Winter elective for school was Accounting. How is it going and are you enjoying the class?" Irma frowned and sat back down, she had a feeling Will instigated this conversation to avoid her questions but couldn't prove that.

"Oh, I am doing great in Accounting. It is way easier than Algebra and the teacher allows us to use a calculator to calculate depreciation. The other student say it is boring, but I like it." Replied Elyon, but before she could continue flaunting over the course, there came a voice from the driver. Danny was using a high-pitched, nasally voice, similar to that of a duck with sinus issues, to pick fun over Elyon's interest in Accounting.

"I like Accounting. Numbers are my friends, but mostly because I don't have any real friends, so numbers have to be my friends." Against her will, Irma let out a slight chuckle and Elyon sat back down in her seat, blushing with embarrassment. Danny simply starred back at the group using the review mirror.

"Did that hit too close to home kiddo?" she addressed Elyon. When the blond-haired girl didn't reply, Danny simply smiled and shook her head. "Don't take me too seriously kiddo. I just wanted you to sit back down before you got yourself hurt." She then addressed the whole bus. "Folks, for your own safety, keep your butts in the seats while the bus is driving!"

That was when Hay-Lyn noticed a bracelet on Danny's right wrist, from which hung a silver pendant. It wasn't something Hay-Lyn had seen before; it was a small cylinder with a four-sided arrow tip on the end, altogether about the length of her thumb. It could have come from a place like HotTopic or QVC. Leaning forward a bit, the air-witch pointed at it and asked. "Where did you get that and what is it?"

"That is a compressed spear, so unless you want us to get impaled I suggest you keep your mitts off it," Danny replied nonchalantly and Hay-Lyn snapped her hand back, now afraid of the object.

"Why do you have that on your bracelet then?" Taranee asked and put her arms around a frightened Hay-Lyn.

"My older brother Tony gave it to me for self-defense. I never had to use it so far, but I keep it on me just in case. No one fucks with you when you can whoop their ass with a stick that came out of nowhere." Danny replied and turned onto the interstate. This was going to be a very interesting vacation.