Author's note:

It has been a while since my last update and I apologize for that, but life has a way with dictating my free time. Since my last posting, I have been busy through the rest of the summer and right up until Halloween. Finding a bit of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I figured I would knock out a couple more chapters. In the chapter below I have introduced a new character. She is an OC and I do hope that you like the new character. The OC native language isn't English and thus she speaks with an accent and some of her words have a colorful edge to them. For example, she has trouble with pronouncing the 'TH' sound and it comes out as 'D'. Instead of 'man', she says 'mon'. This is mentioned in the story below, but to clarify to my readers, the first few sentences she speaks I have written them AS she speaks them, but afterwards, I write her speech normally. I have done this so that it is easier for readers to follow to avoid confusion with certain words. You as the reader can fill in how she speaks with her accent based on those initial sentences. Her sentence structure is also different from everyone else and that I preserve throughout her role in the story as that does make her speaking parts easier to identify. There are some word exceptions to which the OC doesn't know the English word for and this will be mentioned as they come along in the story. I hope that this method I have chosen for my OC, makes her parts come clear and that you can understand what she is saying. When in doubt though, please do not hesitate to drop me a line and I will more than happily clear things up for you.

With that cleared up, read on and enjoy!

Strange Magic – ButterflyBog

by

Raven Diablo

Chapter 7 – The Huracan (Hurricane)

The following Morning:

Marianne woke up early and she looked next to her and Bog was still sound asleep. She got up and got partially dressed, just putting her dress on, but not her leggings. She left her room and went down the hall and noticed that the door to her sister's room was part way open, so she softly approached the door when suddenly Dawn popped her head out of the door.

"Ahhhhhhh!" they both yelled together.

"You scared me!" Dawn said.

"You scared me too!" Marianne replied.

"What are you doing up so early?" Dawn asked.

"I don't know, after last night I figured I would be sleeping well into the afternoon. But I just woke up now." Marianne answered.

Dawn had a devious smirk on her face as she squeezed by her sister and closed the door. Marianne noticed she was wearing her bathing suit she wore yesterday, except now the skirt part was removed and her thighs were bare way up to her waist. The brooch was by her abdomen again and her sides were exposed.

"What's with the smirk, sis?"

Dawn whispered, "Well, you just now said that after last night you figured you would be sleeping into the afternoon. Soooo, how did it go then?"

Marianne put an ear to ear smile on her face as she rocked her head side to side.

Dawn reached out and put her hands on her sister's shoulders and said softly but excitedly, "Oh! Oooooh! I see that smile. You had a great time, huh?

Marianne threw her arms around Dawn and pulled her tightly to her and gave her a kiss square on the lips. Dawn let out a small, "Ooof" sound.

"Thank you so much, Dawn! Your advice worked perfectly!"

"Oh, you look so happy! You also kissed me on the lips!" She squealed out as she raised one fist in the air and shook it over her head. "Yes!"

"Shhhhh! Shhhhh!" Marianne said as she patted her hands down. "Easy sis, I'm excited too, trust me, this means so much to me, but we have to keep it down."

Dawn folded her wings, went back to a whisper as she said, "Oh, yeah...Don't want to wake the whole castle up. Ooops!"

She then reached up and put her fingers to her lips and said, "Goodness Marianne, you can really kiss hard! My lips still tingle."

"Sorry. Did I hurt you?"

"No, it didn't hurt, it was good actually."

"What?" Marianne said with a puzzled look on her face.

"Well, it tingles. How do you do that? I think if I did that to Sunny it would drive him up the wall."

"Well, I practiced kissing on fruits and I kept doing it until I was strong enough to break the skin just with my lips and suction only."

"Why did you do that though?" she asked.

Marianne sighed as she said, "Growing up, I figured I wasn't as pretty as the other girls and I thought that if I was a good kisser and could make a guy's knees melt, I could keep him."

"Awwww, but you are pretty sis. But anyway, that's pretty impressive. I have to try that," Dawn said.

Marianne looked around and said, "Are you going to let me in? I'll tell you more inside."

"I can't," Dawn said. She then moved closer to her sister's ear and whispered even lower, "Sunny is with me."

Marianne grinned as she pointed down and said, "I guess that explains the sexy bathing suit, huh?"

"Yeah, well, he practically begged me to put it back on even though I wanted to get it cleaned first and well. You know me, I couldn't help myself. I began to pose for him and he just went ga ga over me. Ohhh, he's so wonderful and romantic," She sighed with a glimmer in her eyes. "He really makes me feel beautiful."

Marianne sighed too as she knew the feeling well. She smiled and responded, "Well, you are beautiful sis, I know you probably blew his mind."

"Yes, I did!"

They both laughed softly together.

Marianne then said, "Let's talk in a more private place than the hallway."

Dawn got a chill and she rubbed her arms as she said, "It certainly cooled off quite a bit during the night."

"Yeah, it is a nice cool morning. Why don't we sun ourselves on the back terrace and talk there?" Marianne suggested.

"Great idea! That would certainly get me warmed up, but let me fix my swimsuit first."

"Okay."

Dawn went back into her room and a few moments later, she emerged and she had the skirt on her swimdress and the mid section was tied back with the brooch in the center of her chest area. Marianne smiled at her and shook her head.

"What?"

"I wanted to say I'm sorry for what I said yesterday and questioned your intelligence. Bog was right in saying that your swimsuit is an ingenious design. I just wasn't expecting it and I don't mean that in a bad way."

Dawn put her hands out and said, "Bahhh, it's OK, sis. You are right. It is only recently that I been really thinking things through and looking at things in a different and more careful way."

"Well, you are growing up and maturing."

Dawn smiled as she said, "Thank you."

They started to walk down the hall, and Dawn noticed that her sister was still limping a bit.

"Oh, your foot. Perhaps we should fly instead," Dawn said.

"Ok"

As they flew to the terrace Marianne said, "You know I should have you make a swimsuit like that for me. I like the idea that it can be converted so this way I can wear it one way outside and another, more sexy way for Bog."

"Of course, Sis. I would be honored. Just let me know what style you want."

The two landed in front of the stained glass door that lead out to the terrace. There was a soldier there on guard.

"Good morning, Princesses! Up early this morning, huh?"

Marianne said, "Yeah, it is a bit cool this morning and we are just going to sun ourselves on the terrace."

"Very well," the soldier said as he opened the glass doors to the backyard terrace. "Enjoy yourselves."

"Thank you."

The backyard terrace wasn't a large area, but it was a private spot generally reserved for the royal family and those that were invited to accompany them. There were many different plants and small trees that surrounded a small pond that could fit about a dozen people. The back wall of the pond was up against the castle and waterfall was made to cascade down the wall. At the base of the wall was a built in throne in which the king would sit and relax in the pond. The location would give him a whole view of the terrace. Leading away from the castle, the far side of the pond had many different trees and colorful plants. There were stones laid in the ground that formed a walkway from the castle entrance to the pond and to a sunning area. There were several lounge chairs with specially designed backs with a hole that would allow a butterfly fairy to lay face down and have their wings open. The chairs also had tables beside them in the event someone wanted a drink or something to eat.

Marianne and Dawn flew over to a pair of lounge chairs that were facing the sun and they proceeded to lay down on them. They laid on each of their own arms and rested their heads on their arms instead of laying face down, so they faced one another. They both opened their wings wide, angling them towards the sun.

Marianne could feel the heat of the sun on her wings and it immediately created a warming sensation through her as she could feel the warmed blood from her wings move into her body.

"Ooooh, that feels so good!" she exclaimed.

"Hmmmmmm, yes! This WAS a good idea," Dawn hummed as she closed her eyes. She then opened them and looking at her sister she said, "So what did you want to tell me?"

"Oh yes! I am going to need some more of that lubricant."

"What?" Dawn asked in a surprised tone as she lifted her head. "I gave you a WHOLE bottle, that should have been good for at least a good five or six times."

"Hmmmm, yeah that was about right. It was five actually."

Dawn, raised her head and her eyes widened as she said, "Five times in one night! Wow, you beat my record of four! You go sis!"

They both started to laugh.

"Sure, I will get you another bottle," Dawn said as she laughed through her nose.

"Thank you, Dawn. I think that lubricant was the key. It really helped."

"Well, I am glad everything worked out fine."

"Yes, I am so relieved to know it worked out and it is so amazing!" Marianne said as her face lit up.

"My goodness, you are absolutely glowing. You REALLY had a good time."

"Dawn, he's the best, he is so kind and gentle and he would always talk to me asking if I was OK. He was so concerned about not hurting me. I never had that from another guy," Marianne explained. "He really put me before himself or anything else. For the first time I really am with a guy that makes me feel so special. He actually cares about me and wants to make me feel good."

"Awww! It is the same thing with my Sunny. He is also very concerned about how I feel and always making sure that I am satisfied first," she said.

"Dawn...I know he's the one, he's my Mr. Right."

"Heck! I can see that just by that song he sang to you last night. Wow! That was such strong and powerful song."

"Yeah..." Marianne said as she drifted off a bit as she thought about how Bog performed the night before in front of everyone. But then she came too and and asked, "How about you?"

"Well, it looks like we are heading in the right direction too, even though my body is wanting more and more all the time when I am with him, I just want to keep myself in check and not come off as too pushy or needy," Dawn explained.

"That is good. I feel the same way, wanting to take things easy."

"So, care to share some details?" Dawn asked as she rubbed her feet together.

Marianne grinned as she said, "Hmmmm, just a few."

The two laughed together.

Back in Marianne's bedroom:

Bog patted his hand around the bed as he slowly stirred awake.

"Marianne?" he asked when he opened his eyes and looked around.

She wasn't anywhere in the room. He looked up towards the bathroom door and it was wide open and dark inside. He laid in the bed for a few moments figuring she might come back to her room from wherever she went, but those moments passed and still she didn't come back.

Wondering where she might have gone and growing a bit concerned, he got up, grabbed his staff and headed for the door. Upon exiting, he looked up and down the main hallway.

He scratched his head and said, "Hmmmmm."

He walked down the main hall and he hoped that perhaps he might come across a soldier or servant that might know where she went off to. Since all of the royal bedrooms were on the floor he was, it was not likely he would encounter someone, so he flew down to the main floor. As soon as he landed, it wasn't long before a servant walked by.

"Excuse Me," Bog said.

"Oh yes, Your majesty Mr. Bog King, Sir?" The servant said in a meek voice saluting Bog.

"Ummm, just pick one, you don't have to address me with all that, any one will do."

"Yes, your majesty."

"Do you know where Princess Marianne is?"

"At the present moment, no, but earlier I have seen her and her sister go down the hall of the west corridor together," the servant said as he pointed towards the adjacent corridor.

"Oh? Where does that corridor lead to?"

"Hmmm, just some storage rooms and a few offices. But at the end of the corridor is a door that leads out to the terrace. That is a guarded entrance and the soldier there will let you know if he seen her go down there."

"Very well, thank you."

"It's a pleasure, your majesty Bog, Sir."

Bog shook his head at the soldier's response. He then walked towards the west corridor. The hallway was long but he could easily make out the fancy glass doors at the end. At first he was going to fly, but then he noticed something out of the ordinary and figured he would approach on foot, which was much quieter than his wings. As he got closer he noticed that there wasn't one, but two soldiers by the door, although they weren't standing guard by it, but rather they were peering out the door which they had opened up partly. They were looking out the opening, one head above the other, Bog began to tiptoe now and soon he could hear them speak.

"Her wings are so gorgeous, no other woman has wings like hers. They are so big too," The soldier on top said.

"Yes, but Dawn's wings are not small either. Heck her wings are almost as large as mine!" The solider on the bottom said.

"You know something else?" Top solder asked.

"No, what?"

"Marianne's got a really nice butt."

"Oh yeah...very nice! But I like Dawn's butt too, it is cute and perky."

Bog's eyes widened as he didn't like it one bit that the soldiers were checking out his woman. But what they said next really got his blood boiling.

The bottom soldier then said, "But still, Dawn is the prettier of the two...those blue eyes and blonde hair. She's got a nicer body too. Marianne looks more drab and those arms. I mean have you ever seen a woman with arms that big?

"No."

"You have to wonder if hugging her feels like hugging a man."

The two started to softly laugh, while Bog was seething with anger. He began to force a loud laugh out that echoed down the hall.

Suddenly the two soldiers closed the door, quickly turned around and slammed their backs against the door.

Both of them said together, "Oh crap!"

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Very funny," he said angrily as he tapped his staff on their helmets. "You both have some nerve spying on the princesses. I have a good mind to knock you upside your heads myself."

"I'm sorry, your majesty, I...I didn't mean any harm. We were just bored and just wanted to take a peek."

"Bored, huh. Well perhaps I should have a little chat with the king and see what he says about all this? Or perhaps I should just take matters into my own hands since I have been noticing how lax your people's respect is your rulers. A good ole' fashioned butt whoopin' should straighten you two out."

Bog took his staff and held it cross ways as he slammed into their chests rattling the door.

He gritted his teeth and said, "So what will it be boys, your king, or me?"

"Is...Is there a third option?" The shorter soldier asked.

"Of course, I lead you outside and you personally apologize to the princesses."

"No, no, that isn't good," the taller soldier said.

The shorter soldier looked passed Bog and said, "Oh crap."

Seeing the direction that the soldier was looking, Bog quickly turned around. King Dagda was approaching them and the look on his face indicated that he wasn't happy.

"Bog, what in the blazes is going on here? I hope you have a good explanation for having my soldiers pinned against the doors like this, Bog?

"I do, your majesty. Your daughters are out on the terrace and I caught these two peeking out the door and listening to their conversation," Bog said and he paused.

"Very well, but that is no need to take things into your own hands in my home."

Bog stood down and released his staff from the soldiers. He bowed a bit as he said, "Understood and I am sorry. I was just angered by some of the words that were spoken about Marianne and being that she is my girlfriend, I am rather protective of her."

King Dagda smiled as he said, "Rightly so, I was no different when it came to my wife. I'd does please me that you are looking out for my daughter."

"Of course and I didn't mean any harm to your men, and I was just giving them their options, one of which was to report to you."

"Oh, that is good, but now that I am here, I will handle this," King Dagda said as he waved for the soldiers to follow him.

As they turned away, the king said, "I will send another soldier to replace the one that was here. Would you be so kind as to keeping an eye for a moment?"

"Not at all, I came down here to see Marianne anyway."

"Good, Good," The King said. He was ready to turn around when he smiled and said, "Oh! I almost forgot! Good Morning B.K."

Bog smiled as he replied, "And a Good Morning to you, K.D."

King Dagda laughed a bit and then turned around and followed the soldiers down the hall. Bog could make out what the king was saying.

"Peeping Toms! How could you! I can't believe you two would stoop to the level of Peeping Toms...and spying on my own daughters! Unreal! I tell you things have gotten a bit lax since I let Roland be in charge of all of you soldiers, but now I am cracking the whip and all you need to show respect."

The soldiers said together, "I'm sorry, your majesty."

From there he could hear the king mention something about punishment and then he couldn't make out anything anymore. He turned towards the door and slowly opened it. He opened it enough just to see Marianne lying down on her chair with her wings wide open. He moved his head enough to see her sister was was doing the same next to her, but then his eyes returned to his lover. She looked amazing lying there and for a long while he just gazed at her wings, letting his eyes follow the details along her wings as they went from her back out to black serrated edges down to her wing tails. In the sun the purple color was reflected so brightly that the area just behind her had a purplish tinge to it. The way she slowly moved her wings made him sigh a bit. His eyes then ran from her head, down her back and then stopped at her buttocks and then her bare thighs below them. At least there was one thing that soldier got right and that Marianne did have a very nice butt. But his eyes continued downward and they focused on her bare thighs. A very strong feeling came over him in that he wanted to run his hands down the back of her bare legs. He slowly exited the castle and gently closed the door behind him and he tip toed towards the ladies. They weren't talking now and Marianne had her head turned away from her sister. As he got closer to Marianne, Dawn looked up as she was facing his direction. Bog just put a finger to his lips and Dawn smiled. He slowly reached over Marianne's wings and let his finger run very gently from the nape of her neck right down through the sweet spot between her wings. Her wings raised a little and he could hear a soft moan come from her mouth. Dawn started to giggle softly.

Without looking behind her, Marianne said, "Good morning, Hon."

"Good Morning my dear," He said. "How did you know it was me?"

She turned around and looked at him and replied, "Very easy, no one touches me the way you do."

"Awwww!" Dawn exclaimed as she put her hand to her mouth and giggled.

"Good Morning Dawn," Bog said.

"Good Morning Bog," Dawn said.

"Funny waking up and finding you both out here so early," he said as he took a seat on Marianne's lounge chair next to her legs.

She moved over a bit to allow him room to sit as she replied, "Oh, Dawn and I decided to come out and sun ourselves for a bit and we just had a little girly chat."

"Oh." Bog replied.

There was slight silence and then Dawn said, "Uhhh, I am pretty much warmed up now. Besides I want to get back in before Sunny starts to look for me."

"Ok" Marianne said.

Dawn got up, walked to the door and entered the castle. At first Bog wanted to mention something about what the guards did earlier, but he knew that given her temper, it would probably put her into an immediate rage and he didn't want to do that as she had such a calm serene look on her face and she was at peace. She turned to look forward resting her head on her arms.

Being alone now, Bog couldn't resist and he acted upon his thoughts just as he entered the terrace. He reached over and started to run his fingers around her feet and then slowly moved up her ankles and then her calves.

"Hmmmmmmm," she let out a small moan.

She pressed her feet down and her calf muscles flexed and they got very hard under his finger tips. He liked the feeling as he cupped his hands around her flexed calves. He then started up the back of her knees and her legs moved gently to his touch.

"Ohhhhhhh! That feels so nice!"

Bog found that he couldn't stop and he ventured even higher. He gently started to go up the back of her thighs. They felt so soft and smooth.

"Mmmmmmm," she called out her breathing was getting noticeably heavier.

He could feel his breathing start to get heavier as well. He got an urge to go higher yet. But he felt he was about to overstep his bounds and he blurted out:

"I'll go higher if you want me too."

"Yes, please."

Feeling more comfortable after getting her permission he moved his hands to her buttocks and started to gently rub them. She started to move her wings up and down slightly.

"Hon, you know what I would love for you to do right now?" Marianne asked.

Bog replied, "Yes, I have an idea."

He reached over and gently ran his finger tip down the nape her neck and slowly he made his way to the bases of her wings and began to message the area. Her wings went limp as they lowered and started to drape down the sides of the chair and over his legs.

"Uhhhhhhhh, Yes...that's it. Oh that feels so wonderful," she said.

He began to get very artistic with the pattern on how he circled his finger around her back. He just watched as her breathing became heavier and heavier. He lingered for a while in that area and noticed that her moans started to get louder and she began to move her hips. He began to look around at the castle walls ensuring that they were indeed alone and not being watched.

"Oh, I think that's enough, my love. If you go any further we will have to fly back to my room," she said as she started to sit up.

Bog said as he stopped as he said, "Would you like me to continue in your room?"

Maranne laughed.

He looked up to the sun and could feel the heat beating down on him, the nice cool morning was heating up rapidly.

"Sure...that sounds good. I am all warmed up and it is starting to get hot now."

Bog smiled and nodded as he got to his feet and helped Marianne to hers. The two took to wing and started to fly off to her room.

Later that day:

While it was hot out, it wasn't as hot as yesterday. After everyone had breakfast, King Dagda gave the OK for a small group of his men to accompany Bog and his goblins to resume working on his castle. Sugar Plum joined them as well as Bog wanted to show her the room he had created for her. She was busy chatting up a storm with Benny as everyone started off to the boat.

Marianne and Bog flew off separately as she had to get the boat ready. At first they started to race with each other, but then Marianne suddenly stopped.

"I want to show you something!" she shouted.

Bog nodded and then followed her lead. She took a turn toward the south heading away from the Dark Forest.

"How far off are we going?"

"Not too far."

As they continued, Bog noticed that he could see a small river was flowing in the distance and Marianne was leading him right to it. As they moved further south it looked as if the river just suddenly stopped, but then it became clear that they were heading for a large cliff. There was an impressive view of the marshlands below.

"The view here is great!" He exclaimed.

"Just wait, it's gets better, Hon."

As they reached the end of the waterfall they could hear it cascade down, but before Bog could turn back to look, a blast of warm air caught them and suddenly they both shot upwards.

"Weeeeeeee!" Marianne shouted out as she flew up.

"Whoa!" Bog also shouted as he flew up.

Marianne just kept her wings out straight without flapping them and she rode on the current of air as she laughed.

Bog rode the air for a while too and then said, "This is great!"

"I know, isn't it? This is what I wanted to show you."

He outstretched his wings and he rode a current upwards.

"Whoo Hooo!" He exclaimed.

He was now over Marianne and he looked down to her and just watched her hovering without flapping her wings. He slowly started to descend until he was nearly on top of her. But then a gust of air blew upwards and blew her into him.

"Whoa Whoa!" He exclaimed as he tried to get out of the way.

She came up very fast but then she tilted her wings and slowed down. They gently collided with one another and Bog found that he was laying right on top of her back.

Marianne laughed as she said, "Looks like my wings caught you."

Bog looked up in amazement as he was actually laying on top of Marianne and her wings were carrying them both.

He looked out to her outstretched wings as for a moment he folded his. The feeling was incredible as she was now carrying him.

"Am I too much weight for you?" she shouted down to her.

"No, not at all."

Bog rested his chest on her back and he leaned his head over and looked at her face.

"Hi Hon!" She said.

"Hello, my dear!"

Bog could feel her wing muscles twitching as she changed the pitch of her wings to stay riding on the stream of air. The movements felt good against his chest. But he was concerned at a slight bow in her fore wings. He figured she had to be straining under his weight.

"Are you sure I am not too much for you?"

"No, not at all. I really just barely notice you are there."

"Wow, your wings sure are strong."

Marianne nodded her head in agreement as said, "Yes, they are. Thank You."

Bog looked into her golden eyes and he suddenly got that feeling again. It was that tingling feeling. She closed her eyes and started to move her head towards his. He closed his eyes and then their lips met. Her lips felt a bit dry this time because of the constant rushing hair that raced passed their heads. But it wasn't long before their tongues were intertwined. The kiss felt really good but due to the awkward position of their necks, they both fatigued quickly and when they broke off the kiss, Bog looked down and his eyes flew open.

"Oh! Wow! We are really high up!"

"Uh huh!"

From where they were, he could actually make out the edge of the Dark Forest. Bog decided to lay spread eagle with his arms out along her wings and he could feel the force of the air pushing up on her wings. He was completely taken aback by the experience.

"Isn't this amazing!" Marianne said.

"Yes! You took the words right out of my mouth. I never felt anything like this before in my life!"

The two continued to ride up until they slowed down.

"That's about it," she said. "We can't go higher. Besides we been here too long as it is."

Bog looked around and realized that they were out in the wide open and if a bird would come now, there would be no place for them to take cover in time.

"Yes, I agree, we should be going," he said as he opened his wings and lifted himself off of Marianne's back.

"Now comes the really fun part," she said.

She folded her wings almost all the way back and started to dive towards the Dark Forest.

"Yaaaaahoooooo!" She exclaimed as her body dropped quickly downward.

Bog then folded his wings and started to dive down after her.

She called back, "First one to reach the edge of the Dark Forest wins!"

"Oh! You! You have a head start!" Bog yelled after her.

He pulled his wings in further and started to pick up speed and was gaining on her. But she must have seen him coming as she also pulled her wings in further and began to dive faster, pulling away from him. Bog pulled his wings in even tighter and held his arms close to his body and he could feel that he was falling like a stone and was rapidly catching up to Marianne.

The Dark Forest was coming up really fast and he was determined to win. He was gaining slowly more and more and soon he was side by side with her.

"Ta Ta, my dear!" Bog said as he waved.

"Oh no! Not this time!" She said.

She angled her wings in a way that the air pushed her downwards and once again she started to pull out in front.

"Noooooooo!" Bog said.

But then he noticed that even though she was being pulled down faster, she was going to fall short of the Dark Forest and would have to then use her wings to get to the border. So he continued on his way lining himself up to the entrance to the forest. Closer and closer it came and he looked around him to his sides and up and down and so far she wasn't in sight. He knew that her maneuver probably cost her some time in that she was going to fall short of the forest and would have to fly in, losing time.

"Yeah!" He shouted as he started to smile.

ZING! Suddenly she shot underneath him with her wings wide open. Because she was so close, the blast of air that came off her wings knocked him off balance.

Bog extended his wings and regained his balance as Marianne sailed across to the entrance of the Dark Forest and she flapped her wings and perched with her hands on her hips right on the curved root that marked the entrance to the Dark Forest.

As Bog came to meet her, she had an ear to ear grin on her face.

Bog landed on the root and pointed back and forth as he stammered, "How, did you? What... How in the world?"

He looked to her in disbelief.

"I won! Ha! I told you I would beat your butt on the way back!" She said as she walked over and poked her finger into his chest.

Bog grinned and said, "You had a head start."

"Only a little."

"So are you going to tell me how you pulled that off?"

"Nope! It's a flying secret."

Bog laughed as he said, "Well, you sure are fast, there is no doubt about that."

She draped her arms around his neck and said, "You are not so bad yourself, tough guy."

Bog looked up and said, "I enjoyed our time up there, especially that kiss. Thank you for sharing that with me."

"Awwww, you're welcome. In fact while I always have fun there, I had the best time there with you today and I loved that kiss too," she said as she brought her lips to his.

After they kissed she held her hand out and he put his hand in hers.

"Come on, lets get the boat ready," she said, "They will be here soon."

The two took to wing and flew off to the boat dock together. He would look to her the whole way and she had a wide smile on her face that lit up her cheeks in the late morning light. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that she was certainly a special woman. She was growing more and more beautiful every day.

They reached the boat very quickly and were greeted by a pair of soldiers that stayed overnight guarding the boat. They were very relieved to see Marianne and Bog and she dismissed them so they could go to the palace and get a much needed rest. They then started to prepare the boat for launch, opening up the cargo hatches and making sure everything was tidy in the lounge and other resting areas on the boat. Once they were done with everything Marianne and Bog met outside on the rear deck and talked about the events of the prior day while waiting for the others to arrive.

Later on as they docked at Bog's Castle:

After Bog had helped Marianne with docking the boat, he re-entered the bridge and looked to his lady and raised his hand to his brow.

"All set, Captain."

Marianne giggled, "I might be the captain, and you the first mate, but you don't have to be so formal with me...instead of a salute, just kiss me instead."

Bog raised his eyebrows and once again playing on the 'Aye Aye' response he said, "Aye yuh Aye, my dear Captain."

She laughed and he just marched over to her, threw his arms around her waist and planted a heavy kiss on her lips.

"Mmmmmmm!" she exclaimed loudly as she draped her arms over his shoulders.

They kissed for a few moments before separating.

"That's way better than a salute," she said.

"Yes, indeed!"

Marianne looked out to the royal suites and said, "So, you are going to show Sugar Plum now?"

"Yes."

With everything being secure on the boat. Marianne and Bog exited through via the bridge wing and flew down to the boat deck and stood by as everyone walked or flew off the boat. Sugar Plum was one of the last ones to exit as she was chatting up a storm with Griselda and the two accompanied one another off the dock.

"Ahh, there you are my boy, I see you are helping Marianne out quite a bit aboard."

"Yes, mother. She appointed me as her first mate and I do help her out with what needs to be done when we head out."

"That and many other things," Marianne said as she raised her eyebrows.

"Well, I still have much to learn."

"Oh, hon, you are doing fine."

Bog looked to Sugar Plum and said, "Madame Sugar Plum, if you will accompany me, there is something I would like to show you."

She turned to Griselda and said, "We will talk some more later. Your son said to me last night that he had something for me and wanted me to come here."

"Oh! Very well then," Griselda said as she turned and saw Stuff and Thang. She marched towards them and shouted. "You two, I must have a word with you."

"Well, ladies, please follow me," Bog said as he lead the way with Sugar Plum and Marianne following.

He lead them up to the third tier of a royal suite and they landed on the balcony. Sugar Plum had a puzzled look on her face as they looked at a pair of royal red curtains that formed a huge arch, in back of the balcony. He parted the curtains and put his hands out for the ladies to enter first.

As Marianne walked into the space she easily recognized that it was very same space she tried to flag either Bog or her sister down when she didn't have anything to wear, the day of the boat launching. But the space was radically transformed. Having a very similar layout now to Bog's own space all the way up on the seventh tier, the first room seemed to be the main living space.

The room looked like it belonged in a Turkish palace. The walls on right had green and gold mosaic tiles set up on long panels that reached from the floor to almost the ceiling in which the panel formed an arch. The arches came down into large pillars. One of the wall sections was a bit larger as it contained a hearth, in which a heat source could be used to warm the room. The hearth was also in a Turkish style.

The opposite wall also had the pillars, but they were shallower and in the middle were very ornate panels made from a light colored wooden lattice. Along the entire wall which curved around to the back where the entrance to Bog's bedroom would in his suite, there was a long couch that had arm rests located at various points. The arches came up to the middle of the ceiling and a large light orb chandelier that hanged from above. Hanging from the chandelier and draping down to the arches were red and gold curtains.

The middle of the floor was mostly all open with a huge red silk pillows the size of a chair that were placed at various intervals near the couch.

On the left side of the hearth, hanging from one of the mosaic panels, was a very large ornate mirror. To the right of the hearth was a doorway with an ornate arch and a dome above it. As Marianne looked around she noticed that another doorway at the end also had an arch above it. While there were doorways present, there were no physical doors, but a curtain that hung over the doorway. The curtains could be tied back to open up the space more. Marianne remembered that this was a feature that Sugar Plum's home originally had and even though it was years since she saw her home, she didn't recall it being this ornate and elaborate.

As the rear wall curved towards the back of the room, it funneled to the wide doorway at the end.

Marianne looked to Sugar Plum as she looked around the room with wide eyes.

"This room is beautiful, Bog. I didn't know you like Turkish décor. It is my favorite. This has to be your main living room?" Sugar Plum asked.

"No, my suite is on the top floor."

"Oh, then this is your space then, Marianne? I must say you have great taste in furniture and décor."

"No, Sugar Plum, my room is next to Bog's."

Bog answered and said, "This is YOUR living room."

Sugar Plum's eyes widened and she just stood floating in one spot as she blurted out, "What? Are you kidding me, huh?

"No, I am not kidding," Bog answered. "Surprise! This is your home to live for as long as you desire."

Sugar Plum still had a stunned look on her face.

Bog continued, "Back that way is the hallway to your bedroom and it's own private bathroom complete with a hot tub."

"Hot tub?" she asked still in disbelief that the space she was in was hers.

Bog then pointed to the doorway to the side of the balcony exit and said, "Down that way are a pair of guest rooms with their own bathroom and each room has a balcony view and at the end is a private study.

"A Study?"

"Yes...please, if you may, let me finish."

"Sure." Sugar Plum said as her eyes grew wider and her whole body started to become pale.

As Bog continued to describe the suite in detail, Sugar Plum's jaw began to drop more and more. She started to hover lower and lower towards the ground and Marianne thought she was going to pass out. Marianne was ready with her arms to catch her, but she waved her on that she was alright. Bog continued to explain her suite.

"The arch in the middle goes to a brewing room in which you can create your potions and magic spells. Next to that is a kitchen and at the end of the hall is a large storage space, or you could modify the area to as your needs fit, use it for another bedroom if you like, and that is the whole suite."

As Bog stopped explaining the details of the suite, both Marianne and he were waiting for Sugar Plum's reaction.

"Y...You can't be serious," She said as her voice cracked. She then swallowed hard and continued, "This can't be all for me."

Bog hung his head low and said, "I was a fool for not listening to you and I kept you against your will for so long. Your home was ruined in the process, so this is the least I could do for you. I do not expect you to be in service to me and you can come and go as you please."

Still stunned, Sugar Plum floated to the middle arch and down it's hall and entered the first room. Marianne and Bog followed. The room was very bright inside as all the furnishing were very light in color. The room, was like the living room in that the back wall was arched and there were pillars that formed an arched ceiling to the room. But it wasn't as ornate as the living room was. There were several cabinets that lined the back wall and also a very large hearth that had a large cauldron situated over it. In the center was a large round table for a work area. On the right wall was a loom. In the cabinets were Jars containing many of the items that Sugar Plum mentioned on her list of items she wanted when she was imprisoned. Another large cabinet on the left was full of empty vials.

"This is your brewing room where you can make your potions," Bog said.

"This is all for me?"

"Yes,"

"Wa...What's the catch?" Sugar Plum asked as she ran her hand along the large cauldron.

"No catch, it...it's all yours...Here, let's move on to the bedroom," Bog said as he lifted his hand up towards the door.

Sugar Plum held her hand to her mouth as she floated back out to the living room and then Bog lead the way to the bedroom.

As she followed she said with her voice quavering, "Did you design all of this?"

"No, I don't know much about this style, but Benny and K.D. were a big help as they knew what your home looked like and well, we elaborated on the Turkish theme, which K.D. said you would like."

With that Bog drew the curtain aside that led to a chamber like hallway with curtained entrances on all four sides. Bog pointed moving his arm in a clockwise motion as he said, "To the left is the master bedroom, ahead is a float in closet and to the right is the master bathroom."

"Float in closet?" Sugar Plum repeated in a subdued voice.

Sugar Plum floated to the left and parted the curtain to the bedroom and entered. Bog followed and Marianne was the last to enter and she got a good look around. The bedroom was round in shape and had several arches that ran up to a cone shaped ceiling. On each arch was a small light orb. The room was sparsely decorated, but on the far wall a huge round canopy bed dominated the room. The bed had a round green feather mattress and plum colored silk sheets. A couple of large pillows adorned the head of the bed. The bed had a plum colored curtain canopy that was suspended from a large rope and a huge ornate ring from the ceiling. There was a vanity table in the room which had a large mirror. There was a large ornate sofa like chair on the opposite side of the vanity. She floated to the bed and ran her hands along the silk sheets.

"Bog...this is too much. I...I just wanted my home replaced."

"Well, that is what I am doing. I am replacing it. Oh, I also talked with the king and he agreed that since your home was so badly destroyed, that he is going to have Roland's quarters made up as a living space for you there. Granted it is smaller than this, but at least you will have a choice of where you want to stay."

Once again Sugar Plum put her hand over her mouth and Marianne could see that tears were welling up in her eyes. She floated over to Bog and then threw her arms around his neck. Marianne could hear that she was beginning to sob.

Bog was hesitant to put his arms around Sugar Plum, but Marianne nodded for him to do so and Bog gave her a gentle hug as he said, "Oh, now. This supposed to be a happy thing, now. No crying."

Sugar Plum lifted her head up and said through her tears, "I am crying because I am happy. No one has given me anything like this before."

"Well, you always said, 'I owe you', so I hope this will be enough to pay back for all the years I kept you pent up in my dungeon."

Sugar Plum held Bog tighter as she muttered a tear laced, "Yes."

Marianne came over and rested her hand on Sugar Plum's back. After sobbing for a few more moments, Sugar Plum looked up and said, "Why are you so nice to me now. You were always so mean."

"Well, I owe you an apology too. So this whole suite is my way of saying, 'I'm sorry."

Sugar Plum held Bog's head in her hands and she said, "Never in a thousand years I pictured myself doing this."

Marianne's eyes grew wide as she saw her kiss Bog on the cheek and softly said, "Thank you very much."

Bog reached his hand up to where she kissed him and he had a bit of a stunned look on his face.

"I am really beginning to like this side of you, Bog, you have really turned out to be a good gentleman."

"Thank you. Well, Marianne and I will be off and you can have a good look around at the rest of the place."

"Thank you," She said again. "This place is so beautiful and I...I feel like a queen."

"Well, I am glad that you like it."

"Oh, I love it. When you see his majesty and Benny, please thank them for me as I know they must have had a hand in this too," she said as she floated on to the bed.

"That I will do."

Sugar Plum ran her hands along the silk sheets and said softly, "Oh, I am going to sleep well tonight in this bed."

Bog smiled at Marianne and then the two left Sugar Plum. As they left the bedroom, Marianne could see Sugar Plum leaning back into the large pillows on the bed. As they entered the living room, they could hear Sugar Plum shout, "Whoo Hooo! Yesss!"

Bog laughed as he said, "Well, I guess she likes it."

"Understatement, my love. Did you see her reaction?"

"Yes, I wasn't expecting her to kiss me, when in the past she mostly wanted to slap me," Bog explained.

Marianne laughed and said, "She had such an enamored look on her face, I was getting nervous as I thought she was going to kiss you square on the lips."

"I never thought that would be one person that would ever give me a kiss...I really wasn't very nice to her."

"Well, you made up for it in the end. Not even I knew that you made this suite so elaborate for her."

Just as they were ready to exit out to the balcony, Sugar Plum entered through the back curtains.

"Bog?" she called out.

"Yes?"

"If there is anything you need, a spell, a potion, help with a song, or anything, just let me know," She said. "I will make anything for you a priority."

Bog smiled and replied, "Okay. Thank you, That is nice to know, as I probably will take you up on that."

"Thank YOU. This place is wonderful!" she said before floating back behind the curtains.

Marianne could feel a very warm feeling building up inside of her as she said, "You really HAVE grown into a wonderful gentleman. And this...this is just another kind gesture that makes me so proud of you."

Bog smirked a little as Marianne drew closer. She then wrapped her arms around him and gave him a long hard kiss.

Two weeks later:

It was approaching mid September and Summer was starting to draw to a close. Bog had been seeing Marianne for two months now and the two have had shared many intimate moments together and things became easier for them the more they became close to one another. Marianne felt very fulfilled and she felt very good about herself and how things were going between Bog and herself. She would never be away from his side for long. Even though they did have their separate tasks and responsibilities to attend to, either they did them together or got together after the tasks were completed. Marianne showed Bog how things worked and ran in her kingdom and he did the same for her in regards to the Dark Forest.

As always Marianne found the Dark Forest fascinating and couldn't wait until she was with Bog to learn new things with him every day. But today was a special day for the long and arduous work on Bog's castle was finally completed and the rest of the goblins that stayed at the Fairy Kingdom palace were now able to move into their new permanent homes. Bog's and his mother's suites were the last to be completed. While a celebration was in order, everyone that worked on the castle was exhausted and King Dagda declared a mandatory rest period for a few days, for his men and also to give time to those settling into their new homes. Then there would be a huge gala 'housewarming' event was going to take place at Bog's new castle.

Coinciding with the completion of the castle, Dawn also delivered the dress that Bog wanted for Marianne. Bog was in Dawn's quarters when she showed him the completed dress. As Dawn held it up against her body for him to see, his eyes widened and he swallowed hard. He could easily envision Marianne in the dress.

"Whoa!" Bog exclaimed as he swallowed hard. "That looks amazing, better than you said it would."

"Thank you, but, really, it is you that came up with most of the design and I was just a go between. But, it's really the elves you need to thank as they put your ideas into the dress."

"Yes, please extend my thanks to them. It's perfect, she will look like an elegant queen and yet like a tough warrior at the same time. I think she will like it. I know I do," Bog said.

Dawn laughed and then she said, "Oh don't worry, she'll love it. This is very much up her alley. I wouldn't be surprised if she turns on the water works when she sees this."

"Do you really think she would cry over my giving her a dress?"

"Heck yeah! When you told me what you wanted to do, I almost cried!" Dawn exclaimed as she placed her hand on her chest. Then she spoke in a softer, more heartfelt tone. "Marianne never had anyone do something like this for her outside of her own family."

Bog held the dress in his hand feeling the soft silk material in his hands and he said, "I never felt this way about any woman before. I just have a strange unusual urge just to want to do nice things for her, because she's is always nice to me."

Dawn smiled and said, "That's because you really love her. I am very happy to hear you say that because I know you will never hurt her like the other guys did."

"No, Never, I can't. I...I never told anyone before, but there is a side to love that I didn't like very much at all," Bog said, but he immediately realized that he opened his mouth too far and said too much.

"Oh, what is that?"

Bog tried to get out of it and quickly replied, "Well, I really don't want to say."

"Oh come now. Now that you said something I want to know."

"No, I would rather not." Bog said.

"Please, Bog, I promise I will keep it between us," Dawn said assuringly.

Bog felt a bit unsure about expressing his feelings, but it just ended up coming out, he sighed and said, "Alright...The day the bird attacked and it had her in it's mouth, I felt this nasty crushing feeling in my chest and for a moment I thought everything in my life was going to come to an end. I tried my best to fly to her as fast as I could. It was then I realized how much a part of my life your sister has become to me. I don't want to know a day without her."

Suddenly Dawn lit up and said, "Awww! You were hurting inside for fear of loss. Oh, you love her very much. So from what you are saying, then the rumors I been hearing are true...You ARE going to marry Marianne, huh?"

"Rumors?" Bog's face grimaced as he muttered he then looked down and said, "...Mother! She probably told the whole darn kingdom by now."

"Well, are you?"

"It is too soon to say."

"Oh come now, with what you just told me, only someone who is really in love would say that."

The two went back and forth for a while, but then Bog, fed up with Dawn's badgering blurted out:

"Okay! Okay! Yes! I want her for my wife."

Dawn put an ear to ear grin on her face and she hopped up and down and said, "So does she know?"

"Yes, we talked about it briefly, though. That's all." Bog said. He lifted his finger to her and in a gruff tone said, "So don't you say anything, it stays here."

"Don't worry, I will not say anything. This is just very romantic and I know you are going to make my sister happy. I am happy!" Dawn said excitedly as she started to fold up the dress and put it back into it's box.

"Good. Its bad enough I got my mother spreading around rumors."

"But it isn't a rumor, by what you said, it's a fact."

"Dawn!" Bog growled as he shook his long finger at her. "You promised! Not a word to anyone!"

"Okay Okay. It stays here in this room," Dawn said as she put up her hands.

"Good," Bog said as he began to calm down and a smile returned to his face. He looked at the dress as Dawn packed it back up in the box he continued to say, "Thank you for doing this for me."

"You're welcome. She's going to be so happy!" Dawn exclaimed. She then paused and said, "I guess you are going to give it to her the night of the housewarming party?"

"Yes, I want her to wear it that evening and I want to dance with her while she's wearing it. Now, if you please, I need one more favor," He said as he held his finger up.

"Sure."

"When I am with her later, can you sneak it into my bedroom and slip it under my bed? I do want this to be a surprise."

"Of course," Dawn said.

Bog hesitantly and slowly put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a little hug, "Thank you, Dawn."

"Awww, Boggy you are so nice!" Dawn said and then threw her arms around his waist and pressed her head into his chest.

Bog suddenly felt very awkward and he was worried that if Marianne would show up that she would get the wrong idea and he started to let go. Dawn let go too.

"You're welcome!" She said.

Bog started to head out of her room. He turned one more time and said, "Oh, if you should need anything, just let me know and I will make it so."

"No, I am good, thank you."

Bog smiled and nodded as he left her room.

The next afternoon Bog spent most of the day helping his mother move in and get her suite straightened out. Griselda was so indecisive on where she wanted her things that in the end, Bog tossed up his hands and he ordered Brutus and two of his friends to help her out instead.

Bog decided to take a much needed break and at the moment the only person he wanted to be with was his beloved Marianne, but today she was helping her father at the castle. He took to wing and noted upon exiting his castle that the Dark Forest was unusually dark for the time of day. He looked up between the spaces in the high canopy overhead and noticed the sky was very gray, which meant it was overcast and more than likely it was going to rain. He decided to fly faster.

Upon reaching the end of the Dark Forest, his initial observations were confirmed, it indeed was VERY cloudy out. The clouds were moving very fast and the wind was picking up as well. 'Rain is near', Bog said softly to himself.

Rain was always a bad thing for fairies and goblins alike. Flying in the rain was nearly impossible as getting hit with one of the massive rain drops would certainly knock one out of the sky. In some cases heavy rain could even damage wings. The wind associated with a storm just added to the danger. It was usually best to stay indoors during a rainstorm, but Bog really wanted to see Marianne badly and a raincloud wasn't going to stop him. He poured on the speed, with his wings buzzing loudly as he flew faster. When he was halfway there, he could hear the rumbling of thunder and there were flashes of lightening towards a very dark patch of clouds that was approaching rapidly.

"Uh Oh...that doesn't look good," Bog said to himself aloud. "I better get a move on."

The wind started to pick up as well and Bog found he was flying straight into it. With every gust of wind, it blew him back considerably and each following gust grew stronger. Something big was coming and he had to get to the palace as fast as he could.

Bog flew faster yet. Even though he had made the trip dozens of times by now, because of the wind it seemed like it was taking forever to get to the palace this time. He still was making headway, but the dark ominous cloud was quickly closing in. He could see the lightning grow brighter and could hear the thunder grow louder. He could feel the droplets of mist in the air. He knew the sky was ready to open up.

Just as the palace was coming into sight, another gust of wind blew him off course.

"Blasted gusts of wind!" Bog shouted as he was starting to get out of breath from fighting the wind.

As he got back on course, the sky began to release the first few droplets of rain and one zoomed right past him. It was huge. His eyes widened and he gave every ounce of energy he had as he made a beeline for Marianne's window. But on his approach he found he had to keep an eye on the sky and dodge the huge droplets of water that zoomed down. Just as he headed for her balcony, another gust of wind came, but he grabbed a hold of her window frame and held fast until the gust passed. Then he climbed on to her balcony just as a large droplet of water hit the palace wall and dispersed around the sides of Marianne's window. Some of it landed on him. The wind blew the curtains into her room.

"Whew! Made it!" Bog said aloud panting between breaths

Suddenly, Marianne shouted from her bathroom, "Bog, is that you?"

"Yes, my dear, I'm here."

Marianne ran into her room and she had a surprised look on her face. Only half of her face had makeup on it. She was ready to hug Bog when she noticed the curtains came loose from the wind and she went over to the window and tied them back.

"Darn wind is really picking up!" She said and then turned to Bog. "I wasn't expecting you, I thought you were helping your mother move in."

"Yes, I did. But she couldn't make up her mind where she wanted her stuff and I was moving it here, then moving it there," Bog said as he made the moving motion with his hands. "Well, after about an hour of that, I got fed up. I let Brutus handle it and I flew off and wanted to come here to see you."

"Awww, that's sweet. Actually I wanted to come see you and perhaps help, but I saw the storm cloud coming and...Sheesh, you know you really took a chance coming out here! You know flying in the rain is dangerous!" Marianne exclaimed as she changed the subject mid sentence.

"I know. But I had you on my mind and I just flew here as fast as I could to beat the storm," Bog explained still breathing hard.

"Well, I am glad you made it," Marianne said as she slowly walked over to Bog.

She put her arms around his neck and brought her lips to his and the two gently kissed. Bog could feel Marianne gently circle her tongue around his mouth. He was about to do the same when she pulled back, raised her eyebrow and said, "I am so happy you are here."

Bog smiled, "Me too."

"Well, let me finish up with my makeup," she said as she slowly and seductively backed away from him and headed towards the bathroom door.

"You know you look fine without makeup. You don't have to go nuts with me. I like the look when you are in the water with your hair slicked back."

Marianne poked her head out of the bathroom door and said, "I can't walk around here like that, I just would feel naked and not fully dressed."

"Well, I still think you look good that way too."

She smiled and said, "Thank You."

Bog took a seat in the window sill as he waited for Marianne to finish in the bathroom. He watched as the huge drops of water plummeted to the ground. He waited for a while, but understood that Marianne just wanted to get her look right. The storm outside began to intensify and the sky became even more darker. It almost looked like it was dusk. As Marianne emerged from the bathroom, he looked to her face and his eyes widened as he slowly pulled himself back into the room and stood up.

Marianne looked very different. Her eye makeup was very similar to the night when she performed her song during Disco night with the extreme cat eye look. Her cheeks had a rosy red blush color to them. But the most significant change was that she she had combed her hair a different way. She still had the part over her right eye, but now it smoothly flowed back with one wave gracing over her left brow. Her hair had more volume now in the back forming a significant wedge shape. It curved down to her neck and flared out to the sides in curly wisps Once again, Marianne created a stunning look for herself and Bog just stood there completely speechless as he looked at his lady gazing back to him. Her efforts in the bathroom were certainly worth the wait. She was simply gorgeous and he could feel his heart pound in his chest.

He walked over to her, ran his hands down her arms and took her hands in his. He blurted out, "You're lovely, as always."

Marianne smiled and looked down and shifted her weight to one side as she said, "Awww, I was hoping you would like it."

"You're beautiful."

Her eyes then locked on to his and she drew nearer, put her arms around his neck and began to pucker her lips and close her eyes for a kiss. Just as their lips touched, they were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Damn! Why do we always get interrupted when we want to get close?!" Marianne asked as she clearly had a flustered, disappointed look in her face.

Marianne marched over to to the door with her hands clenched at her sides. She slammed her hand on the door lever and threw the door open angrily but still held it in her hand stopping it abruptly to keep it from slamming into the wall. Outside the door was Benny. Marianne glared at him as his eyes flew open wide as he said, a little out of breath, "Wow, your highness, you look great! Is there a special occasion or something I missed?"

She sneered at him and said, "No, I just decided to have a different look today."

Benny stuttered, "Wa...wa...well, I just meant it that you look good."

"Thank you, but what brings you here?"

"Oh, yes! Your father wants to see you at once, there is an emergency," Benny said as he shifted to one side, peered into the room and saw Bog standing nearby. "Oh, Your Majesty, I didn't know you were here, perhaps you should come down too."

Realizing the urgency of the situation, Marianne's face softened and the three of them took to flight and flew down the main hall and down the main stairway, but instead of turning down the main hall towards the throne room, Benny veered off down the adjacent corridor.

"Where is my dad?" Marianne inquired.

"He's with Rachel," Benny said.

Suddenly fearing the emergency had something to do with her father, Marianne's eyes grew wide and in a worried tone she said, "What's wrong with Dad?"

"Oh, I am sorry, Princess, I didn't mean to alarm you. He's fine...but while I was helping to prepare the castle for the storm outside, I spotted a butterfly fairy in trouble and she went down just outside the palace grounds, near the terrace. That's the emergency."

"She? Is she from the palace?"

"Yes, its a woman, but initially I didn't know this as she was too far away. However, when we went out to her, and I got a better look, I noticed it was a woman and her wing markings and skin color are unlike any I have seen before, so to answer your second question, no, she isn't from around here."

"You know going out in a storm is not allowed as you could put more lives at stake," Marianne said.

"Yes, but, luckily she came down close to the castle, before the storm built in intensity. I figured we could quickly go and get her to shelter. I did secure your father's permission to go out with a group of men with a flatbed to the scene to investigate and thus we were prepared to carry someone here if need be."

Marianne nodded in acknowledgement while Bog looked on with interest.

"When we found her, her wings were damaged very badly and she was waterlogged and suffered minor injuries as she must have flew through the high grass and brush before crashing. She didn't speak much, but what came out was not clear at first. I figured she might have more severe injuries and that we have to get her to Rachel so she could assess her condition. So we carefully helped her onto the flatbed and she thanked me. She spoke with a heavy accent."

"An accent?" Marianne asked.

"Yes, that is also how I know she must be far off from where she lives," Benny explained. "We just made it back in time when the sky opened up. Dawn greeted us at the gate and sent us to the infirmary. She went to get your father and instructed me to get you."

The three of them approached and flew into the infirmary. Benny stood in the doorway and said, "If I am not needed at this time, I will return to my duties, Princess."

"Yes, please do. Thank you, you are dismissed." Marianne said.

Benny nodded and then flew off.

Bog looked around the room and so far Rachel was the only person present. The King and Dawn didn't arrive yet. Rachel greeted them and bowed, "Good afternoon your highnesses."

"Good Afternoon," Marianne and Bog said together.

They looked to one another and smiled at their synchronism.

"I am assuming you come to see our new arrival," Rachel said.

Marianne nodded and Rachel took Marianne and Bog around the curtain when Dawn and her father showed up and joined them.

"Oh, Bog, what a surprise, I didn't know you were here too," King Dagda said.

"I flew in to see Marianne just before the storm hit," Bog replied.

"Very well," King Dagda said as he turned to Marianne and continued, "I am assuming Benny filled you in to what is going on?"

"Yes, Dad."

"Good good," The king then turned to Rachel and continued, "I brought Dawn with me in the event you need her assistance."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, I might...this fairy is certainly is very different from us," Rachel said as she pulled the leaf curtain aside.

"Goodness Gracious!" King Dagda immediately said as he looked at the woman lying on the bed.

Bog looked at the expression on the King's face and he looked very surprised. Bog said, "What's wrong? You have a very surprised look on your face."

"Yes, this IS a surprise. I have never seen a Black Swallowtail fairy before," King Dagda replied.

"You know her species?" Rachel asked the king.

"No, not directly, but I have heard of them. I heard they live in far off lands south of here...on the islands."

All of them got a good look at the woman that was lying in the bed.

The woman that lay before them was clearly very different in appearance in comparison to the other fairies in the kingdom. Most notably, her skin was much darker in color, more of a golden brown than the pinkish white skin of the fairies in the kingdom. She had very large wings that were draped over the edge of the bed. They were predominately black with yellowish-white spots on the edges of her wings. Fanning out from the center of her exposed hind wing, the spots were elongated and were sky blue in color. At the bottom of her hind wing, she had a very long tail. It was nearly twice as long as Marianne's tail and she had the longest tails in the kingdom. It was so long it touched the floor.

Bog looked to her face and noted that she was an older woman, certainly older than any of the other woman at the palace. Her hair was silver in color and was very kinky and was longer and bushier than most of the women at the palace. She had an uneven part and most of her hair fell to one side of her face, partially draping over her right eye. Her ears were very long and curvy. Her skin was loose and had wrinkles, especially around the eyes and mouth. Her neck also had looser looking skin, particularly around her throat. Bog figured she was probably close in age to King Dagda as he had similar wrinkles in the same areas. Her body shape was very different too...unlike the pencil straight figures that most of the woman had at the palace, her figure was very curvy, even more curvy than Marianne's figure. She had wide hips with large, solid looking legs and her arms had some thickness to them. Size wise they were similar to Marianne's arms. They weren't as muscular but she did have a bit of an indentation in her upper arm right at the base of her shoulders. Her forearms were very wide at the elbows and they tapered down to a small wrist. They looked very strong for an older woman. Her hands were very dainty and small, but she had very long fingers. Bog surmised that she probably did have a very muscular body at one time, much like Marianne's body. Surprisingly the skin on most of her body seemed more taught with very few wrinkles. If she was around King Dagda's age, she certainly still had a nice looking body. Her stomach was bare and very concaved as it looked like she hasn't eaten much in the past few days.

Bog looked to her wings and while they initially looked very beautiful, upon looking closer, he could see numerous holes and tears in both her left fore and hind wings. Dawn walked to the other side of the bed where Rachel was and she touched the woman's hair as she looked at her face and touched it.

"Her skin is so soft as well. I can't wait until she opens her eyes, I bet they are beautiful too. She's very pretty."

Rachel looked to her face and said, "Yes, she does have a pretty face. I love those lips of hers."

Bog looked to her lips and they were very full, more so than any of the other fairies. Perhaps a little too full. He always thought Marianne's lips were nice and full, but this woman's lips were even more so, especially her lower lip. The red of her lips melded into the the brown of her skin at their edges and her lips had a purplish tinge to it, very similar in color to Marianne's lips.

He started to look down her neck and towards her chest. Her chest area definitely was larger than most of the other women and this curved down to her waist and flared out to her wide hips, very much an hourglass shape. She was wearing a predominately green, gold and brown outfit. Her top appeared to be hand made from leaves, hides and thin vines. The top left much of her upper chest and neckline exposed. Two large leaves formed a 'V' shaped neckline that fanned out over her shoulders and came to a point at the middle of her abdomen just to her navel. The sides of her abdomen were exposed. A light brown panel made from an animal hide bridged the middle of the area of her chest, covering up the breast area. The panel had beaded details sewn into it, giving the outfit a bit of color.

Continuing down, the skirt she was wearing was also made from leaves with two large ones overlapping and creating a notch in the middle with the sides extending downward over the sides of her legs. The edges were very jagged and uneven, suggesting that the skirt might have been longer, at one point, but was now torn off and stopped at her knees. She wore a thick vine around her waist for a belt and row of beads hung down from the belt. Many of the beaded strands looked like they were missing or torn off.

Overall, her clothes were very dirty and worn. There were small holes here and there and a few tears too. While it was once a beautifully made outfit, it certainly has seen better days as it was starting to fall apart.

Her lower legs were bare and she had very pronounced calves. Her feet, while dainty, were callused and dirty, indicating she was on her feet a lot. Both her fingernails and toe nails were long and in need of grooming.

Rachel reached over and ran her hand over her curvy waist. She sighed and said, "I wish I had hips like her, she has such a nice figure."

King Dagda's eyes were also looking at her hips when suddenly he shook his head and came to saying, "Uhhhhh, Rachel, dear, you are beautiful as you are."

"Thank you, your Majesty. It is just that she is so different and so pretty. I like her features."

"Do you have an assessment already?" he asked.

"Not completely, but I have noted some obvious problems," Rachel said as she lifted the woman's right side wings. Her forewing was broken at the leading edge and Rachel raised her right hind wing or what was left of it to show the king. A good part of it was missing and what was left was completely torn up. Rachel continued, "As you can see, this wing is almost gone, her forewing on this side is also broken at the leading edge and her left wings have numerous holes in them."

"Do you think she can still fly?" The King asked.

"No, not with this much damage," Rachel said.

"Can you repair her wings?" He asked.

Rachel shook her head and said, "I don't think so, Your Majesty. "

Bog raised his finger and said, "Wait, wait. I remember when we got through the bird attack, you mentioned you could fix the holes in my wings. So couldn't you fix hers?"

"Yes, that is correct, your highness. I been working with a material called chitin, which is what wings are made from. I think with it, I might be able to heal large holes and even missing parts of wings, but it is too soon to tell. I have never repaired this much damage before. Unlike the much smaller holes in your wings, your highness, she's got many problems here. In addition, repairing wings is not like healing flesh wounds, it is much harder to do and very strenuous on me. But to answer your question, yes, I believe I can repair the holes and I could possibly fix the break in her forewing, but her right hind wing is practically gone. That is too much material that is missing," Rachel said. She shook her head and put her hand behind her neck. She started to get a very worried look on her face as she continued to say, "Sorry, but unless a better solution presents itself, I don't think she will fly again. But I will see what I can do."

King Dagda said, "Very good, Rachel, that's all I can ask for is that you try. Now, how about the rest of her condition?"

"Well, outside of some minor cuts and bruises and the fact that it looks like she hasn't eaten much for a while, the rest of her looks pretty good."

"Do you think you can awaken her? I would like to know a bit more about our patient," the king asked.

"Sure. I was going to do that just before you came in as she could possibly tell me more about her condition," Rachel said.

She pointed to Dawn and she nodded. Dawn reached around and opened a cabinet behind her and reached for a small bottle. She opened the bottle and waved it under the woman's nose.

The woman started to come too and moved her head side to side and she moaned a bit. She scrunched her nose and then opened her eyes. Bog noticed her eyes were a golden brown similar to Marianne's, but a darker shade.

Her eyes locked on to his and they instantly widened. She quickly shimmied up to the top of the bed almost in a crouching position getting into a defensive stance, putting both her hands up in front of her face. She and started to mutter something in another language, as she partially opened her wings. Everyone could now see how badly damaged they were.

Bog muttered under his breath to Marianne, "Figures, another one that thinks I am a monster."

"Bog, stop saying things like that. You are not a monster...not in my eyes anyway," Marianne explained and she took his hand in hers and in a proud manner lifted her chine and pushed herself into his chest.

Bog liked the feeling as she nestled her body into his and he smiled as it felt good having her close to him.

"Easy, easy! You are safe here in the palace, no one is going to hurt you," King Dagda said as he patted his hands down. He then extended his left hand to Bog and said, "This is the Bog King and he is a friend. He will not harm you."

The woman looked at the Bog and her eyes shifted to Marianne and how she was holding Bog's hand and leaning close to him. She put her arms down and muttered in a thick island accent, "K...K...King? P..p..palace? You speak English?"

"Yes," King Dagda said.

Her voice was a very low register for a woman, a contra-alto, which put her in a lower register than Marianne. She had a very smooth sounding soft voice that was pleasing to the ear.

She began to frantically look around patting the bed sheets.

"What are you looking for?" Rachel asked.

"Where's my weapon?"

"Weapon?" King Dagda questioned. "It isn't here, you don't need it, you are safe here."

The woman stopped looking around and she narrowed her eyes as she looked to the crown on King Dagda's head?"

She pointed to him and then to Bog and said, "You say, he a king, but you have a crown on your head."

"Yes, that requires an explanation. We are both kings. I am the King of the Fairy Kingdom and Bog here is the King of the Dark Forest which is adjacent to my kingdom. The woman with him is my first born daughter, Princess Marianne, and the woman standing to your right is my other daughter, Princess Dawn," King Dadga said as he pointed to everyone in turn. "Finally the woman next to Dawn is Rachel. She is our healer." The woman's eyes followed King Dagda's hand as he introduced everyone.

"What is your name?" he then asked.

The woman started to calm down and she placed her hand on her chest and bowed to King Dagda saying, "I...Yara... of Rose Island, Your Majesty."

Bog mouthed the words, 'Rose Island' as it was a place he was not familiar with and he looked to King Dagda. He shook his head indicating he too wasn't familiar with the location. He then turned back to Yara.

"Welcome, Yara of Rose Island, to the Fairy Kingdom," King Dadga said as he extended his hand to her. At first she hesitated, but then she extended her hand slightly. He took her hand in his and gave her a gentle kiss on her hand.

She looked down to her hand and then to him and as he withdrew, she cracked a small smile and asked, "Is Dis Bahamas?"

It was apparent that with her island accent, she had trouble with the 'Th' sound and pronounced it as a 'D' or at the end of sentence with a straight 'T' sound.

"The Bahamas?" The King said in a shocked tone. "No, you are way off from the Bahamas. This is America, the mainland."

Suddenly Yara jumped out of the right side of the bed and stood in between Rachel and Dawn. Since this was the first time everyone saw her standing they could see that she was about average height, about the same height as Marianne.

She faced everyone and blurted out in a shocked tone, "What?! ...America?! Dat can't be! I couldn't have flown dat far. Impossible. You not tell Yara the trut!"

"Yes. Impossible as it may seem, it is true, you are in America. The Everglades to be precise."

"Everglades?" Yara repeated as if in a daze.

Suddenly she began to lose her composure as her chin wrinkled and her lip quivered. Her eyes started to well up and even though it looked like she was fighting to hold back her tears, Bog could tell she was going to cry.

She turned to face the wall, and put her hand over her mouth. Tears started to fall from her eyes.

Dawn reached over and placed her hand on Yara's shoulder and said, "Hey, easy now. You are safe among friends. I guess you been through a lot, have you?"

Yara turned into Dawn's arms as she turned her head sideways to face everyone.

"Yes, Yara lose everything. My home gone...Uracan, a nasty spinning storm take my home and most of my people away. Woosh! Big wave come, everyone gone. Island no more, all under water.

Everyone's eyes widened and Dawn's father said, "You mean a hurricane?"

Yara nodded her head and said, "Yes, I didn't know the English word for it."

"You were the only one to escape?" Bog asked.

"No, Your Majesty, I escape with four. We tried to make for Bahamas, but I flew off and too far. Dree men and one woman, my very best people and I lost dem one by one until only Yara left. Now I am Queen of notting," Yara explained.

"You're a queen?" Marianne asked.

"Yes, I was queen of my land before it was destroyed."

Everyone stood in silence hanging their head low after hearing Yara's story. Bog could see a tear roll down Yara's cheek. He reached over to a small tray that was on a counter which had a stack of leaves in it. He gave her the leaf to wipe her tears.

"I'm sorry." Bog said.

"Thank you," Yara said. "You seem to be kind people. I am not used to kindness. Ever since the Uracan, all I have endured is hurt, pain and very mean people.

"Mean people?" King Dagda asked.

"Yes, this isn't first stop for Yara. I was someplace before and met bad people that hurt me and killed my servant. He sacrificed himself so I could get away."

Again everyone looked to Yara. King Dagda had an especially shocked look on his face as he put his hand over his mouth for a moment. He then pulled his hand away so he could speak.

"Can you tell me what happened?" He asked.

"Please, King of Fairies, I wish not to talk about it now. Perhaps another time, Yara tell you. I am very tired, and I hurt."

King Dagda nodded and said, "I understand."

Yara knelt in the bed, and fully opened her wings. Everyone's eyes widened at the sheer width of Yara's wings...clearly wider than anyone's, but they were in bad shape."

Oh, my wings! What has happened to them?" She said as she looked to her wings in horror. She then looked to Rachel and said, "Medicine Woman Rachel, please say you can fix them and I will fly again?"

Rachel replied, "You crash landed into high grass near the palace terrace. As for repairing your wings, it's hard to say. I have never done a repair this big before. A good portion of one of your wings is gone and I doubt I can replace that much material through healing alone."

"So Yara will not fly anymore?" she asked.

Rachel started to loose her composure and her chin began to wrinkle as she was nearly to tears herself. She softly answered, "I don't know, it is too soon to tell. I have to run more tests."

Yara folded her wings as she sat down on the edge of the bed. She began to bury her face in her hands and cry.

Dawn put an arm around both Yara and Rachel to comfort them.

King Dadga's face softened and turned a bit red. He said to everyone, "I believe our guest has been through quite a bit. Let's get her cleaned up and into fresh clothes and let her rest for a while. Tonight we will prepare her a nice dinner."

Yara's eyes widened and she said, "You are too kind your Majesty, but you don't have to go out of your way for me. I am fine with a little something to eat here. Besides I am in no shape to be around a lot of people."

The King smiled and said, "Understood, how about I set up something more cozy, with just everyone here in this room?"

Yara nodded her head in agreement. She then looked down to what she was wearing and said, "Yara not look good for dinner."

"No worries, we will take care of that," he said and then turned to his daughter, "Dawn?"

"Yes Dad?"

"Take her measurements and find a nice gown in storage that would suit our guest," the King instructed.

"Gown?" Yara questioned as she jumped to her feet again.

"Yes, I see yours is ruined from your long trip, so I going to replace it for you," King Dagda said.

Yara suddenly started to feel a bit faint. Dawn reached out and steadied her. Yara looked to the king and she said, "Thank you, Your Majesty...But you don't..."

She was about to say something else, but suddenly her knees began to buckle. Dawn and Rachel gently guided her into to the bed.

As Dawn helped her into the bed, Yara ran her right hand along the side of her dress, and she said, "Your dress, Princess Dawn, it is made of such a beautiful material. I like the way it feels."

"Thank you. It's made from silk."

She smiled as still held on to the skirt of Dawn's dress and said in a dazed tone, "Sssssi...Seelk."

Rachel said, "Uhhh, Your Majesty, I don't think dinner can wait, she needs something to eat now."

"Indeed, Rachel." He said he then turned to Marianne and said, "Marianne, have a servant bring in a bowl of fruits and nuts and also something to drink."

Bog released Marianne and she left the room while Dawn assisted Yara in propping up pillows behind her back so she sat upright in the bed.

King Dagda then announced, "Alright, let's all leave her in Rachel's care for now."

Bog and everyone else nodded in agreement and proceeded to leave the room. Only Rachel remained behind.

Rachel said, "Ok, your highness, First I will attend to your wounds, by then someone should be by with something to eat and afterwards, I will help get you cleaned up. Alright?"

Yara nodded her head in acknowledgement as she said, "Okay, Madame Rachel. But just call me Yara."

Rachel lifted Yara's arm and said, "Ok. Now this might sting a bit."

She nodded again.

Rachel touched one of her wounds with her fingertips. She closed her eyes for a moment and a purplish glow formed around the wound and it slowly sealed itself up.

Yara's face scrunched up a bit from the slight pain, but when her wound sealed up, her face lit up as she said, "Oooo! You heal like Shakira!"

"Oh, was Shakira your healer back home?" Rachel asked excitedly.

"Yes, and she our Medicine Woman. She also was with me when we escaped our island. But now Shakira no more. Gone. Died."

"I'm so sorry."

"Yes, so am I. She was also my life long friend. Yara not know what I do without Shakira. She fix me when I don't feel good. She talk to me when I am down. Now, she gone."

Yara hung her head low while Rachel tended to her other wounds. But when she was finished she started to dwell on what Yara said and the amount of loss she had to deal with. Rachel once again could feel her tears well up and she suddenly threw her arms around Yara and began to cry.

"Oh! Why you cry, Madame Rachel?" Yara asked.

"I can only imagine what you have been through and that thought is crushing me inside. I'm so sorry for your loss."

Yara patted Rachel on the back and said, "Awww, no need to be sorry. Not your fault. But, you are a very kind woman. It has been a long time since I have felt the embrace of another. The one called Princess Dawn is also very kind. I like her. She's very beautiful."

"Yes, she is. Not only is she the king's daughter, but she is also my helper," Rachel said. Then her voice softened and she moved closer to Yara's ear as she said, "I don't care how hard, how long or what it takes, I will do my best to see that you fly again."

Yara looked to her arms and legs as they were all healed now and she said, "Thank you, dear Rachel. You do beautiful work, like Shakira. As for my wings...well, all I can do is hope now."

"Well, let's see if we can get those hopes up a little higher. I am going to try to fix some of the issues with your wings now." Rachel said. "Are you up for it?"

"Okay"

Rachel assisted Yara out of the bed and said, "Ok open up your wings fully and I will do the rest."

Rachel's eyes widened as she stood behind Yara as she opened her wings. Her wings were huge, possibly even larger than Marianne's. Since her right wings were in worse shape than the left, Rachel started on one of the larger holes in her forewing. It was a hole that ended in a tear. She reached for a small container on the counter, opened it up and used a small applicator to spread the nearly clear material along the edges of the hole."

Yara asked, "What is that stuff?"

"It's chitin. It is a protein that is found in wings. It will help me close up the larger holes and tears in your wings."

"Oh"

"As with healing your wounds, you probably will feel some pain."

"Alright, I am ready."

Rachel placed her hand over the hole and a purple glow formed around the area. The glow was much larger and brighter than when she was healing Yara's bodily wounds. Slowly the wing material began to generate and grow and slowly the hole started to close up. Yara closed her eyes and clenched the bedsheet. Rachel could see that she was in pain. She could feel the drain on her body but she managed to seal up the hole and the area looked good. When she was done, she was breathing pretty hard. Both Rachel and Yara looked at the area and smiled.

Feeling optimistic and encouraged, Rachel decided to take on a larger repair and she aimed for Yara's broken forewing. She took a hold of the edge of her forewing and held it back in it's place.

She looked to her and said, "This is going to hurt more than fixing the hole."

"Okay, Madame Rachel, I am ready."

Rachel reached over and grabbed a twig that was in a container on the counter and she said, "Here bite down on this."

Yara complied and took the twig in to her mouth.

Rachel put her hands on the break and closed her eyes. The area around her wing began to glow, but this time the glow was much larger and brighter than when she was healing other wounds. Unlike those wounds, this was big job and Rachel could feel the force of her healing power draining her. She was even wondering if she would be able to take care of the holes before she needed to rest.

As the glow increased, she could see Yara's facial expression change as she clenched her eyes closed and she began to grunt through her teeth which were gripping the twig tightly. Her hands also clenched onto the bed sheet.

"Uhhhhghhh! Uhhhhghh!"

Rachel knew that she couldn't stop despite the pain, she had to complete the job. She increased her concentration and could see the wing slowly healing.

The pain was obviously increasing and Yara leaned against the bed. She shook her head side to side. She was biting down so hard on the twig that it started to splinter.

"Uhhhhhhgghhhhh!" Yara called out through her teeth. Finally the twig snapped from the pressure of her teeth biting down on it.

Rachel's eyes widened as she figured Yara must be in tremendous pain, but she couldn't break her concentration, so she continued to focus on the job at hand.'

Yara's knees began to give out and she was kneeling on the bed. She twisted the bed sheet and her long fingernails began to puncture it as she shouted, "Please, Rachel...the pain!"

"I am sorry, just a few more moments and it will be done."

She scrunched her face up tightly, and Rachel could see that she was starting to breath hard. She could feel that all the tissue formed solidly in Yara's wing and she was nearing completion. When she was done, she removed her hands from her wing, but then she suddenly became faint and sat down on the bed. She looked to Yara as she began to move her wing and examine the job Rachel did.

Yara was breathing hard herself as she said, "My, my, young Rachel, you do beautiful work! Wing is good as new! No more pain!"

Rachel was out of breath as she said, "Thank you."

Yara turned around and wanted to hug and thank Rachel when she noticed she was out of breath and very pale.

"Are you Ok?"

"Yes, it was just a large repair and the bigger the healing job, the more it takes out of me."

"Then you must stop now."

"No, I will just rest a bit, but I want to take care of some more of the holes you look good tonight."

Yara reached forward and placed her hands on Rachel's shoulders. She said, "Madame Rachel, you look exhausted. Please, rest, don't go crazy for Yara, it not safe. You do more after you rest. You have done more than enough to make me look good. You fix my forewing. Thank You.

Just then Marianne ran into the room with a bowl of fruits and nuts and a cup of water.

"My goodness, Yara, I am so sorry. I got side tracked and I couldn't find a servant, so I went to the kitchen myself and...", Marianne said to Yara, but then stopped in mid sentence when she noticed Rachel sitting on the bed breathing hard.

"Rachel, what's happened? You look pale."

"I healed all of Yara's wounds, fixed the break in her wing and one of the larger holes, but I am afraid it took a bit too much out of me. I just need a bit of rest before I fix the other holes and tears."

"Rachel, you look like you are done for today. Don't do any more," Marianne said.

"That is what I try to tell her, she needs rest now." Yara said as she turned and opened her wings in front of Marianne. "She do a beautiful job."

"Wow! They look much better already!" Marianne exclaimed.

"I wanted to get her cleaned up and give her clean clothes so she can rest before dinner, that is what your father told me to do."

"You've done enough. You get some rest now. I will take care of Yara."

"Are you sure, your highness?"

"Yes, now go on."

"Oh, Thank you," Rachel said as she started for the door. She turned to Yara and said, "I will talk to you later at dinner

Yara smiled and said, "Thank you very much Madame Rachel for fixing me up."

"You're Welcome," Rachel said as she staggered out the door.

Marianne looked to the door as she put the bowl of fruit down on the table next to Yara's bed and paying half attention, she said, "Here you go."

She was concerned about Rachel and she flew into the hallway and noticed that Rachel was walking dragging her shoulder against the wall, in much the same manner an inebriated person would.

"Rachel!" she shouted.

She turned around and said, "Huh? Yes, Your highness?"

"Are you sure you are OK. Do you need my help?"

"No, No, I am fine. I just have to get to my room and lie down for a bit."

"Okay, ummm, since it is late already, I am going to tell my dad to have dinner later so you and Yara can rest up."

"Yes, that will be nice," Rachel said before she turned and staggered down the hall.

When Marianne walked back into the room her eyes grew wide at what she saw. Yara was hunched over the bowl of fruit and began stuffing pieces of the cut apples, pears and some of the nuts into her mouth. The juices from the fruit started to run down her neck.

"Mmmmmmm," she exclaimed as she kept popping the fruit pieces in her mouth.

At first she didn't look up and Marianne tried hard not to stare, but she couldn't help but wonder how long Yara must have went without food. She also wondered how she even made it flying across the ocean from some far distant island. It was amazing that she was still alive. But Marianne could tell that she was a strong woman as her build actually on par with hers. Also like herself, she had very large wings.

After a while, she suddenly stopped eating and looked straight at Marianne and then she noticed the juices that were running from her mouth and down her neck.

"Oh my! Your highness, I am sorry. I am not minding my manners."

"It's OK, sometimes when no one is looking I eat with my fingers too," Marianne said.

She tried to force a laugh, but couldn't as Yara's condition was no laughing matter. But Yara did smile and then, more elegantly took another piece of apple in her fingers and put it in her mouth in a graceful manner.

She said in her deep accent, "There that's better. More like a queen should be eating."

Marianne smiled and said, "I understand what you been through, so it is fine. But perhaps I should leave you be and let you finish eating in private."

"No, please stay."

"Ok, if you want me too."

There was a brief silence as Yara continued to eat and Marianne just stood there. After a while she started to feel uncomfortable. She knew Bog was waiting for her and she wanted to get back to him. She was ready to make up some excuse to leave when Yara began to speak.

"So there are no Black Swallowtail Fairies here?" Yara said.

"No, in fact none of us has ever seen another like you, but it sounds like my dad is aware of your people's existence.

Yara hung her head low again as she said, "I must look so...different to your people."

"Yes, but I think you are a very pretty woman," Marianne said. "And I am rather different too."

Yara said, "Thank you, but you are the pretty one here, my dear. You are young. My beauty has gone passed me now, and I fear I must look old in the eyes of young people. But...I used to be pretty too when I was about your age."

"No, that isn't true, I am being honest about what I said. You are still pretty. I love your hair, I think silver is a beautiful hair color. My Dad's hair is silver and I find his hair rather attractive. Your skin is so dark, I could only wish I could get that tan in the sun. But most of us don't tan. I am one of the fortunate few that does, but only very little. I could never get as dark as you."

"Thank you for your kind words, but this isn't a tan, it is my skin's permanent color. I am Black Swallowtail and we all have skin like this. Some of us are lighter and some are even darker than me, but we all have dark brown skin."

"How many of there were you on your island?"

"About one hundred fifty were under my rule."

"Oh my goodness, your kingdom was much larger than ours. They were all lost?"

"Yes."

"I'm so sorry."

"Thank you.

There was silence again for a few moments before Yara spoke again.

"So, I want to ask you, the other, Bog King, I saw how you and him were together. Are you and him close?"

"Yes, he is my boyfriend."

Yara's eyes widened as she said, "Really?"

"I know it might seem strange match, but I assure you that he is a gentleman in every way."

"Well, when I start to cry, he was very fast to offer me something to wipe my tears. I did like that."

"I know he is very unqiue and his looks are very strong and intimidating, but he does have a great personality and well, even though it wasn't love at first sight, I found that we had quite a bit in common and we actually started to fall in love with each other on the very night we met. Also, that same night, he put himself in harms way to save my sister and I and I will never forget that."

"Do you find him attractive?"

"Again, not initially, but once I found out what a good gentleman he is and, well, he treats me like no other man has before him. He treats me like a lady, then yeah, I slowly saw some attractive qualities in him. He started looking better and really cool to me. He continued to look better and better to me. I really can't totally explain it, but yeah, now I am completely attracted to him."

"You are a unique woman, Princess Marianne," Yara said. "You put personality before appearance and know that true beauty comes from within. Very few like you in this world."

"Well, I have been told many times before that I am different and unique."

Yara popped the last piece of nut in her mouth as she completely cleaned the bowl.

"Hmmmm, that was good."

"Do you want more? I can get you another bowl." Marianne asked.

"No I am good for now, thank you. I will wait for dinner."

"Okay, I will put up a bath for you while you rest a bit."

Marianne walked over to the closet and brought out a night dress, and some cleaning supplies.

"Well, this night dress isn't much or anything fancy, but it is clean."

Yara's eyes widened as she slowly took the garment from Marianne and she held it to her nose and inhaled deeply.

"Ohhhhh, it feels so smooth, like your sister's dress! Is it Seeelk too.?"

"Yes, it is made of silk too," Marianne corrected.

"It feels wonderful and smells nice."

"I guess you haven't worn clean clothes in a while either."

"No, Princess. I have not changed for nearly two weeks. All I own is what I am wearing now."

She looked to her outfit and said, "It's a nice outfit."

"It WAS a nice outfit. It now ruined."

Marianne sat down on the bed and ran her fingers along one of the large leaves that fanned out over Yara's shoulder and said, "Perhaps I could fix it for you. I am pretty good with making my own clothes. In fact I made what I am wearing now."

"Ohhhhh, you do! So you are talented, young princess."

"Yeah, I have a few talents under my belt: Seamstress, cook, boat captain, and I am pretty good with a sword too."

Yara's eyes grew wide as she said in a surprised tone, "You warrior woman, too?"

"Yes, why you also can fight?"

"Yes, I ask for my weapon before, remember?"

"Oh yeah. What do you fight with?"

"Bow and Arrow. Very good shot too!"

"I'd like to see you fight one day when you are feeling better."

"As I you. Very rare to see a woman choose a sword for battle. That is why you have nice strong arms," Yara said as she reached out an squeezed Marianne's upper arms. Are you only woman built like this?"

"Yeah, I am the only woman that fights and my arms got really big when was training myself."

Yara brought her arm close to Marianne's and her arms were a little thicker than Marianne's, but not as lean and muscular looking. Yara's forearms were also a little wider, particularly at the elbow and then her arm tapered down to a pair of dainty hands with long fingers. She said, "I get large arms from practicing fighting too. I never stopped practicing even when I was queen. All the men like my arms. My wings very strong too. I could pick up and fly off with some of the men too. I might be old, but I am strong woman," Yara explained as she made a fist and hit her own chest with it. Marianne couldn't help but smile in that Yara was much like herself and they had a common interest.

Suddenly she realized that she left Bog alone for quite a while and she still had to get Yara cleaned up. She quickly shot up and ran towards the bathroom.

She turned to Yara and said, "I will get your bath ready for you."

"Princess, you working? Don't you have servants?"

"Yeah, but I can handle this myself. I warrior woman!" Marianne said as now she made a fist and hit her own chest. "All I have to do is just turn a couple of faucets."

The two women laughed as Marianne went into the bathroom. The bathroom was slightly smaller than a typical royal bathroom in the palace since it was just the infirmary bathroom. But the tub was recessed into the floor and it was large enough to fit three people. The room was ornately decorated.

Marianne figured that Yara probably never had a bubble bath before and she poured some bubble fluid into the tub as she turned on the water. More than likely she never had a hot bath either and so she grabbed the lever next to the tub and pumped up the heat. She made the water very warm. It made Marianne wonder what life was like on her island. How she lived, where did she take a bath? Did she live civilized or more like in a tribe? It seemed like she had servants in lieu of her question earlier. Did she hunt her own food? That could explain her warrior nature. But being on an island, perhaps everyone in her village was a warrior?

There were many questions that were running through Marianne's mind.

When the tub was filled up she went back into the room and lead Yara into the bathroom.

"Oh my! What a beautiful bath-house," Yara said as she looked around.

"Thank you. My father is a connoisseur of bathrooms and as such, every one in the palace is very elaborate. All of them have large tubs that are heated."

"Really! Yara gets a hot bath tonight?"

"Sure. Have you had a hot bath before?"

"Of course, Princess Marianne. I always had a hot bath at home...It is only recently I bathe in cold water...if I got a chance to bathe."

"How did you heat your water at home?"

"I had private hot spring! Always hot, all the time. Built bath house over part of spring."

"Ohhhhh," Marianne said.

Well that answered that question, she thought to herself. Still she was curious to learn more about their new guest.

Suddenly Yara yelled out, "Oh Weeee, bubbles in the tub! Now THAT I never had before."

She stepped down into the tub, clothes and all.

"Ummm, I was going to excuse myself so you can get undressed," Marianne said.

"No need to. Bubbles cover Yara."

It looked like she was shuffling around with something as only her head poked above the bubbles. Then moments later, she plopped her wet clothes on the side of the tub and said, "Also, we are both women."

Marianne nodded in agreement as she collected Yara's clothes and put them in a hamper to be cleaned. She then hung up towels for Yara to dry herself off when she was done.

Yara crossed her arms over the edge of the tub and rested her head on them and said, "This is beautiful. Princess Marianne, please come in and join me."

"Oh, perhaps another time. I washed this afternoon already," Marianne said.

"Okay, suit yourself." she said. She noticed the vial of soap and a towel which were on the ledge and she grabbed them and disappeared into the bubbles.

"I will be in the next room, just give me a shout if you need something."

"Alright, but I warn you I might be in here for a while," then she yelled out, "Weeee! Oh, you not know what you miss, Princess. Yara like!"

Marianne laughed as she exited the bathroom. She figured she may as well quickly go check on Bog and then come back down to Yara before she was even finished bathing. She exited the door opened her wings and proceeded to fly down the hall. When she flew around the corner she flew right into someone and fell right on her bum.

"Oooof!" She exclaimed as they both fell to the floor.

She was ready to utter a four letter obscenity, when she looked up and saw it was Bog she crashed into.

Bog sat up and looked to her and yelled out, "Marianne! What on earth is going on? I been waiting for you upstairs. You were gone for almost an hour. I thought you were only getting a bowl of fruit for Yara."

"Yeah, I was doing that, but when I returned to the infirmary, I saw that Rachel wasn't feeling well. She over exerted herself in healing Yara's wings and other wounds. So I told her to rest and I just took her place in taking care of Yara."

"Well it would have been nice to know that. Here I am looking all over the palace for you and no one knows where you are. Everyone thought you were with me."

"I'm sorry, it is just that there aren't any servants in this wing right now and our guest needed my assistance."

Bog craned his neck to look passed Marianne towards the infirmary.

"Where is she?"

"Oh she is taking a bath right now. I figured while she was in there I would quickly fly up to you to let you know what is going on."

Bog got to his feet and then extended a hand to Marianne and helped her up.

"Thank you, my love," she said.

Bog's face became softer and he said, "Well, when you are done, I will be waiting for you in your room."

"I might be a bit. When she comes out I just want to set her up with a night gown and see her into bed. Then we can be together until dinner."

He nodded and then said, "I can send some servants down to help finish up with her?"

"No, don't. I have already come this far with her, I just think it is more personal this way and I don't want to stress her out by throwing all different people at her. Besides, if she is comfortable with me, maybe she will tell me more about herself."

"Ok, at least I know where you are. I will just go up and get some shut eye for a while."

"If you pass my sister on the way up, please let her know she has to measure Yara out before she goes to sleep."

Bog snapped his fingers and said, "Oh! Yes, I bumped into her on the way down and she had a dress with her.

"Oh, that means she must have picked one out already."

"I will let her know if I see her again, but I think she is on it already," Bog said.

"Ok, Thank you." Marianne said as she quickly threw her arms around Bog's neck and planted a firm kiss on his lips. She pulled away with her eyes closed as she hummed.

"What is it, my dear?"

"Uhhhh, it's just I want to learn more about Yara, but I also want to be with you."

Bog smiled.

Suddenly a voice rang out down the hall, "Princess? Where are you?"

"Oh! She's out. Let me get back to her," Marianne said as she took to wing and started to head down the hall. She turned around and blew a kiss to her beau.

Bog pretended to grab her kiss and he in term blew a kiss to her in a flamboyant manner and he tossed it to her as if he were pitching a hand ball.

Marianne grabbed his kiss and she giggled as she said, "Oh, you are just too much Bog!"

"And you are one helluva woman!"

She giggled and turned back towards the infirmary and she could feel her face was getting flushed with Bog's romantic gesture. She flew into the room and Yara had a towel wrapped around her body and her kinky hair was wet and was dangling down her face. At first she was startled and jumped a bit when Marianne entered the room.

She put her hand on her chest and said, "Oh, you scared me, Princess. I was done with bath and saw you were not here."

"I'm sorry, but, up to now, Bog didn't know what happened with Rachel and that I was down here all this time with you. While you were taking a bath, I wanted to quickly tell him and come back to you. Luckily I bumped into him in the hallway and filled him in.

"Oh. Okay, I understand. But why is your face so red, Princess Marianne. You Ok?" Yara said.

Marianne's eyes widened when she realized that her face must have been still flushed, but she just went along with it and said, "Yeah, it is just Bog did something sweet in the hall and well, I guess I got a bit flustered."

Yara laughed and said, "You certainly got bit by love bug, huh, there Princess."

"Okay. Yes, I guess it is very obvious that I have it bad for him."

"Indeed you do."

The two women laughed. Marianne then opened the closet and brought out the ivory colored night dress she had earlier, but this time unfolded it and held it to her body so Yara could get a good look at it.

Yara's eyes widened as she examined the night dress.

"This is the night dress you show me before?"

Marianne looked down at the dress and at first she thought there might have been a mistake since the dress looked a lot a lot nicer and perhaps it was someone's dress that got left behind. However by the positioning of the clips on the back of the neck, the seam down the back and the ties, it certainly was designed as an infirmary night dress. But the design was more elaborate than she remembered that they had in the infirmary.

"Yes, I believe so," she replied as looked at the dress.

Just to be sure Marianne grabbed another one that was in the closet and unfolded it. It was identical to the first one, verifying that it wasn't someone's dress that was left behind. As she put it back she noticed Yara got a hold of the first dress and was looking it over and she held it up.

"My, it's so beautiful! Is this what I wear to dinner?"

Marianne laughed and said, "No, this is just what women patients wear when they spend the night here in the infirmary. But I do admit I wasn't expecting this. The design was changed, and for the better. Obviously this is my sister's doing.

Yara held the dress in her hand and let it flow through her fingers. "You're sister made this? She has beautiful skill."

"Well, not exactly. My sister designed it and the Elves in town actually make the dresses."

"The workmanship is amazing. I love the way it looks and feels."

"Thank you. Yes, the elves do very good work for the kingdom."

Marianne couldn't get over the look on Yara's face as she looked over every inch of the night dress and was completely fascinated with it. To Marianne, the night dress still looked simple even with the changes, but for Yara, of whom has never seen a silk dress prior to today, it was all new to her. Marianne did like the new embroidered details in the dress. But it had her wondering why Dawn would make such changes for just an infirmary dress. But knowing Dawn...she loves her silk dresses. Where as her herself likes more naturally made outfits. It could also be that Dawn made the changes to go along with the other changes she made in the infirmary to make it look more pleasing, warm and comfortable for patients.

Marianne led her back to the bathroom and as Yara held the dress up again, she described how to put it on.

"You just have to slip it over, button the back of the neck and then tie it back at the waist. Just give me a shout if you need a hand."

Yara took the dress back from Marianne and bowed a bit as she said, "Thank you, Princess."

Before Marianne could say 'You're Welcome', she ran off into the bathroom and shut door.

Marianne sat down on the bed and a few moments later she heard an, "Ahhhhhhh!"

She quickly jumped up, knocked on the door, and said, "Yara, are you alright? I am coming in!"

But she didn't have to go in as the door opened and Yara exited wearing the night dress and she had a huge smile on her face.

"Ahhhhhh! Yara like!" She exclaimed again as she stood proudly with her hands on her hips.

Marianne smiled at her reaction and she took a few steps back, taking a good look at how the dress looked on her.

The dress had a Queen Anne neckline with sheer straps going over her shoulders and around back of the neck. The straps just barely covered the top of her shoulders, but not the sides, very much like a like a cap sleeve. The sheer area had embroidered floral palm leaf designs on it. The design ran over the cap sleeves to around the back of the dress and also ran forward down the sides of the front of the dress. There was another floral design that extended from the 'v' crux of the bust line to the abdomen. At first glance it looked as if the skirt part of the dress was plain, but the stitching created a pair of seams which, created a paneled look and the skirt had two pleats that ran from the waist on down.

At first she couldn't believe what she was seeing, but as simple as the night dress was, for some reason, it looked fantastic on Yara, like an evening dress. Perhaps it was her dark skin color, the way it appeared through the sheer section on top giving both the dress and her skin in that area a two tone appearance. The ivory just brought out her dark skin more and seemed to go with the off-white colored spots on her wings. While the dress was supposed to be tied from the back, Yara managed to take the ties and turn it into a belt which cinched her waist accenting her hourglass shape. This in addition to her wide hips caused the skirt to flare out a bit more that it would on a woman with a straight body type.

Yara turned around so Marianne could see the back. The floral pattern extended around over the back of her neck and extended down the sides forming a large circular cut out on the back for the wings. It branched off to the front and then around to the back of the dress. The whole area from the nape of her neck to her lower back was exposed.

"Whoa!"

"Why you look surprised, Princess?" She said with a smile as she turned to face her.

"Well, this supposed to be just a simple patient's night dress, but I have to agree that it looks like an evening dress on you...for some reason."

"Ahhh, but you see, Yara know she look good in dress. This too good to just to sleep in. I wear this to dinner."

"Oh, no, that wouldn't be good. It is a night dress, just to wear in bed, Yara."

Yara plopped down on the bed and raised her arms above and put her hands behind her head and said, "Yara wear this all day. Beautiful material. I love it! Feels so nice on my body."

"Well, if you like the silk I could have Dawn find a proper silk evening dress for you. Something like what she wears. But everyone at dinner will know that this is a night dress."

"But you say yourself Yara look good in it. I like this. Maybe others think the same. So, I wear this tonight."

Marianne took a look at Yara lying in the bed and it did look more like a short evening gown from the front. It did reach her knees which was a requirement for an evening dress. So Marianne just shrugged her shoulders and decided to run with it as Yara's mind was already set on wearing it at dinner.

"Well, if this is what you want to wear, it is fine with me. I just have to let my sister know so she doesn't have to scramble to find something for you tonight."

Yara sat up in the bed and crossed her legs and placed her hands on her knees. She said, "Thank you very much Princess. Yes, this is what I want to wear tonight, I love it."

Just then Marianne heard the sound of wings flapping outside and then come to a stop by the door. Her sister ran in and she had a tape measure in hand. She was a little out of breath.

"Ohhhh, good I was worried Yara was asleep already. I am sorry I am late, I was just spending too much time trying to pick something out for her. But I DID find something and now I just have to take her measurements," Dawn said.

"Well, I hate to burst your bubble, sis, but Yara has already picked out her dress."

"What? How?" Dawn said with a stunned look on her face.

Yara got out of the bed and stood up in front of Dawn with her hands on her hips and she spread her wings and said proudly, "I wear this."

Dawns eyes flew open wide as she said, "Holy Crow my new night dress design looks great on you!"

"Thank you, Princess Dawn. I feel very good too," Yara said as she grinned at Marianne.

Marianne said, "Dawn, I have been trying to tell her that this is not a proper evening gown. But, she is so in love with your night dress that she wants to wear it tonight for dinner."

Dawn cocked her lip to the side, looked at the tape measure and then at the the dress. She put her hand on her chin and said, "Hummmmm."

She looked to the back of the dress. She then peeked out from behind Yara and said, "You know, sis, I believe I can make this work."

"What?" Marianne exclaimed in a surprised tone. "Are you serious, Dawn? Wouldn't everyone know this is a night dress?"

"Well, not really. I just started to use these in the infirmary and I would just have to alter the back of one by replacing the tie with a real belt and put a snap here and here and perhaps add a tail panel to the skirt, this way she could hide her damaged hind wings."

Suddenly Marianne realized that with the minor alterations, Dawn could pull it off.

"Yeah. I mean this will save me a bunch of time," Dawn said as she reached for her tape measure and started to take Yara's measurements. "As it is, I don't think I would have the other dress ready in time for dinner as that needs more alterations. But I can just grab another one of these and alter it for her while she sleeps in this one. I mean I know I made improvements in the design and I wore one of these myself and it looks fine on me, but it looks awesome on her. I don't think anyone will notice that this is an infirmary night dress."

Yara glared at Marianne and said, "See, even your sister agrees. So I wear this tonight."

Marianne smiled as she looked again at Yara. She then snapped her fingers as she got an idea.

She said, "Well, Dawn, you could still alter the other dress for Yara because I am sure she will still be here in when we have the Gala ball at Bog's castle in a few days and I am sure she will need a proper dress for that."

Dawn was crouching behind Yara taking a measurement. She looked out from behind Yara's waist, wrinkled her chin, raised her finger and said, "Good point sis, I will do exactly that."

"Gala ball?" Yara asked.

"Yes, the work on Bog's new castle has been completed and we are having a ball there next week."

"So I will go to this ball?"

"Of course. You are our guest and we want you to have fun with us."

Yara stood smiling at the two princess and said, "The king has very two very bright and lovely daughters. So polite. I only could wish I had children like you."

"Do you have children, Yara?" Marianne asked.

"Yes, I did, only one boy. But he follow his dad and..." Yara said, but then stopped mid sentence and she closed her eyes. Her facial expression was one of distress.

"And what?"

"Well, perhaps I tell you another time, the story doesn't end well and Yara feeling a bit tired. I rest now."

Marianne nodded and said, "I understand. Also, you will only have a few hours to rest before dinner too. Dad said he wanted you to be rested up for dinner."

She then turned to her sister and said, "Dawn, please tell dad to serve dinner a good hour later so both Yara and Rachel can get more rest."

"Sure," Dawn said as she started to collect her things and she grabbed another night dress from the closet. She looked to Yara and said, "Rest well Yara, I will be back with the completed dress just before dinner and I will see you at dinner, sis."

She then walked out the door, opened her wings and flew off.

"She's a very smart girl, your sister is," Yara said.

Marianne nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, but ironically she's attained the label as family 'ditz'."

"Deetz? What's a Deetz?" Yara questioned.

"A ditz is an air head, someone not very smart. Sometimes my sister leaps before she looks...or zigs before she zags. She's gotten a reputation for not having the greatest common sense."

"Naw, not true. Dumb person couldn't design beautiful dress like this. Dumb person cannot do what she does here...helping Rachel. Your sister is smart woman. I see that."

"I know. My father and I know how smart she really is, however, lately I have been noticing a change in her and she is really taking more responsibility for her actions. Given some more time, I think she can be just a good a leader as me."

Marianne pulled the sheets back on the bed and put her hand out to the bed. Yara smiled brightly as she walked over to the bed and she adjusted her night dress and then climbed into the bed. Marianne pulled the sheets over her.

Yara said, "Now, go to your Bog King, I am sure he wait long enough while you take care of Yara. I sleep now."

"Yes, rest well."

"Oh, I will. I am nice and clean, in a nice warm bed wearing a beautiful dress. I will sleep well, for once in a long time. I know I am with good people. Thank you Princess Marianne for all your help and also thank your sister, your father and Rachel for me."

"I will."

Yara sighed as she said, "You are certainly a breath of fresh air, young Princess. Quite different from most of the people I have met in my travels. In your care, I feel like the queen I once was."

Yara looked around the room and continued, "And this...this palace is not like anything I have seen before. Your people build magnificently."

"Thank you."

Marianne started to put out some of the small yellow light spheres so Yara could find her way the bathroom if she woke up. She then pulled a large lever on the wall and huge panel slid over the light sphere cluster that lit up the entire room and then the room was much darker than before.

She collected the towel and went to the bathroom to let the water out of the tub and straighten the room out a bit. By the time she came out of the bathroom, she noticed that Yara was breathing hard and her eyes were closed.

"Wow! That was quick. Poor thing must be so tired, she went right out." Marianne said softly as she left the room.

Back in Marianne's room:

"You have servants, why didn't you use them?" Bog asked, his voice a little gruff.

"I don't know Bog. There was just something about her and with what she has been through I just figured she needed the extra personal family touch and not throw a bunch of different people at her. Besides I am not afraid of doing a bit of work. You said it yourself, I am not like other princesses."

"Yeah, I just was a bit bored as I came here to be with you."

"Well, unfortunately we had an emergency to take care of. Did you at least sleep while I was downstairs?"

"Yes, a little bit. But I mostly waited for you."

"Awwww, you know I wanted to be with you too."

Bog sat next to Marianne and his mind began to wander as to what has all transpired.

Marianne asked, "Soooo, what do you think about our guest?"

"I am trying not to," Bog said

"Why? She seems to be a wonderful woman."

Bog got up and put his hand out towards the door. "Didn't you see the look on her face? She hates me and thinks I am some beast."

Bog started to grit his teeth.

Marianne and said, "I think hate is a bit of a strong word, Bog. Perhaps she was a bit scared at the time. But I told her what a wonderful gentleman you are. I told her that I am attracted to you and mentioned the wonderful things you do for me. She understands now. At any rate I don't think it was only you. I think she's afraid of all of us because we are all different in her eyes.

"Yes, but at least everyone else in that room was a butterfly fairy so they shared something in common with her. Me...I am totally different. To her I probably look like...a scaly back cockroach."

"Bog! My, you are certainly beating yourself up about this. I don't know how many times I have to tell you that I don't care what anyone else thinks about your looks. I am attracted to you and I love you for who you are."

She turned and poked him very hard in the chest and said, "That in there, your heart, that is what I in love with the most. Isn't that enough?"

Marianne said as she jumped up from the bed and had an upset look on her face. Her eyes started to well up.

Bog reached up and he put his hand over the spot where she poked him. She poked him really hard as he could still feel the area where she poked him. He looked to her face and it looked as if she was nearly to tears. He thought carefully about what she said and sighed heavily. He smiled as he replied, "Yes...you are right, my dear, and you are more than enough. I am very thankful to have a wonderful woman like you in my life."

"Good, that's what I want to hear." Marianne said as she pulled on Bog's lapels and brought him closer to her and she brought her lips to the spot where she poked him. As as her tongue touched the spot, he began to mellow out and relax. Slowly her tongue glided down towards the length of his chest. But before she continued all the way down, she raised her head and said, "You are my gentleman, I find you attractive and that is all that matters."

She lowered her head and her tongue continued on it's way down. It felt really good. The closer she came to that sweet spot the more intense the feeling became. When her tongue reached the soft membrane at the pointed end of the soft part of his chest and immediately it was causing him to breath heavy.

"Yes, I see that and feel it too," he gasped out.

"Good," she said as she buried her tongue deeper down his chest."

The feeling became very intense and he called out.

"Ohhhhh, Marianne!"

Marianne looked up and said, "Oh, I got you moaning my name already?"

"Yes!"

She laughed and then went right back to driving her tongue down deep into his chest. Bog splayed his fingers out and moaned even louder.

"Oh...damn! You are good," Bog gasped out as his breathing started to get heavier.

She lifted her head again.

"It's going to be a bit until dinner..." Marianne said with an unfinished thought.

"Yes, it is," Bog said as he reached one of his hands to her hair and ran his fingers through it.

"So lets have a little fun until then?" she asked.

"Ohhh, I was wishing for you to say that the whole afternoon."

Marianne let out a maniacal laugh, and forcefully pushed Bog down on the bed, hopped on top of him, straddling his thin mid section, and pinning him to the bed. She started to reach around to the strap behind her neck.

She raised her eyebrow and said, "Wish granted...You KNOW you're in trouble now."

Bog replied, "Ohhhhhhhh Yeah!"

Later on:

It was soon dinner time and Dawn rushed down the hall to the infirmary. She opened up the panel for the bright room light and said, "Yara, Yara, wake up! We don't have much time and I have to get you into the dress for tonight."

Yara woke up with a start and said, "Oh my, I must have overslept, Princess."

"No, no, not quite but it is getting very close to dinner time and despite telling my father to have dinner later, I am running late. I still want time to do your hair and perhaps put on a little makeup."

"Oh, you are really going to make Yara pretty?"

"Yes! You are going to be so beautiful and hot, everyone is going to look you up and down."

"Oh Dawn, you are too kind," Yara said as she scrambled to the edge of the bed and let Dawn help her out.

"Lets go to my room, I have everything there."

Dawn took Yara by the hand and led her into the hall.

As they stood in the hall, Dawn said, "It is faster if we fly upstairs. Can you fly?"

"I don't know. With my hind wing so badly damaged, I don't think so."

"Give it a try." Dawn said.

Yara closed her eyes and opened her wings and began to flap them and surprisingly she lifted off the ground. Dawn could feel the gusts of air coming from her huge wings.

"Oh! Look! You are flying!"

Yara opened her eyes and looked down, "OH my! Your Rachel is a saint! I am flying!"

Dawn began to flap her wings too and hovered in one spot as she said, "Ok, try to move forward."

As Yara proceeded to angle her wings forward, she suddenly veered to the left and crashed into the wall. She slumped to the floor. Dawn's hands flew to her mouth as she gasped in shock. She immediately came to her aid.

"No, it was false hope. Yara can't fly," Yara said to Dawn.

Dawn helped her up and said, "Well, don't give up hope just yet, Rachel isn't finished with your wings. Perhaps with a bit more work she will have you flying. I mean I saw you up in the air, so I think you will fly again. It is just a matter of time, your highness."

"I hope you are right, Princess and please, you don't have to address me that way. I am no longer a queen of anything, that was my old life. Now I don't know what the future has for Yara."

"Well, it is your title and I know in the eyes of my father and my family you are still a queen."

Yara smiled as shes said, "Alright, then you address me how you feel."

The two started to quickly walk down the hall. Dawn was surprised that despite Yara's age, she could easily keep up with her. She was only slightly out of breath when they got to her room.

"Alright, let's make you pretty," Dawn said with a huge smile on her face.

"I'm ready!" Yara replied, smiling as well.

Meanwhile in Marianne's room:

Bog woke up and looked around. Marianne was completely out next to him and she was even snoring. He smiled and said softly, "Oh, I love that sound. It'll put me right out again."

As Bog continued to listen to Marianne's snoring, he glanced over to the window. The wind was blowing the curtains as it was still raining outside. It was a big storm that seemed to linger for a long time. The area in front of the window was all wet. It was nearly dark out. His eyes widened and he leaned up to get a better look.

"Darn it! We overslept!" He said aloud as he shook Marianne's shoulder.

Marianne just shook her head side to side and let out a soft sigh, she puckered her lips and said, "Oh, Bog just kiss me."

Bog quickly leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the lips and said, "Wake up Marianne, we have to get ready for dinner.

Suddenly she came too and looked out the window and exclaimed, "Oh Sugar Honey Iced Tea."

She jumped out of the bed and went out the door. A few moments later she came back and said, "Bog, we only have fifteen minutes until dinner! I don't have time to change."

"Well, didn't your father say that it is just going to be only the group of us that were in the infirmary?"

"Yes, that's true."

"Just slick back your hair like you had earlier."

Marianne looked at her mirror and her hair was completely mussed up from their little escapade she and Bog had earlier.

"Nope! Sorry, it is too far gone. The regular way I wear it will have to do."

"That's fine by me too. I always like the way you wear your hair."

Marianne giggled and said, "I wish everyone would think that way."

Bog also took a peek in the mirror, but usually nothing gets out of place when he sleeps, so he just walked over to the window and sat in the sill watching the rain fall while Marianne touched up her makeup quickly. She wasn't too long and just as they were ready to go Bog noticed the Jasmine flower on her vanity.

He picked it up and said, "Wait, this will just enhance the look a bit."

"Awwww, Okay." Marianne said and she let him place the flowr in her hair.

Soon the two of them headed off to the dining room below. Running a bit late, the two of them decided to risk it by flying through the halls to the dining room. Usually it was an unwise thing to do just before a meal or function as there would be many more people in the hall and the danger of flying into someone was greater. But, luckily they made it to the dining room fine. There was a guard by the far set of doors and he waved Marianne and Bog on.

"What's going on, we normally go in this way," Marianne said to the guard as she pointed towards the large doors in the center.

"His majesty, your father, prepared a separate corner of the dining room as a private area tonight. The royal family, Your Majesty Bog, Rachel, Chief at Arms Benny and our guest will be dining privately in here tonight.

"Oh yeah, I remember my Dad said he wanted it to be a cozy private setting for Yara," Marianne said as they walked through the far set of doors.

There were three entrances to the dining room and temporary walls were set up on the back and right sides around the far left entrance to make up a 'room'. Even though the walls ran up pretty high, the entire top was open to the existing dining room ceiling. The entry over the doorway had a large chandelier above it normally to light the entry, but in this case it also provided overhead lighting for the dining table. The table was small with just enough room to fit 8 people, although in this case 7 places were set up. Due to the location of the chandelier, the table was off center from the doorway and thus there was quite a bit of room to the right of the table. At the far end was the king's throne. His daughter's seats were set each to his side, and there was also a fancy chair at the far end and also next to Marianne's seat for Yara and Bog respectively. The two remaining seats weren't as elaborate as the rest, as they were mostly made of wood, but the seats and back were plush and looked comfortable. Marianne and Bog were the first to arrive and they took their seats.

Rachel came in next and was staggering a bit. She wore a green mock neck halter evening gown that was made from leaves. Two large pointed leaves formed a panel that framed out the bust area and ran up to her neck and attached to a vine that formed a collar around her neck. The the leaves formed an elliptical keyhole that bared a small part of her chest. It had an asymmetrical skirt that was short in the front and long towards the back. She plopped herself down into one of the wooden chairs and put her hand over her mouth as she yawned. As with Marianne, her hair was mussed. Apparently it looked as if she needed more rest.

"So, are you doing alright, Rachel?" Marianne asked.

"Huh? Oh...yeah Princess. Sorry, please don't mind me. I am still a bit out of it."

"Okay, just wake up when my father gets here," Marianne said.

"Uh huh."

"I like your dress," Marianne said.

"Thank you", Rachel said with a smile.

Moments later, Benny himself announced the king and he and King Dagda entered and took their places.

Both Marianne's father and Benny were nicely groomed and very alert and dressed in royal evening attire. As the King sat down, he narrowed his eyes as he looked to Rachel.

"Rachel, are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, sire. I am just a bit out of it from healing Yara. Please forgive me. I tried to make it on time and I think I forgot to comb my hair."

The king chuckled a bit and then said, "Understood. Perhaps eating something will bring you around. That's a cute dress, by the way."

"I was thinking the same thing, your Majesty and Thank You for the compliment on my new dress.

"You're welcome, dear."

Benny looked to Rachel, of whom was sitting across from him and said, "I am sorry, Rachel, but you don't look well."

"I just over did it when healing Yara, that is all, I will be fine. I think I just need something to eat."

"Alright."

Marianne's father then stood up and said, "Well, everyone, as you know tonight we have a special guest and by my request I had suggested a small cozy dinner for her. My daughter, Dawn, is escort to our guest to dinner tonight. So without further ado, we raise our glasses to our guest."

Everyone reached for their glass. The king then nodded and a servant opened both doors wide and pulled the chair on the end to the side.

Dawn entered first. She changed her dress for the night as well. She was wearing an all white short dress with a skirt that flared out a little from her waist and stopped at her her knees. It was form fitting and designed in a manner to make her normally straight body frame to appear to have some curves. The dress had gold accents on the edge of the bodice. She had on a sheer lace bolero which made it look like the dress had a Queen Anne style neckline. It was rather plain compared to much of what Dawn normally wears, but yet she looked good in it.

She stepped to the side, put her hands up towards the door and announced, "I present, Queen Yara of Rose Island."

Yara entered the room and as she cleared the doorway she spread open her fore wings, but kept her hind wings trailing behind her. Dawn jumped a little at how suddenly a huge pair of wings just flew open beside her.

Bog noticed how different her face looked and that she was wearing a little bit of makeup now. She had a beautiful cat eye liner around her eyes with the eyelids done in gold. Her lips were still purplish red, but now had a very nice sheen to them. They looked even more full than before. There was a little rouge on her cheeks. While very simple, the makeup accented her face well and she looked even younger now than when he first saw her. Completing the look, on her head was a gold circlet that had a large pearl that sat in the middle of her forehead. The circlet had three long brown and black stripped feathers coming from the middle just above the center stone, adding just a hint of a natural accent and giving Yara an even more exotic look. She also wore two pairs of pearl earrings, one pair a stud and the other pair a pendant.

King Dagda's eyes flew wide open as he was taking a sip from his drink while Yara entered. He quickly put his drink down and suddenly grabbed his napkin and coughed into it.

Marianne reached over and put her hand on her father's and said, "Daddy, are you alright?"

"Yes, my dear. I just swallowed the wrong way."

When Yara reached the table she curtsied and in a refined polite manner said, "It is an honor to be here, Thank you, Your Majesty, for inviting me for dinner."

As she curtsied, she put her right leg a little too far forward and the short dress rode up her thigh. The king's eyes shifted downward and his neck craned a little. He then looked to her face and replied, "The honor is mine. Wow! I have to say that I am amazed at the wonderful work that my daughters and Rachel has done on you in such a short time. I must say you look wonderful."

"Thank you, your Majesty," She said and then her eyes turned to all the ladies as she said, "I want to thank you all for making Yara pretty tonight. I have never felt prettier than I do now."

"Awwwwww, You're Welcome," Dawn said first and then Marianne and Rachel followed.

"I am amazed, Dawn, that found you such a nice dress for Yara in such a short time, and I see you also found a nice dress for yourself. You and Yara almost match. I am assuming that was intentional?" Her father asked.

"Thank you, Dad. Yes, I loved the way Yara's look turned out and I just wanted to wear something similar especially being an escort tonight. I wanted a more plain look as, I didn't want to upstage Yara."

"Sometimes, darling, plain is best. This is a very elegant look for you. I hope you wear this more often. You really look good tonight," he said. "A vision of loveliness."

"Awwww, Thank You, Dad," she said as her face started to turn red.

"I must say that am impressed that you have been following my instructions regarding your dresses lately. You are showing me you are accepting responsibility, and your work with Yara has been exceptional as well. You have chosen her a beautiful outfit as well."

Everyone clapped and raised their glasses to Dawn, praising her. Marianne, however, sank into her seat as she was the only woman present in the room that didn't change her clothes.

"Thank You so much!" Dawn said to everyone.

Dawn had a little smirk on her face as she started to walk down the length of the table toward her seat. Bog's eyes narrowed as he wondered why she made that gesture. Marianne leaned over as Dawn came around the table and whispered, "Dawn, you made changes to Yara's dress. I really like it!"

Dawn leaned over and whispered back, "All I did was add the palm leaf overlays that curve down and cross the abdomen, I added the belt, the skirt tail and the circlet."

Yara said, " Your Majesty, Dawn was a big help. As soon as I saw the dress I fell in love with it. She made a few changes to it and made it even more beautiful. I love this dress so much."

"Well, I am glad to hear it and if you love it that much, it is yours to keep."

"Thank you! Thank you, your Majesty. Not only for the dress, but for the kindness of your people for helping me."

"You're Welcome," The king said and paused for a bit before he continued. "Oh, Yara, when not in public and in an informal environment like this you may address me as K.D."

Everyone's eyes widened as they were surprised that the King was already becoming comfortable with Yara and allowed her to call him by his nickname.

"K.D?" She asked as she folded her wings.

"Yes."

"Pardon my asking, Your Majesty, but what does K.D. stand for?"

"Uhhhh, well, it's a long story. I will explain at another time."

Benny started to laugh as he said, "I think you boxed yourself in corner with that, Sire."

There was a chuckle among everyone in the room.

Yara bowed her head as she looked to Benny. The servant assisted her into her seat.

King Dagda was ready to take his seat when he said, "Oh! Where are my manners, Yara. I felt it was necessary to include my Chief at Arms, Benny, for dinner tonight for it was he who is directly responsible for finding and initially caring for you as he and his team brought you into the palace.

Yara turned to Benny and said, "Then I am in debt to you for finding me and saving my life, good Sir Benny."

Benny stood up and reached for Yara's hand. She extended her hand out and he took it and said, "The pleasure is mine, lovely, Queen Yara."

Yara smiled brightly at Benny's gesture and she said, "Thank you, Sir Benny. As with His Majesty, you don't have to address me as queen, or 'your highness'. You, as well as everyone here, may address me as just, Yara."

Everyone nodded in acknowledgement as she continued in her island accent, "It is nice meeting all of you good people in this beautiful palace."

Everyone also reciprocated in their way that it was nice to meet her as well.

Marianne asked, "So what's for dinner, Dad?"

"Glad you asked, my dear daughter, I was just getting to that. I figured Yara could use a nice hearty meal so I had the cook fix us up a nice traditional bean roast dinner with potatoes and red cabbage."

There were positive responses from all around the table and some 'oo's' and 'ahhs.'

Yara scrunched up her face and asked, "What's a bean roast?"

Some at the table couldn't help but laugh the way Yara asked her question.

"It is meat that is marinated and roasted. Its very tender," The King explained. "Uh, you are fine with that, yes? Something I forgot to mention to you earlier."

"Yes, Your Maj...I mean K.D. I do like beans. Yes, it sounds delicious."

"Great! There will be plenty of it too, so by all means eat to your heart's content," he said.

As the dinner was served, everyone was initially quiet as they ate. The bean roast dinner was excellent and everything tasted great. All you could hear are a bunch of "Mmmmms" as people ate. Yara tried to be a lady and ate very elegantly, but even she muttered several "Mmmmms" throughout dinner. Bog couldn't help but look over to Yara every now and then and was amazed that she had nearly three servings.

Even Marianne and Dawn looked to her. Their father just laughed and encouraged her to eat as much as she wanted. But she couldn't even finish the third serving as she just leaned back in her chair and placed her hand on her stomach which was now noticeably bulging.

"No, thank you K.D. Yara going to bust!"

Everyone laughed.

Later on, just as dessert was being served, Bog noticed that the everyone else in the adjacent part of the room was starting to get louder and louder. Then someone yelled out, "Hey! How about some music, Sunny!"

King Dagda's eyes grew wide as he said, "Oh no. This is our time to get to know Yara, no music!" He then turned to his daughter. "Dawn, please be a dear and go tell him not tonight."

"Yes, Dad," Dawn said as she got up from her seat and headed for the door.

Yara put out her hand and stopped her as she looked to King Dagda and said, "K.D. It is OK, I like music...let them play. I want to hear your music."

"Well, I wanted us to share this time over dinner with you so we could get to know one another better," he said.

"But there be plenty time for that. Rachel say herself, I stay a while before my wings are fully fixed. So there will be plenty time to talk. Also as through music is how Yara get to know you and your people too."

"Alright, if that is what you wish," King Dagda said. He then turned to Dawn and said. "Just tell him to keep it down in there so we can still talk."

"Yes Dad," Dawn replied as she ran to the door opened it and exited the room.

A few moments later Bog could hear her voice shouting Sunny's name. Sunny replied, "Hey beautiful! Wanna join me in a song?"

She giggled loudly, but he couldn't make out her answer. Then the voices slowly started to die down and then music began to play at a moderate level. After a few bars of the intro Sunny began to sing.

Sweat - Inner Circle

(Sunny)

I've been watching you!

A La La La La Long
A La La La La Long Long
Li Long Long Long.
Come On!

(The rhythm then dropped into a reggae style beat. Yara's eyes widened and said excitedly, "Oooh! I know this! This Rag-ga music! We play this on my island all the time!"

She closed her eyes and immediately started to heavily sway to the music in her chair.

"You KNOW that's Dawn's doing," Marianne said to her father but loud enough so everyone else heard.

"Dawn smart girl! She knows Yara's music!")

A La La La La Long
A La La La La Long Long
Li Long Long Long.

Hey!

(Both Rachel and Marianne began to rock their shoulders as Bog and Benny just bobbed their heads to the music. Yara stood up, and began to dance. She was moving her body and her hands as a fan dancer dancer would. All eyes in the room were on her. King Dagda's eyes shifted down often, he was definitely checking out her legs as she danced.)

Standing across the room I saw my Dawn smile.
I said I want to talk to you for a little while.
But before I make my move, my emotions start running wild.
My tongue gets tied and that's no lie.
I'm looking in your eyes
I'm looking in your big blue eyes.

(Yara suddenly opened her eyes as she rocked side to side and said, "Lady dancing here, and no mon want to dance with her?" The men suddenly scrambled to get up, but only Benny and King Dagda approached Yara.)

(Ooh yeah and I've got this to say to you)

Girl I want to make you sweat
Dance 'til you can't Dance no more.
And if you cry out I'm gonna you dance some more.

(At first Marianne looked stunned as Bog quickly got up, but he swiftly turned to her and put one hand behind his back and the other he extended to the floor before Marianne and said, "Shall we M'lady."

Marianne's eyes flew open wide and a huge smile appeared on her face as she said, "Yes! Definitely!"

Girl I want to make you sweat
Dance 'til you can't Dance no more.
And if you cry out I'm gonna push it
Push it push it some more.

As he led her to the open area to the right of the table she said, "At first I though you were getting up to dance with Yara."

"And leave my lovely lady behind? Naw, it will never happen."

Marianne giggled as they got into a close hold and she said, "Oh, that was such a smooth move."

The two got in a close dance hold began to rock back and forth to the beat slowly swaying together

A La La La La Long
A La La La La Long Long
Li Long Long Long.

(Come on!)

A La La La La Long
A La La La La Long Long
Li Long Long Long.

Both the King and Benny approached Yara at the same time.

The King said with an air, "Sir Benny, I will take the first dance with our guest."

"Yes Sire," Benny replied as he then turned to Rachel and she got up and the two moved to the floor.

King Dagda kissed Yara on the hand and said, "May I have this dance."

"You May..." she said with a huge smile on her face.

He got into a formal ballroom dance hold with her, but as they started to move straight in line, she had a confused look on her face and she fumbled the steps.

King Dagda asked Yara, "I'm sorry, I assumed you knew how to ballroom dance.")

So I say to myself if she loves me or not
But the dread are known that love is here to get
And with a little bit of this and a little bit of that
The lyrics goes on the attack

("No, I just dance free. Here I show you. Move in closer and sway the hips like this and circle."

The King attempted the move, slowly moving side to side. Yara moved in closer and then the king fumbled his steps

"Open your legs, make a space in between there," she instructed as she pointed between the king's legs.

Bog and Marianne's eyes widened as they tried to look on while dancing. Benny tried to stifle a laugh. The King complied, but then everyone was shocked at what happened next. Yara placed one leg between his and her other leg over his and began to move her hips side to side.

"There that's better. Now Yara can move. Now we move our hips and circle."

Suddenly everyone else stopped to watch the king and Yara dance. Bog picked up on the dance being such that younger or thinner people would do, as in the case of King Dagda, his large belly and wide legs was hampering his movement and it came off awkward, but it didn't bother Yara one bit. When he noticed everyone stopped dancing and was watching, he stopped too."

My tongue gets tied
And thats no lie
I'm looking in your eyes
I'm looking in your big blue eyes

"K.D. why you stop?", Yara asked as she gently moved her hands to his shoulders.

"I am sorry, but I don't know what I am doing with this type of dance," he replied. "I am better with a dance that isn't as close."

A sad look appeared on Yara's face, but then Benny said, "I think she's doing a Lambada. Here Sire, I show you how it goes."

Rachel said, "Benny, wait! I don't know the Lambada."

"That's Ok, she does," he said as he pointed to Yara. With that he let go of Rachel and walked over to the King and Yara and said, "My I cut in, Sire?"

"Sure," the king said as he passed off Yara to him

Benny got into hold with Yara and the two straddled each others leg. Their hold was different in that the outstretched hand was more splayed than held and the other arm was around the waist and not the shoulder. Yara immediately smiled as they started to rock their hips side to side with the beat. They then started to circle. It was a very close move with the legs rubbing together. But Benny was careful as to make the dance look doable and not obscene.)

(Ooh Girl and I've got this to say to you, Hey!)

Dawn, I want to make you sweat
Dance 'til you can't Dance no more.
And if you cry out, I'm gonna make you Dance some more.

(In a gleeful tone Yara said, "Benny, how you know Lambada dance well!"

"Well, my dear queen. I became interested in it when I learned that here, they call it the forbidden dance and I just HAD to learn how to do it."

Yara laughed and in a very heavy accent said, "Ya Mon, Dat it is!"

"It is just something I always wanted to do with a woman," Benny said.

"You dance well, you have woman partner you dance with?" Yara asked.

"No, you are the first woman I got the courage enough to ask, simply because you know it."

"Is that so? You do well with Yara."

"Thank you."

The two continued to dance as Rachel walked over to the king's side and watched. Marianne and Bog continued in a dance hold to sway back and forth as they also watched. Suddenly there was some loud cheering and wolf whistles from the adjacent room.)

Girl I want to make you sweat
Dance 'til you can't Danceno more.
And if you cry out Let's push it
Push it push it some more.

(The King stood stunned as he watched the pair dance. Even Bog was amazed. She was an older woman, but the way she moved was like a young gazelle. But apparently he was staring a bit too long as Marianne pulled in front of him and had a smirk on her face and whispered, "That looks like fun, I want to dance that way with you."

"I don't know how to do that." Bog said pointing to Yara and Benny.

A La La La La Long
A La La La La Long Long
Li Long Long Long.
(ooh yeah)

"Just follow Benny's movements, and I follow hers. It doesn't look that hard," Marianne said.)

A La La La La Long
A La La La La Long Long
Li Long Long Long.
(one more time)

King Dagda then said, "No, no, no, my dear daughter. I see where this is going. This is NOT a proper dance and it stops now."

"Awwww, Dad! Please? Its just a little fun dance."

"Marianne, may I remind you we are in public and this dance is not appropriate now.")

A La La La La Long
A La La La La Long Long
Li Long Long Long.
(sing it)
A La La La La Long
A La La La La Long Long
Li Long Long Long.

(Benny and Yara stopped dancing as he said to her, "I'm sorry we have to stop."

Yara said to the king, "I am sorry, I didn't think this would be inappropriate here. It is like your daughter say, 'it is a fun dance.' I don't mean to offend or upset you, KD."

(hey oohooh weee yeah)

Eyes, I'm Looking in your big blue eyes

(and I've got this to say to you)

(I am not upset with you, Yara. You didn't know. But my daughter does know.

Marianne then blurted out, "Dad, it is just us in this room, besides you were dancing that way with her."

"I was a little stunned and it was something I wasn't expecting," he said as he plopped down in his throne. Again there was some loud cheering and whistling from the next room.)

Girl I want to make you sweat
Dance 'til you can't Dance no more.
And if you cry out I'm gonna push it some more.
Girl I want to make you sweat
Sweat 'til you can't sweat no more.
And if you cry out I'm gonna push it
Push it push it some more.

(Yara said, "Please, Your Majesty, I didn't mean to offend. At home we do this dance all the time with those that we are close to. The dance is only obscene if you make it so. I don't do with just anyone, but those I care about. I dance with Benny because he saved my life. I dance with you to thank you for all you have done for me for I have nothing to give you in return."

A La La La La Long
A La La La La Long Long
Li Long Long Long.
(yeah)

A La La La La Long
A La La La La Long Long

(Marianne blurted out, "Awwww. She's just being sweet, Dad.

The king paused for a while after he heard what both Yara and his daughter said and he said to Yara in a softer voice, "Well, I uhh... appreciate the kind gesture, but as you see it is a dance I can't do. I'm too big for such a dance.")

Li Long Long Long.
(Push it, push it some more)
A La La La La Long
A La La La La Long Long
Li Long Long Long.
(alright!)

(Yara smiled and said, "Nonsense, Give me a chance, K.D. Let me show you right way and you will be doing it in no time."

The king stammered as he said, "Uhhh, oooh. Perhaps another time.)

A La La La La Long
A La La La La Long Long
Li Long Long Long.
(Push it, push it some more)

As the song ended there was a loud applause next door and even some wolf whistles. Both Dawn and Sunny could be heard thanking the crowd. Everyone stopped talking and waited until the applause died down in the adjacent room before they continued to talk.

Yara bowed before the king and said, "Alright then, another time."

The king nodded and then everyone took their seats. Shortly after, the servants arrived with dessert.

As dessert was being served, Dawn returned. She had taken the bolero off her dress and it revealed that the dress was a halter design underneath. The strap wasn't seen earlier as it was hidden by the lace design of the bolero. Her chest, arms and forehead glistened in the light as it appeared she was heavily perspiring. She was also so out of breath that you could hear the air racing in and out of her nostrils as her chest expanded and contracted rapidly. In her right hand she had a fan that was folded up and in her left hand was the bolero from her dress. She put the bolero over her chair and plopped down in the seat. She flicked the fan open and began to rapidly fan herself.

She was sweating so badly that Bog followed a droplet that ran down from her forehead, down the side of her face, passed her ear, down her neck and right down the middle of her chest.

"Well, I like that's a nice look for you, Dawn," Bog just blurted out.

"Thank You, Bog," She said between breaths.

"Bog!" Marianne called out as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"However, I have to say that while it is a good look for you, your sister, here, completely rocks the sweaty look."

Everyone except the King laughed. He glared both at Bog and Dawn in turn.

Marianne smiled and whispered to Bog, "Nice save, Hon."

"Uhhhhhhh, I need a drink of water," Dawn said.

"I'd say, Princess, you look really hot," Benny said.

Suddenly all eyes shifted to Benny and widened. But none were wider than Dawn's own eyes as she replied, "Awwwww, why thank you Benny. I didn't know you felt that way about me, but my heart belongs to Sunny."

"Errr, Ahhhh, I meant literally Princess," Benny said as he tried to recover. "You are sweating badly."

"Oh," Dawn said with a bit of a down look now.

Benny noticed her facial expression as he passed the pitcher of water down and poured it into a goblet for Dawn. He tried to recover again.

"I didn't mean that you weren't hot metamorphically, you are very beautiful that way too," he said, but realized he was just digging himself a deeper hole as he continued. "Ahhhhh, sorry, I completely messed that one up."

Everyone laughed.

"Thank you. It's fine, I know what you mean," she said as she giggled. She took the goblet from him and began to audibly gulp the entire contents down. Her neck visibly moved intensely as she swallowed.

"Dawn!" Her father bellowed out.

She moved the glass away from her face and said, "Hmmmm?"

"Easy does it! Don't gulp down the water so fast, it could go down the wrong way," he said.

"Ok, sorry. It is just that I am so thirsty."

"What on earth were you doing over there that you got all sweaty like this?" he asked.

"Well, as the song says, dancing made me sweat!"

Again everyone laughed.

"You got this sweaty just from dancing?" Her father asked.

"Yup!"

"Alone?"

"No, with Sunny. He just got me very worked up during the song."

Again everyone laughed as the king's eyes just widened.

"I heard the cheering and whistling over there, is there something you are not telling me, young lady?"

"Dad! I just danced very intensely for the song. Sunny was singing to me and wanted me to dance. So given the words to the song, it wouldn't look right if I wasn't sweating," Dawn said. "So I danced my heart out."

"She's got point there, K.D." Bog said.

"As for the cheering, what guy wouldn't cheer at a woman sweating as she danced her butt off," Dawn said.

Everyone laughed again and Yara said, "Goodness, Princess Dawn, you are so funny. You make Yara laugh."

"I just hope I don't find out that you were dancing indecently over there."

"Dad, please, I'm not that stupid. Truthfully, I only wanted to perspire a little, but when everyone noticed my intense dance moves, they cheered me on and I just danced harder, which made me sweat even more. I just got caught up in and before I knew it the sweat was running down my face and neck. I normally hate to sweat, but this time it just felt great. I just had fun. Nothing got out of hand, I promise."

In her thick accent Yara said, "Please, K.D. I see it in her eyes, she's telling you the truth. I know the feeling myself when I danced back home. The men would cheer and I would dance hard and start to sweat. Men love that and the cheering is encouragement and of course I would push myself harder. The more I sweat the more the guys cheer. Given that is what the song is about, I would have done the same thing Dawn did."

"And the wolf whistling?"

"That happened after I took off my bolero because I was so hot and I didn't want to ruin it. But, I took it off in a nonchalant manner, nothing erotic or indecent and all of a sudden the guys were whistling. I noticed my shoulders were shiny from perspiration and I guess they liked that. The cheering and whistling made me feel good, that's all Dad. Ask Sugar Plum if you don't believe me."

Yara started to glare at the king and he noticed. A calmer look appeared on his face as he turned back towards Dawn.

"Alright, I believe you." The king said in a soft tone. "I'm sorry Dawn. I...I didn't mean to grill you."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and the guard poked his head in and said, "Sire, sorry to interrupt, but Sunny is here. He wants to meet the guest of honor."

Dawn turned to her father and said, "Oh please, Dad...let him meet her."

He turned to Yara and said, "Is that alright with you?"

"Yes, it is." Yara said as she stood up and turned to face the door.

The King nodded for the guard to let Sunny to enter the room. He bounced into the room and he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Yara.

"Whoa! Dawn wasn't kidding, you ARE awesome! I am Sunny, by the way."

"Oh, why thank you little Sunny. My name is Yara and I am from a far away place called Rose Island. I am a Black Swallowtail fairy."

Sunny put out his hand and she put his hand in hers and he gently kissed it as he bowed. When he came back up he said, "You have a beautiful voice."

"Thank you...Sunny, so do you! You sing Rag-ga song magnificently."

"Ohhh, well, Thank, you, Yara."

"I'm amazed, you have an island look. Your clothing, skin color and face all like the men from my island. Are you from an island too?"

"No, I lived here in the Fairy Kingdom all my life."

Yara smiled as she crouched down to Sunny's level and said, "Be good to Dawn, she's a wonderful young woman."

"No worries there. She's been my friend all my life and finally being her boyfriend is a dream come true. I'll always be good to her and treat her like a queen."

Dawn looked with starry eyes to Sunny as all the ladies in the room said, "Awwwwww!"

"Can you sing us another nice song?" Yara asked.

"Sure!"

Sunny then nodded to Bog and said, "It's time, your highness."

"What, right now, in here?"

"Uh huh. You heard, Yara wants to hear another song."

Bog got up and retrieved his staff. He put one foot on the chair and held the staff as if it was a guitar.

"Wa...What's going on?" Marianne whispered to Bog.

"You'll see...or should I say, hear."

Sunny then looked to Benny and said, "Excuse me, Sir, but I need that chair."

"Ok," Benny replied as he got up with a confused look on his face. He wasn't the only one either. Dawn got up from her seat.

King Dagda was about to say something as he was confused as everyone else, but just then Sunny jumped up and stood on the chair as he looked Dawn straight in the eyes. He then nodded to Bog.

(Wrap It Up – The Fabulous Thunderbirds)

(Sunny)

(Bog played a slow guitar chord progression while Sunny looked into Dawn's eyes and began to sing.)

I no longer have to shop around, Dawn baby.

I know I have the best woman in town, my baby.

I've seen all I've want to see, my baby.

Just bring your lovin' straight to me now, baby.

I'll take it.

Dawn folded her hands over her chest and said, "Awwww."

The King said, "Sunny it has been a long day for Yara. Let's finish dessert and call it a day."

Yara said, "Please, let him continue. He serenading her. This I want to see this."

"Well, The King said call it a day, so let's Wrap It Up!" Sunny said. He turned to the wall, cupped his hand over his mouth and yelled out. "Hit it! Sugar Plum!"

(Just then then Sugar Plum floated over the top of the wall with her sound rig in front of her. She slammed her hands down on the keyboard and a fast beat with an organ chord organ progression played. Bog now switched to playing the bass part of the song. The catchy groove had everyone moving in their seat. Marianne just watched Bog's hands with wide eyes as he quickly fingered out the bass parts. Dawn began to strut around Sunny's chair and then got into a dance hold with him. The two began to do a quick step style dance, as he began to sing.)

(Sunny)

I've been watchin' you for days, Dawn baby
I just love your sassy ways, Dawn baby

(Yara yelled out, "Oh, would you have a look at those two dance like that."

She then started to rock her shoulders back and forth as well and said, "Oh! Yara like this!")

You know our love will never stop, Dawn baby
Just put your lovin' in my box, now baby

(The song's catchy rhythm had everyone bobbing and it wasn't long before everyone got up to dance. Benny danced with Rachel. Marianne chose to dance around Bog while he was playing. Yara danced by herself for a while but then made her way over to King Dagda.)

Wrap it up, I'll take it
Wrap it up, I'll take it

(Yara said to King Dagda, "Lady need a dance partner. Don't worry just freestyle."

Yara put one arm on the King's shoulder and the other on her waist and she began to twist her hips. He just tried to shuffle his feet and keep up with the beat. Every now and then he would take her hand and twirl her.)

Well no more will I shop around, Dawn baby
With you, I got the best thing in town, Dawn baby
I've seen all I want to see, Dawn baby
Bring your lovin' straight to me now baby

(Marianne continued her twirling around Bog and she would often go around back of him and reach her arms around and hold his chest while swaying to and fro. Dawn and Sunny broke out of their quick step dance and went for more of a freestyle dance as well, he didn't move his lower body much since he was still standing on a chair. He would often hold her shoulders as he sang to her.)

Wrap it up I'll take it
Wrap it up I'll take it
Wrap it up I'll take it
Wrap it up I'll take it

(Bog plays short guitar solo)

(During the break Marianne twirled right to her father and said, "May I cut in" Her father was surprised, but he also lit up and of course got into a hold with her and they began more of a quick foxtrot style dance.

Seeing that Yara was free, Benny immediately shot away from Rachel and asked Yara to dance. Rachel yelled out and said, "Hey! Now I don't have anyone to dance with!"

Benny said, "Sorry, Rach, but you can't Lamaba").

Well I'm gonna treat you like the queen you are
Bring you sweet things from my candy jar
You've got tricks you ain't never used
Give it, give it to me, it won't be abused!

(Benny got into the hold he was with Yara before and the two did the Lambada again. But they were absolutely sure to minimize the leg contact. King Dagda did look over and he had a bit of a cross look on his face, but didn't say anything. Marianne turned his chin away from them and to her face and he smiled at her and the two continued to dance. Dawn and Sunny continued to dance in a freestyle manner. Rachel, a little upset, plopped down in her seat.)

I've been watchin' you for days, Dawn baby
I just love yoursassy ways, Dawn baby

You know our love will never stop, Dawn baby
Just put your lovin' in my box, Dawn baby

(Suddenly all around them was the sound of people clapping to the beat. Bog looked up and some of the fairies next door were sitting on top of the wall looking down and clapping. Benny immediately stopped doing the Lambada and he went with a more freestyle dance with Yara. Some of the fairies started to dance overhead. Just then Gregory flew in and asked Rachel to dance. The two danced overhead in mid air. )

Wrap it up I'll take it

(Bog glanced up to Sugar Plum and she was hammering the keys leaning back with outstretched arms really getting into her organ part).

Wrap it up I'll take it
Wrap it up I'll take it
Wrap it up I'll take it

(As Bog Played a bit of a bass riff he rocked his head to the beat in a comical fashion. He also started to sing along with Sunny as backup vocal.)

Wrap wrap
Wrap wrap
Wrap

(Marianne saw what he did and she yelled out, "Whoo! YOU GO, HON!")

Wrap it up I'll take it (7x)

As the song ended, everyone cheered. Sugar Plum crossed her arms over her chest and wrinkled her nose as she said, "That was fun and funky!"

Many agreed as they yelled out, "Yeah!"

Dawn's eyes were glistening over as she wrapped her arms around Sunny as he still stood on the chair. She held him tightly to her body. She gave him a long kiss and then rested her head on his shoulder and many could hear her whisper in his ear, "Thank you, I love you so much."

Yara stood next to King Dagda and whispered to him, "I think your daughter is in good hands with him. Very rare I see someone pour their heart out for someone like that."

The King smiled and looked over to Dawn and Sunny as they embraced. He then turned to look at everyone overhead and said, "Uhhh, This was supposed to be a private party, everyone."

Alice said as she leaned over the wall, "I'm sorry, your highness, it was my idea. It is just that the song it sounded so good and catchy, we wanted to be a part of it."

The King shook his head and at first he glared at Alice, but Marianne gave his shoulder a squeeze and had a look on her face that made him smile.

"Well, everyone, while you are here, let me introduce you to our guest." He put his hand out next to him and said, "I give you Queen Yara of Rose Island."

"How do you all do?" She said a bit nervously as she curtsied.

There was a murmur among the crowd and there were questions among them: 'Who is she? Where did she come from? Check out her skin color. All black wings? Is she a butterfly fairy or a fairy moth?' Suddenly the smile on Yara's face disappeared and she started to back up towards the wall.

King Dagda noticed and said, "Alright everyone, I know you are all anxious to meet our guest, but she has been through a lot and is a little uncomfortable with large crowds right now, so if you please, go back to what your were doing and let her and us have our privacy."

There were a bunch of 'Yes Sire's' and 'Yes Your Majesty's' being spoken by the fairies and they started to disperse.

Rachel flew back into the area and stood before the king. She bowed and said, "With your permission, Your Majesty, may I leave for the night? I would like to spend some time with Gregory."

"Yes, you may be excused, but don't stay up too late, you need your rest."

"I won't. Thank you."

She bid everyone a good night and flew up. Gregory flew over and took her by the hand and they flew off.

As the king looked ahead, Dawn and Sunny were still hugging one another.

Yara smiled and said, "They are still hugging? Awww so sweet, the two of them."

King Dagda then turned back to Yara and said as he pointed to Marianne and Bog, "Well, you think that is sweet, you should see these two when they serenade each other. A couple weeks ago, Bog sang something so strong, they had everyone embracing that night. There was no doubt in my mind how he feels about my Marianne."

"Really?"

"Oh, Yara it was incredible...I will never forget that night ever," Marianne said as she looked to Bog with starry eyes. "I wish you were here to see it. It was such an amazing experience. He gave me this flower that is in my hair that night."

Yara said to Bog, "Oh, you ARE a romantic. I understand more about you, Bog King, and see why she loves you so much."

Dawn lifted her head and said to everyone as she looked around the room and said, "Well everyone, today was MY beautiful day and I have had fun with everyone tonight. But, but if it is OK with everyone, I would like to spend some time with Sunny now."

She turned her father and said, "Dad, may I be excused for the evening?"

He smiled and said, "Yes you may, my daughter. Have a good night."

Next she turned to to Yara, curtsied and said, "It was so nice meeting you today, Queen Yara."

"Yes, I took pleasure in meeting everyone here today, but you and your sister in particular."

"Thank you," Dawn said.

She was ready to turn away but then she quickly threw her arms around Yara and gave her a quick hug. Everyone watching said, "Awwww."

Dawn waved to everyone as she started towards the door with Sunny. They both said together, "Good night everyone!"

Everyone said goodnight to her and Sunny as well and then returned to their seats to finish their dessert.

Benny said, "Forgive me, for I must depart as well, I have night watch tonight." Benny said.

The king said, "Very well, but stay inside until the storm passes and have a good night."

Benny bowed and then flew off, Marianne said to Bog, "So you and Sunny had this planned all along?"

"Well, partially. When I was alone earlier, he came to me and asked me for the favor. He liked what I did for you and he wanted to do something similar for Dawn. He picked out the song and he wanted me on the guitar parts. I was somewhat familiar with the song and the solos were short, so I agreed to do it for him. But we didn't plan on doing it in here," Bog said as he pointed towards the wall. "We planned to do it in front of everyone out there."

"That's great! It was really nice of you to help Sunny out like that," Marianne said.

"And you also DID do it in front of everyone," King Dagda added.

"Well K.D., that part was also not planned."

Marianne turned to her father and said, "Dad, is it alright if Bog and I be excused as well? I want to spend some time with him before we go to bed."

"Alright," her father replied. "It is still raining out. Have a servant fix Bog's room up and also prepare Yara's room for the night."

"Yara's room?" Yara said, her eyes flew open wide as she looked to the king.

Marianne turned to Yara and said, "Yes. We set you up with a room. If you need help finding things in your room tonight, or you need help with your bath in the morning, just let me know. My room will be across the hall from yours.

"Thank you, Princess, but I thought I was to sleep in the infirmary," she said.

"Oh, no. That was just earlier when we brought you in and we had to heal you. From tonight on, you will have your own room," Marianne said. "It isn't very large as it is a guest room, but it is way nicer than the infirmary."

Yara's eyes started to glisten and it looked as if she was about to cry when she said, "You help Yara, you feed Yara, you give me place to stay. How can I ever repay your kindness?"

"Hey, Hey, Don't worry about it, alright? You were hurt and we did the most fairy thing we could to save you. That is what is important to us as a kingdom. We help those in need."

"Still, Yara can work, not take everything for free."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Right now the main concern is to get you flying again and that get plenty of rest in the meantime."

A tear rolled down Yara's cheek as she said, "Ok. You and your family are so kind."

"Oh, oh, I said don't cry," Marianne said as she reached for a leaf on the table.

"I try to, but can't. You touch Yara's heart, that's why I cry."

Marianne lifted her arms and wrapped them around Yara and held her firmly. The two held each other for a long time before they separated. It seemed as if Yara didn't want to let go of Marianne.

After they embraced, Marianne said, "Have good night and sleep well, I will come see you in the morning."

"You too, dear Princess and thank you, for everything."

Everyone said good night to each other and Marianne hugged her father and then left with Bog.

King Dagda looked at the empty table and noticed that not everyone finished their dessert.

"Well, it looks like everyone deserted their dessert!" he said.

Yara laughed as she walked over to Dawn's chair and sat down in it. She said, "You have good sense of humor, Yara like."

"Thank you," King Dagda said. "Uhhh, if you are not tired, perhaps I will show you around the castle a bit?"

"Yes, that would be nice. I would like that very much."

The two got up and King Daga held out his arm and Yara put her hand on his arm and the two left the room together. Just then another song started in the main part of the dining room and the king offered Yara a peek through the doors. Yara looked around and her mouth dropped open.

"My goodness, what a beautiful room. You normally eat in here?"

"Yes, this is our dining room and also our ballroom, we often have a song and dance after dinner time."

As they poked their heads in, they saw it was Dawn singing this time, she was singing a dance song. Sunny was with her and she would look to him every now and then as she sang. Immediately Yara started to move her shoulders and dance to the beat. Dawn didn't have her bolero on and the way she was swinging her arms to the beat had many cheering.

(Finally – CeCe Peniston)

(Dawn)

Finally it has happened to me right in front of my face
My feelings can't describe it
Finally it has happened to me right in front of my face and
I just can not hide it.

"Oh, Dawn is singing! She has a nice voice."

"Yes, she does. There is a certain sweetness to her voice I have grown to love," King Dagda said.

"Now she serenade Sunny! Yara have not seen such a romantic couple in a long time."

"Again, as I said before, you have to see Marianne and Bog when they sing to each other."

"Does Marianne sing too?"

"Oh, of course, beautifully I might add. She sings in a lower register than Dawn and her voice is more suited for rock songs or very powerful songs. She can't hit the higher notes like Dawn can, but she has a very powerful voice," The king explained.

"I can't wait to hear her sing."

"Oh you will hear her soon enough."

The two looked on to Dawn again

...But now you've come along
And brightened up my world
In my heart I feel it, I'm that special kinda girl

Suddenly Dawn closed her eyes put her hand out in front of her, splaying her fingers out, and belted out the next lines with such volume and clarity that it overpowered all other sounds in the room.

Finally you've come along
The way I feel about you,
It just can't be wrong!

BothYara's and King Dagda's eyes widened at how strong Dawn's voice came over. Yara said, "Wow! She's pretty powerful singer herself and Marianne do better than that?"

"Yes, but I have to say that Dawn is just starting to come into her own and lately she's been able to belt out some strong notes. She's getting very good herself. But Marianne...she can make the hair on the back of your neck stand up."

"So she's fantastic then?"

"Yes, both of my daughters are," he said.

The two started to walk down the hall and Yara was still moving her hips to the beat. As she was moving he couldn't help to glance down and behind her wings. She had a very curvy back side. Her back curved inwards and then right away curved out and around her buttocks. She had fairly large hips, but this was something King Dagda found attractive. None of the women in the kingdom had curves like Yara. He also looked at her legs as she walked. They weren't thin legs, but not heavy either. Her thighs were a bit larger than average for a fairly woman and very powerful looking. Even though he was tall, she easily kept up with him with the large strides she took. Her large strides actually caused the dress to ride up her thighs a bit. Every so often she would catch him and just smile.

King Dagda took her down the main corridor which had canvas paintings of the past rulers of the Fairy Kingdom and he introduced each pair of King and Queen starting with his Great Grandparents. Yara just looked on until he got to the paintings of Evelyn and himself. Yara's jaw dropped as she said, "Oh my! Your wife look exactly like Marianne. Just her hair different style. She's very beautiful."

"Yes, as Marianne is getting older, she more and more reminds me of Evelyn. In fact that is Marianne's middle name."

"Is your wife here? You have not talked about her before, nor have I seen her."

"No, sadly she isn't with us anymore. She passed away almost nineteen years ago, just shortly after Dawn was born."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"Thank you," King Dagda said as he could feel strong emotions building up within him.

"I see how you are with your people and family. You both were close?"

"Yes, we were. Inseparable actually. I did everything with her," he said as he swallowed hard.

"May I ask how she died?"

"She was a healer and she over exerted herself in healing someone. You seen yourself what happened to Rachel.

"Yes, I had a healer too, her name was Shakira, and she would get tired after healing, like Rachel did."

"Well, if a healer overdoes it, they can die. My wife gave her life to save another."

"Oh my goodness," Yara said and then put her hand over her mouth.

King Dagda could feel the emotions building up and the look of grief in Yara's eyes wasn't helping. But he shook his head and said, "I would like to leave here now, besides there is much more to show you."

As they continued on the tour of the castle, King Dagda became very curious about Yara's family. He assumed she must have lost them in the storm if she was the only one that survived. But he was curious to know who they were. So he figured he would ask, but carefully.

"Yara?"

"Yes?"

"I know this might be a tender topic, but I am curious about your family. I have figured out that you were married since you are a queen."

"Yes, I did have a husband, but he died in a war 6 years ago," she said but without any feeling in her voice

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm not," she said with the tone of her voice becoming angry.

King Dagda's eyes flew open wide at her response.

"You say that with no compassion, weren't you in love."

"No. He give no compassion to me, no love. My husband was a bad man and he mistreat me. He not respect Yara, so Yara have no respect for him."

"So you didn't love him?"

"In beginning, I love him, but he didn't love me. He married me for one thing and that was to have a son, which I give him. Then he don't bother with me anymore. Treat me like one of his slaves. He cheated on me too."

King Dagda suddenly realized that what Yara went through, Marianne could have went through if she married Roland.

But Yara's story got worse as she spoke her English began to deteriorate and her accent became very heavy, "My son...my bastard husband turn him against me. My son didn't listen to me no more and I raise him good. Everything I work for raising him, he gone. He go to war with my husband they both get killed."

"Why did you marry him? Wasn't there some warning about his demeanor beforehand."

"No choice. It was arranged. He had his pick, not I. I was one of four girls put up to marry. I knew it was an easy pick because he like me already. The way he look at me...he was very handsome man and Yara falsely fell for that. I was the tallest, prettiest and most shapely of the women and he pick me immediately.

After we marry, in the beginning everything nice and I thought he love me, but he would never open his heart to me. Never told me how he felt. Only I always the one coming to him showing my love for him. He just have sex with me, no love. But I had trouble conceiving. After second still baby, he started to turn and get mean, that was when the verbal abuse start. He tell me I am not real woman because I can't give him son.

Shakira eventually figure out what was wrong and fixed the problem I finally conceived. He was happy at first and I worked my tail off to raise the boy. But when he was of fighting age, again my husband turn on me and want to raise my son as a warrior. But my son not built for that. He kept pushing and pushing the boy. I wanted my son to be with me, but he just wanted to please his father. He couldn't see that he was a bad man."

Yara continued her story and that her husband completely cut her off and she became a servant to him. He invested all his time into their son to make him a fighter and a leader. But at the same time her son grew more and more distant and even started to disrespect her and not listen to her.

"Then the war happened and only forty out of nearly 100 men came back home," Yara explained.

King Dagda found his emotions were getting the better of him, but he held back and recomposed himself. He shook his head and said, "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have pried."

"It is fine. I don't have sadness anymore, just anger towards that man. Just before the war, he even hit me after we argue. Said he wanted to put me in my place. But I wasn't taking that, I had him by the throat and I tell him next time he hit Yara will be his last. He got scared and never hit me again, but he deemed me dangerous and force me to live in servant's home.

After the war, the people had no one to rule. King gone, prince gone. Only Yara left, so the people came to me for help. Shakira came forward first and stand by my side.

"What did you do?"

"Well, I took my rightful place as queen and I did what was right and made a treaty with those we were at war with. I and their queen came up with a solution and we create peace. I gain slowly gain respect from my people and over time they even say I was best ruler they had and they all follow me."

"You mentioned the other kingdom's queen, they didn't have a king?"

"Yes, that was whole problem. My husband didn't want to negotiate with a woman, so he wanted use force. But she have strong support and I learn much from her later on to run my own kingdom."

"So in the end things did turn out better for you and your people."

"Yes, but two years ago, their queen die and her people look to me for help, so our kingdoms unite. Now, I had over 150 fairies under my rule."

"You are then quite an accomplished ruler then. You very much earned your title as queen."

"Yes, but evil cloud still over Yara's head...Just when I think things go smoothly for once in my life, the Uracan hit."

Yara's eyes welled up and she couldn't fight it anymore. The tears rolled down her face as she blurted out, "Yara lose everything I worked so hard for."

He could feel the emotions build within himself and it was difficult to control. He slowly reached out to comfort Yara, but as she started to come to him, he suddenly heard someone sniffle and start to sob from around the corner.

King Dagda then said, "Dawn? Is that you?"

Dawn slowly walked around the corner with tears rolling down her cheeks and she said, "I'm sorry Daddy, I really didn't mean to eavesdrop. I wanted to ask Yara something and the guard said you both came down here. When I overheard your conversation and I couldn't believe what I was hearing and I hid."

Yara said, "Please don't be angry with her. K.D. It is bad enough she had to hear this."

"I'm not angry, she would have eventually found out anyway," he said.

Dawn was relieved that her father wasn't angry with her and she turned to Yara and threw her arms around her. She buried her face into Yara's chest and said in a muffled tone, "I am so sorry."

King Dagda turned his face away from the ladies and put his hand close to his mouth, he then said in a slightly muffled voice, "Let me get some leaves to wipe your faces."

He quickly headed off down the hall.

Yara said, "Don't be sorry, dear Princess. It not your fault."

Dawn lifted her face to look at Yara and she said, "But what you all went through. I don't understand why bad things happen to good people. It isn't right."

"Yes, I know how you feel. I think same thing, but it is behind Yara now. I am strong and I live through it and move on."

"But you lost everything," Dawn said as she then buried her face into Yara's neck and held her tightly as she wept.

"I wish your young ears could have been spared from hearing this," Yara said as her arms pulled Dawn tighter to her body. "You have so much love in you, you are such a kind young woman."

Dawn, pulled back so she could face Yara, but she still held on to her arms, "When you're all better and can fly again, I want you to stay here. Please don't try to fly back. You can finally be happy here."

"Yes, but Yara alone here, my people not here. I want to find my true love before I die."

Dawn held Yara's hands as she said, "You are not alone here and I love you."

Yara then wrapped her arms around Dawn and said, "Oh, precious Dawn. You are too much. You have such a big heart."

"Yes, see, there is love here and I know my sister loves you too."

"Yes, but Yara look for another kind of love. The kind you share with your Sunny. I want that too for once in my life. I am getting older and not any prettier and pretty soon man will not look at Yara anymore. Man want young woman. I am getting too old."

"No way. You're beautiful." Dawn said through her tears.

"Oh, you are such a darling, thank you." Yara said as she held Dawn tight.

Just then her father returned with a box of leaves and Dawn looked to her father. His own eyes were very red and his face flushed as he gave his daughter a hug.

"Dad are you alright?" she asked as they separated and she took a leaf from the box her father was holding and began to dry her eyes.

She passed a leaf to Yara and upon taking it, she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Yes, darling, I am fine, but I think you should go now. Yara isn't finished with her story and I don't want you getting more upset then you already are," he said.

"Yes, Dad."

Dawn then turned to Yara and said, "If you need anything, my room is next to Marianne's"

"Alright, thank you and goodnight, sweet Dawn."

"Goodnight," Dawn said and was ready to turn away but then she remembered what she came down the hall for and continued. "Oh! I almost forgot! Benny told me to tell you that the storm is finally passing and once it does, he will do an outside perimeter check to see if there is any damage to the palace."

"Very well, thank you."

She then turned to Yara and said, "Yara, when you are done with your bath tomorrow, I want to show you some dresses I picked out for you. You can't run around in that all the time."

"I am fine, Princess Dawn. You and your family has done already so much for me today."

"I know you love that dress, but you will need a fresh change of clothes."

"Alright, then I see you tomorrow and you show me."

Dawn smiled as she said, "Good! Wait until you see the next dress I have planned for you!"

She turned and started back down the hall when her father called her.

"Dawn?"

She turned back around and said, "Yes Dad?"

"Please do me a favor and spare Marianne from this story. It will devastate her too."

"But Dad, she will have to know sometime."

"Yes, I know, but another time, not while she is with Bog. You know she cherishes her time with him and I don't want to spoil her night. We will tell her when the time is right."

"Okay, Dad...Goodnight."

"Goodnight my dear," her father said.

With that she kissed him on the cheek. She then embraced Yara and said, "Goodnight, Yara."

"Goodnight, Dawn."

Dawn kissed her on the cheek as well and then she flew off down the hall.

King Dagda noticed a couple more tears roll down Yara's cheeks as she held her hand to her face where Dawn kissed her. He offered her another leaf, but she just stood staring down the hall watching Dawn fly away. When she didn't take one, he took one he held to her and gently wiped the tears from her face. A feeling that was dormant for so long began to surface, and just for a moment, it felt as if he were wiping tears from Evelyn's eyes whenever she was upset.

He said, "Yara, are you alright?"

She shook her head and came too and said, "Yes, I am sorry, my mind wander."

She looked down the hall again as Dawn disappeared from her sight and she sighed before saying, "K.D. You have the most beautiful pair of daughters I have ever seen. Not only are they beautiful on the outside, and they have hearts of gold."

"Thank you. Yes, they do have very large hearts and both are very giving girls," He said and then paused for a moment before continuing, "The castle is large and I will not be able to show you everything tonight. Besides, you should be getting some rest too."

"Yes, K.D. We can continue tomorrow. You have already done more than enough for one day," she said.

"There is one more place I would still like to show you tonight," King Dagda said as he put his arm out ahead of him and the other on Yara's back, inviting her to move ahead.

The king brought her up to his study and then to a balcony which overlooked the terrace below. Even though it was still lightly raining out, the balcony was fully covered by a leaf canopy that sheltered them from the rain. It did suffer some damage from the storm, but it was minor and most of the balcony stayed dry.

There was a big low lying mushroom by the wall in which one third of the head ran up the wall which made for a back rest and rest of the mushroom formed a 'seat' that stretched out onto the balcony. It was long enough that you could put your legs up on it, much like a day bed. The king reached around the corner in his study and grabbed a satin sheet and draped it over the couch. It looked very comfortable. King Dagda put his hand out and invited Yara to sit on the couch. It was a bit chilly out, due to the rain and so he brought over a chiminea which had a heat orb in it and he smacked it a few times to start the heat up. Soon the orb was glowing brightly and the chiminea kicked off some heat in their direction. He also lit up some dark amber light spheres to light up the underside of the canopy to give them just a hint of light.

He sat down on the sofa next to her, but keeping space between himself and her so he wasn't right up under her. He just looked out as the rain trickled down off the canopy. It wasn't raining hard at the time and with the amber lights lighting the underside of the canopy and the chimnea, it provided for a warm cozy setting.

Yara looked out towards the terrace and said, "It's beautiful up here."

"Yes, it is, thank you. I often come up here when I want to be alone and just think to myself." He answered. There was a long pause before he continued. "Ummm, if you ever want time to yourself to just think or relax, just ask me and I will let you use the balcony. While there is another balcony off of the dining room, this one is more private as no one uses it but me. Also you tell me you want to come up here, I will also make sure that you are not disturbed."

"I know where your daughters get their good hearts from," she said with a smile as she turned and moved towards him putting her right arm on the back rest part of the sofa. Her left arm she just laid across her curvaceous body. Her wings draped over the couch in back of her.

"Yes, they got it from their mother. She had a very big heart," he answered for her.

"Well, I will take your word for it since I never met your wife, but I know they also get their good hearts from their father too. I only know you for less than a day and I can see what a kind man you are. I see how harmonious your kingdom runs. You are good king."

King Dagda snorted as he laughed and said, "Well, I hate to say this, but you arrived on a good day. Things aren't always as harmonious as you have seen today. Normally, I have to deal with my fair share of drama around here."

Yara laughed and then she said, "I understand, but it is a wonderful change from what I been through the past week."

She again inched towards the king. He swallowed hard and looked Yara in the eyes and the way she was sitting on the couch with her legs now bent towards him slightly. Her dark skin contrasted the light dress she was wearing. His eyes followed the curves of her body especially her hips and legs.

"Can I ask you something, K.D?"

"Sure"

"What DOES K.D. stand for?"

"It's an abbreviation for King Dagda."

"So, Dagda is your name?"

"Yes, and as you probably figured out why I shied away from telling you earlier. I am not particular fond of it."

"Oh? I think it is a nice name."

"It is far from a common name or even an uncommon name for that matter."

"Well, it doesn't sound unusual to me. You should have heard some the names on my island. Some of the guy's names were: Abu, Aziz, Dubem, Belay, Jojo, Kojo, Simba, Tuma, Whanene."

King Dagda burst out laughing when Yara said the last name. She too joined in the laughter.

"Oh, I guess I don't have it that bad then."

"No, Dagda sound like strong masculine name. I like that, it is fitting for a king."

"Really? You like my name?"

"Sure, it suites you well. You are tall and have a strong build to you and you have a strong name."

"Well, I used to have a strong build, but unfortunately now I have this round thing here," He said as he rubbed his belly.

Yara laughed, "That's Ok, I don't mind."

"You are one of the very few that didn't laugh when I told them my name."

"Why?"

"Because it isn't common. Growing up I was often teased about my name. So I have grown shy about giving my name out. For the longest time I shortened it to just Dee and when I became King, I changed it K.D."

"So mainland people are as superficial as I read about?"

"Unfortunately, Yes."

"So, then, you probably think my name is odd because it is uncommon too"

"No, I think your name is very pretty. I never heard the name before today, but it is one of the prettiest names I have ever heard, actually."

By now Yara inched her way up against his arm and leaned in a bit as she said, "Thank you. You make Yara happy."

She then slowly leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. He was surprised that she did so and at first it felt a bit uncomfortable. He wanted to pull himself away, but at the same time he didn't. She started to nestle her body into the couch and his side and she rested her hand on his chest.

His voice cracked as he blurted out, "Are you Okay?"

"Yes. I feel great. Yara have not felt this good in a long time. Thank you, I hope you don't mind my getting a little close."

"Yara we just met."

She pulled back and said, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I just...well...it...just You have been so kind to me and Yara want to reward such kindness. It has been so long that I have felt so comfortable around a man."

King Dagda looked in her eyes and then said, "I understand. It has been a very long time for me too, but.."

At first he was ready to tell her it was too soon, but he stopped cold as continued to look into her golden brown eyes. She had almost a begging look on her face. It was a very pretty look. He then finished his sentence, "...but just stay as you are now, I am not ready to go further."

She lit up and said, "Understood," she said. "Just for comfort then?"

Suddenly with those words, he felt better. It was just being close out of comfort. And he said the same thing back to her, "Yes, that's right, we both need comfort. The comfort of a friend."

"K.D. and Yara now friends?"

"Yes, of course."

Yara smiled and once again snuggled into his side and this time he put his arm around her and rested his hand on her arm. She rested her head in between his shoulder and chest. And the both of them looked out to the terrace and didn't say much.

It was a very comforting feeling. King Dagda looked down to her body and he let his fingers run down the length of her arm. Her skin was amazingly soft and smooth. It was as if her skin were made of silk. He ran his fingers back up her arm and she hummed a bit as he did so.

He started to concentrate on the texture of her skin and his eyes ran down the curves of her legs. All of a sudden it was as if every floodgate on a dam was opened and all sorts of fluids started to course through his veins. Something that was dormant just woke up inside of him. The feeling came over him and it took him back to when he first held on to Evelyn.

He was ready to pull away, but then that would alarm Yara, and he didn't want that. So he just thought to himself that she is just she was just laying on his side, nothing more. All he has is his arm around her, nothing more. It was just for comfort and nothing more.

They continued to rest in silence for a while, but then he noticed that there was little movement from her and her breathing became heavier. He tried to look around to see her face, but by doing so, she let out a few small moans and then went right back to her heavy breathing. Yup, she was fast asleep.

For now, whatever fluids that were rushing inside subsided, but now he was faced with a decision to either wake her up and take her to her room, or risk falling asleep and hoping that he would wake up before everyone else did and thus he could get her back to her room before anyone would know. But no, he didn't want to take that risk. Also, he knew Benny was going to do a perimeter check once the rain stopped.

He gave her a gentle shake, "Yara, Yara."

"Hmmmmmm? She said as she looked up to his face."

"You fell asleep, I think it is time to call it a night and get you to your room."

"Ohhhhh, I am so comfortable right now," she said with a disappointed tone in her voice.

"I know, so am I, but if I lay here any longer I will fall asleep too. I don't want anyone finding us together like this."

"Alright," she said in a disappointed tone as she moved to the side.

King Dagda got up and outstretched his hand and gently guided Yara to her feet. Since the balcony was on the royal bedroom floor, he just had to guide Yara down to the opposite end of the hallway. But he had to quietly pass his daughter's bedrooms. As they drew close, he almost tip toed passed their rooms.

"Why are we..." Yara said but she was interrupted.

"Shhhh." he said softly as he put his finger to his mouth. He then whispered, "They will hear."

Yara nodded and followed tiptoeing to her room. The king opened the door for her and she walked into the room.

She suddenly blurted out loudly, "My goodness this is my room?"

King Dagda ran into the room and closed the door putting is finger to his mouth, "Shhhhhh, they will wake up."

Yara lowered her voice and said, "I can't believe how beautiful this room is. Your people sure can build a castle."

With the door closed they returned to their normal speaking voices.

"Thank you. Yes, they have done an exceptional job on this floor and the main floor of the castle. Above this floor the rooms are for the servants and guards and are less ornate."

"I am not used to this beauty in a bedroom" Yara said.

She looked at the bed which was a huge sunflower blossom that had a silk sheet on it and a royal red gauze canopy over it.

"It is a spare bedroom made for a woman dignitary should one visit. It hasn't been used in a while. It is very similar to Marianne's room, in fact she decorated and furnished this one."

Yara looked around the room the whole time the king spoke to her, when he was finished she looked to him.

"The bathroom is over there. It is a sharing bathroom with the room next door, but fortunately there is no one in that room now. Bog's mother used to occupy that room, but she moved out this morning. So you have the bathroom to yourself. Still, for privacy, make sure the other door is locked."

Yara nodded her head and her face had a beautiful soft look to it when she said, "Dagda, you have to let Yara repay you somehow for so much kindness."

"It's Okay. After your story, I feel that you need to be treated like the queen you are."

"You're a good mon, Dagda," she said in her thick accent.

"Thank you."

"Are we going to finish the castle tour tomorrow?"

"Sure, if that is what you want to do. There is much to see. Tomorrow, if the weather is nice, we are going to the Dark Forest, if you decide to come you can see Bog's new castle as well as Marianne's Pride."

"Marianne's Pride?"

"Yes, it is what I named Marianne's boat."

"Boat?

"Yes. Marianne is a boat captain of a riverboat that runs through the Dark Forest."

"Oh my! I thought she was kidding when she said she was a boat captain."

"No, she really is a boat captain."

"Is her boat as beautiful as this castle?"

"Yes...It is nicer yet."

"Oh, now I can't wait to see it."

"Good! So tomorrow Dawn will fix you up with a new dress and we will head out to Bog's castle."

Yara's eyes once again glistened over as she said, "I can't believe this is all happening. You're so nice to me."

King Dagda's face turned soft and he said, "I am sorry you had such a rough life. You've suffered enough. I guess I just hope in some little way, I have eased some of that pain."

Yara nodded, 'Yes' and she breathing very heavy. He could see her chest expand and contract rhythmically. She had very soft look to her face. If he didn't know better, it almost looked passionate. But she couldn't have those feelings since they just met. But then she started to walk towards him and she had a little sway in her hips.

He started to back up towards the door as now there was no doubt that she had a passionate look in her eye.

"Ummm, I think I best be going as it is getting late and tomorrow will be a big day and you need your rest," He said nervously.

But Yara kept coming closer. He started to turn the knob but she put her hand on the door preventing him from opening it.

"You do so much for Yara, now Yara want to do something for you."

She put her other arm around his shoulders while still holding the door closed with her other hand.

"Yara, please, a simple thank you is enough, honestly I am fine with that, " he said nervously.

"Understood, I am giving you a simple 'thank you'."

Yara narrowed her eyes and pursed her full lips. King Dagda could feel his heart begin to race as she moved closer to his face. Her lips looked amazing.

"I am not ready for this. I...I barely know you, Yara," he said as he closed his eyes.

With that Yara shifted her head to the side and her lips embraced his cheek softly. He could feel the suction of her lips as she pulled back.

"Oh...that was nice," King Dagda said in a relieved manner.

"You have a good night sleep, Dagda. Maybe tomorrow you get kiss here," She said as she pressed her finger against his lips.

King Dagda, still stunned by what just happened, said, "You sleep well yourself, see you tomorrow morning."

"Goodnight, Dagda," she said as she raised an eyebrow.

Yara removed her hand from the door and he opened it and gave her a little wave as he exited. When he heard her lock the door, he then darted for his own room at the other end of the hall. He was almost running. When he reached his room he opened the door and closed it behind him and locked it tightly. He was breathing hard from running. He then started to talk to himself.

"K.D. you are getting too deep in this. You been loyal to Evelyn all her life and nineteen years after her life, your heart belongs to her. I don't get it, all these years surrounded by pretty young women and none have phased me. I remained strong. Why this woman, why do I find her so attractive.

Something happened at dinner. Something clicked. The way she looked in that dress. Her legs, her arms, her face, her makeup. Her mocha skin, that silver kinky hair, her low soft voice. Her curvy body. Even her facial wrinkles are in the right place. No, you never seen a woman like this before, K.D. You weren't expecting this. You were too long celibate. Nineteen years is a very long time, could it be that it has finally caught up with me and I want the love of another? But this hasn't happened before. None of the other women's looks ever phasted me. As for love, I am fine with the love I share with my daughters, that is enough for me. No, it's something more.

Was it because what happened to her that I am compassionate to her plight? Was it because she lived through what Marianne almost went through? Her story was so close. Your compassion goes out to her for leading such a difficult life.

Yes, that could be it. I was kind to her and her response, her affection to that kindness. The appreciation she has for what I do for her. I admit I like that feeling. The look on her face when I do something for her...it just make me want to do more for her. But perhaps once she gets used to it, the feeling will subside and will not be so strong. We both were without a partner for a long time and this is just an initial reaction to affection. Yes, that has to be it. We both wanted some comfort. Yes, the feeling should subside."

King Dagda looked towards his bathroom door.

"Ahhh, That's it K.D. Take a cool shower. A long cool shower. That is what you need. Things will be better tomorrow."