Strange Magic - Marianne and Bog - ButterflyBog Chapter 10: Romancing The Stone, a strange magic fanfic

Strange Magic – ButterflyBog

Raven Diablo

Chapter 10 – Romancing the Stone.

The following morning:

After a wonderful evening of intimacy, Bog woke up with Marianne draped over him. He didn't know what time it was, but it must have been very early in the morning as the skylight from the ballroom casted a hint of blue light on one side of the chandelier. That meant the sun was coming up.

He slowly sneaked out from under Marianne. She made a few sweet and soft sounds and he laid still to make sure he didn't wake her up. She just smiled and muttered, 'beautiful day', and then went right into snoring and it was a nice deep healthy snore too.

Bog had to put his hand over his mouth to stifle a giggle as Marianne had a pretty impressive snore for a woman, but it was understandable as both she and he were still tired from last night. He also started to think that they should head back to the bedroom in his suite because if he fell asleep again in the chandelier with Marianne and they woke up late, they would be preparing for breakfast below. With them moving around to scramble to get ready, the chandelier would be sure to move and upon exiting, that would certainly give a wrong impression to the people below.

With a gentle nudge he pushed on Marianne's shoulder.

"Uhhhhhh, Bog Hon, what is it?" She said as she leaned forward pursing her lips.

Bog leaned over and gave her a kiss.

"I got up and I was thinking that we should head back to my suite."

"Why? It is so comfortable and nice in here. Please, let me sleep." she said as she lifted her head. There were dark circles under her eyes.

"Yes, but they are going to serve breakfast below, it wouldn't look good if we made our grand entrance from the chandelier. You know what your father would say," Bog added.

Suddenly Marianne's forced her eyes open and said, "Yeah, you're right!"

She then slumped back down on the bed and, surprisingly, went right back to snoring.

Bog shook his head and said, "Poor thing. Lots of excitement for her yesterday."

He gathered their things and her dress made one trip to his suite and then came back to get her.

He carefully draped her arms around his neck and carried her with is arms under her knees and around her back.

"Hmmmmmm," she hummed as she nestled into his chest. He then carried her from the chandelier though the ballroom and through the castle.

As he carried her, she murmured in her sleep, "I love when you carry me, Hon."

He didn't know if she was actually talking in her sleep or not, but he replied, "And I love to carry you, dear."

He flew up to to his suite and landed right in front of his bedroom. He then carried her over the bed and gently placed her on it. He was ready to pull away when she suddenly clasped her hands together around his neck and she called out with her eyes closed.

"No, No! NO! Hold me," she called out.

Bog smiled and crawled in the bed whilst keeping her arms around his neck. He faced her body and put his arms around her waist and pulled himself close to her.

"Hmmmm, I like that, my love," she whispered with a smile.

She slowly opened her eyes and looked around.

"How did we get here?" she asked.

"I carried you."

"Oh...I thought that was a dream." she said, paused for a moment, smiled, and continued. "Hmmm, you did carry me."

Marianne then removed her arms from around his neck and then pushed on his chest and he laid down flat. She then draped her body on top of his, placed one leg over his. She then put her head on his chest and began to caress the soft part of his chest.

"Hummmmmm," he hummed.

It felt very good, but instead of an arousing feeling, it was more of a mellowing feeling and he felt very relaxed. He in turn, reached over with his left arm an began to massage her back.

"Mmmmmmm," she cooed.

Suddenly her massaging slowed more and more and eventually stopped as she drifted back off to sleep. But he didn't drift of right away, he just ran his fingers down Marianne's soft arm and shoulder. He could feel all the contours of her arm. She did flinch a bit when he ran his finger nail over the inside of her elbows.

She smiled though and softly said, "Feels good."

Bog continued to gently rub the inside of her elbow and then her breathing became heavier. She started to snore. Her snoring was very pleasing to his ears and it had the effect of droning out any other sounds and soon the sound was making him very sleepy and he dozed off again.

The next time he awoke, the sunlight from the skylight over the waterfall started to spill into the living room and it slowly became brighter and brighter. Marianne still lay fast asleep. Suddenly music started to blare below and it was LOUD! Bog figured it was either Dawn or Sunny pulling such a stunt so early in the morning. More than likely it was Dawn since Marianne woke everyone up the prior day.

The song had a very upbeat and corny guitar melody that Bog didn't like. Both Marianne and himself quickly sat up and made a face.

"Uhhhhhrrrggg. I'm tired!" Marianne grumbled.

"So am I," Bog agreed. "I bet it's your sister."

They both flew out of the bed and right out to the balcony. Marianne stopped short to make sure her nightie was tied properly and nothing was exposed. Bog looked out to the beach and sure enough, it was Dawn standing atop the boat and dancing back and forth. She was accompanied by the three pixies. She was wearing a light green halter mini dress that had gold floral patterns scrolled over skirt section. The dress was unusual in that the skirt was made from silk and the bodice was made from leaves that curved up and out as well as around her neck. As she turned around while dancing, her back was open down to a very daringly low point on her back which was all open. The dress fell to slightly above her knee and flared out nicely from her body. The flare gave her a nice shape in her mid section.

Marianne stood next to Bog and, yelled out, "Damn it DAWN! Not this early, I still want to sleep! Bog put his hands over his ears as he also shouted, "NOT THIS EARLY, DAWN!"

But she took to wing and flew up to them. She stared them down, pointed to them and began to sing loudly as she hovered back and forth to the beat.

(Beautiful Sunday – Daniel Boone)

(Dawn)

Sunday morning, no longer dark
I think I'll take a flight through the park

(Just then both King Dagda and Queen Yara exited the flybridge door of the boat and he shouted, "What's this ANOTHER wakeup call?" Dawn flew in front of them and sang.)

Hey hey hey, it's a beautiful day!

(But instead of scolding his daughter, King Dagda just smiled along with her and started to bounce to the beat. Marianne looked on in disbelief and shouted, "DAD!" He replied, "It's fine Marianne, I haven't heard this one in a long time!" Marianne clenched her fists and grumbled, "Uhhhhhhhhhghh!" Bog just put his hands back over his ears as Dawn continued to sing.)

I've got Sunny waiting for me
And when I see him, I know that he'll say
'Hey hey hey, It's a beautiful day!'

(Just then Sunny bounded out from the rear deck of the boat, but out of the King's line of sight. He smiled up to Dawn and waved to her.)

Hi! Hi! Hi!,

(Dawn threw her fist in the air four times on beat, as she flew around the boat looking to Sunny.)

beautiful Sunday
This is my! My! My!

(Dawn repeats her action, throwing her fist in the air four times.)

beautiful day
When you say! Say! Say!

(Dawn throws her other fist in the air four times on beat)

Say that you love me

(Sunny shouted up to Dawn, "I love you sweetheart!" Dawn hovered above him as she put her hands over her heart and sang.)

Ohhh my, my, my, its a beautiful day!

(Sunny ran out to the beach and Dawn landed by his side, she kneeled down, put her arms around his neck and sang. Marianne and Bog slumped down to the floor of the balcony and just peered through the balustrades. They both grumbled loudly as they covered their ears. Since they were nearly a perfect mirror image of each other in the way they sat, Bog smiled at his lover and she smiled back.)

Bees are buzzing, you by my side
Lets take 'ole Lizzie and go for a ride
Hey hey hey, it's a beautiful day
We'll ride on and follow the sun
Making Sunday go on and on
Hey hey hey it's a beautiful day!

(King Dagda and Yara put their arms around one another and began to sway back and forth. Having had enough Marianne and Bog shook their heads, flew back to the bed and put pillows over their heads. Dawn repeats throwing her fist in the air as she did in the first verse).

Hi hi hi, beautiful Sunday

This is my my my beautiful day
When you say, say, say, say that you love me
Ohhhh my my my its a beautiful day!

(Dawn sings up in pitch and Sunny joins in. They both danced with each other as they threw their fists in the air on beat.)

(Dawn & Sunny)

Hi hi hi, beautiful Sunday!
This is my my my beautiful day!
When you say, say, say, say that you love me!
Ohhh my my my its a beautiful day!

As Dawn's song ended there were mixed cheers and grumbles from below. But it was soon quiet and both Marianne and Bog dropped the pillows from their heads. Marianne's hair was particularly mussed and Bog helped her straighten it out.

He said, "Thank goodness that is over with."

"Yeah," Marianne agreed. "Thank you for fixing my hair, Hon."

"Of course, my dear," he said as he leaned over for a kiss, when suddenly a gust of wind blew by them and into the bedroom. Dawn shot into the bedroom and landed right on the bed with her hands on her hips.

She said, "Wakey Wakey, love birds!"

"DAWN!" They both shouted.

Marianne took her pillow and threw it up at Dawn's face, but it just hit her in the shoulder.

Bog could feel his anger brewing and he couldn't hold back as he pointed towards the balcony and shouted, "Dawn, would you get the heck out of my bedroom and let us sleep!"

"Gee, Sorry, Grumpy and Grumpette!"

Marianne was even cross and said, "Dawn, I love you to no end, but you are out of hand this morning. First that awful song you just woke us up with and then you just barging in here on us landing right on the bed! Go now, I am very tired and so is Bog."

"But Dad liked the song," her sister said.

"Yeah, that is another thing, he yells at me for my wake up call, and he praises you. Go figure."

Bog sat up on the bed and he put his hands to his ears as he said, "Ladies please! If you are going to argue, can you do it somewhere else! I want to sleep."

Dawn hung her head down and said, "I'm sorry, I thought you would have liked the song."

She then slowly flew off.

"Uhhhhhhhgggghhhh!" Marianne shouted and then flew after her before she left Bog's suite.

Bog could barely make out their voices in the adjacent room, but he could hear them apologizing to each other. They were talking about other things as his eyes became very heavy and he drifted off to sleep.

It seemed as if he was only asleep for a few moments when suddenly a very good feeling came over him. The feeling caused that tingling sensation to come over him immediately. He opened his eyes to find a familiar coif of mussed brown hair hovering over his chest. Marianne was driving her tongue deep into the crux of his chest and it felt amazing.

He reached up and gently patted her hair as he said, "Oh, my dear...Now THAT is a nice wakeup call."

She looked up for a moment and said, "Uh huh. I figured you would like this."

"Definitely. You are going to get me aroused now."

She looked up again and said, "Uh huh, that is my intention."

"Isn't it almost time for breakfast?" he asked.

"Yeah, but we have time for a quickie. You up for it?" She asked.

"Of course, my dear."

Later on at breakfast:

Breakfast was going to be served in two shifts as those staying at Bog's Castle had the option for an earlier breakfast or a later one. Marianne and Bog took the first shift since they had to get the boat ready for the return trip. King Dagda was taking the first trip back with Yara and he opted to drive back since Marianne had to take the second trip of elves back to the palace.

King Dagda, Marianne and Bog were up on the rear bridge checking everything over as any supplies that were going back to the castle were being loaded on board. Yara was on the rear flybridge watching too. Bog couldn't help but notice how fascinated she was with the boat and how it worked.

"So you drive us back?" Yara asked King Dagda.

"Yes, for this trip. Marianne is going to make another trip to bring those that cannot fly back to the palace," he said.

He then walked over to his daughter and put his arm around her and said. "You, my darling, look like you still need some rest?"

"I am fine," she said. "Things did get a bit late last night and it took a while before I fell asleep. Dawn's little wakeup call this morning didn't help any."

Her father just burst out laughing and went back to getting the boat ready to leave.

Marianne continued, "I am surprised you didn't yell at her for waking us up so early."

Suddenly her father stopped what he was doing and he sighed as he said, "I am sorry. I don't want it to look like I singled you out. I was ready to scold Dawn too for waking us up, but the last time I heard that song was when your mother was alive and I sang it to her. I wanted to hear it again."

Marianne hung her head low for a moment and then walked over to her father and embraced him. She game him a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm sorry then...I didn't know your mind was on mom."

"Well, just a little, but I found it interesting the way Dawn was singing the song, so I let her continue."

Marianne smiled and then changed the subject as she said, "Well Dad, is there anything you would like Bog and myself to do?"

He smiled and said, "Yes, ask Sunny if everyone is on board and if so, have him cast off the lines and lets be on our way."

Both Marianne and Bog raised their right hand to their brow and said together, "Aye Aye, Captain!"

They looked at one another and laughed. The Fairy King smiled as he said, "You are still the Captain, my darling. I am just the helmsman on this trip. So we leave when you give the order."

Marianne headed downstairs to find Sunny as Bog walked out to the flybridge where Yara was. She opened her wings to catch the few sun rays that passed through the skylight above. Bog looked behind him as her massive wings were extended behind him. He knew she was warming herself up.

"Rough night? Yara see you both tired," she said.

"Yeah, I guess you can say that," he said.

By contrast, as Bog got a good look at Yara's face, she looked very well rested and she was smiling brightly. The rays of sun bounced off her high cheekbones. She stretched her wings out further.

Bog looked behind her and said, "Wow! Either your wings are as big as or even bigger than Marianne's."

She looked to Bog and said, "Perhaps. Yara have biggest wings of any woman at home and only two men have wings bigger than me."

"So, it seems like our guest island queen had a nice night too?" he asked.

"Yes, I did," she said now with even a brighter smile.

He knew that she must have shared something last night with King Dagda, but he didn't ask. Just then Marianne flew up to the flybridge and joined Yara and Bog.

"Ok, we are good to go!" She shouted to her father.

"Aye, Aye, Captain!" Her father shouted back as he put the boat into gear.

Marianne laughed. She turned and looked out over to the river as they slowly pulled away from the dock and headed towards the next chamber of Bog's castle.

Marianne then turned to Queen Yara and said, "You can sun yourself up on the top deck if you like."

Bog looked to her and it almost sounded like she was trying to shoo Yara away.

"Alright, Yara do so when we exit castle," she replied.

She then folded her wings and went inside and Bog could hear her asking King Dagda if she could drive again. He nodded and allowed her to step into his frame. As she put her hands on the wheel, Dagda put his hands on her lower arms and slowly was caressing them. She looked up to him for a second and he down to her as they smiled.

"Uh huh," Marianne said softly to Bog. She then changed her voice to a whisper and Bog leaned over to her mouth. "I think something nice happened between her and my dad last night."

"I do too," Bog replied. "She came out here and threw her wings wide open and her face was all glowing."

"Hmmmmm, definitely sounds like she had a good night."

As they neared the exit of the castle, King Dagda allowed Yara to blow the whistle. As before, she smiled as a child as she pulled the rope.

"Ooooo!" Marianne said softly as she smiled, "I hope they are falling for each other! I so want her to stay. She's good to Dawn and I.

"Yes, she is a rather extraordinary woman and would certainly make a suitable queen for the Fairy Kingdom, since she is already a queen."

"Oh, maybe...maybe I should talk to Rachel to slow down her wing healing so she stays longer. I think the longer she is with my dad perhaps the closer they will become."

Bog's eyes widened at the idea and he thought it over thinking that if King Dagda and Queen Yara did fall in love and eventually get married, the King would probably find it easier to let Marianne go when he married her, for he would want Marianne to live in his castle when they were married. With Yara as queen of the Fairy Kingdom, Marianne wouldn't be saddled with the responsibility of helping her father take care of the Fairy Kingdom as much as he would have Yara to help him.

"Well, I am not one to influence your decision in that matter, but I see your point in that if they are together longer, their bond will increase," Bog said.

Marianne smiled and said, "Well, I COULD urge Rachel to take more rests and not over exert herself. That would prolong Yara's treatment. If I do so into the fall, it would be too late in the season for Yara to fly home and she would have to stay the winter."

Bog raised an eyebrow and said, "Well, again, I leave that up to you."

"I think Dawn would love to have her around longer too," Marianne said. "I know how much she has fun taking a bath with her."

"You seem to have fun bathing with her too, as I have seen."

Marianne giggled and said, "Yeah, I do."

Bog looked passed Marianne and into the bridge. While Yara was still inside Dagda's frame, he was the one driving now and she was caressing his arms. He noticed that her breathing was heavy and her eyes closed.

"Looks familiar, huh?" he said.

"Yeah. Don't mind if I assumed the position myself!" Marianne replied as she moved in between Bog and the flybridge railing and then pressed her back into his body as she held on to the railing.

Bog began to caress her arms. She leaned her head back and he looked down her neck and right down her sternum. He couldn't help but swallow hard as he leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on her neck. Marianne leaned her head to one side allowing him more access as he kissed higher up her neck.

"Oh, you always make me feel so good. I don't ever want this feeling to go away," she said softly as her breathing became heavier and heavier.

She grasped the railing tighter with one hand and closed her eyes as she reached up and held Bog's face with her other hand as he continued to kiss her on the neck. As he kissed her, he couldn't help but watch her breathing get heavier and heavier. But seeing how aroused Marianne was getting, he realized this wasn't the place nor time to allow her to get to such a state and he slowly stopped.

"Ohhhh, I want you to kiss me there longer," Marianne said.

"I want to kiss you longer too...but I see the affect it is having on you and while I enjoy getting you aroused, right now I don't want to get you too aroused."

Marianne sighed as she nodded, "I know. I don't know what it is with me. These past couple days all I can think about is us arousing each other and making love."

"It's not just you. It is me too. Even getting ready this morning in the bathroom, I thought of last night and got aroused, and wanted you."

"Really?" Marianne asked as she turned to face him, "You should have said something, I would have wanted to take care of you."

"There wouldn't have been any time as we had to get the boat ready."

Marianne nodded in agreement and then asked, "Are you still in need? Do you want me to take care of you in the cabin?"

"No, I am good now, but thank you for asking. You are truly a very kind woman."

Marianne smirked as she said, "You know I will do anything for the man that truly loves me."

"And I will do anything for you."

Marianne had that soft look on her face with her eyes partly shut as she leaned forward and began to lick her lips. She draped herself around his neck and he already knew a nice sultry kiss was coming. He held on to the railing with one hand and the other, he wrapped around her waist and drew her near as she closed her eyes. He closed his eyes as their lips met. He thought she was going to give him a slow and soft kiss...but she immediately pressed her tongue deep into his mouth and it took him by surprise.

"Hmmmmmph!" he called out, but perhaps a bit too loud.

Suddenly the King's voice boomed from within, "Everything alright out there?"

Marianne broke off the kiss and called back, "Yes dad!"

Bog softly said, "I am sorry, I just wasn't expecting a heavy kiss like that."

"I guess I should have warned you," Marianne said in a sultry tone.

She still had a sexy and sultry look in her eyes. She suddenly grabbed a hold of his lapels and pulled him towards her.

She whispered into his ear, "Oh you just know how to make me lose control and sing! Wait here!"

Before he could say anything she pushed him aside and then practically ran off inside the bridge and then went through the door to the bathroom.

He then walked into the bridge and just watched as the door slammed behind her.

Both Dagda and Yara looked to the door and then to him.

"Is everything alright?" King Dagda asked.

"Yes, she just took off and asked me to wait here. I think she is up to something."

Yara then said, "Uhhhh huh. I saw the way you two were kissing. ...Very passionate."

King Dagda's eyes flew open at Yara's comment. Obviously he didn't see because he was paying attention to the river ahead.

She then said, "Now don't get upset, Dagda. Your kiss last night was just as passionate."

The king 's eyes grew even wider as he said, "Yara, uhhhhh, we shouldn't be talking about that now."

"Ohhhhhhh! So you two shared a nice kiss together, huh?" Bog said as he leaned against the console and crossed his arms.

Before King Dagda could answer there was a "Psst." coming from the door and Marianne poked her hand and head out and said, "Yara, I need you."

Everyone looked at each other as Queen Yara slowly headed towards the door.

When the two kings were alone, Bog leaned in and said, "And?"

"King Bog, Your Majesty, that is between the good queen and I. Also, I hope I am not asking much as to keep the heavy kisses between you and my daughter in private."

"Of course, I'm sorry. You are right, next time I will pull her aside."

The Fairy King nodded and there was a silence between the two kings. King Dagda then sighed and said, "I was no different than you when I was young. Evelyn and I were very daring when we were younger. ...But last night, kissing Yara reminded me of those times."

Bog lit up but before he could say anything, Dagda continued, "Now, not a word of this to my daughters. I will tell them when I am ready. I have to tell that to Yara too that she is not so open about what is done behind closed doors."

"K.D. I am your friend and eventually will be marrying your daughter, you can certainly trust me to be quiet."

"Very well."

"So, as your friend, I am curious to know if you enjoyed kissing Yara."

There was again a long silence but then King Dagda said in a soft voice, "She kisses beautifully."

The look became very soft in his face as he continued to look out to the river.

Bog smiled and said, "Do I sense her kiss sparked something inside of you?"

At first King Dagda was quiet but then said, "If you must know, and again, this is ONLY between you and I."

"Yes, I already promised I will not say anything to anyone."

"I never experienced a kiss like hers before."

Bog's eyes widened as he said, "Oh really? So she kisses better than your late wife?"

"No, not better, but different. Evelyn's kiss was sheer beauty. Yara...is like...wow!"

"It's those full lips of hers, huh?" Bog asked, "She's more passionate, then?"

King Dagda's eyes flew open and he became flustered at Bog's questions

He answered, "Now, enought, no more talk of this. I already said too much!"

"Alright, your majesty." Bog said as he bowed. He walked away smiling.

Just then the three pixies flew into the bridge.

King Dagda bellowed out, "What the? ...Ladies, the bridge is no place for you, unless it is an emergency."

The green pixie moved forward and said, "I am sorry, your Majesty, but your daughter would like to something to sing to the both of you, particularly to his Majesty, The Bog King."

Bog raised his eyebrows.

"Oh...Yes, well alright, we certainly can use some music now. Very well, proceed," King Dagda said.

The Pixies began to play a very rhythmic bass line and immediately a smile came to King Dagda's face as he began to tap his foot as he said, "Ahhh, this is a good one!"

Given that the song had a disco beat, Bog right away thought it was Dawn that had something to sing since she was below on deck. But the beat was different, it had a more modern drive to it and even he couldn't help to tap his own foot to the song. It had a good feel to it and he liked it.

Suddenly the bathroom door swung open and it was Marianne dressed in the dress that he gave her. She was also wearing an enormous green hat with a large brim that extended passed her shoulders. The hat was very flamboyant with many purplish feathers and a huge purple and gold flower that adorned the cap part of the hat. A purple ribbon ran around the cap part. There was a purple design in the brim as well. The hat seemed to match the dress beautifully. She wore very little makeup around her eyes, her usual purple eyeshadow with a bit of green enhancement towards the sides giving her a more a cat eye look. An effect that Bog adored on her. Regardless of the different way she wore her make up, or the hat, she just looked amazing in that dress leaning up against the door.

Looking passed the doorway, Bog could see Queen Yara looking in from the bathroom bobbing to the beat. But then he looked back over to Marianne.

Her eyes were fixed on him and she had a sultry look on her face as she ran her finger over her lips. But when her father looked over to her and gave her a certain look, she toned down the sultry look but still leaned her back against the door as she began to sing.

(New Attitude – Patti Labelle)

(Marianne)

Runnin' hot, runnin' cold
I am runnin' into overload

(Marianne pointed to Bog and sang)

Your kiss is extreme,

(She to rock her shoulders back and forth as she sang. King Dagda even bobbed his head more to the beat.)

It was so high, so low
So low, there was nowhere to go
Roland was a bad dream

(Marianne strutted over to the window on the right side. Yara walked onto the bridge as she was rocking her shoulders and moving her hips to the music. King Dagda couldn't help but glance back to her every now and then. Marianne continued to sing to Bog.)

You made the wires uncross, the tables were turned
Never knew I had such a lesson to learn!

(Marianne then strutted over to Bog and draped her arms around his neck. Bog just smiled as her powerful voice blared into his face. He reached up and placed his hands on her hips and moved with her to the beat. He was careful not to get too frisky with her since her father was right there.)

I'm feelin' good from my head to my shoes
Know where I'm goin' and I know what to do
You tidied up my point of view
I got a new attitude!

(By now the music was attracting the attention of those on the decks below and they started to fly up to the bridge to check out Marianne's performance.)

I'm in control, my worries now few
'Cause you give me love like I never knew
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
I got a new attitude

(Marianne gave Bog a gentle push out of the way, and then flew off, out the flybridge, to the rear deck of the boat and stood on the large supply wagon. She was rocking both her hips and shoulders to the beat. Bog flew out to join her and stood by her side. Immediately a crowd of fairies and elves gathered on the deck and began to dance.)

I'm wearing a new dress, new hat,

(She pointed to her dress and hat in turn.)

Brand new ideas, as a matter of fact I've changed for good!

(Bog still marveled at the power and strength in Marianne's voice as she belted out the lyrics at full volume. He couldn't help but but to reach out and hold on to her swaying hips.)

It must have been the cool night, new moon, slight change
More than to figure out, I feel like I should….yes.

(The sultry look returned to her face and she then poked her finger hard in his chest as she continued to dance and sing.)

You got the wires uncrossed, the tables were turned
You given' me such a lesson to learn!

(Marianne reached up and took the hat off her head and tossed it down to Rachel below. She put it on and started to dance with Gregory).

(Dawn and Alice then flew up to the wagon and started to sing backup for Marinanne)

I'm feelin' good from my head to my shoes
Know where I'm goin' and I know what to do

(Marianne stepped back and pointed to Bog while rocking her hips to the beat. She looked amazing.)

You tidied up my point of view
I got a new attitude

(Bog took the hand that was pointing to him and he raised it over Marianne's head as he spun her towards him. She ended up right against his chest, but continued to sing out loud.)

I'm in control, my worries now few
You gave me a love like I never knew

(Bog tried to kiss her, but she placed two fingers on his lips. Even though she was dancing very cleanly, the look in her eyes had tremendous passion in them. He could tell she wanted to kiss him too.)

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

(She shrugged her shoulders to the beat whilst in Bog's arms)

I got a new attitude

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ooh

(Marianne put her hand to her forehead and made like she was fainting as she sang out, while he was ready to catch her, she pulled out of it and began to dance into the break.)

[Break]

(The two got into a close dance hold as they danced atop the wagon. Bog glanced down to the crowd and was amazed to see some of the goblins dancing along with the elves and fairies.)

You got the wires uncrossed, the tables were turned
You're giving me such a lesson to learn!

(Marianne and Bog broke more out into a freestyle dance and they moved back and forth. Her arms around his neck and his hands on her waist.)

I'm feelin' good from my head to my shoes
Know where I'm goin' and I know what to do
You tidied up my point of view
I got a new attitude!

I'm in control, my worries now few

(When Marianne sang the next line she turned way from Bog's face as she belted out the line very loud.)

You gave me a love like I never knew
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
I got a new attitude

(Dawn & Rachel, Marianne in Parenthesis)

(Feelin' Goooood)

(Just then Queen Yara spun out from the lounge doorway with her feather fans and began to dance freestyle with them. Benny shouted out, "Oh Yeah! Queen Yara's HOT!" Queen Yara's eyes grew wide as she smiled.)

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh (From my head to my shoes)

(Marianne draped her arms over Bog's shoulders and as she sang out, she had an intense look of passion on her face. Her hands squeezed his shoulders hard.)

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh (OH I NEED you!)

(Marianne sang out as she pulled herself even closer to Bog and just slightly pulled her leg up against his and they moved back and forth to the beat. Yara was dominating the dance floor and she was proving she had some moves as she spun her fans around her. Benny was completely fixated on her.)

I got a new attitude (I got a new)

(Bog and Marianne continued a freestyle dance to the end)

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh (New attitude)
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh (Everything about me has changed)
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh (Baby)
I got a new attitude (I got a new)

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh (I got a new)

Attitude!

(Marianne pulled her face close to Bog's and planted a firm kiss on his lips as the song ended.)

As the song ended, everyone applauded Marianne. They separated and Bog said, "Your public awaits."

Her reply was very seductive as she said, "But I want you."

Bog closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. She looked so amazing, so hot. He couldn't help but want her too.

She slowly pulled away from Bog and had a sultry look on her face as she backed up and mouthed the words, 'I love you' to him. Just before she turned to face the crowd, he did the same thing. The look on her face softened and he could see her chest rise and fall faster. She then turned and bowed to everyone and then suddenly the whistle on the boat blew. Marianne looked up to the bridge and her father was pointing forward. As she turned around she suddenly realized that they were slowing down to reach the dock.

"Oh! Oh! Well, thank you everyone, but I have to get up to the bridge, we are going to dock," she said to everyone as they continued to applaud.

Both Marianne and Bog flew up to the flybridge. Bog took his place while Marianne took the wheel from her father. The two began the docking procedure.

Queen Yara soon came up the steps and was covering her body with her fans and only her eyes looked out over one of the fans.

King Dagda smiled at her and said, "My goodness woman, you move like a teenager."

Yara put her fans down and said, "Really?"

"Well, yes, I mean I certainly cannot move like that anymore. You can still move well to these fast songs.

Everyone laughed.

"You too kind to Yara," she said as she threw her arms around The Fairy King and gave him a very firm hug.

Yara continued, "Even Benny so kind to me...call me hot, and kiss my hand. Wonderful! Yara receive such compliment from much younger man."

Yara was glowing from head to toe and she looked so happy, but Bog looked passed her and wanted his eyes to gaze upon his lover. Now, she...was a VERY hot and sexy woman.

King Dagda, looked to his daughter and said, "Well, if I am not needed anymore, I will accompany Yara back to her room."

Marianne smiled and said, "Thank you dad, but Bog and I have things under control"

Bog looked out towards the dock and noticed they were moving in too fast and shouted out, "Slow! slow, Captain!"

Marianne looked out the window and said, "Geez!"

She threw the telegraph to 'reverse slow' to hasten the slowdown of the vessel. A few seconds later it began to slow down and it just came to a stop a hair before the dock. She then put the telegraph into the 'Stop' position.

"Whew! That was close!" Bog said to his lover.

She nodded and said, "Yeah!"

He then shouted down to the elves below, "Tie her up!"

Everyone started to either fly or walk off the boat. Marianne and Bog made their way down the hall. She knocked on the door to the Captain's quarters and said, "Dad are you coming down?"

"Yes, in a few moments my darling. We….er..a..I will be just a moment," he said through the door.

Bog stifled a laugh as he knew the King and Yara wanted some private time together.

As they made their way down and out of the door of the lounge, some of those on the dock were clapping and cheering Marianne, apparently catching the last part of her performance on deck. Marianne took a quick little bow and thanked everyone again. Just then a gust of wind came and nearly blew her dress up.

"Whoa! A bit windy all of a sudden," she said as she put her hands on her skirt to keep it down.

Benny came up from behind the two. He bowed and enthusiastically said, "Princess, is Queen Yara coming down? I would like to escort her to her seat."

"I think they will be a bit, Benny. However, I am going to need you to watch over things for a bit as I want to do something with Bog."

Bog's eyes narrowed as this was a new one on him. She didn't mention leaving the boat before. Just then Dawn flew up from behind. A gust of wind came again and blew her to the side.

"Whoa! Wind on the move all of a sudden," she said as she landed and waved, "Hi guys!"

Marianne said, "Oh! Dawn, could you and Benny watch over things for a bit. I want to do something with Bog."

Dawn crossed her arms on her chest and said, "Something huh? I bet I know what that something is!"

"Dawn!" Marianne shouted.

"Ok, Ok, I guess you two want your private time." she giggled.

Marianne just smirked as she shook her head, she said, "Dad and Yara are still on board if you need them and Benny will help with unloading the boat. We should be back in about a half hour."

"Okay. I will make sure things are ship shape in the meantime," Dawn said.

Marianne looked to the wagon on board and said, "Benny, can you get the wagon hooked up to Lizzie?"

He bowed and said, "Yes, your highness."

Benny motioned his finger towards Brutus and another large goblin. They helped pull the wagon off the boat and moved it towards Lizzie. Pare was sitting atop her and waved to Marianne and Bog.

Marianne looked to Bog and said, "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"You will see, but we have to get changed first. I don't want this dress getting ruined and you will not be needing that," she said as she pointed to his tartan.

They both went back inside of the boat and up to the captain's quarters and she knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" her father asked from behind the door.

"It's me, Dad. I want to change my clothes."

"Oh? Why don't you wear that dress at the palace to show those that have not seen it yet."

"I will, but right now I want to do something with Bog and I don't want the dress to get messed up."

"Alright, give me a few minutes then."

"Are we doing something very rigorous?" Bog asked.

"Hmmmm, maybe," Marianne answered. "Dawn was on the right track about us wanting private time."

Bog raised his eyebrows as now he knew that wherever they were going, they were most likely going to get intimate with each other.

Just then her father opened the door and said, "The room is all yours."

As they entered they noticed that Yara wasn't with him.

"Where is Yara?" Marianne asked.

She's on the bridge waiting for me.

He said, "Will you be back in time for dinner?"

"Oh yes, definitely. However, we are probably going to miss lunch as I have to go back and get the second group."

Her father nodded and said, "Ok, I will send a soldier to let the second group know you are coming back later."

"Thank you, dad."

They both entered the room and Bog began to remove his garment. Marianne, in a stealth-full manner grabbed a rather small garment from the armiore and a nice silk robe. She went behind the changing screen. She tossed the robe over it.

He squinted as he was wondering what the robe was for. Moments later she pulled it down and put the dress over the screen. She emerged as she tied up the robe. She then put her arms to her side and looked to Bog.

"So, how do I look?" she asked.

The robe was beige and it was nice and appeared to be made from silk. The sleeves were three quarter length and only showing her forearms. Overall it was rather bland for Marianne, but the one saving grace was that it came right to mid thigh on her legs and she was wearing no leggings.

He then answered her, "You look like you are ready to take a bath."

She put her hand to her mouth as she giggled.

"Are we going to be near water?"

"As a matter of fact, yes." She answered.

While Bog was still perplexed about what she had in store for them, but it obviously must involve water. They walked to the front balcony of the boat where there were few people around and they took to wing. Bog followed Marianne and once they exited the Dark Forest, they started to head south. Suddenly Bog remembered the day they went to the cliff and rode the air currents and it all started to make sense. There WAS a waterfall there. His gears were turning and he figured that they might make love close to the waterfall. That would explain why she was wearing such a light robe and why she told him to leave his garment behind. Either they were probably going to get wet, or she was naked under the robe. Perhaps it was both!

"Are we going to the cliff?" Bog shouted.

"Yup!"

Bog lit up as it was an enjoyable experience he had with Marianne the first time. He figured that they would ride the air currents and then make love in the water. As they flew every now and then a gust of wind would push them off course.

"You sure it isn't too windy out for what we are going to do?"

"Naw, we should be fine!"

The waterfall came in sight and then they both dove down towards it. As soon as they cleared the edge, they both outstretched their wings and a blast of air shot up from under them and they flew upwards.

"Whoooo Hoooo!" Marianne shouted.

A blast of air caught Bogs wings and he ended up shooting past her. He yelled out, "Yeah!"

He figured this was part of the surprise and as Marianne rose up to his level, he said, "Thank you, this was a nice surprise."

"Oh, you think this is the surprise?"

"Yeah? Why it isn't?"

Marianne grinned as she said, "I have something else in mind, but for now..."

She opened her wings up wide and then rode another current straight up.

"Whoooaaahhhhhhhh!"

Bog pulled his wings in a bit but angled them up. He ended up shooting over Marianne again and he was trying to land on her like the last time.

"I want to do what we did before."

Marianne looked back and said, "I have a better idea."

"Oh?"

Marianne rode the current over to one of the taller trees that grew from the bottom of the cliff and Bog followed. They landed on a fairly thick branch near the top and Marianne began to walk towards the main trunk of the tree. Bog could make out there was a small hollow in the trunk. Marianne walked into the hollow and Bog was ready to follow when she poked her head out.

"Wait out here, I have a surprise for you." She said.

With that she turned around and disappeared into the hollow. Moments later she came out without the robe on. She put her arms up and yelled, "Surprise!"

Bog's eyes grew very wide. Marianne was wearing the same bikini he saw her in when she was in the bathroom. The beautiful white and green criss cross one. It left very little to the imagination as her entire abdomen was exposed and the leaves that made up the bottom part of the bikini came to a point at each side of her hips. For the top, it looked like it was made from two white leaves that criss crossed each other. The tips formed a 'v' notch in the center and terminated in a curve at her collarbones. The only other thing she wore was a gold band on each of her upper arms. They were very decorative and had an ornate scrolling pattern that ran around the band. She looked incredibly sexy.

Bog swallowed hard as he looked at her and he said, "Oh my! This certainly is a treat."

She chuckled a bit and lifted her arms forward a bit as she said, "You like the bands on my arms?"

Again he swallowed hard and replied, "Yes, very much, my dear."

Seeing her in the small scant outfit immediately was causing a heavy tingling. Bog assumed that they were going to make love in the hollow and he drew nearer to her. But when he went to put his arms around her she stepped back.

"Nuh Ahh," I have to get ready first.

Bog had a puzzled look on his face and he just looked down at Marianne's abdomen. The lines on her mid section changed as she breathed and he was becoming more aroused.

"Marianne, you know I am not going last long with you dressed like this."

"Don't worry, Hon, I DO want you to get aroused," she said. "But we can't get close yet. I want to entice you."

"Well, I am already enticed."

She giggled and then went back into the hollow for a moment and then came right back out with some kind of harness. It was a framework made of wigs and vines. For a moment, Bog's mind was taken off the extremely hot and sexy state his lover was in as his eye glanced over to the odd looking contraption.

"What is that for?" he asked in a puzzled tone.

"Oh you will see!" She exclaimed and then continued, "Can you help me with this?"

Bog went over and took the contraption from her hand as he looked it over carefully. It was indeed a harness of sorts and it was very lightweight, but appeared to be very sturdy. The central part of the contraption was oval in shape and had straps across it. There were four large, ellipse shaped elements that extending out from the large oval and they were almost in the shape of her wings, but smaller. Marianne leaned up against the oval part and placed her wings through the opening in the back. The lower part of the oval had a tie which she began to tie on her waist. Looking down passed her waist, there were another pair of protrusions made from inverted tree bark that extended down to about the length of her knees and they were angled slightly outward. These were also supported by the oval structure and braced by the lower winglike elements. Looking the other way to the back of her head, there was some kind of headrest made from leaves tied to twigs and this, in turn, was also tied to the large oval part on her back. Right where the oval part curved behind her shoulders there were another set of straps. She had a bit of trouble reaching the shoulder ties. Bog got the idea and immediately helped her tie her shoulders to the contraption.

"Thank you," Marianne said.

"You're Welcome, but I don't understand what this whole rig is for."

"You will in a few moments. Can you grab that vine over there?" Marianne said as she pointed to a carefully rolled up vine that was attached to the tree.

He walked over grabbed the vine and unrolled it as he brought it over to Marianne.

"There is a loop on the back of this," she said as she walked to him and pointed to her back.

Due to the way the out-rigged tree bark sections were, it caused her to waddle more than walk as the contraption restricted her upper leg movement to a certain degree. She looked funny when she walked and he laughed.

"Ok, Ok, so I walk funny. Do you see the loop back there?" She asked.

"Yes, I see it," Bog answered.

"Tie the vine to the loop and make sure it is the best knot you can make," She said.

As Bog was tying the knot he he suddenly thought that with the device on her back and tied to the tree, she was going to do something daring and dangerous. He immediately started to get worried.

He said, "Marianne, if you are going to show off again with some kind of stunt you planned...you don't have to go through with it. I already know you are a very strong and talented woman. I don't want you to end up getting hurt over a silly stunt no matter how sure you think you are going to succeed."

Marianne turned around and she had a smile on her face as she looked into his eyes and placed her hand on his cheek.

She said, "It is something I planned for us. Don't worry I will be fine, I thought this out very well. But thank you for the concern. You know I love it when you show me that you care."

"Of course I care. Ya….you...You have become the most important part of my life. I don't want anything to happen to you."

Marianne's had a very soft look on her face as her eyes welled up slightly. She then moved her hand from his cheek to behind his neck and pulled his head towards hers. She planted a firm kiss on his lips.

"Muuuuahhhhh! I love you!"

"I love you too...Now are you going to tell me what this is all about?"

"You'll see!"

With that she walked over to the edge of the branch and said, "Oh, and this isn't a stunt. I am just accepting a challenge."

"Whoa wait a minute!" Bog said as he tried to reach out for her.

But she just leaned back and fell downwards.

"Nooooo!" He yelled out as he lunged forward and tried to grab her arm, but missed.

He glanced over to the vine as it began to pay out its length, but then jumped off the branch after her. As he flew down. Marianne suddenly shot past him going upwards. Her wings were open and the air current carried her swiftly up.

"What the…" he said as she glided past him.

She wasn't flapping her wings and it appeared the force of the air current forced her wings against the contraption and pushed her upwards. He flew up towards her and could hear her whistling as she seemed to lay back calmly and the air current took her higher and higher. Bog flew above her and looked down at her. Her wings were firmly pressed up against the frame of the harness, due to the air current. She looked very relaxed with her head against the head rest. Her hands were folded on her abdomen and her thighs were resting on the protrusions with her lower legs dangling downward. The position wasn't very lady like as the the angle the protrusions were on forced her legs apart a bit. Bog was just bewildered as to what she was up to, but she did look very comfortable and confident in what she was doing.

"I don't get this," he said.

Just then the vine pulled taught and Marianne was just floating in the air current.

"What comes to your mind when you look at me like this?" Marianne asked.

"Oh, I don't know. This whole thing is confusing me. First you get into this contraption, then you say you accepting a challenge and now you are floating here like…ummm...like a magic carpet."

Marianne held her tummy as she let out a hearty laugh. She said, "No, but you are close. I'm a fairy kite!"

He got a good look again at her and the way she was tied to the contraption and indeed she looked like and functioned like a kite.

Bog burst out laughing as well and said, "Ok...so why? And what does this have to do with a challenge?"

"You forgot already, my love?" Marianne said as she crossed her legs and rubbed them together, pointing her feet forward.

She then closed her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair as she tilted her head back exposing her neck more

Suddenly Bog's attention shifted towards her and again the tingling sensation started. She was enticing him, purposely getting him aroused. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks as to what this was she was doing. The challenge she referred to was what he said about making love while flying.

His eyes widened as he said, "You have got to be kidding. You mean...you…found a way?"

"Uh huh!"

"So this whole contraption is so we could get intimate together in the air?"

"Uh huh!"

Bog had a bewildered look on his face as he hovered above her.

"No….no way!"

"Yes, way, hon!"

Bog raised his hand to his chin and said, "Wow, you work fast!"

"Yep! I don't sit on my moss, I am a go getter and get things done. Especially when I am challenged!"

"When did you find the time to do this?"

"Well, I started working the calculations right away when I had free moments in the castle. Then I put it together last night while you were sleeping and then set it up early this morning."

"You came out here alone?" he asked.

"Yeah, but it was light out."

"Still, you shouldn't be coming out by yourself."

"I can take care of myself, my love. I had my sword with me."

Bog shook his head as he looked at her floating in the contraption.

"So what do you think?" She asked.

"Well, this isn't what I had in mind."

The smile left Marianne's face and she said in a disappointed voice, "Oh come now, you didn't expect that we could make love while actually flapping our wings. You can't get aroused that way. At least I know I can't. I have to be in a relaxed position to get in the mood. So, this is the best I could come up with."

"Well, I could get aroused while flying, but the problem is there is no leverage for movement."

"Exactly, this rig solves that and the air pressure underneath will give us the proper leverage."

Bog put a wide smile on his face as he nodded in approval. He looked Marianne over as she laid back and floated in the air current. She certainly looked good with the lack of clothing on her, he wanted to get intimate with her.

He finally said, "Well, even though it's different, but I am willing to give it a shot."

She smiled as she said, "That's great, my love! I was hoping you would say that."

"So how is this going to work?" he asked.

"You just have to position your lower body on mine and lay on top of me."

Bog looked down at her small and narrow torso. With very little in terms of holding on to, he would be laying with all his weight against her seemingly dainty torso. Even though his lower body was narrow and thin and would easily fit on her body. His chest area was huge and he was worried he would be too heavy laying completely on her.

"Ummm, my dear. This isn't like on the floor where I could take some of my weight off of you."

"Don't worry I can handle it. Besides you could also rest your arms on on my shoulders which are directly supported by the harness."

"How come I can't be in the rig since I would easily support both our weights?"

"Wing surface area, my love. While your wings are strong enough to carry the both of us easily while flapping, they don't have enough area to support our weight while gliding like this, so naturally since I have much larger wings than you, I was the logical choice."

Bog nodded in approval and said, "Well, it certainly looks like you DID think this well out, so lets try it out first."

"Sure!" Marianne said with a bright smile.

She then moved her legs outward and rested them fully on the lower protrusions of the harness.

He slowly came down and straddled her hips and held on to her small waist. There was a slight downward tilt to her body but then Marianne changed the pitch of her upper wings and that changed the position of the harness and they leveled off.

Bog just looked at Marianne's face as he folded his wings. He could feel her breathing and started to rub her bare stomach.

Marianne just closed her eyes and hummed, "Hmmmmmm!"

He couldn't help but look around at how Marianne's contraption worked, how the air caught her wings and how the harness kept her wings in place for gliding. It allowed her to float without her flapping her wings.

Bog shook his head and said, "Did you come up with this idea all on your own?"

"Yes, my love. Due to the nature of the challenge, I really couldn't ask for help on this one. But I did look through one of my dad's engineering books, which I found on the boat."

"I must say, even though this isn't what I expected, I have to hand it to you that you are some clever woman to come up with this idea."

She had such a soft look on her face as she said, "Thank you, my love. Well...I'm waiting for you. The air current is making me cold and I need a body on top of me to keep me warm."

His eyes shifted to hers and he said, "You really think we can do this, up here?"

"Yes! Now, come, Hon. Lay down on my body."

Bog opened his wings for balance and he leaned forward and slowly crept his hands up Marianne's body and then put his arms around Marianne's neck as he leaned on her shoulders. He slowly and carefully put his full weight on her body. Because his torso was much longer than hers, their bodies didn't line up perfectly and her head fell more at his chest level. He saw the supports for her upper wings coming out from behind her shoulders and he leaned his arms on the harness and then moved down on her legs. He kept doing that until his head was reasonably level with hers. He was looking for a place for his legs and she noticed.

She said, "Just put your legs on top of mine."

He lifted his legs up and rested them on hers. He leaned more on his arms as to not put his full weight on her, but it felt a bit uncomfortable.

Marianne then said, "No no, hon, lay all the way on me. I want to feel your weight on my chest and you will be more comfortable that way."

"You sure it is Ok, especially now with the air current pushing up on you?" He asked, the sound of concern in his voice.

"Yes! I already told you, you are not going to hurt me if you move carefully. I am a strong built woman, don't let my small body fool you. I am built pretty tough."

Bog smiled as he said, "Of course you are. It's just...

"Besides, I know you are going to be gentle and not just slop yourself down on me," She interrupted.

"Heavens, no!" he exclaimed. "I would never do that."

She just smiled at him and he slowly rested his body on her chest and then let go of the harness and put his arms around her neck as he laid his body fully on hers. Their faces didn't perfectly line up, but they were close enough to kiss. He could feel her breathing deepen and could feel her chest expanding and contracting under him. As before in her dressing room, her breathing became deep, but not labored. He only imagined how strong her breathing muscles were that she wasn't laboring by his much larger body on top of her. It was a beautiful feeling and he just kissed her temple and then rested his cheek there.

"Awww!" she said.

He thought back to when he was laying on top of her in her changing room and closed his eyes. This felt even better as he could feel the bare skin of her stomach press against his. As the air current pushed against her wings, she moved upwards, her body pressing into his body. Then the current would subside and they would come down a bit. It was a rhythmic cycle that repeated itself.

"Ohhhhhhhhh, this really feels nice!" he exclaimed and then looked to her. "You sure I am not too much weight for you now?"

Marianne closed her and hummed, "Hmmmmmm, no way! I love this. It feels awesome!"

Bog smiled as he said, "It does feel amazing."

As they both took in the moment, the smile on her face grew wider and she looked very content as she placed her hand on his cheek and said, "I told you, Hon, I was careful and really thought this through. This is going to be a special moment for us and I didn't want to mess it up. We just can't get too wild now, that's all."

Bog looked at the rig and how the thin twigs were lashed together with vines. It did bend and twist a little as they moved up and down with the current of air under them. He could tell that if they got too aggressive, the entire rig would just come apart under them.

"Understood," he said. "However, let's move around a bit now to test it."

"Okay."

They both moved and shifted their bodies around as if they would actually move when they were getting intimate. The harness did groan and creak a bit, but it looked like it would hold up to their movements if they keep those movements more shallow than aggressive. Satisfied that the rig was sturdy enough, he looked to her and said:

"I think this will work!" he said. "I'm impressed!"

"Thank you, my love. Now lets do this for real!"

He nodded as he sat back up, extended his wings out, and repositioned himself upright on Marianne's thighs. She raised her arms over her head and grabbed the harness, purposely flexing her arms as she pulled on the harness. Her arms were so curvy, shapely and defined. He watched closely as the muscles moved beneath her skin. The tingling sensation started up within him. She knew he fancied her arms and it was definitely a sure fire way to get him aroused. But in addition to her arms, her exposed abdomen also caught his attention. She began to flex it as well and hard too. The lines of definition on her abs came and went when she breathed. In the bright daylight, not only could he see the three prominent vertical lines on her stomach he was accustomed to, but she also had faint horizontal lines on the upper sections of her abdomen. Her muscles were showing more through lately and it certainly appeared as if they were getting stronger. The tingling sensation escalated.

As he continued to watch her abdomen, he said, "Damn! Your stomach looks great."

Marianne giggled and said, "Oh, thank you! You are looking pretty darn good yourself."

He didn't realize that while he was checking her out, she was checking him out!

He smiled and said, "Thanks."

She looked amazing laying there. Seeing her tied up to the harness as scantily dressed as she was, made her even look more sexy and he was feeling very aroused. He placed his hands around her abdomen and just concentrated on her breathing. He watched the small lines on her abdomen come and go. He then started to gently trace each depression on her abdomen, paying closer attention to the new faint one he could see. Even though he could barely see the line, his fingers could really feel the separation in her stomach muscles beneath her skin. He then flattened his hand and ran it over her stomach. This caused her to moan.

"Ohhhhh!" Marianne called out. "Oh, you are so gentle. More please!"

As he continued to run his fingers over her abdomen, he felt the muscles beneath her skin alternately stiffen up and relax. Feeling her abdomen with his his fingers was more intense than watching it. The tingling began to accelerate even more.

Between breaths she seductively said, "I see you are fascinated with my stomach, huh?"

"Yes, I like the way it feels. It feels nice and strong."

"Thank you."

He lingered around her abdomen for a while before running his hands up her sides. In doing so he leaned forward. His hands kept going higher up her sides until he reached the pit of her arms. He grazed his fingernails over the depressions under her arms.

Her eyes flew open as she gasped out loud, "Ohhhhhhhhhhhh! Yeah! That feels really good."

He decided to linger a bit under her arms listening to her moan as she closed her eyes.

"Mmmmmm, Yes! I love it!" she called out.

He then moved higher, caressing the inside of her arms, running his fingernail in a circular motion as he traced around her arm bands.

"Oh, you know exactly what to do to me!" she gasped as her breathing intensified.

He decided to wrap his hands around her upper arms right at the arm bands. She looked up to him and then flexed her arms really hard and he could feel them expand in his hands.

"Damn! I like that!" He exclaimed.

"I was hoping you would," she said.

As he moved higher and higher up her arms, his face became closer and closer to her face. Her breathing became deeper and deeper and he could feel her abdomen press against his as she inhaled.

He reached the inside of her elbows and her fingers splayed out as they just rested on the harness.

"Uhhhhhhhhhh! That feels so good! You have the perfect touch!" She exclaimed.

Her body began to move under him as it was clear he was getting her in the mood too. As she moved, the tingling sensation kept growing. They both were getting aroused in mid flight high above the waterfall.

Suddenly she just reached up to his neck and pulled him down towards her, immediately planting her lips on his.

"Oh! Hmmmmmmmph!" Bog called out.

Her kiss just completely mellowed him out. She didn't go softly and slowly either. She was fairly aggressive and he could feel her tongue push into his mouth and it intertwined with his. He liked it very much and he began to move his tongue around hers.

For a moment she opened her mouth and called out, "Ohhhhhh!"

But then she came back and placed her lips on his and drove her tongue even deeper into his mouth.

"Hmmmmmmmmmmm!" he hummed. He also moved around more too.

He ran his hands up and down her arms, firmly squeezing them every so often. Then he reached her hands, they clasped around his with a such a strong grip. He was amazed that for the thin dainty fingers she had, her grip was very strong. She was very much the tough girl she always tells him she is. It was her strong little body moving under him that was getting him more and more into the moment. But her kisses were equally strong and powerful and he was being drawn into her kiss as he started to run his hands all over her body.

"Mmmmmmmmmmm!" She hummed loudly into his mouth.

Marianne pulled her tongue from his mouth and began to kiss and lick the perimeter of his lips.

"Uhhhhhh! Oh! Oh!" He called out.

He placed his hand behind her head and lifted it a bit as he firmly placed his lips on hers and then pushed his tongue into her mouth and curled it under her tongue.

"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!" She hummed loudly again.

They were both starting to get too much into the kiss and moving around much more. The harness was starting to make groaning noises under them. The vines that held it together were beginning to strain.

Bog went deeper into her mouth and she opened her mouth to envelope his. After kissing him for a while, she then broke off the kiss just for a moment and moaned loudly.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" she gasped. "Oh, you are such a good lover! You always know how to please me. Now let me please you."

She was near panting, but the look on her face was very sultry and very seductive.

She then told him what to do next, "Lean forward and lean your elbows on the frame you were holding before when you first placed your body on me."

"Dear, that's going to put my chest right over your face?"

"Uh huh."

Given that she was tied to the harness, Bog was (at first) worried that he might smother her, but after he got into position as she instructed, he was able to lean on the harness. He looked down to her and she had enough room. But then he also noticed the reason why she had him go into that position. Her mouth was right near the crux of his chest.

"Uh oh," he said but in a playful tone. But deep inside, this is something he wanted her to do.

"Oh, you are in for it now, hon." she said in a VERY sultry voice.

She raised her head a little and then he could feel her tongue gently touch the soft part of his skin just above his sensitive are. Immediately it caused him to breathe hard.

"Ohhhhhhhh!" He exclaimed.

Almost naturally he slowly moved his body a bit forward and that allowed her to go deeper into the crux. Also as the air current pushed up against her, it also pushed her body into his, and thus pushing her tongue further down as she licked his chest. The feeling was so erotic. As she drove her tongue deeper into the crux of his chest she brought her hands to his arms and began to caress and rub them.

It was an overload of pleasure for him. Marianne knew most, if not all of his sensitive spots and right now she was caressing one of his most sensitive areas. She could work wonders with her tongue. Everything together; them almost magically floating on air, her chest expanding and contracting under him as she breathed deeply, her gentle, but strong hands running down his arms and finally her talented and beautiful tongue pressing into the crux of his chest. It was more than he could handle and he easily reached the point of maximum arousal.

He leaned up a bit pulling his chest away from her face. She had a puzzled look on her face. But then she started to smile as Bog reached around and began to look for a tie or clip that held her bikini top in place.

But then she said, "Not yet, my love. I want you to keep lying on me."

"But I want to get you in the mood, dear."

"Of course you do, but there is another place I would like you to go first."

"Oh?"

She turned her head so her ear was close to his mouth and she said, "Work your magic on my ear."

Bog recalled to when they had their game to find each others sensitive spots, when he found out that a fairy's ears are just as sensitive as their genitals. With that he took the tip into his mouth and gently sucked on it.

(Marianne Pov)

"Ohhhhhhhhh!" she called out. "Uh huh. Yes!"

Even though the tips of her ears weren't as sensitive as the lobes neared her face, it still felt very good. She knew Bog was teasing her in working from the outside in. But that was what made intimacy with him great. He teased her, but never for too long as he always gave her what she wanted. But the teasing heightened the moment and she found it very arousing. She kept her eyes closed as she could feel his tongue circle around her ear tip and then slowly moved inwards towards her face. But again, he played coy and moved to the lower edge of her ear.

"Mmmmmm, that feels good!" She called out.

She was already aroused from their movements earlier and their kissing, but then after moving his tongue back and forth on the lower part of her ear, he moved out and then slowly ran it on the top edge. A shooting feeling of pleasure shot through her body as the gentle touch of his tongue on her upper lobe made her call out:

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Yeah!"

But he didn't linger there long when he finally reached the inside of the top edge, just before entering the ear. This was the most sensitive spot on the ears.

"Ooooooooooooooo! Yes! Oh yeah!"

Her breathing became intense and she could feel her body start to tense up. Bog was fantastic, his touch was perfect and as he slowly ran his tongue back and forth on her ear, alternating the top edge with the inside edge. The feeling was building up inside of her and her breathing became very intense.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," she called out loudly.

"Are you ready, my dear?"

"Yes, I'm ready," she answered.

Bog shifted his weight a bit so he could reach behind her back and the harness let out a loud groan. His movement changed the angle in the air stream a bit and they pitched a bit down and started to drop.

"Whoa!" he said, and got his wings ready to fly.

"Sorry!" She said as she changed the pitch with her upper wings and then they leveled off and floated back up to the way they were.

Once the vine was taught, Bog resumed to get her ready for the moments of intimacy to follow...

Mature Chapter 10a:

Several Moments later, (Marianne's point of view)

As they were going through the motions of intimacy, Marianne could hear the harness groaning and straining more as they moved. She thought to herself that even though she purposely made the harness lightweight, perhaps she made it too lightweight. She underestimated how much they would be moving around. Suddenly she heard a snap and her eyes flew open wide.

"I heard that!" Bog said.

The both stopped moving for a moment.

"Uhhhh...I think it is OK, it was just the wood settling in," Marianne said as she held on to him.

"That didn't sound like settling to me, but like something gave way," Bog said.

She didn't want the intimacy between them to stop. While the snapping sound was a cause for alarm, the rig seemed to be OK. Also to stop now was something she didn't want to do. They continued on and a few moments later there was another snap and the whole harness bounced.

"Uh oh!" They both said together.

With the next gust of wind that pushed them up from below, there was the sound of something straining heavily, followed by yet another loud snap. Marianne could feel the rig starting to collapse inward towards her body, it made a loud groaning sound as it folded in on itself.

"Oh no!" She cried out, "Its collapsing!"

The next gust of wind came and the support under her right leg gave way and Bog lost his balance and almost slumped down on top of her, but he opened his wigs just as Marianne could feel the harness giving way under her. With the way she was tied to the contraption, she couldn't move her wings and she was tied to it and it to the tree. She could feel herself start to fall, but Bog acted fast and threw his arms around her shoulders and her waist. She draped her arms around his neck and her legs around his.

"I got you," he said.

"Thank you," she said.

Pieces of the harness started to break off and fall down and into the churning waters of the waterfall. As Bog was carrying her down to the branch with the hollow, he held her with one arm as he helped her undo the belts. When they were all undone, the rest of the harness slipped away from Marianne's body and made its journey towards the waterfall below. The vine pulled taught and there was a loud snap as the taut vine ripped apart whatever was left of the harness.

"That could have been me if you weren't so fast and grabbed me," she said.

"No, I would never have let you go. Not while I am here."

She looked to him with a smile and hugged him as she said, "You make me feel so safe and secure whenever you are around."

The tingling feeling that she was feeling when they were flying was still strong and it somewhat made her a bit uncomfortable. But she hoped it would subside soon.

Bog gently set her down on the branch and Marianne opened her wings and fluttered them. Bog looked behind her and then poked his head passed her shoulder and said, "Your wings are fine."

"Thank you, I was going to ask you if they were alright."

"One step ahead of you, dear," he said.

She smiled at him, but then she thought about what just happened and she was starting to get upset. The rig wasn't strong enough to hold them and they didn't finish. Bog placed his hands on her cheek and said, "You look upset,dear?"

"Yes, Because I failed."

"No you didn't. What we shared up there was wonderful. I think that is a success my dear."

"No it wasn't. It would have been a success if it stayed together. I...I thought I designed it right. I spent hours looking over my dad's engineering books and ran the numbers over and over, but still, it wasn't enough. I just have to face it that I am just not as smart as he is."

Marianne knew she was very competitive and she hated to lose. But sadly this time things didn't work out. But Bog wasn't the least bit disappointed.

"Well, perhaps he could help you make a better one," he suggested.

She narrowed her eyes at her lover's answer and said sarcastically, "Oh yeah, I can see my Dad's face now. 'Hey Dad, I need you to help me make a device so Bog and I can make love in mid air.' Yeah, right, that'll be the day."

"Well don't tell him the exact purpose...just that it has to hold two people in windy conditions."

She sighed heavily and shook her head as she started to sway side to side. The tingling feeling wasn't subsiding.

Bog said, "I think you are very smart for coming up with this idea in the first place. I mean...I would have never thought of this. It was a pretty good idea. It just needs to be refined. I will help you then. Just let me look over the calculations."

Marianne smiled and said, "Thank you, Hon."

She knew they could definitely build another one using both of their minds together.

He just smiled at her and rubbed her cheek and said, "I think you did great. We did make love while flying."

She smiled too and threw her arms around his body, placed her head on his chest and said, "You always know how to say the right things to me."

As she held him by his waist and pulled him close to his body, the tingling sensation that she was having before, steadily increased. Despite her being slightly upset, Bog made her feel good and she started to get a sultry look in her eyes as she looked to him. She wanted to kiss him and hard! She began to lick her lips which felt dry. She didn't have to ask him as he knew what she wanted and he lowered his lips to hers.

The kiss started off slow and soft. Marianne liked it. He kissed around the edges of her lips and the feeling made her tingle even more. It was growing and growing the longer they kissed.

She separated from his lips for just a moment as she called out, "Ohhhhhhh!"

Then she firmly placed her lips on his again and immediately put her tongue in his mouth. The tingling sensation escalated dramatically. Marianne quickly realized that she wasn't finished. She wanted more, but it was starting to get late and they had to get back to the boat. So she broke off the kiss.

"Wha? What's wrong? Why did you break it off? That was great!" he asked.

"Bog we have to get back to the boat soon," Marianne replied.

"Yes, it is getting late."

Marianne started to walk back and forth and tried to get her mind off her lover in an attempt to shake off the feeling. But it wouldn't go away and it wasn't subsiding. Despite the fact that they stopped kissing, the feeling was escalating. She found she couldn't look at Bog as gazing upon him was causing her to want him. She ended up storming off to the hollow.

"Whoa, wait, my dear. Now what's wrong?"

Marianne leaned up against the wall of the hollow and she couldn't stop looking at Bog. She started to breathe heavy as she looked at his body and face. How his huge strong chest tapered down to his narrow waist and hips. Then there were those long sexy legs of his. She began to breathe even harder. The heavy breathing was making the tingling surge through her and she knew she wanted to be with him some more. She started to pull and tug at her bikini bottom and she started to rub her legs together.

Bog's eyes were fixed on her as to what she was doing. She knew her movements looked very erotic and sexy to him and she still was in need of more loving. He got the message and walked over to her to share another round of intimacy with her.

Mature 10b:

In the afterglow of a very heavy intimate moment with each other, they both laid down in the hollow together, in each other other's arms. They both were breathing heavy after they shared yet another moment of intimacy with each other.

After several moments had passed, Marianne could slowly feel her eyes getting heavier and heavier.

Bog gently shook her and said, "Don't fall asleep now, dear. We have to get back to the boat."

Suddenly her eyes flew wide open and she exclaimed, "Damn! We are really late now!"

"Yeah, we got to get back and now," Bog said.

"No way, we have to clean up first," Marianne said.

"Oh...Yeah, definitely," Bog said. "Luckily we are near water."

Marianne nodded as she flew back into the hollow and grabbed her robe. Then they flew down to the stream below and quickly washed up and then they flew back towards the Dark Forest.

"That was amazing! Ughhhhh, you were fantastic, my love," Marianne said.

"I have to say, my dear, you were a love making goddess back there! Wow! Awesome!"

Marianne's eye's widened as she smiled, "Me? A love goddess?! Oh my I am so honored, my love."

"You are damn good."

"Oh! You are so good to me too! Making love to you seems to get better and better everytime.

"I really wanted you to have the best moment of intimacy of your life."

"Hmmmmmmm." She squinted one eye as if she was deep in thought and then said, "Definitely one of the best.

"Oh? Not THE best?" Bog asked as the smile suddenly left his face.

"Last night in my changing room, THAT was the best, but this was definitely up there."

"Oh Okay, That is good to know," he said as the smile returned to his face.

"But this was VERY long though. It was definitely the longest of my life and the most erotic too."

"Oh yeah! You just kept going."

"I know!" she shouted. "Do you see what you do to me?"

Bog nodded as he smiled. Marianne then pulled around in front of Bog and stopped him.

"Why are we stopping? We are late as it is."

She looked him in his blue eyes and said, "I just wanted to thank you for being such a wonderful gentleman and always thinking of me when we are close. You are the most unselfish man I have ever been with especially when it comes to making love. You always put me before yourself. Most guys aren't like that….at least none that I have been with.

"I told you before...now that I have you, I want to keep you...forever. So I am going to do what it takes so that you never want to leave."

Marianne could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as she thought about what he said, and as a single tear ran down her face she said, "I will never leave you as long as you will love me. I will be a good queen too and always stand by you. And when you need loving, I will definitely be there and will never ignore your needs."

Bog sighed as he got lost in her golden brown eyes and the beautiful soft look she had on her face when she spoke. He wiped the single tear from her face as he said, "You are an amazing and beautiful woman. You are the best thing that ever happened to me and...I find I can't get enough of you."

"You're gonna make me cry again. I must be such a romantic lush in your eyes."

"No, not at all. You are just being the wonderful woman you are."

"Stop!" she called out. "You're kind words are killing me. "

Bog sighed and said, "Your kind words are amazing too. They make me feel good inside."

Marianne laughed loudly as she arched her shoulders forward and said, "I think it is as my sister says...we have it bad for each other."

She embraced him and she said, "If you are not too tired, can you carry me back? I just want to be in your arms."

He smiled as he said, "Sure, of course."

He grasped her waist with one arm and as she folded her wings, he pulled her close to his body and then held her shoulders with his other arm. She sighed loudly and held his arms as they continued to fly towards the Dark Forest.

He could tell she was exhausted and he felt very tired too. He began to think about with what Marianne told him and what they shared earlier, it kept gnawing at him that she DID win the challenge. For the most part she WAS successful in having them make love while flying. He was wondering now that she was probably expecting that proposal from him. Perhaps that was why she was so mushy and why she was intimate with him for so long. She probably was expecting him to follow through on what he said and why shouldn't she? That was what he told her. It was his word. However, he certainly wasn't ready yet for that. He swallowed hard for he was worried what her reaction would be to what he had to say next.

"Ummm, about the challenge."

"Yes, my love?"

"I know I said I was going to propose to you if you found a way for us to make love while flying."

"Oh, don't worry about that. First off, I failed. Second, I know you weren't expecting me to come up with something so fast. Heck, I know that a good proposal takes time and I don't want to rush you to do something you are not ready for. Third, I wanted to see if I could do it...but sadly it is back to the drawing board."

Bog breathed a sigh of relief as she WASN'T expecting him to propose to her, understanding that he might not be ready to.

"Oh, alright." he said. "But, regardless, you DO have a proposal coming to you."

"That is for certain and you know I can't wait for that."

The two of them continued on their way back to the boat dock. But as they continued back, he craned his neck down to look at Marianne and he could see a bit of a disappointed look on her face. He wasn't sure if the look was because she feels as if she failed, or that he wasn't going to propose to her that day…like he said he was going to do.

"You don't look very happy, all of a sudden." Bog said.

"Oh, no I am very happy actually. Just a bit disappointed though."

"Oh?" Bog asked.

He read her face correctly and she confirmed that the look on her face WAS of disappointment. Now the only thing was to find out why she was disappointed. Luckily his answer came sooner than later.

"Yeah...if that rig just held up, then I could have proved to you that is a viable way to make love while flying."

"Don't dwell on it, dear. I am sure that you will figure it out soon enough and I will help you too."

"Oh you bet! I would love for us to work on this together. I think with a little more bracing it might work better.

He couldn't help but smile at Marianne's determination. But as they were on the approach towards the dock, he could hear a little voice in the back of his head saying, 'You gave her your word. Going back on your word isn't very gentleman like. Worse, this is the woman you love and she loves you, your future wife. Deep inside she is expecting you to propose.'

But before he could dwell on it, the boat and the river came into view. He could see a very irate Dawn standing on top of the boat with her arms crossed and tapping her foot on the aft-bridge roof and drumming her fingers on her upper arm. She started to fly up towards them and she had a VERY angry look on her face and Dawn very rarely gets angry.

Marianne said, "Uh oh, here it comes. I think you better let me go."

Bog released Marianne and she unfolded her wings and then flew alongside Bog.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!" Dawn shouted as she pointed her finger at her sister. "You are nearly an hour and a half late!

Marianne had a meek look on her face as she said, "Sorry sis...the time got away from us."

"That is no excuse!" She exclaimed loudly as she shook her finger at her sister. "You said you will be gone for a half hour and here I am waiting and waiting here, getting worried and you both weren't showing up!"

"Ummmm, we fell asleep, Sorry," she said even though it wasn't true.

Bog just nodded with her in agreement and said, "Yes, we drifted off."

"There are elves and goblins that need to get back to the castle. The fairies couldn't wait and flew back on their own...some are still scared to fly through the Dark Forest and wanted to take the boat.

Bog raised his finger and said, "Oh, that you don't have to worry about. Everyone in there knows not to harm any of the fairies or elves, by my order."

"Still you weren't here!" She said angrily as she held her arms to her sides and clenched her hands.

Bog said, "Sorry, but it was the truth, the time did get away from us."

At least he knew he was being truthful by saying that. But then Dawn reached over and pulled on Marianne's robe.

"Dawn!" She exclaimed.

Dawn narrowed her eyes as she placed her arms across her chest again and said, "Bikini, huh? I know what you two were doing."

Marianne said, "Dawn, please don't tell Dad. I don't want him to think I am being irresponsible with the boat."

"No, I wont...because I love you sis."

With that Marianne reached out and hugged Dawn and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"You are the best sister ever, Thank you."

"I know, I know...I am too good to you," she said.

"That you are. You have always been the best sister ever and will always be."

The anger left Dawn's face as she smiled and said, "Thank you. You are the best sister ever too."

"Thank you," Marianne said as she reached pulled Dawn closer to her and hugged her again.

Suddenly Sunny bounded out on to the rear deck of the boat and said, "Oh Sunshine! Where is my Goddess of Love hiding now?"

Bog's eyes widened as he said the same thing to Marianne moments earlier. But his lover's facial expression was different.

While still holding her sister, Marianne's eyes narrowed and she questioned "Goddess of Love?"

The look of shame appeared on Dawn's face as she withdrew from her sister and glanced down to the deck below. But then her look shifted to a hard stern look as she said, "Well, you were gone so long and after I kept thinking about what you two were doing. Well...I wanted to do it too! So, Sunny and I borrowed the Captain's room again."

Bog couldn't help but burst out laughing and that caught Sunny's attention below.

"There you guys are! Where have you been?"

"Sorry Sunny, but Bog and I accidentally fell asleep and..."

"Need not say anymore, Princess. I know."

Bog got an evil thought in his head and flew down to Sunny, put his hands on his waist and said, "Oh...You know? Really, and what is that supposed to mean?"

Suddenly Sunny's eyes grew wide as he looked off to the side and said, "Ooooooo, nothing really!"

"Uh huh."

Dawn flew down and said, "Well, enough chit chat. Lets get going, we are already late."

Bog nodded and said, "Yes, quite right."

Marianne and Bog flew up to the forward bridge. She went into the captains quarters to change and then joined Bog in making preparations to get the boat ready to return to his castle.

When they were under way, Bog couldn't stop talking about the moment they shared. She didn't once mention the challenge, but he couldn't help what it is she was thinking deep inside. It was then he made the decision. Marianne WAS mostly successful and as a gentleman, now he had to live up to his end of the challenge and he wanted to make good on it and in the very least, attempt to surprise her. He wanted to wow her. She worked hard for it and she deserved it. He wanted to prove he was a good gentleman that stands by his word and his woman. There was no talking out of it now. He was going to do it. But first there was some ground work he had to put in place and people to talk to as there was very little time to do it in since it was already mid afternoon. Then finally came the largest task, to put together a proper engagement ring. But half that task was already done.

Marianne said, "Hon, you been awful quiet all of a sudden."

"Oh! Sorry, my dear. My mind was on something. I will be back in a moment, I just want to put on my tartan."

"Okay, love. Go ahead. I love the way you look in it."

He went into the bathroom and sighed. He then looked around and even though the room was fairly clean there were splayed hand marks on the wall by the hot tub.

Bog smirked as he shook his head, "They must have made love in the hot tub."

He continued to the bedroom and put on his tartan. In the pouch on the belt he took out a small black box and opened it. Inside was a ring setting for an engagement ring. It was gold and had small green diamonds on it. But, it wasn't complete...it was missing one thing...the main diamond. His mother gave him the setting back when he started to date Marianne. He thought back to that night and recalled what his mother said:

Flashback to Griselda's temporary room at the Fairy Kingdom palace:

"Son, you are going to need a ring to put on her finger. I know the fairy people and they definitely like to show engagement with a ring. So make sure it is beautiful and has the biggest and brightest diamond you can find."

She pulled a large suitcase out from under the bed, tossed it on the bed and then climbed up on the bed. She opened the suitcase and began rifling through it.

"It is not always their practice, mom."

"Yes, but she's a rich princess and you are a king. She is not going to expect anything less from you."

"Roland didn't give her a ring."

Griselda sneered as he said, "Figures! Well all the better then that you give her one. You are my son and a thousand times the gentleman that idiot was. You are WAY better than him. Besides, your father gave me a ring, and back then he didn't have much money. But he did it out of love for me."

She went back to rifling through her suitcase.

"Alright, mother, I see your point but I don't have a ring, I have to get one."

Griselda walked to the edge of the bed and got up into Bog's face and said, "You didn't think I had this already planned out, did you?"

"Well, no not really."

"Hmmmmph," she grumbled and then went back to her suitcase. "It's in here somewhere."

"What are you looking for, mother?"

"Ahhhhhh! Here it is!" Griselda said as she pulled a ring out of the suitcase and handed it to Bog.

Bog took a look at the ring. It was a very scrawly and elaborate gold ring. It had green diamonds that came up from the sides and twisted out from the setting for the main stone in the middle. The setting was large and meant to hold a large diamond, however, the diamond itself, was missing.

"It's beautiful. Was this your engagement ring, mother?"

"No, it was my mother's. She lost the stone and when she died I got the ring. I wanted to have it fixed one day to wear outside and show I had a nice rock on my finger."

"So why didn't you have it fixed?"

"Well, a diamond that size will not come cheap and at any rate, I would rather see you give it to that lovely Princess Marianne. I know she will appreciate it and take care of it since she is such a good woman."

But mother, where am I going to get a diamond for this?

"Well, either you buy it, or look for one."

Bog looked at the ring and then thought back to what is mother said about his dad.

"Mother, you mentioned that Dad didn't have much money, so did he find the stone for your ring or buy it."

"Oh he found it. Took him a few years to do so, " she said as she retrieved her own engagement ring. It was much smaller and simpler in appearance, but in the center was a beautiful purple diamond.

The look on Bog's face sank when his mother told him how long it took for his father to find a stone for her ring. As he looked at her ring he said, "Oh. I would love to get Marianne a stone this color and it would go perfectly with the green diamonds on grandmother's ring."

"Very hard to come by, my son, BUT your father did tell me where he found the diamond for my ring, he said there were many more stones there in that color."

"Really? So where were they?" Bog asked excitedly.

"In the back of the Dark Forest, across the large river right where the largest tree grows out of the river bank. Going straight in from the tree is a cave. In there he found the purple diamonds."

Back to the current day:

Bog sighed as he looked at the ring. He then wrapped his fingers around it as he made a fist and shook it in the air in front of him as he spoke:

"It looks like I have no choice but to make to the Forbidden Forest. It seems to be the only way I can get a ring on Marianne's finger today. It will be dangerous, but for Marianne...she is worth it!"

Thinking to himself again, the Forbidden Forest was a foreboding place. It was infested with spiders of many breeds that ate just about anything they caught in their webs. He remembered at one time how the Dark Forest was over run with spiders and their numbers were destroying everything. So in his first year as he was sworn in as the Bog King taking over for his mother, his main goal was to do something about the over run spider population that was taking over the Dark Forest. He knew there was a Spider Queen and she lived in the far corner of the Dark Forest. He made a trip out to see her and make a deal with her in an attempt to control the spider population in the Dark Forest. He was lucky that she was very reasonable and took his offer. He ended up giving her the entire third of the dark forest, east of the river, for only the spider's use in return for her not to allow the adult spiders to feed in his part of the forest. The young spiders couldn't be helped as they didn't listen much to the adults anyway. They didn't eat much either and in fact their presence in the Dark Forest kept other bug populations from getting out of hand so he didn't mind the presence of the smaller spiders.

He was correct in saying that it was going to be a dangerous trip, for if he was caught by one of the larger spiders or flew into a web...it could be the end for him. But he remembered his mother's directions and he already had a idea of where the cave was from when he last was in that part of the forest when it was under his rule.

He just shook his head and said, "It must be done and it must be a surprise."

Later on that day:

Bog caught the break he was looking for when Marianne said that she was going to fly to the palace as her dad needed her to take care of a few things and she wanted to take a nap since she was up almost the whole night working on the harness. Bog just said he had to take care of things himself too. The two kissed and parted. With Marianne away from the castle, he began to put his plans into place. First, he saw Sugar Plum, since she knew magic and once he had the stone, she could set it faster than anyone else. When he told her that he was going to propose to Marianne, she was completely ecstatic and agreed to work on the ring for him.

After his visit with her, he then saw Stuff, Thang and Brutus and told them to prepare the royal table in the ballroom with two place settings for a midnight dinner and also to relay a message to the cooks to prepare a nice late night meal.

Finally Bog prepared himself for his journey, taking only a knife, a light orb and a small chisel with him in a small pouch he tied to his waist. He then took off towards the far end of the Dark Forest. It took a while to reach the border between the Dark Forest and the Forbidden Forest. He came upon the large river which was the dividing line between the two forests. He looked to the other side, it looked very dark, dank and desolate across the way. He didn't want to go, but there were no purple diamonds that he knew of in his side of the forest and he spent days looking shortly after his mother gave him the ring. So now he had no choice, there was one location he knew where they were. Bog quickly thought out what it was that he had to do and he started across the river.

It was already getting late in the day and he had to get a move on. Usually at nightfall was when most spiders were active and he didn't want to get caught. But because they moved around more at night, they were fairly easy to spot. But at night...the webs where what he worried about. He took a deep breath and then he started to fly out over the river. Keeping low he flew fast thinking if he was seen, he could easily be mistaken for a dragonfly. As he flew along the river he could make out the enormous tree that his mother spoke of in the distance and he flew out right for it. He came to a landing right before the tree and using the river as a guide, he put his hand up perpendicular to it and said, "The hill with the cave should be about 5 minutes or so in."

As he flew into the Forbidden Forest, his heart started to beat harder as it began to get darker the further he he went into the forest. More and more webs were also present. While the forest did have a lush canopy, near the ground it was more desolate. There were no iridescent lights, no beautiful bushes or flowering trees. This forest was more desolate than his. He suddenly realized that perhaps flying in full steam was not a good idea as without all the colorful cover, he would stick out like a sore thumb. Also, flying at this speed, he could easily be ensnared in a web. Instead he opted for a slower approach taking cover as he laid low and hopped from one large tree to another. At first it was very quiet and he didn't see any spiders, but the webs alerted him to their presence. But as he got deeper into the forest, he first saw one large spider, then two. But soon he had to watch all around him. Above to the sides left and right. He only moved when none of the spiders were looking. While he was making progress, it was taking far too long and it would certainly be dark before he exited the forest and found his way back across the river.

He ran into a couple close calls, when one spider thought it saw him and he hid when it investigated. But it turned around and left the area. Another moment he almost dove from a tree into a very fine threaded web and he saw at it in the last second, and swerved out of the way in time. Shortly after, he came upon a large rocky hillside and he could make out a small cave like opening at the middle of it's base.

"That's it!" he exclaimed softly to himself.

He carefully made his way to the hillside and then flew into the small cave...or so he thought...While the opening was small, the cave opened up into a huge massive cavern before him. The cavern was lit up from above with similar light spheres that were in his forest. The light revealed that the cavern several tunnels and it was loaded with webs.

"Oh Sugar Honey Ice Tea!" Bog whispered loudly. "Where do I go now, Mother?! You didn't say anything about this!"

She didn't tell him about this part, but more than likely she didn't know either. Realizing that it could very well take days before he found what he wanted he was starting to think that coming out might have been a bad idea. For one, if his beloved Marianne found out, she wouldn't be happy in the least bit. He knew each of those tunnels could contain an unpleasant surprise. As he looked around, he quickly counted a total of twelve tunnels.

"Well, I guess going from left to right is the approach."

Bog carefully walked into the first tunnel and it was a short one...he could see the back of it from the entrance. It looked to be empty. He looked around carefully and didn't see anything but dark grey walls. He turned around and went into the next tunnel carefully. This one was darker and reached for the light sphere in his pouch and he decided to light it. As he raised the light, this tunnel went further in. He followed it in and it turned around a bend. Going in a bit further he was again presented with a wall. So he went back out into the main chamber. But he stopped at the entrance when he saw there were two large spiders in the center. They were talking in clicks and pops. Bog did understand some words in spider, but not a lot. As he strained his ears to listen to the strange language, he could make out that they were talking about a shortage of food and that they should keep their eyes peeled for any potential meal. He swallowed hard and waited for them to exit the cavern.

As he made his way for the third tunnel, something caught his light by the entrance. It was the tiniest sliver of purple. As he picked it up, it was indeed a purple diamond, or at least part of one, but it was far too small for his setting. He figured that perhaps the third time would be the charm and that the diamond would be in the third cavern. So again, he raised his light and entered slowly. He turned left, then right, then another left and he kept walking and walking. After nearly 5 minutes of doing so, he came to a fork.

"Damn!" he said to himself.

He decided to go back as it was getting too risky and it was going to be dark soon. Perhaps his mother might know more. But just for the heck of it, while he was there, he tried to go down the left tunnel. He didn't go far as he was presented with an enormous web that blocked his path. While he could have cut his way thorough it, the web seemed to go on quite a bit in the distance. He shook his head and then headed back. He was going to try the other tunnel, but now that he was facing the way he came in. He saw some writing on the wall. It was the initials KTT.

He said, "Kurzon Thurston Thistlewhite. Those are my father's initials."

As he walked over to the initial carved into the stone near the entrance, there was another symbol next to them and he brushed the years of dust off of it. It was an arrow that pointed up.

Bog looked up and there was another tunnel on the ceiling and another glint of a piece of stone caught his light.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he said, "You were smart, Dad, to leave a mark behind for me to follow."

He flew up into the chamber above and it winded and twisted around all corners and even went up and down. There were points where he had to stop and walk his way around webs. But then he heard the sound of water. He flew ahead a bit more and then he could see some light ahead. He decided to land and and then walked the rest of the way into the the space ahead. It was another large cavern that had some light crystals in it and a large waterfall. The cavern was very beautiful. He slowly entered the room looking around corners. Then he made his way towards the waterfall, but as he looked around there was nothing else. But his eye caught another marking at the mouth of the waterfall. He decided it was safe to fly up to it and investigate. Again he saw the letter KTT on the wall with an arrow pointing in to the mouth.

Bog slowly flew in and he followed the river into yet another cavern. This one was much smaller than the first but also had the glowing crystals but around the bend his eyes widened at that he saw...for embedded in the wall was an enormous purple diamond.

"Bingo," he said. "Mission accomplished!"

With that, he walked over to the huge stone and pulled out the small chisel he had in his pocket. He found a good sized rock on the ground and he put the chisel on the edge of the huge diamond and gave it a good whack. The resulting sound echoed throughout the chamber and down all the caverns. Just then Bog realized that what he did was a bad idea. He knew some spiders had echo location and if that sound reached one of them, they could trace it back to him. To make matters worse...the chisel didn't even scratch the surface of the diamond. Realizing too late that the only way to cut a diamond is with a diamond he once again hit a road block. However, if he found another large diamond...one he could pick up and he placed that on the large diamond and hit it with the rock, that would do it. So he began to look around for another large diamond, but there wasn't any in the current chamber. He decided to fly further up the river with the stone he picked up and see if there was another chamber and luckily there was one not too much further in. But there were another pair of spiders in this chamber and while he strained to hear what it was they were saying, the flow of the river was too loud to make out anything clear. He waited until the spiders left and then he entered the chamber. Inside there was another huge diamond but no smaller ones.

"Damn!" He said as he wondered how much longer it would be before he would find a suitable size diamond. But as he turned around there was a much smaller diamond in the wall behind him and, what more, this one had a huge crack in it. With his chisel and the stone, he lightly tapped around the cracked part of the diamond and it was coming loose. Soon it dropped to the ground with a huge thud. Bog went to pick it up and he could barely do so. It was VERY heavy for its size. But with all his might he lunged forward and slammed the two diamond pieces together. The bang was deafening but he saw that the already fractured surface cracked even more. So he picked up the diamond chunk again and gave himself a running start from the end of the carvern and again slammed it into the diamond. The sound even louder than before.

Three or four large chunks came off, but all were still too large and too heavy to carry with him. He figured he might be able to break one of the larger ones in half. He was ready to pick up the large diamond again when a glint of light came from the corner. He went to investigate and there lay a small sliver which could easily fit in his pouch. This one was the perfect size to be refined into the shape needed to fit the ring. Heck it was large enough to make 10 diamond rings from. He grabbed it and stuffed it in his pouch and then started to make his way back. But when he returned to the main crystal chamber below the waterfall, there were 10 spiders in there and he could make out them discussing the loud sounds. He knew he was in trouble if he he didn't get out of there soon. But right now the way in was blocked by the spiders. There was no way he would be able to escape undetected, so he waited in a dark corner until the spiders dispersed. Most of them went out the main tunnel or other tunnels in the cavern, but two headed his way. He flattened himself as much as possible in the dark corner so he wouldn't be seen. He got lucky as they walked right passed him. But now he had to go where the entrance was and that was were most of the spiders left the cavern.

Bog found out that as he grabbed the wall, his claws could easily hold him to it he figured crawling on the ceiling might be best and as he made his way to the entrance, he crawled up to the ceiling of the cavern he made his way that way until the hallways started to twist and turn. He eventually made his way to the main large chamber where he started. He could see the entrance, but there were two large spiders in the room. They weren't talking with each other and by the way they were moving, Bog could tell they were guarding the room.

Bog mouthed the word "Damn" without saying anything. He needed a diversion and fast as he could hear something coming up far down the twisting passage behind him.

There were no rocks or anything near him, but he had his light orb. He knew he had to move fast for once he took to wing, they would make noise and attract the spiders to him. He took the orb and tossed it across and in the direction of the fourth opening. The orb bounced off the wall and made a loud thud as it split open into a blinding flash of light. Immediately the spiders went to investigate and when both of their abdomen's were turned to him, he took to wing and made a mad dash for the entrance. His wings buzzed loudly. As he exited the cave, darkness was creeping in quickly and without the light orb, he would have to make it to the river before everything became pitch black. He made it to a nearby tree and he looked all around. It appeared that he wasn't seen. But with it getting dark it also meant it would be harder to see the darker colored spiders in addition to webs. If he got caught in a web, and couldn't get to his knife, it would be over.

He hid on top of a leaf and waited for a bit and sure enough the spiders came outside. If it wasn't for the fact that his wings made so much darn noise when he flew out, he probably could have easily slipped by totally undetected. Several minutes ticked by as the spiders looked around near the entrance, but then they went back into the cave.

Bog looked up to the sky and it was becoming a deep blue now, evening was giving way to night. Soon there would be more spiders coming out and he had to get a move on. He decided to glide from tree to tree with his wings open. If he didn't flap them, they didn't make noise and he was very quiet. So he tried it out for a few trees and it worked beautifully. But he could only glide so much and soon he came to a point where the ground came up under him. He figured he would make his way further away from the cave on foot and when he was close to the river, he would just fly and make a dash for it.

As he made his way back he came upon several groups of spiders and he had to move slower and slower. All the while he was looking up at the sky as it got darker and darker. But soon he could hear the river in the distance. As he continued on his way, he suddenly heard some rustling noises behind him. He moved at a bit of an angle to the river to get away from the sound. The sounds didn't follow and he breathed a sigh of relief as he headed back towards the river. He looked to the sky and it was now becoming purple. Even though he had good eyes and they could react to the slightest bit of light, it wasn't any good in pitch black. It was getting harder to see branches and twigs on the ground and all it would take is for him to step on one small twig and it would be all over. Also walking was taking too long. He made his way to a very tall tree and decided to scale it, jumping up and making short flight bursts upwards. When he got high enough he looked down and could see movement all along the ground. More spiders came out and worse, they were heading towards the trees and climbing them. He had to get out and now. So he did what he did before and hopped from tree to tree. When he was halfway down the next jump was a far one and he had to fly in short bursts to make it over. As he did so, he looked around him and it didn't seem like he was detected. He glided down towards the trunk of the next tree and then...WHAM! It was like he flew into an invisible brick wall. He flew right into a web! The web strands were like an instant glue and he was near motionless in the web. His wings were free, but he thought if started to flap them, they might get ensnared too and it would draw attention to him. He had to think and think fast. He checked what he could and couldn't move. His hands, head and arms were plastered firmly in the web and he couldn't move his right leg. But his left leg he was able to move it. He yanked backward really hard and his leg was free. He brought his foot up to his left hand and pushed against the web where his hand was. At the same time he pulled on his hand with all his might.

"Uhhhhhhhhh!" He called out a bit.

Her heard a tearing sound as the web gave way and he was able to work his hand free.

"Yes!" he whispered.

Just then he heard some movement in the tree higher above him. He grabbed into his pouch and pulled out the knife he had and started to cut his other hand free and then finally his foot.

The sounds grew louder above and he then quickly shot away from the tree, flying in bursts to the adjacent tree, making sure the path was clear this time. He kept a strong hold on his knife during this time and even waved through the air as he jumped, just in case there were any more thin spun webs in his path.

Again he found himself at ground level and he looked at his knife and kissed it before putting it back in his pouch. He was much closer to the river now and there were less webs here. But it was also much darker out too. He proceeded on foot some more and the sound of the river came closer and closer. But soon, he could hear other sounds coming from behind him and even above. Then there was a loud thud close by him and, he decided he was going to make a fly for it. He flew over to a very tall tree and then he flew up as high as he could over the tree until he had a clear view of the river. He then dove towards the river and the Dark Forest. But now being out in the open over the river, he was still a target for any creatures that bordered the forests and sure enough, it wasn't long before something very large was heading his way.

"Oh Sugar Honey Ice tea!" he said and then he flapped his wings as hard as he could towards the Dark Forest.

But going so fast made his wings buzz very loud and he was worried this might attract more attention to him. But for now he had something large on his tail and he had to shake it and the only way was with speed.

Whatever it was, it had huge wings, and it probably had a large mouth too. It was coming up on him fast. In the Dark Forest he was the fastest thing with wings and that what was following him was just as fast keeping pace with him. No wait! It was gaining on him! He knew though, once he made it into the Dark Forest he knew he had a better chance of escaping what was following him. Bog began to pour on the speed as fast as he could until he suddenly heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"Bog! Stop! It's me, Marianne!" The voice called out from behind.

"What?" he said as he looked behind him.

The voice came from the creature that was following him.

"Marianne? That's you?!" He asked as he was ready to dart off again.

"Yes it's me," she said as she pulled out a small light sphere, but had her hand over it so it only cast a small glow of light on her face.

"Oh for heavens sake, dear! You scared the crap out of me. I had no idea what it was that was following me. What the heck are you doing here instead of safe at the castle?"

"What am I doing out here? What the heck are YOU doing all the way out here? I am worried sick at the castle wondering where you are and then Brutus tells me you went to the border," she asked suddenly raising her voice.

"Shhhh Shhhh, that's the Forbidden Forest and I don't know what is all in there," he said as he pointed across the river. I don't feel like becoming something's dinner tonight."

Marianne lowered her voice and asked, "If that's the case, what were you doing in there then?"

"There was something I needed to take care of."

"In the Forbidden Forest? You are the one always telling me never to cross the river and go in there and here I see you flying out there like a bat out of hell."

Bog didn't have an answer at first, but then he skirted the question by telling her a slight fabrication of the truth as he didn't want to spoil his surprise.

"I needed to get a special stone to fix a piece of jewelry that originally belonged to my grandmother. I wanted to fix it for my mom and the stone I needed to fix it only exists in there," he said as he, again, pointed to the Forbidden Forest.

"Bog, are you telling me you risked your life going in there alone all for a piece of jewelry?"

"Well, uhh, yeah... But no worries, I am fine."

"No worries? I was worried stiff!" She exclaimed, but then she narrowed her eyes and continued, "Something doesn't sound right. Your mother wouldn't ask you of such a thing."

"No she didn't ask me. I did it on my own as a surprise for her."

But before Marianne could answer, there came the cry of some sort of animal from the river bank of the Dark Forest. Immediately she drew her sword.

"Let's get out of here and we can talk more in the forest," Bog said.

"Agreed. Where is your staff?"

"I left it at home figuring it would attract attention."

"So you went in there without a weapon?" She said.

"No, I have my knife, he said as he pulled the small knife out of his pouch."

Marianne immediately had a stern look on her face as she said, "You have got to be kidding me."

She put her sword up and pulled out in front of Bog.

"Let me lead!" Bog said as he pulled the knife in front of him.

"No way, you only have that tiny thing, I have my sword."

Bog didn't like the idea of her being out in front, but she was right as she had a much larger weapon with a far greater reach than he did. Further, he was more adept at fighting with a staff than a knife. Finally, she was a pro with a sword, so he reluctantly let her lead.

As they were flying back, the cry came out again, it was closer now and it sounded like something was in pain.

Suddenly Marianne stopped said, "Bog that sounds like something's in trouble"

"Or it is something that is being eaten by something big enough to eat us," he said.

As it cried out again. Bog could barely make it out and it was definitely a spider. But he couldn't understand it fully.

"It sounds like a spider," he said.

As they got closer to the sound Marianne let a bit of her light shine in the direction of the sound and both her and Bog could make out a young spider that was lying on the riverbank of the Dark Forest.

It was afraid and cowered a bit when they got close. It was waterlogged and both of it's frontmost legs were broken. It was also bleeding badly from one of the broken legs.

It wasn't an ugly spider, but it was rather attractive with black and yellow markings on its abdomen. Its legs started off brown and then changed to black. It's thorax was a gray color.

"Awwww, Bog, it's hurt. We have to help it out," Marianne said as she put her sword away.

"No we don't dear. The first thing that spider is going to do is go to its queen and say that I invaded the Forbidden Forest and then they are all going to come here to deal with me by invading MY forest.

"Darn it Bog, if you knew it was dangerous to go over there, then you shouldn't have gone in there. No piece of jewelry is worth that kind of risk."

"Ok, perhaps it wasn't the smartest thing to do. I figured I could get in and back out with no trouble."

The spider called out again and this time, Bog looked at the spider and suddenly his face softened. He knew it was in pain.

Marianne looked to Bog and said, "What's the matter, I see the change in your face."

Bog swallowed hard and said, "In a way I feel bad for it. It is a nice looking spider."

Marianne suddenly got a stern look on her face and she said, "That's it then...I am helping it."

She leaned over the spider and said, "Don't bite me now, I want to help you."

"Marianne please, you don't know what you are getting us into. If the other spiders see what we are doing they are either going to attack us for sure or alert their queen. They don't know we are helping it."

"Well they are not here now, and the more we talk about this, the spider will bleed to death."

Bog looked at the spider's face and it appeared to be completely helpless.

"Alright, lets get Rachel."

"No we can't, she went back to the palace, remember?"

"So what do you suggest then?"

"Well, I have seen Dawn use splints and bandages on wounds when Rachel wasn't ready to help someone. I also know the healing flower she uses. It would start the healing process until Rachel was ready.

"Alright we'll help it. You look for items to fix its legs and I will look for some heat spheres to warm it up."

Marianne smiled and then gave Bog a quick kiss.

She began to look around for materials and soon she was off collecting leaves, small twigs and vines. She found the healing flower on the river bank too. Bog flew off and went to look for some heat spheres to help dry the spider. He didn't have to go far to find them. They both then came back together. Bog set up the heat spheres around the spider and then helped Marianne by holding the spider's broken legs in place as she prepared the flower, the leaves and put splints on its legs and dressed it's wounds.

On the leg that was badly broken, its clasper was broken off.

"Awww, he lost his foot!" Marianne said. "Poor Stumpy!"

"Oh, now you are going to name him?"

"Yeah, why not."

The spider made some clicks and pops that Bog couldn't make out. The heat spheres did their job well and soon the spider regained use of its legs and was beginning to move them.

Bog continued to watch Marianne finish up with the spiders legs. She did a good job as the spider started to get to it's feet. He was amazed at how she put fear behind her to care for the spider...a creature most fairies would run away from.

Marianne then proceeded to pick up the spider.

"Whoa Whoa, what are you doing? He will be fine here."

"No, I am not going to leave him here, he belongs over there."

"Marianne!"

"Please?" She looked to his face with large doe eyes.

"Well, I can see there will be no talking you out of this", he said as he grabbed a hold of Marianne's sword and drew it.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"This time, I lead," he said to her. He then looked down at the spider and said, "Marianne is going to carry you across. If you bite her, I bite you!"

With that he lifted Marianne's sword up and the spider started to cower.

"Stop! You're scaring it!" she called out.

The spider made a few sounds, but it seemed to understand as it folded its legs under its body and Marianne picked it up and took to wing. Bog flew upwards and lead the way across the river bank. There was a small clearing on one part and that was where they set down and released the spider. It slowly got up on all of its legs and it began to spin around as if it was happy.

Marianne laughed and then said, "Awwww, you seem like a nice spider, Stumpy!"

Even though one of its legs was just a stump, it could still manage to walk on it. As it headed off towards an opening in the brush, it turned around once more and bowed to Marianne and then it turned to Bog and made a few clicks and pops.

"You're Welcome," Bog said.

"It thanked us?" Marianne asked.

"Well, I didn't understand much, as I don't understand spider too well, but it kind of sounded like that."

Marianne bent down to the spider and pat it on the head and said, "Your Welcome...now go home to your family."

It bowed again to her and then turned around and took off in the brush.

Suddenly there was some rustling in the brush from the left side of the clearing. Bog lifted the sword in that direction.

Marianne and Bog looked at one another and said together, "Let's get the hell out of here!"

They both took to wing and flew across the river as fast as they could. Once they were across they could see Brutus waving in the distance.

"Oh, good he stayed!" Marianne called out.

As they landed in front of Brutus, Marianne took her sword back from Bog and put it away.

Bog looked crossly at Brutus crossed his arms on his chest and narrowed his eyes as he said, "I thought I told you not to tell anyone where I was going?"

"Sorry Boss, but when you didn't come back at the time you said you would, I got worried. Marianne was worried too. So I told her."

"Brutus, Marianne was the last person I wanted to let know," Bog said.

"Why?" Marianne blurted out in an angry tone as she started to clench her fists.

Brutus then said, "Marianne is a strong warrior that can fly."

Marianne turned to Brutus and said, "Thank you Brutus."

Bog saw that Marianne was becoming discontent and he looked to Brutus and said, "Could have a moment alone with Marianne."

"Of course, Sire. I will just wait over behind the large tree there."

"Thank you," Marianne and Bog said together.

Once Brutus disappeared behind the tree, Bog said, "Why? Because if I were to lose my life in there I didn't want you coming after me."

"That is the reason why I didn't want you to go in there. Bog, if there was a chance to go in there and save you, I would! Right now I am just angry with you for going in there and risking your life. That wasn't bright of you to go there alone. What if something killed you in there?"

"Well, I had my knife with me."

"Oh yeah, that massive huge knife," she said sarcastically.

Bog was ready to mention that the knife actually did save his life, but he decided to play it smart and not mention it to her as it would make her even more upset with him.

He just said, "Well, depending on the situation, sometimes a smaller weapon is better."

Marianne just shook her head and said, "All my life I been waiting for a wonderful gentleman to come and sweep me off my feet. Now, finally, you have come into my life and you are more of a gentleman than I could have imagined. You make me feel so wonderful…You mean so much to me."

She raised her fists in the air and at first it looked like she was going to hit him hard, but then her fists came down and just gently hit him in the chest as she burst out in tears, "What would I do without you?"

She then splayed her fingers out as she continued to cry. Bog raised his arms and gently held her close to him. His face softened as he realized that she was right. What he did was not smart...it was too much to risk just to get a purple diamond. He knew her well, and he knew that she would have been happy with a regular diamond. Something that he could have bought in the Fairy Kingdom and not risked his life for.

"You're right. I'm sorry babe...Come now, Lets go back."

"Don't you scare me like that again," she said as she moved to his side, leaned into his shoulder and held is arm.

"I thought nothing scares you...tough girl."

"Well, almost nothing."

He hung his head low and looked into her eyes and said, "Will you forgive me?"

Marianne looked to his face and smiled as he wiped the tear tracks from her face.

"I already have when you called me, babe," she said as she got on her tip toes, leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. She pointed to her chest and said, "Next time you do something like this, I am coming with you."

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you anywhere near this place and I did that to protect you."

"I don't need to be protected, As I said, I am a tough girl and I can handle myself."

"I know, but..." Bog said

Marianne interrupted him by putting two fingers on his lips and she continued, "I want to be with you to protect YOU, because I don't want to know a life without you. Losing you scares me more than anything else!"

Suddenly Bog got such a warm feeling inside with the way she spoke with such strength and conviction. He stared into her golden brown eyes as they still were shedding tears. He knew now more than ever that the woman that was standing before him would be his future queen and he wanted her now more than ever. Such strength, such goodness and kindness. And she had all these feelings for him. For the first and only time in his life, he was experiencing the power of true love. It felt so amazing. Furthermore, day by day she was becoming more and more beautiful in his eyes and for several moments he just held her and gazed into her beautiful eyes. He became lost in them. He slowly lifted his hand up and wiped her tears away from her face. She cracked a smile and she looked so beautiful.

Then Brutus' voice broke the silence as he said, "Uhhhh, your majesty? Are we going?"

Bog came too and looked over to Brutus and yelled out, "Yes, Brutus, let's get going."

As they started back Bog then said to Marianne, "Did you walk all the way out here with Brutus?"

"No, Stuff told me Brutus knew where you were and he was working at the night camp tonight gathering supplies and I flew over to it. Then Brutus took me to the border."

"Oh! Right. I forgot it was your turn to work at the camp, Brutus," Bog said.

"Yes, Sire...so it was very convenient," Brutus replied.

Marianne held on to Bog's arm and rested her head on his shoulder as they walked. She seemed so content there and it just felt so good to have her there. Soon they could see the lights from the camp.

Brutus then said, "It's only a bit more to the camp, I can go on my own from here," he said.

Marianne walked over to Brutus and said, "Thank you, Brutus, for helping me."

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek and then said, "You are very loyal to your king and kingdom. You looked out for Bog's safety instead of keeping a secret. Thank you for telling me."

"Awww shucks Princess, you know I would do anything for you," he said wringing his hands together. He then turned to Bog and said, "I am sorry, Boss, but I just wanted to see you back alive. I await my punishment for disobeying you."

"Well...for your disobedience...I..." Bog started to say, but then Marianne interrupted by crossing her arms on her chest and shaking her head in disapproval.

Bog smiled as he got the message from her.

"Well, Brutus, I am not going to punish you. But I am a bit upset that of all people...you sent Marianne after me."

"Thank you boss, but I did tell her not to go, I know you wouldn't have liked it, but she insisted and wouldn't say no. She wouldn't leave either until I told her where you went off to. Also...if anyone could have found you and brought you back safely, it's her."

Marianne said, "I was being stubborn. I wanted to make sure you were safe, my love."

"Alright, alright. Can we put it behind us now? Everyone is alright," Bog said.

"Yes, thank goodness for that," Marianne said.

Brutus bid Marianne and Bog a good night and they did the same. He walked off towards the camp while Marianne and Bog took to wing and flew off to his castle. Judging by the sky he figured it had to be around 9:00pm by now. Time was running out and he poured on the speed.

As they flew, Marianne said, "Why are we flying so fast? Do you have a hot date planned for us?"

Bog laughed and said, "Hmmmm, yeah, as a matter of fact I do."

"Really?" She said as her eyes opened wider.

"Yeah...it is a bit of a surprise."

Marianne smiled and then jokingly said, "So what happens if we are late? Will whatever you are planning turn into a pumpkin at midnight?"

Bog burst out laughing and said, "Yeah, you could say that."

"Oh really?" Marianne looked at him in disbelief with a smirk and raised eyebrow.

"No, not really, but it is just something important and it needs to be done tonight."

"So are you going to tell me?"

"Well, if I told you, then it wouldn't be much of a surprise," Bog answered.

"Oh, Okay. I guess I have to wait then," she said with a disappointed tone in her voice.

Bog raised an eyebrow and smiled as he said, "Yup!"

Once they entered the castle, they landed in Bog's throne room. He put his hands on Marianne's shoulders and said, "Oh, as for the surprise, meet me in the ballroom at eleven 'o' clock wearing the dress I gave you."

"Oh we are going to dance?"

"Yes! Most definitely."

Marianne smiled and said, "Oh! I bet you planned a romantic dinner for us, huh?"

Bod nodded and just said, "Yeah...I guess you just have me figured out."

She just smiled and excitedly said, "Alright then, I will start to get myself ready..."

She paused for a moment and then her eyes widened, "Oh crap! Bog, I had the dress on the boat! I am wondering if the servants took it to the palace since we were originally supposed to go there."

"Could you check the boat? Perhaps it is still there."

"Yes, I will."

They both leaned towards each other and they gave each other a quick kiss.

Marianne held Bog by his shoulders and said, "I am sorry for being cross with you before. I...I just love you so much...I don't want to lose you."

"I love you too, and I am sorry for what I did."

She smiled as she slowly backed way from him and then she turned around and took to wing and headed towards the castle entrance where the boat was.

Bog then quickly took off to the back of the castle and made a beeline straight for Sugar Plum's quarters. As he landed inside her living room and yelled out:

"Knock Knock! Sugar Plum are you here?"

At first there was no answer and he shouted louder, "Sugar Plum! You home?! I have returned!"

From the back, he heard, "Yes, yes, Your Majesty. I'm here. I'm coming! I'm coming!"

A moment later she floated into the living room.

"I got it!" He said as he held the chunk of diamond in his hand. "I got the stone!"

"Oh you did? You got the purple diamond?" She asked.

"Yeah, it wasn't easy either," he said as he handed the diamond chunk to her.

"Oh wow, this is a nice size, you could make a bunch of rings out of this," she said as started to float off to her potion room with the chunk of diamond.

Bog followed and asked, "I know it became late, but can still do this tonight?"

"Well, I have to check the quality of the stone first, please wait for me in the living room," she said.

Bog went back to the living room, but he didn't feel like sitting down. He began to pace back and forth. Thankfully he didn't have to wait too long when Sugar Plum emerged from the hallway. She had a huge smile on her face.

He began to smile too as he said, "Is it good?"

"Yes! It is beautiful and pure. It will make fine diamonds for jewelry."

Bog slumped down on the couch and placed his hand on his forehead and sighed as said, "Thank goodness. You have no idea what I did to get that."

Sugar Plum said, "Knowing you, I have pretty good idea. Well, I can have the ring ready for you in a couple hours."

The smile wiped off his face as he said, "Oh, damn! That is really cutting it close there, Sugar Plum."

"Well, by right I should work on it for three hours, given the size of the ring setting. If something goes wrong by being too hasty, I can ruin the stone and then have to do it all over again," she said. "You want a stone that is highly reflective? The ladies love that."

"Ok, ok if it has to take that long or even a bit longer, then so be it, just as long as it is done right and it is done tonight well before midnight," Bog said.

"Very well. But may I ask, why the rush?" She asked. "Why does it have to be tonight?"

"It is a very long story, but let's just say that I am trying to make good on a challenge."

"You made a bet with her, huh?"

"Sort of"

"Hmmm, since I know Marianne when she was small, I can tell you she is always up for a challenge and she usually wins too," Sugar Plum said.

"Yes, I know myself she is very competitive."

"So you lost the bet and the condition was to propose to her tonight then?"

"Yes, pretty much."

Sugar plum shook her fists together and squealed, "Ohhhh Yess! Where are you going to ask her?"

"I can't say it is going to be private as I want to be alone with her…Not to be pushy and ungrateful, but could you please start?" He asked growing a bit impatient.

"Hmmmmm, you know, I could be a bit off on that time estimate and it might take three or even four hours," Sugar Plum said as she put her finger to her chin and looked up to the ceiling.

"Sugar Plum, please!"

She pointed her finger at him and scolded, "Ohhh, I like to tease you and make you beg. Remember you had me locked away in a dungeon for many years and I was innocent!"

"And I apologized for that. I thought we put that behind us when I gave you this suite."

"Tick tick...time is ticking. Remember, that I am not asking for payment, but I would like to see the proposal."

Bog sighed heavily and said, "Oh, alright, if you must."

"I must."

"It is going to be in the Luna Farfalla Ballroom on the landing of the Grand Staircase."

Sugar Plum smiled and said, "Nice touch...Marianne's favorite room."

"Yes, she loves that room, so I figured that would be the place. The staircase is the most beautiful thing in this castle."

"A fine choice. Don't worry, I will keep it to myself and will remain well hidden. I just want to see."

"Thank you and you have the ring setting I gave you earlier?"

"Yes. That shade of purple is going to look great with those little green diamonds. I have to say that it is going to be the most beautiful engagement ring I have ever seen."

"That is what I want. Oh, and thank you again. I will make sure that no one disturbs you while you work on the ring."

Sugar Plum bowed and then floated off down the adjacent hallway to her potion room.

Bog flew out of her suite and then instructed two of the fairy soldiers that were nearby to guard Sugar Plums suite to make sure no one disturbs her. He then flew up to his suite and slumped down on his couch. He was completely exhausted. Luckily he had a couple hours to rest up. But first, he wanted to go over the details on how he was going to present the ring to his beloved Marianne.

He said, "How am I going to do this? What am I going to say? I don't want it to sound too mushy. She hates that and frankly it isn't my cup of tea either. Sugar Plum IS right when she said time is ticking."

Bog figured he would practice a bit. He got down on one knee and he lifted his hand up as if he was holding Marianne's and he just opened his mouth, but couldn't think of anything to say.

Just then he heard the fluttering of wings outside on the balcony. He quickly tried to scramble to his feet and in so he stumbled and fell on his butt as Marianne walked into the door. She was carrying a garment bag made of leaves over her arm.

She laughed and said, "It seems as if I disturbed you, my dear king."

"Oh, no..no," he said as he stood back up. "I just lost my footing and stumbled."

"You the great Bog King, stumble and fall?"

"Yeah, believe it or not, sometimes I trip over my own feet from time to time."

At first Marianne laughed but then her eyes narrowed as she waved her finger at Bog and said, "You have been acting very peculiar today...ever since we got back from the large waterfall. It has me thinking that you are up to something."

"Me? Up to something? Naw, nothing really. I just am looking forward to that dinner and dance with you later on. I see you found the dress," he said as he pointed to the garment bag.

"Uhhhhh, no, not really. This is a different dress."

"Oh no! I wanted you in the dress I gave you. There is still time. Can you go send someone to the palace?"

"Bog, you know it's too late for anyone to be flying around on their own at this time of night."

"Darn! Yeah, you're right. But the colors on that dress were perfect."

"Does it matter that much?"

"Yes. It has to be either purple or green...better yet both and that dress has both colors."

Marianne cracked a smile and then opened the garment bag slightly so Bog could see the color of the dress. It was a rich dark green. Clearly the ring would go with it perfectly.

"Oh, that is a nice color."

"So will it work then?"

"Yes, but, is it a nice dress? Is it like the one I gave you."

"No, nothing I own tops that one. But, I think you will like it."

"Can you hold it up so I can see?"

Marianne shook her head and said, "Uh uhhh. This is my turn to have a surprise for you."

Bog smiled and said, "How did you get that dress so fast?"

"Well, this was going to be the dress I was going to wear last night. But then you gave me that awesome dress."

"So, is that one nice?"

"Yes."

"Is it sexy?"

Marianne cracked a smile and said, "Next to the dress you gave me, this is my sexiest one."

"Oh!" Bog said with a smile on his face.

"My dad doesn't like this one."

"Why?"

"Because it is a little TOO sexy, even though it does follow his rules."

Bog's smile grew wider.

"I see, Hon, you have a smile a mile wide. So then, does my surprise meet your approval."

"Yes, I can't wait to see it now."

"Good! So I can't wait to see you later."

"Yes, indeed! Also after that dance I sure cant wait to eat something. I missed dinner with my little trip to the Forbidden Forest."

Suddenly the look on her face turned to concern. "Oh, well, if you didn't have anything to eat perhaps I can have a servant get you something."

"No, no thank you. I don't want to spoil my dinner with you."

"Well, I better get myself ready then," she said.

"Yes...and make it 11:15 tonight. Just to be safe," Bog said.

He figured that would be a bit of extra time just in case Sugar Plum needed more time to work on the ring, and forty-five minutes to midnight would be still plenty time to propose to her.

"Alright, that certainly will give me more time to get myself made up," Marianne said.

"Oh, and you don't have to go crazy with your hair...I happen to love the way it is now."

"Okay, that will save me more time and thank you," she said.

Marianne was about to start off to her room when Bog said, "Oh! Could you do me a favor and use your changing room above the ballroom. More than likely all your supplies are still there from yesterday."

"Yes, you are right, it would make more sense to change in there instead of bringing everything here," she said.

With that she flew off.

That was a close call that she didn't catch him in the tell tale proposal position. So, to be on the safe side, Bog walked into his bedroom to practice there. He figured if Marianne came back for some reason, he would have more time to recover from his position. With that he got back down on one knee and put his hand up and he went over what he wanted to say to Marianne.

About two hours later:

Bog woke up to the sound of an alarm going off on his staff. He decided to take a bit of a nap and thus set an alarm on his staff to make sure he wouldn't miss the time, but more than likely Sugar Plum would have woke him up anyway.

He put his tartan on and adjusted it while he looked in his mirror. He grabbed a blue flower that was on his bureau. It was Marianne's favorite blue flower fitted as a boutonnière and he attached it to the sash. He had both the tartan cleaned and his staff was polished while we was out. It shined as if it was brand new. The only thing left to do was to pick up the ring from Sugar Plum. He looked at himself in the mirror and he left his bedroom and walked into the living room. He spread his wings and was ready to take wing when Sugar Plum floated in from the balcony. She had the small black box in hand.

"I got it! Here you go, Your majesty. I got it done in time! But, it wasn't easy, I slaved over this ring with some heavy magic to get it cut right."

"Oh fantastic! Thank you very much!" He exclaimed as he took the small black box from her.

"You're Welcome."

Bog opened the box and his eyes flew open wide when he saw the stone in it's setting. It was a large stone that reflected the light very well with it's rich purple color. It flashed as he moved it in and out of the light. It was a perfectly round diamond with a very deep pavilion base. While it was large, it wasn't overpowering and it still complemented the setting very well. Given that Marianne had particularly long fingers, the larger stone would look great on her hand.

"My goodness, she is going to love this. A ring fit for a queen."

"Thank you, I am glad to hear it. I really outdid myself with that one. BUT since you gave me such a beautiful suite...I think it was good that I gave you something beautiful too."

Bog was at a loss for words but he looked to Sugar Plum and hesitantly put his arms around her.

"Oh! Oh! Hug. Oh nice! Yes! I like hugs," she said as she put her arms around his narrow waist. "Oh, I really like this!"

Bog couldn't help but smile as Sugar Plum was enjoying the hug he gave her. As he let her go he said, "You did well. Thank you very much."

"Your welcome, your majesty," she said as she bowed. "You have become quite a nice gentleman."

"There is another thing I am going to need you for," he said.

"Oh? What is it that you need?"

"I told Marianne that I was going to dance with her, so I am going need some music."

"Hmmm, for a proposal you should also sing to her."

Bog rolled his eyes and said, "Oh great...Now I not only have to come up what to say to her, but also what to sing to her."

"Well, it is a special moment for the both of you and it is only a suggestion."

Bog sighed as he nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, you are right. I know she would want that and I want to make this night special for her."

Sugar Plum smiled as she said, "Just let me know what you want to sing to her."

"Yes, so I guess I will see you in the Ballroom then."

"Actually you will not, but I am sure to see you!"

Bog laughed and he watched her float off. He took a few minutes to compose himself and looked at the diamond one more time before putting it away in his pouch.

He exhaled loudly and said to himself, "Well, this is it!"

He walked over to the edge of the balcony and he could feel his heart beating a bit stronger. But overall he felt confident. After all, this is something he wanted and he knew she wanted it too. He already knew she would say yes. He was just making it formal. So, there was nothing holding him back for he was going to tell the woman he loved that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He knew he was going to ask the most beautiful woman in both kingdoms and perhaps the world for her hand in marriage. He never felt better.

"Let's do this!" He shouted to himself.

He grabbed his staff which was leaning against the table and then took off and headed for the Grand Ballroom.

As he rounded the corner to the reception area, Stuff and Thang were standing by the door and they were both dressed in their evening attire. They both bowed when Bog landed.

"Good evening Sire," they said in unison.

"Guys, you didn't have to dress up. This isn't a formal thing like last night, it is just going to be Marianne and myself."

Thang said, "I know, but when you said that you were going to propose to her and you wanted dinner, well Stuff and I wanted to be your servers and naturally dressed the part."

Bog nodded in approval and said, "Alright, good call then. Well, then I guess I will see you both for dinner."

Thang smiled and nodded to Stuff and they opened up both of the doors for Bog and he entered.

The lighting inside the ballroom was very dim and Bog placed his staff on the control panel by the door and began to push and rub some crystals and the room took on a purple hue. He pushed and rubbed a few more crystals and the chandelier's main outside right had a light green hue. He figured the purple and green motif would go good with Marianne's dress and also the ring. The only area he lit up brightly was the landing on the staircase, the spot where he chose to propose to Marianne.

He looked over to his table and there were two place settings set up for himself and Marianne. He brought up the lights a touch there too so they could see clearly when they ate. He walked over to the table and grabbed a single solitary petite red rose that was in a vase at the end of the table. He walked up the steps slowly and placed his staff off to the side as he took to the center of the stairway landing. He checked himself over and put his hand in his pouch to make sure the ring and everything was in place. Dean was waiting outside by Marianne's door awaiting his instruction. Bog gave him a nod and he turned around and knocked on her door. She immediately opened it.

"Princess Marianne, the Bog King has sent for you. He awaits you atop the grand staircase."

She thanked Dean and then he stood to the side. Marianne exited her room and Dean put his hand out towards Bog.

"Thank you." she said again.

Bog's eyes fixed on Marianne as he got a good look at her in her gown. It was an emerald green and had gold accents. It was a satin dress like her sister would wear. It was a striking combination halter, off shoulder-neckline. The neckline curved from on arm to the other with a V-neck design and plunged down through her sternum a good way, but not as far as the dress he gave her. On the points were it began to plunge, there were thick straps that attached to a gold ring right where her collarbones met. The straps then continued up and around her neck, getting thicker as it formed a collar around her neck. The collar also had a choker strap that came around to the front. The short sleeves on her upper arms were a lighter color green and it was on the sheer side. It came to a curved point on the sides of her arms and it had a lace floral pattern to it. The material formed the sleeves at her arms and then the same material expanded at the dresses sides and angled down to the lower point of the v-neck on the front of the dress. The dress' skirt was very unusual in that the front had a huge split that went right up to her waist. The split opened up in a huge 'A' falling from her waist to each side. The material of the skirt was layered with a solid skirt under a sheer one which contained scrolling gold designs in it. She wore a matching tiered underskirt that curved from her hips down to the front and stopped just above the knee. But the curve nearly exposed most of her thighs. She wore matching ankle high heeled boots which had a tapered accent that went around from her ankle and rose up to almost the level of her knee. The boots were heavily adorned in gold and were more gold than green. She then turned around and the entire back mirrored the plunging V-neck from the front, but was much wider. It started from the sleeves and plunged down very low to where her back started to curve out to her buttocks. While a much simpler dress design, it still was very stunning and Marianne looked beautiful. Completing the look, she wore a sheer purple sash that formed a belt around her waist. It extended down the front of the skirt of the dress, kind of giving her legs a bit of a sheer cover when she stood still. But as turned around and walked towards him, the sash moved through the air and her bare thighs were easily seen.

Bog gasped out, "Oh Wow! That is an amazing dress."

He heard Marianne giggle and her shoulders moved forward and she turned back around and purposely poked her left leg through the split.

Bog swallowed hard and his voice cracked a bit when he said, "You weren't kidding...it is very sexy and I see there is purple on it I too.

"Well, I added this when you said you preferred both colors," she said as she held up the sash.

Her hairstyle was like she normally wore but a bit neater and more of her hair was swept over her left eye and shot downward and to the side. Whereas the right side showed her ear more. It was a very nice variant on her regular hairstyle.

"You changed your hair too," he said.

"I didn't want to change my hair too much since you said you like it how I normally wear it. But I just wanted to neaten it up a bit."

"It's great!" he said.

Her make up was very similar too with the purple and green eye shadow. The only differences was that she had more of a scrolling eyeliner pattern under each eye and the cat eye look was extended far to the side of her face. She looked gorgeous and very sexy. While she didn't wear lipstick, she wore a clear gloss which made her original purple lip color stand out.

"So, you like what you see?"

Bog smiled as he marched over to her leaned over and planted a kiss right on her open chest. It was a long kiss and he could tell she liked it because she immediately started to breathe heavy.

"Oh...Oooooo. Okay, I will take that as a yes!"

He looked up to her face and said, "You are as beautiful and radiant as ever."

As she looked up to his face, she said, "Goodness, my love...Your face is glowing tonight."

"Well, it is because of how beautiful you look tonight."

"Awww!" she exclaimed as her face turned a bit red. "I was so hoping you would like this dress since nothing compares to the one you gave me."

"Oh, that isn't true...Well, alright I do like that one best, but your other dress are still beautiful and I have not seen this one before so it was a nice treat."

"Awww, you are too much," Marianne said. "You always know the right things to say to touch my heart!"

She moved her hand down towards him looking a bit bashful. Her cheeks started to blush more now, and she even looked more amazing.

He sighed heavily and as he looked at her face and said, "Your face is so stunningly beautiful."

"Awwww, Bog please, she said as her breathing started to become heavier, "I can feel I am already blushing. I am very sensitive today. You remember earlier right? I am worried any little thing that touches my heart might set me off."

He moved in close to her face and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. He noticed something was a bit different and he stepped back and looked at her shoulders.

"You are a bit taller too."

"Yeah, the only shoes I had that matched were these boots with heels. It is going to be hard dancing in these."

"I like the extra height. We can get into a hold easier."

"Yes, true...but we have to keep it a bit slower. I don't want to trip over myself in these."

"Understood," he said. "Did Dawn make this dress for you?"

"No, it was actually an older dress from my mother and I made many modifications to it."

"You are so talented," he said as he traced his finger around the ring and then went down her plunging neckline.

"Thank you," she said as her breathing became heavier.

He then put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close again and he was ready to kiss her, but then he nosed the air as he smelled a hint of something and it came from behind Marianne.

He inhaled deeply and said, "Hmmmmm, you smell like a flower."

"I put a little perfume around the base of my wings. I only put a little as I didn't know if you would like it."

"Yes, it is nice. So you treat my nose as well as my eyes tonight."

Marianne laughed and then pulled him close to her and he moved towards her lips and they both softly kissed. He didn't make it long and when he pulled away from her, her eyes remained closed.

"Ohhhhhhh!" she called out. "I will always love that."

Bog noticed her breathing was still very heavy, and the style of the dress made her heavy breathing look great as when she inhaled deeply as the 'v' part of her neckline spread a bit further apart and the light reflected off her sternum. Also inhaling put more tension on the straps that went to the ring and then up to her neck. The tension made the ring press into her skin. He found he was breathing a bit heavier just watching her breathe. However, he felt that he was stalling, and the time had finally come. Suddenly he started to feel his heart pound hard. He didn't know why as this was just going to be a proposal. There was nothing to be scared of since he already knew she was going to say, "Yes". They both knew he was going to propose to her soon, so why was his heart pounding so hard? He looked her in the face and into her golden brown eyes. His heart was pounding even harder...so hard that it almost hurt.

"I see you are wearing my favorite flower," she said as she pointed to it on his chest.

"Yes. I figured it would make a nice boutonnière."

"It does. You look great too."

"Thank You."

There was a bit of a silence as Bog was fiddling with the flower in his hand and he came too and said, "Oh! This rose is for you."

"Awww! I had a feeling that one was for me since you were holding it."

Bog laughed as Marianne moved closer to him and he broke the stem off and gently placed it in her hair.

"I read that a red rose means love...and passion," he said as he finished putting it in her hair.

"Yes, it does. Thank you," she said as she gently reached up and placed her hand on the rose.

He swallowed hard and then placed his hands on her bare shoulders. They were shaking a bit as he ran his thumbs along her collarbones.

Marianne looked to her shoulders and said, "Oh my. Your hands are trembling, are you alright, Hon?"

Bog quickly withdrew his hands and said, "Oh, well, perhaps I got the jitters as I just need a good meal in me. My energy level is running a bit low."

Marianne looked over to the royal table and then put her hand out towards the it and said, "Perhaps we should eat first and then dance?"

Bog shook his head and said, "No no...there is something I want to say...something I want to show you."

"Oh yes! You said you had a surprise. I always love your surprises," she said as her face lit up. "I don't think there was a single surprise you had for me that I didn't like."

Bog reached around to the back of his head and scratched his neck and said, "Yeah, well this one is going to be a doosy."

"Great! You know I love the doosies! They are the best!"

Bog laughed hard and the laughter seemed to calm him down more and he wasn't as jittery. He loved it when she made him laugh. He knew he was still stalling, wondering if what he practiced earlier would be the right thing to say. He knew he only had one shot at this and it had to be good. First, he had to relax and he took Marianne's hands and backed up to the railing and lead her too it. He then leaned against it.

She giggled a bit at what he did but stood patiently awaiting what he had to say.

Bog looked around the room and decided to adlib a bit first, leading into what he wanted to say.

"I can't believe how well last night's party went. It was nothing short of amazing."

"Yes, indeed! It was a musical extravaganza!" Marianne said with an air of royalty as she raised one hand in the air.

He couldn't help but look at her arm when she waved it up in the air. He always loved to watch how her muscles moved beneath her skin.

When she put her arm down, he took her hand again.

"I love talking with you. You are very interesting and fun to talk to."

"Aww, thank you. You are too. I can recall many days and nights where we would talk the whole day away. We always have something good to say to one another," she said.

"Yes, I remember when we first met, we had that fight. We were quite talkative."

She giggled and said, "Oh I wanted to kill you."

He laughed too and said, "Indeed, and I was trying to defend myself. But as we were fighting, I was checking out how you moved and the way you fought caught my attention. You had such finesse and style, more so then when a guy fights. Further, you were keeping up with me!"

She gave him a sultry look and then took her finger and ran it straight down her sternum as she said, "Tough girl, remember?"

As he watched her finger run down her sternum he just limply replied, "Uh huh. Tough and beautiful."

"Awwww," she said as she returned her hand to his.

"When we wore each other out, I was surprise to have met someone that got me to that state. I figured I was getting old and rusty."

"Old and rusty? I have to laugh as I though I need much more training if I ever was going to defeat you. It took all my strength to block your blows."

"Yet you said, you were expecting more?"

"Well, not really. I was already having a little fun with you by that time...playing with you. I was enjoying it. I didn't want to kill you anymore."

"Well, I did mean it when I said you fight well for a fairy…even for a guy fairy. I could feel how strong your blows were. You certainly were no waif and you were swinging a two handed sword with one hand and you're a woman! That really impressed me. I was enjoying it too!"

"The way you twirled your staff so easily with your long fingers...an unbalanced staff no less, heavier on one end. THAT impressed me." Marianne said. "I am still trying to figure that one out."

"What I enjoyed most was our first flight through in the dark forest together. Usually most fairies hate the Dark Forest saying it is dark, creepy and ugly. But you looked at things differently."

"Well, I used to be afraid of the dark forest too, but I overcame my fears when I wanted to rescue my sister. But when you showed me around and explained things to me, suddenly your world opened up as a beautiful place of awe and wonder. I knew then there was more to you than what I saw on the surface."

"And I saw you weren't an ordinary pompous princess, who is afraid to break her nails."

Marianne laughed. She then reached up and placed her hand on the rose in her hair, "I will never forget what you did after you showed me everything and you put that beautiful blue flower in my hair. I thought to myself that there might be a nice gentleman in you someplace. But, I could feel I was falling for you the way you stopped Roland from coming near me with the love potion. You stood up for me. Everything happened so fast thereafter. When you rescued my sister and prevented that heavy skull from falling on us when the castle collapsed, I was falling hard for you. I thought you died, but you were so tough and strong, you just rose above the ashes of your fallen castle. You are pretty darn tough yourself!"

"I love the way you said that. You have such a way with words and speaking what you feel. You opened your heart to me and I see that it is such a wonderful place. You made me enjoy falling in love."

"Awww. Thank you. My you certainly have a way with words too, Hon." She said

"With me, it happened earlier...when we going out in the forest and you opened your wings and then looked over you shoulder. You started to look very attractive to me with your deep purple wings.

"But there was another moment too."

"Yes there was..."

Then they both said together, "When we were talking inside and got to know one another."

They laughed and Marianne said, "We always do that. I love that, our always synchronizing our thoughts, finishing or saying sentences together. I never had that with any other guy."

"Me either...I mean even with my friends. I never had a connection like that like I share with you," he said.

"Yes, we do have some kind of connection. Something I also never felt with another guy."

"Great minds think alike," Bog said.

Marianne smiled as she nodded and. "But I knew earlier too. It was the day I showed my new outfit to you on the newly finished dock. The boat was being moved to the Dark Forest that day. You corrected me when I said, 'should you and I marry', you said "When you and I marry."

"Yes, I already knew then too. I felt very confident with you and I admire how strong you are for a woman. How competitive you are, how we could be comfortable talking guy things. You laugh when I burp or fart and are not put off by it. And the best part is when spit in Gregory's face. Ohhh, I loved that!"

Marianne laughed hard and held her stomach and said, "I told you that I was different! I can be VERY feisty."

"I love that about you. I also enjoy the fun loving side of you that isn't afraid to show her feelings or say what is on your mind. Something I had trouble with until you helped me open my mind up more to love."

"Despite getting so hurt from that bastard...well, I just figured I would give love another shot and I opened up to you almost right away. I cursed myself for doing so at first, because I was so afraid of getting myself hurt again, but then, you showed me what a gentleman you are and on top of it, a romantic one!"

Bog smiled put his arms up and said, "Surprise!"

There was a pause and Bog then finally lead in to the big moment, the final big question.

"So...where do you see us in the future?"

She came closer to him and now held his hands as she said, "I will be your queen and we will run the Dark Forest together. We would be holding hands taking long walks through forest making sure everything is Ok. We would plan everything together. Solve problems together. There will be more games between us, more dancing, more singing. Oh the balls we could plan out together. The Dark Forest will be party destination for the Fairy Kingdom. And for you and I, I will explore new and bold ways for us to make love together."

Bog could hardly contain his feelings as it was the answer he was hoping for. The first thing being, she said she wanted to be his queen.

He said, "I will be a loyal husband to you with eyes that will never drift away from your beautiful face."

Marianne interrupted as she said, "Awww, Bog…you are making me want to kiss you."

She leaned in a bit, but then he said, "Oh you will get your chance, but there is more I would like to say."

"Oh, by all means continue then!" She said with a bright smile on her face.

She curled her shoulders forward making her collarbones protrude more. The dress was proving to be a distraction because it exposed so much skin on her upper body.

"This might sound a bit sappy...so stop me if you think so," he said.

"I think I am going to love whatever it is you have to say," she replied.

He cleared his throat as he was going to recite one of the lines he had rehearsed earlier, "There was initially only darkness in my life. For when you came, you became the brightest light that shines in my life. I want that light to forever shine until my dying day."

Marianne began to breathe a bit heavier and the look on her face became very soft as she put her hand over her heart and said softly, "Oh, you! You get into my heart so easily!"

She then grabbed his hand and placed it on her chest and said, "Can you feel this?"

His eyes widened as it felt like her heart was ready to come out of her chest.

"Wow! You're heart is really pounding hard, my dear. Are you OK?"

"Bog, it's your love that does that to me. My heart loves you, that is why it is beating so hard. Every sweet thing you say just makes it beat harder and faster."

"Well, I don't want to go too far and it bursts," he said in a concerned voice.

She giggled as she said, "It won't. It is a very strong heart. It can handle it. Remember I am a..."

"Tough girl," they said together.

He smiled as he continued with what he wanted to say, "I will always be by your side and stand and fight for you, even though I know you can take care of yourself."

Marianne laughed, but as he was speaking he could see her face brighten moment by moment.

She replied, "Oh, with whatever comes at us, we will fight together, side by side...warrior king with warrior queen."

He gasped a bit at what she said was now getting into his heart and it was beating even harder than before. He just sighed, "Ohhhh."

She then said, "I can't wait for that time to come."

Bog got up from leaning against the railing and moved with Marianne closer to the center of the landing. Again he held her hands.

"I can't wait for that time to come either, so I am going to do something about it."

"Huh?" Marianne asked a bit puzzled.

Bog's plan was simple, but effective. He knew if he got down on his knee first, she would immediately know he was going to propose even before he spoke a word. So he wanted to ask her while on his knee already. So he needed a diversion. As he rehearsed in the bedroom, bog reached into his pouch and flicked out a small key, it landed on the floor near their feet. Marianne's eyes focused on the fallen key and she started to bend down to pick it up.

"Oh! I got it" he said as he got down on one knee and reached for the key.

"What is that for?" Marianne asked.

The plan worked. Her mind was focused on the key and not his kneeling position.

"Oh, this? It might very well be the key to your heart."

Marianne laughed and said, "Come now, you know it takes more than a key to get into my heart."

After picking up the key and putting it in his pouch he said, "Naw, I just need the right key."

With that he reached for the real reason he was kneeling and with one swift flick of his fingers opened the box and pulled out and held it in front of Marianne as he looked into her eyes and spoke swiftly, but clearly:

"And so I formally ask you, Ms. Marianne Evelyn Farfalla, will you accept my hand in marriage and be my queen?"

As soon as he pulled out the box and before he even finished his sentence. Her eyes grew so wide, it was the widest he had ever seen them. After he spoke, Marianne looked as if she was about to burst. She took one good look at his kneeling position and the opened box he was holding. Then she closed her eyes tightly, shook her fists together and screamed out loud, Bog's eyes widened and he leaned back a bit at how loud she screamed. She then jumped up high and shot right up to the ceiling and grabbed one of the support beams. She kept throwing her fist in the air shouting "YES! YES! YES! YESSSSSS!"

She then swooped down and flew around the room yelling and cheering.

Bog stood up and his eyes followed Marianne as she flew around. He just smiled at her reaction. She landed back down in front of him and again, threw her fist in the air and screamed out loudly, "HELL YEAH!"

Bog laughed aloud at his lover's reaction and acceptance of his proposal. He walked over to her and put his hands on her waist and she threw her arms around his neck. As he stared into her eyes, they were completely glistened over. Then, she rested her head on his shoulder and he could hear her soft voice waver as she said, "You have no idea how happy you made me today."

After a few moments of nestling into his shoulder. Marianne backed up and she appeared to recompose herself, pulling her shoulders back, and pushing her chest out. She had a more regal look to her face as she formally replied, "Yes, my love, my Darling, my Honey. I do very much and whole heartedly accept your marriage proposal. Nothing will make me happier than to be your wife and your queen."

Suddenly Bog felt a different feeling take over him and it was an overwhelming one. He was damned to feel his own eyes start to well up from the amount of joy that built up within him as he heard what she told him and with with extreme exuberance from the woman he loved. His heart was slamming in his chest too. But he cleared his throat and blinked his eyes a few times and the feeling soon went away. Even though he was impressed with her formal acceptance, it was her initial wild reaction he loved most.

He slowly reached out and put his hands on her chest again. The force of her heavily beating heart was amazing. He then took her hand and placed it over his heart.

"Oh! You too!" She exclaimed.

"Yes, me too."

"I guess this is physical confirmation that we love each other...Our hearts are beating so hard together," Marianne explained.

Bog nodded in agreement and the two stood for a while feeling each other's heart beating so hard and so forceful. Marianne then leaned over and put her ear to his chest. There were faint noises coming from the room and Bog looked around and he didn't see anyone, but he did remember that he allowed Sugar Plum to witness the proposal and she did say that she would stay out of sight. Also he probably knew that Stuff and Thang were probably in the room hiding too. However, it appeared that Marianne didn't hear them. He knew that with her ear on his chest, the sound of his heavily beating heart would drown any sound out.

She pulled away and then looked to the black box in his hand and asked, "Oh please can I see the ring again?"

He replied, "Oh, I am going to do more than let you see it."

Bog got back down on his knee and he took the ring out of the box and he raised his left hand to hers.

She raised her left hand and it was shaking like a leaf. She was bouncing up and down a bit like a little school girl as she was biting her lower lip. Suddenly she realized what she was doing and then began to compose herself and stood poised and regal again, but she continued to breathe very heavy.

She said, "I am very sorry, your Majesty, the Bog King. Forgive me for behaving like a wild little girl. I know sometimes my feelings get the best of me and it is hard not to express what I am feeling."

As Bog slipped the ring on her ring finger he said, "My dearest Princess Marianne, it is for the reason as to how well you express your feelings that is one of the main reasons why I love you. I like to always know what my wife is feeling and what is on her mind and most importantly, what is in her heart."

She sighed heavily and said, "I just don't want to come off as overly cute."

"Naw, you're good. You are more fierce and strong than cute."

"Awwww! I love you so much," she said.

"I love you too, dear."

She raised her left hand up and brought the ring to the light and when the light hit the center purple diamond, it flashed brightly in her face and she squinted.

"Whoa! Oh my goodness! Oh Honey, it is so beautiful! I never seen anything like it."

She took her eyes off the ring to look him straight in the eye as she said in a sultry voice, "You know you are in trouble, right?"

"Yeah...I was kind of expecting that."

She then threw her arms around him and brought her lips to his in somewhat a forceful manner. She plowed her tongue in his mouth and immediately intertwined it with his.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!" They moaned loudly together.

The kiss was very powerful and Bog felt that if she continued, she would soon have him to his knees again.

"Hmmmmmmmm," he softly moaned again.

Even though he knew they were probably being watched, at this moment he didn't care. Her kiss just felt so amazing and full of passion. The tingling sensation came on very fast. But that he didn't have to worry about it either as Marianne's thoughtful creation he was wearing would take care of that too.

Suddenly Marianne pulled away and she had a very passionate look in her eyes. Her chin was down and her eyes slightly narrowed as she looked towards him. He could see the passion burning in her golden brown eyes. He watched her chest expand and contract as she was breathing very heavy.

He said, "Uh Oh. I think I am in SERIOUS trouble now."

"Uh huh!" she replied in a very sexy voice.

His eyes widened as her wings flew open and she vibrated them as she lunged towards him and pushed him up against the railing of the staircase. She started to plant kisses all over his face. It felt good...too good. The constant kissing was arousing him.

"Oh! Oh! Marianne! Uuhhhh!" He cried out, almost in a near moaning tone.

She pulled back and said, "I love it when you moan my name."

She let out a bit of a growl as she swung her left leg up and around him. She swung her leg up so high she actually hooked her foot around and over the banister. With her leg she pulled her body into his. She was becoming aggressive and even though he knew there were not alone, he loved what she was doing and didn't want her to stop. She had one arm around his neck and and with her head lowered she was looking up to him and she snarled a bit, showing her teeth. While they were aggressive before when they were intimate, she never acted like this. Oh she looked so good with her wings open. Her breathing was so heavy he could easily hear the air rush in and out of her flared nostrils. In her dress and cat eye makeup she looked so incredibly sexy. He watched as the bare skin on her heaving chest reflected the light from above.

Suddenly he started to breathe heavy again and his eyes moved from her lower sternum all the way up to her neck and then her face. Then she pulled him close to her. They looked face to face with their noses touching and she was breathing into his face as she said, "I'm feeling rather...hot. Hot for you!"

That was it. He wrapped his arms around her waist and they immediately locked lips and then she did something very unexpected. She reached down and grabbed his crotch.

Bogs eyes suddenly flew open and he broke off the kiss and he hated to say what he said next, "Stop! Marianne Stop!"

Marianne had a stunned look on her face as she said, "No, no! Don't spoil the mood, my love! Please! I feel so wild and untamed now. I am going to make love to you right here and now. Right on this staircase!"

It killed him to hear that and to see how aggressive she was for that was what he would have liked to do to. She was still breathing heavy and he just couldn't take his eyes off her. He also didn't want to spoil the mood, but sadly, he knew they were being watched and he just shook his head. It pained him to tell her:

"Baby, we can't."

"Oh why not?" she asked in a disappointed tone as she folded her wings behind her.

Suddenly there was a fairly loud sound that came from one end of the ballroom and this time Marianne heard it too. She withdrew her hand and pulled her leg back around. She looked out into the ballroom and said, "Hon, we're not alone, are we?"

Bog grimaced and said, "No...Sugar Plum insisted on watching the proposal. It was kind of my payment to her for she made up the ring for me."

Marianne turned to him with a surprised look on her face as she said, "And when where you going to tell me this?"

Bog and said, "I was going too, right after I put the ring on your finger, but then you got in this mood and I liked the way you look and was caught up in your beauty. I never seen you get like that before and...I liked it. I wanted it to continue. I'm sorry I didn't say something. But...Oh damn you look so good."

A little smile appeared on her face just as another sound came from a completely different direction of the ballroom and her face shifted in that direction.

She narrowed her eyes and looked to Bog and said, "How many people are out there? I hope my father isn't out there. Oh gosh if he saw what I just did, I would never hear the end of it from him."

"Just, Stuff and Thang. They knew I was going to propose to you too, but that is it."

Marianne turned to Bog and said, "Are you sure that is all?"

"Yes, that is all who knows."

Marianne then marched over to Bog and the sultry look returned to her face. She was still breathing heavy. She aggressively put her hand behind his head and pulled her face close to his. The look on her face was so sexy. But what she said next made him weak in the knees.

She raised an eyebrow and said in a soft, low smoky voice almost whispering, "You know that this is unfinished business you and I are going to take care of later."

"Oh Damn! You are so hot," Bog said in an equally low voice.

"Don't you know it," she said in a 'matter of fact' tone, but yet she had a bashful look on her face as she reached up and held her shoulder.

"Oh what a woman!" he said a bit louder. "You look even more beautiful doing that."

Marianne stepped away and stood by the top of the landing and she looked at him over her exposed shoulder. For a moment the girlish side to her slipped out and she smiled as her cheeks started to turn red. But she still had the sultry look in her eyes.

Bog held his chest as his heart was really pounding hard as felt completely enamored with his new fiancée. He knew his own feelings were so strong for her that it was impossible to suppress them.

Just then Marianne turned towards the ballroom and shouted, "Alright, y'all can come out now!"

From the far corners of the ballroom emerged Sugar Plum from one end and Stuff and Thang from the other. They all came together in front of the staircase.

"Why were you hiding and spying on us?" she asked.

Stuff said, "His majesty wanted to propose to you in private, but naturally we wanted to see."

Sugar Plum said, "First I would like to offer my congratulations on your engagement, both to you, Princess and you, your majesty."

"Thank you," Marianne and Bog said together.

Stuff and Thang chimed in and also said, "Yes, Congratulations."

"Thank you," the couple said together again.

"Second, Princess Marianne, I insisted to his majesty to see the proposal and he granted me permission, so I was invited," she said as she glared at Stuff and Thang, apparently not knowing they were in the room too.

"We sneaked in because we wanted to see what a proposal is like. Knowing how to propose the right way might come in handy," Thang said as he glanced over to Stuff and smiled.

Stuff looked over to Thang and she had a bashful look on her face.

Marianne smiled and said, "Okay."

Bog moved forward and said to Marianne, "I believe it is time for that dance, Madame Butterfly?"

She put a wide smile on her face and said, "I love it when you call me that and yes, it's time!"

Bog grabbed his staff with one hand and put his other arm out for Marianne to take and the two walked down the stairs together. He leaned his staff against the newel post and then walked over to Sugar Plum and whispered into her ear.

"That's an interesting choice, it does suit you and Marianne...but does she knows she has to sing too?"

Marianne's eyes few open wide and she said, "I have to sing?"

Bog said, "It is a call and response song. You sing a line and I respond to it. You probably know it too."

"What's the the name of the song?"

" 'The Fighter'."

Again, her eyes flew open wide and then she said, "Are you serious? You want to sing that song with me?"

"Well, I know it isn't exactly a rock song, but it really isn't sappy either and it does very much reflect us since we are both fighters and we stand by each other."

"Awww! And you don't mind if the song is a bit dance, disco like?

"Naw, it's OK. It is not like I am singing in front of a bunch of goblins, and you know me, I am going to add a bit of a guitar edge to it to give it more a rock flair."

"Oh, I love it! Thank you!" she said as she leaned over and kissed him.

"Well, I guess it is settled then...our first song and dance as an official couple," Bog said.

Bog put his hand out towards Sugar Plum and said, "Take it away, Plum!"

Sugar Plum bowed and she flew over to the grand stand. She snapped her fingers and her console appeared.

Bog grabbed his staff and then he flew over to a podium and changed the lighting in the room so the dance floor was lit with an amber glow. He then flew over to the foot of the stairs next to Marianne. He placed his staff into the guitar position and gave a nod to Sugar plum. She began to play a sustained chord progression on her keyboard, while Bog began to play a mid 80's style riff on his staff. Marianne smiled as she watched him play.

(The Fighter – Keith Urban & Carrie Underwood)

(Bog & Marianne)

(Sugar Plum started the beat up and hit it hard. Immediately Marianne and Bog were bobbing their heads to the beat. Even Stuff and Thang were bobbing their heads. Then Bog began to sing in a rough gravely voice to his fiancee.)

(Bog [Marianne-Spoken out loud])

I know he hurt you [Damn right he did!]
Made you scared of love, [No, I hated love]
He didn't deserve you. [Not by a long shot!]

'Cause you're precious heart is a precious heart

(Marianne nodding in agreement as scrunched her face and said,)

[I know...It breaks easily]

(Stuff and Thang laughed at how Marianne and Bog were playing off each other.)

He didn't know what he had and I thank goodness, oh, oh, oh!

[That's 'cause he's an idiot!]

(Everyone laughed. Bog rocked his shoulders to and fro as he played).
And it's gonna take just a little time
But you're gonna see that I was born to love you!

(Suddenly the doors to the ballroom burst open, and Dawn strutted her way into the room dancing. She was wearing the dress she wore during the Disco competition. Behind her fairies and elves poured in. Some fairies flew in from the stairs above. They started to dance as soon as they entered the room. Marianne and Bog's eyes grew wide in shock and even Sugar Plum was startled to the point where she skipped a beat. She looked to Bog and he waved her on to continue the song.)

(Marianne, Bog in Parenthesis)

What if I fall (I won't let you fall)
What if I cry (I'll never make you cry)
And if I get scared

(Marianne made like she was biting her nails)

(I'll hold you tighter
When they're tryna get to you baby I'll be the fighter)
What if I fall (I won't let you fall)
What if I cry (I promise I'll never make you cry)
And if I feel down (I'll hold you tighter
When they're tryna get to you baby I'll be the fighter)

(Trailing behind the initial group of fairies that flew into the room, was King Dagda and he had Queen Yara on his arm. Bog put his staff aside and held on to Marianne as he swayed with her to the beat).

(Bog [Marianne-Spoken out loud])

Look in the mirror
You're beautiful, so beautiful

[Aww, I wanna to kiss you. Muuuahhh!]

(Marianne puckered up and kissed Bog on the cheek)

(There were a bunch of 'Awww's that came from the small crowd. Also some goblins came into the ballroom to investigate what was going on.)

I'm here to remind you
You're my only one, let me be the one
To heal all the pain that he put you through
It's a love like you never knew

Just let me show you [Ohh, Hon, you already did!]

(She fanned herself with her hand showing she was hot for him. Everyone around them laughed. They then started to clap to the beat as they danced. While mostly everyone was dancing in a tight circle, Dawn sprawled herself out as she danced in front of her sister and Bog.)

(Marianne, Bog in Parenthesis)

What if I fall!(I won't let you fall)
What if I cry (I'll never make you cry)
And if I get scared (I'll hold you tighter
When they're tryna get to you baby I'll be the fighter)

(As he sang, Bog was growing uneasy with the current situation as he wanted to spend this time with Marianne alone. Marianne saw his discontent and as she reached up and held his head in her hand and the way she looked at him made him smile. He didn't look to the crowd anymore and just stared into her loving eyes as she sang.)

What if I fall (I won't let you fall)
What if I cry (I promise I'll never make you cry)
And if I feel down (I'll hold you tighter
When they're tryna get to you baby I'll be the fighter)

(Marianne)

I wanna believe that you got me baby

(Everyone paused for a moment when the music slowed down and clapped to the beat)

(Bog)
I swear I do from now until the next life

(Bog grabbed his staff and held it as if in fighting stance)

(Marianne)
I wanna love, wanna give you all my heart

(She turned towards a nearby guard and drew his sword and pointed it towards Bog and also got into a fighting stance.)

(Marianne and Bog switch: Bog, Marianne in Parenthesis)

(As the beat came back, The two began to faux duel to the music dancing around blocking each other swings. The crowd danced and cheered as they know it was a play on their first meeting.)

What if I fall (I won't let you fall)
What if I go awry (I'll never make you go awry)
And if I feel down (I'll hold you tighter
When they're tryna get to you Honey, I'll be the fighter)

(While in stance Marianne flexed the biceps on her free arm. Bog's eyes wide open and he smiled. She winked at him and they went back to faux fighting and singing. There was some Ooohs and Ahhhs from the crowd as they watched and many clapped along to the beat).

What if I fall (I won't let you fall)
What if I go arwy (I promise I'll never make you go arwy)
And if I feel down (I'll hold you tighter
When they're tryna get to you Honey, I'll be the fighter)

(This time Marianne just flexed her arm again, but lower and close to her body. In addition to her biceps, many lines of definition just appeared on her shoulder. Bog just mouthed the word 'Wow' between his lines.)

(Marianne)

What if I fall, What if I cry
And if I get scared

(Bog)

(I'll hold you tighter
When they're tryna get to you baby I'll be the fighter)

(On the last note they both swirled around and their weapons came together with a loud clang as they stood in stance at the foot of the staircase.)

As the song ended there was loud clapping and cheering from all around them. Bog leaned his staff against the newel post again, while Marianne returned the sword to the soldier she took it from. Then they ran to each other and locked into a tight embrace.

"Oh, I love you so much, again you made me so happy today, Hon." Marianne said.

"I love you too and I am happy that you are happy, my dear." Bog said.

As they continued to embrace, voices around them were saying, "What a beautiful song." "Did you see Marianne's muscles?" "Wow she is strong!" "I can't believe Bog sang a dance song." "Was that Disco?" "Naw it was more rock." "Oh, but King Bog has such a nice voice!" "Marianne sounded great!" "I love the play fighting! Do you know that is how they met!"

Bog gritted his teeth a bit and then whispered into his lover's ear, "What are they all doing here? I wanted to have dinner alone with you."

"I don't know, Honey. But please, don't be angry. We will have our time alone, I promise."

"Still, someone had a big mouth! And I am going to find out who."

"Bog please don't, we will resume what we were doing on the staircase later."

Bog looked into her eyes and smiled. He certainly was looking forward to that as well. Just then a voiced boomed out, "Make way for the king!"

Everyone moved aside to allow King Dagda and Yara through.

As he approached the couple he laughed as he held his stomach and said to Bog, "I say, your majesty, you certainly do move fast as you only asked my permission yesterday!"

Bog cracked a smile.

Marianne pointed her finger at Bog and said, "You asked my dad permission to marry me yesterday?"

"Yes, I did."

"And I gave him my approval," King Dagda said. He then took his daughter's hand and he looked at the ring. As he was looking at it, it reflected the light in the room. "Wow! I must say that is some impressive ring."

"Thank you," Marianne and Bog said together.

He then opened his arms wide and said, "Congratulations to the both of you."

Marianne smiled as she fell into her father's arms and the two hugged each other. Her father gave her a kiss on the cheek. As he still held on to his daughter he put out his hand and shook Bog's hand. He then let go of his daughter and patted Bog on the back.

Yara came over to Bog, put one hand around his shoulder and shook his other hand as she said, "Congratulations, your majesty."

"Thank you," he replied.

Yara gave Marianne a huge bear hug as she said, "Oh Congratulations Princess! I am so happy for you."

"Oooooooh! Goodness! They say I am strong," Marianne said. "Need to breathe!"

"Oh! Sorry, too tight?" Yara said and then released her.

Everyone laughed. Soon everyone else made their rounds and when Dawn came around, she hugged her sister the longest. Bog could overhear what the sisters were saying.

"I am sorry, I couldn't keep my mouth shut. When I got word Boggy was going to propose, I got everyone I could to come back out here. I am sad that we missed the actual proposal, but we caught your song and it was so beautiful."

Bog wasn't too happy with what Dawn said. He raised is voice as he called her, "Dawn! Come here."

Marianne saw that Bog was a bit angry and said, "Bog, please, this has been a great night so far."

As Dawn faced Bog, the smile left her face and she swallowed hard as she said, "Oh my. You are angry with me Boggy, aren't you."

Bog gritted his teeth and said, "No, but I would like to know where you got the information about my proposing to your sister."

Dawn lit up and said, "Oh! Thang told me."

Bog then scanned the room and gritted his teeth and asked, "Ok, where is he?"

Dawn had a worried look on her face and then suddenly wrapped her arms around Bog and rested her head on his chest as she said, "Congratulations. I know you are going to be good to my sister and treat her right."

When she pulled away, she had a very soft look in her eye and she said, "Please don't be angry with Thang. He did tell me not to say anything and even though I am usually good with keeping secrets, I just couldn't keep this one under wraps. Sorry!"

"I wanted to have a nice private dinner ALONE with my new fiancée, Dawn."

Just then Marianne came back over and suddenly Dawn pulled on her left arm and yanked her away from Bog.

"Whoa! Sis, easy there!"

"Sorry Sis, I wanna see the ring."

As Marianne showed her the ring, Dawn exclaimed, "OHHHH Wow! Oh what a beautiful ring and that diamond! It shines brightly in the light! Oh, lemme try it on! I want to see it on my finger."

"Dawn, Bog just gave it to me, a little later perhaps when we are at the table."

"Oh come now, just for a little bit," she said.

She then tried to pull on the ring and said, "I promise I will not break it."

Bog then grasped Dawn's wrist and said, "Dawn, your sister said, 'no'. Her ring is not some toy. I risked my life tonight to get it for her."

Bog suddenly realized what he just said and he slapped his hand over his mouth.

The people around him became quiet and Marianne practically pushed her sister out of the way as she got into Bog's face and said, "What did you just say?"

Bog was silent at first as he looked around at everyone.

Marianne noticed everyone looking and then said, "I need to speak with my fiancé for a moment."

As the crowd dispersed Marianne and Bog flew up the steps to the top and they disappeared around the corner.

"You lied to me. When we came back from the Forbidden Forest, you said that you went there to fix a piece of jewelry for your mother. Now I find out you went there to make this for me." She said holding up the ring.

She began to breath hard and was nearly to tears when she said, "While it is beautiful and I love it very much. Your life is worth much more to me than this ring."

Bog looked down and sighed, "No...I didn't lie to you. I just bent the truth a bit. The ring originally belonged to my grandmother, but it broke and the stone was lost. My mother since had it in her possession. When I started dating you, my mother gave me the ring in the hopes that I would fix it and give it to you. So the ring WAS hers...she just gave it to me to give to you. Given it had such beautiful green diamonds already, I wanted you to have a purple stone to go with your makeup and your dress. I didn't want you to have a plain diamond like everyone else. I wanted to give you something unique and special."

Marianne shook her head and said, "Ok, so it wasn't a full lie, but you didn't have to do this. A regular diamond would have been fine. In fact no ring would have been fine too. I am not a superficial, status symbol wearing woman. I am not as materialistic as my sister is. Your life is worth much more to me than any ring."

"I thought you would be happy that I would go to such an extent to give you a nice ring when all that bastard Roland gave you was heartache. I wanted to show you how much I love you, by giving you that ring."

"Damn it, Bog. I am not like other girls. Your love is most important to me. Giving me your heart would have been more than enough. When we felt each other's hearts beating so hard together, THAT means so much more to me. What we shared today out there up in the air by the waterfall, that is worth more to me than one hundred of these diamonds."

Bog hung his head low and said, "I just wanted to impress you. I just was making good on a challenge. I told you that if you found a way to for us to make love while flying that I would ask you to marry me that day. You succeeded and I felt I needed to get you a proper engagement ring to ask you to..."

Marianne put one hand over her mouth and held the other to Bog's face interrupting him. She then looked to him.

She shook her head and said, "First, I can't believe this all stems from that stupid challenge and second, I failed. I admitted that to you earlier."

"In my eyes you succeeded, we made love in air flying and that happened before the harness gave way. Now when I make a wager, I put myself behind my word and I make good on what I say. Especially when it comes to the woman I love."

"Still, it wasn't worth your life!"

Suddenly Bog could feel that feeling he had before.

Marianne noticed and she said, "Bog, what's the matter."

Bog fought the feeling again and he looked his fiancée and gently placed his hand under her chin and said, "I love you so much that I would move a mountain for you if you asked me to."

He then took to wing and flew down the hall to the mens lounge.

Marianne watched him as he flew down the hall. She was ready to go after him, but she still felt so angry that she it was better to just sit down somewhere and cool off. Then perhaps she could talk with him again. For now she just went to her changing room and went inside.

Dawn kept a close eye on the newly engaged couple when her sister pulled Bog aside. The fact that they separated had her concerned. She flew up to her sister's room and was ready to knock on the door, but for some reason, she turned to face the men's lounge down the hall. She walked over to the door and knocked on it.

Bog opened the door and said, "Yes?"

"Something's wrong. I can tell."

"Dawn please, I am asking you nicely to leave me be," he said as he gritted his teeth.

Suddenly Dawn's eyes grew soft and she said, "This supposed to be one of the happiest days in yours and my sister's life and yet I could see the both of you arguing. Please tell me what is wrong, I want to see if I can help."

Bog looked into Dawn's pleading doe eyes and he found it hard to say 'no' to her.

Bog began to calm down and he sighed as he said, "I see stubbornness runs in your family. Come in."

Dawn smiled and softly said, "Thank you."

Back in Marianne's Changing room:

There came a knock on the door and Marianne got up from her chair and opened the door, her father was standing behind it.

"Dad! Surprised to see you up here."

"I couldn't help but oversee that there might be a little bit of engagement growing pains?"

She sighed as she said, "We are only engaged for a half hour and already we made each other angry."

"Wanna tell me about it?"

She sighed again and said, "Yeah, may as well since you are going to find out anyway."

"Indeed I will. I care about you, my darling, and I always want to see that you are happy. You should be happy getting such a beautiful ring like that. Goodness, it is even a nicer ring than what I gave your mother."

Marianne smiled as she looked at her ring and then let her father into the room. She told him everything that happened from the challenge to how the beautiful ring that she was wearing, nearly cost Bog his life and that is what she was upset about.

"Marianne, you being a woman, perhaps you don't understand us men well. When it comes to winning the heart of a woman, sometimes a man's ego gets in the way and we need to make a big accomplishment to win over the hand of the one we love. A conquest of sorts. It is something men have done for generations."

"But he already won my heart, Dad. I fell for him the first day we met...you know that. He won me over through his own heart, that is the greatest gift of all to me. If he wanted to get me a ring, he could have bought one and not risk his life over some special stone, she said as her eyes welled up again."

"No, my darling. His mind was on that wager and he wanted a special ring for you and he wanted to give it to you today, to make good on his word that he has given you. When a man goes back on the word he gives to the woman he loves, he loses his credibility in her eyes. And I believe that is why Bog did it."

"I told him he didn't have to. I would have waited, I just wish he would have talked to me first," she said.

"Even though good communication is key to any relationship, I am not sure if that would have helped. Bog is different from other men and I never have seen other men do for you what he has done. I see it for myself what a guy truly in love can do. There is no doubt in my mind that man truly loves you and will protect you and care for you. He did it, and even though it wasn't the brightest thing to do, he did it out of love for you.

Marianne's eyes grew wide as she realized that she probably hurt Bog's feelings as he went all out for her and even though she was right in that he shouldn't have risked his life, she was harping on it and she didn't want to come off as being ungrateful for the work he put in to giving her a proper engagement ring...a gift that did come from the feelings he had in his heart for her.

Her father then continued to say, "Heck...I think that guy would move a mountain for you if you asked him to."

Her eyes even grew wider as she jumped up and said, "That is exactly what he said to me."

He smiled at her and said, "Go to your man. I think he needs you."

Marianne threw her arms around her father and kissed him on the cheek as she said, "Thank you Dad, it was great talking to you about this."

"You're Welcome, my darling, that's what father's are for." he said as he got up and opened the door. "I hope to see you both downstairs soon."

"Yes, Dad."

She then flew down the hall the other way to the mens lounge. The door opened and Dawn and Bog emerged. She nearly crashed into as, Bog was escorting her sister downstairs. Upon making eye contact both of them said together:

"I wanted to say I'm sorry for..."

They both stopped mid sentence and burst out laughing. Dawn chuckled loudly and said, "I love it when you both do that."

"Great minds think alike," Bog said to Dawn.

Marianne said, "You first."

"Princesses before Kings" Bog said.

"Oooo, you got me there," Marianne said. "Well, I had a good chat with my dad and I wanted to say I am so sorry. Here I am being ungrateful for all you went through to give me this ring tonight. You also proved to me that your word is as good as gold and you mean to do what you say as it come from your heart which is what I love most about you."

"Yes exactly." Bog said. "And I realized that I should have come to you and talked to you first about this whole wager thing and what my intentions were and perhaps I should have done something a little less risky than to put my life on the line."

Marianne put her hand on her cheek and nodded her head. She then said to her sister, "I don't know what you two talked about, but I am just so happy with what I am hearing."

Dawn said, "Awww, shucks sis. We just had a little future brother and sister-in-law chat."

Bog looked Marianne in the eye and held his hand out to her as he said, "Come here you beautiful woman you."

"Oh!" Marianne called out as she ran to bog and the two embraced and then brought their lips together.

Dawn proceeded towards the staircase while they continued to kiss. Marianne began to run her tongue around the inside of Bog's lips.

"Mmmmmmmm," Bog hummed.

She then broke off the kiss and whispered, "You have no idea what I am going to do you later."

Bog's eyes widened at what she said. She lifted her left hand up to the light and watched how the stone caught it. She no longer looked at it as something that could have cost her lover his life, but for what he did for her because it was what mattered to him in his heart. And for what it was, it certainly was the largest and most beautiful diamond ring she ever saw.

"It is a very beautiful stone, you did well my strong warrior king."

"Ohhhhh, you are killing me when you say that."

Marianne giggled loudly and Bog put his arm out and said, "Shall we?"

She put her arm in his and the two walked back to the stairway. When they reached the landing, they could see Dawn running back up the steps.

Dawn pointed to her sister's ring and said, "I still want to try that on later."

Just then a gruff voice shouted from below, "I want to see it! I want to see what my son gave that lovely Princess of his."

"Good evening mother," Bog said as he watched his mother come up the stairs.

"You mean Good Morning, son, it is almost 1:00am."

"Yes, mother, you are correct. Good morning then."

Griselda looked to Marianne and did a 'come hither' gesture with her hand as said, "Please let me see it dear."

Marianne held out her hand and Griselda's eyes widened as she looked at the ring. She gasped as she said, "Oh my word, that stone is huge and beautiful!"

She looked up to Marianne and said, "Oh, my son really loves you."

Everyone in earshot laughed.

She then turned to her son and said, "Where on earth did you find such a beautiful stone?"

Bog scratched the back of his neck again as he said, "Uhhhhh…I went to the cave you described to me when you first gave me the ring."

Marianne began to hang her head a bit lower as she realized that Bog was telling her the truth as the ring DID belong to his mother originally.

"Oh really? Did the spider queen object to you going there with an army?" his mother asked.

"No, Mom. The spider queen doesn't know because I went there myself."

His mother had a shocked look on her face as she said, "Are you out of your mind! I don't care how strong or smart you are, that place is dangerous!"

She then placed Marianne's hand in hers as she continued, "You want to leave your future bride a widow before you marry her?"

Marianne couldn't help it but that was her feelings initially and she just put her hand over her mouth.

Bog gritted his teeth and said, "Mother, your voice is carrying and Marianne and I already been through this. I know what I did wasn't smart and I apologized for it."

"Well, at least you are alive and well and that is the main thing, but don't do it again!" she said shaking her finger at him.

"Mother, please!"

She then looked at Marianne's hand again and nodded, "It is a magnificent stone. I knew my son would do good for you. He is a good man with a big heart."

"Yes, Griselda, I know that. I felt how strong his heart beats for me. I am going to cherish this ring for as long as I live, just like I cherish your son and his wonderful heart."

Griselda nodded and said, "I knew it. I had such a good feeling about you, Princess. I just knew you would make my son very happy. You are going to make a fine queen."

"Thank you."

"Well congratulations to the both of you," Griselda said and then she turned to her son and continued, "I am very proud of you son. Good you listened to your mother and you were not going to let this beautiful woman get away."

"Thank you, mother" Bog said.

Griselda then clapped both her hands and rubbed together and said, "So...now, when is the wedding?"

Marianne, Dawn and Bog all burst out laughing.

Marianne then leaned to Bog and said, "You can't tell me you didn't see THAT coming."

"Yeah…I saw that one coming," he replied to her and then turned to his mother and said, "Mother, we are going to have to get back to you on that one."

"Hummmph! Didn't set a date, huh? Oh well, at least you put a ring on her finger, you did good there."

Griselda began to walk down the stairs while the smell of food came rising up.

"Ahhhh! I can smell the food...what are we having?" Griselda's voice rang out.

Everyone began to laugh.

The smell reached Marianne and Bog and they both said, "Oh, I'm hungry!"

They smiled at one another while Dawn giggled again.

Bog put his arm out and Marianne took it and they were ready to go downstairs. But then Bog put his other arm out for her. Dawn smiled and took his arm.

"Thank you for escorting me down too!" Dawn said.

Bog said, "Well, it's a good thing I have two arms to escort two beautiful ladies. Sisters no less. I am doing good today!"

Both Marianne and Dawn laughed as they all descended the stairs smiling. Everyone below began to applaud. The crowd wasn't very large and they were set up on only a part of four tables. The royal table and one fairy table were only half full. One of the elves tables was half full and there were only a few of the goblins about and their table was less than a quarter full.

As they descended many got up to congratulate Marianne and Bog. Some expressed their concerns about what was going on upstairs, but Marianne and Bog assured them everything was alright.

Since it was so late, and everyone showed up unexpectedly, dinner was a simple fare consisting mostly of fruits and assorted pastries. The royal table had more of a selection as they had vegetable burritos. Marianne and Bog were the only two that had a full dinner as that was what was initially planned for the night. Their dinner was a vegetable stew.

Sunny been slaving away in the kitchen and was rarely seen early on, but he was later on had assistance from both Sugar Plum and Griselda.

Many of the goblins, tired from cleaning up from last night, didn't stay long. They just had a bit of a snack, bid their congratulations to the royal couple and then took off for the night.

Others joined the royal family on the main table including Rachel, Gregory, Alice and Monica.

Marianne's father was explaining to everyone about his discussion he had with Bog yesterday.

"And so I said any man that can design a dress and a ballroom for my daughter and also saved her life is certainly worthy enough for her hand in marriage. So I said, 'Yes.'" he explained.

Everyone at the table clapped and cheered. Bog raised his goblet and took a sip of his cider.

He then said, "I couldn't contain my excitement as I jumped up and flew up so high, I almost hit my head on the ceiling."

Everyone laughed.

"And then to top it all off," King Dagda said. "He works quick! The very next day he has a ring on her finger!"

Everyone laughed harder.

Yara said to Marianne, "Awww, I think it is so romantic that you love her so much that you didn't waste any time and got her a ring right away. That is strong powerful love for you."

Bog said, "Well, Yara, extraordinary, beautiful, kind, caring, smart, and strong women come in short supply and since Marianne possesses all of these traits, I certainly wanted to show her that I truly do love her and want her. So what was the main reason I acted quickly. I didn't want anyone stealing my beloved Marianne out from under my nose!"

Marianne said, "No one could take me away from you."

There were a bunch of 'awwwws' at the table.

Dawn was sitting next to her sister and she reached over with her fork and stole a piece of her Burrito.

"Hey sis! I am still eating that."

"I'm still hungry."

Bog looked out to the table and just about everything was eaten. He asked everyone, "Is anyone else hungry?"

Alice, Yara and Gregory nodded.

Well, perhaps I will see if there is anything left in the kitchen, he said as he got up. But just then his mother came out of the kitchen and came over to the royal table.

"Oh, Mom, is there anything else left over from yesterday? Some of us are still hungry."

"Hmmmm, I think there are some left over pizza bread that was already made up."

Almost everyone at the table went, "Oooooooohhh!"

She smiled and said, "I will take that as a 'yes' then."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

More of the fairies came over and bid their congratulations to Marianne and Bog and they were calling it a night. Bog had some of the goblins make up some spare rooms for them as King Dagda didn't want anyone flying back to the palace this early in the morning.

While they were waiting for the pizza, Dawn leaned over to Marianne and looked at her ring and said, "Please, can I try on the ring now?"

"Oh, alright, Sis. Just please be careful with it."

"Yes, I promise."

Marianne took the ring off her finger and then placed it on her sister's ring finger. It was a bit loose so she tried Dawn's middle finger and it was a better fit there. All the while Marianne could see that Bog's eyes never left the ring. As Dawn turned and moved her hand the ring reflected the light.

"It's so beautiful," Dawn said. "I love the colors."

Dawn put her elbow on the table and rested her top knuckles on her chin with the ring facing outward for everyone to see.

Alice said, "It is very beautiful. Can I see it next."

Bog then said, "Uhh, um...no this isn't show and tell, Alice. You can very well see the ring while it is on Marianne's finger later on.

"Yes your majesty," Alice replied in a disappointed voice.

Marianne nodded and said to Alice, "Bog's been through a lot to get this ring for me and I really don't want anything to happen to it. It does mean a lot to me."

Bog smiled at her.

She then looked back to her sister and she extended her fingers and moved her hand. It was almost an artistic movement as the whole time she didn't take her eyes off the stone.

Yara said, "Goodness, sweet Dawn. Looks like you making love to that ring."

Everyone laughed.

"I am! I am so loving this!" Dawn said as she moved her fingers and let the ring catch the light.

Everyone laughed again.

"Oh, can eyes get any bigger. You so adorable!" Yara said.

Bog then said, "Ok Dawn, you had it on your finger now put it back where it belongs."

Reluctantly Dawn moved her left hand to Marianne and she slipped the ring off her finger and then put it back on her left ring finger.

Marianne looked to Bog and he nodded as he smiled at her.

The pizza came out shortly after. There was just barely enough for everyone. The elves that were left ended up moving over to the table next to the royal table and the handful of goblins that sat at the end of their table got some too. Marianne savored the pizza as she took a bite of it.

"Mmmmmmm, this is so good, even a day old!"

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

King Dagda and Yara got up after they were done and they excused themselves and congratulated the couple again.

Just shortly after they left, Marianne noticed that Bog was sitting in his chair and was nodding off and eventually fell asleep altogether.

"Poor dear, he just is completely exhausted," Marianne said. "I went home and rested, but he didn't."

Mature 10c