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"Hey! Get up!" Tony shouted as he walked into the barn with a sheep trailing behind him.
"What are you doing?" Virginia asked and sat up, staring at him sleepily. She gave a long yawn and scratched the side of her head.
"Beautiful sheep and shepherdess contest remember?" Tony replied and walked closer to her, pulling the sheep along. Virginia looked to the sheep and then to her father.
"It looks like it's about to die." She commented and looked back at the sheep that was long over due for sheering.
"Hey! It took me almost three hours to catch him." Tony snapped and looked around the barn. He turned around in a circle and then looked back down at Virginia, "Where's Rose and Wolf?"
"I don't know. They never came back last night." Virginia replied through a yawn and stretched.
"Hm, there's probably around somewhere. Get up and start on your costume." Tony began walking towards the door of the barn, but stopped at Virginia's call.
"What costume?" She asked and stood up from the floor.
"For the contest. Use those curtains drying over there." Tony pointed to a clothes line in the barn where several sheets and curtains hung, "Hurry up."
"Alright, alright. Go." Virginia waved him off and walked to the clothes line. She took the blue curtain in her hand, feeling the fabric and then pulled it down, giving a yelp of surprise, "What're you doing!"
Wolf stood as still as a statue with rope in his hands and flecks of blood all over him. Virginia's eyes grew wide as she stepped back slowly, dropping the curtain to the floor. Several thoughts flew through her mind at the sight of the blood, but was quickly washed away when Wolf took a step closer to her.
"I don't feel too good. Everything is kinda fuzzy." Wolf closed his eyes and then taped himself on the head, "I must fight what I am! I can't even remember what I've done!"
He walked past Virginia and then spun around to face her, making her jump. He held the rope out to her, his face begging her.
"You have to tie me up. That way I won't escape." He waited for her to take it and then took a step closer.
"What?" Virginia asked and walked closer. She narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head.
"Tie me up! Stop me from escaping! What don't you get!" Wolf shouted at her and moved back to one of the support beams.
"Alright!" Virginia took the rope from him and tied it around one wrist. She went behind the beam and tied the other, wrapping the remaining rope around them both. She came back around the beam and secured the rope.
"What's the worst thing you've ever done?" Wolf asked suddenly. Virginia looked up at him, but didn't answer. She finished tying the rope and took a step back.
"Wolf...where's Rhoswen?" She asked softly, looking over the spots of blood every now and then on his clothes. Wolf looked down at the ground and tired to think. He shut his eyes tightly, forcing himself to remember what he had done last night.
"I don't know." He growled out and opened his eyes, looking to her.
"D-did you do something to her?" Virginia prodded further, her voice becoming more confident. Wolf snarled and shook his head.
"I don't remember!" He shouted, making her jump. Virginia shook her head at him and picked up the curtain from the floor. She walked to the door of the barn and walked out, hoping to find her father...or Rhoswen.
Tony had wandered on to the Peep's family property and into their barn with the sheep he had caught earlier that morning. He shut the barn door behind him and jogged with the sheep to the middle where a kind of pulley dangled. He quickly got the sheep into the pulley and brushed off the floor in search of what he knew to be there.
"Ah-ha!" He gripped the handle of the hidden well and pulled the door open.
"What do you wash in my magic waters?" A voice asked from the well. Tony looked around the barn, hoping no one had heard the voice and the pulled the sheep on the pulley closer to him.
"Um, I want a beautiful, prize wining sheep." Tony requested and lowered the sheep into the well. A bright light emitted from the waters below and Tony quickly pulled the sheep back up. He gave a laugh and pulled the sheep closer, setting it on the barn floor. He pulled it from the pulley and ran out the door with the sheep in his arms.
He ran into the village, heading straight for the square where the beautiful sheep and shepherdess competition had already started.
"Dad!" Tony looked to his left where Virginia was jogging up to meet him in her handcrafted blue dress. She narrowed her eyes at the bright pink sheep he carried, "What is that?"
"Our prize winning sheep!" Tony beamed and set the sheep down.
"What sheep songs do you know?" She asked hurriedly., taking a quick look behind her. Tony stood up straight and thought for a minute.
"Ba-Ba Black Sheep." He replied.
"She's signing that right now!" Virginia snapped and flailed her arms.
"I don't know. Pick any song and put sheep words to it." Tony tried again, "Do what you need to do to win this competition. Now come on."
Tony walked past her towards the town square. Virginia took the rope tied to the sheep and ran after him, tugging on his arm.
"Have you seen Rhoswen anywhere?" She asked in a hush tone. Tony shook his head and looked out at the people in the square. Virginia swallowed hard and looked out at the crowd with him. She then walked on and pushed past everyone in the crowd.
"Ah! Now contestant number three!" The judge called out, catching a glimpse of Virginia and her pink sheep. She handed her sheep off and stepped up onto a platform, readying herself to sing. She started stomping her feet in rhythm with clapping her hands, starting 'We Will Rock You'.
"Buddy you're a lamb, making big fleet playin' in the fields. Gonna be a big ram someday. Got wool on your face, you big disgrace. Waggin' your fleece all over the place. Singin', we will, we will sheer you! Sing it now!" Virginia called out to the non-responsive villagers. Slowly people started to sing along, her father having to start first. She finished singing her song once more, earning several claps and cheers from the crowd.
"Three beautiful girls and three beautiful lambs!" The judge called out above the noise, getting ready to name a winner, "This is the hardest competition to judge so far! I give Mary eight out of ten; taking third place!"
The girl at the other end of the stage walked off while Sally smiled down at the judge. Virginia scowled at her and looked out at her father. The judge moved closer to the two remaining lambs and studied them.
"Both of these lambs are beautiful. How do I decide?" He began and turned to face the villagers, "This is a shepherdess competition. We shall set up a course and whom ever guides their sheep to the end in the shortest time is the winner. You must only use sheep dogs and commands."
Virginia's eyes went wide as she stared down at her father. The only dog they had was frozen into a solid gold statue. Tony looked around until his eyes landed on Prince, who Virginia had apparently brought along with her.
"I-I have to get my dog from the stable!" Virginia shouted out.
"Well hurry up then!" The judge called back. Virginia quickly ran off the stage with her sheep and headed straight to her dad. They headed down an alley and then stopped.
"You wait here. I'll be right back." Tony told her and walked off with Prince.
Tony walked back into the Peep's barn and opened the magic wishing well once more. He strapped Prince into the pulley and lowered him down.
"Magic wishing well. Please use your powers to bring this poor dog back to life from being trapped in a gold body." Tony asked and waited a moment. Slowly the bright light appeared again and he quickly pulled Prince up from the water. He stopped and stared at Prince, who was still frozen in his gold encasing, "What is this? What happened?"
He pulled Prince towards him and set him down on the barn floor. He tapped on Prince's head and then picked up a nearby stick, throwing it across the barn. Slowly, Prince began to reverse, breaking out of his golden entrapment.
"Welcome back Prince!" Tony shouted. Prince shook himself and stared up at him a moment before biting his leg, "Ow!"
"You moron!" Prince shouted at him, "Why did you turn me into gold?"
"It was a heat of the moment kind of thing. I was trying to protect you from those trolls!" Tony shouted back and held his leg where he had been bit. He shook his head and stood up straight, "Never mind. I need your help."
Virginia stood in the pen at the end of the course and watched her pink lamb at the other end. She looked up towards the Judge, watching him as he got ready to start her turn.
"Get ready! Set! Begin!" He called out and let the timer go. Virginia began to call out to her lamb, having no sheep dog to herd it. People in the crowd laughed, along with Sally Peep, and pointed fingers at Virginia while whispering to each other. Suddenly a golden retriever jumped the fence and nipped at the lambs ankles, getting it moving.
"Come on pinkie. Move." Prince yelled at the lamb as he nipped its ankle again. He herded the sheep down the course, yelling and nipping at it every step of the way. The lamb ran into the pen, followed by Prince, and shut immediately by Virginia.
"Eighty-three seconds! We have a winner!" The judge shouted out as Sally Peep became to scream in protest, "Come and get your prize, my dear."
Virginia walked up to the judge and took the trophy then walked to the mirror, picking up one end. Tony jogged up and pushed through the crowd, grabbing the other end of the mirror. He quickly thanked everyone and then began walking off, mirror in tow while Prince followed closely behind.
When they got back to the barn they found Wolf was gone and Rhoswen was still no where to be found. They set the mirror down and closed the barn door, hopping to get the mirror working. Tony pressed designs on the mirror and looked on the back, searching for a way to turn it on.
"Why won't it show our world?" He asked and Virginia shook her head, placing her hands on her hips, "I was talking to Prince."
"There's probably a secret catch somewhere." Prince explained to Tony, since Virginia couldn't speak to him, "And it's probably not on."
"He says it's not on." Tony relayed the message as Virginia ran her hands over the sides of the mirrors. She stopped at a circular design on the front and moved it, switching it on, "Central Park!"
An ear piercing, shrill scream suddenly sounded from outside, causing the three to jump. They quickly turned off the mirror and ran outside to see what had happened.
"Sally Peep's been murdered!" A man shouted out as he ran into the village. He stopped and pointed behind him, "Caught him red handed!"
Three men drug a man along with them, kicking and fighting their hold on him. Wolf tried to flail and pull from their hold, but it was no good.
"I didn't do nothin'!" Wolf shouted out as he was drug through the village. The villagers hit him and yelled that he be burned at the stake immediately. Wolf looked about frantically for a familiar face, a specific person, but couldn't find her amongst the mob of people. His eyes landed on Tony and then on Virginia, growing wide as he struggled harder to get free, "Virginia!"
He gave a low, drawn out whimper as he was dragged past the two and off to the town's small prison. They quickly threw him inside and locked the door, banging on the bars of he windows and yelling at him.
