What? An update!? I know it's been quite some time, but I recently came across this partially finished chapter, a revisit of the entire miniseries, and the drive to share more of this story. I hope, to any old readers, that this is a little bit of what you've been waiting for; to any new readers, I truly wish for you enjoy this journey with me. You've made it this far! Amy and Michelle have been longing for me to put the final touches on their story which has been waiting to be told.

Thank you so very much to anyone reading this; I'd love to hear what you think. You're wonderful! ^_^

King Charming
Chapter 37

It would be a lie to say the castle was the place they wanted to be. They both were tired and dishearten. They spoke little and sat tired and lazy as the carriage pulled them on. Amy wondered the entire trip what the frozen north would hold for her. She knew nothing of ruling and only hoped that she could pull through – more so that she would be received by the people. She wondered if they'd heard about the fate of their queen, she wondered if the woman was loved, feared or even hated. From what she had gathered from the outside kingdoms the Ice Queen was feared; originally Amy had though it was because she interacted so little with anyone – but now she assumed that had been a naive perspective. She had seen, first hand, the cruelty of the queen.

It was only a matter of hours before Michelle's head swiveled over to her friend. Amy's eyes were closes and Michelle surveyed her. She knew her friend well enough to know she wasn't actually asleep. A frown creased Michelle's face. The once carefree face was now lined with wary from the adventures they'd lived and Amy looked...sad; even in her restful state.

"What?" Michelle willed herself not to jump when Amy's voice softly questioned. Her eyes opened, just barely and tilted toward Michelle.

"It's just...what a week, er month, or whatever, huh?"

"Something like that," Amy commented quietly, noncommittally and glanced out the carriage window. It had started to form ice crystals along the base of the glass indicating they'd moved quite far north and likely passed into the frigid 8th kingdom.

"You miss him, don't you?"

Amy's kneejerk reaction screamed 'No!' in the recesses of her mind, but the fact that her mouth wouldn't move to confirm what her head said indicated that her heart disagreed. "I never wanted a prince, Mickey."

"Nice deflection. If I didn't know better I'd say you were born in that crown. Don't' make it thorny Amy. Come on, I'm your best friend. If you can't be sincere with me - then who?"

"Not even myself," Amy lamented before she took in a deep breath. She yielded with a heavy sigh, "Yeah, I miss him. Alright? I thought he had so much potential. I was an idiot to think any man could prove that theory wrong. What a disappointment that turned out to be. This place had me, for a second, believing in true love.

"This place is just crazy and I'm trying to figure out where we fit in it. What comes next. How the hell are we supposed to find a place here? I'm not a queen and I sure as hell never was a princess, but somehow a weird and random happenstance proved that wrong too. The thing is, I'm not even sure I want to go home. I'm not sure what I want anymore; seems like I dumped out my bucket list hopes and dreams when I went to a Mardi Gras party. I don't want to take back what I know now, but I'm also not sure I can go forward either. I'm flying by the seat of my pants here. I'm glad you're with me."

"Shit, me too," Michelle smiled. "With all that questioning I figure you need me; at least to keep your feet on the ground. Hey, Amy?"

"Hmm?" Amy's face turned back to her friend.

"I'm glad you were in the fancy gown at that party. I couldn't pull of the stuff you've done. Good job. We make a hell of a team."

Amy's face lit up and Michelle was glad to see some of the wary and lines disappear. "No kidding."

After the two day journey they both wanted nothing more than a bed and perhaps a change of clothes. Even as the two guards at the main gate pulled them open for the royal carriage and after another set of guards opened the castle door apart for Amy, Michelle, Owen and Mathieu Amy couldn't help but have a sense of foreboding. It was all becoming more real that she had anticipated. She knew the truth of it before, but like with all experiences it was much different being there – in the mix of it all.

Owen marched in front of Amy and Michelle while Mathieu held up the rear. It was in that moment that doors to the throne room were thrown open and Chancellor Crystalor swooped into the room. His eyes were bugging out and swelling large as his face was contorted in a horrified grimace.

"Surely you can't mean that…that…that creature," he pointed behind Owen at Amy, "will take the throne in the place of her majesty. My queen. Where is the queen? She must in the carriage."

Owen's chest puffed up and his hand hovered dangerously over the hilt of his sword. "You will not question Amelia's appointment. It was by the queen's own words that she crowned this woman." Owen growled in a low voice.

He had assumed the only resistance to Amy's position would come from this man. The rest of the kingdom would likely not notice the change in a negative way. The people, as long as things remained consistent, might not even notice. They were a simple kingdom and Amy's ascension would only make the previously bleak out look more positive. It also helped that, as far as Owen could tell, Amy didn't want to dominate the kingdom in such a way that they would take over all the others as Una had. He had high hopes for the young woman whose intentions were certainly more pure than the former Ice Queen had.

"You're out of your mind if you think I'll simply let this happen."

"You have no choice, the queen made this decision – she crowned Amelia as the princess and in her absence Amelia will take that role. This was not your decision to make, and that remains true even now." Owen said passive and dismissively as well as with some finality.

"We shall see about that…" Chrystalor's voice was spoken under his breath in such a way that only Owen heard it. Though he made no attempt to acknowledge the advisor's words. He too was tired from the long trip.

"I would advise that you dismiss the Chancellor, he was loyal to the queen and will only prove to be a thorn in your side, my lady." Owen said to Amy when they'd crossed the threshold and into the main atrium of the palace.

"And what would that do to him? Exile? Banishment? I can't see someone who served the crown for that long simply being 'dismissed'." Amy looked down and then back at Owen. "What would you have me do?"

One corner of Owen's mouth pulled back. "Mercy. It maybe your undoing - or you'll learn to outgrown it for your own good."

"I won't let power or a title redirect my moral compass. And next time, I'll address the Chancellor should he choose to attack me and my role in this kingdom. It's...well it's my job." Amy said with some measure of responsibility to her position. "The only way to put him in his place is to show him that I don't fear him."

Owen's eyebrows arched. "Don't you?"

"Well, even if I did I can't show that, now can I? He has magic, that inherently makes him powerful and dangerous. I'm going to have to assert my dominance in other ways."

"Spoken like a true queen, but do you know how to do that - or what it means? It may mean making hard decisions, like exile. Or banishment." Owen saw the look on Amy's face as she pointed her face up to him. She might have learned a good deal but there was a clear expression of naivety on her face. It was to be expected and only time would tell how this change would pan out. She was queen, she owed the kingdom certain things. The first being a ruler, the second - something Una never gave the land, an heir. That, Owen decided, would be a conversation for another day.

"Your throne room, my queen," Owen took a knee beside Amy.

Her eyes swept the white, icy chamber. Up a small set of stairs was the frozen throne and jagged, pointy crown. The frozen lake below her feet held no interest this time as she watched the throne from her spot.

"Go on." Michelle poked her between the ribs from behind, prompting her forward.

Amy suddenly missed the lush landscape of Castle White. More than that, however, she missed the charming king who liked to press her hand to his chest when he was preparing to tell her something with sincerity. A tear froze on her eyelid before it could even be born and she marched forward, each step heavy and with purpose. "My kingdom..." she mumbled as she ascended the stairs and gathered up the crown.