The Accompanist

Author's Disclaimer: No, I don't own Strange Magic, or any songs that I mention in this story. All rights go to their respective owners. In this chapter of the modern AU, we will learn much more about everyone else, as well as a little more backstory. I'm going to switch between Bog and Marianne a bit, so you have been warned. I hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 2: The Peanut Gallery

"And I can't get him out of my head…."

Several moments later, Marianne realized what she was saying and then shook her head as she walked from her car after listening to Electric Light Orchestra's song of a similar name. The guy named Bog had rushed in and out of her life only an hour ago, and she was still thinking about him. How odd, and very bad.

"Bad Marianne! This cannot be happening. You'll never see him again, and if Dawn were to hear you-"

"Marianne, is that you singing?"

Marianne tried to shake her head no, but Dawn was smiling knowingly as she got up and took off her gardening gloves and shook off the dirt on her.

"Ah, ah, I heard it! Don't try to deny it! I heard you singing. Who is he?"

"There is no one-"

"I haven't heard you sing since before-"

"As I said, there is no one in the picture. I met a guy, yes. But," she said, putting up a hand to quiet her love-obsessed sister, "he is not someone I'm going to see again. He is not important. He came into and left my life within a half hour, all to stop my attempts to find an accompanist."

"If it really is that hard, you don't have to do it for us-"

"No, Dawn, I want to do it for you. You both are cute together, even if it is too sweet for my liking. I'm happy for you, and I want this day perfect for my younger sister. I'll just offer more money and look elsewhere. I figured a coffeehouse would have a few musicians inside of it that were good."

"Okay, alright, as long as you are sure. I want you to have fun at the wedding and not work your butt off. You're already the maid of honor. You shouldn't feel bad about delegating."

"I'm doing this for you, and that's final. Now, let's go inside and get something to eat."

The girls went inside, and Marianne hoped that Dawn had already forgotten about the guy she met as they made dinner for their girls' night in. Her hopes were soon dashed into tiny bits.

"So, what did this guy do exactly?"

After sighing in resignation, Marianne said, "He barged in when I had five more people to audition. On and on he yelled at those guys, scaring them all within an inch of their lives. If they weren't so important to me, I would've laughed at how well and fast he made them run for being so new and terrible at guitar."

"Sounds like a terrifying guy."

"Well, being almost seven feet tall and broad shouldered with a name like Bog-"

"Wait, Bog, as in Bog of Eternal Stench?"

Marianne hugged her sister before continuing.

"Thank you for getting the movie reference. Apparently those movie nights in college paid off."

"So he didn't get it?"

"Definitely not, and took it the wrong way. But we didn't talk much longer, so it worked out. He had to rush to something, and I wasn't about to stop him. Really, the nerve of him. He could have just waited a little longer, but no, too much Deep Purple had already been butchered."

"Hypocrite."

"I wish I could call him that. However, he proved that he is more than capable with a guitar, and he's actually quite good, at playing and singing. I wish he had tried out."

"I wonder why he didn't."

"He has a good job already, and he doesn't do 'silly, romantic stuff like weddings'," she said, putting air quotes around his words.

"Sounds like you two would get along," said Dawn with a jab to the arm.

"No way. Don't you even start thinking about going there, little engaged one. Just because you're engaged and happy does not mean I want to be. I'm happy by myself."

"But you don't sing anymore, and you used to love to sing!"

"You'll hear me sing at your wedding."

"But that's still months away! Pw-eeze? I just want to see you happy, truly happy."

"Dawn, I am happy. I can't be as happy as you, and you're going to have to accept that. As it is, I'm going to be taking on a lot more responsibility at work now that you're jumping ship and creating your own business with Sunny."

"We're going to be the best interior decorators ever! I'm going to think of really cool ideas, and he's going to make them all come to life. He's so good with his hands. Wood or metal, he really is quite artistic."

"I've seen and own some of his creations, too, dear. His talent, combined with your ability to paint, will be a good combination. I wish Dad would listen to reason."

"I'm just glad he gave his blessing so we could marry."

"Took him long enough," muttered Marianne under her breath.

"So sissy, what shall it be tonight? Pasta?"

"Sounds good to me. Then we can watch a movie while we eat."

"Wanna watch Labyrinth? It's been ages since we've seen it."

"Dawn, I thought you'd never ask."

On another side of town, Bog finally made it to his mother's house and parked. He would make it in time for dinner with ten minutes to spare. Talking to Marianne had almost distracted him to the point of having to explain himself to his matchmaking mother, which he did not want to do if he could help it.

The only problem with that idea was an Electric Light Orchestra song playing on the radio, and it mirrored his thoughts about a certain brunette whose smile and general feistiness made him think for a moment about dating again. It had been a long time since someone had been willing to stand up to him like that, and he admired that in a woman.

Far better that than running away and never speaking to him again.

He realized that he was starting to say, "And I can't get her out of my head," so he started humming before he got to the door. No point to excite his mother, who was already at the door with a smile and wooden spoon.

"Is that my Bog? Early even? What's happened?"

Generally, Bog was good at arriving at his mother's home right on time. It was less time that she could interrogate him about his non-existent love life. He had forgotten about that in his rush to leave. He was really regretting talking to Marianne now.

"Traffic was lighter than usual. That's all."

"Are you sure? I see a little pink in your cheeks. I think you're ly-ing. Is it a girl?"

The pink in his cheeks from fibbing to his mother (he really hated doing so) intensified at being called out, and turned something deeper when she mentioned a girl. Why was he even surprised that that would be the first thought of hers?"

"Yes! I knew it! You finally met someone! Oh, I'm so happy for you!" she said, wrapping her son in a tight hug. Bog did his best to breath.

"I can't wait to meet her. You simply must bring her by sometime next week-"

"Mother, no. It's not like that. Yes, it involves a girl, but not in the way you think."

"Then what is it? Did you see that horrible witch again?"

"No, Mother, let me explain."

And explain he did, as his mother put the finishing touches on the pasta before eating. She sympathized with him and his ears, but she perked up upon hearing how much was being offered to play.

"Bog, dearest, I know you don't like weddings, but that's a lot of money. It'd only be for a few hours at most. Probably very easy for you. Why don't you consider doing it?"

"Mother, you're only saying that because you want me to talk to that girl again."

She spluttered indignantly before replying, "And so what if I am? She seems nice!"

"I don't want nice. Look at the last girl who had been nice at first. No thanks, Mother."

"Fine, but you should still go back to that coffee shop and grab a paper before she takes them all down. You never know when you might change your mind."

"There's no point, Mother. I'm never going to see her again, and that's it. With the amount of money she is paying, she's probably a rich, spoiled brat who expects everyone to bend to her whims, especially when it comes to music. You know how much I like being told what to do."

Griselda laughed outright.

"Oh yes, I do. Just about as much as your father, God rest his soul. There's a reason you own your own engineering consultant firm, my smart boy."

"That's right, Mother. Well, thank you for the good meal. It was good to see you again."

"As it is every week. I look forward to seeing you again then. I hope to hear more good news on that front."

"Don't count on it. Good night, Mother."

As Bog drove home, he continued to think about Marianne and what his mother had said. Perhaps grabbing a paper was a good idea regardless. He would have to go there before going to Stuff's place for Dungeons and Dragons.

As Bog walked into his apartment, Dawn and Marianne finished up their sister bonding night. Those nights were limited, now that Dawn and Sunny were getting married and moving into their own custom home. Dawn leaned against her sister, munching away at popcorn, while Marianne enjoyed listening to David Bowie sing. It was not the same as another man she had heard singing earlier that day, but both were good in their way. She tried to shake off such thoughts as quickly as possible, lest Dawn catch on. Unfortunately for her, Dawn's mind had already gone there and was only waiting the right moment.

"Marianne, did you ever have a crush on the Goblin King?"

The brunette took a moment to glare at her sister before responding.

"Of course I did. Why do you think I showed you this movie? It's certainly not for the acting."

"Hee hee, no. Definitely for David Bowie and his amazing singing. Is he the best singer in your opinion?"

"I don't know, Dawn. He is good, but there are others with just as good voices, but in other ways."

"Such as Bog?"

"Dawn!"

Marianne did not blush, but Dawn would bet good money that she was trying hard not to. She had seen the way Marianne had looked off into the room earlier.

"What? Come on, you really expect me to drop him? He's the first guy you've talked about in a long time."

"We argued," said Marianne, as though it made total sense.

"There are worse ways to meet and end up together."

"Such as, O Romantic One?"

"At a funeral."

"Way to kill the moment, Dawn."

"You're the one who asked. But anyway, back to the topic at hand. Was this Bog guy really almost seven feet tall?"

"He seemed like that. He towers in the same way Jareth does over Sarah."

"So Bog can be your own, personal Goblin King."

"Dawn, I will not allow that line of thinking to continue-"

"Why? Because you'll never see him again? Then why not? He'll never realize that he is part of one of our inside jokes."

"I'll feel awful. He deserves more than that, especially since he's never seen the movie."

"If he had, he'd probably be flattered. Better Jareth than one of the goblins. I like the way that sounds, Bog the Goblin King. I wonder what his last name is."

"We're never going to find out."

"Then I shall name him Bog King. It is so decreed!"

"That's my sister."

"Well, you're not being very helpful, so I am. Sheesh. I want to have hope for you. Plus, it's fun to tease you about someone again."

"I love you, too, Dawn."

"Anytime, Sister," Dawn said, reaching over and hugging her older sister.

"Let's go to bed. We have a long day of making fairy wings tomorrow."

"Sunny is brining over all the equipment in his truck. It's going to be such a fun day! I wish Mom were here to help us and squeal over our designs."

"I'm sure she'd be proud of us, just like Dad is that we still go and continue on, as Mom would have liked."

Both girls slept soundly that night, with Dawn's dreams not centered around Sunny for once. Her mind was more delightfully engaged with thoughts of Marianne with Bog and how cute they would be together. Marianne had another dreamless night.

Dawn was up first for once in the morning, and she headed downstairs to make breakfast for all three, as she expected Sunny any second. This time would be their main source of alone time that day since Marianne would be home all day to help with Renaissance festival costumes.

"Dawn?"

"I'm coming, Sunny!"

Dawn threw the door open and ran into Sunny's open arms. After a long kiss and embrace, they let go of one another so that they could get all of the supplies out of the car. Once that was done, a kiss of accomplishment was needed, and then they finished making breakfast together. When Marianne came down, dressed and ready to go, a full breakfast was waiting, all the pancakes and eggs she could ask for.

"Good morning, Marianne!" said both in unison before hugging her.

"Good morning to you, too. Smells amazing. I can't wait to eat it."

"I can't wait for you to see the paint I found. It's the perfect purple for you, Marianne."

"Thanks, Sunny. I'm excited to see it. What did you find for Dawn?"

"Exactly what she asked for. She's much more specific, which is good and bad, considering the shade she wanted."

"But he found it, so that's all that matters. Thank you, Sunny," said Dawn, leaning in to kiss him.

"Not in front me, guys! How many times do I have to tell you?"

After breakfast, the three went to the garage and got to work. All came out satisfied with their progress. Sunny would be an elf this year to play to his short height, and each girl had a brightly colored pair of fairy wings to match up with the rest of their fairy outfits.

On another side of town, Bog was driving from his office to the coffee shop. As luck would have it, the shop was in the process of taking down the signs, so he took all of them after only asking for one. From there, he went to Stuff and Thang's home, who were hosting Dungeons and Dragons that week.

When Bog had first started his consulting firm, he had been unsure about how many people he would need, so he had started small. Once he had a regular stream of people, then he expanded. Stuff and Thang, however, had graduated a year behind him (and had done projects with him) and had been excited to work for him, no matter how small the group was.

While working together, Stuff and Thang ended up falling in love and started dating. Once they realized that Bog was not going to yell at them for having an office romance, they invited him to their Dungeons and Dragons nights that they had fairly often. Considering the commanding personality he had, they decided that he would be a good Dungeon Master, and they were correct.

As Bog played more, everyone else agreed as their nights had become far more exciting, even if partly because they were still a little afraid of him. As Dungeon Master, he was fond of goblins, so they often had their campaigns as goblins. From that, he earned the nickname as Goblin King, since he favored the goblins so much. He was their unofficial leader, with Stuff and Thang the two who were forced to tell all news to him since he was their friend.

Bog ended up arriving a couple minutes late for the gathering because of traffic from the coffee shop. He stuffed one paper in his pocket before heading inside to see who else had not arrived. For once, he was the last one, so he took all the good-natured poking at him for being last after being such a time stickler.

"Where you been, O Great King?"

"I got stuck in traffic."

"Sure, like we haven't heard that one before. Denied! Try again."

Bog sighed as he settled into his seat. What should he tell them? Unfortunately for him, the paper in his pocket crinkled as he sat down before falling out of his pocket. One guy picked it up and read it aloud for all to hear.

"What's this? You giving up your day job to work weddings now? The great hater of love at a wedding?"

"It's not what it looks like."

"What is it?"

"I met a girl at a coffee shop-"

"Your mother will be so happy."

Bog gave the speaker a face of "Really?" before going on.

"I already crushed her dreams. No. This girl and I, we met and argued about her inability to find good performers. She needs an accompanist, and she offered so much money that every bozo with a guitar came and killed all my love for 'Smoke on the Water'. It was bad."

"Why keep the sheet?"

"Look at the price and tell me that's not ridiculous. Just looking at the sheet makes me laugh."

Once all laughed at it, the subject was dropped temporarily in favor of starting the game. During their break, though, someone else brought it up again.

"So what was this girl like?"

"She's a fireball, a really feisty one. She was willing to yell at me."

"I want to meet this girl. I don't think she exists."

"Call that number, and you will. But leave me out of it. I don't think she likes me."

"Don't worry, we still do."

"Thank you, Peanut Gallery. Anyway, what of the plans to go to the Renaissance festival?" Bog said, trying to redirect the conversation.

Bog had been to a couple festivals now, all with the rest of the group. Thang and Stuff loved the festivals, so they dared everyone else to come one year. All had fun, so they ended up going back, usually splitting up for the various interests. Bog preferred to go on alone. This year, it had been a little harder to plan, but the consensus seemed to be for the following weekend. He liked the idea a lot since the theme would be the Scottish Highland Games.

"We can all go this year. How does next Saturday sound?"

"Let's go. We'll meet here and drive together to save on parking."

"Righto, Kingy."

The rest of the game continued on after that without any more mention of Marianne, which was how Bog preferred it. He was good at getting his way in this respect, and all seemed to think that she was no big deal, even if he still thought about her more than he should. It would not matter, and so he kept that mantra up.

The next week flew by. Bog had a new client that he had to design for, so he put in long hours there. His costume was already done, a goblin outfit that matched all the others' outfits, with his having more regal colors and a crown to show that he was in charge. By Friday, he had done a good job of limiting his thoughts of Marianne to once or twice a day, or so he told himself.

If it would have been any consolation to him, Marianne had a similar issue with thoughts of Bog coming back. Granted, her thoughts were more frequent as she wondered if he could be bribed into helping her, mixed in with thoughts that stemmed from Dawn's teasing about "her Goblin King".

On Friday night, Marianne went out with Sunny and Dawn to a bar to celebrate Marianne's success in finishing another project for her dad's architecture firm, as Sunny wanted to hang out with the girls as well. Dawn got on stage for a rousing rendition of "Sugar Pie Honey Bunch" (directed at a smiling Sunny) before sitting down and drinking more.

Dawn was a lightweight, just like Marianne, but Dawn was not concerned as she had two people with her that she trusted. Soon, Dawn was saying outrageous things and hugging Sunny incessantly. She had hugged a lot before they dated, but once they became official, she limited all her hugging to him, much to Sunny's delight. Tonight, Marianne was on her mind, as was Bog.

"Marianne, I wish you had gotten his number. I bet he'd enjoy this."

"I doubt it, Dawn. He seems quieter."

"Despite meeting for such a brief time, you sure seem to know a whole lot about him. I wonder why?"

"Things he said struck a chord with me. That's all."

"I think you like him."

"Dawn, if I have to tell you one more time-"

"He's your own personal Goblin King. And he sings too! Your own Boggy Woggy."

"Don't call him that."

"Why not? Why do you care?"

"Because if I had a name like that, I'd never want to be called that. Common courtesy."

"Because you like him!"

"Sunny, I think it's time to go home."

"I'm right behind you, Marianne."

"But, Sunny, I don't want to go home yet. We haven't discussed which cakes we liked best from this morning's tastings. I really liked the second one."

"I liked that one, too, but it was too sugary. I thought the third one was the best balance."

"Hmm, I think I need to try that one again. Wait, when did we get to the car?"

"We need to go home, Dawn. We have a drive ahead of us before the festival."

"I'm so excited! Can we go to jousting together, just the two of us? It'll be so romantic, just like last year."

"Maybe not with every detail the same-"

"Oh, of course not, Sunny. They might have expectations, but they'll see us tomorrow. And I'll be proud to be there with you, my best friend."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Dawn."

Night passed quickly, and soon it was time to get up and go to the local Renaissance festival. All piled into their respective cars and arrived in time for the opening ceremonies. Marianne's group got there before Bog's group because Marianne forced Dawn to get up earlier than usual, but it was worth it. Bog and his crew got there soon after, and they greeted the staff and volunteers like old friends.

Bog enjoyed the volunteers this year who played Queen Elizabeth and her court. They were more lively than last year's. Once they were all let into the festival officially, the group posed for a few pictures before splitting up as always. Bog went off to a shady corner (as the day was already feeling hot, even for September) to look at the map and determine his schedule of events for the day.

Once he got close to a tree, he saw a bright purple in the corner of his eye, and he investigated it. As he got closer, he saw that the purple was in fact wings. Fairy wings by his estimation. They were not store-bought, like so many others, but were delicately wrapped and crafted. A feat like that was uncommon and deserved a second look. Then, he heard a female grunt of frustration.

"Don't worry, we'll get you unstuck. Sunny is looking for someone taller as we speak."

Taller? Bog was puzzled until he spotted where the right wing was attached to a tree branch.

It was easy for him to grab the branch and wing, so he said, "Here, I got it. I promise to be gentle on the wings."

It took him only a moment, and once he unhooked the wing, the owner turned around, as though to thank him. And then they recognized one another.

"You!"

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Author's Notes: This was longer than I expected, but that's normal for my stories. There's lots more Dawn and Sunny stuff, as promised. They will have their moments now and then. Expect a lot more explanations in the next chapter. Also, I love the movie Labyrinth, if you had not already noticed. There's a few similarities between these two movies that I wanted to play with. I hope you enjoyed it!