Astrid had just settled down for a rare moment of quiet and a cheeseburger, fries, and soda when all of a sudden, Adrian burst into her office with her very flustered secretary behind him.

"So sorry," she panted. "I tried to stop him ma'am, because he didn't have an appointment and I know you're eating, but..."

"It's no trouble," Astrid told her, taking the napkin off her lap and rising gracefully. "Please don't be worried." Then she cleared her throat and gave Adrian a look, hand on hip. "And young man, what is so important that you had to frighten my secretary and barge in here like this?"

"Well, I don't know," Adrian scoffed. "Maybe the fact that your daughter has escaped jail and you didn't even have the decency to mention it to Eloise and me? You know, I'm starting to think that maybe you had something to do with the whole thing. I'm starting to think that Alistair had the right idea and he should have just strung her up from the start!"

"He never thought that!" Astrid cried in horror. "As for why you were not informed, it's because it's not your business to be involved in every single detail. If there was danger to Eloise again, of course we would consult you, but now that's not the case. And while it's true Helene is my daughter, I would never forget that she's committed a crime, especially against someone in as vulnerable of a position as your wife was. I know it's hard for you to remember that, but you just calm down and take a deep breath before you say something you'll truly regret!"

Adrian sensed now that perhaps he'd gone a bit too far, sat down, and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "But it just...it's hard not to worry about Eloise and my babies after what happened. Are you sure you didn't forget?"

"Of course not," Astrid assured him and put an arm around his shoulders. "Far from it. I swear."

"Okay," Adrian nodded and took a few deep, calming breaths. "All right," he said after. "I'm okay now." He paused and sat down. "Sorry I accused you of all that stuff," he told her. "I just...you know..."

"Yes," Astrid nodded. "I know. And I accept your apology."

"Thanks," Adrian nodded. "How are you doing? Does anyone know where Helene is right now?"

Astrid sighed. "I suppose I'm doing as well as expected," she said. "And as to why we're not taking as much action as we normally would...it's because apparently, Helene and Ludovic have run into the woods, and-"

Adrian snorted, throwing his head back and roaring with laughter. "The woods? Are you serious? She cries and screams when she breaks a nail or gets a paper cut and then goes to bed for days. How the hell is she gonna survive in the woods?"

"Exactly," Astrid nodded. "I love my daughter, I do. But being adventurous and outdoorsy is not one of her best things, and how we figure things is that she's only gonna last in the woods for so long before she gets fed up and comes back and turns herself in. No use spending lots of money on a big search when things will undoubtedly end quickly." She cast her eyes down. "I hope that's all right with you."

"S-sure," Adrian nodded, still grinning widely and trying not to laugh again. "And thanks for the big laugh. I really needed that today. For sure, she'll be back in no time. And did you say she ran off with that werewolf guy too?"

"Ludovic? Yes," Astrid nodded and pushed some of her fries toward Adrian. "Feel free to have some of those. I probably shouldn't eat an entire order by myself."

"Thank you," Adrian told her and took a handful. "Yeah, if the woods don't bring Helene back in a jiffy, the thought of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with a werewolf sure will. She hated it enough when it was me, but the thought of being stuck with a werewolf who has absolutely no shame and total comfort with what he is...that will drive her nuts!"

"Yes," Astrid sighed and took a bite of her burger. "We can only hope, Adrian. We can only hope."

"...Little old lady got mutilated late last night...werewolves of London again! Aoooowww, werewolves of London-"

"Excuse me!" Helene tried to say.

"Just a minute," Ludovic told her and then broke out in to one more howl. Then he stopped. "What?"

"Oh, thank goodness you stopped with that horrible song!" Helene breathed a sigh of relief. "I just...I just wondered...can we stop for a little bit? My feet are killing me! My shoes are destroyed, I haven't brushed my hair or washed in days and..."

Ludovic sniffed. "Yeah, you don't smell like a daisy, but neither do I. Who cares? We have to keep moving."

"And we will, once I sit down for just a little bit!" Helene cried. "I think I have blisters!"

"Listen, Princess, do you want to get caught? Being put in jail again will be a lot worse than a blister."

She just narrowed her eyes at him.

"Okay, you don't wanna walk?" He asked and threw her over his shoulder. "There. Let's go."

"Put me down!" Helene yelled and began pounding on his back. "You put me down right this minute!"

"No, I don't think so," Ludovic told her. "You had your chance and wasted it and this is too important for you to just be lazy and do what you want whenever you feel like it!"

"Ugh!" Helene growled. "This is so like a man! Taking away my agency and all that!"

"Blah, blah, blah," Ludovic rolled his eyes. "You know I have plenty of respect for your agency...just not when it might get me thrown in jail because you're being a baby and making lots of terrible choices!" He sighed. "Can't you at least, I don't know, zap yourself up some sneakers or something? They might be more comfortable and durable to walk in."

Helene scoffed. "Me? In sneakers? I don't think so."

Ludovic growled. "You either zap up the sneakers and I put you down and let you walk, or you keep the shoes you got on, I carry you the rest of the way, and you shut up. Those are your two choices unless you want to be murdered. That's the third choice. Or jail. So I guess that's four. This is not a hard decision!"

Just then, Helene's stomach rumbled. "I'm hungry!" She cried.

"Yeah?" Ludovic asked. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"Get me something to eat!" She cried.

"Put on your damn shoes and we can try and go find a restaurant," Ludovic hissed. Not that there were any nearby. He just wanted to distract her. Then he grinned and picked a black and shiny bug off a tree. "How about this? I hear certain bugs are supposed to be good for you."

"Fine," Helene muttered, her eyes closed tight as she tried not to be sick. "I suppose if it's the only way I can eat well..." She paused. "But just to warn you, my powers might still be a bit weird from when we were in jail. That's why I haven't tried to zap up food or anything."

"Thanks for the warning," Ludovic drawled. "Now get to work."

Rolling her eyes and groaning, Helene zapped on a pair of hot pink sneakers and they continued to make their way through the woods.

"You want me to pick you up again?" Ludovic offered when he saw that Helene was dragging her feet. She'd been good about keeping up the pace for a while, but now she was starting to lose momentum, which was bad news since it was beginning to get dark.

Just the threat of that happening made her straighten up and quicken her pace. "No, thank you. I can walk."

"Yeah," Ludovic grinned. "I thought so."

They continued until his arm shot out suddenly, making her nearly fall over.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" She asked.

"Look," he whispered and pointed. "A car. It looks like it's been abandoned!"

"A car!" Helene whispered and then cried out. "A car!" She ran over to it, her still slightly sore feet forgotten, and sat down in the driver's seat after heedlessly pulling the door open. "Do you think it works? Doesn't look like anyone's around to use and well, finder's keepers!"

"No," Ludovic shook his head as he studied it. "It looks like it's been in some sort of accident. Probably why it was abandoned. I bet we're lucky to even be able to get the door open. Don't try and start it cause it will probably explode."

"Wouldn't you want that?" Helene asked. "Wouldn't that be a dream for you?"

"No, not really," Ludovic shrugged as he climbed in and found a sack of clothes in the backseat. "Besides, wouldn't it be less messy to just dump a bucket of water on you and watch you melt?" He asked and grinned wickedly.

"Oh, don't be stupid!" Helene scoffed. "Throwing water on witches doesn't kill them, you idiot! I think you've seen the Wizard of Oz too many times." She sighed, then spoke seriously. "Are you sure you can't start it?"

"Well, I could try," Ludovic told her. "Get out a second and I'll give it a shot, but like I told you, it probably won't end up working. Best scenario, it probably will sputter and then do nothing, worst case scenario, it'll blow up."

"I'll get out of the car then and go over there while you give it a shot," Helene told him, hopping out of the vehicle and striding several steps away. "Okay," she yelled. "I feel safe now. Go ahead and turn the key!"

Giving her the finger and gritting his teeth, Ludovic did just that, both swearing and breathing a sigh of relief when the car sputtered but remained still. "You can come back now," he told her. "This hunk of junk's not going anywhere."

"Well, then what's the point?" Helene groaned. "If this isn't gonna do us any good, then let's just go."

"I agree," Ludovic nodded. "But first, let's see if we can find anything useful."

"You mean you want us to be thieves?" Helene asked, her eyes wide and her hand on her heart. "Isn't that wrong?"

"You got put in jail for kidnapping and attempted murder," he reminded her. "Taking stuff from an abandoned car when it's clear no one is gonna come back for it is not worse," Ludovic reminded her. "Now come on and help me look!"

Helene groaned and hopped in the car after him. They didn't find much in the front, just some snacks which they quickly hid away. But in the trunk was the jackpot.

"Clothes!" Ludovic yelled, pulling up a garbage bag that he quickly opened. "Both you and I could wear these. Skirts, sweaters, jeans, sweatpants, sweatshirts, leggings, t-shirts..."

"Are they all clean?" Helene asked. "I don't want to be walking around in dirty laundry."

"Yep," Ludovic nodded. "It looks like they were meant to go to charity or something." He showed her a note on the front of the bag. "And if you think about it, technically they are."

"Oh, don't say it like that," Helene told him and began looking for something even marginally fashionable.

When she didn't find anything that met her standards, she settled for a pair of jeans and an overly large sweatshirt. "So you don't see things and get any ideas," she explained when he raised an eyebrow at her outfit.

"Ah," Ludovic nodded and wiped his brow in relief. "Thank goodness! Thank you for going to such lengths to protect me from myself!"

"Oh, shut up and grab the bag," Helene snapped. Then she scoffed at the car. "Useless piece of garbage!" She said. "You were supposed to work so I wouldn't have to walk anymore!" She kicked it and pain shot through her foot, making her jump up and down. "Shit, stupid car! Ow, ow, ow!"

"That's what you get," Ludovic told her as he put the bag of clothes over his shoulder. "And it's not like it's a complete loss. We got some clothes and some snacks. That's better than nothing. Besides, since I bet the people who owned this car lost all their fuel, decided to cut their losses, and head for the city, maybe we should too. It's probably not far."

Helene looked him over. "You know, I can't decide if you look like Santa or a hobo right now," she mused.

Ludovic shrugged. "Well, people do love Santa!"

Now both changed, they continued their walk until an old man strode out in front of them and held them up with a shotgun. "What do you want?" He asked. "I don't take well to trespassers."

"Sorry," Ludovic told her, moving to stand in front of Helene as both their hands went up in surrender. "We don't mean any harm and we're very sorry if we're intruding, but...our car broke down and...we're trying to find gas, the nearest hotel, a mechanic, something..."

He looked and sounded so pathetic that the old man's face instantly softened and he lowered his gun. "Sorry," he apologized. "We've just been having some vandalism problems with the kids and, well, a man's gotta protect his land. But you don't seem to be looking for trouble."

"No," Helene shook her head. "I swear we're not."

He sighed. "Well, since you seem so lost and all, why don't you come into my house and we'll...we'll see what we can do. I'm Walter, by the way. And my wife's name is Barbara."

"I'm Michael," Ludovic introduced himself, thinking it would be best to use fake names. "And this is my wife, Lauren. We just got married and are on a camping trip for our honeymoon."

Walter smiled. "Newlyweds? Well, isn't that lovely? We have an extra room and we wouldn't mind sharing for the night."

"You wouldn't?" Ludovic asked. "Thank you. That's very kind."

"Yes," Helene nodded. "That's wonderful!" Then she whispered to Ludovic once Walter's attention was diverted, "What a great idea! Do you think they have food?"

"Good thing you kids and I ran into each other when we did," Walter told them as he led the way to his house. "Wouldn't want to be out here alone at night. Wolves everywhere, you know. Could rip you to pieces!"

"Oh, that's awful!" Ludovic cried and pulled Helene to him before picking her up bridal style. "So kind of you to help protect my wife from such a horrifying fate."

"I recommend teaching her how to use a shotgun. I taught my Barbara how the second we moved out here. Best thing I ever did."

"Oh, yes," Helene grinned. "Please teach me how to use a shotgun so I can shoot wolves!"

It was then that Ludovic faked tripping and dropped Helene on the ground.

"Hey!" She cried. "Watch where you're going, you clumsy son of a-"

Walter bit his lip on a grin. "Sounds like she could use a meal, Michael."

"Yeah," Ludovic nodded. "Poor thing is always crabby when she doesn't get enough to eat."

"Well, lucky for you, it's roast chicken night at my house," Walter said. "With mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans!"

"That sounds so good!" Helene cried, inadvertently drooling all over Ludovic. "I'm so hungry. It's felt like ages since I've had food!"

"Well, it shouldn't be too long to wait," Walter replied and gestured at a magnificent log cabin with lights in the windows. "Here we are: home sweet home."

"It's lovely," Helene breathed as they headed inside. Once they got in the door, Ludovic put Helene down and she dusted herself off as Walter called for his wife.

"We have guests tonight, Barbara!" He called. "Do you think we'll have enough food?"

"Of course," Barbara nodded, appearing quite suddenly with a warm smile and reaching out to shake their hands when she reached them. "We always have leftovers usually, so a couple extra people will definitely not put us out."

"Barb, this is Michael and Lauren. They're newlyweds and I found them wandering around the woods because their car broke down," Walter explained. "I thought they could have a meal and take the extra room for the night and then, after they've had time to rest, they can think about what comes next tomorrow."

"What a good idea!" Barbara exclaimed. Then she clicked her tongue. "I bet you two are in the middle of your honeymoon, aren't you? Such a tragic thing to happen, getting lost like that."

"Well, what doesn't kill me and my honey bunny only makes us stronger," Ludovic smiled and gave Helene a kiss on the cheek. She wanted to slap him because his lips were all slobbery and left spit on her face, but she thought that would break their cover.

"Yes," Helene said through her teeth. "And I'm feeling very strong right now."

"How long until dinner is ready?" Walter asked. "Is there time for me to show them their room so they can freshen up?"

"Oh, yes, of course," Barbara nodded. "Of course there is. And after you show them, come and give the mashed potatoes a good stirring, would you?"

"Yes, ma'am," Walter nodded and gave her a salute. He then motioned to Helene and Ludovic and led them down the hallway where the bedrooms were, quick to notice that they were keeping distance from each other.

"It's all right for you to hold hands and touch and kiss, you know," he told them with a wink. "It wouldn't embarrass me at all."

"Thank you, but...he's sick and has horrible germs," Helene replied. "And I just...he doesn't want me to catch them, so..."

"What are you talking about?" Ludovic asked, grabbing her hand and pulling her to him to give her yet another big, slobbery kiss. "I'm fine!"

"Yeah," Helene made a face and wiped her cheek off. "I guess."

"Did I do something bad?" Ludovic asked. "Maybe you should give me a spanking!"

This made Walter chuckle while Helene flushed bright red. "Never mind," she said.

"Here's the room," Walter told them and opened the door. It was small, but comfortable, with one large window, a couple of chairs, a desk...and one bed that would fit two people but without a lot of extra room to spare. "Sorry the bed's so small. You might have to squish together, but I'm sure that since you're newlyweds, you wouldn't really mind that, would you?"

"No," Helene shook her head. "No, it's...it's nice. Thank you again for your hospitality toward me and my...Michael."

"It's no trouble," Walter said. "You two take as long as you want to freshen up and we'll keep things warm for you." He left and once he was gone, Helene let out a groan and stomped her foot.

"Well, this is great!" She groaned. "Now they think I have no better taste than to be married to you!"

"I don't see what you're fussing about," Ludovic told her. "You wanted a hot meal, a roof over your head, and a shower, and at least for one night, you're getting it! And besides that, Walter and Barbara seem like lovely people!"

The door opened again and, in a panic, Ludovic grabbed Helene and smooched her.

"Sorry to interrupt," Walter told them. "I just have one more thing to tell you. Our water heater's being a bit temperamental right now, so if you wouldn't mind showering together instead of separately to save hot water, we'd appreciate it. Not that that's something I need to ask of you, but I just thought I'd let you know."

"Of course!" Ludovic said. Walter gave them a wink and left them alone again.

"Well, this is just great!" Helene sighed. "First I have to sleep with you, and now I have to shower with you too!" She scoffed and wiped her mouth. "And stop kissing me every time Walter shows up. They might think we like each other!"

"That's the point of it, since we're supposed to be newlyweds?" Ludovic questioned.

"Can't we just say that our marriage was arranged by our parents for business reasons and we don't really like each other all that much?" Helene wanted to know. "I think I'd like that better."

Ludovic rolled his eyes. "That's the dumbest thing I have ever heard! Now, after all your fussing, go get in the shower!" He gave her a spank and a push.

"Was that really necessary?" She griped.

"Yes, it was," Ludovic nodded.

"Turn your head while I undress," Helene commanded. "I don't want you to look at me!"

"Why not?" Ludovic wanted to know. "I've already seen everything you've got. And it's not like I'm gonna be overcome with desire and take you on the bathroom floor!"

"Why not?" Helene returned. "I'm attractive!" She ripped her clothes off. "See? See how attractive I am?"

Ludovic couldn't keep track of her moods, but he wasn't about to push aside an opportunity that was presenting itself. "Yes," he nodded after giving her body a good sweep. "Yes I do." He undressed too and then Helene turned the shower on.

"I go first," she said. "You follow."

"Fine," Ludovic nodded, his eyes settling on her perfectly shaped bottom. "Works for me."

They got under the warm water and Helene snatched the soap away before Ludovic could grab it. He watched her slide the soap over her body...felt a bit jealous of the soap. "You want some help?" He asked.

"No, thank you," Helene shook her head, getting lather over every spot she could reach, then handed him the soap. "Your turn. Scrub real hard."

He did, and then as he put the bar down, picked up the shampoo. "Can I do your hair?" He asked. "I'll be gentle, I promise."

"Well, okay," Helene decided. "But only because we don't have forever. Otherwise, I wouldn't let you touch me."

He slowly and gently worked the shampoo through her hair and even massaged her scalp a little. Then, as the spray washed off the shampoo, he grabbed her face in his hands and kissed her soundly, then moved down from her lips to her neck, even nibbling a little, which made her moan as she threw her arms around him, shampooing his hair as his hands roamed over her body and even slipped between her legs to rub her.

"Oh, yes," she cried. "Oh!"

When he noticed her mouth was open, he kissed her again. Then, as soon as the water turned off, he got ready to bury himself inside her. "I want you," he whispered in her ear before nibbling on the lobe and licking the inside with his tongue, nearly causing her to climax right there. "I want to bury myself inside you right now."

"Do it!" She hissed. "Just this once. It's not like anyone is around to see!"

But then, Walter's voice sounded. "Sorry to interrupt!" He called. "But dinner is ready any time!"

"Thank you!" Ludovic called and gave a loudly panting Helene a look. "Sorry, baby," he said and headed out of the shower while feeling her eyes boring into his back as she tried to keep her legs from collapsing underneath her. "Looks like it's going to have to wait."

"We hope we're not an inconvenience," Helene said as she sat down at her place at the table. "I know we just showed up and everything." She was dressed and felt calmer, hoping fervently that her face wasn't deep red.

"Oh, no," Barbara shook her head. "It's lovely hosting young people. Our grandchildren live so far away...so it's nice to have visitors."

"I can help you get that chicken," Ludovic offered, his eye on a very large and juicy drumstick.

"Oh, don't be silly, you're guests!" Walter told him. "You don't need to do anything. So...how did you kids meet?"

"I bet it's a lovely story," Barbara replied. "We could use a nice story."

"It's very nice," Ludovic told her. "See, Lauren was in this beauty pageant but she finished ninth."

"It was not ninth!" Helene cried indignantly, even though she was just now finding out about this story. "I was second runner up!"

"Who cares," Ludovic told her and chucked her under the chin. "You didn't win!" Then he leaned forward and said in a whisper, "It's still a touchy subject. She was in her awkward phase. Anyway, she got so upset that she ran sobbing into the street and would have gotten run over by a car if I hadn't seen and pulled her out of the way."

"Oh, what a touching memory!" Barbara cried and put a hand to her chest. "You're lucky, my dear. Your own knight in shining armor."

"Yeah, it would have been more romantic if he would have given his life to save mine, but...yes, lucky me," Helene said through her teeth and gave a forced smile as Ludovic put his arm around her and then scooted his chair closer.

"Isn't that sweet?" Barbara observed. "You two weren't sitting close together and I wondered...but then I just figured you were shy, and I think that's adorable!"

"Oh, Michael here is definitely not shy!" Helene replied. "In fact, he's so not shy that he got us arrested. Remember when you got all demonstrative in that dressing room while I was trying on dresses for our rehearsal dinner?"

"Oh, dear!" Barbara remarked.

"It wasn't as terrible as you think," Ludovic assured her. "We just had to spend the night in jail. She had a very pretty mug shot."

Helene flushed, her eyes downcast. "And...and you definitely made the time pass, talking about all the ways we could break out and everything...including that plan where you would distract them with a giant dog? It was all hypothetical of course, but it made me forget where we were for a bit."

"Well, if you can get each other through a night in jail then you're definitely in it for the long haul," Walter told them and put the chicken on the table.

Ludovic grabbed both drumsticks and then offered one to Helene. "Would you like this?" He asked. "I'll take the other one."

Once everyone had their food and had time to take a few bites, Walter smiled at their young guests. "If you two are restraining yourselves in front of us, you don't need to. Go ahead and kiss if you want."

"Oh, yes, please do," Barbara agreed.

"All right," Ludovic nodded.

But Helene was ready to be grabbed this time. Her arms went around his neck and up in his hair and their lips came together in exactly the right way, so that it wasn't just misses and slobbering. When she was ready for it, Helene admitted in her head, he was actually a very good kisser. And because he was good, they let it go on for awhile. And it was only when she heard Barbara's voice that she gently broke the kiss with an embarrassed chuckle. "Okay, that's enough, sweetie," she said. "We don't want to embarrass these people."

"Oh, we're not embarrassed," Walter assured her. "We're just glad to see a couple so in love." But then, blessedly, they went back to their food and talked about things like the weather and not another word was said about her and Ludovic kissing.

Later that night, as they got ready for bed, Helene was surprised about how Ludovic arranged the blankets and pillows on his side. "You're very neat with those," she remarked.

"Yeah," Ludovic nodded. "I don't have much of a bed normally, but I like to keep it nice. No wrinkled sheets unless...you know." He winked.

"Oh, don't be disgusting!" Helene cried and hit him with the pillow before he grabbed her arm, pulled her in with him, and accidentally kissed her quickly before pulling away and pushing her onto the mattress.

"What the hell was that?" Helene asked.

"I don't know," Ludovic shook his head. "Do you think we should, you know, make noise? Do you think they'll be expecting it? I mean, clearly they don't mind us kissing. Maybe it applies to other stuff too."

"No," Helene scoffed and tried to keep her tone neutral as she spoke. "And even if they were, I've already had your tongue down my throat tonight much more than I want to. Let's just go to sleep." She hadn't forgotten the shower but there was no way she was talking about that with him. EVER. Or the smooch they'd had at dinner.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Ludovic agreed. He pulled the blanket over them, but it was a very small bed and Helene was not imagining it when she felt him rub up against her.

"I don't know when I agreed to be any kind of spoon!" She yelled and kicked him. "Do you mind?" She was glad she had clothes on, otherwise it would be even more of a disaster.

"Sorry!" Ludovic apologized.

"You better be!" Helene hissed. "Stay in your own space or you're sleeping on the floor!"

"The bed is small so I don't know how easy it will be for us not to smash into each other," Ludovic told her.

"How convenient," Helene snapped. "You could at least try!"

"Well, at least try to get some sleep because we're leaving in the morning, preferably before Barbara and Walter wake up," Ludovic told her. "We'll leave them a note...thank them for their hospitality, but say we got a hold of someone to come get us."

"We shouldn't just abandon them!" Helene whispered. "We need to tell them to their faces why we're leaving! We don't want to be rude!"

"Fine, whatever," Ludovic sighed. "But we're still leaving tomorrow."

They tried to settle into sleep without touching or bumping into each other, but as predicted, it was very hard, and finally, after Helene rolled over to face him and they knocked heads, Ludovic groaned.

"That's enough!" He cried. "It's been twenty minutes and I'm not going to do this all night. Come here. Let me put my arms around you. If we're already close together, then we won't bang into each other."

Helene was still a little suspicious, but hated to admit that he had a point. She snuggled against him and let him put his arm around her, marveling how good his body warmth felt against hers.

"You okay?" He asked. "Does that feel weird or anything?"

"No, I'm good," Helene smiled and closed her eyes, even snuggling in a little more. "What about you?"

"I'm all right," he told her, closing his own eyes, a small grin on his face too. "Goodnight, Helene."

"Goodnight, Ludovic," she returned, feeling her body relax as she drifted off into the darkness.