"Pathetic!" A low voice rings in my ear. "You truly are one of the most self-centered girls I've met. Pathetic! You're only, what, eighteen? Nineteen? And you're trying to control not only your own life, but your other half as well as a lover's. Besides all of that, you still have a kingdom to get back to and rule, if you ever get married."

Where am I? Why am I here? Who is this voice? What is wrong with me? "No," I hear myself moan.

"You deny it?" The voice continues. "You may have a strong will, Princess, but that isn't going to get you very far! You are pathetic! Pathetic, ever to think that you could outsmart me. How can anyone outsmart magic? You are no sorceress, no witch, no fairy. You are but a little girl. A weak and graveling little girl."

I slowly open my eyes. "Ash…"

"You call to your lover now?" I move my head with much pain to see Lord Altrogge standing on a hill not far from where I lay. I was back at the lake, sprawled out and dirty. "He's almost as weak as you are. You stupid little girl, forgetting my orders. I told you the limits! I told you the restrictions! And still your mind wanders, just because of a simple and meaningless kiss from a scum-boy prince."

I roll over onto my stomach and try to get on my hands and knees. I can only prop myself up on my scraped elbows. I stare up at my lord, "Why must you do this to me!? All I ever wanted was to feel happiness! And you took it all away. You just peeled it off of me like a ripe orange from its rind. Must you torture me so? My mother is dead, my father is worlds apart, and my prince is probably walking down the aisle with some Spanish cat! You've torn everything I possessed into shreds, so why not tear my body too? Kill me now so I can no longer feel this grief and unfailing fury towards my sorrowful life. I just hope you're happy. It's all because of you!"

"Silence!" Lord Altrogge booms and renders me helpless by one of his powerful spells. "You call what you have a sorrowful life? You brought this on yourself, how many times do I have to tell you that!"

"All I did was run away."

Lord Altrogge laughs. "All you did? That's all it takes! Do you honestly think I captured you only to wed you and take over your kingdom? I'm no pedophile! I make it my mission, my personal mission, to take care of girls like you."

"Girls like me?"

"You discard other people like they were last weeks garbage!" Lord Altrogge says. "You deserve some punishment. You're not my first victim. I used to take other girls, who were unfaithful to their husbands and betrothals. But that got boring, watching them confess their sins, breaking my spell, and running off again feeling rejuvenated. I wasn't trying to do good! I was trying to strike fear into their hearts."

"Where does that put me…?" I ask.

"I needed a new reason to incarnate young women, and then my mind fell on you. People usually take pity on you, do they not? You lost your mother before you even got to learn who she was. Your father pushed you hard to be strong and independent, only to realize he had gone to far. His product was a stubborn mule in a dress." Lord Altrogge points at me. "Your liveliness gave me the idea, Princess. You didn't care much about other people. You never showed them how much you really loved their company. This curse gave you more and more isolation and more misery than ever…so why live?" He laughs evilly.

My elbows gave in and I fall back onto the dirt. Water drains from my eyes as I try to comprehend all of what Lord Altrogge was telling me. I wanted to shout at him. I wanted to call him a rotten liar. But…maybe I was just mad because he was telling the truth. I ran away because my father never loved me for who I truly was. Ash always looked at me with those warm eyes and he reminded me of father. If I ever let myself slip and actually fall in love, would he love me for me or the person I was forcing myself to be? I was just afraid. Then, when Ash said he loved me for my beauty…I knew that my nightmare had come true. He had fallen in love with the fake me. Running away wasn't an answer. I just knew that it would get me away from those two and the others surrounding them. I got away, that's true. But I honestly never left.

"You're right." I say muffled. "It's all true…"

"Stop mumbling nonsense." Lord Altrogge bellows. "If you have anything important to say, say it to my face!"

I gather all my strength and prop myself back up. "You are right." I repeat. "It's all true. But…you made the same mistake you did last time."

"What?"

"The girls you held captive eventually realized their faults…you helped me realize mine as well." I reply. "I love Father. I love Ash. I want to be with them. I want their companionship. I want to go home."

For a second, he looked defeated. But the same old smirk showed up. "Who said realizing your faults would set you free, Princess?"

"You said…"

"I said nothing of the sort! I control your curse, even though it belongs to you. There is no way out." He laughs evilly once more. I grit my teeth. "Remember, Princess…You disobeyed my rules. Your four-mile radius is eliminated. You must watch how long you sleep, for the sun could always rise early."

He doesn't mean…I have to become a deer again during the day? It can't be! Oh Ash, I'm sorry! I let you down again! I was so happy living with you in your castle. We were engaged at last and we could live happily…but I was selfish. I had to go see my father. I forgot my own curse. I threw everything away. Yet, somehow, my anger remains. I cannot be sad over this. I'm not mad at just Lord Altrogge, I'm mad at myself. A warm feeling caresses my feet. I turn my head to see the sun peaking over the horizon. My eyes go wide and my breath quickens. I try my best and I eventually get to my feet. I enter the lake with only the sound of Lord Altrogge's laughter ringing in my ears.

Something breaks the sound. "MISTY!"

I turn to see what was going on, only to get splashed with dark red blood. Lord Altrogge was on his knees, holding a bloody shoulder with one of his hands. Just beyond the first trees of the forest stood Ash with a bow and arrows. Lord Altrogge rips the arrow out of himself and throws it on the ground and turns towards his attacker angrily. I wanted to run after him to stop him, but the pain of the sunlight was getting unbearable. I walk waist deep into the lake, only to regret that I had done it. Again, I was running away. I wasn't going to do that again. I turn around and run out of the water with a newly found vigor. Ash looks at me, scared, and almost shouts but I meet my destination first. I go behind the Lord and hook my arms under his armpits, bringing his arms back. Pulling down, I bring Lord Altrogge and myself to our knees. He struggles against me.

"Ash! Please! Do it now!" I yell.

"You tramp!"  Lord Altrogge bellows.

            Ash grabs an arrow from his sack and sets it in the quiver. With one swift stroke, the arrow flew. The sound makes me wince and almost let go. It looked to hit directly on his heart. Lord Altrogge wouldn't stop squirming and I was afraid that the arrow wasn't going to work against his magic soul. Ash sets another arrow and lets it fly. It strikes slightly below the first and Lord Altrogge screams and his arms don't move as wildly. I sink back and let him fall to the ground. I watch in horror as he coughs up blood, staining his mustache. My stomach wriggled inside me and I felt faint. Ash comes running up to me and pulls me into his embrace. The Lord's hand slowly stopped twitching and the blood on his shirt and face started to cool and harden.

I breathe heavily. "Is he…dead?"

"I believe so." Ash replies.

I begin to feel sick and even more faint than before. "Ash…I…I…" I fall out of his arms and slither down to the dirt.

"Misty!" Ash grabs me before I fall face-first. "What's the matter?"

I look at him and my vision starts to blur. "The sun." I say. "The sun."

He looks up at the glowing yellow orb. "It can't be." He picks me up and runs into the water of the lake. We both go in until the water touches the base of our necks. "Misty…please don't give up on me."

"Put me under." I say softly.

Ash's boots slip on the muddy bottom and he falls under. He tries his best to keep my head above the surface. "You're too weak. You wouldn't be able to hold your breath."

"Then let the waters enter my mouth."

Ash hesitates, but slowly lowers my head under the surface. I feel the air bubble to the top as the murky water flows in around my tongue and teeth. My hair swirls around my face and my skirt churns in the hidden current. I suddenly felt sleepy. Every muscle in my body relaxed and the waters felt tranquil. In my mind, I was back on the shore, talking to Pippin and Penelope. Juniper was laying on my back as I nibbled on the lake grasses. Freesia fluttered from the heavens and rested on my ear. My soul felt at peace on those lazy afternoons. Then Juniper jumped off of my back and makes sure that she has my attention. She leans forward and kisses my black, deer nose.

She smiles. "You were never deprived of love, Misty. It was always there…you just needed to believe in it. Go back to him and see. He's waiting for you."

            The next thing I knew I was sputtering and coughing up water. I slowly open my eyes and try to focus. I see blue and silver lines. I lift my head away from Ash's chest and look up at his warm brown eyes. They were shining with tears. We were sitting on shore. I was in his lap. He brings me close once more and kisses the top of my head.

"I'm so glad." He says softly. "You're alright."

I look over to the side and see Altrogge's corpse. I remember now. I look over to the east sky. "The sun. It's rising."

"Yes, it is." Ash agrees.

"I'm cured." I say slowly to myself. I then realize the truth and glory to those words. "I'm cured!" I lace my arms around Ash's back and hug him tight. "I love you."

"I love you too, my Princess."

"Ash?"

"Yes?" He replies.

"May I go home with you?" I smile up into his eyes.

"It would be an honor." He helps me to my feet, gives me a kiss, and then lends me a shoulder to lean on as we walk back to his kingdom, and his castle, but our new life. "And after we get back, you can visit your father."