Chapter 2

It was a marvelous spring day, one of the few where rain wasn't threatening at every moment. The sun watched from his perch high in the sky as two people raced across the gardens at Gilld Hall. In front was a small boy who barely came up to his father's knee, with dark brown curls and bright green eyes. Behind him was said father, dressed in a linen shirt and dark pants, the former of which he hoped wouldn't be covered in grass stains before this day was over.

"Anthony," Joshua called ahead to his son. "Slow down, I can't keep up!" That was, of course, a blatant lie, but the little boy was having the time of his life being chased by his Papa, so Joshua saw no reason to ruin it.

"No!" Anthony shouted in reply, continuing his unsteady way over the lawns. Joshua sighed and, with a muttered apology to whoever would be cleaning his shirt, he dove forward, tackling the little boy. Anthony shrieked in glee as his father pulled him to the ground and started tickling him mercilessly. They ended up in a tired mess on the grass, with Anthony sitting on his father's chest and grinning down at Joshua as if he thought his father was the greatest person in the world, which he did.

Diana, who had been sitting under a tree and reading, turned around to see who was screaming and why. She hid a grin as her father rose to his feet, Anthony in his arms. The little boy caught sight of her and began waving furiously, calling out "Anna", which was his special name for her.

"Shall we go and visit your sister?" Joshua asked the squirming toddler in his arms. Anthony answered with an emphatic yes, so Joshua set him down and let the little boy run forward to greet his sister.

"Hello," Diana said, accepting the hug from her sibling with as much grace as she could muster without dirtying her own dress. "How are you today?"

"Messy!" he answered happily.

"I noticed," was Diana's reply. She turned to look up at her father. "Mama is not going to be pleased," she told him.

"I suspect I am going to receive another tongue lashing from his nurse before your mother gets her hands on me," he replied mildly.

"You set yourself up for them," Diana chided, knowing it was fruitless to try and tell her father anything. "And then act all surprised and innocent when they come."

"I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about," he replied, winking at her before sitting down next to her. "What are you reading?"

"Mama lent it to me," she answered. "It's a book by The Brothers Grimm." Diana was delighted to see her father's jaw drop at hearing those words, for it was extremely difficult to surprise him and even harder to get him to admit to being shocked.

"She lent that to you?" Joshua repeated.

"Well, her exact words were more like 'It's your birthday in a week and you know all the stories in here already, so you might as well read them in the original', but yes."

"Dear Lord, miracles really do happen," Joshua breathed. "But she didn't give you the other book, did she?"

"What other book?" Diana asked suspiciously.

"Good," Joshua said, more to himself than his daughter, "Otherwise I would have started planning for the apocalypse."

"Have you noticed that you tend to speak in heresy?" Diana muttered.

"It adds spice to daily conversation," was her father's adroit answer. "Which story are you up to?"

"Little Briar Rose," she answered. "Only Mama always called it Sleeping Beauty."

Joshua smiled. "Yes, you did always like that one."

"It's different, though," Diana murmured thoughtfully. "The others that I've read as well; Mama tells them differently than they were written."

"Fairy tales were never meant to be written down," Joshua answered, drawn into a tug of war with his youngest son that involved the blanket they were sitting on. "They were meant to be spoken aloud and altered with every telling to give them new depth. They are real, Diana, far more real than you may imagine."

Diana snorted, but didn't reply; she had heard the same from her mother too. Sometimes she wondered how two extremely intelligent people like her parents could believe in such nonsense.

"Play with me!" Anthony demanded. Joshua, with a resigned sigh, got to his feet.

"If you hear yelling to shake the foundations of the earth itself," he said by way of goodbye to his daughter, "It means Mrs. Greene has found us." He followed his son to go and explore some of the cultivated wildernesses and, no doubt, to pretend that he was a lion, chasing the boy.

Diana smirked. Mrs. Greene lived in the nursery and had coddled, rebuked and loved them through childhood until they had left her domain. She had the greatest respect for both the Duke and the Duchess, but could never understand why they took part in such wild games with their children. Diana was glad they had. She remembered, from when she was younger, how much time her father had spent playing with her and teaching her, as if he had wanted to get to know her better. She had adored him when she was younger, following him around in much the same manner that Anthony did now. She still adored him now, but it was different. She sighed and turned back to the book, intent on finishing the tale, since Briar Rose had just pricked her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fallen asleep. Anxious to reach the part about a charming prince, she read on.

Lizzie stared out the window, watching the members of her family who were out enjoying the sunlight. She smiled ruefully, thinking of what would be said when her husband reentered his own home. He never acted more mature than whoever he was with; be it Diana or Anthony.

Taking the quill she had set down, Lizzie turned back to the letter she had been writing. She was tempted to go out and join them, but she knew it was a bad idea. Though she hid it well, she still limped slightly from the duel with Andrew, sixteen and a half years ago. And her leg was beginning to ache more than usual now.

"I fear I'm getting old," she said softly, rubbing it discreetly with her other foot. "Although I suppose I'm in good company." She took one last glance out the window towards her husband and then forced her attention back to the necessary correspondence before her.

A few minutes passed by before Lizzie was disturbed by an odd sound. There was a noise like a music box going off, playing a strange tune that Lizzie had never heard before. She rose to her feet and stretched her leg for a moment before going off in search. The room was not large and it didn't seem as if it would all that difficult to find the source of the music, but it eluded her. She managed to narrow it down to one corner of the room and then set about assiduously searching for what could possibly be creating the noise.

After going through half the contents of one drawer, Lizzie came up with a small ring that wasn't even large enough to fit over her pinkie. It had a gold band and was set with a sapphire that was currently flashing like the surface of the ocean on a sunny day. It was also, rather worryingly, the source of the music.

Lizzie held it carefully in hands and tried to hazard a guess what its purpose was and why she had never seen it before. She wracked her brains for a magical spell to use in this situation and, after coming up with a particularly appropriate memory that had belonged to her mother-in-law, she had an idea. Murmuring a silent thank-you to the woman who had gifted her with magic and who her eldest had been named after, Lizzie focused on the ring and let her mind drift.

It was cold, so very cold. The wind beat against her, tossing her to the ground as if she was but a rag doll. She bit her lip to keep from crying out and clutched desperately at the wood railing above her. There were people screaming all around her, shouting in fear and desperation to try and save themselves. The rain fell in torrents, drenching her over and over. A wave crashed through the rails, loosening her fingers and sending her flying over to the other edge of the deck. She crashed into a large wooden crate and sobbed at the pain. A wave of salty water washed over her and she started to cough, clutching the ropes around the chest to try and anchor herself.

"Mama, Mama!" called a frightened voice. It took Lizzie a moment to realize what was going on and then she snapped out of the vision. She opened her eyes and realized that she was sitting on the floor with her knees drawn up to her chest and her hands clutching the window drapes. Jonathan stood in front of her, worry written clearly on his features and his sea green eyes bright with worry.

"Are you okay?" he whispered, reaching out to touch her face. Lizzie drew him into a warm hug. He buried his face in her shoulder.

"Don't worry, little one," Lizzie said, patting his back soothingly. "It's okay, I'm fine. See?" She pulled back and let him take a good look to make sure that she was, indeed, alright.

"What happened?" he couldn't help but ask.

"It was just magic," Lizzie answered, something that few children would find soothing, but hers did. She added under her breath "Stupid magic that I should have known better than to march right into." She rose to her feet, Jonathan standing in front of her. "I need to talk to your father about this; do you want to come along?"

"Sure." They went outside and soon reached the tree where Diana had curled up, engrossed in the story of Little Red Cap.

"You changed the name to Little Red Riding Hood," said Diana without even having to look up as she heard her mother's slightly uneven gait approach, then paused in her reading. "What's that sound?"

Lizzie held up the ring and Diana took a look at it. "It's a magical device," she said, staring at it.

"I didn't know that!" Lizzie replied, "Silly me, not to have noticed. I thought all rings acted that way."

Diana rolled her eyes. "I take your point, Mama. What does it do?"

"Other than suddenly play irritating music, I haven't the faintest idea. But I can guess who in this house would know."

"Is that a hint for me to fetch him for you?" Diana asked, rising to her feet.

"That would be wonderful," said Lizzie, sitting down next to where her daughter had just been. "Take Jonathan with you and see if he can get himself as dirty as Anthony."

Jonathan grinned happily at that suggestion, but their plan was soon rearranged as a voice that was audible from at least a mile away shouted out "Anthony Morgan Gilld!" All three of them winced.

"On second thought," said Lizzie. "Go there and rescue your father before Mrs. Greene gets her hands on him. If she won't let him go, it's on my orders and about magic, all right?"

They nodded and went off as fast as they could, hoping that they would overhear their illustrious father being reprimanded by their old nurse.

Their wish was granted. They reached the trio of Anthony, Joshua and Mrs. Greene just in time to hear her lace into their father.

"And you!" she was shouting. "You do nothing but encourage them! If you weren't around, they would never go off and misbehave on their own. I try to teach them how to behave like civilized human beings when you come along and undo anything they might have gleaned and-"

Diana cleared her throat softly. Joshua turned around to face her and their eyes met for but a moment. "What is it?" he asked.

"My mother wishes to speak with you," she said softly, curtseying as she did so. "I believe it involves some sort of magical artifact."

"Then I'd best not keep her waiting," Joshua answered smoothly. "Jonathan, will you take your brother down to the garden, he wanted to see the roses." There was a tone in Joshua's voice that was very clear about the fact that it would brook no argument.

"Shall I go as well?" Diana offered.

"I'd rather you come and see this artifact that has your mother so puzzled," Joshua answered. "Mrs. Greene, I'm sure we'll have a chance to finish talking soon. In the meantime-"

"Of course I'll watch over the boys," she said before Joshua could even finish his sentence. "That's my job, is it not?"

"Excellent," said Joshua. "Now, Diana, lead the way."

"You must have been terrible as a child," said Diana as soon as they were out of earshot, "So manipulative and demanding."

"Actually," Joshua replied, ruffling his daughter's hair tenderly, "I was a very well behaved child. I'm now trying to make up for a very mature childhood with a very immature adult life."

"And you're doing a wonderful job," Lizzie called out from up ahead of them.

"Thank you," he said, bowing. "Now what's this strange artifact you were talking… about…" He trailed off, hearing the sound of the ring.

Lizzie held it up and Joshua's entire facial expression changed. Diana watched, fascinated, as her father's eyes grew wide and his eyebrows nearly rose up into his disheveled hair.

"Dare I ask what this is and why it's making that noise?" Lizzie queried, eyeing her husband worriedly.

Joshua shook his head for a moment, then strode forward and laid his hand on the ring. Lizzie let go of it, pushing it into his hand.

"You can probe that thing this time," she said to him, "I am not going near it again."

"What happened?" Joshua asked, his voice strained.

Diana listened with interest as Lizzie explained what she had felt and how Jonathan had found her. Joshua's expression didn't change as he heard her out, his face was as unreadable as a mask. "Well?" Lizzie asked, as she as she finished.

"God Damn it!" Joshua swore, making Diana jump and Lizzie glare at him. "This ring belonged to Rose when she was much younger. I took it after she grew out of it and kept it in case I ever needed to keep my eye on her. It makes that noise when she's in danger."

"What sort of danger?" Diana asked, but Lizzie didn't even pay attention.

"So how do we rescue her?" she said, taking a few deep breaths to stay calm. Her face was frightened. "Joshua, what do we do?"

"We don't have time to get there," Joshua said. He and Lizzie caught one another's eyes. "We have to get upstairs immediately."

"Come, Diana," Lizzie said, starting off back to the castle at a fast pace that Diana knew her mother would regret later. Surprisingly, her father was right by Lizzie's side. She followed them, the words that they had spoken beginning to come together. From her mother's description, Rose must have been on a ship and if she was in danger… Her parents would do all they could, but magic over such a distance required some sort of scrying and that meant they were going to her father's workroom. Diana shut her eyes, then gathered up her skirts and ran after her parents, determined to help as best as she could to save her cousin.

T.B.C

A/N – Okay, okay, not a nice ending, is it? I'll work on a better one for the next chapter, okay? In the meantime, Rose should be playing a much bigger role in this story, which is, by the way, my only justification for not following TrudiRose's advice (move this story to Fairy Tale section). Your point is well taken and I did actually consider not posting it here, but I can be rather vain sometimes and people know me much better here. Also, the main plot of this story does revolve around Rose, Belle's daughter, about as much as it does around Diana, at least for the first two thirds, so I don't feel so guilty. However, thank you for suggesting it and, if I find myself still addicted to these characters at the end of this story, any more sequels will undoubtedly be in Fairy Tales (unless I can think of a very good excuse not to put them there)

Also, quick quiz for you people. Out of curiosity, does anyone recognize where Anthony's name is from? If you do, and leave me a note in a review, I will dedicate the chapter to you.

Now, onto the reviewers, of whom there were quite a lot this time. :grins: Oh, this is nice. I like when this happens. In order of reviews…

Shortstef – Yeah, I realized I was rather attached to them as well. Glad you like it so far (one chapter wonder that I am) and I hope it continues to meet expectations. Poor Diana, stuck with those two as parents. As promised, Joshua will be in the next review to you with a kiss, minus signs of age, okay?

Kate – I don't think you left a note by the epilogue, but if you did, I'm very sorry and I'll sneak you in somewhere, possibly when I go back and add the disclaimer (oops. Not that you can't tell what's mine and what's Disney's). I'm pleased you liked the little mermaid reference; it was a lot harder to work in than the beginning of Beauty and the Beast. The new character's should clear up, it's just four children can be hard to keep track of (especially considering who their parents are). And I'm happy to have astonished you with my semi-pretentious language usage, I actually can't help it sometimes.

Kristin – Aww, thank you! I'm glad you really liked it and, if anyone ever offers me to make it into a movie, I'll give you a call (unless the actor they get to play Joshua is really good looking, in which case I play the heroine). Anyway, thank you for the compliments, they are much appreciated and will be put to good use swelling my already inflated ego. :winks:

TrudiRose – I know, I know, I commented on this already. Just a quick thanks for helpful reviews and being really nice about it (I have to be nice in reply, I'm not actually listening to you). It's actually really nice when people know the difference between good advice and flaming, so just thanks for that.

Soofija – They are addictive, there's nothing I can do about it. It's kinda like caffeine (ie – they both keep me up until three AM). No, Diana can't marry Joshua, it's incest no matter how you spin it. But I will find her a very nice man, even if he's slightly less wonderful than Joshua. I learned a lot from this story – it's a bad idea to fall in love with one's own creation…oops. I'm glad you liked the chapter and hopefully there will be more like it.

Anonymous – I'm happy you liked it. Don't worry, I have no plans to stop writing.

So, farewell all my friends, both old and new. Another chapter should be up soon and, until then, you can just keep these images of Joshua as a Daddy for solace.

Levana (Damian)