A/N: Quick note: I know I've said this numerous times, but I'm in desperate need of Beta Readers. If you would be willing to Beta Read, if you could let me know in your review, that would be great. Thank you to all who have reviewed and given me some constructive criticism. It really does help.

A/N2: Sorry that this is a day late. I forgot to transfer it to the PC on Monday. Also, I think I'm going to get a Freeweb site and put up my website there. I'll post the URL once I get it up. big grin

Chapter Twenty-four: Adventures and Surprises

I felt more free than I'd felt since we came back to Kyrria. I wasn't subject to any more commands until I came back. No one was even going to be with me. I would definitely miss Shean and my dogs, but maybe it was better this way. I would hate to lead anyone I loved into this stupid adventure I'd decided to start just because they wanted to make sure I didn't get into trouble. I would more than likely die, and I wouldn't be able to stand it knowing someone else might die too.

I pushed these morbid thoughts away and tried to think of happier things. What was happy these days? I racked my brain. I was free? Well, I still wasn't exactly free, because I was doing this out of necessity, and besides, it wasn't a joy ride.

I sighed and tried not to think of anything. Well, actually, I tried to summarize every single book that I'd read that I could remember well enough.

It took me half the day.

I finally stopped for the night. I reined Switchfoot in at the inn and tied him to a post. I went inside and paid for a room, food, and stabling. I went back out and took Switchfoot into the stable and left him with the groom, then went up to the room that I had paid for. A girl brought up my food a little while later and I ate and then went to sleep.

The next morning was decently clear and I got Switchfoot and set out for the next village in my itinerary. Near noon I stopped to eat in a little clearing in the forest. I tied Switch to a tree so he could graze easily and sat down on a rock to eat my sandwich. Halfway through my sandwich, I got the feeling that I wasn't the only one in the forest. I set down my bread and slowly stood up, glancing warily around. I heard a branch snap to my left. I crept over to a row of bushes and tried to peer through them. A face was staring back at me!

I pushed myself backwards and fell, screaming in surprise. I heard a scream in reply to mine. I screamed again, still trying to get over the shock. Switch whinnied, blending with the other person's scream. I was about to scream again, but got a hold of myself, panting and coughing, trying to get my breath back.

"Don't you ever do that to me again, Shean Patrick O'Connor," I yelled, standing up and stalking over to the bush to find Shean flat on his back, looking like he was trying not laugh. I pushed my way through the bushes and started pounding on him. (Not too hard, just enough to make my point)

"Okay, okay," he cried, trying to defend himself with his hands, laughing helplessly. I stopped, but continued glaring at him.

"Hey, I thought you'd be glad to see me," he pouted, sticking out his lower lip.

"Not when you scare me so much that I scream," I retorted.

"Hey, I screamed too."

"Yeah, and you scream like a girl."

Shean gaped at me in mock astonishment. He gave a fake gasp. "You don't mean it. I sound like you then?" I raised a fist and he held up his hands. "Okay, I'll lay off. Cool it." Then he got a bit more serious. "What are you doing, anyways?"

I rolled my eyes. "If you're here, you probably know what I'm doing."

Shean sighed. "Yeah, and I think it's the most stupid thing in the world."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because I'm the second most stupid person in the world."

"Who's the first?" I knew what the answer was, but I asked anyways.

"You."

I smacked his head.

"Let me clarify that. I'm the most stupid person in the world."

"That's better." I made sure he didn't see that I was trying not to smirk. "I'm glad you see it my way."

"No, I just don't want to get beat up."

"Shean, stop making jokes."

"All right, all right."

I stood up and glanced down at him. "Wait, where's your armor?"

"I took it off."

"Oh, good. I thought you had been stupid and hadn't brought any."

"Well, actually, I hadn't –"

"What?"

"No, no, no, I have some now. I just hadn't brought anything more than my hauberk, so I had to buy the rest."

I sighed. "I hope you brought a good sized purse."

He grinned. "Yep."

"I won't ask what kind of work you had to do to get it, but I hope you at least brought your sword as well." He nodded. "Oh, good, I'll only have to defend you a little bit, then."

"Hey, look who's making jokes now," Shean protested.

I grinned. "Hey, I only told you not to. I didn't say anything about me, Sir Laughs-a-lot."

"Well, excuse me, Lady Knight."

"That's Princess Knight to you. Wait, no, Lady Knight sounds better, now I think of it."

He grinned and shook his head. "Whatever." He stood up and went back to get his horse.

"So, what do we do now?"

Shean shrugged. "I guess we keep going and hope we don't get killed," he muttered as he tied his mare to the same tree as Switchfoot. He was very happy to see Filly, and he neighed as loudly as he could to let her know exactly how happy he was.

I went and got my sandwich again and we sat down on the ground. Shean explained how he'd come to be here. It turned out he'd decided to do something similar to what I'd done, not figuring out what I was up to until it was too late. He hadn't actually been following me, but since we were heading to the same place, it would appear that we had stopped in about the same place. He'd heard a noise too, and that was why he was at the same bush I had been. Then he whistled and I heard a bark. I turned on him.

"You. Brought. The. Dogs. How could you?" I growled. He actually almost looked scared.

"Hey, Keegy followed me on his own. I figured he must have jumped out of the coach and followed me. He woke me up this morning 'cause I was sleeping outside. Cyd didn't come, though." Well, at least something went right.

By now, Keegan was almost on top of me. Scratch that, he was on top of me and I was on my back on the ground with his tongue cleaning my face. I pushed him off and absently petted him while I glared at Shean. Shean sat there for a moment and then started to fidget when I didn't look away.

"Come on, Val," he finally pleaded, "I didn't try to follow you."

I sighed. "Fine, but now my dog and my best friend are both in danger, and that's exactly what I didn't want."

Shean raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Well, don't think you're the only one."

I had no answer, so we sat in silence for a minute. Shean reached into his pocket, pulled something out, and started playing with it in his hands. It was a ball of some sort, but it didn't stay still long enough for me to be able to tell what exactly it was.

He finally stopped and held it in his hands. It was the little ball he'd gotten from the wish machine. He opened his mouth then shut it again.

"Val, do you think this works?" He blurted out.

I looked up. "Huh?"

"Do you think this works?" He asked again, indicating the ball.

I shrugged. "Um, I guess so."

He held the ball in the position to twist it. He sat there, looking like it was a strain just to hold it. His hands finally dropped to his lap in defeat, the ball still clutched tightly inside his fists.

"I can't do it," he cried in a tired, subdued voice. "I just can't. I know it'll work, but I'll feel so stupid if it doesn't. And I have to see my family one more time, in case I die on this mission thing."

I stood up and walked over to kneel next to him. I pried the ball out of his unresisting hands and gripped it around the line that split it down the middle. "What do I say?" I murmured.

Shean put a hand on my shoulder and whispered some words. I turned the ball, but before I could say the words he had just said, there was a flash of light and we found ourselves standing at the door to the O'Connor's house. Shean staggered, clutching my shoulder, which he was still holding.

We both caught our balance and stared at each other for a moment, then Shean hugged me ecstatically.

"It works!" He crowed.

"Shh, not so loud," I admonished. "Now, what do we tell your mom?"

Shean thought for a moment. "Well, if she asks if I'll be coming back, I'll just say I'm not sure. Does that work? And I can just say we managed to get away to see them."

I nodded. "That'll work, I guess. Well, let's get this over with." I was happy to see everyone again, but I was dreading all the questions that were sure to come with it.

Shean took a breath, walked up to the door, and knocked. I ran up to stand next to him. We heard Kaet yell 'I'll get it' and then footsteps pounded down the stairs. The door opened and Kaet stood there, gaping at us. Then she found her voice.

"Mom," She shrieked in a tinny, half disbelieving voice, "you might want to come see who it is."

We had to try not to laugh because she looked so funny standing there blocking the doorway, one hand on the knob, the other on the frame, staring at us, forgetting to say hello or invite us in.

More footsteps and Sylva stood behind Kaet, looking flustered, strands of hair escaping her tidy bun. Then she caught sight of Shean, pushed the door open, and gathered him into her arms, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Oh, Shean, Shean, Shean…" She sobbed repeatedly. I saw the tears falling down Shean's cheeks too, and I couldn't help getting a little teary myself, remembering my own reunion with my parents.

Kaet had gotten her voice back. "We thought we'd never see you again," she was yelling. "We thought you'd gone away and forgotten us; we thought you were going to go find somewhere else and never come back to see us…" She continued in that vein, repeating the same things, just with different words, but I could tell she was glad enough to see him all the same.

We finally managed to get inside. We found that it was now early spring in Washington. Time, I decided, must pass differently in our two worlds, like in Narnia, because it was still a month before spring in Kyrria.

Shean talked with his mother for a while, and then we decided to wait until his dad got home so he could say hello and good-bye to him as well. We went up to his room, which was now the guest room, and sat on the bed. We tried to talk, but ended up sitting in silence for a while until Kaet came in to break it.

She didn't even knock, just barged in as if she didn't care that we were in there and had the door closed. She pulled up the bean bag chair that Sylva had left in the room and stared at us. We stared right back. Finally she spoke.

"So, Shean, did you meet any interesting people in whatever weird place Val's Princess of?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. Everyone there's kind of interesting, especially the way girls don't get to wear pants or fight or most anything that the guys can."

Kaet suddenly looked very interested. "So you've met some of the girls there. What do they think of all those restrictions?"

Shean shrugged. "Val can probably tell you better than me."

"Well, most of them were raised with it and would rather find husbands anyways, so-"

Kaetlin cut me off. "I didn't ask you, Val." Shean and I exchanged glances at her snippy retort. "So, Shean, what did they think of the restrictions, and what did you think of them?" She obviously meant the girls.

"Well, they didn't seem to care, like Val was saying –" he glared at her "– but most of them were a bit too lady-like for me." He rolled his eyes and I smothered a smile.

"Most of them? You didn't like any of them?"

"Kaet, just what are you getting at?" I finally exploded. I hoped she would go into law enforcement. She would make a wonderful interrogator.

Kaet put on her innocent 'who, me?' look and stared at me. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," I growled, "that you've been interrogating Shean about the most ridiculous subject in the world. What are you trying to get at?"

She shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just interested in your world." She turned back to Shean. "So can you fight with a sword now?"

Shean sighed and started answering a barrage of questions. After several minutes of Kaet grilling Shean non-stop, I was about to tell her I'd wring her neck if she didn't shut up.

"So what were the balls like?"

"Absolutely boring."

"Did you dance?"

"Yes. And we danced off-beat."

"Ooh, we? Did you dance with other girls, then?"

"No, Val was more fun."

"So you didn't like any of the other girls."

Shean shook his head.

"So you didn't kiss any of them," Kaet stated, pretending to pout. I was starting to get suspicious.

"No, I wouldn't kiss them if my life depended on it."

"So you don't know if any of them are as good at kissing as Val is."

"No, I don't know if any of them are as good at kissing as Val is."

I smacked him on the side of the head with the heel of my hand.

"Hey, what did I do to deserve that –"

He stopped abruptly as I glared at him, realizing what he'd said. His eyes went wide and we both jumped off the bed at the same instant Kaetlin jumped off the bean bag.

"Well, I think I should be going now," she cried, running for the door. I blocked it and Shean grabbed her arm, pulling her around to face him.

"You are the most vile, sneaky, despicable sibling in the whole wide world," he snarled, gripping her arm a bit tighter.

I crossed my arms, leaned against the door, and sighed. "Shean, give it up. She knows now; our cover's blown."

Kaet looked at me suspiciously and started to say something, but Shean beat her to it.

"Our cover's blown?" He asked, obviously confused.

"What cover?" Kaet asked a second behind him.

"Come on, Shean, we can't try to hide it. She's a smart kid; she'll figure it out sooner or later." I was just stalling so I could think of a plausible story. There was a bewildered pause.

"You mean we actually have to tell her about our mission?" Shean whined, though he clearly no idea what he was talking about.

I nodded gravely. Kaetlin's eyes widened. "You guys are on a mission?"

I nodded, racking my brain. I finally picked something dusty out of the corner of my mind.

"We're spies."

Kaet gasped. "Spies?"

I nodded again. "We're spies for Kyrria. We have to pretend to be a young couple on a jaunt and scout the countryside, including our enemies' territory. I'm afraid if word of this went farther than your parents, we could be in trouble." Kaetlin nodded instinctively, her eyes still wide. "You can tell your parents about what you got Shean to say, but don't tell them about the mission, and under no circumstances are you allowed to tell anyone else." Kaet shook her head, obviously still stunned. Shean glared at me. He probably didn't want her to say anything, but, knowing Kaet, if she didn't say something, she would burst. At least now we were guaranteed that our old friends wouldn't be teasing us behind our backs.

Not that it mattered, it was just fun to mess with her mind.

Shean's dad finally got home and he talked for a little while, then we went back outside, found an out of the way place to work the ball and twisted. We ended up in the clearing again, and we held onto each other for balance for a second and then sat down once we were steady again.

I had left my watch in the clearing, and when I checked it, I was surprised to see that not even ten minutes had passed, though we had been in Kent until at least six or so. I showed this phenomenon to Shean and he agreed that time must pass differently in my world than in his.

What emerged on the other side of the forest road wasn't exactly what had gone in. Instead of a girl on horseback emerging about ten minutes before a boy on horseback with a dog, two teenagers in light armor on horseback (my hair was in my helmet), accompanied by a dog, came out together and headed for the nearest village, hoping to reach it a bit before nightfall.

A/N: Okay, the trip back was kind of pointless (yes, before you tell me that I could have just said that Shean went back and said goodbye to his family, I know, but that scene with Kaet was just too funny (to me, anyways) to pass up). But from here on, the action should pick up a bit (need more Betas to make sure it stays that way! Please… puppy eyes please). From here on, it'll probably be kind of not Ella Enchanted 'cause I'm going to be rewriting it and setting it in my own world anyways (I'll try to put ogres in to make it a bit more fan ficcy, but other than that, I dunno how much it'll be like the book), but I'll do my best. Any ideas for Ella Enchanted stuff would be cool. There'll be a surprise in the next chapter or the chapter after that, at the latest. Have fun! Thanks to my reviewers!