First and foremost, thanks for all the great reviews! Y'all are too kind!

I didn't realize this when I wrote it, but PrincessWilla101 pointed this out to me. The way I described the canyon cave monster just happens to be very similar to Mushu from Mulan. I honestly didn't plan that one. Talk about coincidence!

(I guess once a Disney fan, always a Disney fan.)

What isn't a coincidence though, are the Princess Bride references. Every time I think of medieval stuff now, I think of Princess Bride (or Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but I haven't purposely referenced that one yet). I can't help myself when I write them in. The movie quotes are just too good not to use!

So here we are, chapter sixteen! Enjoy!

Chapter 16: It's Time

Two Days Later

Captain Maybeck slowly woke up, rubbing his eyes. His whole body itched, stupid sand. He sat up and saw, for the first time, that Charlene was lying right next to him. He noticed her shivering, so he took off his own jacket and placed it on top of her.

The captain got up and stretched. He saw that Dillard had fallen asleep on guard duty sometime in the night, but wasn't surprised. Dillard hadn't slept since they left Finn and Amanda in the canyon caves. The poor lad wouldn't accept that both of them were probably dead.

He walked over toward the slowly dwindling fire. He grabbed a canteen and drank some water. He saw Philby fast asleep with Willa in his arms. Poor Wills, he thought, now she's got the weight of the kingdom on her shoulders now that Shark Fin's gone.

The captain put the canteen down and his gaze lingered down the beach. It was just after sunrise. It was his favorite time of day at the beach. It wasn't too hot yet, the view was beautiful, and the breeze was light.

It had been two days since the incident at the canyon caves. Willa had suggested back at the canyon caves that we should look for Finn and Amanda. But Philby had tried to reassure her that if the couple was in fact alive, that they would head to the beach too. Willa was now refusing to leave the beach until they had some kind of confirmation that the couple was either alive or dead.

Then, as if by magic, three figures appeared in the distance. The captain couldn't really tell who they were, but his gut told me they were the other soldiers they had yet to find. But didn't Philby say there would only be two?

The captain ran back over and nudged Philby.

"Dude, wake up!"

"Huh? Maybeck? Go away." Philby shoved the captain away from him.

"There's three people headed our way man. I need backup!"

"What are you talking about?" Philby got to a sitting position without waking Willa up and looked in the direction the captain was pointing. His eyes grew wide. "Who are they?"

"No clue, but it can't be good." The captain found his sword and motioned Philby to do the same. "Let's go introduce them to the beach party."

Philby and the captain started walking toward the trio, swords in hand.

When they got close enough, the captain decided it was time to talk to them. He still couldn't tell what they looked like. The sun was rising behind them, making their faces dark silhouettes.

"Hey! What are you doing out here at this hour?"

The trio exchanged looks. Then a male voice yelled out.

"Captain? Is that you?"

That answer confused the captain. Who of my crew knows I'm here? He decided to play off of that answer. He needed to know who these three were. Now.

"Yes it is. Who are you?"

The trio kept walking forward, Philby tensed up, preparing himself for a fight.

"I'm a little hurt you didn't recognize me, captain." The trio got close enough for the captain and Philby to see their faces. It was Finn, sure enough. With him he had Amanda and…Jess?

Philby placed his sword back in his belt and hugged Finn.

"Nice to see you two aren't dead."

"Right back at you." Amanda let out a laugh as Philby hugged her too.

"Everybody's going to be so excited to see you two!"

The captain couldn't help but stare at Jess. He hadn't seen her in three years and here she is. She had black hair instead of her usual strawberry blonde, but she still looked beautiful.

"Terry?" She asked, stepping toward him.

"You're…you're alive?" Real smooth there Terry.

She didn't respond. She ran into his arms, holding onto him tight. He still couldn't comprehend the fact that she was alive.

Finn coughed and the two let go of each other.

"So, Philby, this is Jess. Jess, Philby." Jess held out her hand and Philby shook it.

"So you're Amanda's sister?" He asked and she nodded. "You're the one who's been in Maleficent's court all this time working for Finn's aunt?" The captain turned to Philby in surprise. This was news to him.

"Yes, which brings me to the real reason I'm here." Finn and Amanda's expressions turned sour. This can't be good.

"Which is?" The captain asked.

"I…I think we should tell everybody at once." Amanda motioned toward Dillard, Charlene and Willa, who were still sleeping by the fire.

"I'll go wake them up. We can talk over breakfast." Philby scurried over to wake everyone up, with Finn and Amanda following not far behind.

That left the captain with Jess.

"How are you alive right now? You disappeared in the raid! That always means that you've –"

"Died. Yeah, I know." She studied him for a second then turned her gaze toward the sand. "I haven't been completely truthful with you Terry."

"What do you mean?"

"I was targeted by Maleficent, but the queen got to me first."

"And by the queen, you mean Finn's aunt? I thought she was dead!"

"I did too! But she told me about Maleficent's plans for me and offered me a way out. I've been her eyes and ears inside the court for the past three years. I know exactly what Maleficent has got planned."

Terry was still in shock. Jess was targeted by Maleficent? She's just your average girl. How does Maleficent know about her?

"I'll explain everything, I promise." She placed a hand on arm. "I'd also like to talk to you when we get a chance to be alone."

Captain Maybeck nodded and they both joined the rest of the group.

"So you're telling me that this journal gives specific instructions to unleashing an ancient evil spirit?" Philby asked Jess in disbelief. Willa could tell Philby was having trouble believing what Jess was saying.

"Yes." Jess said. Her exhaustion from answering all of Philby's questions was as obvious as fireworks in the middle of the night.

"And Maleficent plans on using this to take over the world?" He raised an eyebrow.

"After she gets rid of Prince Finnegan—"

"I told you Jess, please just call me Finn." Finn interrupted.

"As soon as Maleficent gets rid of Finn, she'll use it to take over the world. Finn's the first target."

"Why would she want to do that?" Charlene asked Jess.

Willa could tell that Charlene was suspicious of Jess, but for different reasons than Philby. Sometime during their conversation, it must have dawned on Charlene that Jess was the girl from Terry's past. Jealousy was written all over her face, but it didn't seem to bother Jess. To Willa, Jess didn't seem to show any feelings for Terry, but that also could have been because she was currently aggravated by Philby

"Why does any evil villain ever want to take over the world?" Jess threw up her hands in frustration. "I don't know! Just because it's there for her to take? I just know that she's going to use that journal," she pointed to the journal currently opened in Finn's lap, "on the summer solstice. And if she succeeds, we're all dead."

Everyone knew what she said was true and they all sat in silence.

Finn slammed the journal shut. "Do you know what the steps are to unleashing this evil spirit? I can't read a single word of this. It's in gibberish."

"It's not gibberish, Finn." She grabbed the journal out of his hand and placed it into her lap. "It's in the ancient language of the people who wrote it."

"Which is?" Dillard asked with a mouth full of food.

"I don't know."

"Then how do we know what the steps are?" Philby asked.

"I don't. I was hoping one of you could help me with that. We've got four days until the summer solstice. That gives us plenty of time."

"How are we supposed to decode a language we've never heard of before?" Amanda asked. "Better yet, how did Maleficent?"

Then it hit Willa. She knew exactly what it said. She had read about it in that book from the monastery. She also knew exactly how Maleficent decoded it: she had help.

"Oh my gosh." Willa muttered under her breath.

"Do you know something Wills?" Terry asked her. He hadn't said much since the sudden appearance of Jess, but she was touched by his sudden concern.

"I know what it says." She looked up at Jess. "And I know how Maleficent decoded it."

Jess nodded, urging her to continue.

"A few days before Maleficent took over, I went to the monastery's library and borrowed a book. And this book talked about this ancient temple on an uninhabited island. In ancient times, people would come in to the island to perform a sacrifice to the gods." She let her gaze wander to Finn. "A human sacrifice."

Her gaze lingered on Finn, then moved to Philby. His eyes were pleading with her to continue.

"I had that book in my room when Maleficent's guards took me and I've seen her with it several times before. She's asked me about it, but I didn't think any of it was relevant."

"Maleficent talked to you about the book? I didn't know she talked to you personally." Jess' confusion showed on her face. She obviously doesn't know about what really happened to me, Willa concluded.

"She did talk to me every once in a while. But she wasn't the one to talk to me about the book."

"Then who?" Finn asked. Willa stared at the fire, for she knew that if she looked anyone in the eye, she'd start crying.

"I…I don't know her name. But she would interrogate me," Willa searched for the best word to use before continuing," in unconventional ways." There was a long pause. "Some might even say unethical."

Jess gasped. "You mean Lady Grimhilde?" Willa shrugged.

"Who the heck is that?" Terry asked. Willa was glad he had finally snapped out of whatever daze he had been in earlier.

"Some call her the 'evil queen.' But she is Maleficent's second-in-command. She deals with the day-to-day business of Anaheim and the surrounding villages and the torturing of prisoners." Jess turned to Willa with a sad look in her eyes when saying the last few words.

"Is she the one who helped Maleficent decode this journal?" Philby asked after a few seconds of silence. Willa shot him an short-lived warm smile. She knew he was changing the subject for her own good and she was grateful.

"No, that has to be Tia Dalma. She claims to be the ancient temple's current priestess. That part doesn't make sense, but she decoded the thing." Jess grabbed a piece of fruit out of a bag, took a bite and continued. "She's going to be the one doing the actual unleashing. Maleficent's going to be there to deal with anyone who tries to interrupt."

"Which'll be us, I presume." Charlene added quietly, staring at Finn.

Finn nodded. "How long will it take us to get to this temple?"

Philby took the journal from Jess and flipped to the map drawn on one of the pages. Willa could see the gears turning in his head while he studied it.

"I'd say, based on this map, a day and a half. Maybe more if we get any rough weather out there." He handed the journal back to Jess, who put it on the ground next to her.

"Is everyone forgetting that we don't have a ship?" Charlene asked, this time her voice full of frustration. Willa could feel the tension between Charlene, Jess and Terry.

Terry didn't seem to notice, which only made things worse.

"That's where I come in baby doll." He winked at Charlene, then turned to Jess. Willa could see Charlene's face erupt in anger. "If we can make it back to my ship in time, do you think we can make it there before Maleficent?"

"I'd think so." She smiled at him. Willa wished she could tell them both to stop. Charlene looked like she was about to punch someone.

"Well then, it's settled. We need to head back to the ship now." Finn stood up. "Lead the way captain."

Terry stood. "It's about time you let me lead."

Charlene was walking in the back of the group, like she had for some time now. She had watched while Jess and Terry had talked, laughed and flirted for the past few hours. She watched with jealous eyes but was constantly scolding herself. She knew this was coming. She knew Terry had fallen for a girl in the past and had never quite gotten over her. She knew that if this mysterious girl ever showed back up, that she would have no chance.

When Jess showed up with Finn and Amanda, Charlene's biggest nightmares came true.

"So you're the infamous Queen Charlene?" Charlene looked to her right to see Jess walking beside her. Her face was full of joy and warmth. Charlene had a hard time staying mad at her in this moment.

"Queen Charlene? Yes. Infamous? I doubt it."

"Terry speaks very highly of you." Charlene figured she should be happy that Terry had talked to Jess about her, but she wasn't. "I think you two would be quite the couple, considering you let Finn out of the marriage alliance and all." Jess nudged her playfully.

"Terry talked about me?" Charlene stared at Jess with disbelief. "To you?"

"Yeah, silly. He's totally in love with you." Jess laughs.

"No, no that can't be true."

She laughs again. "If you think otherwise, you're clearly blind."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because I know when he's in love with a girl." She looked down and smiled, probably remembering the times she had shared with Terry. "He used to this look in his eyes when we talked. But I saw it in his eyes when he was talking about you."

"So you don't—"

"Nope." She nudged Charlene again. "He's all yours."

This time Charlene laughed.

"Besides, your majesty, pirates aren't really my thing."

"Just call me Charlene, Jess. There's no need for those stupid formalities here."

"Well that's good to know! I don't know about you, but they feel fake and stupid."

"I couldn't agree more." Charlene smiled at Jess. She knew the two of them were going to be great friends.

Dell was scared. All of his friends and comrades had died. He did his best to make it to the castle, but the closer he got, the more rebel soldiers there were. Dell knew that it was either die here or run, and maybe live a little longer.

I guess getting a few more hours can't hurt, Dell thought to himself.

He turned and ran as far as he could without ceasing, occasionally using his sword to knock a soldier out of his way.

He ran into the forest and spent the night awake. He knew that sleep was his worst enemy right now, after the rebel soldiers scouring the woods for more royal soldiers.

Two days later, Dell walked into a small village. Dell saw the destruction the raids had caused. No one seemed to mind that he was wearing royal armor. In fact, no one seemed to mind him at all.

He had walked for almost half an hour before a stranger pulled him into a house and handed him new clothes.

"They'll kill you on sight if they see you in that royal armor." The stranger had said to him. "You can stay here as long as you need."

"Why are you being so generous to me?" Dell had asked the stranger.

"'Cause I haven't given up on the royal family yet, unlike the rest of the kingdom."

Dell took the clothes and the stranger held out his hand for Dell to shake.

"Name's Jack. Yours?"

"Dell."

"Nice to meet you, Dell."

The dream shifts.

Dell threw the door open and ushered Lady Isabel in.

"Jack!" He yelled. "Where are you?" He ushered Lady Isabel to sit in a chair while he grabbed a few things.

"Dell? Is that you? You're back awfully fast!" Jack came walking out of the backroom. He was a middle-aged man. Four years ago, he had taken Dell in as his adopted son.

"Yeah, we've got a problem." Dell stared at Jack, hopefully he would understand. When he didn't, Dell led him into the front room and introduced him to Lady Isabel.

"Lady Isabel, it's an honor to meet you." Jack bowed. Dell could see the shocked expression on his face that Jack was trying so hard to hide. He saw something flicker in his eyes for a few seconds: recognition maybe?

"So you're Dell's, I mean Philby's, father?" She asked him.

"Not exactly. I must ask, my lady, where have you been all this time?"

"In Maleficent's prison. Someone on the inside helped me escape."

Jack looked at Dell. He knows something!

"I see the plan has been set in motion." Jack said and both Dell and Lady Isabel gave him confused looks.

"What plan?" She asked Jack.

"The plan to overthrow Maleficent, of course. A young lady with black hair, pale skin and a long green cape let you out, I suppose."

Lady Isabel's eyes widened. Dell knew Jack was right.

"How did you know that?"

"She's been helping me and the queen."

"The queen? She's alive?" Dell asked. "That's not possible!"

"She is very much alive and she needs our help to get Prince Finnegan back on the throne."

"Where is she?"

"I can't reveal that information, for her own safety. Jess will lead you there when it's time."

"Jess?" Lady Isabel asked Jack.

"The young lady who helped you escape." Jack took Lady Isabel's hands in his own. "You need to find Prince Finnegan as soon as possible and convince him to come back. He has to take the throne."

"Who are you really, Jack? You look familiar."

Jack tensed when she said that. He does recognize her. But from where?

"That's not important now, my dear." Jack stood up and helped Lady Isabel stand. "Now, stay here. I can get you some new clothes and some food for your trip." He turned to Dell. "And Dell, I'd put on your old armor. It's time."

Philby slowly got up and walked to the water's edge and sat back down. The waves would hit his bare feet every few minutes or so. He couldn't help but miss Jack. He was a like father to him all those years. But Jack still puzzled him.

How had he known Willa before? Yes, she's royalty, so of course he should recognize her. But his recognition seemed to be deeper than that.

How long had he been involved with this resistance movement to get rid of Maleficent? Had he taken Philby in because he needed a royal soldier for their plan?

So many questions ran through his head. So many things to figure out. So little time to do so.

Willa plopped down beside him, making all of those thoughts flee into the depths of his mind.

He glanced in her direction and immediately saw her red, puffy eyes.

"What's wrong darling?"

"I just had a bad dream, that's all."

Philby wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

"What about?"

"That 'evil queen' torturing me." Willa was talking so quietly now that Philby had a hard time hearing her.

Philby sat there, holding her. The waves hit their feet. "I can't understand why anyone would want to do something so cruel, especially to someone so innocent and beautiful."

"You're too kind, Philby."

In response he kissed the top of her head.

"What's going to happen to us when Finn takes the throne back?" Willa asked him.

"The captain will probably go back to being a pirate. I'd bet that Charlene will let Finn out of the marriage, so Finn will marry Amanda. I don't know about Jess or Dillard though."

"You misunderstood me. Where does that leave me and you?"

Philby thought about it for a second. Then an idea popped into his head. "Your family bought their royal title, correct?"

Willa pulled back a little and stared at him. "Yes, but why does that matter?"

"If you're not a member of the royal family, you're not held to the same laws as Finn. You can marry someone who's not royalty."

Willa studied him. He could see the gears turning in her mind as she struggled to remember the old laws. Her eyes met his and she smiled, melting his heart.

"You're a genius Philby!" She kissed him on the cheek.

"So, to answer your question, how about when Finn gets his throne back, you and I get married?"

Willa's face was frozen with shock. That's either really good or really bad. Stay calm. "What?"

"I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Willa." He grabbed both of her hands. "I don't have a ring now, but I'll get you one as soon as we get back to California. Finn said when he gets the throne back, he's going to make me commander of his army, so money will never be an issue for us. And we can get a big house in Anaheim-"

"You've thought this through haven't you?"

He blushed. "Yeah, I have." He studied her face for her reaction. "So what do you say?"

She thought about it. The seconds seemed to last an eternity. What if she says no? Think positive, Philby.

She gave him a warm smile. "I'd be honored, Philby."

Philby smiled at her for a second before kissing her. All his doubts and worries went out the window. The only thing standing between him and Willa was Maleficent. And if necessary, Philby would fight to the death for Willa.

Well, well, well. For once we get a happy ending to a chapter. I can't make them all cliffhangers, you know.

Please, please, please review! I LOVE reading them and I want to know what y'all think of the story so far!