-1Danielle was having a little trouble following this fairy. She just kept flitting off and Danielle would lose track of her. Then, she'd have to stop and call out until Breena came back. It was making both of them pretty impatient.
"Would you just wait up?" Danielle cried, running after the fairy.
"You humans are too slow." Breena said, "If you can't keep up, you'll never get back to Wendell's castle in time."
Danielle stopped, wishing her hands were small enough to strangle the stupid fairy with.
"Why don't you just ride on my shoulder or something and tell me which way to go." Danielle suggested through gritted teeth.
"Oh, alright." Breena relented and buzzed back to land on her shoulder.
Danielle began walking again in the direction that she had been pointed in. She was all too glad to leave that idiot by the well and those stupid, giggling shepherdesses behind. Danielle glanced up at the sky and saw that the sun was already setting.
"I suppose that since I'm so slow, I should walk all night, too." Danielle said and couldn't keep the annoyance out of her voice.
Breena considered it.
"No, best not. You'll need all the strength you've got when you get back to Wendell's castle. That might be pushing you too hard." she said.
Danielle wanted to open her mouth and give some kind of smart remark back, but didn't. She could travel all night, but that didn't mean she wanted to. Let the stupid fairy think what she wanted.
"Is there a safe place to sleep here? Should I be worried about any native animals or anything?" Danielle asked tiredly.
"Mmmm, mildly. Always best to be cautious. This forest used to be very dangerous, but since the Huntsman is gone, I think we should be safe. Gypsies have probably returned. Wolves, too. And others." the fairy broke into a yawn, "Just find a spot where you won't be easily visible and you should be okay. I'm a light sleeper, don't worry."
Breena's yawn was infectious. Danielle yawned, too, covering her mouth with her hand. She moved off the path and into the woods a little ways. She found a reasonably comfortable looking space in between the roots of a tree and settled down. Danielle tried to find a position that was comfortable enough to sleep in. She finally settled into a position where she was leaning against an exceptionally big root with her head on her arms. Breena stretched out on a nearby fern and promptly fell asleep with a little sigh. Danielle soon followed her.
Ivy had been a little surprised at the way Faolan had caught that rabbit, but she hadn't commented. One way was as good as another was, she supposed. He was a wolf, after all. But when he had held the rabbit up in front of his face and growled at it, she had started getting fidgety. It was unnerving. She had wondered why he had kept it alive in the first place. Ivy wasn't exactly the fidgety type. She gutted her own fish when she went fishing and such. It didn't bother her. But this was starting to.
"I've never liked rabbits." he said to her, but without even looking at her, "Look at the way she's mocking me! She knows what I think of her, she does. Grrrrrr, mocking little fluff-ball."
Faolan shook himself and looked at Ivy, embarrassed.
"I'm sorry. It's just…I'm so hungry." he said, glancing at the rabbit again.
He shook his head and dragged his eyes away. He shoved the rabbit at Ivy.
"Here, take it. I can't stand it anymore." he said.
Ivy took a firm hold of the rabbit and kept it away from Faolan. Her brain couldn't come up with a single thing that she could say after that little episode. Although, she had to agree a little with him. She had always thought rabbits had a bit of evil to them. And they did seem to mock you, sometimes. She had been scratched bloody by a rabbit before and it hadn't seemed the least bit sorry.
"Um…how are we going to cook this?" she asked quietly.
Faolan's eyes widened as if he had forgotten that.
"Cook it! Um…well…?" he didn't seem to have an answer.
Ivy had the sickening suspicion that he had planned to eat it raw. She forced the feeling down. He was a wolf. That's what wolves did. She watched National Geographic. It had never bugged her before.
"Yes, Ivy, but that's not exactly the same situation." she said to herself under her breath.
"What?" Faolan asked.
"Nothing." Ivy shook her head, "You know, I'm really not that hungry. I'll just eat some of the jerky in my backpack, okay?"
Faolan seemed surprised.
"You must be hungry! I could hear your stomach growling!" he insisted. He shook his head again, "Nevermind. I'm sorry. I forgot that you don't…well, that humans…"
He gave up and tried to convey the message to her silently. She nodded.
"It's okay. Really. I can live off jerky. I almost did one summer." she said and smiled at her own private joke.
By now, they had returned to their own little camp. Randal had arranged everything nicely. He had cleared all the brush and rocks from the area so they could sleep there comfortably. He had set Ivy's backpack against a tree stump. Ivy wondered with amusement if he had looked through it. Randal saw that they were back and jumped up from his spot on the ground. He looked at the rabbit and Ivy could tell that he had no opposition to eating it raw either. Ivy didn't think she really wanted to be around to watch that.
"Um…I'm just going to go…and…well, give you two some privacy for a little. Be right back." Ivy said, taking up her backpack and backing off into the woods.
Faolan glanced after her with a strange look on his face. Randal seemed confused. The little boy shrugged and turned back to the rabbit. Ivy quickened her step and walked a good distance away. Now that she was alone, Ivy sighed deeply. There was just too much going on. Too much to think about and try to make sense of.
"No more making sense of things, Ivy." she said to herself, "Just doing. From now on, you're going to have to go on your instincts."
Ivy sat down on a log and pulled her backpack into her lap. She pulled out the bag of jerky and popped a piece in her mouth. She chewed, savoring the taste. It was her favorite kind: teriyaki. Ivy pulled out her brush and brushed out the ever-present tangles. For some reason, brushing her hair always calmed her down. She liked to brush her hair, as stupid as that sounded. It made it all soft and nice. Ivy pulled out a ponytail and quickly did up her hair. It would make it easier to brush out in the morning if it was in a ponytail while she slept. Next, Ivy dug out the books that were in her backpack. In all that had happened, she forgot which ones she had put in there.
"Oh, my god." Ivy breathed.
Now, if this wasn't too strange to be a coincidence, she didn't know what was. The library book was a book on wolves. She remembered now that she had been reading up on wolves for a report in one of her classes. They had gotten to choose the topic and she had decided to do wolves. Well, if that wasn't the all time most ironic thing… What was the other book? This one she had bought at a used bookstore. It was about a girl dumped on a planet with a bunch of people and a few aliens. It was good so far. Ivy was in the long-standing habit of being a thorough bookworm. She had to read every night or she almost couldn't fall asleep.
It was nice to be alone for a while. Although she really liked Randal and Faolan's company. She had been lucky to run into them.
After a good amount of time, Ivy headed back. She stopped and listened before going back into camp. All traces of the rabbit were gone. That though sent a small shudder through Ivy's spine, but she quelled it.
"Have a nice dinner?" she asked in a light voice.
"Oh, yes." Randal nodded, his eyes gleaming.
"That's good." Ivy nodded.
The sun had already set and the stars would soon come out. Ivy, for one, was tired. She looked around, trying to figure out where she should sleep.
"Oh!" Faolan cried, realizing what she was doing and jumping to his feet.
He took off his overcoat and spread it out on a patch of grass. He motioned for Ivy to sleep there. Ivy shook her head.
"You don't have to…" she began.
"Sure, I do. Besides, I'm not cold. Now don't argue. You're probably exhausted. Get some sleep. You, too, Randal." Faolan called over to his brother.
Randal groaned, but curled up on the ground. Ivy followed his example and laid down on Faolan's coat. He watched her, nodding with approval. He turned and moved off a pace, then sat down and leaned back against a tree. He folded his arms across his chest and got comfortable. Ivy propped herself up on her elbow and looked at him.
"You're not going to sleep?" she asked with concern.
Faolan looked at her and the way he looked at her made her want to sigh. It was kind of comforting to have him close by, watching over her, them while they slept. Still, he needed sleep, too.
"Don't worry about me. I'll get some sleep." he assured her.
Ivy relented. She was really too tired to argue, anyway. She slipped her arms out of her jacket and drew it over her like a blanket. Curled up under it, with her head on her arm, she fell asleep.
Faolan smiled at her sleeping form. He really hadn't anticipated this. But he was by no means unhappy with the situation. If Wolf had found a mate in a 10th Kingdomer, he could, too. Although, he wasn't so sure that he would be able to pull it off. He was no hero like Wolf. Faolan shook his head.
"You're chasing chickens before they hatch." he told himself, "Slow down."
Maive, Tony, and Cinnamon entered the castle on the other side of the mirror. They hadn't been there twenty seconds when Wendell was jumping on Tony, looking panicked.
"Hey, boy. I mean, Wendell." Tony said, petting him on the head, "Sorry about that whole being under a spell thing. Wasn't my fault, you know. Where's Virginia and them?"
Wendell dropped to all fours and turned in a circle. He obviously wanted to tell them something, but couldn't.
"Let me see if I can help with this." Maive said, rolling up her sleeves.
She was feeling a lot more confidant with her spell casting after the last go. Maybe she would be able to return King Wendell to his former state.
"Dog that is not a dog
Be what you are
King receive your crown.
Let no spell it mar." Maive chanted.
She gathered magic in her hands and pointed it at Wendell. There was a flash.
"Great, Maive. Now we have a royal dog." Tony said bitterly.
Wendell was now dressed royally. He had a crown on his head and a royal cloak. But he was still a dog. He barked and the bark showed clear annoyance.
"Hmmm. Must have been the wording. Let me try again." Maive said, thinking quickly, "Okay, I've got it.
'Your true form that is not.
Change from that body, I bid thee.
Change to the form worthy of the crown.
So mote it be."
There was another flash. This time there was no dog. But in its place was a frog.
"You turned him into a toad!" Tony cried.
"A frog is worthy of the crown?" Cinnamon asked.
"Oh, that's not right." Maive said in dismay, "One more try, I'll get it right this time, I promise!"
"Oh, no! You're likely to turn him into a troll or something." Tony said, picking up the frog that was Wendell.
Amazingly, he still wore the crown and cloak. Although, they were now frog-size. Wendell didn't look too happy.
"Can you at least do a spell so we can figure out what happened? So he can talk to us?" Tony asked.
"I think I remember a communication spell from training." Maive said, "Right.
'Let the tongue speak true
In a way that we can understand.
This I bid you do.
Speak thee the language of this land."
"You idiot!" the frog raged, "You turned me into a frog! In the name of Snow White and Cinderella, you are the most…"
"It worked!" Tony interrupted him, "Wendell, what happened to Virginia and Wolf and those two girls?"
Wendell calmed down momentarily.
"Well, they told me to stay here, but I peeked out to watch. I saw Virginia run out in front of the witch and then kind of freeze. The witch was talking, but I couldn't hear her. Then, Wolf ran over and yelled, 'That's not true!' and the witch sent him flying into a table. Then, those two girls started talking to her and she flung magic at them, but they deflected it. They must be witches, too. But then, the witch did another spell and they all disappeared." Wendell finished with a croak.
"So you don't know where they are?" Cinnamon asked.
"No, I'm afraid not." Wendell said.
"They could be anywhere!" Tony cried.
"I could try scrying." Maive offered.
"Haven't you screwed up enough for one day?" Tony snapped.
Maive recoiled slightly. She was used to Tony's complaining and bitterness, but his remark had hit a soft spot. She had always been touchy about her talent. She hadn't been the best of pupils in the Council. She had really been proud of herself today and Tony had just shot her down.
"Tony," Cinnamon growled, "she is probably our only way of finding them. Unless you plan on waltzing out there and asking the witch?"
Tony glared at her angrily, but gave up and shrugged.
"Fine! What do I care? Do what you want. You two can gang up on me all you want. I know Wendell's on my side. Right, Wendy?" Tony asked.
"Actually, Anthony. I think we should let her have one more try. She may be a complete incompetent, but she is our only hope." Wendell said with a much cooler head than earlier.
"Thanks…I think." Maive said slowly.
"Quiet!" Cinnamon announced suddenly, motioning at all of them.
She moved to the doors and put her head against them.
"Someone's coming! Turn off the mirror and let's hide." Cinnamon said quickly.
Maive turned off the mirror and they all dived into various hiding places, Tony keeping Wendell with him.
A few moments later, the doors to the room were flung open and Marissa entered trailed by a pair of guards. She looked around the room and her eyes lit up.
"Well, well, well." she said, "Thank you, Wendell."
She walked over to the first mirror and ran her hands along the edges.
"A spying mirror. Useful. So much more efficient than scrying. A travel mirror. This must be the only one of its kind still working! Oh, this is wonderful." she said as she surveyed the mirrors. She turned to the two guards, "Watch this room closely. Keep constant track of these mirrors. I want the traveling mirror to remain on in case Tony and Cinnamon return. Notify me immediately of any change."
"Yes, ma'am." they both bowed.
"That's 'my queen' to you two." Marissa said with a glint of anger.
"Yes, my queen." they both amended quickly.
"Good." Marissa said with a nod and exited the room.
The moment the doors closed behind her, Cinnamon sprang out of hiding and jumped one of the guards. Tony saw what she was doing and hurried over to help her. He grabbed a decoration off the wall and hit the other guard over the head with it. Both guards were soon unconscious.
"Let's get out of here." Cinnamon said.
Tony nodded his agreement. Since he knew the way best, he led the group out into the hallway and to another room with a low balcony. They slipped inside, then through the room, and climbed over the balcony to drop to the ground outside. The three took off, running away from the castle before they could be seen.
Wolf navigated the forests carefully, using all of his wolf capabilities. No more delays. No more mistakes. Just tracking and finding Virginia. Wolf crossed the border into the 4th Kingdom with no resistance. He started sniffing, looking for scents, straining his nose as much as he could. He had one of the best senses of smell in all the 9 Kingdoms and he used all of it. He couldn't find Virginia's scent, though. He was about to turn and head farther into the 4th Kingdom ( he sensed that she had to lie in that direction) when another scent caught his attention. It was one of the girls! Danielle, if he remembered right. She was close, in the woods somewhere. Wolf was glad she was in the woods. They were close to Little Lamb Village and he was in no hurry to revisit that place. Wolf picked up the scent and started after it. She wasn't alone, he could tell that as well. Although, who she was with he wasn't sure at this distance. That particular scent wasn't strong enough. Hers was, and he could tell that she was a little scared. And something else, something that wasn't the same as when he had first smelled her. He didn't know what.
It was getting close to dawn when Wolf finally found her. She was fast asleep, curled up next to a tree root. The other scent was strong enough now for Wolf to know that her companion was a fairy. He looked around and finally spotted the little thing sleeping on a fern shoot. Wolf took a step closer, kneeling to shake Danielle awake. The noise awakened the fairy and she flitted over in a hurry, ready to defend her sleeping friend. Wolf motioned to her to wait, that he meant no harm. She stopped, hovering in mid-air and considered him. Then, she recognized him as Wolf, the half-wolf that had helped to save the 9 Kingdoms! She started buzzing around excitedly.
"Danielle. Wake up." Wolf said softly, turning back to her.
He gave her a gentle shake. Danielle groaned and waved at him to go away.
"No. Huff-puff, you have to wake up now. I need to talk to you." Wolf insisted, shaking her harder.
Danielle covered her face with her arm and turned away from him. She was set on not waking up. It was too early anyway. Her internal clock told her as much. Although, according to her, any time was too early if it was before 9:00 AM.
Wolf gave her a hard shake and forced her into a sitting position. Danielle blinked at him in surprise.
"Wolf?" she asked sleepily.
Wolf nodded.
"Yep. Come on, get up. We need to get going. Apparently the witch scattered us across the kingdoms. We have to find Virginia." Wolf said, taking her hand and pulling her to her feet.
"And Ivy." Danielle added.
Wolf nodded again. Yes, yes. And Ivy, too, of course.
Danielle rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and tried to get her brain to work. That was really hard to do. It didn't like to work ever when she was fully awake.
"But…how did you find me?" she asked.
"I smelled you." Wolf shrugged, glancing over his shoulder at the sky to see what time it was.
"You did what?" Danielle asked.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't explain to her yet about wolves." Breena said, flitting in between them, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Wolf. I'm Breena. I came in response to her wish."
Wolf was getting very anxious. They needed to get moving and find Virginia as soon as possible.
"Yes, yes. You, too." he said hurriedly, "Can we talk on the go?"
Danielle stretched out her sore muscles and followed after Wolf as he began walking back towards the path. She had to jog to catch up to him. Breena landed in her position on her shoulder and began explaining about wolves.
"You know the story of Red Riding Hood, right?" Breena asked.
Danielle nodded and grimaced.
"Hated that story. The poor wolf!" Danielle commented.
Wolf smiled slightly at that comment, but didn't turn around or say anything.
"Well, wolves in the 9 Kingdoms like the one in the story can walk and talk just like people." Breena tried to explain.
"Wolves are people. Just not humans." Wolf interrupted.
"Okay, just like humans." she amended, "Well, anyway, full-blooded wolves tend to stay in wolf form. It's easier for them. But they can change to a kind of human. They still have some wolf parts, like a tail, for example. Wolf here, is a half wolf. There are a growing number of them across the kingdoms. They are more like full-blooded wolves in human form. Only they can only change to wolf form during the full moon. At least, that's the only time that they do."
Danielle stared at Wolf's back in an emotion that was kind of like disbelief mixed with shock.
"So one of your parents is a wolf?" Danielle asked.
"Was." Wolf corrected stiffly.
"Sorry." Danielle said quietly. After a moment of silence, she couldn't resist asking, "So you have a tail?"
"It's absolutely natural!" Wolf said quickly, "There's nothing wrong with having a tail!"
"I didn't say there was." Danielle said and kind of half-smiled.
This time Wolf did look back at them. He seemed a little surprised at her.
"So…you…don't mind a person having a tail?" Wolf asked hesitantly.
Danielle thought the question over carefully, mentally exclaiming at how odd it was.
"No, I guess not. But I think I'd like to know. That's not the kind of thing you would want to surprise someone with." Danielle joked.
She thought how it would sound to walk up to your friend and say, 'Oh, guess what? I have a tail!'
"No, I suppose not." Wolf said with a grin as he remembered when Virginia had first made that discovery.
"Where are we going?" Danielle asked after a short silence.
"I think Virginia is this way. Probably Ivy, too. In fact, I'm sure that they're this way." Wolf announced.
Danielle nodded, figuring his guess was better than hers. She smiled slightly to herself. This was the perfect adventure, if she thought about it. And now that she had two people to show her the way, it was even better.
Ivy started awake from her dream. When she looked up and saw Faolan she thought she might still be dreaming.
"Morning!" he said cheerfully.
Ivy looked and saw the sun was coming up. She was surprised she hadn't waken herself. She could never sleep in past 7:00 AM at the latest and usually woke around 6:00. A fact that annoyed Danielle to no end, she knew.
"Yep, it is." she said, yawning and stretching as was her morning custom.
Faolan watched her with a grin.
"Early riser?" he questioned.
Ivy nodded, still yawning.
"Every day of my life if I'm not terribly sick." she said when she was finished.
Faolan glanced back at Randal who was still sound asleep. He changed his crouched position into a more comfortable sitting one.
"Sweet dreams?" he asked.
For a moment, Ivy was worried she had been talking in her sleep again.
"Why do you ask?" she asked in a too high voice, her eyes wide.
"No reason." Faolan said, "Huff, you just seemed very…pleased?"
Ivy coughed to cover her embarrassment.
"Um…yeah. I guess." she said, turning her face away.
Faolan had been in her dream. It had been a good dream. But she didn't want him to know that.
"And you?" she asked finally, regaining her composure, "Did you get any sleep?"
He nodded. And this time he seemed a little embarrassed.
"Yeah. A little." he said cryptically, looking down at his hands.
They both were silent for a long uncomfortable moment. Ivy suddenly remembered she was sitting on his coat.
"Oh! Here." she said, pulling it out from under her and giving it to him.
"Thanks." he said, balling it up in his hands and looking around for a place to put it.
It wasn't very cool and he really didn't want to wear it. Ivy saw what he was looking for and pulled over her backpack, which she had ended up using as a pillow.
"You can put it in here, if you want." she offered, "I can fit just about anything in this backpack."
Faolan gave the coat to her and raised one eyebrow.
"Oh? Is it magic?" he asked, watching her rummage around in her backpack until she had a space big enough for the coat.
"No." she said, stuffing it in. She smiled at him, "I'm just good at stuffing things in."
Faolan shifted a little where he was sitting.
"Do you think…could you make that thing make music again? It was pretty." he said quietly.
"Oh, sure." Ivy said, digging out her CD player and her case of CD's, "What do you want to listen to? Oh, wait! You don't know the singers. Well, you can still pick a type of song. You like slow or fast songs. I only have country at the moment, sorry. I was in a mood, I guess."
Faolan thought out his answer more carefully than Ivy thought the question warranted.
He finally locked his gaze on her and said, "Maybe a slow song."
Ivy couldn't help but stare back at him. She finally broke her gaze away with another fake cough and buried her face in the CD case, looking for a song. She always liked playing songs that fit with the situation. It made her feel like she was in a movie or a TV show. She looked for a song that would fit now. She couldn't decide between two songs. One fit all too well, but she was a little embarrassed to play it. She decided to let Faolan choose.
"You want to hear a guy or a girl? That'll narrow it down." she said finally.
"A girl. So you can sing along." Faolan said without a moment's hesitation.
"I can sing to guys, too." Ivy laughed, "It just sounds weird."
"Maybe I can learn the words and I'll sing the guy's song. But not now." Faolan said, still looking at her.
"Okay." Ivy said, quickly returning to looking at the CD's, "I guess it's 'Wish', then."
Ivy put in the Sherrie Austin CD. She went to the last song on the CD. She turned up the music a little because this song was very quiet and she wasn't great at singing that soft.
"Last night in a dream
An angel came to me.
She granted me one wish
Then she asked what it would be.
Did I wish that we all could live in peace?
Did I wish for an end to poverty?
No, I wished it away so selfishly
When I wished that you would always love me."
Faolan seemed to like this song. He brightened a little and smiled softly. Randal was awake by now, too. He was listening, but not with half as much interest as his brother. By the end of the song, Faolan was looking at her even more intently. He took her hand in his, looking right in her eyes. Ivy opened her mouth to say something.
"That would never work, you know. You can't wish for more wishes." Randal piped in, breaking up the moment.
Faolan growled under his breath at his brother. Ivy smiled and rolled her eyes, withdrawing her hand from his. She looked at Randal.
"That's what I've always thought. But I didn't write the song." she said with a shrug.
"I wish you had." Faolan said so quietly she almost didn't hear and wasn't sure she was supposed to.
"Well," Ivy said too loudly, getting to her feet, "You want to hear something, you should listen to my friend Danielle sing 'Wide Open Spaces'. Or the two of us singing Shedaisy."
"I'd like to." Faolan said, rising as well, "I bet you sound great."
Ivy shook her head to dismiss the comment. She looked around and saw that the sun was completely up.
"'Bout time we started on our way, hmmm? I've got a castle to reach, you know." she said, trying to keep the mood light.
"Right." Faolan agreed.
His stomach growled loudly at that precise moment, letting all three of them know that it was time for breakfast.
"You want some of my jerky?" Ivy offered, digging the bag out of her backpack.
She passed it to Faolan who took some and then gave it to Randal. Randal took a big piece and gave it back to her. Both of them sniffed the jerky curiously before biting into it. They looked so much alike at that moment and were almost perfectly in sync and it made Ivy laugh. Which caused both of them to look at her curiously. Ivy just laughed harder and shook her head.
"Come on. Let's go." she said.
Virginia had been walking all morning. She had woken up feeling very sick. She had thrown up once, depleting herself of the only food she had had. When she had felt well enough to continue on her journey, she had become ravenously hungry. She felt she could have eaten like Wolf.
"Was that morning sickness?" Virginia wondered out loud.
She hadn't gotten a chance to read up on pregnancy at all. She had wanted to. She was worried enough about her baby without being clueless as to what was happening inside her. Virginia felt a kick and doubled over in more surprise than pain.
"Oh, my god!" she cried, wishing that Wolf was there.
Virginia rubbed her stomach.
"Oh, baby. It's okay." Virginia said softly, "Be good until daddy's here."
Virginia tried to remember what she had read in that book back in Central Park. The one about wolves: all she needed to know. If only she could remember what she needed to know! The gestation period of a wolf, what was it? She could almost see it in her mind. Virginia closed her eyes and let her mind go blank, waiting for the information to resurface.
"Two months! That's it! Two months." Virginia exclaimed.
If her baby was part wolf, would that effect her time carrying it? A person was nine months, but a wolf was only two. Oh, she needed Wolf! He had to know. Virginia tried to stop thinking about it and concentrate on where she was going. She had to be nearing the swamp. Then, she just had to go around and to Wendell's castle. That easy.
"Nothing's ever easy in the 9 Kingdoms, Virginia." she said to herself grimly.
Danielle was tired of listening to Breena. The fairy meant well, but Danielle really wasn't paying attention anymore. Fact was, she had tuned her out after about the first five minutes. Kind of like she did in class. Which would explain a lot of her grades.
"So after that war the trolls remained pretty passive as a whole for a good period of time. Well, for trolls anyway. But it's common knowledge that they hate Wendell and his kingdom for taking part of the 3rd Kingdom." Breena continued, chatting away about as fast as she flapped her wings.
Danielle nodded absently. To distract herself and to keep herself from dying of boredom, she concentrated on Wolf. Her new-found knowledge of his bloodlines explained a lot of his earlier behavior, now that she thought about it. Why had she never wondered at the way he had acted around the witch before? She couldn't be that dumb, could she? Maybe she should be a village idiot.
Danielle jogged a few steps to put her even with Wolf again. She had seen his back almost the entire time they had been walking. She was getting tired of it. He was still pretty distracted. Worried about Virginia, most likely. Danielle had guessed from her appearance that Virginia was pregnant. But now that she thought about that, too, she began to wonder what Virginia thought about having wolf blood in her baby. That had to be a little scary. Virginia was from the "10th Kingdom" after all, just like she was.
"You shouldn't worry so much." Danielle said to Wolf and ignored Breena's indignant huff as she realized she was being ignored.
"Why not?" Wolf asked, a little startled as her voice broke through his own reveries.
"'Cause. Everything's going to work out. It has to. We're the good guys. The good guys always win." Danielle said confidently, "It's in the handbook, you know."
"What handbook?" Wolf asked, confused.
"The Good Guy and Bad Guy Handbook. I'll demonstrate." Danielle said, glad to get both their minds off the present, "Okay, so when the good guy gets captured, the bad guy has to put him in some kind of machine that will kill him, but then he has to leave. And the machine/trap thing has to be easily escapable. And the good guy has to say, 'You'll never get away with this!' and then the bad guy, he replies, 'I already have!' and laughs maniacally. And then he leaves and the good guy gets free or his sidekick saves him and they chase down the bad guy, have a huge fight scene, and then they win and the bad guy gets locked up. See?" Danielle asked.
She had been bouncing all around the path before Wolf, demonstration dramatically the different aspects of the standard plot to every comic book and cheap movie. Danielle had always had a thing for acting and the theatre. She was a dramatic person and liked to pretend. Wolf was watching her with amusement. It was a strange occurrence when he wasn't the one bounding around.
"I see." Wolf nodded, "But what if the bad guy wants to be a good guy?"
"A good point." Danielle said, "Then, you have a dramatic stand-off where the bad guy throws down his weapon and begs for mercy."
"And what if the good guy says no?"
"Then, his sidekick or someone else talks to him in a touchy, feely moment and gets the good guy to say yes. That's how it works." Danielle explained.
"And if the bad guy lied?" Wolf asked, enjoying this distraction.
"That happens sometimes, too. He is a bad guy, after all. Then, he attacks the good guy when his back is turned and the fighting continues." Danielle said with a shrug.
"And what if the good guy isn't really a good guy, but is only made to seem that way by prejudiced people and there really is no good guy and the story ends in tragedy?" Wolf asked.
Danielle looked at him curiously.
"You got a name for that one?" she asked.
"Little Red Riding Hood." he said.
Danielle nodded solemnly.
"Then, you throw down your fairy tale book in disgust and demand why that stupid, bratty girl had to do that to the wolf and wonder if there were ulterior motives behind the story. And you be disgusted at how the little girl would marry a woodsman at least twice or three times her age." Danielle said.
Wolf smiled.
"Oh."
"You want to hear some more?" Danielle asked.
"Sure." Wolf agreed.
Breena sighed on Danielle's shoulder. Danielle could tell that the fairy thought this was completely stupid, but Danielle didn't care. No one was keeping Breena here.
"Okay. First, no one named Jaja can be a good guy. Second, spandex can cause chaffing and certain people shouldn't be allowed to wear it…" Danielle began.