-1Faolan followed his nose and was astounded when it led him into Kissingtown. Snow White had been right.

He had never been to Kissingtown before, but of course he had heard all about it. And it was everything it was said to be. He passed half a dozen people laughing and kissing just on his way in. Happy couples. There was romantic music playing from an unknown source. He could smell the love in the air. And he could smell his brother and Ivy. He turned onto the main street and soon found the two of them. They were sitting underneath a long lean-to, listening with rapt attention to an old man telling a story. Neither of them noticed him. He was downwind, but still. It must be a good story. He edged around the back and sat down behind Ivy. He realized why they were so spellbound. They were listening to the tale of Virginia and Wolf, Tony and King Wendell. It was a mesmerizing story. And it was coming to an end.

"…And so King Wendell granted a royal pardon for all wolves across the kingdoms with the regal words that it was a noble wolf who once saved the 9 Kingdoms. He bestowed a medal of honor upon Tony Lewis, naming him Anthony the Valiant. A special award was given to the dog known as Prince, who now lives in a golden kennel. And lastly, to the fair Virginia he gave a rose, given to him by the wondrous Snow White herself. And an addition to the tale, we have received word that Wolf and Virginia were wed over two months ago!" there were claps and cheers by all around. The storyteller nodded and smiled, "Happily Ever After, my friends? Maybe so."

The storyteller nodded again to let them know he had finished. People began leaving, dropping coins in the old man's hat as they left. Faolan leaned forward and put his head on Ivy's shoulder.

"Good story, huh?" he asked and smiled when she jumped and gave a surprised yelp.

"Faolan!" she cried, turning to face him, "The girl was right! You are here!"

Faolan scratched his head, puzzled.

"Girl?" he asked.

"Yeah, this girl came up to us and said you would be here soon." Randal filled him in quickly.

As soon as he had done so, Randal jumped up and gave his brother a hug. Faolan pushed him away gently, seeming embarrassed.

"Are you…?" Ivy paused uncertainly.

Faolan seemed better, but the full moon lasted three nights, not just one.

Faolan nodded emphatically.

"Completely. Back to normal. It's a long story, but the moon's back on track." he said, then quickly added, "I'll tell you later."

Ivy smiled with relief. She got to her feet, followed quickly by Faolan. They exited the tent, Faolan supplying the tip to the storyteller.

"We already ate. Are you hungry?" Ivy asked as they walked down the street.

"Actually, I'm kind of full." Faolan said.

Before Ivy could get suspicious about that, he steered her toward a parked carriage.

"Did you like that story?" he asked.

Ivy's eyes brightened and she nodded.

"Oh, yes!" she agreed.

"You want to see something from the story?" he asked, stopping next to the carriage.

"Sure." Ivy shrugged.

"Uh…what about me?" Randal asked, waving his arms to get attention.

"I gave you some coins. Go explore." Faolan said quickly, pushing Randal along.

"But I had to use most of it to pay for breakfast! Faolan! Oh, huff-puff! Fine!" Randal said, stomping off.

Ivy looked after him.

"You sure he'll be alright?" she asked.

"He'll be fine. Come on." Faolan said, opening the carriage door.

Faolan held out a hand to her, hoping to help her inside. But Ivy ducked under his arm and walked around to the horses. She didn't even seem to notice that she had blown him off. She held out a hand to each of the horses to sniff and stroked them on the noses. She looked up and saw the driver.

"Oh, hello. You have a beautiful team." she said.

"Not compared to you, miss." the driver replied, leaning forwards on his bench and smiling at her.

Faolan growled at him and he quickly leaned back again. Again, Ivy didn't seem to notice.

"You…uh…know horses, miss?" the driver asked, stiffly polite.

"Well enough." Ivy said with a smile as she scratched the horses' ears.

Faolan took her arm and pulled her back towards the door.

"Better get going." he said over her half-formed protests, "Driver, Snow White Hill."

Faolan opened the door again and before he could even offer to help, Ivy had climbed in. Then, she turned around and held out a hand to him! Faolan shook his head and got in on his own. The driver clucked and snapped the reins and the horses moved out.

Ivy stared out the side window in amazement until Faolan finally got impatient with her paying attention to everything but him and pulled her back into her seat.

"I'm trying to tell you something." he said.

Ivy blinked at him in such an innocent manner that any annoyance or impatience he had disappeared. He scooted a little closer to her.

"This is where Wolf and Virginia went when they were looking for the traveling mirror. You know that this is where the Prince met Snow White, right? Well, her glass coffin was placed on top of the hill that we're going to." Faolan explained.

Ivy didn't respond for a long moment and Faolan nudged her shoulder.

"Ivy?" he asked.

"I just…I still can't believe it's all real." she said.

She turned to look at Faolan with wide eyes and he smiled.

"As real as I am." he assured her.

Doubt flashed across her face.

"Maybe you're not real. Maybe I finally went totally, completely nuts. Maybe this is all just a dream. Maybe…" Ivy began, her voice getting panicked at the idea that all this wasn't real.

Faolan put his fingers to her lips to stop her.

"It's real. I promise." he said.

Ivy pulled his hand away.

"But how do I know? Haven't you ever had a dream you were sure was real?" she asked.

"Tell me this, do you dream of half-wolves in a land you didn't know existed often?" he asked with a grin.

Ivy had to allow herself a small smile at that.

"No. I do now. But seriously…" she persisted.

Faolan sighed.

"If I do something to prove to you how real this is, will you promise not to get mad or anything?" he asked.

"Uh…okay, I guess." Ivy said uncertainly.

"Okay." Faolan repeated.

Before she could change her mind, Faolan leaned over and kissed her. He had been thinking about doing so for some time, but he had never known how he should ask or how to start. It was everything he had imagined. He wondered what she was thinking. He wondered if it had been the same for Wolf when he had first kissed Virginia. Hadn't that been in Kissingtown, too? Faolan pulled away slowly and opened his eyes. Ivy's eyes were still closed, her lips parted. Faolan nuzzled her cheek to get her to open her eyes and look at him.

"You believe me now?" he asked.

Ivy nodded. Faolan slowly smiled.

"That was…well, that was better than three little pigs." he said.

Ivy couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Marissa saw every moment of their little carriage ride and realized that she had to act fast. She could not let the girl fall in love. Love was one thing she couldn't control. So Marissa had to pay Ivy a little visit. And just to be absolutely sure, she would have to remain invisible.

"No matter." Marissa said to herself, "She's given you enough openings to destroy her. She doesn't have a prayer. Not even Snow White could cover all those insecurities. Not even Snow White."

"Please, Maive." Danielle pleaded.

"You don't understand. I can't. One, I'm not a teacher. I'm only an apprentice. And not a very good one. Second, you're not a witch. It's too dangerous for you to be taught any spells or anything without going through training and initiation and cart-loads of other things. Besides you fought her before and did alright." Maive tried to explain.

Why couldn't she understand that she just couldn't teach her any magic?

Tony's face twitched at Maive's last words.

"Alright? Alright?! They got scattered across the Kingdoms!" he yelled at her.

"But they survived. And they're still under their own wills. More than you could say for your encounter." Maive replied.

"You know what…just…oh, shut up." Tony snapped.

"You're…" Maive began, heatedly, "Ow!"

Maive pressed her hands against her head again. Another vision. But this one was very short. A moment later, she looked around and locked her eyes on Danielle.

"Snow White says that you have to do this on your own and to believe in yourself." she said.

Danielle didn't look too reassured.

The carriage stopped just then and Faolan jumped out. Before Ivy could protest, he put his hands on her waist and swung her out of the carriage. Finally, everything was going the way he wanted.

"Come on." he said, leading her towards the main attraction.

Ivy almost couldn't believe it. A giant arch with a red heart in the center that said Snow White on it read "True Love Never Dies". People with carts advertised corny trinkets. An artist painted faces on a pre-painted background. Tourists posed for the picture with the girl lying in the coffin and the guy leaning over her. It must have been the worst tourist attraction she had ever seen, but for some reason she was okay with it. She had never felt like this before.

Faolan was looking at her. She turned to him, wondering what he wanted.

"What?" she asked.

"You want to?" he asked, nodding towards the people posing, "You know, Wolf and Virginia posed here."

Ivy rolled her eyes. She wasn't as naïve as all that not to know what he was doing even though it was still hard for her to believe he liked her. Using Wolf and Virginia as his excuse was really not the best…but what did she care?

"If you insist."

Cinnamon slowly entered the clearing, almost afraid of what she would find. She quickly spotted the group of her companions and heaved a sigh of relief. They were all there.

"Um…hi, everyone?" she said uncertainly.

The entire group spun to face her.

"Cinnamon!" Danielle cried.

"I'm fine now, so you all know. The full moon's over. But how long has it been?" Cinnamon asked.

"One night." Maive told her.

Cinnamon shook her head in confusion. None of this made sense.

"As long as it's over." Wendell said, glancing at her in a way she didn't like.

"What?" Cinnamon demanded.

Wendell just shook his head and walked off. Danielle ran after him.

"Well, let's get back to worrying and arguing and waiting, shall we?" Tony asked dryly.

Ivy couldn't believe she had let Faolan talk her into this. He was talking now, but she wasn't really listening. He was telling her the story of Snow White (as the guy before them had told the girl, she figured it was routine).

Suddenly, Ivy heard another voice. It was soft, so she had to listen closely, but not too much so. The voice was strangely compelling.

"Why are you doing this? This isn't you! He's half-wolf, for Pete's sake! You saw how crazy he went the other night. He could have done anything when you weren't around. He said he could eat you! What did he eat? He said he was full. You read the fairytales. You know how the wolves were in those stories. He's probably lying to you!" the voice said and Ivy began to doubt.

Faolan was leaning closer to her. She could feel it. Ivy sat up quickly and pushed Faolan away. He looked hurt and confused.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I…I have to leave." Ivy said quickly, jumping up and running off.

"That has to be it! He can't possibly like you. No, you're delusional, Ivy. He's been lying to you the whole time. You can't trust him. You can't trust anybody, really. You know that. You knew that. You were always alone and always will be." the voice continued.

"No." Ivy whispered, shaking her head weakly as she ran.

"Yes. Don't deny what you know. Stop kidding yourself. You're not good for anything, who could possibly love you. Deep down you've always known. Haven't you always feared that when you got the chance you prayed for, that you would fail terribly? That you would fail your friends? You can act brave and tough, but inside you know you're a coward."

"Leave me alone." Ivy said, almost pleading now.

She couldn't take this. It had to be true, the voice wouldn't lie. She was crying now! She hated to cry. She hated feeling sorry for herself.

"You are nothing, but an ungrateful, ugly, little brat! Don't try and tell yourself otherwise."

Ivy couldn't run any further. A brook blocked her path. She had completely left Kissingtown behind without realizing it. She fell to her knees next to the water. She wiped her eyes, but couldn't stop her crying. Her throat hurt and her mouth was dry. Water would help. Ivy scooped up water in her hands and bent to drink it.

"No!" Faolan yelled, running up behind her and pulling her hands apart so the water fell, "Don't drink it! Didn't you see the sign? Or the fence?"

"What?" Ivy asked without looking up.

Her voice was cold. Faolan didn't like it.

"You ran right through the broken part of a fence. There was a sign, too. It said, 'Beware! Don't drink water'. It has to have been put here for a reason." Faolan insisted, pointing back the way she came.

"Why should I believe you?"

"What?!" Faolan asked, astonished, "Why not believe me? What's gotten into you?"

Ivy shook her head, unsure how or if she wanted to explain.

"What did you do before you got to Kissingtown?" she asked instead.

"What are you talking about? Why are you doing this?" Faolan asked.

Ivy was silent. She scooped up more water in her hands.

"Ivy, no!" Faolan said, reaching for her hands so he could dump out the water again.

Ivy pulled her hands away from him and drank the tiny drop of water still in her hands. Faolan looked horrified.

"What have you done?" he said.

Ivy was about to tell him that he was wrong, the water was perfectly fine when she felt a stab in her chest. It spread through her body like fire. She cried out in more surprise than pain. Faolan hurriedly moved closer to her and held her from behind. A shudder ran through her and her eyes flashed a wolfish color. She felt something extend from her behind. Her teeth grew to sharp points, then returned to normal. She felt her ears change shape then change back. Something inside her was definitely different, but she didn't know what.

"W…what happened?" she asked.

"Um…I don't know how to tell you this…" Faolan said slowly.

"What?"

"You…uh…well, you…" Faolan said haltingly.

"What?!"

"You have a tail." Faolan finally blurted.

Ivy jumped in surprise and reached behind her, panicked. She found something furry and bushy. She pulled it around and twisted herself so she could see. She had a silvery, gray tail!

"No!" she cried, shaking her head, "How? What? It can't be!"

"This must be one of the three brooks." Faolan said in amazement.

"What brooks?" Ivy demanded and growled without knowing it.

"Have you read the story of the Brother and Sister? They ran away from home because their stepmother was very mean and beat them everyday. But when they ran the stepmother, who was an evil witch, cursed all three brooks nearby so if they wanted to drink, they would suffer her revenge. The brother got terribly thirsty and wanted to drink, but the sister stopped him. She could hear in the trickle of the water, a warning. The first brook would turn him into a lion, the second, a wolf, and the third would turn whoever drank from it into a roebuck. The sister kept the brother from the first two, but couldn't keep him from drinking from the third. He drank his fill, then was turned into a roebuck. The sister cried for her brother and promised she'd always take care of him…" Faolan was really getting into storyteller mode and for some reason that annoyed Ivy.

"They found a house in the woods, king comes hunting in the area, stupid brother can't resist the hunt, king follows him to the house and finds the sister, king marries sister and takes her and brother back to his land, happy ever after, bla bla bla." she finished, "The point is, I have a tail!"

"Yes, this must be the brook that will turn you into a wolf. You must have only swallowed enough to become a half-wolf. Huff-puff." Faolan said and it bothered Ivy that he wasn't upset about the situation.

"You're happy about this, aren't you?!" she accused.

"No! Well, not unhappy. Maybe a little okay with it, but…" he began hurriedly.

"You are, too! I can't believe you! I knew you didn't care about me! I knew."

"Cripes! No, you're wrong!" Faolan cried.

Faolan tightened his arms around her, trying to hold her there. Ivy struggled and he let her go.

"Leave me alone." she said quietly.

"I can't. You shouldn't be alone right now." Faolan insisted.

Suddenly, they both heard shouts from back the way they had come. They didn't sound like happy shouts. And they were getting closer.

"Something's wrong." Faolan said, getting up, "Can't you smell it? Can't you smell the anger on those people?"

For some reason, it seemed important to him that she use her new wolf sense of smell. She didn't really want to, but she sniffed without realizing it and smelled what he said. Her sense of smell was crude, not as fine-tuned as Faolan's, but she could tell that it wasn't happy couples coming this way. Something inside her said she would have to run or fight and that it wouldn't be good to fight if she didn't have to. Ivy turned to run, but Faolan caught her arm and stopped her.

"No. They have Randal." he said quietly.

Randal. That made it personal. She would stay and fight if she had to.

Marissa smiled. That had gone well. She had driven a wedge in between Ivy and Faolan. She was turning against him. It wouldn't be too hard to get her to turn from most of those other nuisances. Danielle, the other girl, might be a bit of a problem. The little boy, Randal, too, might be a small obstacle. But if he became too inconvenient, she would arrange his death. It was that simple. She might not be able to kill them all just now, but one little wolf-boy wasn't a problem. And now there was the angry mob coming, just as she had planned. Soon, the girl would be hers.

Breena was starting to get worried. She should check on Danielle. Danielle had wished for her help, she was responsible for her.

"Um…Wolf, Virginia?" she asked, flying in front of them and flying backwards so she could face them.

"Yes, Breena?" Virginia asked.

"I think I should go to Danielle. She's alone and she doesn't know this land." Breena said, "I don't think I can bring us back to you. We fairies try not to zap twice. You saw what happened because of that."

"If she's with my sister, tell Fiona I'm okay and not to worry." Wolf said.

"Your sister! You said she was dead!" Virginia said.

Breena was too impatient to wait through Wolf explaining about his sister.

"I will. Farewell." she said.

Virginia and Wolf waved as she zapped, locking onto Danielle. She arrived in the middle of a group of people, one of which was Danielle. All of them jumped when she appeared.

"Breena!" Danielle cried, "Where did you go?"

"You know that fairy?" a man with a crown asked.

"Who cares? Get it out of here! Fairies are bad news! I learned that in the Swamp." an older man said, jabbing a finger at her.

"She's not a Swamp fairy. No Swamp smell." a red-haired girl who was obviously part-wolf said.

"No, she's a forest fairy and she's with me." Danielle said, holding out a hand for Breena to land on.

"I'm sorry I left you all alone, but I had to save Virginia and Wolf." Breena apologized.

"Virginia! My Virginia?!" the older man cried.

"You must be Tony, Virginia's father! Yes, but don't worry. She's fine and Wolf's with her."

"Oh, how reassuring." Tony said sarcastically.

"Breena, where are they? Does Fiona know Wolf's okay? What…?" Danielle started asking in a rush.

"They'll be here soon. No, Fiona doesn't know. And I can't tell her now." Breena said before she could ask.

"Maybe I can."

Breena hadn't noticed the girl standing off to the side. She nodded to her.

"Maive." she said in greeting.

"Breena." she returned.

"You know each other?" Danielle asked.

"I tried to grant Maive a wish, but couldn't. Not all wishes are as simple as yours was." Breena said.

Breena could tell that Danielle wanted to ask what the wish had been, but she didn't. Breena wouldn't have told her anyway. Most wishes were private. She wasn't sure how Maive felt about telling hers. She had a feeling that she had kept it a secret.

"How do you plan on telling Wolf's sister something?" she asked.

"A reverse vision. I think it's been done. I just don't know if I can do it. Maybe with help." Maive said, looking at Danielle and Breena.

"This is nuts." Tony complained.

"I say, let's do it!" Danielle nodded.

"I'll help if I can." Breena promised.

"Alright, come help me over here. I really hope this works. On the spot spells aren't really my thing…" Maive said.

"We know." everyone said at once.

Ivy waited for the people. She didn't have to wait long. An angry mob of people burst through the trees, Randal somewhere in the middle.

"See! There they are!" someone shouted.

"Wolf! Wolf!" a woman screamed.

"Murderer!" a man yelled, pointing at Faolan.

"What's going on?" Ivy asked, confused.

"That wolf killed Shelley Loveright!"

Ivy whirled on Faolan, her eyes wide. Faolan shook his head furiously. She forgot about the tail that was sticking out behind her.

"She's a wolf, too! There's three of them!"

Faolan yanked her back behind him, thinking to protect her. Ivy was too stunned to resist.

"I didn't kill anyone!" Faolan yelled back at the people, "Did Wolf kill Sally Peep? There's a royal pardon now!"

The man in front, apparently the leader of the mob, quieted the others down. He turned to Faolan and Ivy with a look of contempt on his face.

"You're not Wolf." he spat, "The royal pardon is the only thing getting you a trial and not an arrow through the heart right now. I lived in a farming village. I know what you wolves are capable of!"

There were shouts of agreement. Ivy didn't like this one bit. Some of those people were armed.

Suddenly, Randal broke free of the crowd and darted behind Faolan. Ivy breathed a sigh of relief that he was with them again and relatively safe.

"What do we do?" Ivy whispered to Faolan.

"I think we should go peacefully. Stay close to me, both of you." he whispered back.

"We? I had nothing to do with it! Randal and I were in the restaurant and then the Storyteller's!" Ivy said back.

"You're a wolf now. That doesn't matter. We'll deal with everything else later. Now, come on."

Faolan took Ivy's hand in one of his and Randal's in the other. He led them past the mob who swarmed around them, making absolutely sure that they went where they wanted them to.

Apparently, in Kissingtown the judge was the judge, jury, and prosecution. Ivy had kept them from chaining their hands, but armed men who were named guards stood at every turn. Ivy's thoughts were jerked back as the gavel was banged. The sound was too loud and very annoying. Ivy growled as it was banged again, making the "guards" closest to her shift uneasily.

"Order! Order! Thank you. Now, because of the royal pardon, these wolves will have a fair trial. Now, would the first accused approach the stand." the judge ordered.

Faolan was dragged over by two guards and shoved in the witness box.

"Where were you around dawn this morning?" the judge demanded.

"Me? Um…well, I'm not exactly sure…" Faolan squirmed.

"What were you doing?" the judge interrupted.

"Um…I know I was tracking my friends this morning into Kissingtown after I woke up!" Faolan said.

Ivy winced, this wasn't going too well for him. She even had doubts about him. He had threatened her, after all. He had said he couldn't control himself on the full moon.

"What phase was the moon in last night?" the judge asked, his eyes narrowed.

"Well, it was full, but huff-puff…" Faolan tried to explain.

"That's all for now." the judge interrupted again.

"But…but…" Faolan stuttered as he was yanked down from the stand.

"You, she-wolf, come to the stand." the judge said, pointing at Ivy.

"My name is Ivy and I am not a she-wolf." Ivy said, shaking loose of the guards and growling as she climbed onto the stand.

That brought a burst of comments from the audience.

"Then, why do you have a tail?" the judge asked with a smirk.
"Because I drank from that stupid brook just now, thank you very much." Ivy replied in the same tone.

Ivy heard a few gasps, but she didn't really care. The judge pressed on.

"Do you deny being friends with that wolf there?" the judge demanded, pointing at Faolan.

"I…um…I don't know." Ivy said hesitantly.

"You don't know if you're his friend?" the judge sounded incredulous and more than a little disbelieving.

"That's correct." Ivy nodded and tried not to look at Faolan.

"But you have been associating and traveling with those two, have you not?"

"Yes. Yes, I have." Ivy nodded again, unsure where this was going.

"And what were your whereabouts this morning?"

"Randal and I, " Ivy said, pointing at Randal, "walked into Kissingtown at about dawn this morning and went to get breakfast. We ate at the Love-At-First-Sight restaurant, then we went to the Storyteller's place at the end of Main street. Ask the waiter if you don't believe me." Ivy added defensively.

"I will. When was the last time you saw this other wolf before entering Kissingtown?"

"Last night, before midnight." Ivy said, a sinking feeling coming over her as she realized how much that statement wasn't in Faolan's favor.

"And could you describe the happenings of that night." it wasn't a request.

Ivy didn't trust Faolan, but she didn't want him in jail or worse. She searched her mind frantically for an idea. She couldn't tell them how weird Faolan had been That would be as good as saying outright that he had killed that lady.

"I plead the fifth!" Ivy cried, infinitely glad she had been awake that day in Civics.

"The fifth what?" the judge asked, obviously confused.

Ivy couldn't believe her ears.

"The fifth amendment? The one that says I can choose not to speak…" Ivy trailed off seeing that they still had no idea what she was talking about, "Nevermind."

Ivy sighed and shot an apologetic glance at Faolan before telling them what had happened.

Faolan buried his face in his hands. He was doomed. And not only that, Ivy wasn't even sure if she wanted to be friends with him. She was a wolf now. Didn't she know now that he truly was her mate? Couldn't she feel it? He could just look at her and tell, just sniff and inhale her scent and know with absolute certainty. He needed to talk to her. He needed to find out what was wrong. And she would need his help if she was going to be a half-wolf from now on.

"We…I…didn't see Faolan again until after we had finished listening to the Storyteller telling about the 'Four Who Saved the 9 Kingdoms'." Ivy finished.

"Thank you. Could someone summon that waiter that was spoken of?" the judge asked.

"That would be me, your honor." a man said, standing up slowly.

Ivy retreated from the stand to sit next to Faolan and Randal again as the waiter walked up. Faolan didn't even pay attention as the judge questioned him.

"I'm sorry." Ivy whispered.

Faolan stiffened. She sat so close to him and yet she didn't even trust him to tell her the truth. How could that be? How could she not know that he couldn't lie to her? It hurt to know that. It hurt even more to know that she was still sorry for saying all that and practically ensuring his guilt. Faolan wanted to whine in a way he hadn't done since he was a cub.

"Faolan?" she asked.

He shook his head. He couldn't speak. No, not right now. What if he had done something horrible like kill a girl? If he had actually done that how was he to know that he wouldn't have harmed Ivy? How could he live with himself? Maybe she shouldn't trust him.

"Thank you, sir. I suppose that clears the she-wolf and the young one. But please note Exhibit A." the judge said and Faolan finally looked up.

He barely had a glimpse of a bloody clothe when a guard was grabbing his hand and pouring ink on it. His hand was forced against another white clothe and then that was set on a table next to the bloody one. Faolan looked more closely. The bloody clothe had a hand print on it. And it looked like his. In fact, it looked exactly like the print that they had just taken. Oh, cripes! He had done it! He was a murderer!

"That is a piece of Shelley, the victim's, blouse." the judge said. He waved at a man sitting nearby, "Please examine the two prints for the record."

The man took out a magnifying glass and examined the two prints very carefully. At last, he straightened and turned to the judge.

"Identical." he said.

Faolan heard a short gasp and his heart sunk even worse. Now Ivy knew it, too. She would never ever love him. He was a killer. A bad wolf. Just like everyone thought wolves were.

The mob had broken out in shouts and their harsh voices made Faolan cringe and sink lower in his chair. He saw out of the corner of his eye, Ivy jumping to her feet and looking at the prints herself. He turned to watch her and saw her shaking her head.

"No." she said, refusing to believe what she saw, "He couldn't. He wouldn't. Not Faolan."

That's what he had thought. But he had. How could he have done such a thing? How he hated the wolf in him! It had ruined everything, his whole life! Oh, if only he could rip that part of him right out!

"I find that wolf guilty of murder, proven beyond a doubt." the judge said and glared at Ivy until she sat back down.

Ivy looked down at her hands, silently.

"Normally, according to the law of eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth, I would sentence this wolf to death for this horrible crime. But in light of the royal pardon, " the judge said that last with such distaste Faolan could almost feel it, "I think we will have to settle for life imprisonment and hard labor at Snow White Memorial Prison."

The judge banged his gavel with finality and the crowd burst out in comments again. They seemed disappointed. Ivy had jumped to her feet again, but she looked lost. Randal looked like he might burst into tears at any moment and he was whimpering loudly. Faolan had been almost resigned to his fate up until now. They couldn't do that to him! Life imprisonment! Did they know what that was like for a wolf? Cooped up in a cage like some kind of song bird, never to bound again. He got to his feet quickly.

"No! You can't do that! You don't understand!" he cried.

"Shut up, murderer!" someone snarled from close to him and cuffed him from behind.

Faolan dropped back into his seat, his head ringing from the blow. This couldn't be the same Kissingtown he had walked into this morning. Two guards grabbed him and started dragging him towards a door. Away from Randal and Ivy. Faolan struggled, but the best he could manage was to be able to catch sight of Randal running to Ivy and latching onto her so hard that she stumbled. Randal buried his face against her and Faolan could hear him crying. Ivy was still, almost as if she couldn't get her body to work. She seemed to be focused inward.

"He did it. He murdered a girl. You can't deny it, you saw the proof. It could have been you." the voice whispered to her.

Ivy couldn't move.