Old and New Love
By: Wilona Riva
Disclaimer: Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon, etc.
Silken Snow
During the kiss with Desiree, Danny involuntarily shifted into his spectral form. "Des," he murmured, "I can taste honey and spices."
"And you, Prince Phantom, have hair as soft as silken snow," she whispered back. She pulled away from him, revealing a star-filled sky. Palm trees were everywhere growing beside a small pool at the base of a high multi-colored cascading waterfall. Everything glowed here, so he knew he wasn't in the human world anymore.
She led him gently to a large canopy beneath the palms made of lavender, white and blue silky material. She opened the tent, revealing a cozy interior consisting of several cushions, a table of wine, fruit, and cheese, and glass and gem decorations. There were some other things, but Desiree lowered him to the cushioned floor.
"Des, where are we?" Danny asked her startled at her behavior.
"My home," she told him, before intoxicating him again with her scent. "Where none may disturb us." She tilted his head back for deeper access; he moaned in pleasure.
"Desiree!" he cried, arching his back. Strange emotions flickered through his body like fire.
"Okay, Tucker, run through it again. What happened to Danny?" Maddie said to the frightened teen before her seated in the kitchen chair.
He took a sip of the lemonade she had given him, then put the glass on the table-his hands were trembling too much. "Thank you, Mrs. Fenton."
"You're welcome, Tucker. Now what happened upstairs?"
Tucker took a deep breath. "You remember that lamp Danny got from the fortune teller at the fair today?"
"Yes."
"Well, Danny saw some writing on it and decided to polish it so he could see it better. Some pink smoke appeared and this gorgeous Arabian woman appeared, you know like from that Disney movie Aladdin? Well, she took one look at Danny and called him Prince Phantom and then kissed him."
"A genie appeared and kissed my son?" Maddie asked with amusement. "What did Danny do?"
"He kissed her back. Called her Des or something," Tucker said. "He said something about please, and she said something about 'so you have wished it' and then they were gone."
"Hold on one second, Tucker," Maddie said, "I need to get something from the lab." What Tucker was telling was all too familiar. She ran downstairs and flicked on the light. In a corner of the lab was a door which led to a library of sorts that she had slowly added too over time. Searching through the books, she selected one, turned off the lights and hurried back upstairs.
"Go and get that lamp," she ordered the African-American teen, who jumped up and came back a few minutes later, out of breath, with the lamp.
Maddie stared hard at it, then flipped a few pages in the book. "I knew this was familiar. This is the lamp of a wish-granting ghost named Desiree, who was once a courtesan to a powerful sultan in her mortal life before his wife banished her from the kingdom. She died a bitter death at a grand old age. Damn! I wish I hadn't shut down the ghost alarm for repairs." She bit her lip thoughtfully as she contemplated her next step.
Desiree slowly removed the boy's boots and gloves while flashing him a flirty look with her eyes. "How are the wine and cheese, Prince Phantom?"
"Delicious, Des," he said, swallowing before he answered her. "Though I'm not of legal age to be drinking yet."
She laughed and sat down beside him. "Doesn't that feel better?"
"I guess so."
"You are of age in our world, Prince Phantom. Here, let me do that for you," she said reaching over him to pick up a bit of fruit. "The most luscious of grapes from the Far Frozen for you, my prince," she said.
"I didn't know they grew grapes there," he said, surprised.
"Their hot houses are among the famous of the surprises which come from Frostbite's people," she answered. "Here, have a taste."
He allowed her to place it in his mouth, a scene which was eerily familiar to him. His eyes half closed. "You're seducing me."
Her laughter rang in his ears. "That is the idea, my prince. Come, lay beside me."
Danny allowed himself to be pulled into a deeper part of the canopy, full of softer cushions. He lowered himself beside her, placing his head against her breasts as he would against a pillow. "I'm sleepy, Des."
The courtesan stroked his snowy white hair. "Then sleep, Prince Phantom. We have all the time in the world to complete the ritual."
"So what do we do, Mrs. Fenton?" Tucker asked.
"Rub the lamp, I suppose," she said, picking up the antique artifact. Moments later, two ghosts appeared in her kitchen. One was the rascally teen spirit, Phantom, who she and Jack had been trying to catch for months. The other was a dark-haired Arabian beauty in full harem costume. She looked up at the human with surprise.
Maddie quickly put two and two together. Rounding on Tucker, she asked, "Was there something else you forgot to mention?"
Tucker took a long sip of his lemonade before answering her. "Surprise?"