Old and New Love
By: Wilona Riva
Disclaimer: Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon, etc
Daughter of the Ancient
"Prince Phantom," came the musical voice in his dreams. "You must wish it, if you want to be warm."
"I do," he sleepily murmured. "Des, it's cold in here."
"You have expelled much energy yester evening, Daniel," she replied, "and the fire is roaring on the hearth. You must rise now. There are those you must see. Clothes and a warm bath await in the bathing chamber."
Danny opened his eyes to have Desiree tenderly kiss him on the forehead. He caught a flash of...he sat up quickly and rubbed his eyes. She laughed and vanished. He swung his head around the room and surveyed quite a bit of melted ice on the floor-a little bit was clinging to the blanket's edges. He grumbled and stood up. A mirror in the far corner revealed he was in human form once more.
He sighed. "Might as well," he grumbled, getting out of the bed. He could smell something delicious cooking somewhere in the castle.
"He is awake, my liege," the courtesan said, bowing low. "Much energy has he expelled this past evening. You must send him to be trained by the Ice Warriors of the Far Frozen. Only they can help him gain control of his new gifts."
"That is well and done," Nicole said, before Plasmius could get a word in edge-wise. "But how..."
"I have honored your wishes and kept him pure for the Dragon Princess," Desiree replied. "That was your wish, is it not?"
"At the time, we did desire such an alliance," King Plasmius answered, "but another, far greater, opportunity has arisen-we seek to wed Prince Phantom to the daughter of the Ancient known as Undergrowth."
"Ciarda," Nicole added, as understanding blossomed in her mind. "But first, we must speak with the mortal woman who nurtured our son these last few months. Desiree, will you go and speak with her on our behalf?"
"We will break our fast in the Rose Garden," King Plasmius decided. "Have everyone gather there."
Desiree bowed and left to carry out her task.
Tucker sniffed the air. "I smell sausage and bacon and all kinds of yummy things," he declared, as the smells of breakfast wafted up from the courtyard below. He watched as a table was set up beneath a blooming rose tree and places set for nine.
"That is because we will be breaking our fast in the Rose Garden," the genie ghost said, entering the chambers.
"Ever heard of knocking?" Tucker complained.
"Has the mortal woman arisen?" she queried, ignoring his complaint.
The sound of splashing water reached their ears.
"Mrs. Fenton's in the bath," Tucker explained, ears turning a bit red in embarrassment. "I'll go and tell her you're here. How's Danny?"
"Prince Phantom is fine,"she assured him. "I have kept him pure for the coming alliance which their Majesties wish to discuss with the mortal woman. We will await you in the garden in an hour's time."
"We will be there," Maddie's strong alto voice rang out from the cracked door of the bathing chamber.
Desiree bowed and vanished in a puff of pink mist.
"Ciarda," her father's gurgling voice rang out. "We are breaking fast with the royal family today. I believe it's in the Rose Garden; your favorite place to visit, if I remember correctly."
"Why do I have to meet Danny like this?" she wailed, coming out into her father's view.
Undergrowth could not see anything at all unusual with his daughter's attire. She wore a long, wrap-around sheath-type dress made of dark green leaves and heeled sandals made of cord and wood. She wore her customary dark makeup and maroon lipstick. Her midnight hair cascaded down to her back in soft curls and was pinned back at the temples with silver chips adorned with holly berries. "You are beautiful, darling."
"You don't even like Danny," she challenged.
"I did not know he and Prince Phantom were one and the same," her father answered. "Now, come, we are late." It had been late last evening when they arrived after the Time Master had come to him with the news. When the king's messenger arrived an hour later, he had all but shooed the poor boy out the door with a return letter.
Ciarda, had then, broken down and confessed all that she knew. He had been angry and impressed with her at the same time.
Ciarda and Prince Phantom would make an excellent match indeed.
The Rose Garden was beautiful, Danny had to admit, if he'd been paying more attention to where he was going. "Oof!" he muttered, colliding with another hard skull.
"Danny, oh man, am I glad to see you!" Tucker hugged him with a tight squeeze. "So did you make a home run?"
Danny's pale cheeks turned red as he gleaned what his best friend's words meant. "Tucker!"
"That's enough, from both of you," Maddie said, rounding the corner. "Young man..."
"Uh, Mom, uh, hi," Danny stammered, his mind going blank. "I guess I should have told you from the beginning."
"That would have helped," she said, gazing down at the boy. "Well, my human son has merged with a ghost prince and what's done is done."
"Sorry," he apologized. "As Prince Phantom, Mom, I didn't know this was going to happen. But I can promise you, I'm still a virgin. Desiree and I did nothing."
"Aw, nuts," Tucker swore, green eyes teasing. "Guess I still get a shot to be the first one to get some."
"In your dreams," Danny shot back. "We better get going. My parents are waiting."
Maddie nodded and the three of them continued their trek together.
Ciarda watched as the King and Queen of All Ghosts smothered their son with much kissing and embracing. Prince Phantom was cute in his human form. She felt the cold aura wash over her for a moment, the green of her leafy dress fading to brownish red at the edges. Queen Nicole dipped her head and whispered something to the Prince, who looked up at her in shocked surprise.
Prince Phantom. Danny. How she wished she could tell him who she really was.
"Hi, Sam," Tucker said, sitting down next to her.
"How'd you know it was me?" she whispered.
"You're mentally undressing Danny, like you always do," he replied.
"You have the mind of a lecherous old geezer," she hissed. "How'd you really know it's me?"
"The gold band, you're wearing," he said, tapping her hand. "Danny saved up for a whole year to buy that for you for your last birthday. That was just before he merged with Prince Phantom."
"Oh."
On their other side, Undergrowth was engaged in conservation with Maddie about the benefits of articifical horticulturalization. Both laughed at the quiet antics of the two teens sitting next to them and watched Danny talk with his ghostly parents.
"So you are not surprised," he noted.
"Oh, I am," she responded. "I've learned to adapt to any weird situation that arises when it comes to my family. Jack did knock us into another dimension once."
"I remember hearing about that," the Ancient replied. "Would you mind another surprise?"
"No, go ahead," she said, as his form blurred and another familiar man took his place. She looked from him to the ghostly girl with the pupiless emerald eyes sitting next to him. "Jeremy Manson, my, my. And this must be Sam."
"Hope you're not mad, Mrs. Fenton," Ciarda said, hearing the ghost huntress' amused tone.
"Not at all," Maddie answered. "I think it's time we all received some answers around here."
"And that is why I am here, dear woman," the Time Master said, stepping into the clearing.
Desiree smiled. That is why she loved the dear old man.