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Once Upon a Time
Chalant – "Sleeping Beauty"
Part Five
The three fairies came bursting into the tower room. They all heard the cruel sound of Klarion's laughter and their hearts sank in their chests.
Klarion stood in the center of the room. The smirk on his face told the trio that they were too late. "You poor, simple fools," he sneered at the fairies. "You were stupid to think that the likes of you could ever outsmart me! I am the Lord of Chaos!" Klarion laughed his cold, evil laugh once more. "Here's your precious princess!" he taunted.
The imp stepped aside to reveal that Princess Zatanna lay spread eagled on the cold stone floor. Her tiara had fallen off of her head, and she was so still that if the fairies had not known better, they might have thought her dead.
Klarion had not thought to ensure that his curse had truly come to pass. The evil imp disappeared in a flash of blue lightning. His laughter echoed off of the stone walls of the tower.
"Zee," Artemis murmured sadly as she and her fellow fairies crossed the fallen princess's side. She glanced at both Megan and Dinah. Silent tears streamed down the redhead's face. Dinah looked uncharacteristically angry.
"I will never forgive myself," the pink clad fairy sobbed.
Artemis looked up at the older woman, preparing to comfort her, when she noticed something. The sun had just finished its descent through the sky. Klarion had struck just when he'd said he would.
0o0o0o0
King Giovanni and Queen Sindella took their seats in the throne room. The queen slid one hand into her husband's and peered anxiously at the spiral staircase in the opposite corner of the room. It was this staircase that the princess would descend when she was to make her appearance.
All of the nobility had gathered in the throne room as well. There was to be a feast and a ball in honor of Princess Zatanna's return. The lords and ladies all milled around the room talking amongst themselves.
King Bruce approached his fellow monarchs. He still had yet to tell them of Richard's decision to break off the engagement between himself and Zatanna. Bruce knew that his son must truly have fallen for his peasant girl if he felt comfortable breaking his obligations.
The foreign king hoped the conversation he was about to have would not be too ugly. Giovanni and Sindella were his dearest friends and he hoped he would not offend them as badly as he feared he might. Gothame could not afford a war with York.
"There is something I must discuss with you, Giovanni," Bruce said gravely as he drew closer to his fellow king.
Giovanni turned to the other man. "I am sure it can wait," he said in a distracted tone. The king's green eyes turned back toward the staircase.
"It's about Richard," Bruce added.
That got Giovanni's attention. "Oh, yes. Richard. Where is the boy? Zatanna will be here at any moment. He should be on hand to meet her."
"I am trying to tell you," Bruce answered. "It is a very difficult thing to say, Giovanni. You see, my son has-"
"Send for him at once," Giovanni ordered.
Gothame's monarch let out a sigh. He was about to try to speak to his friend again when a trumpet blared in the distance once more.
"The sun has set!" announced the trumpeter. "The princess shall be here at any moment!"
The crowd cheered. A grand display of fireworks exploded across the sky above the courtyard. Everyone present was ecstatic. The princess had come home at last.
0o0o0o0
Megan, Dinah, and Artemis had moved the princess from the tower where she'd fallen victim to Klarion's magic. The trio of fairies had used their magic to carry the slumbering princess into her tower bedchamber. They placed her on the bed and covered her with the blanket.
Dinah conjured a rose and placed it in Zee's hands. She had also placed the crown back atop her head. The princess looked so lovely with the golden crown in her dark locks and wearing the beautiful gown Megan had so lovingly made for her. It was a shame that all of their carefully laid plans had been for nothing.
The pink fairy was wringing her hands. "We have failed," Megan said sadly. She reached down to brush some stray hair away from the princess's face. A single tear rolled down her cheek.
None of the fairies could bear to look at their beloved princess in this state. Megan turned away from the sleeping maiden and walked out onto the balcony. The green and black fairies joined her.
Below in the courtyard, the people of York were rejoicing over the return of their princess. Megan began to sob harder. Dinah patted the younger woman's shoulder.
Soon, the fairies knew, Giovanni and Sindella would wonder why their daughter had not made her entrance. The king and queen would come to investigate, and the trio of fairies would have to explain that Klarion had gotten his way after all.
"Poor Giovanni and Sindella," the black fairy murmured.
"They'll be heartbroken," the redhead added as she wiped her face.
But Artemis had had an idea. "The king and queen will not find out," the youngest blonde said firmly. "We will put everyone in the castle to sleep, just like Zee. Then we will go home to the cottage, find the boy, and bring him here to break the spell."
The older fairies looked to each other and then back at the sleeping Zee. She was counting on them. Artemis's plan made a lot of sense. Both women nodded in agreement. The middle fairy pulled the drapes shut to hide the princess and then the trio took to the skies.
Megan, Dinah, and Artemis turned themselves miniature. Slowly but surely, the trio made their way around the castle walls. They put all of the guards to sleep using their magic before entering the palace to do the same.
Servants and nobility alike were all put to sleep under the trio's magic spell. Many people yawned before simply slumping over right where they stood. None of them looked very comfortable, but that was not a concern for the three fairies at the moment.
The redhead flew over to Giovanni, Sindella, and Bruce. The queen appeared to be asleep already, probably as a result of all the sleeping dust that was flying around. The pair of kings both looked quite sleepy as well. King Bruce was slumped against Giovanni's throne.
"As I was trying to tell you," Bruce said through a yawn, "Richard will not be joining us after all. He does not wish to marry Zatanna. He met some peasant girl."
Giovanni yawned as well. He placed his elbow on the arm rest of his ornate throne so that he could rest his chin in his hand. He mumbled something in a tired voice.
But the monarch's words had gotten to Megan. Prince Richard had fallen in love with a peasant girl? The odds of that happening didn't seem very likely. Unless...
The pink clad fairy immediately tried to wake up the foreign king. "A peasant girl? Where did he meet her?" She tugged at the king's hair, hoping that it would startle him awake.
The sleeping spell was a powerful one, however. King Bruce was too deeply under the spell to be roused by the fairy pulling his hair. Frustrated, Megan hovered next to Bruce's right ear. She yelled, "But where did he meet this girl?" as loudly as she could manage to.
Bruce heard her that time. "Once upon a dream," the monarch uttered sleepily. The ruler turned his face away from Megan and fell back asleep almost instantaneously.
This information was enough for Megan. She frantically waved her fellow fairies over to where she hovered. Dinah and Artemis finished making sure that all of the humans were asleep before they joined the middle fairy.
"What is the problem, Megan?" Dinah asked the younger fairy.
Megan's face paled. "King Bruce said that Prince Richard met a girl 'once upon a dream.' Don't you remember? Zee said the same thing."
"So Prince Richard is the boy Zatanna met in the woods," Artemis said slowly. A smile broke out across the youngest girl's face. It looked like things for the princess would work out after all. The blonde fairy was glad for that; she truly was.
Neither Dinah nor Megan smiled back at her. "We must go back to the cabin," Dinah said. "If Klarion knew when to strike against Zee, I bet he was following us. Richard was going to the cottage. We cannot leave the prince unprotected. Klarion will kill him."
Artemis hadn't thought of that. But the black fairy was correct. An ordinary human stood no chance against the Lord of Chaos.
The trio of fairies exited the palace at once. They took off into the night, hoping against all odds that they were not too late.
0o0o0o0
Prince Richard felt his spirits rise as a cottage came into view. Just as the girl had said, it was the only dwelling in the entire forest. He began to hum their song again.
It was probably foolish to say that he had fallen in love with the mysterious maiden after knowing her for only a few short hours. But to the future king, it certainly felt as if he had fallen in love. Even though it had only taken an afternoon to complete the trip to Giovanni's palace and return to the forest, it seemed to the young royal that it had been ages. He did not like to be away from his maiden.
He could not wait to make her his bride. He was sure that once he informed her of his royal title, she would be quite agreeable to marrying him. She'd seemed to be just as enchanted by him as he was with her. Richard felt quite confident that she'd have him whether he was a prince or a commoner.
The prince dismounted Ace and left him to graze near the cabin. He straightened his cape so that it hung evenly and gave the horse a winning smile. Ace whinnied halfheartedly before going back to eating.
Richard knocked upon the Dutch door. A high pitched voice replied, "Come in." He did just that.
He found that the dwelling was dark inside. The prince frowned. Something was not right here. Fear pricked at him. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
The door, which he had left slightly ajar, slammed shut, seemingly of its own accord. When Richard turned to investigate, he was ambushed.
His attackers were strange little creatures. He had no idea what they were, only that their glowing yellow eyes had a distinctly sinister look to them. Richard fought against them as best he could, but he was simply outnumbered. The assailants had his arms bent back at a painful angle. There was no way for the prince to reach the small dagger that hung on his belt.
Soon the little goblins had his wrists bound behind his back. A gag was shoved into his mouth. The prince stopped struggling, knowing it was futile.
A figure stepped out of the shadows. It carried a lit candle. As it drew closer to him, Richard recognized it. It was Klarion, the Lord of Chaos. Richard had not seen the imp since he had been a small child at Princess Zatanna's christening, but the prince remembered being plagued by nightmares involving Klarion for years afterwards. He would know that repulsive face anywhere.
"Well, well, what have we here?" Klarion simpered. "A pleasant surprise, that is for sure. It is so lovely to see you again, my dear Prince Richard. And to think, I set this trap expecting to find a commoner. How delightful it is to have captured a prince instead." Beside Klarion, his familiar Teekl purred in a contented sort of way.
Klarion snapped his fingers. "Take him to my dungeon." ordered the Lord of Chaos. "But be gentle, my pets. I have plans for our royal guest." Klarion laughed a cold laugh as his minions frog marched Prince Richard out of the cabin.
The prince was not afraid for himself, however. He was beginning to put the pieces together. And he knew that the girl from the forest was in danger.
0o0o0o0
The three fairies made their way through the forest at a breakneck pace. As they approached the cottage, however, all felt as if they were already too late. The trio flew into the dwelling that had been their home for the past sixteen years via the open Dutch door.
There were signs of a struggle: broken dishes on the floor, chairs knocked over, and curtains that had been torn down from the windows. The most telling sign was a long black cape crumpled in a heap on the floor. Upon closer inspection, the fastening on the cape bore the insignia of the royal family of Gothame.
"Prince Richard," Dinah murmured, picking the cape up from the floor. "This must belong to him."
"Klarion," Artemis muttered with disgust. "He'll have taken the prince to the Forbidden Mountain, I bet."
Megan's expression was one of fear. "But we can't go there," she stammered. Her face was pale and her kind hazel eyes were round with terror.
The oldest of the fairies put a comforting hand on Megan's shoulder. "We can," the black clad woman said firmly. "And we will. The prince is Zee's only hope. Be brave, Megan. We are in this together."
Megan nodded. She and her two blonde companions turned themselves miniature again so that they could travel.
Klarion's fortress practically oozed wickedness. The castle was large and black, placed at the very top of the biggest mountain range in the land. A permanent black cloud swirled over the domain. Lightning crackled and thunder roared. These sounds were particularly loud because of Klarion's good mood.
The three fairies stood at the base of the mountain. Megan looked up at the castle with trepidation. Dinah patted her shoulder again. And then the three took deep breaths and began the long march up the drawbridge.
Getting into Klarion's domain was slow going. The fairies could not afford to be seen by any of Klarion's minions. Going up against the Lord of Chaos was a big enough risk on its own; he did not need to be tipped off about their presence. It was incredibly lucky that the goons on duty never spotted them.
When Megan, Dinah, and Artemis were quite sure they were past all of the guards on the perimeter, they took to the skies to see if they could find any clues. They hovered high above the castle. It was Artemis who spotted a large group of Klarion's goblins dancing and chanting in primitive language around a roaring fire of the imp's signature brilliant blue flames.
She waved Dinah and Megan over to her. When they saw the way the creatures were behaving, both the black and pink fairies made faces of great disgust. "They're barbarians," Megan whispered, clearly horrified at the display.
Klarion sat on his throne. His face wore a smug, snakelike grin. The trio saw his lips moving. Megan quickly cast a spell so that they could hear Klarion's words.
"It is a pity that Prince Richard is not here to join in our celebration," he remarked to Teekl. The Lord of Chaos stroked the familiar lazily. Artemis clenched her fists and felt her blood begin to boil. Dinah's face showed that she clearly agreed.
In the throne room, the imp laughed cruelly and stood. "Come along, Teekl. We must go to the dungeon and cheer him up."
This was the trio's chance. They made sure that none of the goblins were looking at them and then followed after Klarion.
It was easy to see Klarion's dark figure make its way down a long flight of stone steps. The tunnel was surprisingly well lit. The fairies hung back as Klarion took an iron key from its peg by the door. He fitted it into the lock and then stepped inside the dungeon.
Immediately, Artemis, Megan, and Dinah followed after the imp. They watched through the slots in the dungeon door as the demon approached Prince Richard.
The prince was bound to the dungeon wall completely. Iron manacles were secured around both of his wrists and both of his ankles. Despite the fact that he was completely at Klarion's mercy, Richard had the gall to glare up at his captor. "Let me go," the prince commanded gruffly. He had to be frightened out of his mind but did not give Klarion the satisfaction of knowing that.
"I like him," Artemis told her companions. Both of the older girls quieted her.
"And why would I do that?" Klarion simpered. "Our fun has only just begun, dear boy."
Klarion conjured himself a throne identical to the one in his throne room. He settled down on it as if he intended to stay for quite awhile. "My dear prince, you have quite the future ahead of you. You fancy yourself the dashing hero of a charming fairy tale come to life, I imagine. The maiden you met today is in fact the princess you've been betrothed to. Isn't that a wonderful coincidence, Richard?" he asked in a tone that was entirely too pleasant for Klarion.
"You see," Klarion went on, "those foolish little fairies don't know that I know that the princess isn't dead. All those years ago I knew that that wretched little Artemis would do something to combat my curse. And she did. She made it so that if Princess Zatanna were kissed by her true love – that would be you – she would wake up and everything would be sunshine and rainbows."
"True love," the prince repeated. Despite everything, a brief little smile crossed Richard's handsome face.
The imp bobbed his head. "It's absolutely sickening. So here is what I'm going to do. You are going to stay in this dungeon until you are old and gray. Then I will set you free. You'll still be able to wake your precious princess, but I daresay she won't have much use for you. She will still be young and lovely, and you shall be older than her father."
Richard got to his feet. The smile was completely gone now, leaving only anger in its wake. He lunged for Klarion but of course could not reach the demon.
Artemis let out a gasp at Klarion's words. The imp's plans were cruel and it was clear that he was only doing these things for the fun of it. How could it possibly benefit him in any way to make the young royals suffer so?
Teekl's sharp eyes turned towards the fairies as soon as the sound escaped from Artemis's lips. Dinah and Megan acted quickly, each seizing one of the green girl's arms and pulling her and themselves out of sight. Finally, the familiar turned back to his master.
Klarion reached for the cat. He patted the top of Teekl's head. "Come along, my pet. We will leave our dear Prince Richard to these happy thoughts." The familiar trotted along at Klarion's heels as the demon crossed the small cell to the door. When the trio saw him coming, they dove behind an ugly gargoyle. They were able to hide just in time to avoid being seen.
The Lord of Chaos turned the key in the lock. "I shall sleep well tonight," he declared to Teekl as they started up the long staircase together.
When he was completely out of sight, the fairies jumped into action immediately. They flew into the cell through the slots in the door. The prince was sitting with his face in his hands. The pink fairy felt a rush of sympathy. Megan, Dinah, and Artemis quickly transformed into their full sized selves. Richard looked up in alarm. His blue eyes were wide.
Megan pressed a finger to her lips. "Be quiet, please, Your Majesty. We are here to help."
He nodded. "I remember you. You are the three good fairies."
"That's right," Dinah said, pleased. She pointed her wand at one of the shackles. It opened instantly.
"Zatanna is still alive?" Richard questioned. "It is not too late for me to go to her?"
Artemis shook her head. She unlocked the final shackle. "But don't think for a moment that you have seen the last of Klarion," she warned the mortal. "This is going to be very dangerous."
Megan and Dinah looked to each other. They exchanged a grim nod at the younger woman's assessment. "We will arm you, Prince Richard."
Dinah waved her wand. "This is the shield of virtue," the black fairy explained as a large shield appeared on his arm. "It will be impervious to Klarion's magic."
The pink fairy summoned forth a sword. "This is the sword of truth. It never fails its master. Your aim will be swift and sure when you wield this sword."
Richard took a couple of practice swings with his new weapon. It felt good in his hands. He had a feeling that the sword would serve him well.
The green fairy aimed her wand at the door. It sprung open in an instant.
The quartet ran out of the dungeon together. However, they were met by Teekl on the stairs. The cat took off lightning fast, howling at the top of his lungs and creating a terrible racket.
They all froze for a moment. How quickly could Teekl reach his master? If they took off after the cat, they could be walking into a trap.
"This way," the prince hissed as he started down a corridor that led the opposite way. Megan, Dinah, and Artemis followed in the royal's footsteps. They hoped against all odds that wherever he was leading them had an exit.
The prince's path led to another staircase. The heroes started up the steps, only to have a run in with a gang of Klarion's goons. Prince Richard slashed at the minions, which gave them pause. It was enough time for the quartet to scramble back down the flight of steps. They turned down another hallway. Light was visible at the end of the corridor. The fairies rushed down it while Richard brought up the rear, hacking and slashing with the sword of truth.
Ace was chained to a pillar in the courtyard. Dinah freed the stallion at once. Richard was pulling himself into the saddle when they heard Teekl howl again. The young royal looked up to see another group of minions. They were perched high above the courtyard and they were armed with boulders. The goblins pushed with all their might until the rocks began to fall.
Richard felt his heart race. His shield was specifically for magic, not rocks. And there was no way he could protect Ace as well. Surely they would be crushed.
"Oh no you don't!" Artemis bellowed. With a flick of her wand, the green fairy transformed the boulders into flower petals. They floated harmlessly to the ground.
Richard hastily clambered into the saddle. Ace began to gallop across the courtyard. Teekl began to howl once more. The familiar darted up towards the tower that held Klarion's bedchamber.
Artemis was more than a little tired of Klarion's familiar. She saw that Richard and her fellow fairies had almost cleared the walls of the fortress. The green fairy allowed a satisfied smirk to cross her face. She chased after him, casting spell after spell and sending them his way. The feline dodged them expertly. He grew steadily closer to the tower door, still howling with all his might.
Finally, Artemis managed to hit the cat with her magic. Green sparks exploded around Teekl and turned him to stone. Satisfied with this, the youngest fairy turned and followed after the rest of her group.
Klarion appeared in the doorway. "What is the meaning of all this racket?" screeched the imp. "We will continue to celebrate my victory in the morning. For now, I must rest."
His dark eyes slid over the now stone form of his beloved familiar. He began to shake with a murderous rage. "How dare you!" bellowed Klarion.
Prince Richard and his mount were nearly clear of the fortress. They had just reached the drawbridge. Klarion used his dark magic to pull the bridge up.
"Just keep going!" Megan ordered. "We'll see to it that you land safely!"
The prince nodded. "You heard her, boy," he said. Ace kept galloping as instructed. He leapt as high as he could and nearly made it across the gap. The fairies caught the steed with their magic and set him down gently on the other side.
Klarion climbed to the tallest tower of his fortress. This gave him a better vantage point to see the escaping prince and the trio of fairies.
"A forest of thorns will be your tomb," the Lord of Chaos chanted. "Born of the sky to bring your doom! Now go, wicked curse, serve me well. Around the palace, cast my spell!"
A thick cloud in Klarion's signature vivid blue began to swirl around Giovanni's palace in the distance. There was a loud clap of thunder and a bolt of lightning struck down the drawbridge that led to the palace. A patch of thorns, thick and gnarled, began to grow. More lightning struck and thorns sprang up wherever it touched. The brambles spread slowly but surely toward the prince and his horse. Ace stopped suddenly.
Richard hacked and slashed at the brambles as best he could using his enchanted sword. He was aided by the fairies. The process was agonizingly slow, but together they cut a path through the thicket of thorns. As soon as the way forward was clear once more, Ace began to gallop towards the castle.
"No!" Klarion screeched. This was not supposed to happen. No mere mortal was allowed to defeat him! He was the Lord of Chaos, the Master of all evil! "I will not allow this!"
The demon teleported himself to the path in front of the king's castle in a flash of blue light. He laughed his evil laugh.
Ace reared up on his hind legs in fright. Richard's blue eyes were wide with horror. But he knew that the only way for him to get to Zatanna would be to face Klarion, so the prince called forth every ounce of courage he possessed.
"Now you shall deal with me, dear prince, and all the powers of hell!" Klarion declared.
The imp was engulfed in blue light once more. His form shifted and grew until it resembled what Richard recognized as a dragon.
It was a monstrous beast. Its scales were Klarion's signature vivid blue and it snapped its jaws angrily. The prince only felt his resolve strengthen. He was the only hope to rid the land of Klarion for good. He and Ace charged forward to meet the beast.
The fairies lurked behind Prince Richard. As the future king rode off to the battle, Artemis attempted to go to his aid. Dinah held her back. "This is Richard's battle now, dear," she said.
Richard and Ace continued to charge at Klarion. The dragon blew a great gulf of blue flames at the two. Richard threw his shield up to protect himself, but the force of the fire was so great that he was thrown off of Ace. The trio of fairies quickly cast a protective spell on the horse to keep him impervious to the flames.
A second shower of flames burned away a section of the path between Richard and Klarion. The prince stumbled back to avoid falling into the chasm that Klarion had just created.
Richard was an extremely clever young man. He took advantage of the smoke that had appeared with Klarion's flames. He dashed back into the forest of thorns. The prince waited until Klarion drew close, looking for him. The fairies waited with their hands over their mouths. Ace whinnied in distress.
Klarion moved closer, seeking his prey. He hissed in annoyance and snapped his jaws loudly. As soon as the dragon was within range, Prince Richard leapt out from his hiding space. He sliced the dragon clean across its snout. Klarion roared furiously and drew back from the prince.
The dragon breathed flames at every inch of the thorn forest until it was completely ablaze. Richard scrambled away until he backed up against a cliff that had formed due to Klarion's actions. "Climb!" Artemis shouted.
Richard did just that. Klarion lunged for him again, his great jaws snapping angrily. The dragon climbed atop the ledge with him, effectively backing Richard to the edge of the cliff. Below the cliff was nothing but blue flames.
Another jet of fire knocked Richard's shield into the fiery pit below. Artemis, Megan, and Dinah joined the prince in his battle. They all pointed their wands at the sword clenched in Richard's hand.
"Sword of truth, fly straight and true," they said together. "Ensure that evil shall lose and good shall endure."
The prince knew what he had to do. He flung the sword at Klarion with all of his might. It landed in the center of the dragon's chest. Sticky crimson blood began to ooze from Klarion's wound. The dragon made a terrible shrieking sound. Klarion staggered forward and nearly knocked Richard into the inferno. The prince managed to hang on by his fingertips and pulled himself onto the cliff just as Klarion fell into the inferno.
And then the dragon vanished. All that remained of the Lord of Chaos was the sword that had killed him, the blade of which blackened and then crumpled into ash.
Ace was released from his bubble by Megan's magic. The steed went to his master's side. Richard pulled himself to his feet as the trio of fairies came to join him and Ace.
The prince patted his mount wearily. "Well Ace, I suppose you've earned those carrots after all," the prince said. Ace made a joyous sound.
It was a long trudge up to the castle. As the group of heroes made their way up to the palace all of the destruction Klarion had caused was repaired.
Richard dashed into the courtyard. It was full of sleeping nobility. He paid them little mind, however. His eyes scanned the palace for the tallest tower where he knew Zatanna lay asleep.
"This way, dear," Megan told him. She and the other fairies led him up the spiral staircase to Zatanna's bedchamber. He was halfway across the room when Artemis stopped him.
"Your Majesty, perhaps you should let us clean you up," she suggested kindly.
Richard looked down at himself. His clothes were badly singed in places and reeked of smoke. "You are correct," he replied. He stood very still so that his companions could work their magic. His midnight blue tunic was repaired, as were his breeches and boots. The cape that had fallen off in his scuffle with Klarion's minions hung around his shoulders once more.
"You look very handsome, Your Majesty," Megan offered kindly. And then she and her fellow fairies left the prince to his princess.
The future king looked down at his bride. She looked especially lovely, he thought. There was a golden crown in her long dark locks and she was wearing a violet gown. There was even a rose in her hands. Upon further reflection, he recognized Queen Sindella's delicate features in Zatanna's face and wondered why he had not seen the resemblance before.
Prince Richard knelt at Zatanna's side. He pressed his lips to hers gently.
Zatanna's cerulean eyes fluttered open. Her mouth curved into a smile. "It's you," she murmured. "I am confused. You were the prince all along? How did I end up in bed? And what was that strange laughter I heard?"
He frowned. "That was probably Klarion, the Lord of Chaos. He cursed you when you were a baby. That is why the fairies took you away."
She considered his words for a moment. "That does make sense. But where is he now?"
"You needn't worry about him any longer, my darling. Klarion shall not harm you again."
"Truly?" Zatanna questioned.
"Truly," the prince answered. He rested his forehead against hers.
Now the princess grinned. "Then I suppose you may kiss me again."
Richard obeyed without complaint. When he broke the kiss, he smiled at the maiden. "I am told there is to be quite the party in celebration of your return," he said. "And I am sure your parents are quite anxious to see you." The royal got to his feel and offered her his arm. Together, they made their way down the spiral staircase.
Trumpets announced their arrival to the gathered nobility. The guests cheered and clapped for their princess, but the maiden did not once lift her gaze away from Richard. He kept his gaze on her as well.
The young royal couple walked up to Giovanni and Sindella's thrones. Richard had just started to sink into a bow when King Bruce suddenly moved to stand in front of his son. "What is the meaning of this?" the visiting monarch inquired. "The last time I spoke to you, you had sworn not to marry Zatanna."
"Father," Richard said in a tired voice, "it is a very long story. I shall have to tell you of it some other time."
"I look forward to that," the king said dryly. He then turned his gaze to the princess. He took her hand and kissed it. "Princess Zatanna, I know you do not remember me, but it is good to see you again. I am King Bruce. And if I may, Princess, you look just like your mother."
She smiled, pleased at this compliment. She watched the other king move away. She curtsied to her mother and father as Richard bowed.
Queen Sindella held out her arms. Zatanna hurried toward her mother at once and embraced her. "It is good to have you home," the queen said in her gentle voice. Sindella pulled back and touched her daughter's face. "We have so many things to talk about. I look forward to it, my dear."
The princess smiled again. "I look forward to it as well, Mother," she replied. And Zee truly meant that. She looked up at King Giovanni, who smiled down at her with a proud expression on his features. "Father," Zatanna said simply. She moved to embrace her other parent. The king's hold was tight. The princess felt her father's lips brush against her forehead.
Zatanna turned back to Richard. The prince held out his hand to her. She took it and he led her into the center of the room. The musicians struck up a waltz for the couple to dance to. Zee was vaguely aware of other lords and ladies joining them, but to tell the truth she only had eyes for her intended.
"I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream..." he murmured so that only she could hear him.
"I know you, the gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam..." the princess replied.
The trio of fairies were watching the festivities from one of the balconies overlooking the throne room. Artemis and Dinah were surprised to see Megan wiping at her eyes with a pink handkerchief. "Megan dear, whatever is the matter?" Dinah questioned.
"I love a happy ending," the redhead gushed. Her hazel gaze fell on the prince and princess once more. "Her dress is purple!" she exclaimed, as if it had only just occurred to her. "Make it yellow."
Artemis promptly turned the garment purple once more. Another fight broke out between the two younger fairies, with Zee's dress changing color at every turn. The princess was oblivious to this, however, and danced on with her prince.
And they lived happily ever after.