Disclaimer: This story is completely original. All characters, settings, and events are spawned from my own mixed up little mind and may not be used, copied, or adapted without my express written permission. Do not steal my story!!!

(( Sorry about how long this one is, I couldn't find a good point to break it up. ))

15.

"You look so hungry, you poor child. Have you been wandering this forest all alone...? Oh, poor dear..." The old woman reached out and stroked the younger woman's hand, sympathetically, black eyes glittering over a hooked nose. She smiled to the old lady, gently pulling her hand back.

"Oh, no, I'm fine..."

"But you look so hungry," the woman pressed. She reached into her covered basket, pulling from its depths a red, juicy looking apple. The young woman's eyes widened, filling with the sight of the crimson orb, and she thought to herself just how there had never been a more perfect, more delicious looking apple in the entire world. She was pretty hungry...

"Oh... I shouldn't..."

The old woman held the apple even closer. "Just a bite, my love... Just a single bite and you'll see how delicious and succulent it is. Can't you imagine its sweet juices against your tongue? Just a bite will make you so happy..."

The younger woman reaches out, tentatively framing the apple with her hands, cupping the smooth orb in her palms. She stared down at it. "Well... maybe just a bite..." The old woman nodded furiously, watching with beady, glittering eyes as the young woman raised it to her lips, which parted to take a bite of it.

"That's it... Just a bite, and all your woes will be over..." She leaned forward, watching with now-undisguised glee as the young woman bit down. Her entire body went rigid, her big eyes flying open again as the taste exploded against her tongue, not of sweet fruit, but of bitter poison. The old woman began cackling, ripping her hood back, her white hair flying in the breeze as the apple fell from the young woman's hand, rolling into the dirt.

The young woman stared at the crone in shock. "It's... It's you. But... but we trusted yo..ou..." Then her eyes rolled back in her head and she crumpled to the ground, lifeless. The shadow of the old lady fell over her as the wrinkled woman bent to make sure the deed was finished, holding her hand to those full red lips.

Satisfied, she reached out and scooped up the apple, her face twisted with malicious delight.

"Stupid child. Your kind isn't needed in this world... I'll see to that." She held the apple up, her wrinkles melting away, face smoothing into a younger one. The apple seemed to glow, illuminating eyes that were as crimson as it was, cold and hard as rubies. Laughter chased itself across that face as she turned, pulling her hood up over her head.

"I'll see to it our world is reborn... Princess-less." Her form shuddered with laughter again, red eyes boring into the darkness, boring right into Toby's head.

Toby screamed, jerking herself away from those eyes that seemed to stare right into her, tumbling out of bed and onto the floor. She righted herself frantically, combing her fingers through her hair to get it out of her face. Her back hit the edge of the bed and she finally stilled, her chest heaving, sheets tangled around her feet.

She couldn't shake the sound of that laughter.

Closing her eyes, she groaned and let her head fall back against the mattress behind her. Just great, she couldn't even escape this fairy tale stuff in her dreams. She'd never been one to dream, but ever since Georgette had placed the tiara on her forehead, they'd been getting clearer and clearer... and the feeling of someone watching her, lurking in the shadows, had only gotten keener.

Just what Toby needed.

She sighed and pushed herself to her feet, grabbing her sweatshirt. Her glasses glinted at her from the desk but she ignored them. Apparently being crowned a Princess cured far-sightedness, because Toby had discovered a day ago that she could see perfectly without them. At least something nice had come out of this whole mess. Pulling her sweatshirt on, she pushed the door open, slipping out of the oppressive confines of her room and down the stairs. The house rumbled slightly, as if questioning what she was doing up so late at night, and she hissed at it to be quiet. It was.

Her fingers found the screen door and she slipped out into the cool night air, pausing for a moment to regret her lack of forethought as the chill hit her bare feet. So she sat down on the swinging chair, pulling her pajama legs down over her feet and hugging her knees to her chest.

"You really like it out here, don't you?"

She nearly fell off the chair in shock at Theo's voice, looking up to see him standing on the grass just off the porch, his blue eyes glowing slightly in the darkness, gently whorling. She snorted, wrapping her arms around her legs. "It's quiet and peaceful. And I can keep an eye on my pansies."

Theo grinned. "I see." She looked out over the garden again, aware that his eyes were still on her. The moments stretched out in silence before he finally cleared his throat, looking down at his toes. "So... vines, eh?"

Toby groaned, burying her face in her lap. "Do you have to remind me?" It'd been three days since Julie had tried to grab her tiara, and the authorities were calling the weird incident a 'natural phenomenon that as of yet has to be explained.' All Toby knew is they didn't have school and she hadn't ventured out of the house. She hadn't seen Julie either, not since her mother had shown up, nearly gone white over the scratches on her daughter's skin, and dragged her off to the emergency room.

"Sorry. But that's actually a good thing... sort of," Theo said, climbing the steps to sit down next to her. She eyed him.

"Please, do enlighten me as to how turning my school into an oversized Chia Pet is a good thing."

He chuckled, and Toby could hear the echo of the trumpets she heard when he spoke in her head in the sound. "Each Princess's defense mechanism takes a different form, depending on their personality and strengths. Some turn things into stone, some might summon things like bees or horses, who knows. One Princess had the unfortunate defense mechanism of turning everyone around her into ducks."

"Ducks?"

"Yeah. Imagine how much kissing she had to do to get everyone back to normal." They both laughed at that, then lapsed into a silence that, to Toby, felt strangely comfortable.

"What was Rosalinde's?" she asked, suddenly.

Theo looked at her in surprise, then smiled faintly. "Roses."

"Big surprise there," Toby said with a shake of her head. Rosalinde got roses and all Toby got were vines? That just figured. "Just another example of what a mistake of a Princess I am."

"Don't say that," Theo replied, so angrily that Toby looked up at him in surprise. "You are not a mistake. You're... You're great."

Toby blinked at him for a long minute, then, unexpectedly, found her cheeks feeling hot. Theo tore his gaze from hers, staring out over the gardens again as if embarrassed by his outburst. Toby shifted. "Well... thanks. I'm glad you think that."

Theo just nodded, and they fell into silence again. Toby let her chin rest on her knees, hugging his words to herself quietly. At least someone didn't think she was a total mess-up. She was sure Fiz thought she was an idiot for letting her defense mechanism get activated, and who knew what Verum thought, though Toby privately wondered how someone could be that nice without being really horrible on the inside.

"Are you... are you really so upset about being a Princess? You seem so.. unhappy here," Theo said, and Toby stiffened defensively.

"I'm not. I'm happy."

"Really? Because it doesn't seem like it. You don't have any friends except that boy, you spend most of your time in your garden, and you ... you don't open up. To anyone, not even to that boy. That doesn't seem to be very happy to me." His whorling blue eyes were staring at her quietly, scrutinizingly. She stared resolutely at anything that wasn't him, not answering him. After a long moment of silence, he sighed. "You don't realize just what you mean to our people," he said, finally, his voice strangely soft. He looked out over the garden, contemplative. "Think of what it meant to Abbie, to be able to go home after a hundred years of being trapped on land. Think of what it means to Georgette, to finally have someone to protect, instead of wasting her talents on nothing. And to Verum, who finally has a chance to prove she's more than just the mess-up apprentice of a missing Fairy Godmother."

"How flattering. I already know what I mean to you -- so glad I could relieve your centuries of boredom," Toby snapped, rolling her eyes. Theo frowned at her.

"You don't have the first idea what you mean to me, Toby," he said, in a voice so soft that it made the brunette look over at him in surprise. "You have no idea what my world is like, where I've come from... what a Princess could mean to me. What a friend could mean to me."

Toby stared at him as he looked down at his hands, a furrow in his brow as he continued speaking. "Finding you... it was my one chance to do something right, to actually take part in the Story like it's supposed to go. All my life I've been on the outskirts, unwanted. Coming here... I mean, it hasn't exactly worked out like I thought..." He held up his human hands and looked at them with faint amusement. "... but... you don't treat me like the outcast I've always been. And I know how you feel, Toby. How trapped you can feel by everything around you... How trapped you can feel by who you are."

He looked up at her, smiling slightly. "I think you're great, just as you are. I hope you realize that soon, too." Toby found herself smiling as well. She couldn't help it, she believed every word he said. There was just such honesty in his eyes, and Toby felt an odd sort of connection to him.

"Thanks, Theo," she said softly, reaching out and resting one of her hands on top of his. Surprise flitted across his face, replaced by happiness.

"Toby, I--"

"Ahem." Verum didn't clear her throat, she literally just said "ahem," but it was enough to make them both startle in surprise and look over at her. The glittering young woman was standing on the porch, silly little twig in hand, and her gaze was... well, disapproving, to say the least. "Don't you have some trees to be guarding, Theo dear?" she asked, very pointedly, and Toby saw the blue-haired young man stiffen out of the corner of her eyes.

"Yeah," he said, then stood and stalked off the porch. Toby watched him go, confusion furrowing her brow. She looked up at Verum.

"What was that all about? We were just talking."

"Princess..." Verum sighed, moving around to sit on the swing where Theo had just been. She reached out, putting her hands over Toby's. "Theo is... Theo is very nice. But you must be careful around him. Don't let your guard down around him, no matter how much you sympathize with him. And certainly do not develop any sort of feelings for him."

"What? Are you saying I can't be friends with Theo?" Toby asked, jerking her hands out from underneath Verum's.

The fairy godmother-in-training sighed softly. "You don't understand. He's a dragon. He might be a particularly nice specimen of a dragon, but dragons themselves are violent, evil creatures. They don't make friends with Princesses -- they hunt them down and eat them. That's just what they do. There are no nice dragons in the world... they're dangerous, especially as they grow older. Theo's young right now, but as he grows older that violence inherent in his very being is only going to grow more pronounced, to the point where I doubt even he will be able to handle it. Dragons are beings of fire and steel -- two things that can only destroy. It's just their nature."

"You're saying you think Theo's going to hurt me?"

"Not intentionally. I believe he honestly wishes to live up to his foster mother's expectations. But I'm saying he is who he is, and there will come a day where he can't control himself, just like you can't control the Princess magic from protecting you when there's a threat."

Toby got to her feet, angry for so many reasons. Here was Verum, telling her that one of the people who'd been nicest to her might one day try and kill her. "I don't believe it. I won't believe it. Theo's a good person -- dragon or not. And I won't push him away just because of the rest of his kind. I just won't."

Verum sighed softly. "Toby..."

"It's Princess to you," Toby spat, and stalked off the porch, into the darkness. The grass was cold and wet against her bare feet, dew collecting and wettening her pajama pants, but she didn't care. She was just so angry, so betrayed, it made her stomach twist into angry knots. How dare Verum tell her such terrible things about Theo? How could he be such a horrible being? He was over-exuberant, sure, and annoying and head-strong and a terrible pain in the butt, but when he looked at her it was always with a smile, and when Toby was with him it was always.. comfortable. She just couldn't believe that that was wrong.

She paused on the edge of the small pond, picking up several stones. Flicking her wrist, she skipped it across the smooth surface, counting three hops before it disappeared into the darkness of the night. She sighed. This was all so complicated...

A rustle behind her made her look over her shoulder with a frown. "Theo? Verum?" she called, looking over the bushes. There was no response, just silence. Unease trickled down her back like cold water. "Hey! Who's there? Show yourself right now!" she yelled, gripping the remaining stones in her hand tightly.

Suddenly a hand closed around her upper arm. She turned, staring right into the most hideous, the most alien face she'd ever seen. A low, heavy brow partially obscured eyes that were black and dark as the inky sky so far above them. They viewed her with a detached curousity, large ears like a donkey's but laid back twitching as if in thought. He -- if it was even a he -- had coarse hair, spiked up in a mohawk, beads, feathers, and other knicknacks woven into the braids that dotted it as it tumbled down his back. He was hunched over; if he straightened he would easily have made eight feet tall. He raised one thick finger to scratch at the side of his mouth, two thick tusks protruding from between his thick lips.

"Princess," the troll muttered, and Toby realized that her tiara had sprung into visiblity, cool against her brow.

Toby inhaled and then screamed as loud as she could. The troll flinched and Toby screamed again and again. "Stop Princess stop noise is loud is hurting is bad stop!" the troll blubbered, releasing her and fumbling back. Toby stumbled back, screaming again, the dew soaking her pants.

Fire burst from the bushes, lighting up the night air. The troll flung an arm up, part of the ground detaching itself and forming a wall that scattered the fire harmlessly. The troll took one last look at Toby, who was desperately panting for breath and preparing to scream again, and turned and fled into the darkness with a loping, slow gait.

Theo was hot on the heels of his fireball, skidding to a stop protectively in front of Toby. He stared into the darkness with blue eyes that were whirling agitatedly, then turned and knelt in front of Toby. "Toby..." he said, looking over her with obvious concern.

"I'm okay," Toby said with a smile. Fiz rocketed into view, sparkling dimly even in the darkness, and Toby wondered if all fairy tales creatures came with built in glow-in-the-dark features.

"Where is it? What is it? I'll protect you, Princess!" he said, whipping that tiny toothpick of a sword around in search of the danger. Toby laughed, taking Theo's hand and getting to her feet, even as Verum, followed by Toby's mother, still pulling her housecoat on, came into view.

"It's okay," she repeated. "It's gone."

Verum shot Theo a look that Toby couldn't quite decipher, and the dragon stepped away from Toby, folding his arms over his chest and looking away. Toby felt anger stir inside of her, but then her mother was hugging her tightly, babbling about her poor little baby and how she was so sorry.

"Troll?" Verum asked Theo, and the dragon nodded. Verum inhaled. "Then that's that. They know who and where you are now, Princess. I'm sorry, but you have to leave. This place isn't safe."

Toby swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. "... okay," she finally said. "But not because I'm afraid. Because I don't want to get anyone else hurt. I nearly got Julie killed, and if it had been a band of trolls instead of just one, Mom would be in danger. I can't take that chance."

"Very wise, Princess," Fiz commented with a bright smile.

"You're not going tonight, either way. You'll go tomorrow, after you've had a good breakfast and a chance to pack. I doubt the trolls will be back that soon," Toby's mother said, determinedly, holding herself rather well despite the fact she was obviously upset at the idea of her daughter leaving. Toby smiled and hugged her.

"All right. Tomorrow, then."

"Yes. Fiz, go ahead to the Court and tell them that the Last Princess in the land of Believe will be arriving tomorrow. Tell them to be ready to receive her," Verum instructed and Fiz snapped to a sharp salute.

"Right!" And then he zipped off into the night sky, leaving Toby's mom hugging her tightly and Verum doing rapid mental calculations as to how many bubbles it would take to carry them all off or something like that. Toby leaned into her mother, gazing past her mother's arm at the blue-haired boy who was still staring off into the darkness.