Fenris stood in dumbfounded silence, staring at where the stairs should have been for several moments, until Anna spoke up.
"Don't ask how the stairs vanished, magic I expect. Mother hired a mage to create the tower, she probably had him remove the stairs, too." She looked unhappily at the sharp drop that awaited them. Then Fenris remembered something.
"Tell me more about your hair. It grants wishes?"
"Yes, when you kiss it. But it only works when still attached to my head. Father tried to cut some off once, thinking he could sell it and get some gold to the royal coffers, but the strand turned yellow and-" she didn't get any further as Fenris pulled a strand of glorious black hair to him, kissed it reverently and said;
"I wish there were stairs so that we may safely leave the tower." And lo and behold, there were a set of stone stairs leading in a spiral all the way down to a door that had appeared on the bottom. Fenris had not wished for a door, but figured it was a gift horse and took Anna's hand in his. It was soft and warm and her fingers fit the space between his perfectly.
"Let us go" he said, and hand in hand they walked down from the tower and through the door, into the sunlight. The moment the last bit of Anna's hair was out of the tower it vanished, as if it had never been there. Magical objects tend to do that when they've fulfilled the task they were created for. Anna kicked of her slippers and stood barefoot in the grass, laughing and crying.
"Four years" she finally managed, "four years since I felt the grass beneath my feet." She threw herself in Fenris' arms, covering his face with kisses.
"Thank you" she breathed between kisses. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
Fenris was about to reply, with what he did not know (probably something disgustingly mushy). Unfortunately, before he could prove to her that even though he looked fierce with his leather armor and his scars and white hair, he was really a complete sap, a very unwelcome noise was heard.
A dragon roared over their heads.
Anna proved to have quicker reactions than Fenris as she took his hand and started running, pulling him along. They sped across the grass, not daring to look back in case the sight of the dragon they could as of now only hear made them freeze in terror. They sprinted towards the dubious safety of the woods, and soon found themselves under the trees.
Anna clung to Fenris, out of breath and wild-eyed with fear.
"I have read about dragons" she panted, "but I never thought I'd get chased by one!" Fenris said nothing, just held her closer. He might be a rather brave swordsman, but even he had never attempted to take on a dragon alone. And besides; he wasn't alone, he had to protect his lovely princess.
They looked anxiously to the skies for several moments, but it seemed the dragon had only wanted to scare them as it was nowhere in sight. Finally, Fenris dared to think that they were safe.
"Let's get you home" he told his princess and got to bask in another of those wonderful smiles.
"Yes" Anna agreed, "and then we will be married." They stared besottedly at each other for a few moments before either of them had enough sense to get moving. Still holding hands like the new lovers they were, they started through the woods in the direction Anna insisted led to Kirkwall.
After a few hours, Anna suddenly stopped cold with a whimper of pain. Fenris spun around, ready to slaughter whatever it was that had hurt his princess, when he realised that he had lost his sword. Well, he had not as much lost it as forgotten it in Anna's tower. It had vanished when the tower did. And then he saw what had hurt his princess. The patch of woods they had been walking through was not only full of trees, but brambles. It was the nice sort that grows blackberries in the autumn, but it was still a most wicked enemy of long hair. And Anna's dark locks were hopelessly entangled. No matter how Anna or Fenris tugged at it or tried to wrangle it free, stuck she stayed.
"Oh, this blasted hair!" Anna yelled in pure frustration as she tried once more to free herself from the thorns, but it was useless. Tears of frustration and hopelessness leaked from her pretty blue eyes and Fenris made another desperate attempt to free her, but without his sword it was useless.
"There is nothing to do" Anna cried, "you must leave me and go! Get help!"
"No!" Fenris yelled as he pulled at the hair once more. "I am not leaving you!"
Anna sobbed again, helpless and infuriated. Then Fenris thought of something and could have kicked himself for not doing so sooner. He grabbed Anna by the arms and stared into her eyes.
"Anna" he said, a tone of desperation in his voice for night was falling at this point and there was still a dragon around somewhere, "tell me you have never wished upon your hair." Anna stared at him like he was mad.
"Of course I haven't! What'd be the point?" Fenris laughed, delirious with joy, and kissed her sweet lips.
"Okay" she said, confused. "What did I do?"
But Fenris ignored her. He pulled at one of the strands as far as he could and held it in front of Anna's mouth.
"Kiss it!" He ordered, and saw in her eyes that she understood.
Anna pressed a quick, but reverent kiss to her own hair and cried,
"I wish my hair would be cut!"
No sooner had she uttered these words before a loud snap! Was heard through the forest and her hair seemed to be cut off, the impossibly long black strands falling uselessly to the ground, still tangled in the briars. The princess stood shocked, staring at what used to be her hair as it paled to the same colour of ripened wheat. Tresses of the same colour fell over her back, ending just above her waist.
"M-my hair" she stammered, confused. Fenris laughed in breathless delight as he pressed her to his breast.
"Anna, my Anna, you wished it to be cut - and wished yourself free in the process!"
Anna laughed too, delirious with joy.
"When it is cut, it looses its power! There is no longer a reason to hide me away!" They beamed at each other, looking even more like besotted fools than before. Then, still laughing with joy, they started the long walk back to Kirkwall.
When Anna and Fenris, who still held hands, entered the throne room the following morning (they had walked for most of the night and were completely exhausted, but happy to have reached their destination) they caused a bit of a stir. The first person to find their senses in the general bedlam was the woman Fenris had seen in the woods about four days previous. He now knew her to be Queen Leandra, Anna's mother - and her jailor.
"Our son has been returned to us!" Queen Leandra cried with delight as she rose, arms outstretched towards Anna who immediately shrank back against Fenris, looking for all the world like she just wanted to turn tail and run. Fenris stepped in front of her, protectively, sword in hand. This woman had hurt his Anna enough. One more time and he'd run her through, queen mother or not.
"No." King Malcolm's voice was hard as a stone and brokered no argument. "I have not had my son returned to me." As he rose from his throne, he was a highly imposing man with his grey hair and beard and fine robes. His eyes were stern and Fenris felt Anna tremble behind him. The queen stopped cold, staring at her husband in wide-eyed confusion, but thankfully remained silent.
The greying man stopped right in front of them, completely ignoring Fenris. Instead, he looked at Anna.
The silence was deafening for several moments. The court held its collective breaths.
"I have not had my son returned to me. I never had a third son." Fenris felt Anna's tears fall on his soulstone where it hung around her neck, and it was as if she was weeping onto his bared heart. That was it, he was going to kill the old bastard.
"I have had…" the king choked out, sounding as if he was on the verge of tears. "My daughter returned… my little girl…" he opened his arms to Anna, who flew into them with a soft cry.
"Father!"
They hugged each other, both crying.
"Thank you" the king whispered to Fenris, tears still streaming down his cheeks. "You gave her back to me, my sweet girl, when I thought her dead."
"Malcolm!" The queen's voice was indignant. The King turned to her, eyes flashing.
"I will deal with you later. This is a joyous day." He raised his voice, addressing his court. "Let the lands of Kirkwall celebrate today! Princess Anna has been returned to us, safe and sound!" The court, although still rather confused, cheered obediently.
"Malcolm!" The queen's voice was uncomfortably shrill. "Stop this nonsense!"
Anna looked like she wanted to argue, which Fenris sensed that she had done many times before, but the King got there first.
"No, wife, you stop this nonsense. Accept the facts; There never was a prince Andrew. He did not exist, except in our heads. Caelan's twin is a beautiful young woman, her name is Anna, and I love her exactly as she is. If you cannot, then the issue lies with you, not with her. Now retire to your rooms, unless you can find it within you to be happy."
The queen stared at them for several long moments, then slowly turned and exited the hall.
The king turned to Anna, who once more was on the verge of tears.
"Do not cry, daughter. She will understand in time. Meanwhile, why don't you introduce me to your saviour, hm?" Anna smiled as well as she was able.
"Yes, father. This is Fenris, hero of the west and prince of Brecilia."
Fenris bowed deeply to the King, who smiled at him.
"Oh, stop that. You are a prince, as high and noble as myself. But tell me, and this is very important: do you love my daughter?"
"Yes, your majesty. More than my own life."
"Well, then. Anna, my dear, do you love him?"
"Yes, father. With my whole heart."
"Then you shall be married. Can you wait a month? We need to prepare a suitable feast and send out invitations."
"Fenris?" Anna's tone was hopeful, and her fingers strayed to her necklace. The onyx sparkled in the morning sun, perfectly set off by her blond hair.
"Of course" Fenris said as he stared adoringly at his bride, not caring if he sounded disgustingly sappy, "anything my princess wants." Besides, that should give his family ample time to get to Kirkwall. Even Bela, who had decided to take a jaunt across the seas to marry an assassin.
King Malcolm turned to his court to make some sort of announcement, but in all fairness Fenris did not hear a word of it. He was too busy staring into Anna's brilliant blue eyes.
"So" he murmured, as he pressed both her hands in his own, "What happens now?"
"Now?" She said, grinning, as he pulled her close and kissed her for all the court to see. "Now, we live happily ever after."
And so they did.