On The Road Again

This was originally written on February 21, 2012.

Get ready for the longest chapter yet! I promise it is all worth it!

AN: Thank you all for the simply wonderful reviews! It brings me such joy to read them from you! I hope you enjoy this next chapter! Also, get ready for the mythological references I promised you guys in Chapter 1!

Words: 7,602

Disclaimer: If I owned KND I would not be writing this now would I? I would be making more episodes!

Previously on Kuki Enchanted:

The men laughed, Sir Tommy cried out, "You couldn't sing even if you tried, brother." he taunted as Sir Hoagie went red and the men laughed some more.

"Well at least I'm better than you." Sir Hoagie smiled.

"I highly doubt that." Sir Tommy said, grinning.

"Hey, I was the one to get your daughter to sleep when she wouldn't for Molly by singing her that lullaby mom sang to us." Sir Hoagie retorted.

"Please," Sir Tommy countered, "Holly was on the verge of sleep, she had her teeth growing in. Your bad singing is probably what knocked her out." Sir Tommy declared with a triumphant grin on his face.

"Even Molly said I sang well." Sir Hoagie said to his brother.

"Please, you know how Molly is, she is always complimenting people." Sir Tommy said.

"If I had to choose between you two, I would have to go with my neighbors dying cat." Sir Ethan taunted, earning laughter from the men and myself whilst Sir Tommy and Sir Hoagie gave him a death glare before joining in the laughter.

"What about you, Kuki?" Vincent asked me, his horse behind mine, "Can you sing?" He asked.

"Quite well, in fact." I replied, flashing a grin over my shoulder.

"Will you join us?" Wally asked, "We usually do sing in celebration."

I suddenly felt very shy and shook my head. "I'm afraid I should rest my voice after all that Ogrese." I told him, which was partially true: my throat did feel quite raspy.

"Of course," Wally smiled and patted my knee before joining a few of him men in their song, adding his own rich tenor. I closed my eyes, savoring the joy and liveliness evident in their voices.

My travels with the ogres had taken me away from the fork in the road that led up to the giant farms, but by nightfall, Wally and his men, and I had reached it again and decided it was a suitable place to set up camp for the night. I felt uncomfortable as I noted how close the ogres would be to me as I slept, but Wally assured me that the knights had taken extra care to check their bonds and tighten the gags on their mouths. As we settled down, the uneasiness in my heart dissipated. We happened to arrange ourselves so that I lay perpendicular to Wally, my head resting just inches from his torso. I turned my head and craned my neck to gaze at his face, handsome in the flicker of the firelight. Those long, thick eyelashes fluttered as he opened his eyes and smiled at me reassuringly, sending warmth spreading through my entire being in a way the heat from the fire never could.

I turned to gaze at the starlit sky with a sigh, enjoying the feeling of being able to fall asleep with relative peace of mind. The ogres were nearby, but with Wally so close and the knowledge of my own apparent skill in persuasive Ogrese firm in my mind, I felt safe for the first time since I had left home.

"Do you know much about the stars?" Wally asked me suddenly, I could hear him rustling and soon enough our heads were at the same height.

"Not much, Father would bring me out on nice summer months like these and show me the constellations." I confided in him.

"Do you know any of the origin stories of them?" he asked me, his eyes trailing away from the sky and fell upon mine.

"Nothing legit, Father would often make up stories about how the constellations came into being purely for my entertainment." I replied, looking up to keep my face from turning to a brighter shade of scarlet.

"Tell me." Wally said, his face again looking at mine.

"Well..." I started looking into the sky to find a constellation Father had told me about. "Gemini, for example," I began, "Since they were twins, Father would tell me how they did everything together. But then, one beautiful maiden came by and stole the hearts of both brothers. Since she could not choose, the two brothers had a duel. What they didn't know was that the young maiden was actually a daughter of a god. So when the two brothers killed each other in battle, the girl, feeling so guilty, asked her father, Jupiter, to place their bodies in the sky, so that they may be forever gazed upon by mortals." I concluded.

"It seems your father was a very good story teller." Wally commented.

"That he was." I replied, "Now tell me a story." I countered, making him give off a low, haughty laugh so as to not awake the other knights.

"Well, do you know the story of Orion?" he asked me, as I shook my head no.

"Okay, the Orion myth states that he had no mother but was a son of the powerful sea god, Neptune." Wally started.

"Orion supposedly was able to walk on water and had greater strength and stature than any other mortal. As a skilled blacksmith, he fabricated a subterranean palace for Vulcan, the blacksmith of the gods. He also walled in the coasts of Emonte (an island that belongs to both Ayortha and Kyrria) against the encroaching sea and built a temple to the gods there. Orion fell in love with Merope, a daughter of Oenopion and the princess of Chios (which was an island before Kyrria and Ayortha was established). Her father, the king of Chios, however, would not consent to give Orion his daughter's hand in marriage, even after the hunter rid their island of the wild beasts like he had requested that he do so, in which he would give him Merope. In anger, Orion attempted to gain possession of the princess by violence. Her father, incensed at this conduct, devised a cruel, evil plan to be rid of Orion. He invited Orion over, having convinced him that he would give him Merope in marriage, and after having made Orion drunk, deprived him of his sight and cast him out on the seashore. The blinded demigod followed the sound of a Cyclops' hammer until he reached Lemnos (a small island on the cost of what is now Kyrria), and came to the forge of Vulcan, who, taking pity on the young hero, gave him Kedalion, one of his men, to be his guide to the abode of the sun, Helios. Placing Kedalion on his shoulders, Orion proceeded to the east, and there meeting the sun-god, was restored to sight by his beam.

"After this he dwelt as a hunter with the goddess of the hunt, Diana, with whom he was a favourite of the goddess, and it is even said she was about to marry him. Her twin brother, Apollo, became very jealous over him and the time he was spending with his sister, and so he sent a scorpion to kill him. Diana was furious as her brother, but since they were twins, she could not be mad at him. Together, they placed Orion's constellation into the sky, so that all mortals may look upon him. And when the scorpion comes, Orion moves away." Wally finished.

"You're a very good story teller, Wally." I told him, tuning on my side to look at him.

"Sydney and Joey enjoy it when I recount stories, especially those about the origins." he stated, turning on his side to look at me.

"I can see why they enjoy it so much." I said, smiling at him.

Wally yawned and nodded his head. "We should head to bed." Wally said, "We have a long day ahead of us in the morning."

"Agreed." I replied before closing my eyes.

The next morning, I awoke suddenly but remained still. I could feel the sunlight on my face and an unfamiliar weight resting on my head. I opened my eyes and shifted just a little, casting my gaze towards the source of the weight.

Wally was sleeping, curled on his side towards me. One hand was tucked under his head, cradling his face, but his free arm was stretched out towards me, and his hand was against my head. His fingers had slipped in between the various strands of my hair, just resting there, as if they had stopped moving mid-stroke. I could feel my face turning red and my pulse quickening and cursed myself. Wally was my friend, a very good friend. I didn't want to scare him off. But what if...what if he did like me. He couldn't, could he?

As I tried to calm myself down, Wally's eyes slid open, focusing on his hand in my hair. "Oh," he said quietly as he met my gaze and withdrew his hand calmly, offering a little smile.

"I apologize, Kuki," he whispered in an effort not to wake his men, "I must have reached out in my sleep."

"It's fine," I managed to reply, and returned his smile.

We decided to search for firewood to start a fire for breakfast and rose quickly, careful not to wake the others. We split up as we entered the nearby thatch of trees, but just as I had gathered a small bundle of kindling in my arms, I heard Wally calling me softly. I made my way over to him, using the sound of his voice as a guide.

I pushed past some shrubbery and entering a clearing with a little pond. Wally stood in a patch of sunlight, shading his eyes as he looked up at a tree. As I drew closer, he pointed to what he was looking at.

"Look," he murmured, and I saw a helpless little skunk with its hind leg caught on a branch. The poor thing was struggling and clearly in pain.

Wally was shedding his overcoat. "I need to go help it," he informed me, folding his coat on a nearby fallen log.

"No, Wally; it's too dangerous!"

"But Kuki," Wally turned to look at me, his eyes round and sad, "I can't just leave it there. It will be eaten by some predator or starve to death."

I sighed and began to shrug out of my own coat.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, we can't have you breaking your royal neck, now, can we?"

"Kuki, that isn't necessary! I know perfectly well how to climb a tree!"

"I'm sure you do," I placated him as I approached the base of the tree, "but you can hardly carry on besting ogres if you break a bone."

"Well," Wally hesitated, but I was already starting to climb, "just please be careful!"

An order. I would be ever so careful.

It was not as if I had not climbed up a tree before. There was once this beautiful tree on my property that I would climb up. It had this branch that was perfect for sitting on and reading. I would spend many days up there just reading. Sometimes Father would join me and we would sit quietly and throw acorns at passerby's.

I nimbly made my way up the tree, taking every caution possible, until I reached the little skunk, about 12 feet up. The little thing seemed to panic as I drew near to it. Upon close examining, I discovered it had a beautiful shade of ebony with a red stripe down the back, its eyes were a beautiful bright blue colour, they were very rare.

"Shhh," I murmured gently, "there's no need to be afraid. I'm going to help you."

Oddly enough, the skunk seemed to understand my tone, if not my words, and stopped struggling about. I extracted the leg that was wedged at an awkward angle between two branches and held the dear thing in my hands.

"Is it hurt?" Wally called up. "How badly?" he asked.

"I don't know," I hedged, "I will have to let it go and see how it fares." I set the skunk down and watched it scamper down the tree, reveling in its own freedom. As it carried on, however, it began to limp more and more, and actually fell the last couple feet to the ground. Wally grabbed his overcoat and rushed to the skunk, wrapping it gently in the soft material of the coat.

"Unfortunately, I think its leg is broken," he told me. I felt bad for it, but then looked around at my own predicament, and how far I was from the ground. The tree was made for climbing up, but its design would not help those wishing to descend.

"I fear that I myself may have to suffer the same fate," I called to Wally, nodding at the distance I had to go, "I didn't think of this before I started to climb!"

Wally tilted his face up and smiled at me, a sparkle in his hazel eyes. "You need not trouble yourself, Kuki. When you jump, I will be here to catch you!"

I looked at him dubiously, but he simply moved closer and raised his arms towards me, beckoning with his hands. "Are you certain, then?" I asked him, looking around for a way to get down in case I had missed a possibly course of decent.

At his nod and seeing no other option, I lowered myself onto the lowest branch that I could reach so that I was hanging just by my hands to decrease the distance of the drop. I took a deep breath and let go.

"Oof," Wally huffed out at I collided with him, and together we tumbled to the ground, falling in a tangle of limbs so that I ended up right on top of him, our faces mere inches apart and chests pressed together. I blushed at the proximity, unable to resist staring into those lovely hazel eyes for a moment as I hastened to get up and put some distance between us, muttering my apologies, but it was pointless since we were so intertwined. Despite being flat on his back, Wally tried to help me stand up, unhooking his leg from around mine and supporting me by the waist. I was positive I looked as red as a tomato, but I stretched out my hands nonetheless to help Wally up.

"You did not injure yourself, did you?" he asked as we dusted ourselves off and I avoided his eyes. I rolled my eyes at his needless concern and assured him I was not hurt. We made our way over to Wally's coat and the skunk.

"Poor thing," I cooed as I picked the bundle up and cradled it in my arms. The skunk's leg was bent at an odd angle.

"Aww," Wally sighed out pityingly at my side, reaching forward to brush a finger gently over the skunk's head. I could feel his breath against my cheek, and his free hand rested on my shoulder. I hoped he would not notice the tiny shiver that coursed through me. For a royal, Wally appeared to have no real sense of personal space. Not that I minded, of course.

"Do you mind if I take care of it, Wally?" I asked, cuddling the skunk and the jacket closer, but keeping careful not to crush it.

"That sounds like a fine idea, Kuki. I have no doubt those ogres will be keeping me busy. Your choice of pet is a much better choice than mine." He joked, nudging his shoulder against mine.

Wally gathered up our fallen firewood and I carried the little skunk back to our camp. The knights had awoken during our absence and were waiting for Wally to return to have their breakfast.

"What is that, Kuki?" Sir Hoagie asked me, indicating the bundle that was my skunk.

"It is a baby skunk, Wally and I found it, it's leg is broken." I explained to the brown haired knight, who walked over to us.

"Hoagie here is very protective of animals." Wally said as Hoagie looked at the skunk.

"AW! It so cute!" Sir Hoagie cooed in a childish voice like he was ten years old again, petting his head with the pad of his finger. "What did you name it?" he asked me, still petting the skunk behind the ears, the skunk seemed to enjoy it, for it head was curled into Sir Hoagie's hand.

"Uh, I didn't give it one." I said, thinking hard of a name.

"You should name it, all pets need a name." Sir Hoagie said.

"I KNOW!" I shouted, "I will call him Bradley." I said, looking down at the skunk, who seemed contented with the name.

"Bradley…." Sir Hoagie said out loud, his face showing deep thought, "I like it, it fits him perfectly!" he said as the skunk made a gurgling noise in approval.

"Eh-hem," Came the voice of Wally, we looked up at him sheepishly, "You guys gonna eat or what? We have a long day ahead of us."

As we ate, I fed my hungry new pet bits of bread. The conversation soon fell turned to the transportation of the ogres. As Wally and the knights talked, I despaired of reaching the wedding in time to possibly find Henrietta. My time spent with Wally and his Knights had set me back substantially. There was no way I could reach the giant farms within the next few days on foot. What concerned me most, though, was that NufIIdAAngAAn command was still intact; I could not leave the ogres.

Sir Bruce's morose tone interrupted my worries. He was anxious once again about safely moving the ogres. "We'll have no choice but to drag them along. And how can we possibly gain their cooperation?"

"Kuki can make them do whatever we say! She should come with us and use her persuasion to keep them obedient," Sir Tommy piped up eagerly.

"The prince knows what to do," Sir David asserted calmly, "What shall the course of action be, Wally?"

Wally spoke with confidence and authority. He really was born to lead. "Eric, you will escort Kuki to her desired destination. Tommy and Bruce will ride to my father to recruit assistance. Hoagie will continue to act as our scout. David, Vincent, Ethan, and I will take turns guarding the ogres and hunting for the remainder of the journey, or until my father's men join us. We will continue to use the wax, and the ogres should be complaint enough when they consider the sharpness of our swords and daggers."

"Kuki shall be completely safe with me," Sir Eric declared with conviction, "No harm will come to a single hair on her head. I –"

"Unless he talks her to death," Sir Ethan joked, "It is best not to get him started on the subject of history, Kuki. It was the focus of his studies and once he gets started nothing will shut him up!"

"Well, Eric is certainly better company than the ogres," Wally smoothed things over while Sir Eric scowled at his chuckling friends. "But Kuki, why didn't you go back to Frell once you left deportment school?"

"My mother is trading up north near the giant farms, and a giant wedding is taking place soon. She wrote that they are quite interesting. I thought I might join her there."

Wally's brow furrowed. "You travelled alone and put yourself in danger to attend a wedding?"

I could feel my cheeks heating up and could not meet his eyes. He clearly thought I was a fool.

Sir David spoke disapprovingly. "It is fortunate that most young Kyrrian maidens do not take it upon themselves to travel alone in lands where ogres run wild. Our task is trying enough without having to rescue them."

Now my cheeks were positively burning, but it wasn't as though I could explain my real reason for going to the wedding.

"If more of the maidens in Kyrria could tame ogres as Kuki does," Wally said, "we would have a much easier job to do, David."

I sent Wally a small smile and he winked and beamed back at me. Perhaps he did not think me such a fool, after all.

After we had finished breakfast and packed up camp, Sir Eric mounted his horse and Wally gave me a leg up behind him. As soon as I sat astride the horse, the symptoms of my curse began to set in. My head spun and I feared I would fall off the horse as soon as Sir Eric spurred him into movement. NufIIdAAngAAn's order was not going to let me get too far.

"I don't like leaving you in danger," I said to Wally through gritted teeth as I began to dismount.

"Go with Eric," Wally said reassuringly, "No harm will come to us; I promise."

I thanked him silently for the order. I was free to go. I sighed in relief when I felt the curse's effects abate and settled onto the horse behind Sir Eric. Sir Hoagie handed me Bradley, now swaddled carefully in some of the extra cloth the knights had for dressing wounds.

Wally grasped one of the reigns before Sir Eric could slap them against the horse and looked up at me.

"When shall you return to Frell?" He asked me, looking at me longingly.

"After the wedding, hopefully," I told him, "if mother doesn't send me back to Gallagher's or desire me to travel with her." I wondered at his inquiry. Did he want me to return to Frell? "Why do you ask?"

He looked at me for a moment, his mouth opening slightly, but then glanced away, narrowing his eyes as he gazed into the distance. "I should be back within the fortnight. These expeditions never take too long." He spoke with the surety of a much older man, one who had been on hundreds of ogre-hunting ventures. Sir Eric snorted, though Wally did not seem to hear him.

We gripped hands quickly in farewell. I remember recalling something I heard, that a long hand grip was a sign. A sign that the two, if one was in love with other, were to kiss. I dropped his hand, smiling widely at him.

"Perhaps we will meet again soon, then," I replied, "and you can tell me about all the ogres you manage to catch."

"Perhaps you can tutor me in Ogrese and teach me the art of persuasion." He replied, a small smile playing on his thin lips.

I spoke to him in Ogrese as Sir Eric kicked the horse's sides and the animal started to walk. "ahthOOn SSyng!" Wally raised an eyebrow at me.

"It means 'so long.' In Ogrese" I clarified to him, giving him a big smile.

"It sounds rather menacing." He said with a slight chuckle.

I twisted in my seat to face him with an impish smile. "It is."

"You said you went to Gallagher's, right?" Sir Eric asked about five minutes into our journey.

"That is correct." I replied, wondering where he was going with this.

"My sisters go there, Evangeline and Elizabeth, did you know them?" He asked me. I looked at him surprised and nodded my head. He didn't look anything like his sisters. Where they have scarlet hair, Sir Eric had brown. While the girls had emerald and chocolate, he had a deep shade of blue.

"Really?" I said, surprised, "You look nothing like them." I commented.

"Yea, they look like mom, I look like dad." Sir Eric stated as we continued on our journey, conversing on light topics.

Unfortunately, I did not heed Sir Ethan's warning and during mine and Sir Eric's travels, the conversation somehow turned to history, proving the knight quite talkative indeed. He spoke at length and in great detail about several famous battles in Kyrrian history and told me of his ambitions to one day be a documenter for the king.

"There is something about reciting an important event in history, Kuki," he informed me fiercely, "something powerful in being able to account an important piece of Kyrrian history so as to educate the youthful population. Because with teaching of history, you avoid mistakes that could be made twice.

"When do you think we will reach the giant farms?" I managed to interject on one of the rare instances when he seemed to take a breath.

"At our current pace, I'd imagine it will take us another three days."

The wedding was in three days! What if we arrived after it ended?

"Is there any way we can go faster? I don't need to sleep long."

"Neither do I, but my horse certainly needs to have a decent amount of rest," Sir Eric replied sternly. He then launched into a story about the Kyrrian involving the rightful treatment of domesticated animals as I tried to clandestinely kick the animal's sides. Sir Eric did not notice my efforts, but neither did the horse. Once his tale was over, I quickly spoke up.

"Do you like serving under the prince?"

"Some men might consider it embarrassing to have to answer to such a young lad," he said after a moment's consideration, "but Wally is sensible and amiable, and I am a toiling knight."

"A toiling knight?"

"Not so pampered that I cannot care for my own horse, nor so selfish that I do not have time to serve my king or my prince."

"And is Wally a toiling prince, then?"

Sir Eric nodded. "You know him well. I never saw a young man so eager to learn to do a thing right, and to do the right thing."

Sir Eric was almost as enthusiastic about Wally as he was about history, but while I had grown tired of him droning on about the latter subject, I was quite content to listen to him talk about the former. According to the knight, Wally was quite wonderful. He was a fast learner, a formidable swordsman, and a clever fighter. And he was kind. The knights' departure from Frell had been delayed by Wally's kindness, when a cabbage seller's cart had overturned on the road ahead of them.

"You mean that crazy old cabbage man whose cart is always plagued with misfortunes?" I asked him, remembering when the Crazy Cabbage Man's (his nickname in Frell) cabbage cart had been raided by an escaped centaur and burned by a dragon when he had spent his days selling his cabbages in the menagerie. Now he stuck to the market places and occasionally roam around on the roads in case a carriage were to come along and be in need of a few dozen cabbages.

"Yes, the very same, I say, he does have some rotten luck when it comes to selling his trade." Sir Eric said.

"That he does, so what happened after that?" I asked him, eager to hear a new Crazy Cabbage Man story that I could share with Jess and Sallee when I returned home.

"The little old man was screeching about how all of his cabbages would be trampled and bruised and ruined. Wally had us right the old cart and fix the broken wheel, and then he spent a good half hour scrambling about the field, saving ever stray cabbage that rolled down the hills into the valley."

"Just as he saved me." I couldn't help but say.

"You are a great deal more valuable than a perfectly ripped cabbage to Wally, in my estimation. However, you hardly needed rescuing. We have never caught an ogre so neatly nor so quickly before."

"We have become good friends," I replied, grateful that I was seated behind Sir Eric and he could not see my blush. I turned the conversation back to the prince.

"He is very smart and very steady. Maybe too steady. Perhaps a little too serious for one so young and youthful, and that's coming from me," Sir Eric chuckled, "He has a good sense of humour, but he does not laugh often enough, nor does he play enough. I think he spends too much time with the king's advisors for his own good. The king's advisors are a bunch of very formal and very traditional men, very much like the ones in Ayortha." It was a rare moment, Sir Eric fell silent before continuing on with his speech. "He laughed more during the course of one day with you, than in all the weeks we have been travelling together. As a result of his birthright, he cannot frolic with other young people. They are always on their best behavior. Except for you, Kuki."

I let out a quiet gasp of alarm. "I did not behave badly, did I?" I asked, hoping that I did not act out of my social class.

"I do not think so," Sir Eric said slowly, "You were yourself. Natural. Not like a reserved young maiden of court."

I smirked to myself. Manners Mistress would be most displeased with my conduct.

We spent our nights at inns. On the first night, I pulled out the gifts Fanny had given me. Sir Eric marveled at it and recognized it as an Ashley original. He began to recount a motion to lift the ban on unmonitored imitations of the works of great artists that had passed through every stage of government, but King Xavier had refused to approve the appeal, stating that works made by the students of great masters needed to be clearly labeled so that traders and sellers could not cheat their patrons. Apparently, Mother had been indulging in some illegal activities. I made my skunk a little bed with one of my pillows as Sir Eric rambled on, and when his words began to slur as he drifted off to sleep, I pulled out my book from Kami.

The first page held advice on caring for skunks, including what they liked best for food and recommended materials for making a brace for a tiny broken limb. I made note of this before turning the page, revealing a letter written in sloppy, hurried strokes.

Father,

Lady Josephine's weird daughter has disappeared from Gallagher's Academy. She must have left in the middle of the night. I say good riddance to her. I always thought there was something strange about her. She is not normal, and nobody here liked her. I was always nice to her but she was very difficult and unfriendly towards me and my friends. I don't understand why you insist on associating with these Sanban people. At least I won't have to put up with her anymore.

Also, I have been stolen from, just after I received your letter about making sure my glasses were worn at all times, I had them stolen off my face as I slept. It was the day that that retched Kuki ran away, I wouldn't doubt that she was the one who had stolen it from me. Luckily I had awoken in time to notice and have taken Nigel's pair for my own use.

School is fine. I have not met any marriage prospects, but for some reason Nigel has two different girls ready to scratch each other's eyes out over him. I do not get it. Other than that, I am quite popular here, and my friends and I know how to keep our inferior classmates in their place.

I do not really have anything else to say.

Jaceon

My mouth twisted in distaste as I took in Ace's rude words and omissions of truth. On the next page was a letter from Nigel to Sir Montgomery. I cringed at the spelling mistakes.

Dear Father,

I am so confuzed. My hed dozs not seam to be working properley these days. Girls are so mysterius. I feel like I really love Rachel, but I no you sed she is not an acceptible choise for marrage and my freinds say I shuld not to bother with her. Elizabeth is really beutiful, but she is also mean. I do not no wat to do.

Kuki went missing. I no you said I shuld become her freind, but most people hear did not like her very much. She is realee diffrent than most girls hear. And after a wile, it seamed like she didn't want to talk to me anymore. Still, I hope she is well.

Ace has stolen my glasses, I don't now why, he told me his went mising and sinse I don't want him to be maid fun of, I let him have them. He needs them more than I do.

School is hard. I wish the teachers would not get so mad at me. I realee am trying. I wish I had a teacher that culd be a little more pashent.

Your son,

Nigel

My eyes smarted and I squeezed them shut, hoping Sir Eric was now sound asleep. What a coward Nigel was! I did not understand him; he was such a big, strong, intelligent boy, and yet he was always afraid to do anything that would jeopardize his popularity or act in a way that would earn disapproval from others. I knew Ace had him under his control, just as he did with me. I thought of Rachel, and how many tears she had wasted over this undeserving idiot. She was perhaps a bit difficult and grating, but she was truly a good person who deserved better than being Nigel's second choice. I thought of how lonely I had felt on the journey to Gallagher's and how isolated I felt among the other students and how Abba and Rachel had remedied that, if only Nigel possessed any strength or courage, and for a fleeting moment, I was angrier with him than I was with Ace.

On the next page was a letter penned from Kami.

Dear Kuki,

How are you? I have some joyous news to share with you. We have a new addition in the manor house. Sonya has just given birth to a healthy, and beautiful baby girl, Leslee. Thankfully, I got to her before Henrietta could make an appearance. I have given the little one a beautiful faerie music box. Though she is only a few days old now, she seems infatuated with the gift. I am glad Henrietta had not touched this child with her gifts. And I know I can trust Sonya and Lee with my secret that I am a faerie.

Leslee looks almost exactly like Sonya, she already has a big tuff of silvery blonde hair and has her mother's bright blue eyes, but she has her father's bone structure, just like you. Your father always wondered how his face would look on a women that wasn't his annoying sister.

I could not help but laugh at the reference to Aunt Morgan, whose facial bone structure (that she had always pointed out) was the same, just like how Aunt Sophie and Aunt Athena had the same face. I continued to read, anxious to read more about Leslee.

I am sorry, let me get back on track, you know the way my mind works. Anyways, she is a darling little thing, she's very outgoing and is always getting into trouble. She surely keeps us on our toes.

I hope you are doing well and make sure you drink you Tonic!

Love,

Kami.

I quickly went to the desk and got out a piece of paper and a quill and a small container of ink and penned my response to Kami.

Dear Kami,

I am well, I have run away from Gallagher's due to a letter Mother sent you. I am going to the giants farm in hopes that Henrietta will be there and she can lift the curse.

I ran into the Elfin tribe that mother was trading with, and Fanny was playing Mother. She did not allow her the fine pieces since she did not appreciate their artwork, unlike me. Before I left, they gave me several Ashley originals.

After I left the Elfin tribe, I woke up to ten ogres surrounding me. I was able to persuade them by mimicking them, and just in time for Wally and his nights had come and tied them up.

On our travels, I found a wounded baby skunk that I named Bradley due to Sir Hoagie's insistence that he should have a name.

I am currently with Sir Eric, who is accompanying me to the Giants Farm.

As to the second part of my letter, send little Leslee my love. I cannot wait until I meet her. Send Sallee and Jess my love, I do so miss them.

I will have to tell you more of my journeys when I return to Frell, unless Mother desires that I travel with her.

And I have been taking my Tonic, the bitterness is starting to really grow on me.

Love,

Kuki.

I folded the letter and set it aside, making sure to ask a servant in the morning to deliver it to a postal office to send to Frell, where it will be delivered to the manor house.

I turned the page and saw the story of Aladdin's genie from the point of Genie, who was known as Jeni (pronounced Gee nee), who also had a younger brother who looked up at him by the name of Aldi. He was in love with this beautiful women who ended up being Jasmine's grandmother. However, he was not the only one who had fallen in love her. The prince, Jage (pronounced as Gage), too, was in love with women, whose name was Kyla. Therefore, Jage had an evil sorcerer put Jeni into a magical lamp and he would have to obey every command he was given by anyone who rubbed his lamp. As the story progresses, it is shown that Aldi is Aladdin's grandfather, making his Genie, his great uncle. Jage and Kyla had one son, Sula, know to us as Sultan. Jage's evil sorcerer, Rajar, was the father of Jafar. It seemed fate was always intertwined with the lives of our past. Jeni lived in his lamp, never knowing what happened to Kyla or what became of his little brother, and he wished he was to be free, but could not grant it, only if his master was to make him free.

I closed the book after that, convinced that it was determined to upset me tonight. I realized suddenly that I was crying silently. I was not imprisoned in a lamp, but like poor Jeni, I was not truly free.

I slowly climbed into my bed and fell asleep.

After breakfast that morning, I made sure to find a servant to deliver my letter.

His name was Daquon. He had dark skin like Abba, but his name was not Ayorthian, which meant he was not from the country. He had a head full of black, curly hair and wore dark glasses like the ones Ace and Nigel wore.

He promised me he would deliver the letter to the postal office.

Around mid morning of the third day of my travels with Sir Eric, I noticed that things were gradually getting bigger. Shortly after noon, we passed a patch of pumpkins each as wide as the horse we rode on. Soon after that, we spotted a giant in the distance who was picking flowers as long as I was tall. I squeezed Eric round the middle in my excitement.

"Kuki!" he yelped in complaint, "You are not a corset!"

"Sorry," I replied happily as the giant thundered towards us, grinning widely and calling out in Abdegi, a series of screeches and whistles. As she neared, the horse reared back in fright, but she extended a hand and petted the animal's nose with a finger. The horse calmed in response and even rubbed against the giant's thigh.

"Hello!" I called to her in her own language, "We have come to witness the wedding of Dolostone and NoahElla," I added in Kyrrian, "Hopefully we are not too late?"

"I am she," NoahElla replied cheerfully, crouching down to speak with us, "and you are just in time! I was just gathering the last of the flowers for the ceremony."

"I hope you do not mind us joining the festivities," I added politely once she had revealed her identity.

"No, no! Do not be silly. I cannot thank you enough for coming, actually! Giants just love strangers," she paused, gazing at us with incredibly large, wide eyes, "and friends, too. There will be many strangers and friends present when I marry Stone today!"

Her incredible enthusiasm and cheer was infectious, and I felt the happiest I had been since I last saw Wally. I let myself feel cautiously optimistic as NoahElla's house came into view about the wedding; perhaps Henrietta really would be there and perhaps somehow I could convince her to break this awful curse.

Anyone catch the How I Met Your Mother Reference? I doubt it…but hey, if you did, you get a preview for Chapter 13!

And can you guess who Daquon is? A preview of chapter 13 to anyone who guesses correctly!

And how did you all enjoy that little Aladdin story? I thought I would try my own twist on a story that we all knew and grew up with. I wanted Kuki to draw parallels with it, and the first thing that came to mind was Aladdin's Genie!

Next chapter: Kuki attends the giant wedding ceremony (that's not the only wedding we will be witnessing) of NoahElla Heart and Dolostone Summers and discovers something new about her new friend the skunk. Will she find Henrietta? Read on to find out!

Please, please, please, please, please review. I need reviews to live!

Love always,

LatinMagicWriter is on fire