Nikki shifted as she awoke. She felt safe, sticky, and warm. She glanced down to see a sun-shade arm over her naked body and memories from the night before came flooding back. Her heart swelled with joy as she turned over to face Max.

She and Max were married.

They'd consummated their marriage.

She was safe from marrying Prince Edward.

Nikki leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. He opened his eyes and smiled.

"Morning, Nik."

"Morning, Max."

"How are you feeling?"

"A little sore, but mostly happy. That felt amazing."

"Yeah. I don't know how we managed not to do it until last night." He sat up and stretched. "Well, we'd better get dressed before everyone else comes back. I really don't want to explain to my little sister why we're naked."

"Agreed." Nikki got off the bed and retrieved her clothes. Once they were dressed, they headed out to see David and Gwen packing stuff up.

"Are we leaving already?" Max asked.

"I didn't want to say anything yesterday," Neil sighed, putting some of his flasks in a bag, "but Rosemary Baker is here."

Nikki froze while Max just had a confused look.

"Neil, she's here? How long has she been here?"

"From what I heard yesterday, she's been here for two months, looking for you two. She wants to bring you in."

"Wait, wait," Max interrupted. "Who is Rosemary?"

"She's a stone-cold witch with a heart made of ice," Neil replied. "She'd sell her own twin brother to get ahead, and I know for a fact that she had Nerris and Harrison arrested for withholding information on your whereabouts. I don't think she knows you're here, but we have to leave before she finds out."

"Too late, Neil."

They turned to see Rosemary, standing there with a sword and her hair tied back in a bun. She was flanked by four members of the Lilac Guard, who had serious expressions as they viewed the caravan.

"Shit," Max muttered.

"Go!" Gwen instructed, pulling out a knife. "We'll hold them off! You and Nikki get out of here and take Lizzie with you!"

Max and Nikki ran out of the camp, Max lifting Lizzie onto his back as they went, while David, Campbell, Jaspar, Gwen, and Neil prepared to fight.

"Dammit!" Rosemary growled, her eyes taking in her opponents. They settled on Campbell. "Cameron Campbell."

"R-Rosie?" he gasped. "You've grown up."

"Yeah, no thanks to you, Dad."

"Dad?!" Campbell's companions repeated.

"You have to stop, Rosie."

"You lost your right to call me that when you walked out on Mom twelve years ago." She drew her sword. "Now fight, you cowards."

Nerris let out a sigh as she concentrated on the bars of her cell.

It had been a few days since her and Harrison's arrest, and she'd been building her strength all that time in order to break out. Thankfully, Nurf was the guard of the prison and he'd been making sure she and Harrison were in top form. After a few days of rest and making sure she was well-fed, she was ready to cast a spell that would bust them out. The sorceress muttered an incantation and…

BOOM!

The door of her cell flew off its hinges and into the wall.

"Nerris, you did it!" Harrison cheered. "Could you help me?"

"Of course. We have to stop Rosemary! Stand back from the door."

She muttered the incantation again and got the same results.

"Let's go!" She and Harrison ran out of the prison and towards the gates of town. There, they saw Jason watching a site not far away.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him.

"Waiting for Rosemary to bring in the bitch and her boy-toy," he replied with a snicker. Nerris could see the Lilac Guard engaged in a battle with Max's companions in the camp. Max, Nikki, and Lizzie were nowhere to be seen, and Rosemary was missing, too.

"Oh, no." Nerris ran into the camp and murmured an incantation that froze the guards where they stood. David looked at her, panting. "Where are Max and Nikki?!"

"They ran into the woods," David replied. "Rosemary stabbed Campbell and ran after them!"

"Thanks for the info! Harrison, tie the Guard up. I'm going after Rosemary!"

"You got it, Nerris!" Harrison grabbed some rope that was hanging on the back of one of the wagons and started tying up the Guard.

Oh, God. Please don't let me be too late!

Nerris's feet pounded across the ground as she ran into the woods. She muttered a spell to track where they were and could see them running through the forest. Max was carrying Lizzie and Nikki was keeping up with him. Rosemary was right on their asses, but she was swerving in a way that meant she'd catch up with them. Nerris used a speed charm to try and make it first.

Please, please let me make it!

"Max, we have to split up!" Nikki panted. "She'll catch us otherwise!"

"I'll go left, you go right?"

"Yeah." They split up and Rosemary noticed. She decided to follow Nikki; Max was carrying a child, so he was slowed down by the extra weight and she'd be able to find him again without a problem.

"Your Highness, you must come with me!" she called, closing the gap between her and the princess.

"Never!" Nikki snapped. She tripped over an exposed root and Rosemary caught up with her.

"Your mother wants you home, Princess Nicolette. I'm obligated to follow my orders from the queen."

She reached for Nikki and a dagger swiped across her hand. She recoiled, cradling the injury as she looked down at the princess. Nikki was brandishing a dagger with an ornate handle, ready to fight back for her freedom. Rosemary growled and pulled out her own dagger.

"My orders are to bring you in alive. They said nothing about unharmed."

"I'm ready to defend myself, you goddamn bitch."

Nikki kicked Rosemary in the torso, knocking her backwards so that she could get to her feet.

"I never thought you'd be able to fight back, Your Highness."

"I learned from somebody who knows how dangerous this world is."

Rosemary lunged forward, brandishing her dagger against Nikki's. Nikki slid by, kicking Rosemary in the back of the head and to the ground. The trained fighter growled as she stabbed Nikki in the shin. She screamed and brought down the hilt of her dagger onto Rosemary's temple.

"You spoiled brat!" Rosemary hissed.

"Spoiled brat? That's the best you can do for an insult? Please."

"You aren't tough enough for the outside world, Your Highness. It's time to come home."

"I am home. I have a family that actually cares about me now, and I'm not getting married to that bastard."

"Nikki!" a voice called. They saw Lizzie running towards them. Out of fury, Rosemary aimed her dagger at the little girl and Nikki tackled Rosemary to the ground. The dagger tumbled out of the guard's hand.

Rosemary started coughing up blood. Nikki's eyes widened as she stood up to see her dagger protruding from Rosemary's chest right where her heart was, blood seeping from the wound. The princess staggered backwards, breathing heavily as she started panicking and Rosemary landed on her back.

"Oh my God. No. No, no, no, no, no…" She started hyperventilating.

"I never thought you had it in you," Rosemary sighed before coughing.

Nikki felt her eyes well and tears spill as the dying girl began laughing. She felt confused.

"Why are you laughing, Rosemary? You're dying! There's nothing to help you!"

"True, but when and if you get caught, the queen will never listen to you. She'll always see Max as a kidnapper and a murderer." Rosemary coughed again, scarlet specks landing on Nikki's tunic.

"No, no! She'll listen to me!"

"Will she?" Rosemary coughed again. "Even if she does, Max is still going to hang."

Rosemary's breathing was becoming steadily more ragged, her voice straining from the effort it took just to speak. Her crimson blood was already staining the grass beneath her and giving her sickly-colored trails of the liquid between her mouth and chin. The light was fading from her bright green eyes as the life was leaving her body.

"Rosemary, please..." Nikki was crying even harder now. Rosemary fixed her with a smirk.

"Give 'em hell, Nikki."

She went limp as she drew one last, shuddering breath.

"Rosemary? Rosemary!"

"Nikki!"

Max entered the area and caught sight of his wife standing over the body of her victim.

"I… I killed her, Max."

"Nikki."

"I'm a horrible person!" Nikki started sobbing and buried her face in her hands. Max put his hands on her shoulders.

"Nikki, look at me. Please look at me." She looked up at him. "You didn't do it on purpose. It was an accident."

"I still ended her life!"

"And she was going to hurt you! You were defending yourself." Lizzie picked up the dagger that Rosemary had thrown at her.

"She tried to throw this at me," she told her brother quietly. Max took the blade in his hand.

"And you saved Lizzie, too." He hugged Nikki tightly, letting her cry her eyes out.

"Max! Nikki!"

They looked up to see Nerris, looking out of breath and frantic.

"Oh my God," she murmured, looking at Rosemary's body. "She's gone."

"I killed her," Nikki told the sorceress.

"I was going to. My job is to protect the innocent from evil, and she caught me off-guard. I failed." She bowed. "Forgive me."

"You're here now," Max sighed. "That's all that matters. Now all we have to do is make sure everyone else is o—"

A dart landed in the back of his neck, knocking him unconscious. Nikki screamed as one landed in her neck, too.

"Well done, Snake," Prince Edward laughed, patting his henchman on the shoulder. "My bride and her kidnapper. And poor, sweet Rosemary, who tried so valiantly to bring you both in. Your sacrifice will not be in vain. Petrol, bring her back to the kingdom. She will have a hero's funeral."

Petrol grunted and picked up Rosemary's body, kicking Nerris to the side as Lizzie slipped between the trees.

"You bastard!" Nerris yelled.

"I'm simply a man who goes after what he wants, you stupid sorceress."

Nerris raised her hands to fight back, but Snake got her in a chokehold and knocked her out.

"Very good, men." He picked up Nikki's unconscious form. "My sweet Nicolette. We will be married in three days' time."

Nikki let out a groan as she came to. She felt… comfortable. Sitting up, she looked around and realized she was back in her old room. Back at the castle.

"Oh, no!" she gasped, running to the window. Guards were stationed at the foot of it, keeping an eye out for any funny business.

"Welcome home, Your Highness," Lucy stated, entering the room with a red dress. "Your mother has asked to see you now that you're awake."

"Lucy, where's Max?"

"You mean your kidnapper? He's in the dungeon, of course."

"The dungeon?"

"You didn't really think he'd get away with kidnapping you, did you?"

"He didn't kidnap me; I ran away!"

"That's not what the witnesses said. Now, come along, Your Highness. Your mother wants to see you."

Nikki got dressed, hoping that this was all just a nightmare. Maybe an after-effect of consummating her marriage, a manifestation of her fears that her happy little world would be shattered in an instant. Wordlessly, she followed Lucy down to the throne room, where her mother was talking to Prince Edward. Queen Candy spotted her daughter and smiled.

"Well, if it isn't my baby girl!" She crossed the dais her throne sat on and hugged her daughter. "I'm so happy you're home. And you'll be glad to know that your kidnapper is gonna hang for what he did."

"Mom—"

"Now, while you were gone, we put the entire weddin' on hold until you came back. Thanks to that awful man sendin' your gown back, we were able to fix it up for you to wear again. The weddin' itself is in two days."

"Mom, if you would just—"

"I can't wait until I walk you down that aisle again. We have extra security, so nobody will interrupt again."

"CANDY, WILL YOU LISTEN TO ME FOR ONCE IN YOUR GODDAMN LIFE?!"

Candy stopped talking at her daughter's outburst. She looked over at the girl she'd given birth to—a girl whose face was contorted with rage and emotion at the moment. And were those… tears?

"What? What's wrong, honey?"

"I don't want to marry Prince Edward! I don't want to be the princess of Lilac! And I don't want Max to be hung for what I did."

"What are you talkin' about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that he didn't kidnap me; I ran away. I ran away because I felt like it was the only way I could be free to live the life I wanted. He just happened to be there and he helped me get away. It was my choice."

"Nicolette…"

"Mom, you are going to listen to what I have to say for once, and you're not going to interrupt."

Candy gave her daughter a look to go ahead.

"These last three months have been the best of my life. I was outside the castle, doing things that a normal girl gets to do. I went to pubs. I drank. I helped take care of a five-year-old girl. And I learned to fight for what I believe in. And… I can't marry Prince Edward. Not now."

"Why not?"

"I can't marry a man I don't love because I already married one that I do."

"What?!" Prince Edward yelled.

"Nicolette, you can't be serious!"

"I am serious! I fell in love with Max, and we got married two days ago. Before Rosemary caught up with us and before Edward brought me back. That happened the next day."

"Oh, God… I raised a whore…" murmured Candy. She balled her hands into fists. "Well, then we'll just have to speed up his execution."

"What?!"

"Nicolette, he's been a bad influence on you. The only way to get rid of that influence is to kill him."

"No, please! I'll do whatever you want! Just… let him go back to his family. Lizzie needs her older brother." Nikki's eyes filled with tears.

"Fine. If you agree to marry Prince Edward in two days, I'll release the little thief after the wedding. Right now, we have a funeral to plan."

"Oh… right…"

"I can't believe that boy killed poor Rosemary. She did so much to bring you home…"

"Mom… Max didn't kill Rosemary. I did."

"Right, sweetie. I know you love him, but you don't have to make excuses for that low-life scum."

"I'm not making an excuse; I killed her to save a little girl."

"Go to your room, Nicolette. I don't wanna hear any more of this nonsense."

"Dammit…"

Max tried to rub his head as he opened his eyes, but something was stopping his hand from moving that far. Looking around, he realized he was chained to the wall of a dungeon. His eyes widened.

"Oh, shit. Where's Nikki? Where is she?!"

"You mean Princess Nicolette, you filthy peasant," a snide voice replied. A guy wearing a royal outfit walked out of the shadows and stood at the door of Max's cell.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"I'm Prince Edward Pikeman of Woodland. And Princess Nicolette's fiancé."

"Like hell you are. She's not interested in you. And she prefers Nikki."

"I can call her whatever I want. We're getting married in two days."

"You do know she's not a virgin anymore, right?"

"Yes, yes. She had a little outburst at her mother in the throne room not half an hour ago. Claimed that the two of you were married two days ago."

"It's not a claim. It's the truth."

"Then another truth you should know is that she agreed to marry me, and I'm still willing to have her as my bride, despite everything that's happened."

"No. She hates you. She married me specifically to keep from marrying your ugly ass."

"Well, then, you should know that she only agreed to save you. If she hadn't, Queen Candy would've sent you to the gallows tomorrow. But no. Princess Nicolette wants you to live for some ungodly reason that I can't fathom."

Max felt like he couldn't breathe. Nikki was trying to save him.

And giving herself away in the process.

"No. Please, don't make her do this. Leave her alone—do whatever you want to me!"

"After all this, you still don't get it, you bastard thief. I am a prince, a man worthy enough to be the husband to the Princess of Lilac herself. You are nothing but a thief, not even good enough to lick her shoes. To her, you are nothing but a passing phase that will soon be over with. After the wedding, you'll be brought back to Sleepy Peak, where you will remain for the rest of your natural life."

Max's world was crashing down around him.

Nikki…

"Goodbye, Maxwell. Enjoy your stay."

"No! Don't you dare fucking touch her! She's my wife!"

"I don't see a marriage contract, and all I have to go on is the word of two untrustworthy people. Give me anything else and I might believe it."

He turned on his heel and left Max with his own dismal thoughts.

*straps on helmet and ducks behind wooden barrier*

Okay, ready for your tomatoes while I explain a few things.

I was always planning for them to be caught. The matter of who would catch them and when it would happen was always going to be at this point so I could talk about it ; ).

Anyway, yes, I did kill off Rosemary. She was another thing I planned. She was never going to make it to the end of the story, and as you can see, it was her own confidence and temper that did her in. However, this does mean that Jason gets to live a little longer. Sorry for those of you who wanted him to die. It'll happen, just not quite yet.

Speaking of not quite yet, we haven't seen the last of the gang back at Sleepy Peak or the caravan. Campbell is alive, though, so I can assure you of that. Even if his daughter isn't.

See you guys in chapter 12, which if I'm calculating correctly, will be posted while I'm at DragonCon in Atlanta this weekend! Yay! If you're going to the con and want to see me, head down to the Animation Track and look for a girl with a Doctor Who backpack. She'll have her hair in a ponytail, be wearing glasses, and have a laptop on her lap. Also, the panels I'll be attending will be related to Steven Universe, Schoolhouse Rock, Disney, RWBY, possibly Camp Camp if there's a panel for it, and the Tara Strong panel. Feel free to say hi if you're there!

So long and thanks for all the fish!