And so we reach the finale. This is both the final official chapter and the epilogue.

An author's note will be up within an hour.

Max knew he shouldn't have left Nikki alone.

Within half an hour of his wife going into their bedchamber to rest, Harrison was rushing to him with a wide-eyed, terrified look, saying that Jason had found his way into the castle and attacked Nikki. She was fine, but apparently, the encounter had sent her into labor early. Max rushed for his bedroom, where he found Jason encased in ice in the corner while Nerris was kneeling by Nikki. Nikki was panting, gripping her belly as spasm after spasm of pain rolled through her lower body.

"Nikki!" he yelped, running for her and gripping her hand.

"Max…" she whimpered weakly. It was then he noticed she had blood on her arm from a small cut. Apparently, Jason had sliced her arm before he was frozen.

"I'm going to get Neil!" Nerris reported, running out of the room.

"How badly did he hurt you?" Max asked. Nikki let out a scream of pain as another contraction shot through her body.

"Not as badly as this!" she screeched. "You did this to me!"

"You can do this," he encouraged, knowing she was just talking through the pain. It killed him to know that she was in this position because of him, but he knew that it would all be worth it once their son or daughter arrived.

"I'm here!" Neil called, running over to the bed. "Nikki, the baby's ready to be born!"

"No shit, Neil!" she snapped, fury glowing in her magenta eyes.

"No, I mean you need to push!"

Nikki screamed.

"Seriously! This is the only way to get the baby out!"

Nikki gripped Max's hand even tighter than before, Nerris and Lucy rushing in a minute later to provide assistance. Lucy prepared a blanket for the royal baby while Nerris let Nikki grip her hand so there was balance.

"On the count of three! One… two… three… push!"

Nikki let out a heart-rending scream as she pushed, tears streaming down her face. Max could no longer feel his hand, but that didn't matter. The baby hadn't been born yet.

"Again! One… two… three!"

Max squeezed his eyes shut in fear before there was a loud hiccupping and a baby's cry.

It was over.

"It's a girl!" Neil announced.

"Nikki, you did it!" Max cheered, looking down at his wife. She looked exhausted, but happy.

"Yeah… we did."

"I didn't do anything. That was all you."

She smiled and gave him a hug as Lucy handed them the baby.

Their little girl was red-faced and wrinkly, screaming at the fact that she was now in the big bad world instead of her mother's belly. Neither of the new parents cared; their baby was the most perfect thing either of them had ever seen.

"Congratulations, you two," Neil sighed. "I'm going to get some hot water so we can clean the blood up and let the queen know her grandchild has arrived."

Lucy and Nerris followed him, Nerris levitating the frozen Jason along behind her so that the little family could be alone.

"If you had told me a year ago that all this was going to happen, I wouldn't have believed you," Max commented, sitting down next to Nikki. "In fact, I would've said that you were insane and there was no way I'd fall for a princess."

"And I'd have said, 'Oh, really? Is the thief hot, at least?' " Her husband laughed as their little girl settled into her mother's arms. He wrapped her in the blanket Lucy had left behind, making sure she was plenty warm.

A picture-perfect ending to a trying day.

"…and so, Jason, for the crimes of attempted rape, assault, and attempted murder, you are condemned to hang!"

Jason bowed his head at the queen's sentencing. He glanced up at the princess, who was holding her newborn daughter, and her husband, who was standing by her side.

"I regret not succeeding," Jason laughed. "They deserved every bit of it."

He was escorted out of the courtroom, where he was met by Nerris the Cute and her now-husband, Harrison the Inferno. He snarled at Nerris.

"And I wish I'd taken care of you years ago."

"You could've tried, but the result would've been the same," she replied, a blank expression on her face.

Jason was hung at dawn the next day, the prince and princess glad to see their greatest enemy now gone.

Nerris and Harrison became the royal sorcerers, helping to protect the realm from invasion.

Neil remained the royal alchemist, though his greatest pride was when little Lizzie began to follow in his footsteps.

David was the official court musician, his music offering great joy to visitors from all over the world.

Gwen was content to be the mother of the king, taking a spot as an advisor as well.

Prince Edward of Woodland married Princess Sasha of Flora, a much better match for him.

Captain Baker retired to the country with his wife, his stepson Joseph taking on the role of captain of the guard.

Lucy fell in love again and married, leaving the castle to become a mother.

And as for our royal couple, tragedy befell them when Queen Candy died a few years later, shortly after the birth of their son. However, King Max and Queen Nikki picked up the pieces, ruling their kingdom in peace with their two children, Lovetta and Oliver.

And that is the end of our tale, my friends. How was that, Master Hendrickson?

I will admit, dear Kami, that you have quite a bit of skill in storytelling. Perhaps it's time for me to step down as the royal storyteller.

I wasn't trying to make you step down…

Oh, but this was your test. You've passed, so you're no longer just an apprentice.

Thank you, master. I'll make you proud.

But you're missing a line, dear girl.

Right. Sorry.

And they all lived happily ever after.