Disclaimer: I do not own The 10th Kingdom. This is merely a fanfiction.

~0~

~0~

"Look out, they're loose!"

"Watch those claws!"

"I can't – gack!"

The Sixth Kingdom guards screamed and howled as two wolves tore into them, throwing them around the corridors as though they were merely rag dolls. The guards realized they had bitten off more than they could chew – er, rather that the wolves were going to bite into them. The two wolves got up on their haunches, bloody teeth snarling, saliva dripping.

"Run for it!"

The remaining guards took off. The wolves licked their chops and bounded down the corridor after them.

.

.

.

Tony peered around a corner. He could hear the screaming and the yelling, as well as the snarling. He winced at the sounds of bones crunching.

He squinted his eyes in the dim candlelight – two guards raised their staves at the ravenous beasts. The one wolf – the female – snatched it away in her jaws, snapping it in half. The remaining guards made a break for it.

Tony was beginning to think they had the right idea. What was I thinking, he thought to himself. Wolf's not in his right state of mind, how could I think I could reason with him?

He turned to go back the way he came – a snarl caused his blood to chill. The male beast – Wolf, Tony realized – had slipped his muzzle around the corner and was sniffing. The fully transformed Wolf stalked around the corner on all fours, his nostrils sniffing the air. The female wolf – Fiona – followed, her mouth open, saliva dripping onto the floor in goopy strands.

Tony held his hands out placatingly. "Now, now, Wolf – you know me. Pops, remember? Grandpa? Your Daddy-in-Law? The Big Guy?"

The two wolves didn't seem to understand them. They lowered themselves down on their haunches, their tails curled downwards and their ears flat on their heads.

Tony knew enough about canine behavior and body language to know - that wasn't a good sign.

.

.

.

"I'm sorry Miss Lewis. This was … necessary … just now."

Virginia writhed as Wallace twisted the knife further into her ribcage. He drew himself closer, his breath hot in her ear."I hope you understand why. You do understand why, don't you?"

Virginia's eyes flashed. "Why don't you enlighten me?!"

"I was no more than a boy when the Snow Queen took me from my home. Kay was what I was once known as. She took me, wanted to raise me as her own. She had no children, she said. She wanted a perfect boy, an heir to rule for her. And I went. My heart became as cold and icy as the new palace I called home. But deep down, despite the ice surrounding my heart, I knew Gerda would come. And she did. The warmth of her love melted the icy shell in my chest. All through a single tear."

Virginia unconsciously moved her hand to her pocket, feeling the vial there that housed the last remaining tear of Gerda, given to her by the ghost of Gerda's grandmother. She quickly dropped her hand to her side. She winced as Wallace twisted the knife again.

"Gerda promised me she would always be there for me!" Wallace's expression was mixed with fury and heartbreak. "She promised! Do you understand?! And for years we were together. Friends. Almost like siblings. Heck, her grandmother treated me as her own kin! And I loved Gerda – how she was able to sacrifice so much to bring me back from the brink, braving even the Snow Queen's fury to save me. I thought we would always be together. She said so. She promised it. So you can imagine the pain I felt when as an adult, I produced a wedding band and she said no. I know! Can you believe it?! After all that – she said no!"

"You should've got her a singing wedding band," Virginia mocked. "They never fail!"

"Your pithy little jokes aside, Gerda moved on as an adult. She fell in love with a Fourth Kingdomer. And he proposed. And she said yes! She even invited me to the wedding! You can't even imagine … the fury I felt …"

"So you returned to the Snow Queen because you were rejected?! Get the heck over it!"

Wallace smirked. "If you only imagined her plan. DeConte was a barely tolerable pawn." He sneered at DeConte's lifeless corpse lying face down on the floor. "But a useful one. His madness infuriated the other Kingdoms, but what choice did they have if they wanted to honor the treaty and 'stop' the Snow Queen? Of course, then comes along reasonable, kind, wonderful Wallace who has the good of the world at heart! The protector of the children! Under the terms of the new treaty, I will take DeConte's place as military commander. I will lead the other Kingdoms against the Snow Queen – they will love and honor me as their hero. They will follow me wherever I go. They will follow me as I lead them into a war against the Snow Queen – a war that always seems like it's close to ending, but never quite will. I will have absolute power – and the best part? I don't have to rule with an iron fist. Let the other nations have the illusion of freedom and democracy. I won't even call myself king. 'Lord Protector' of the Nine Realms – a democratic position. It won't matter who sits on any of thrones – I will be the one with the true power."

"And by extension the Snow Queen," Virginia spat. "She'll be the power behind the throne."

Wallace nodded. "Even as she appears to be false opposition. Have you never heard the old saying from your world? The best way to control the opposition is lead it yourself. The other kingdoms will never defeat the Snow Queen. She'll rule over them through me! That was your mother's mistake – she planned to rule visibly with an iron fist! But the Snow Queen will rule invisibly through a front man – me. Through the illusion of freedom and democracy!"

"And you're content to just be her puppet?"

"Sure. Why not? Gerda never truly loved me. She stabbed me in the back for some Fourth Kingdom filth and forgot I ever existed! But the Snow Queen took me as a child, treated me as her own son. She was a Mother to me, and a boy never forgets the love of his Mother! She and I have planned this from the beginning, but of course she needed a vanguard to stir the Kingdoms up, to make them realize the need for a new military treaty."

"My Mother?" Virginia could feel her blood rise.

"The Evil Queen was the perfect pawn for my Mother to soften the nations up before we made our move. Between your Mother's attempted coup and the Snow Queen's war, the Nine Kingdoms are begging for a brave and powerful leader to put their hopes and dreams in. And now, it really is time to say goodbye." Wallace pressed the knife deeper and backed Virginia against a wall.

A snarl tore through the night.

Wallace spun as Prince leapt through the air. He had been taking the time to get ready. Virginia screamed out his name as the retriever leapt through the air, latching onto Wallace's wrist. Wallace howled, before spinning and hurling the dog against the wall of the tower. Prince hit the wall with a sickening crack and lay on the ground in a furry heap. He moved no more.

Virginia stared tearfully at the dog's limp form, before Wallace rounded on her, his dagger raised. "Oh, and one more thing – a promise to be kept." He sliced a swatch of Virginia's coat free, then dabbed it in her bloody wound. He held the bloodied piece of her jacket up to her eyes, before tucking it into his belt.

He grinned evilly as his hand lashed out, grasping Virginia's throat. "Goodbye, Miss Lewis."

He THRUST his knife back in between her ribcage. She cried out, screaming in agony as Wallace pressed her back against an open window. His boot lifted onto her chest. Virginia shook her head. "Please … the baby …"

With a simple press of his boot, Wallace forced Virginia out the window. He stared down as she plummeted the full height of the tower, and grinned as her body hit the moat with a splash. He sheathed his knife and turned. He stepped calmly over DeConte's body out the door of the tower, and merely closed the door behind him.

.

.

.

"Wolf – please! It's me – it's Tony!"

Wolf's ears were flat against his skull. He licked his lips, his teeth red with blood. Fiona prowled behind him.

Tony had no way to go but backwards. But if he made a break for it, the two wolves would be on him in a moment. But still – maybe somehow, someway he could reason with Wolf.

"Hey – buddy it's me! Remember! You saved us from the swamp! You saved the Nine Kingdoms by switching out the poison for troll dust at the coronation! You stopped the Huntsmen from killing Virginia! Remember?! You remember Virginia!"

Wolf drew ever closer, his teeth bared.

"Look, it's me! I must smell like her! Don't you remember her scent?!"

He stuck out his fingers. Wolf's nostrils twitched. He sniffed Tony's fingers – his pupils dilated.

Tony smiled. "You remember. It's me. Virginia's in trouble! We gotta help her!"

Wolf backed away, confusion rising in his brain. He turned to see Fiona snarling. He turned his muzzle back to Tony, cocking his head. Tony nodded encouragingly. "I know you're till in there. A part of you must remember – just remember!"

Two shadows appeared behind Tony. He spun around – TWO MORE WOLVES SNARLED. One tackled him, throwing him to the ground. Tony was shocked. Where did the other two wolves come from? Then he remembered – Hebro and Dynaman, Fiona's half-wolf lackeys. He should've known they were lurking around in her wake. They'd probably been following them all the way from the Second Kingdom.

The four wolves snarled. Whatever memories of Virginia and Tony had been in Wolf's mind were long gone, replaced by the prospect of a warm meal. The four wolves closed in around Tony …

"Over here!"

Reinforcements from the Sixth Kingdom guards had come. They held out their bayonets and charged, driving the four wolves back.

It was the last thing Tony saw before he slipped into unconsciousness.

.

.

.

The early sun rose as the four wolves bounded to the edges of the Sixth Kingdom. They reached the edge of a forest and lay down. The morning sun's rays glowed over them. Their fur receded, their wolf-snouts turned back to normal faces and within a moment, all four wolves had transformed back into their human selves.

Wolf's eyes rolled back into his head and he fell to the ground, exhaustion taking him. He was fast asleep. Fiona smiled down at him. "You did well tonight," she said, stroking his hair. "Sleep now." She turned to Hebro and Dynaman. "Good timing, you two."

A shadow appeared at the edge of the forest. "Took you long enough." Wallace appeared from between the trees.

"Did the plan work?" Dynaman asked.

Wallace smiled. "Yes. It worked. The Devil's Thorn is destroyed and DeConte is dead. The Snow Queen's rule over the Nine Kingdoms is assured." He turned, then stopped suddenly. "Oh, our agreement – the final part of the bargain."

He handed the swathe of Virginia's bloody jacked to Fiona. "Put it to good use," he said, before he vanished into the darkness.

Fiona stared down at the bloody jacket, before planting it next to Wolf's face. She sat down – now all she would have to do is wait until he woke up.

.

.

.

Bloody water swirled around Virginia as she floated facedown atop the moat. It carried her downstream towards the entryway of a river.

As she floated, voices swam through her mind. "Beware the Snow Queen … It's too late …"

"Please … just remember who you are!"

"My little girl. My little girl! I gave away my soul …"

Warm feelings of her mother's soft furs against her cheek … a kind motherly hand grasping her wrist, pulling her from the water …

But it wasn't her mother's hand.

It was a man's hand.

The hand pulled her out of the river and dragged her onto the riverbanks. She coughed and sputtered, spitting out water. Her hands went instinctively to her belly – she could feel movement. The little cub in her was alive and safe! She breathed a sigh of relief. Then cried out as the pain from her wound flooded her.

The man who had saved her reappeared with leaves. He pressed some to her side. "Lay back," he said.

His voice was familiar.

"Who … who are you?" she asked her savior.

The man stepped into the morning light and Virginia's face twisted in shock.

"Leone!"

.

.

.

Wolf awoke with a start. He sat up, holding his head. "Oh Huff-Puff, Virginia I had the weirdest dream and – " His eyes fell on Fiona, Hebro and Dynaman. "… and it wasn't a dream," he realized.

"You had quite the night," Fiona said, rising to her feet. She helped Wolf up. He snatched his hand away from her.

"Don't touch me!" he spat.

"Really, after the night we had?"

"We?"

"Well, you had the best night of us all. You ate your fill, I must say?"

Wolf's stomach turned. "Of people."

"And then some," Fiona grinned. "Take a look at what you had for dessert." She pointed to an object on the ground. Wolf's eyes widened. A bloody jacket. But not just any jacket. Virginia's jacket. "No …"

Wolf ran over, picking it up. He fell to his knees, screaming out into the night. "NO! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! Please don't let it be true! Please! Virginia!" The tears came. He pressed the jacket to his forehead. "What have I done …" He rose to his feet in a daze. He began walking for the moat. "I … I want to die …"

Hebro and Dynaman grabbed him. Fiona stroked his face in a false attempt to comfort him. "You will not die. There are big plans in place Wolf. You can yet be a part of it. I'm sorry about your fiancé, but there are bigger things at work." She leaned in close. "The Snow Queen wants to see you personally …"