When the group was officially done with their lunch, Charlie paid the satyrs a gold coin and they packed up whatever food remained to eat later.

Their next stop was at a river. Alastor grabbed a tree and easily bent it over to make a bridge for the others.

"Right this way my lady." Alastor said offering his hand to her.

She placed her own hand into his and allowed him to escort her over the bridge. But, lost in Charlie's eyes, Alastor let the tree go before Angel could make it across and he was flung all the way to the edge where they started from.

"Hey!" Angel called. "Aren't you guys forgetting something?"

But Alastor and Charlie didn't even notice. Luckily Vaggie did and she gave him a quick fly over the river.

"What's the matter with those two?" Angel asked. "It's almost like they don't even hear me."

That's because they didn't hear him. The princess and the wendigo didn't hear anything save for the voices of each other. And they didn't see anything except for each other's eyes, and the way Alastor looked at her set her heart a flutter. He kept gazing at her as if she was the most lovely thing in the world. It had been a long time since anyone had looked at her that way.

"I wonder if my groom to be will look at me that way." She wondered as she thoughtlessly undid her braid and ran her fingers through her hair.

The wind started to pick up and it caused her golden tresses to float in the breeze. Her locks brushed against Alastor's cheek and he instinctively smelled the scent of apple blossoms which her hair was fragrant of. Now normally the smell of sweet things disgusted him but this woman's natural perfume had him completely allured. Without thinking clearly, he would catch a little of her hair in his fingers.

"I wonder if her hair always smells this sweet." He smiled dreamily.

"Excuse me?" Charlie asked.

Alastor blushed when he realized that he had spoken his thoughts out loud.

"I mean...I...I...I."

"You were smelling my hair?"

"Not intentionally! The wind keeps blowing your hair awfully close to my face and I...I...I..."

"Oh I'm sorry." She braided her hair back into place.

"I do apologize for being so uncouth my dear. Believe me, I would never be so perverse."

Charlie believed him. She believed that he was no pervert, but she didn't believe he was immune to getting the wandering eye if he really liked someone, and she felt the urge to tease him a little.

So later when Vaggie and Angel had moved ahead and Alastor had trailed behind her, she slowly hiked up her skirt a little to see if he would look at her legs. He did, he didn't mean to but her pretty white legs could rival a doe's and for a moment he was captivated by them. Then she turned to smile at him mischievously and he immediately looked away. His face was so red and sweaty, his palms were shaking.

"Is something wrong Alastor?" Charlie asked him feigning innocence.

"Oh ha-ha, I'm fine." He laughed nervously.

"Are you sure? You appear to be a little flushed."

"Flushed? Oh you must be mistaken. I am in perfect health. Illness is a rarity for me."

"Well you know becoming ill isn't the only reason people become flushed."

"Really? What other causes are there?"

"Oh just certain things involving your emotions like becoming angry, getting tired, or developing a crush."

His redness and sweat increased ten fold at the implication. She teased him with flip of her braid and a giggle. An action that didn't go unnoticed by Vaggie and Angel.

"What the hell is she doing?" Vaggie whispered upon seeing the little game that the princess was playing with the wendigo.

"You know there's something going on around here." Angel whispered to her. "His nervous laugh and that big dopey grin, her giggling and the hair flipping. I think she's flirting with him."

"Why would she flirt with him?"

"Duh, because she likes him. That's the only reason why people flirt in the first place. They do it because they like somebody. Or because they want to get something from somebody. But Al doesn't really have anything she could possibly want so I'm guessing she really likes him."

"But she's supposed to marry Lord Vox."

"Says who?"

"Well technically her story. Her story says that she's destined to fall in love with and marry whoever rescued her."

"Ah but technically speaking that electronic dick didn't rescue her. Smiles over there did, and he's getting along so well with her, it's giving me an idea."

"What idea?"

"That a few changes are going to be made to the royal wedding. Specifically the identity of the groom."

Vaggie looked at Angel as if he was off his nut.

"Hold on, you're not seriously implying that Charlie should be with Alastor?"

"Well why not?"

"How about the fact that she's a human and he's a wendigo?"

"And?"

"And how many stories have you read about a princess and a monster getting together?"

"None but these stories really need to be updated. Bring some new material. Also it's not like it's a sin for those two to be an item."

"True but I don't think Alastor is right for Charlie."

"And Lord Vox is? She's never even met him and believe me when she does, she'll wish that she had stayed single."

"What do you mean? What's he like?"

"To put it simply, he's a technology obsessed lunatic. I mean sure he's filthy stinkin rich but he's also half robot, hates anything to do with history and the past, and he has no taste. His clothes and his decor are so tacky it's painful. In my opinion, marrying him would be a huge mistake."

"If what you're saying is true then I'm inclined to agree but Charlie is bound and determined to go through with this marriage. She believes this lord is her true love."

"But what if it turns out he's not? What if she's destined to be with somebody else?"

"Somebody like Alastor you mean?"

"Exactly."

"She won't go for it. Not unless he suddenly turns into a white knight. Or at least gets his teeth fixed."

"She's already going for it. Look, she's flirting up a storm and he likes it. I mean he sniffs her hair, he smiles differently around her, and back at the tavern his tongue was practically hanging out of his head the whole time he watched her dance. He's into her and she's into him, it couldn't be more obvious."

"Are you really sure about that?"

"Hey I know attraction when I see it. I've been using it as a defense mechanism for years."

"Alright so there is something between them but it's only an infatuation. Charlie has this idealized husband in mind and she's not going to stray from that."

"And Smiles is a total cold fish. He'd never make a move." Suddenly Angel got an idea. "At least not without a little help."

"I am not a matchmaker." Vaggie refused. "I do not meddle in the people's personal lives."

"Oh what's the harm in playing Cupid?"

"Messing around with people's feelings can end terribly. Especially when it's the feelings of two people who have grown up in isolation and have no real experience with relationships."

"Okay you have a point but they have to learn to form relationships eventually and if they're not going to willingly learn then shouldn't we help them?"

Vaggie sighed.

"Also keep in mind that this may be Charlie's only chance to avoid marrying a techno tyrant." Angel reminded her.

"Fine. I suppose we could help them a little bit. But just a little bit, and we're going to be subtle, understand?"

"I understand."