For the first time in Fiona's life, she couldn't wait for the night time. She had spent the day being in contact with so many people, it was more attention than she'd ever received in her whole life. So many reporters wanted to hear about her rescue. They wanted pictures of her; their Princess. It felt odd telling people about the fairy tale she'd been telling herself over and over for all those years. Of course, it wasn't her doing much of the telling. Everyone was incredibly interested in her rescuer; in fact, it almost appeared they became uninterested in her beyond a few photos. It wasn't like she didn't understand, her rescuer was very charming after all.

Everyone also wanted to know about their wedding. It was another thing that occupied her time. The planning was in full swing already, Charming had insisted upon it. She was glad her original theory about the curse breaking upon marriage was indeed incorrect; she couldn't imagine needing to hide away for even just a week more. It was very quick by some people's standards, but just right for her. It was enough time to invite the most distinguished guests, create the finest clothes, and make sure the whole kingdom knew about the festivities. Charming hadn't proposed to her as such, like she'd read in many romance novels in the tower; she guessed him rescuing her was the proposal. Asking would be silly after all, of course she wouldn't say no. He was her true love.

By the time dinner came about the princess was exhausted. Her impatience for the sun to set in addition to being the busiest she'd ever experienced left her in no mood for more polite conversation. There was a small part of her that longed for her bed - her bed, the familiar one in the tower - though she packed that desire into a box and firmly closed it in the back of her mind. The glimmer of anticipation for sundown was what she focused on as she picked at her food. She wanted to steal away with Charming as soon as dinner was over so they could redo their moment from before. She wanted no interruptions, no curses, nothing but the two of them. She was desperate for it to be perfect.

"Fiona, are you okay?" Lillian interrupted her thoughts.

"Yes," the princess snapped out of her daze, "of course I am." She smiled politely. Now the ogre was gone she had nothing to complain about. Her endlessly troubled life was behind her, she needn't experience a problem again.

"She's perfect," Charming interjected, gazing at her. "She's been so since the moment I laid eyes on her."

Fiona transferred her smile from her mother to Charming - finally back on his radar again. Charming had been enthusiastically speaking of his grand adventures, most of which he'd already told her. Her father spoke enthusiastically with him, her mother complimented his bravery. She expected nothing less. But maybe she also expected a little more. She wanted to shake her head at herself, reminding herself of her new expectation adjustment. It's just, perhaps her impatience would be lessened a little if they even cared to talk to her. She supposed she had nothing interesting to say, not compared to her prince.

She glanced down at her plate as her parents joined him in gazing at her. She would have been meek and embarrassed by the compliment if Charming hadn't spent the entire day saying much the same thing. The compliments were never ending from him it seemed. Not that it was a bad thing, she corrected her tone, looking up to them again.

"Though, she's not entirely what I expected, Your Majesty," Charming spoke cooly, startling her.

"What do you mean?" Her father seemed to tense up, she looked between them.

"She's just so good." He winked at her, smiling that smile again.

She looked down at the table, feeling herself blush as she should have done before. She knew what he meant, not that her parents would. He was also having to adjust his expectations for her. She carefully placed another bite of food into her mouth, slowly chewing. She wasn't sure what he was expecting, if her assumptions about his compliment were correct. Then again, she wasn't sure how grounded her expectations of him were either.

"You raised her too well, she is a credit to you," he complimented them. It pleased her father, that being the only thing going according to expectations.

Well, it wasn't unreasonable for her to expect for them to get to know each other more than they had done already. Or find some common ground. She recalled her parents telling her about how they would walk her mother's grounds talking endlessly and how she would find that happiness too. Perhaps they were sugar coating it - she took another bite - perhaps their years of marriage blurred the reality of how love begins. She was only in week one of her relationship after all. She was just tired - she took another bite of her food - in general, not of his endless compliments, not of him, of course not. She just had to be patient again, for the sun to set, and for her fairy tale, but she was decidedly impatient in that moment. He was everything she'd ever dreamed of. How many nights she had lay awake fantasising about someone to endlessly talk about her beauty, someone who never stopped gazing at her, telling her that they loved her. That's exactly what she got. And she was thrilled. She took another bite, to give her face something to do as her husband-to-be and father spoke about her. It was a bigger bite than she anticipated, she hadn't even had the chance to swallow the previous mouthful. She struggled to chew politely, pausing a second to sip her water to help. She suddenly stopped her movement, too distracted in her own mind to realise the table was discreetly staring at her. She chewed faster.

"Sorry," she mumbled as she finally swallowed, clearing her throat quietly.

"I'm just tired." Fiona smiled weakly at Charming as they entered her room together, alone. He hadn't asked, but she felt the need to explain herself anyway.

"I understand," he spoke soothingly, "This is all so much for someone as delicate as you." He pulled her against him, holding her head against his chest. "It's just us now, you'll feel better in no time."

"Of course." She settled into his embrace. That warm, fuzzy feeling returned. That was something expected at least, she acknowledged. He pulled himself away too quickly.

She watched him as he wandered away from her, to the balcony doors, exaggeratedly opening them. He held out a hand to her. "Shall we watch the sunset together, my princess?"

She couldn't stop the smile that tugged at her lips. "Yes, we shall." She delicately placed her hand in his as he led her outside.

The skies were changing colour, the sun low. He pulled her against his chest. She gazed at the sunset, her heart racing once again. She had evidence this time, the curse was broken. There was no need to worry, she told herself. She still held onto him tighter than perhaps she would have when calm. His steady heartbeat helped her calm herself. She took a breath in the silence he allowed them. It was a lot; she wasn't going to physically change, but the changes in her life were immense. She realised that perhaps that was a big reason for her unexpected low feelings. Her mind drifted back to the stories her parents would tell about their relationship. There weren't so many changes. Things were very normal. Natural. Talking in her mother's gardens for a long time. Perhaps if she had remained in the tower with her prince for a while to get to know each other before leaving, things would have been gentler, less anxiety inducing, more natural. Under that logic, things would improve over time. They would get used to each other's presence. It was time she would have to find some more patience for, she'd been patient far long enough.

Charming hummed some small amusement, breaking her thoughts. "The sun takes a while to set, perhaps we arrived a little early."

"It's okay," her voice was quiet. Despite her chaotic thoughts, standing in someone's embrace staring at the pretty view was nice.

"You can tell me when the transformation normally takes place this time," he sniggered at his humorous tone. A joke.

The smile grew on her face, a joke! Something to look back on and laugh for years to come, she allowed her mind to drift again.

"Of course, you just have to be patient," she giggled at him.

"I'm not patient at all," he pulled himself away, just enough to dip his head and kiss her. The kiss lingered a little longer than she expected; wanted.

Her smile dampened as she returned her head safely back to his chest. She focused her gaze back on the pink clouds, the sun lowering. She needed to see the exact second. "Almost."

"No more secrets." He held her a little tighter. He was right. "No more hiding."

She nodded. "No secrets, no hiding," she confirmed. She grinned, as the sun began to reach the point where things would change. "It would happen right n-OWP!"

Instead of finishing her announcement, Fiona let out a strange pained yelp. It wasn't the transformation, she barely noticed the pain of that anymore. She took a sharp breath as the new, sudden pain didn't leave her, her legs buckling. Charming looked wide eyed at her, holding her firmly upright.

"Is this the…? Are you becoming an ogre?" he asked her.

She furiously shook her head. She gasped for breath. "It burns," she squeaked at him, clutching onto his tunic.

The panic in his eyes spread over his face. "What's happening to you?" he asked her fearfully.

"I don't know!" she shouted at him, "Help me!"

He lifted her into his arms, shouting for help. The places in which he held her felt like glass shards digging into her skin. She yelped with every movement he made. He gently put her onto her bed, shouting louder for a doctor. He ran to the door, opening it, shouting again before running back to the balcony calling to anyone who was below.

The excruciating few minutes before help started pouring into her room felt like forever. The princess writhed in the bed, unable to relieve the pain in any way. In fact the more she moved, the more it hurt. When they asked her where it hurt for the third time, she screamed at them that it was everywhere. They told her that it wasn't possible to hurt everywhere. But it did. Her head pounded, her insides felt like they were on fire, her skin crawled, and any new touch or movement felt like something cutting into her body. She was sure the panicking made it worse but she had no other choice. Everyone was flocked around her: doctors, Charming, maids, her parents. They were trying to get her to lay still and breathe steadily but she couldn't.

Finally, the doctors left. They told everyone to see if it would pass; they would be back to check on her in the morning. She wanted to grab the nearest thing to her and hurl it at them for even considering leaving her in that state. But they did, her mother approving of the action.

"I'm not sure they should have left, Lillian." Her father was anxious.

"The chaos is making her panic. She needs to calm down," Lillian's voice was ever calm and reassuring. "Keep breathing, Fiona, in and out."

Fiona stared at her mother, trying to breathe in time with the way she was demonstrating. It worked somewhat, yet the pain didn't stop.

"What kind of insolent doctors can't even tell us what's wrong?" Charming re-entered the room after having followed the professionals out, chastising them for their poor practice.

"Perhaps it's the curse," Lillian alit on the theory, speaking collectedly despite the unease her words brought on the room.

"The curse is broken," Charming was clear, "She's human."

"Right, exactly," Harold chimed in, agreeing. "She's human, it couldn't possibly be the curse." Despite his words, he still looked at her with worry deep set into his face. "It wouldn't be the curse, would it?" He looked to Lillian.

The curse was broken, she was sure.

"Of course it's the curse." A new voice entered the room. It startled Fiona enough to make her gasp in pain. She quickly realised who it was floating in through the balcony doors. "Don't worry, it's simple," the Fairy Godmother announced sweetly as she reached the bedside. "Oh sweetheart, you didn't think that dreadful ogre would go away without a fight?" She laughed a little at Fiona's apparent stupidity. "Your body is simply fighting it until it's gone."

"How long will that take?" Lillian spoke quickly, her gaze darting between Fiona at the newcomer.

"Well that depends on how hard you can help it fight," she spoke matter-of-factly, directly to Fiona. The princess only looked questioningly at her. "Remember what ended the curse, Fiona, true love. You must stay positive and think about your true love to help this." She gestured to Charming.

"True love," Fiona repeated, her voice strained. It did make sense, she supposed.

"Yes, the more you focus on your love, the faster the terrible beast will go away." She nodded. Though the fairy leaned in closer. "I will warn you, dear, any negative thoughts about your prince will only make this pain worse." She spoke the words Fiona was dreading to hear. "Not that you would think badly of him, he's perfect, isn't he?" She laughed again.

Fiona wasn't sure what to do, she didn't feel like complimenting Charming in that moment, though the weight of her thoughts came crashing upon her. Those were the negative thoughts her fairy godmother was talking about. She tried to banish them from her mind – the effort only seemed to make the burning worse. She struggled to breathe again, everything intensifying. A result of those thoughts, she assumed. An involuntary tear escaped from her eye.

"Well, thank you, Fairy Godmother, but I think you should leave now," her mother's voice was hostile.

"Of course." The godmother didn't react to her mother's tone. "Stay strong and positive, Fiona." She smiled at her before waving her wrist and exploding into cascading bubbles.

Charming's attention was drawn away from the situation, marvelling at the bubbles. She tried her best to think favourably of him as he smiled wistfully as they floated in the air, but she couldn't. The pain was excruciating, she wanted to kick the bubbles until they all popped and he was focused on her again. The regret came afterwards. She couldn't control her thoughts. She tried so desperately.

Her prince finally then looked at her. He smiled gently. "Think about our love, honeydew, think about me."

She hated the nickname he gave her, but… he was handsome. And he was so brave… until he wouldn't stop bragging about his bravery. Panic filled her body, it almost felt like her throat was closing. She moved to try and relieve the pain, only to regret her actions.

"Stay still, Fiona," her mother insisted, "Go on, there you go."

Fiona tried as her mother told her, breathing in short, sharp gasps. She yelped again as her hand was suddenly grabbed.

"My love, I-"

"I think it would be best if everyone left," Lillian was firm, looking directly at her prince.

"You can't ask me to-"

"Just leave!" Fiona yelled at him, interrupting his protest. If he was gone, he couldn't talk to her. If he was gone, he couldn't annoy her. She could focus on thinking favourably about him.

Her father and Charming left the room. Her mother gently sat on the bed next to her.

"Stay as still as you can, darling. Breathe slowly, in and out, in and out, just like that."

Fiona immediately felt the pain lowering as she listened intently to her mother's words. The quiet empty room was peaceful. Though, it wasn't entirely quiet. She could hear her father and her prince using hostile, low voices outside of her doors. Her mother began to very gently stroke her hair, distracting her. "You're going to be alright, Fiona. Everything will be fine."

Everything didn't feel fine. The peace helped her, but it didn't take away the pain. She was starting to come to the conclusion that maybe she just wasn't strong enough. Maybe the Fairy Godmother was wrong - perhaps in some terribly tragic way the ogre was a part of her and she had willingly killed it. Perhaps it was now taking her too.

Except… She just wouldn't die.

. . .

Oop, plot twist time! I'm having the best time seeing people's insights and predictions. I appreciate everyone who has left a review!