Unexpected

Danielle Goldstein

Sponsered by: Bigbucks
Fandom: The 10th Kingdom
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own anybody but HuffPuff. And anyone can use her (except for RPGing) if they give me a copy of the story.
Notes: This is a sequel to "Family Ties" and it takes place, like the previous story, after the end of the miniseries (couple of months after Family Ties), though considering what Virginia said at the end, you can consider this alternate universe since there is no "immediate tragedy".
Feedback: Is beyond welcome. Good or bad, it makes me happy. It means you read
it. Send all feedback to Danii.

Summary: The Greysons of "Family Ties" go to a Cinderella ball, where anything can and does happen...

Part 1

"It's twins!"

"What?"

"Twins! There are two heartbeats! I could hear them as I lay down on you stomach! It's two heartbeats, not one!" Wolf exclaimed, bouncing up from their bed. HuffPuff, who was sleeping in the room above and who wasn't quite awake yet, thumped on the floor for him to be quiet.

"But it's twins!" he howled upwards. That was answered by another thump, though this one decidedly heavier. In a few seconds, Wolf's sister was in the doorway to the couple's bedroom in her night gown. She was out of breath and looked a bit groggy, but the smile on her face was easily seen.

"So, it seems we were both right. A boy AND a girl," HuffPuff said calmly, though it was easy to see that the calm was simply a front; she was just as excited as her brother.

"Indeed!" Wolf exclaimed, jumping back into bed carefully and kissing his wife, "Ah! My beautiful love, you have outdone yourself this time! Two children for the price of one! Not that I consider anytime with you a price, my succulent, ever-so-sumptuous, mate for life..."

The two started to kiss again and were about to do more than that, but HuffPuff's presence was felt, and they stopped.

"I'll be going now," HuffPuff said with a smile when they both looked at her guiltily, "Need my rest. Have a good time..." And with that she walked out.

"We..need..to..find her..a..boyfriend." Virginia said in between kisses.

"Don't worry...dear, I've got it all...figured out..." Again, that smile she couldn't resist.

"How long?"

"A few...months?"

"Good."

And then they went at it whole heartedly.

**************Six Months Later************

They were in the middle of breakfast when the message came. A rider, obviously a messenger, knocked on the door, handed them a letter, and then left. Wolf, who had received the letter from the rushed man, opened it up and smiled so wide it seemed the top of his head was cut off. He read it through a couple times for the girls, who, still groggy from waking up, couldn't believe it:

"King Wendell White, Ruler Of The Fourth Kingdom, Does
Hereby Invite The Lord Wolf,
The Lady Virginia, And Guest, To The Traditional
Cinderella Ball.
All Eligible Ladies Of Suitable Age Are Invited For
Their Chance To Woo The King And
Become His Bride.
Rank and Title Mean Nothing This Night. 
Please Dress Appropriately."

"Wow..." Virginia and HuffPuff chorused.

"We must get your outfits!" Wolf exclaimed, grabbing each of their arms and heaving them out of their seats, "And we must do it quickly! The royal decree will go out any day, and we must get the finest clothing before the rush!"

Virginia and HuffPuff, though excited, were still a bit tired, and shared a look which could be said to read "I elect to shoot all morning people." They then turned this look on Wolf, who brushed it off.

"Give us about a half an hour." HuffPuff said quietly, "to wake up. Go cut wood or hunt or something."

Wolf began to run out the gate to do just that, but stopped at the doorway. "You always used to wake up early, Huff! What's with you?"

"That was when I had three crazy older brothers to take care of who would complain if breakfast wasn't there when they woke up. I've gotten very friendly with the idea of waking up AFTER the sun rises since then..." Her look told him he had better go. Now. He did just that.

"Does he think all the herbs I use at the bar get there by little elves? Hummf."

Virginia looked at HuffPuff and said, almost resigned, "We had better get dressed. He'll probably get back here in fifteen minutes, and we have to get up anyway..."

When Wolf came back, as Virginia had predicted, early, he was happy to find the two women he loved dressed and ready to go to town. His wife, despite, or perhaps because of, her enlarged state, looked beautiful and she seemed to glow in the early sunlight. His sister was quite a vision, though he'd always thought she was just a beautiful, if not more so, than their mother. He was so proud and amazed that women like these loved him. Both were wearing riding dresses, Virginia in a dark blue, and HuffPuff in a lighter shade. Virginia still didn't feel comfortable with the clothing of her husband's land, but she wore it, and she had to admit it suited her. She smiled when Wolf walked up and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Okay" he said, "The dress shop opens in ten minutes. I checked, after I got that nice little wild boar in the woods. We should get going now."

And so they did. The town they lived nearest to was Whiteville, a small trading town just outside of King Wendell's castle. While the town had many dress shops and fabric stores, all in the town knew DeBrabant's to have the best merchandise. They had never shopped there personally, for they were only buying some simple cotton or wool fabric usually, but it had a good reputation. It was just as well that they opened early enough for Wolf. However, when Wolf pulled out his bag and began to count his money, Virginia got a little confused.

"Where'd you get that?"

"Um...winnings..."

"But I thought you spent all our winnings on our furniture and the restaurant. Not to mention our first date..."

"Um...I did."

"So, how do you have even more now?"

"The restaurant."

"Wow."

"Yeah" Wolf said with a breath, "It's amazing what you can make when you don't have to pay taxes..."

"Okay..."

"Yeah..."

They were stopped from more random mutterings by HuffPuff, who was trying to usher them in to the shop which had just opened. When they got in, they were amazed by the assortment of bright colors and textures. The salesman walked over to them immediately.

"Good morning, milord, how may I help you?" he asked politely, though there was a little sneer to the 'milord' part.

"We require two dresses. The finest in the shop. One for my beautiful sister and one for my gorgeous wife."

"Are you sure, milord, that you will be able to afford such fine quality merchandise?" Again, the sneer stained the words coming out of his mouth. HuffPuff growled a bit and looked like she was about to say something, but Wolf silently asked her to let him handle it with a hand on her shoulder. She nodded, and let him speak.

"Sir, I assure you, I have the money required to dress these two lovely ladies in your finest merchandise. Do not ask again, or I will take my business elsewhere, and tell others to do likewise." Virginia was a little amazed. He really looked like a lord as he said it. He sounded like a lord. Wolf sounded like he truly belonged there, which, as a paying customer, he did. He was giving the man a glare fit for royalty. Something about it tingled at the back of her mind, some small comment he had made once, but when she tried to think about it more, it slipped from her.

"So sorry, milord," the salesman said with a bit of humbleness, "This way..."

The once-rude salesman lead them to the back, where he showed them a variety of dresses in all different colors and designs. Wolf rejected most of them as being too plain, and each of the girls only tried on about 4 dresses each. In the middle of all this, the salesman was called over by the owner of the establishment. The three watched as the over-confident young man was pulled into a room, where, Wolf and his sister reported, he was begin chewed out for rudeness to customers. When he came back, he was even more helpful.

They picked out two dresses each, one in the latest style and one which was a bit of a classic. Virginia got one which fit her now, and one for after the birth, the first in a deep wine red, the second in a lavender-blue color which brought out her eyes nicely. HuffPuff picked out two dresses, one in silver and blue, the other green and gold. Both looked wonderful on her, but Wolf insisted that his sister wear the blue one, and his wife wear the red. However, Wolf himself declined trying on any of the suits they also had. He said he was going to wear the same outfit he had worn on their first date, which they discovered later, matched almost perfectly with Virginia's dress.
Everything was going according to Wolf's plan.

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