Samantha R. Cichella - A New Successor

Later on in the afternoon, King Wendell, Anthony, Virginia, King Burly, Prince Bluebell, and Princess Blabberwort were drawing closer to Little Lamb Village, where they would hopefully find some information about Wolf's whereabouts.

Wendell still rode in the front, Virginia, Tony, and the spare horse in the middle and the three trolls in the rear. Tony had picked up complaining again. This time it was about the heat. It wasn't all that hot out, but he insisted that a carriage would have been better. At least that had cushioned seats and a cover to hide them from the sun.

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you this Antony, but a carriage would only slow us down. We must make haste if we are going to rescue Wolf. We must have the element of surprise on our side if we are to have any luck. I didn't want to have to call out my army for this. We should be able to handle three men. You do know how to fight I assume?" Wendell raised an eyebrow at his former manservant.

"Well, of course I do! I took on those three back there and won didn't I?" Tony tilted his head toward the trolls. Unfortunately Blabberwort overheard him. She moved her horse right behind Tony's, and not realizing that she was there, Tony continued. "Yep, they hardly put up a good fight. They were all out in under a minute." Virginia and Wendell had noticed Blabberwort and tried to warn Tony but he was too caught up over exaggerating his story. The truth was, he had barely come out of that fight alive, and he ended up with numerous cuts and bruises.

Tony finally seemed to notice something was wrong because Virginia had turned kind of pale and glancing behind him, he saw Blabberwort. She gave him her most evil smile before pulling out her longest knife. Tony yelped and kicked his horse into a gallop. Blabberwort almost fell off her horse laughing so hard. When Virginia and Wendell realized that Blabberwort wouldn't harm anyone, they too joined in on the laughter. Tony was a good ten yards ahead of everyone else when he realized that nobody was following him. He turned and saw everyone laughing and he blushed, deeply embarrassed.

About an hour later, Wendell spotted Little Lamb Village in the distance. Virginia immediately made them pick up the pace. She wasn't all that thrilled about returning to that village, but if they could find any clue as to where Wolf was, she would risk it in a heartbeat. She led the way with the other horses galloping to keep up.

They reached the village twenty minutes later. After finding a good stable for the horses, the three humans and the three trolls made their way to the town center where they could hopefully have some information for them.

It didn't take long for a few of the people to realize who the visitors were. They immediately started swarming King Wendell. He received welcomes from almost everyone in the village. He was finally able to hold up a hand for silence, and when everyone was listening, he spoke.

"Thank you very much for your warm welcome. Unfortunately, I will not be staying in your village very long. My friends and I are currently on an important quest. We need any information you can give us. Three days ago, three men supposedly passed through here with a cart. They had a man in the back of that cart. If anyone has any information about who they were and where they were headed, I will see to it they are rewarded." Wendell got down off the platform he had been standing on and made his way back over to Virginia, Tony, and the three trolls.

"You're going to reward them Wendell?" Tony asked. He didn't think anyone who had anything to do with this village should get a reward. He voiced this opinion out loud.

"I couldn't agree more Antony, but if we are to find out any information, we must bribe them. Otherwise, they may not talk." Tony nodded. It made sense, but it didn't mean he liked it. The sooner they got out of this village the better.

"Well, let's get something to eat then. Give the people some time to decide whether or not they want to help." They followed Wendell as he led the way to the Baa Bar.

Once inside, they were instantly shown to the best table they had. The wait for food wasn't even longer than five minutes.

Halfway through their meal, Barbara Peep, Wilfred Peep's husband, made her way over to their table. Tony and Virginia recognized her right away but Wendell had never actually met her. Tony and Virginia (especially Virginia) glared at her as she stood her in front of them. They hated the woman for what happened the last time they were there, and they made no attempt to hide it.

Wendell saw their looks and was instantly confused. He had never seen them look at someone with that much hatred before. Well, there was the Huntsmen, but it was partially out of fear. He shot them a warning glance in case they were thinking of doing something stupid. Then he turned to greet the lady who was now standing before them.

Barbara Peep bowed to King Wendell and tried to avoid the looks Virginia and Tony were giving her. She knew who they were and why they were giving her those looks. She shot a curious and somewhat disgusted look at the trolls before turning to speak to King Wendell.

"Your Majesty." She bowed again. Wendell was beginning to get annoyed. How many times was she going to bow? She must be trying to suck up. Oh, well. He smiled at her and she continued, "My name is Barbara Peep. I heard your announcement earlier about how you wanted any information about the three who passed through here." Wendell perked up. He had been starting to doubt if anyone would come forward with the information.

"Oh, please sit down." He gestured to a vacant chair next to Tony. Wendell immediately realized his mistake however. Tony scooted his chair further away so he wouldn't be too close. Wendell glared at Tony. Why was he acting so rude? Wendell knew that he didn't like being in this village but that was no excuse for acting like that to this lady. Wendell looked over at Virginia. She was still staring at Barbara with that hateful look, but he could tell that something had changed. Her eyes now had a spark of hope in them. It was clear that she hated this woman but it looked as though she was willing to risk it to get that information.

Barbara nervously sat down. She uncomfortable with them staring at her like that and the fact that she was sitting at the same table as her king. Having three trolls there didn't help at all either. They were hardly paying attention to what was happening however. They were too busy fighting over who got the last piece of steak. She watched them for a minute, somewhat amused by it, and at the same time, appalled. Wendell coughed and her attention was immediately back on him.

"Sorry, Your Majesty. Three days ago, we only had a few people pass through. Those three trolls came through here and stopped for some food before continuing. There was only three other travelers besides them." She stopped, and Wendell could see that her face was covered with disgust and fury.

"Do you know who they were?" Wendell asked. He was beginning to get antsy. He looked at her hopefully.

"Yes. It was my husband, Wilfred Peep." She turned and saw Virginia choking on her apple cider and Tony was gaping at her with his mouth open in shock. Wendell looked just as surprised.

"Was he alone, or did he have two others with him?" Wendell found his voice first. Virginia and Tony were still in shock.

"No, he was with his two sons, Fibert and Fairfax. They came through here three days ago, but didn't stop for more than a minute. They aren't welcome in this village anymore." When Barbara spoke, there was a certain tone in her voice. Wendell couldn't figure out what it was. It was like a fury, but at the same time, a sense of loss. Virginia and Tony noticed it also.

"His two sons? So, if he's your husband, wouldn't they be your sons as well?" Wendell asked.

"Not anymore. When we kicked Wilfred out of our village, I got a divorce from him. Our two eldest sons, Filbert and Fairfax went with him. Those three were always close. They are no longer my sons. After what happened with Sally..." Barbara broke off. Apparently, the wounds were still fresh. Her eyes grew watery.

Virginia and Tony couldn't help it, they felt a little sorry for her. It was obvious that she was still hurting. She'd lost her granddaughter and it was her husband who had killed her. Then, her sons betrayed her and sided with their father. They softened their looks a little but there was still a shadow of hate written across their faces.

Barbara regained her composure. She sniffed and straightened up.

"I'm sorry. Anyway, when they were kicked out of the village, they moved into a cottage just outside of here. They didn't move very far, and every week, either Filbert or Fairfax would come into town only long enough to get some supplies. When they came through here three days ago, they had a cart with them, but there was a blanket over the back, so I don't think anyone saw what was back there. You said a man was in the back? Who was it?"

Virginia and Tony tensed up again. They weren't sure whether or not to tell her it was Wolf. So Virginia just merely stated, "My fiancée."

Barbara nodded. "I'm sorry that we have caused you so much trouble. I apologize for Wilfred as well. I don't know what has happened to him. He was never like this when he was younger. Or maybe he was, and I was just too blind to see it. I suppose love can be blinding sometimes."

Tony nodded. Didn't he know it. With his ex-wife Christine, he had loved her so much, and when she had started cheating on him and slowly losing her sanity, he just looked the other way. Wendell and Virginia glanced at him.

"Dad, are you all right?" He quickly wiped his eyes and nodded his head. He gave her a quick smile to let her know he was.

"Well, Mrs. Peep. Thank you very much for your information. I will see to it personally that you are rewarded for your help." Wendell stood up, followed by Barbara and then Tony and Virginia. Wendell shook Barbara's hand.

"That's very kind of you Your Majesty, but if you don't mind, I don't want the reward." Wendell looked surprised. Barbara turned to Virginia and Tony. "I owe you an apology. The last time you were here, your visit was anything but pleasant. That is why I wanted to help. I hope you find him." As Barbara looked into Virginia's eyes, there was an unsaid understanding between them.

"I hope so too. Thank you very much." Virginia's face no longer had the hate written all over it. Now it was just gratefulness and worry. Tony's face was no longer full of hate either. They shook hands as well.

As Barbara turned to leave, she added. "Oh, if you need to find their cottage, follow the road out of town, opposite of where you entered. Follow that road for about an hour, and you should find small path leading off to the left. Their cottage is at the end of the path." She bowed again to Wendell and then hurried back off to the kitchens.

The three humans and the three trolls finished up their meal and went to pay for the food. Tony was shocked to see how much money the food had cost them. Sure it was good food, but jeez! Those trolls had quite an appetite. In fact, Tony thought, they should pay for their own food. They ordered enough of it. But Wendell didn't seem to mind. He handed over the gold coins and the six of them left to find some place quiet where they could talk in private.