Samantha R. Cichella - A New Successor

As soon as Tony made sure that the stable boy had started getting their horses ready, he headed back to the inn. He waved to a few of the villagers, and gave them a small smile. He didn’t want to seem too rude, but he really didn’t want to be here either. It wasn’t that he preferred to be back at the castle, he loved traveling through the kingdoms, as long as he was in a carriage and they stayed at plenty of inns on the way. He had gone on many trips with Wendell to visit other monarchs and on routine courtesy visits around the Fourth Kingdom.

He had found it a bit weird to meet Cinderella. After all, up until a few months ago, she had only been a fairy tale, yet there she was. He had seen her at the coronation, but hadn’t paid to much attention at the time, so he had never been actually introduced until the visit to the First Kingdom. She had been very nice to Tony, which had surprised him. Before going to the First Kingdom, they had gone to the Second, and they hadn’t had much of a warm welcome there. Red Riding Hood III was still upset about the coronation. She didn’t admit it, but she had been deeply embarrassed that she had fallen for Christine’s bait. She had passed the fake Wendell on his test of wisdom. So she had tried covering it up by blaming Wolf. Tony had been both shocked and angry. Wolf had saved not only her life, but 200 other Royals as well. But Red had gone on about how her dress had got wrinkled and her hair messed up. Somehow, Wendell had been able to remain calm but Tony had lost it. He had started yelling something like “Well, I would think that your life would be a bit more important than your hair and dress. If it weren’t for Wolf, you would have been poisoned.” Even now Tony was surprised that he had acted like that to a queen, especially the fact that he had been defending Wolf. But Red had merely replied “So he says.” Tony would have shouted some more, but Wendell had asked him to go outside and get some fresh air. Wendell had explained to him later on that Red was just embarrassed and had decided that she could take her anger out on Wolf, who was a wolf.

Tony shook his head. He had thought the Nine Kingdoms were a lot better than his own world. But it seemed that they weren’t completely different after all. They both had prejudice. Tony found a bench and sat down. He wasn’t in that big of a hurry, Wolf and Virginia probably were still at the general store.

Ever since Wolf and Virginia had gone back to New York, Tony had spent a lot of time with Wendell. He had a newfound respect for the young king. He had sat with him during many of Wendell’s meetings with his council, and had fought to stay awake. When he did pay attention, he had been surprised to see how Wendell had handled every situation patiently and wisely. About a month ago, Wendell and Tony had visited Viscount Lanskey’s family. Apparently, he had been in Wendell’s council and had been killed by the Huntsman. Tony had been very uncomfortable during that visit. He wasn’t very good at comforting people, neither was Wendell. But just by being there, Wendell had helped the poor widow. She had three kids to take care of and they were all still grieving over either their husband or father’s death. All Wendell said was about how Viscount Lanskey had been a very brave and loyal man. Wendell went on to say so many fine things abut him, that Tony had wondered if they were all true, Wendell had made him sound like a saint. But it had cheered up the widow. Wendell even told her that he would make sure that she was provided with enough money to get her and her children by. Tony had watched, as the widow’s eyes had become all teary again, only this time, from gratitude. Wolf had been right, Wendell was probably the most caring king Tony had ever heard of.

Tony looked at his new watch, (He had bought a new one not too long ago, seeing as though the Rolex Murray’s wife had given him had gone to the tooth fairy) and yelped. He had been sitting there for an hour now. Tony jumped up and walked quickly back to the inn.

When Tony got there, he found Wendell talking to two men in uniforms. Wolf and Virginia were standing a little off to the side watching, so Tony headed there.

“Dad! Where have you been?” Virginia asked as soon as he reached them.

“Sorry, I lost track of time. Are those the two guards that are taking the Peeps to prison?”

“Yeah, they got here not too long ago.” Wolf said this with a mouth full of chicken. He had already gotten hungry, even though he had breakfast about three hours ago. He offered a chicken leg to Virginia, but she shook her head no. Wolf shrugged and stuffed it in his mouth. Virginia smiled at Tony and they both shook their heads. Wolf who hadn’t been paying attention to anything but the chicken, looked up in confusion.

“Whaft?” Wolf swallowed and tried again. “What’d I miss?”

Virginia laughed, wiped a piece of chicken off his chin, and said “Nothing.” Just then, Wendell walked over to them. The two guards were walking out the door to the jail.

“Are you ready to go?” Wendell smiled, already knowing the answer.

“Yeah, but what were you talking to the guards about? You were talking for quite a while.” Virginia couldn’t hold it anymore. She was naturally curious and she couldn’t stand being left in the dark.

“Oh, I’ll tell you once we’re on the road. Nothing drastic or anything, just taking a precaution.” But this only succeeded in making Virginia even more curious. She opened her mouth to start again but Wolf gently pushed her away to where all the bags were. She was going to protest but let herself be dragged away instead. Tony and Wendell followed and the four of them were able to get all the luggage and supplies. They thanked the innkeeper and made their way to the stables. Just as he promised, the stable boy had the horses completely prepared by the time they got there. As soon as they had everything loaded onto the horses, the three trolls took their three with them, they headed out of the village.

Wolf had a hard time when riding by all the sheep. His mouth began watering, but luckily it wasn’t a full moon, or else it would have been a lot worse. Virginia brought her horse as close to she could to Wolf’s and took his hand in hers. She gently squeezed it to let him know that she was there for him. Wolf looked at her and smiled gratefully. They even passed a group of shepherdess and Wolf barely even glanced at them. He had Virginia now. He wasn’t about to be tempted by them.

Virginia however flashed them a threatening warning glance. She didn’t like them at all. Bunch of hussies, she thought to herself, although she would gladly have said it aloud to anyone. She would never forget the way Sally Peep and the rest of those Peep girls had flirted with Wolf. At the time, she hadn’t thought she liked Wolf, but a dark jealousy had come over her when they had first entered Little Lamb Village and Sally was going on about how Wolf had big strong arms. Now that she knew her true feelings for Wolf, if anyone ever dared to flirt with Wolf again in front of her, she would not hesitate to punch the bitch in the face. Virginia was a little surprised at her thoughts, but she knew what was causing them. She loved Wolf, and never wanted to loose him. But she knew that the chances of him leaving her for another woman were very slim. He had told her over and over that a wolf mates for life and that she was his mate.

Wolf saw the look Virginia gave the shepherdesses and smiled. He had a pretty good idea of what she was thinking. He squeezed her hand again and then leaned into kiss her. It was a little awkward since they were both on separate horses, but it was still passionate. After they were done, they still held onto each other’s hand.

They rode somewhat silently for a few hours. The only conversations were little things every now and then. It was mid-afternoon when Virginia remembered that Wendell was supposed to be telling them what he was talking to the guards about. Wendell and Tony were riding in front and Wolf and Virginia were right behind them. Virginia nudged Wolf and the two of them brought their horses up next to Wendell’s.

“Wendell, you were going to tell us about what you were talking to the guards about?”

“Ah, yes. Well, I better start with what I was talking to the trolls about.” Virginia had forgotten about that. She had wanted to ask him what he was talking to them about as well.

“Well, earlier, I asked them if they were done threatening war with the Fourth Kingdom, since they now know the truth about their father’s death. They told me that they wouldn’t start a war and that they again, were sorry. They seemed quite apologetic about everything they had done to us and wanted to make it up to us. I told them that as long as they went back to their kingdom and didn’t terrorize my citizens, that would be enough. But they insisted that if we ever needed their help in a war, that they’ll back us up.” Everyone looked at him in shock. trolls were actually willing to aid someone in war? It was almost unheard of. They were usually the enemy.

“Well what did you tell them?” Tony asked. He was dumbfounded. He didn’t quite understand why they would be so willing to help.

“I told them yes.” Wolf and Tony started to protest but Wendell held up his hand. “I was just as shocked as you were and at the time I wasn’t sure what to say. I didn’t-still don’t think they are worthy of our trust, but I figured that they would be a valuable ally. They are the most skilled when it comes to fighting. It’s better to fight with them then against them. Now, I don’t plan on having a war anytime soon. I think the reason they offered is because they love fighting and wouldn’t want to be left out of any war, and they felt that they owed us a favor.”

“I thought they weren’t supposed to care about anybody but themselves. That’s what everyone says anyway.” Tony had heard an awful lot of bad rumors about trolls. Fortunately, the only ones he had ever met though were those three, Burly, Blabberwort, and Bluebell.

“Most of them are. I’ve run across some of them before I was put into prison. I think Burly and them are probably the most softhearted trolls I’ve ever met. I wonder how their people are going to take the news that they’ve been allied with the Fourth Kingdom. The trolls have always hated the Fourth Kingdom more than the other kingdoms.” Wolf said thoughtfully. Virginia looked at him with a curious expression. He had mentioned his past again. She had never heard him talk that much about the time before he was put into prison, and lately, he was mentioning more and more. True, he hadn’t said much, but it was making her very curious. She was going to talk to him later and ask him to tell her about his past.

“Yes.” Wendell’s voice brought Virginia back to their current situation. “That’s what brings us to what I was talking to the guards about. I asked them, once they were done delivering Wilfred Peep and his two sons to the prison, if they would gather a few more soldiers and post them along the border of the Third Kingdom. I asked them to stay somewhat hidden so that no one would notice them. Just to make sure the trolls stay true to their word and stay out of the Fourth Kingdom. Wolf, I thought the same thing as you, which is another reason I wanted the soldiers there. That way, if the troll citizens get upset and decide to try something, we’ll know about it.”

“Do you think the trolls would go so far as to take Burly off the throne?” Virginia remembered many occasions in her own world where if the ruler made a poor decision, then the citizens would remove the person from the throne. She had learned in history of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

“It’s certainly possible, especially if we’re talking about trolls.” Wendell nodded his head.

“Would you help them? Couldn’t you send in troops to sort it out? If it were to happen?” They looked at Virginia in surprise.

“Why should we care about what happens to trolls?” Wolf asked, while Tony stayed silent. He knew Virginia had a soft heart and didn’t want anyone to die, no matter who it was. He remembered a few times where Virginia would come home from school all upset because of something she learned in her history class.

“I don’t want anybody killed. Especially if they were offering to help us and that’s what got them into trouble.” Virginia stated. She turned back to Wendell, waiting for his answer.

“Uh, well, I suppose I could. Usually, we leave the trolls alone and let them do whatever. They are often fighting each other if they don’t have anyone else to fight. But don’t worry, I highly doubt they’ll rebel. Burly, Blabberwort, and Bluebell are the children of their beloved former King Relish. There wasn’t a troll in that kingdom that didn’t respect Relish. So I don’t think they’ll remove Burly from the throne or kill him.” Wendell didn’t want to have to risk his men’s life to go and save a couple of trolls. Although, he had to admit that it would be useful to have the trolls on his side in times of need. His people wouldn’t accept it quite as easily though, they were still getting used to the wolves. But, if Burly were on the throne, then they would have valuable allies. The Fourth Kingdom would probably be the first kingdom in history to ally itself with trolls. Ah well, hopefully it won’t come to that. There shouldn’t be a war for a while, not unless the Second Kingdom will go that far.

Virginia nodded and her and Wolf pulledtheir horses back behind the others again. Tony and Wendell started talking about politic stuff, so Virginia turned her attention to Wolf.

“Wendell was asking about when we plan on having our wedding. I told him a couple months maybe. He offered to have the wedding in his castle, he said that the kings and queens of other kingdoms would want to come too.”

“Oh Virginia! That would be such an honor! The only time kings or queens go to weddings are for other royals. To think that they would want to come to our wedding...” Wolf noticed the hesitant look on Virginia’s face. “What’s wrong creampuff?”

“It sounds great Wolf, and I know it is an honor, it’s just that... Well, I get kind of nervous in front of a whole bunch of people and if they’re really important people...” Wolf put his arm around Virginia.

“Don’t worry. We don’t have to have too many people there. I’m sure if you tell Wendell, he’ll make sure to only invite certain people.”

“He already said that he’ll try not to get too many people. But apparently, there are some who have to come, since it’s a state wedding.

” “You see? It doesn’t have to be all that big. Do you think Wendy would want to be my best man? I don’t know of anybody else, Tone has to give you away.”

“I’m sure Wendell would love to. You’ll have to ask him. But who would be my maid of honor? I don’t really have any close friends here. Actually, I don’t really have any close friends period. There’s Candy, but we aren’t all that close.”

“We’ll think of someone. So when do you want to have the wedding?” Wolf gasped and smiled devilishly. “The sooner we have a wedding, the sooner we have a honeymoon. How about Kissing Town?” Virginia laughed and tried to put her head on his shoulder but had a hard time since the horses never stayed close enough to each other for very long.

“I was thinking about having the wedding next month. That’ll give Rupert plenty of time to plan it.” Wolf nodded. They rode in silence for a while after that.

It was almost evening when Wolf heard a faint yell. He hadn’t been certain though. He tried listening harder, focusing all his attention on locating the noise. Virginia saw him.

“Wolf what is it?” Wolf put his finger to his lips to have her stay silent. Wendell and Tony were still talking and he hushed them. They looked back at him curiously and noticed his expression. They brought their horses to a stop and Virginia and Wolf did the same. They were all silent, and then Wolf heard it again. It was a faint scream. It sounded like a young woman’s. They were in the middle of a forest at the time, and it was coming from the right. Wolf jumped off his horse and took off toward the direction of the sound. Wendell and Tony followed. Wendell grabbed his sword and bow and arrows. Virginia wanted to go after them, but stayed behind long enough to tie the horses to a tree a little way off the road. She hadn’t heard anything, but trusted Wolf’s senses. She took off in the direction the others had gone.

Wolf, meanwhile, was running in the direction he'd heard the scream. He could hear Wendell right behind him. Tony hadn’t been able to run as fast so he was a little way behind Wendell. Suddenly, Wolf entered a small clearing. He stopped at the edge of it. A second later, Wendell stopped right beside him. They both looked across the clearing and saw a bear that was circling a tree. In the tree, was a young woman.

The bear heard Wolf and Wendell panting and turned towards them. Wolf growled and Wendell raised his bow and fitted an arrow in it quickly. The bear hesitated, seeing the bow. Wolf growled a bit louder to warn it. That seemed to faze the bear. Deciding that it wasn’t worth getting shot at over, it turned and left the clearing. Wendell slowly lowered his bow, just as Tony arrived gasping for breath. Wendell left to go help the woman out of the tree. Wolf looked over at Tony who was now leaning against a tree for support.

“You know Tone, you really need to get back into shape.” Wolf grinned, he had to say it. Tony glared at him and tried to say something back but had a hard time gathering his voice. This only made Wolf laugh harder. Then he remembered Virginia. “Where’s Virginia?! You left her alone?” Wolf turned to run back to where the road was. Virginia shouldn’t be alone in the woods. It could be very dangerous. Just then, Virginia showed up. Wolf ran over to her and hugged her.

“Virginia, you shouldn’t have come out here. You could have been hurt.” Virginia ignored him though and watched as Wendell led the woman over to them. She had light brown hair, with hazel eyes. She looked to be about twenty years old. She was kind of pale and her eyes were a little red from crying. She looked frightened still, although not as much.

“Th-thank you, for saving me.” She looked a little disheveled as if she had been wandering for days. “My name is Evelyn.”

“Evelyn, this is Virginia, Wolf, and Antony.” Wendell gestured to each of them as he talked. They each stuck out their hands to shake. When Evelyn shook Tony’s, he said, “Call me Tony.”

“And I’m Wendell.”

“Nice to meet you.” Then realization dawned on her. “King Wendell? The Lady Virginia, Anthony the Valiant, and Lord Wolf?” Her cheeks turned a bright red and curtsied to Wendell. Wendell, Virginia, Wolf and Tony looked a bit embarrassed.

“Please, you don’t have to do that.” Wendell said.

“I’m sorry Your Majesty.”

“Wendell.” Wendell didn’t know what it was about this woman, but just looking at her, he got a funny feeling inside.

Evelyn looked even more uncomfortable now. She stood there with her eyes dropped and shuffled her feet nervously. Wolf decided to try some conversation.

“What were you doing out here all alone Evelyn?”

“Oh, I’ve been traveling around, hoping to find somewhere to work. I was hoping to come across a village that would have some open jobs available, someplace I could stay for awhile.”

“Well, why don’t you come with us. We’re headed to Wendell’s castle, and we might be able to find you some place along the way. We have plenty of food and supplies to share.” Virginia offered. She didn’t want to leave this poor girl alone out here in the middle of a forest.

“Oh, yes! That’s a wonderful idea.” Wendell said a little too excited. He realized this and quickly coughed to try and cover it up. “That is if you want. It would be safer for you. You really shouldn’t be out here all alone.” Wolf and Virginia looked at each other. Virginia raised her eyebrow and Wolf smiled a small secret smile. They both knew what the other was thinking.

Evelyn nodded her head yes, and the five of them headed back to the road. They got to where the horses were still safely tied to the tree, peacefully eating some grass.

“Here, Evelyn, you can ride my horse. I’ll ride with Wolf.” Virginia gestured to her black horse.

“Thank you.” Evelyn said shyly.

Wolf hopped up onto his horse and then helped Virginia up. She sat in front of him and leaned back into him. Tony climbed up onto his horse. He was now a lot better at riding and was able to stay on. Wendell offered to help Evelyn but she climbed up onto Virginia’s horse with such grace, that Wendell stood staring stupidly for a minute before regaining his senses. He hurriedly climbed onto his own horse. Virginia giggled softly. It was evident to her what was wrong with Wendell.

They slowly led the horses back onto the road. They traveled silently for an hour until it started to get dark. Wendell suggested that they find a spot to stay for the night. They were able to find a spot just off the road. They tied the horses up next to a big patch of grass for them to eat.

Wolf offered to find some firewood and Virginia said she would go with him. Tony glared at them suspiciously as they left the clearing but didn’t try to stop them. He knew very well what happened the last time they went off to find firewood. He highly doubted they’d be back anytime soon with any. So he went off in the opposite direction to gather his own. That left Wendell and Evelyn. Evelyn helped Wendell set up the sleeping blankets and then helped get the food ready. They didn’t talk much but each kept stealing glances at each other when the other wasn’t looking.

Meanwhile, as soon as Wolf and Virginia were a good way from the clearing, they stopped. Wolf grinned and started counting. Virginia laughed and took off as quickly as she could. She didn’t want to go to far though, because she wanted Wolf to find her. She could distantly hear Wolf yell, “I’m coming!” Virginia giggled and saw a hole in a tree big enough for her to fit in. She dove inside and waited impatiently for him to find her.

It was only about two minutes before Wolf found the tree. He quietly walked up to it from the side so that she couldn’t see him right away. Wolf managed to conceal a growl. He was hardly able to stop himself from throwing himself right into the hole right then and there. As it was, he had had a hard enough time counting to twenty without skipping. As he got closer he could hear Virginia’s breathing. She wasn’t even trying to hide it. Wolf smiled. As he got up to the tree, he slowly poked his head around so he could see inside. Virginia was sitting there looking straight out of the hole and didn’t see him at first. But then she caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye and jumped. She hadn’t realized that he could be so silent. Wolf laughed and crawled into the hole. He growled and they both gave into their desires.

An hour later, they were curled up next to each other, still in the tree hole. It was still warm enough outside, even though it was dark. Virginia had her head on Wolf’s chest and was enjoying listening to his breathing. Her head went up and down as he breathed deeply.

“We should probably be getting back soon. They wanted us to get firewood.” Virginia said softly.

“Hmmm.” Wolf wanted to go to sleep right there. He wasn’t all that hungry either, at least not for food.

“What do you think of Evelyn?”

“Evelyn? She seems nice. Shy though. I think Wendy likes her.” They both laughed. They had noticed the way Wendell had acted to her.

“I wonder why she was all alone though. Doesn’t she have any family or something? And why wasn't she on the road? She was a good way away from there.” It wasn’t that Virginia didn’t trust Evelyn, she just wasn’t sure what to think about her. But there was something telling Virginia that they could trust her. She seemed nice enough.

They lay there for awhile longer until Virginia finally got Wolf up. They got dressed and slowly made their way back to camp, holding one another’s hand. Virginia could hardly see anything, so she let herself be guided by Wolf. When they were close to the clearing, they gathered a bit of firewood so that they wouldn’t come back empty handed.

Back at the camp, they already had a fire going and the food cooking. Tony had gathered enough wood to last the night. He sat eating his sandwich next to Wendell. Evelyn was on the other side of the fire eating hers. She was on her second sandwich and was already almost done. Apparently, she hadn’t eaten in awhile. Which made sense, she hadn’t had any supplies with her when they had found her.

“Shouldn’t they have been back by now? Should we go and look for them?” Evelyn asked looking in the direction they had gone off in.

“No, they’ll be back here sooner or later. Don’t worry.” Tony knew what was keeping them and was trying not to think about it. Wendell was a little worried. He hadn’t been with them that day in the woods a few months ago, so he had no idea what would be keeping them. “Besides, if anything were to happen, Wolf knows how to look after himself. He can keep Virginia safe.” Tony said this to convince not only Evelyn and Wendell, but himself as well. He knew Wolf was very capable of protecting Virginia and wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

“Is Wolf, really a wolf?” Evelyn asked. She didn’t sound frightened, just curious. Tony rolled his eyes, but since it was dark no one saw him. Nah, you think? Wendell just nodded his head and said yes. Wendell and Tony looked curiously at her. They were somewhat surprised that she wasn’t frightened or anything by it.

“You’re not scared or anything?” Tony asked.

“Of him being a wolf? No, why? Should I be?”

“Well, no, it’s just that most people don’t like wolves. They’re either afraid of them or hateful towards them. You’re not either.” Tony was starting to get impressed with this girl. She was shy but she had a secret maturity in her. Like a hidden fountain of wisdom. He hadn’t known her all that long, but he had a feeling.

“I don’t have any problem with wolves. They’ve never done any harm to me, so why should I hate or fear them? How long have you known Wolf?”

“About three months.”

“Were you afraid of him or hateful toward him when you first met?”

“No, I just didn’t trust him. But it wasn’t because of him being a wolf. Where I came from, there were no such things as half-wolves. But in the short time that I have been here, it seemed like everyone hated wolves.”

“Unfortunately I was once one of those people myself.” Wendell saw this opportunity to get into the conversation. He didn’t like being left out. “But once I got to know Wolf, it changed my perspective of them.”

Tony snorted. “Even once you knew him you didn’t trust him. It was only after he saved everyone that you began to like him.”

“Yes, well, you can’t blame me. I grew up on all those lies about wolves, and so it was only natural for me to not trust him. I know better now.”

Evelyn watched them as they talked. She felt a little left out. They were including her in the conversation, so it wasn’t that kind of left out. She was surprised to see Tony acting so natural with King Wendell. She had assumed that since he was king, everyone had to act somewhat formal to him. But here they were talking like they were best friends or family...

Evelyn quickly switched her thoughts away from that. She didn’t want to think about families right then. It had been a while but it still hurt. But she couldn’t help it. She felt like she was intruding into their family. It was evident that they were all close. She could tell that Wolf and Virginia loved each other. She could see it in their eyes when they looked at each other. Virginia, Wolf and Wendell were kind of like brothers and sister. Virginia was Wendell’s step-sister and Tony was kind of like the father to all of them. She felt out of place.

She watched as Wolf and Virginia walked into the clearing holding hands. They each had a small pile of sticks in their free hands.

“About time. Let me guess. There was barely any wood even though we’re in the middle of a forest.” Tony snickered and Virginia blushed. Evelyn and Wendell looked at each other, each a little confused. Evelyn was glad that she wasn’t the only one left in the dark.

Virginia and Wolf added their sticks to the pile and sat down and made their own dinner. Half an hour later, they were all ready for bed. They put some more wood in the fire to keep it going through the night and headed over to the blankets. Wolf and Virginia shared the same blankets and were both quickly asleep in each other’s arms. Tony was the next one asleep, snoring loudly. Wendell said goodnight to Evelyn and they too, were asleep a few minutes later.