Samantha R. Cichella - A New Successor

Wendell walked Evelyn back to her room. They were both holding hands and still wore amused expressions from their talk with Lord Rupert a few minutes ago. Rupert had been extremely excited about planning the ball, and even more excited to plan a wedding not too long after. He had been practically bouncing off the walls ready to get started. Now, they took their time walking to Evelyn's room, neither one of them ready for bed. Once they got there, they both paused.

"Well, good night Evelyn."

"Good night Wendell."

Wendell leaned in and kissed her on the lips. It was meant to be a small kiss but ended up turning into a long passionate one. Wendell wrapped his arms around her and she ran her hands through his short curly blonde hair. They finally broke the kiss, panting slightly. Wendell looked into her eyes and saw a fiery passion that matched his own. He wanted to take her into the room right then but he knew he shouldn't. Not yet.

"We should really try and get some sleep," he said softly and Evelyn nodded. She went to open the door to her room but Wendell stopped her. He kissed her again before watching her disappear into the room. Sighing, he turned and headed toward the Royal Wing, where his bedroom was.

The rest of the week Virginia spent in bed recovering. Occasionally, with the help of Wolf, she would take a short walk around the castle to stretch her legs. She had been really surprised to see that Evelyn was right. There really were tons of gifts for her. There was flowers of all kinds, get well cards, and even baskets of food. What had surprised Virginia the most, had been the gift from Queen Cinderella. She had given Virginia her own carriage! Both Wolf and Virginia had stood there in shock, staring at the rather large red and white carriage. She had even provided them with four beautiful white horses to pull it. The queen had also written a note saying that when ever Virginia traveled or ventured into the First Kingdom, she was welcome to stay at the palace.

“Huff Puff! Virginia! Queen Cinderella gave you a carriage and invited you to stay at her palace! Cripes, she must really like you,” Wolf said excitedly after reading the note. Virginia nodded.

“Yeah,” she said a little breathlessly. She turned to one of the guards who stood nearby outside the castle. “Can you go and get my dad for me please? The Lord Anthony?” The guard nodded and took off to the castle. Five minutes later, Tony arrived. He froze when he saw the carriage and his mouth dropped when he read the note.

“Virginia, honey, don’t take this the wrong way…but, maybe you should get hurt a little more often.” He said, not taking his eyes off the carriage. Virginia glared at him.

“Sure, Dad, I’ll put my life in danger more often, just so you can get it in good with the other monarchs,” she said sarcastically. Tony was still staring at the carriage and didn’t seem to notice the sarcasm.

“That’s my girl.” Then he saw her glaring daggers at him and smiled quickly. “I’m just kidding. You know I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.” She still glared at him so he hurried up to look at the inside of the carriage with Wolf. The inside was fairly large, with red leather cushiony seats. Tony whistled. Wendell would almost be jealous, it was almost as big as his was and the seats looked to be a lot more comfortable. He poked his head out the window so he could see Virginia.

“Virginia, as your father, I am telling you to invite Cinderella to your wedding. If this is a get well present, just think about what the wedding present would be!” Virginia saw the faintest bit of greed flash in her father’s eyes. Something she had grown used to seeing in New York. But she hadn’t seen him get that look since the golden river gold fish. She could just imagine that in his mind he was picturing castles made of gold or something of the sort. She shook her head to herself. Apparently he hadn’t changed as much as she'd thought.

Now that Tony knew Virginia was fine, he went back to work. Wendell had given him his own study/office to use to plan and work on the bouncy castles. So he checked on Virginia every now and then, but other than that, went back to his old routine. Basically, wake up around nine in the morning, go and eat, work until lunch in his study, spend some time after lunch visiting a few of his "lady friends" (Just as Wendell had promised, there were quite a few young ladies who were more than willing to spend time with a national hero), work a bit longer in his study and then stop for the night just before dinner.

Wendell and Evelyn spent as much time as possible together, at meals and whenever Wendell wasn't in meetings or stuck with a load of paperwork. Lord Rupert ran around the castle all week preparing for the ball. He often stopped and would ask someone's opinion on what color the curtains should be or how many vases of flowers should he use. Just watching him made Evelyn tired. She had to admire him. She didn't have any creativity at all, and he was loaded with it, as well as energy. On their first few days back to the castle, he had made Evelyn an entire wardrobe since she had very little clothes with her. The dresses he had fitted for her were very beautiful, and they were just ordinary-everyday clothes. There was an assortment of colors, but Rupert mostly picked colors that went with her eyes.

On Friday evening, the night before the ball, Evelyn picked out her favorite dress and did her hair carefully before dinner. Wendell said he had a surprise for her after dinner and she was curious in spite of herself. The dress she put on was a light pink dress that had a white flower design that was barely noticeable. Evelyn brushed her hair once more before making her way to the dining hall. Wendell was already there and he got up to help her into her seat next to him.

"You look beautiful tonight. But of course you look beautiful all the time." Wendell pushed her chair in before taking his seat at the head of the table. Evelyn smiled.

"Thank you." She looked around and saw that there weren't that many people at the table yet. A servant brought out their soup. As they were eating, Wolf and Virginia appeared and sat down next to Evelyn. A minute later, Tony came in and sat down on the other side of Wendell. As the servant brought out the soup for them, Wendell turned to Tony.

"Have you gotten any work done on your project?" he asked, trying to make conversation.

"A little bit. I think that using the elastic is going to work, but I'll need to make it a bit stronger first, triple its thickness. Then it should be strong enough. I still need to figure out the rest though, like how to get it to blow up. Is it okay if I borrow a few more books from your library? I'll get them back as soon as I can, I just need to do a bit more research."

"Certainly. Anything you can find here is at your disposal. And anything you can't find, let me know and I can probably get it."

"Thanks Wendell."

Wendell nodded and turned to where Evelyn was talking to Virginia about the dresses they wanted to wear for the ball the next night. Wolf was only partially paying attention. He was more concerned with his soup. Wendell's was only half way gone and Wolf was already finishing off his. When everyone was done with their soup, a couple servants returned with the main dishes. There was chicken, corn on the cob, and potatoes. There were a few other lords and council members who sat further down the table. Usually, they left the king alone during meal times and that left plenty of room for his closest friends to sit with him. Even if the lords and council members sat at this end of the table, he would have them move down some so that Tony, Evelyn, Virginia and Wolf could sit next to him. After all, they were pretty much family and his closest friends.

Wolf eagerly dug into the chicken, putting large chunks of it onto his plate and then he filled Virginia's plate as well. Wolf didn't take any of the vegetables though. Virginia saw this and scolded him.

"Wolf! You need to get some vegetables too. Your whole diet can't be just meat."

"Of course it can. It always has been," Wolf said, sounding almost offended. He picked up another piece of chicken and popped it into his mouth. Virginia scowled. "You're lucky you have a wolf's metabolism, otherwise you would be as big as a house, you know that?"

Wolf decided to not comment and continued eating his chicken. Virginia, not wanting to argue anymore, said: "Never mind, the point is, if you're going to make sure I get my protein, then I'm going to make sure you get your vitamins." Virginia then took an ear of corn and placed it onto Wolf's plate and then picked some potatoes and placed them there too. Wolf frowned and growled slightly. There was no arguing with Virginia. He finished the rest of his chicken and then ate the vegetables reluctantly. Wendell and Evelyn watched with amused expressions. If it had been anybody else, Wolf would have bitten them and not even gone near the food. Tony just shook his head and looked at Wolf sympathetically. He had dealt with that for years and it was good to see that Virginia had someone else to watch over. He wondered if Wolf would be able to take it. But he knew he would. After all, Wolf had done the same thing to Virginia, making sure she ate right, why wouldn't she do it back?

While they finishing eating, Virginia looked over to Wendell.

“Wendell, what ever happened to those two guards? The ones who were supposed to be guarding the mirror?” Wolf looked up too, Wendell hadn’t mentioned anything about them since getting back to the castle.

“Oh, I talked to them about a day after getting back. It seems as though the Peeps bribed them with money. Quite a lot as a matter of fact… They confessed to accepting the money. They let the Peeps through and then as soon as their shift was over, they left to gather their belongings so they could leave right away, in case they were caught.”

“What did you do to them?”

“Well, their punishment was not as bad as it should have been, but considering we got Wolf back okay…well, I just fired them and took away most of the money they had received from the Peeps. That way they still had enough to get by with until they found an alternative job.”

“That’s it?” Wolf looked at him in surprise. Wendell shrugged.

“I didn’t have the heart to send them to prison, and the way I figured it is that they won’t come by another job that paid as well as the one I just fired them from. They made a mistake and were very sorry for it. They apologized and apologized. They had just been tempted by so much money.” Wendell avoided their gazes. He personally thought that he was going softhearted. Something could have gone very wrong and it would have been those guards faults for letting the Peeps through. Wendell bit back a sigh. Being king was so much harder than he had thought when he was younger. There were so many decisions and it was hard to know what the right thing was.

When they were done eating, Wolf and Virginia decided they were going to go for a walk outside. Tony looked hesitant about letting Virginia go off. After all, she was still recovering. But he decided that it would be okay as long as Wolf was with her.

"Take a coat with you, it's cold out there." He told Virginia as they walked away. Virginia frowned but Wolf nodded. He had already planned on running upstairs to grab her one.

Tony sighed and got up as well, figuring he would go and spend some time in his study reading a book. Wendell looked over at Evelyn.

"Are you ready?" he asked and she nodded.

"Where are we going?" Wendell just smiled and helped her up. He put his arm around her waist and led her to the main entrance. Taking her outside, he said, "Just a place I enjoy going to when I need to think." The guards bowed as they walked by. Wendell led Evelyn to the back of the castle where there was a small little gate. Wendell unlatched it and they walked in. Evelyn gasped.

It was a beautiful garden. There were all kinds of flowers and plants of all colors, most of which she had never even seen before. In the middle of a the garden was a small clearing with benches facing a rather large statue. Looking closer, it was a statue of Snow White and the prince shed fallen in love with. Surrounding them were the seven dwarves, who with the prince, gazed lovingly at the Fairest of them all. Wendell smiled as he watched Evelyn stare at the statue in awe.

"My grandfather had it built not long after becoming king. He knew my grandmother loved being outdoors, as she appreciated nature. So, for their anniversary, he had the garden planted and the statue made. My grandmother loved it and spent allot of her spare time in here. When their son, my father, married my mother, my grandmother brought her here as well. The two grew quite close and when I was born, they both brought me here too. I kept coming here even once they were gone."

Wendell sat down on one of the benches and Evelyn sat down next to him. They were both quiet for a minute, watching as the moonlight hit the statue and flowers. There was a rose bush right next to their bench and Wendell carefully picked a red one and handed it to Evelyn. She smiled and took it. She shivered slightly from the cold and Wendell removed his jacked and placed it over her shoulders. Evelyn smiled gratefully and laid her head against his shoulder. They both sat there, just watching the garden. After about an hour, Evelyn looked up and saw that a balcony was hanging right over the garden.

"Whose room is that?" she asked and Wendell followed her gaze. He smiled.

"Oh, that's the other part of the surprise. Would you like to go see it now?" he asked and she nodded. They got up and walked slowly back to the castle. When they got back inside the warm castle, they headed up the grand staircase. Wendell led Evelyn through a series of corridors and Evelyn was soon quite lost. Wendell seemed to know where he was going and she hoped that was the case. She had no clue how he could walk through this enormous castle and not get lost. Finally, they came to a large wooden door. The door was polished and had fancy designs along it. Wendell pulled out a key and put into the lock and twisted.

He let Evelyn enter and then closed the door behind them. He had brought a candle from downstairs and used it to light the various candles around the large room. When it was lit up, Evelyn gaped at the inside of the room. It was like a large study only it seemed to have a more peaceful nature to it. The furniture, she noticed, was made of the same beautiful wood as the door. There were a few bookcases, filled with ancient books. She noticed that there was a large fireplace with a large mantle with gold trim that went along the top. There were couches and chairs around the fireplace. There were many beautiful paintings around the room hung up on the walls, but one in particular caught her attention. There was a large painting of Snow White in the glass coffin with the prince leaning over her. The painting had a gold frame and hung above the fireplace. On the other side of the room, near the bookcase, there was a table with four chairs around it. There was also a small cot in the corner, as if somebody used to sleep in here periodically. Evelyn noticed there was not a single speck of dust in the room, so she knew the maids still came to clean this room. Evelyn looked over to see Wendell starting a fire in the fireplace.

She turned back to look at the ancient books and was surprised to see they were in relatively good condition, because as she flipped through one of them, she found it was over two hundred years old. The books were about various things, including the history of the kingdoms before they had been formed into kingdoms. There were also books on various myths and legends. Interested, she picked one up and flipped through it. She stopped as she saw a chapter labeled: "The Mythical Tenth Kingdom." Wasn't that where Virginia and Tony were from? She sat down at the table and skimmed through it. Apparently, over three hundred years ago, some wizard had stumbled into a different dimension when one of his spells backfired. He came to this large place that was completely different from their own dimension. He grew quite excited and managed to get himself back to his dimension, planning to bring others with him to show what he found. Unfortunately, he was unable to get back to this new place. Some years later, another wizard had a vision. Evelyn's eyes widened as she read the next part. The wizard foretold that someday, a hero and a heroine would come from this new kingdom and together, with a wolf and a mighty heroine's grandson, they would stop an evil queen from taking over the kingdoms. At the time, the kingdoms had not yet formed and so nobody listened to the wizard. They just proclaimed him to be crazy.

Evelyn kept reading and saw that there was another wizard who had a vision involving the mythical tenth kingdom. This wizard had many dwarf friends, and when he told them of this vision, they decided to try and construct a traveling mirror to take them to this other dimension. That was how the three traveling mirrors were made. Evelyn wanted to keep reading but decided to call Wendell over first.

“Wen-” She started as she went to turn around toward the fireplace but stopped and jumped. Wendell was right behind her. She let out a quick yelp and jumped in her chair. Wendell laughed and Evelyn glared at him. She hadn’t even heard him come over. She waited until her heartbeat slowed down before saying anything. “Wendell! Don’t do that! You almost gave me a heart attack!” She placed her hand over her heart to emphasize the point. Wendell grinned.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t necessarily mean to. I came over and you were so engrossed in that book that you didn’t see me, so I peeked over your shoulder to see what you were reading.” He looked over at the book that was now lying on the table. “What are you reading?”

Evelyn remembered what she was going to show him and picked the book back up. She flipped back to the beginning of that chapter and shoved it under Wendell’s nose. Wendell read the first page and his eyes grew larger. He turned the page and got to the part about the vision about the four saving the kingdoms and his eyes widened even more and his mouth dropped open in surprise.

“I need to show this to Virginia and Antony. I think they will find this quite interesting.” Wendell closed the book. “I’m going to have to read some more later.” Evelyn got up as Wendell put the book on the table to take with him later.

“What is this room? It must be really old to have these books in it.” Evelyn asked as Wendell led her to a set of double doors. He opened them and they stepped out onto a large balcony, the same one that Evelyn had seen from the garden. They leaned against the railing and watched the moon, which was now a little more than half way full. She looked at Wendell, waiting for an answer.

“This was my grandmother’s study, her relaxing room if you will. She would always disappear either to this room or to the garden. She often slept in here after my grandfather died. Whenever there was a crisis and she needed to figure out what to do, she would visit this room and would always come up with the best approach. I never knew about this room until a few days before my grandmother left the castle for good. She brought me here and told me all about it and I remembered thinking this had been the most magnificent room I had ever seen. I haven’t been here all that much lately, as I have been very busy since becoming king, but whenever I get spare time I like to come up here. You’re the first one I’ve ever showed this room to. There are very few people who even know it’s here. The two maids that I appointed for this room, myself and now you.”

Evelyn smiled, feeling honored to be the first one to come here apart from Wendell and his maids. She shivered slightly again as the wind picked up and the two went back inside. Wendell added another log to the fire and sat down on the couch. Evelyn sat down next to him and laid her head on his shoulders. They sat there in silence for a while, just staring at the fire. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence either. After a while, Evelyn looked up at Wendell.

“What’s it like being a king?” she asked curiously. Wendell looked down at her, surprise evident on his face. The question had come from nowhere. He thought a moment before answering.

“Well, it’s a great responsibility. Being king means having the fate of a whole kingdom in my hands. I have to make sure that everyone is taken care of and make sure there is enough food being grown so villages aren’t starving. I also have to try and keep everyone happy while at the same time, keeping the peace. It‘s surprising how different the two can be, happiness and peace.” Wendell sighed and Evelyn saw lines of stress across his face. “A king is forced to do the right thing, but sometimes doing the right thing makes you more hated.” Evelyn looked at him in confusion so he gave an example. “I know I did the right thing by pardoning the wolves, at least that’s what my heart tells me. And yet many of my citizens don’t think so. In righting a wrong that had been going on for hundreds of years, I’ve merely created more tension, between myself and the people, and other kingdoms as well, like the Second Kingdom. Red Riding Hood was furious that I pardoned them. Did you know that she was threatening to destroy the treaty between our kingdoms over it? She was willing to start a war because of it.”

Evelyn looked at him in surprise. She hadn’t known that. She knew that the Second Kingdom had not agreed with it, but didn’t think they would go so far as to do that. Wendell stared into the fire.

“Wendell, you’re wrong about your citizens. While I was wondering for those few months, I heard a lot of talk. I did hear a lot of negative opinions about the pardon, but I also heard a lot of positive ones too.” Wendell looked over to her, and she continued. “Many of the people, like me, have never really had problems with wolves and have never really given much thought to them. There are also some that are glad that you pardoned them because they had always felt that it was wrong for the wolves to be treated like that.” Wendell looked at her doubtfully. “No, it’s true. There are also many people whose opinions were changed after Wolf saved the kingdoms. Before that incident, they hadn’t liked wolves, but after seeing that they could do some good, they changed their positions. So you see, you really did do the right thing, and your citizens aren’t all against you like you thought. I know a lot of them respect you for what you did. I’m sure that the same goes for some of the other monarchs. They probably just acted bitter to you about it because they refused to admit that maybe you were right and they were wrong. I’m sure they can’t be all that bitter, after all, Wolf saved their lives. He didn’t have to, but he did. Everyone will get used to it eventually. It will take a while to get rid of all the prejudice built up over the years, and even then I don‘t think it will ever truly be gone. But it‘s a start, and you‘re the first one to take that first step.”

Wendell was silent as everything Evelyn had just told him sunk in. Evelyn seemed truly wise for her age, and that impressed Wendell. He finally picked up her hand and squeezed it gratefully. “Thank you Evelyn,” he whispered. She smiled. They leaned in and kissed. It was a gentle kiss at first, but grew more passionate. Wendell pulled Evelyn closer to him and they parted for a second to catch their breath. It was only for a second, though and Wendell bent over for more. Wendell silently told himself that he should stop because he was only tormenting himself. He really did want to wait to do anything further than kissing but he was finding it more and more difficult to contain himself.

When Evelyn went to remove his shirt, she looked up into his eyes and saw that he wasn’t going to stop her. In fact, once looking into her eyes, Wendell didn’t care about being proper anymore. He put his hands over hers and they both lifted his shirt off. Once his clothes were lying in a heap on the floor, Wendell began taking her clothes off. Wendell pulled her to the floor with him. They hadn’t stopped kissing and it was becoming more urgent. And so they made love near the fire, each giving into their desires that they had been trying to keep bottled up.

Virginia and Wolf walked hand in hand outside the castle. They walked slowly and silently through the woods, listening to the crickets and the owls around them. Virginia had never appreciated nature all that much before meeting Wolf. She still remembered that day he had pointed out everything she had missed while sleeping. Now, she was surprised to find how much attention she paid to her surroundings. A few minutes before, she had spotted a deer with a little fawn watching them as they passed by. They had been hidden behind some shrubs and she almost hadn’t seen them.

They found a small little grass clearing with a log at the far end of it. They sat down on the log and watched everything around them. It was dark but the moon provided some light for them. Virginia still couldn’t see everything all that well, but Wolf could see everything as if it were in the middle of the afternoon, so she just trusted Wolf to guide her. They sat there in silence for a while, looking at the forest around them and up at the stars as well. Eventually, Virginia broke the silence.

“Wolf? We still need to tell Wendell when we want to have our wedding. We haven’t set a date yet.” She looked up at him, as he was quite a bit taller than her, even sitting down.

“Whenever you want Virginia, but as soon as possible I think,” he said and Virginia smiled.

“Well, I was thinking before the next full moon. Right before it. That way, it’ll come around just as we’re on our honeymoon.” Virginia grinned as Wolf started panting just thinking about it. Full moons were no longer a problem for him, in fact, now he looked forward to them every month. His appetite always increased, but it was not just for food. He mentally counted the days left before the full moon. He muttered a small ‘cripes’ and whined slightly. There was still about two weeks. Virginia heard the whine and patted him on the leg.

“Don’t worry Wolf. We need at least that much time anyway. We have to get everything prepared and the invitations sent out to whoever it is that Wendell needs to invite.” Virginia paused for a moment. “Wolf? What about my grandmother? Won’t she wonder why she wasn’t invited to the wedding if we just showed back up already married?”

Wolf put his arm around her. “Don’t worry Virginia. We’ll think of something. But I don’t think we could bring her here.” Then Wolf chuckled as he imagined Tony’s expression if they did bring her here. It would drive Tony crazy. Maybe they could…

“What’s so funny?” Virginia asked him.

“Oh, I was just picturing Tony’s face if we were to bring your grandmother here. I think he would go insane. I don’t think he likes her very much.”

Virginia laughed. “That’s a major understatement. All my life I’ve had to deal with their bickering and snide comments back and forth behind each other’s backs, and sometimes even to their faces.” She shook her head. “Yeah, I think it would be best that Grandmother not know about the kingdoms.”

“Yeah, I don’t think the kingdoms would be able to stand her,” Wolf muttered softly but Virginia heard it. She glared at him but knew he was right. How many times had her grandmother gotten on her nerves? No matter how much she annoyed her, she had always kept going to visit the elderly lady. She just didn’t have the heart to abandon her like Christine had done.

“I’m going to ask Evelyn to be my maid of honor. We’ve grown really close over the past week or so and she’s sort of become like a sister. Besides, if she and Wendell really do get together, then she will be.”

Wolf smirked. “Evelyn told me that they kissed the other day and Wendell’s been taking her everywhere. She said that he was raised proper and told her that he wanted to wait until being married before going any further than kissing, and she said that she could tell it’s a big struggle on him.” Virginia laughed at that and Wolf grinned. “I can’t wait to see how long he’s able to stick with that.” The whole thing was very amusing to Wolf and Virginia. Their relationship was so much different. But they could both tell that Wendell and Evelyn loved each other, just as much as Wolf and Virginia. They were just a little more shy about it was all.

“So what are our plans for afterwards? Wendell offered to let us live in the castle, and he also offered to get land for us to build our own house.” Virginia asked Wolf and looked up at him for the answer. She personally didn’t mind either option. She enjoyed living in the castle, but it might be nice to have their own place to. Just not too far from Wendell’s, she thought. Wolf thought about it for a minute out loud.

“Well, the castle is good. There’s servants and lots of food and lots of room.”

“But won’t you need to have some time outside too?”

“Yes, but there’s the woods out here too. We can always come out here to run around. But on the other hand… if we have our own house, we have all the privacy we want.” Wolf grinned and Virginia nodded. She had been thinking about getting something near the edge of a forest where Wolf could go and hunt and run around. Someplace where there weren’t many villages around, but not too secluded. She told Wolf this and he agreed. After talking a little more about it, they decided they would build their own house. They would have to stay at the castle while it was being built, but it wouldn’t be all that bad. They also decided they would visit Virginia’s grandmother maybe once every couple months. They would tell her that they had moved to the country where her dad was now living. Virginia had already told her some story about how her father had been made a lord and was a very good friend to a king. Virginia hadn’t wanted to mention her mother at all, because it would only lead to her death and she wouldn’t be able to bear telling Grandmother about how her daughter had died. Grandmother had a hard time believing that a king would ever make Tony a lord, but Wolf had been able to convince her.

It was starting to get late when they finally decided to head back. They walked back through the woods, following the trail they had made before. When they got back to the castle, they found that there were only a few people roaming around. As they were headed up the stairs, Tony came rushing down. He looked quite excited about something and had to wait several minutes before he could talk.

“Have…either of you seen…Wendell?”

“No, we just got back. Why?” Virginia asked.

“Because, I think I found a way to put air in the bouncy castles. I’ll tell you about it later. If you see Wendell, tell him I’m looking for him. He wasn’t in his room or his study.” Tony rushed off in the direction of the kitchens. Wolf and Virginia watched him go and shook their heads.

“I wonder where Wendell is. It’s getting kind of late and I’m surprised he wouldn’t be in bed.” Virginia wondered out loud as they continued up the stairs. By the time they had reached their room, Virginia’s strength was just beginning to leave. She considered it pretty good to have been able to get all that exercise and just now begin to get tired. Wolf saw that she was a little flushed and whined.

“Oh, Huff Puff, Virginia! You’re not feeling good. I knew you should have stayed in bed.”

“I’m fine Wolf. Really. I’m just starting to loose my strength is all. But I’ve been up and moving around all day, and I’m just now starting to get tired. So I’m getting better.” She smiled, trying to convince him she was telling the truth. She went over and changed into a night gown and Wolf took his clothes off, and they both got into bed. Virginia fell asleep quickly, with her back up against Wolf who had his arms wrapped around her. Wolf laid there, breathing in her scent, and was soon fast asleep.

Wendell woke up early the next morning. He laid there with his eyes closed, wondering why his bed was suddenly so hard. Then he remembered what had happened the previous night and his eyes popped open. He was laying on the floor near the fire that had long since burnt out, and Evelyn was still fast asleep curled up next to him. They had a blanket covering them that Wendell had pulled off the couch last night. Wendell laid there, watching Evelyn sleep. She was just as beautiful when sleeping. He wanted to kiss her but feared he would wake her up. So, he laid there, gently running his fingers along her smooth skin. After a while, Evelyn began to move around and Wendell bent over and kissed her awake. She opened her eyes and smiled.

“Mmmm, morning,” she said as she stretched.

“Good morning,” Wendell said softly. He put his arm back around her as she stroked his small beard, since he hadn’t shaved since the previous day. After a few more minutes of silence, Wendell said, “We should probably get up. The ball is tonight and we have a lot to get done. You still need to be fitted for your dress.”

Evelyn nodded. She didn’t want to get up though. She felt like laying there all day. They got up and got dressed and quickly cleaned the room. Evelyn blew out the candles and Wendell grabbed the book from the table. As they headed out the door, Wendell said, “Let’s go and change our clothes and I’ll meet you in the dining hall in an hour for breakfast, okay?” Evelyn agreed and followed Wendell to the staircase. Wendell went in the direction of the Royal Wing and Evelyn left to head to where her bedroom was.

Virginia was walking down the hallway when she saw Evelyn turn the corner. “Evelyn! There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you. Lord Rupert’s been trying to get a hold of us so we can be fitted for our gowns tonight. Where have you been?” Virginia watched as Evelyn blushed and stammered trying to answer.

“Oh, I…uh, I got up early this morning, so…I decided to go for a walk. Yeah, just a short walk outside,” Evelyn said and Virginia raised one eyebrow slightly.

“Okay…well, have you eaten yet?”

“No, not yet, I was going to go and change my clothes first, and maybe take a bath. I’ll be down to eat in a little bit. Then we can go and find Lord Rupert.”

“All right. Well, I’ll see you down there then.” Virginia walked past Evelyn and towards the stairs, all the time wondering what was wrong with her. Evelyn was extremely nervous or embarrassed about something. She could tell by her voice and how she blushed. Shrugging it off, she finished going down the last few steps and walked towards the dining hall. Wolf and Tony were already there, talking about something while waiting for their food. She took a seat next to Wolf who was sitting across from her dad. Tony was telling Wolf about his discovery on how to blow up the bouncy castles. He was apparently going to invent an air compressor and one of the books he had been reading last night had given him some ideas for it.

“Dad, have you seen Wendell yet?” Virginia asked, still thinking about Evelyn.

“No, not yet. I don’t know where he went to. I gave up last night trying to find him and I haven’t seen him this morning either.” Tony looked and just as the words left his mouth Wendell walked in. “There you are! Jeez, where have you been?”

“What do you mean?” he asked, trying to seem as though it was an absurd question. “I was trying to find you last night but you weren’t in your room or your study. I couldn’t find you this morning either.”

“Oh, I was…err…” Wendell tried to think of something, not wanting them to know where he really had been. Luckily, Tony was too excited about his discovery to notice or care. Virginia noticed it though. She knew something was up, because both Wendell and Evelyn had been gone and couldn’t give a good alibi. But Tony just carried on, not waiting for an answer.

“I found out how to get the bouncy castle to blow up!” Tony exclaimed, quite proud of himself. Wendell looked at him in confusion.

“Bouncy castle…Oh!” Realization dawned on him. “Really? How?”

“I was sitting in my study last night and I was reading one of those books…I can’t think of the name right now, but anyway, I figured out how to invent what we need.”

“Wonderful. Oh, that reminds me, I have something to show you all. A book that Evelyn found. It talks about the mythical Tenth Kingdom, which is really not so mythical anymore. But anyways, I left it in my study, so you’ll have to come up later to read it.” He turned to Virginia. “By the way, I ran into Rupert on the way down here and he said to tell you that you and Evelyn are to report to the fabric room as soon as you are done eating.”

Virginia nodded and then asked. “Where’s the fabric room?”

“Oh, it’s in the east wing. I’ll have someone show you there.” A servant brought out all their breakfasts just as Evelyn was arriving. She took a seat next to Wendell and smiled at everyone. They all helped themselves to the eggs, bacon, and potatoes. Wendell told Evelyn about meeting Lord Rupert and she nodded. Virginia watched them carefully, trying not to make it obvious she was doing so. Wolf looked up and saw her keep glancing over there and he tilted his head curiously at her. She shook her head and mouthed ‘later’ and he nodded. When Virginia and Evelyn finished eating they got up and Wendell instructed a servant to show them the fabric room. They followed the servant out of the room. Wendell got up and asked Tony and Wolf to follow him so he could show them the book. They went to his study and took a seat. As Wendell walked around to the other side of his desk, Wolf caught something in his scent. Grinning, he realized what Virginia had been thinking about. Wendell saw him grinning and looked at him puzzled. Wolf quickly hid his grin and looked away. He wouldn’t say anything just yet. Virginia would get mad at him. Wendell cleared his throat and picked up the book. He opened it to the chapter that he wanted to show them and handed it to Tony. Wolf leaned over and read over his shoulder. They both read it in shock and when Wolf finished the first page, Tony was still reading. “Tone, you read too slow. Come on, I want to know what else it says,” he said impatiently and Tony glared at him. He read the last few lines and turned the page. They read the whole chapter and by the time they were done they were both flabbergasted.

“Wow, so that’s why those mirrors were made? To go to a place they figured existed?” Tony asked and Wendell nodded.

“I haven’t finished reading that whole chapter yet, I only read the first few pages, but from what I did read it seemed they somehow knew of our whole adventure hundreds of years before we were even born, before even the kingdoms were formed.”

“Yeah, that’s really interesting. Here, so you can finish reading it. They mentioned more about the mirrors too. Remember how one of the traveling mirrors had fallen into the Great Sea? Well, it seems that it was stolen shortly after being made and was accidentally dropped off of a ship. The one that was broken had been a gift to some king a long time ago and his castle eventually became the prison. The last mirror, that we still have, was stolen from the dwarves by Snow White’s grandmother.” Tony handed the book to Wendell. “That book is really neat, it has the story of the wizard who had the mirrors made and his tale of when he ventured over through the mirror. Where did you find this book Wendell? The library? You should hold onto it.” Wendell nodded.

“I’ll show it to Virginia later. Wolf, Lord Rupert wanted to know if you plan on making a new suit for tonight, or if you plan on wearing the one you used for the awards ceremony. He said to come to him later this morning if you wanted a new one made.”

“Okay, I’ll go and find him later on.” Wolf turned and Tony and him left, leaving Wendell to sit at his desk and ponder.

Three hours later, Virginia and Evelyn walked out of the fabric room, each exhausted after the three hours of arguing with Lord Rupert and having to try on dress after dress. They each carried the dress they were supposed to wear that night and they looked rather pleased, now that they had a beautiful dress and that they were finally finished. They were to worn out to notice where they were going and just walked down a hallway at random. It was only after about ten minutes that Virginia finally realized that they must be lost. She didn’t recognize the area where they were and it seemed as though they were heading down. The floors were slanted and it was starting to get colder.

“Evelyn? Do you, by any chance, know where we are?” Surprised, Evelyn looked around, just now noticing their surroundings. She shook her head.

“No, I’ve never been down here before.” She silently cursed herself for not paying closer attention while they were walking. The castle was huge and she had known that she was bound to get lost sooner or later. They both came to a stop and looked around them. If they went back the way they came, they would more than likely get lost even worse. There had been many different corridors and they had just picked one at random, not really paying much attention. They could just keep going in the direction they had been heading and see where it took them.

They decided to take their chances and continue going down the corridor. After a few more minutes they came to a heavy wooden door. The lock that had been placed on it, was now hanging loosely, fallen apart from rust. The door, as well as the walls, was covered with dust and it looked as though there had not been anyone down this way for quite some time. Both of them were curious now, and after Virginia carefully removed the rusty lock, they both pushed open the door. There was a set of stairs leading down to a dark tunnel. There was no light except for a distant glowing at the end of the tunnel.

“Should we go down there?” Evelyn asked. She looked at Virginia and she nodded.

“Might as well. Maybe we can find someone that will be able to help get us back to the main hall.” Virginia led the way, taking each step carefully in the dark. Evelyn followed close behind. They reached the bottom and walked towards the dim light at the end of the passageway. As they grew nearer, the light grew bigger. When they finally reached the source they stopped.

The light was coming through bars on a door. Virginia frowned and stepped up to the door. It was a thick wooden door that had bars on the top part, similar to an old-fashioned jail cell door. She looked through the bars and could see a stone hallway, with cells on the right hand side. Virginia realized they must have reached the dungeon. There was no doorknob or handle or anything to open the door from their side, so Virginia stuck her hand though the bars trying to find one on the other side. She felt around and finally her fingers just barely skimmed one. She tried getting up on her tip toes but she still couldn’t get a hold of it properly.

“Evelyn, can you reach the doorknob there? You’re a bit taller than me.” Virginia moved aside and Evelyn put her hand through the bars, and after a minute she was able to get a grip on it. She pulled the handle upward and the door opened. They cringed as the door made a loud creaking sound, as it swung open. They walked into the stone dungeon and closed the door behind them. A guard walked around the corner from the other side of the dungeon with his sword drawn. When he saw Virginia, he lowered it and bowed politely.

“My lady, I apologize, but I was not aware that anyone else was down here. I heard a door creak open and I assumed a prisoner was escaping.” Virginia nodded and the guard looked back behind them and then asked, “If I may, how did you get down here? You didn’t come through there,” as he gestured to where he had just come from, “or else I’m sure I would have seen you.”

“Oh, we were walking back from the fabric room and I’m afraid we weren’t paying attention to where we were going. We ended it up in a corridor and just continued since we weren’t sure which way we came from. We found a door that led to that one there.” Virginia pointed to the door they had just come from. The guard nodded, understanding perfectly. He knew how confusing the castles corridors could be. When he had first started working for the king, he had gotten lost a few times as well.

“My shift will be over in about five more minutes and if you want, as soon as the guard who will be replacing me arrives, I can show you back to the main hall.”

“Oh, that would be great. I’m not sure I remember correctly the way from the dungeon anyway. Thank you very much…”

“Andrew. At your service, milady.” Andrew bowed again.

“Thank you Andrew. This is Evelyn. She’s a friend of mine and of the king’s.” Virginia had to stop herself from saying girlfriend. She wasn’t sure that Evelyn and Wendell wanted everyone to know that they had something going on yet. Andrew bowed to Evelyn, but not quite as low as when he had for Virginia.

“A pleasure to meet you. Can I offer you some tea? I’m afraid it’s not all that warm anymore…”

“That would be great, thank you.” Virginia said and Evelyn nodded. They began to follow Andrew towards the small desk around the corner. They could see stairs leading up to another door, probably leading back to the castle. As they neared the desk, Virginia heard a noise from one of the cells. She looked into it and saw someone in the far corner. She stopped completely when she heard the person talk.

“Well, if it isn’t the Lady Virginia. I see the wound I gave you wasn’t fatal after all. Pity.” Virginia felt a shiver run down her spine as she recognized Jessica’s voice. She glared at her as Jessica got up and moved her way towards the front of the cell. Virginia refrained from taking a step back as she grew closer. Evelyn shifted the dress that was still in her arms and stepped up next to Virginia. She fixed a cold glare on the teenager as well. They both stayed silent as Jessica stopped right at the cell door. Jessica’s blue eyes were as cold as ice as she looked hatefully at Virginia. She glanced at Evelyn and when she remembered who she was she stuck her nose up in disgust and turned her gaze back to Virginia, choosing to forget Evelyn. Virginia and Jessica stared at each other, not speaking, just glaring daggers at each other. Andrew had realized that Virginia and Evelyn were no longer following him and turned back to see them standing in front of Jessica’s cell. He walked back and stood behind them with his hand on his sword, just in case. Jessica finally broke the silence.

“So, how does it feel to be the hero again? It must be nice to get so much attention for killing your own mother.” Jessica’s voice was very cold and her words hit a nerve in Virginia. She had pretty much gotten over it, but hearing Jessica say it so coldly…

Evelyn looked over and saw a mixture of emotions playing across Virginia’s face. Virginia tried to stop any emotions from showing but failed horribly. Virginia’ face finally settled into a furious state, but Evelyn could still see the pain in her eyes. Virginia still couldn’t say anything and Evelyn knew that they should be leaving. Jessica might choose to say something about her relation to Virginia and she knew that it would only make things worse.

“Virginia, I think we should go. Come on,” she whispered in her ear, but Jessica still heard it. Before Virginia could say or do anything, Jessica spoke again. “I’m afraid to see what you’re going to do now that you have a larger family. Are you going to kill your father, brother, and soon to be husband as well? I’d hate to see what you do to your baby when it’s born.” Jessica smirked and Virginia felt her body go cold. More than anything she wanted to strangle the teenager right then. She clenched her fists hard and could feel her nails digging deep into her skin, drawing blood. “After all, you kill your mother and then tried to kill your sister as well.”

Evelyn groaned. Jessica did know and had just told Virginia. Virginia looked at Jessica confused. “What do you mean my sister? I don’t have one.”

Jessica grinned and looked over at Evelyn. Evelyn’s face had anger and guilt written all over it, but she could tell that she was not confused. “It seems that your so called “friends and family” are keeping things from you.”

Virginia looked even more puzzled and looked over at Evelyn. Evelyn avoided her gaze and stared hatefully at Jessica. Virginia saw the guilt in her eyes though.

“Evelyn? What is she talking about?” Evelyn still didn’t look at her and shifted her gaze to the floor. Virginia was about to ask again, but Jessica, who had been very much enjoying this, spoke first.

“Aww…the Lady Virginia can’t even trust her family anymore. Why don’t you ask your wolf? I’m sure he was the first one to figure it out, am I right?” she asked Evelyn and Evelyn nodded wearily. Virginia was even more confused and was beginning to get angry, not just at Jessica anymore.

“Evelyn, tell me now. What is she talking about?” Evelyn flinched at the harsh tone Virginia used, and knew that she would have to answer. After glaring at Jessica again, who still had a large grin on her face, she hesitantly answered.

“Virginia, I’m really sorry. They told me not to tell you, I promised them.”

“Evelyn…” Virginia’s voice warned Evelyn that she had better speak up soon. Evelyn sighed.

“Jessica…is your half sister,” she said quietly and Virginia’s eyes widened. She shook her head in disbelief.

“No, you’re lying.” But she could tell that she wasn’t. Jessica chuckled and Virginia slowly backed away from both of them.

“It must be tough to find out that, after killing our mother, you almost killed your sister as well. What must be worse is that your family is keeping things from you. Some family they are. It seems as though you can’t trust anyone anymore.” Jessica said cruelly. Virginia didn’t say anything. She couldn’t. Jessica was right. How could she trust anyone if they kept things from her? Jessica could see that she was getting to her. “You know, we’re really not all that different. We both have no one anymore. We’re sisters, we could become close. We could work together. You can trust me.” Jessica’s voice was no longer cold. It was now soothing and Virginia couldn’t help but listen to what she had to say. After all, she had been right about not being able to trust her family and friends. A small voice in the back of her head was warning her. Telling her not to listen to Jessica, but Virginia was so weary and confused. Jessica continued, her voice was getting more soothing and almost hypnotic. “Virginia, all this time, they were just using you. You didn’t actually think that they cared for you did you? They just wanted you to help them with their plans. Look at your father. What has he ever done for you? All your life you’ve had to do everything for him. He used you then and he’s using you now. Wendell only needs you to protect his kingdom. He’s not strong enough to look after it himself. Wolf has only been using you to get close with the king. He never really loved you. If he did, why wouldn’t he tell you about us being related?” Virginia was now colder than ever. She couldn’t help but agree with Jessica. She fought back tears as she realized that what she was saying was true. If Wolf really loved her, then he wouldn’t keep secrets from her. She also believed the part about Tony. That was the easiest to believe. After all, Tony had never really done anything for her. For those fourteen years after her mother had left, it was always Virginia who had done everything. Once she was old enough, it was she who was in charge of paying the bills and making all the meals and doing all the chores.

Evelyn watched as she saw that Jessica’s words were having an effect on Virginia. She actually believed everything she said. Virginia was slowly backing up and Evelyn saw that she had tears in her eyes now.

“Virginia, you can’t possibly think that what Jessica is saying is true? Your father and Wolf love you! So does Wendell. You know they would never use you. Don’t listen to her. She’s only trying to use you so she can escape. She tried to kill you remember? She tried to kill you and your baby.” Evelyn pleaded with Virginia. She had to make her realize that Jessica was lying. Jessica sent an annoying and cold stare at Evelyn and then turned back to Virginia and softened her gaze.

“Virginia, don’t listen to her. She lied to you before, and she’s lying again. I can help you. We’re sisters and we can look out for each other. We don’t need anybody else. You can help me get out of here and together we can be unstoppable.” Jessica’s voice was still soothing and hypnotic. Virginia didn’t know what to do. The majority of her wanted to agree with Jessica. To release her and have a sister that she could trust. But there was still that small part of her that was telling her to ignore her, and that voice was getting smaller and smaller. Evelyn watched with dread as Virginia looked up at her with a cold look. Evelyn shuddered and realized that Jessica was winning. Evelyn tried to think of what to do.

Andrew was still standing there, his knuckles white, from gripping his sword so firmly. He had been watching the whole conversation unceasingly. He had heard about how Jessica was caught. In fact, he had been one of the guards who had traveled with the king to capture her. He realized that if someone didn’t do something quick, the Lady Virginia was going to make a very bad decision. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do.

Evelyn looked back at Virginia. She wasn’t going to listen to her, but maybe if she talked to Wolf. Wolf would be able to talk some sense into her. Just then, they all heard the door to the dungeon being open and another guard walked down. Relieved, Andrew walked over to him. He muttered a few words and then turned back to Virginia and Evelyn. He gestured for them to follow him and after a minute, Virginia finally did. As she walked towards the door, she heard Jessica say, “Remember what I said Virginia.” Evelyn followed Andrew and Virginia through the door and through a bunch of corridors. Just as they reached the main hall, Andrew turned to Virginia.

“Milady, I hope you realize that what she said was not true. While you were in the Tenth Kingdom, King Wendell spoke very highly of you. If they were using you, I doubt that he would continue to speak so highly of you in your absence. Please, just remember to whom it was that you were talking. She tried to take over the kingdoms and tried to kill the king, you, Lord Anthony, and Lord Wolf. She was only saying those things so she could escape and turn you against them. I’m sure that whatever the reason for them not telling you, was a good reason, or at least that was what they believed. They had good intentions in mind when they decided that. Talk to them and you will see. I must go now.” Andrew bowed to both of them and Virginia muttered a small “Thank you.” Andrew nodded and left, leaving Virginia and Evelyn. Evelyn watched Virginia unceasingly. Her face didn’t give away any of her thoughts and so Evelyn had no clue what she was thinking.

“Virginia…” She started but Virginia shook her head.

“Not right now Evelyn. I need to be alone to think for awhile.” She gave her dress to Evelyn and hurried off up the stairs. She disappeared down a hallway, leaving Evelyn holding the two dresses for the ball that night. It was almost lunchtime, and Evelyn needed to find Wendell, Tony and Wolf. She figured they wouldn’t be in the dining hall just yet, so she headed for Wendell’s study first. She knocked and Wendell’s voice welcomed her in. He smiled when he saw her, but it was soon gone when he saw the worried look on her face.

“Wendell, you need to get Tony and Wolf and go and talk to Virginia. I’m afraid she’s going to do something stupid.”

“What do you mean?” Wendell asked worried and he quickly stood up. Evelyn then explained everything that had happened to him and by the time she was done, Wendell was pale. “Come on, quickly, we need to find Antony and Wolf.” He took the dresses from her and set them on the couch against the wall. Then he led the way out of his study and towards Tony’s. They found Tony and Wolf both in there. Tony was showing off his study as Wolf was sprawled out comfortably on a couch.

“Hey Wendell, Evelyn,” Tony said cheerfully. That’s when he noticed Wendell’s pale face. “What’s wrong?”

Evelyn then explained everything a second time to them. As soon as she was finished, Wolf was growling and Tony’s face was covered with fury. They both looked as though they were about to go straight down and strangle Jessica.

“We need to find her first. She needs to know that what Jessica said was not true,” Wendell said and Wolf nodded.

“But Virginia said that she wants to be alone right now,” Evelyn pointed out. Tony shook his head.

“No, she needs us right now. If she’s alone, that’s only going to give her more time to consider that Jessica was right. If we go after her right now, then she’ll know that we do care for her.” They all agreed and took off towards the main hall. Evelyn told them what direction she had seen Virginia go in and Wolf led the way, followed closely by Wendell and Tony. Evelyn decided that they needed to talk to Virginia alone. She needed her family there and Evelyn hadn’t exactly been much help earlier.

Wolf tried as best he could to follow Virginia’s scent, but it was difficult because it was all over the place. She wasn’t in their room and Wolf had a hard time telling which scent to follow. He concentrated harder and finally found her more recent scent. He was surprised to find out that, from her scent he could tell that she was angry, confused and hurt (emotionally). He whined as he imagined what she must be going through. He knew that he was wrong to keep the fact that Jessica was her half sister form her. But at the time, it seemed like the best idea. But it had only caused her to loose faith in everyone. Virginia had only just gotten over her fears of everyone abandoning her, and it seemed as though those fears might be coming back now. She might return to her old self and bring the wall back that had stopped her from loving and trusting anybody. He had broken that wall once, but he wasn’t sure he could do it again. She had chosen to have faith in him and now he had ruined that faith. He would find someway to make it up to her, he promised himself.

Virginia sat in a small room at the top of a tower. After leaving Evelyn she had just wandered around, not caring where she went. She had eventually ended up at a set of spiral stairs leading up to the tower. Once she was inside she took a stool and set it by the window. Only then did the tears finally start falling. She sobbed for a half hour before there were no longer any tears to shed. She was so confused. She didn’t know what to do or to think. The more she thought about it, the more she came to believe that Jessica was right. She really didn’t want to believe her, but she couldn’t help it.

What hurt the worst was the fact that Wolf might not really love her. She had been afraid of that all along, but she had never actually believed it possible. Not after all he had done to prove himself to her. Was it really possible it had all been an act? She didn’t know. She had never loved someone as much as she loved Wolf. Even if he didn’t love her, she realized that she would never stop loving him. She had given him her heart and she had thought that she had his too. She loved him more than anything in the world and she would never love anybody else as much. So, even if she didn’t end up with him, she would be alone the rest of her life. There wasn’t a guy like him in all the kingdoms and she didn’t want to look.

The feelings of abandonment and not being able to trust anyone were returning. She shuddered. She knew she could never ally herself with Jessica. Half sister or not half sister, she was evil. That much Virginia was sure of. But she was also beginning to realize that she couldn’t stay here either. At first she figured she would just leave the castle and find a small little cottage far away and find some work nearby to get by. That way she could support the baby when it came. She still planned on having it. No matter what, she wouldn’t get rid of him. But after thinking about it further, she realized that as much as she didn’t want to return to New York, she was going to have to. In the kingdoms she would never be able to escape. Everyone would know her as the woman who had killed her own mother and tried to kill her sister as well. Besides, staying in the kingdoms meant being close to Wolf. She wouldn’t be able to bear being anywhere near him. It would hurt too much.

No, she would have to return to New York. But New York was no place to raise a baby. Especially a part wolf one at that. She could always find a small town somewhere else in New York. She didn’t have to stay in Manhattan. Virginia thought the whole thing through and realized that would be the only way. At least being away from the kingdoms and Manhattan where she had grown up would not make her as miserable. But she realized that she would never truly be happy again. She now thoroughly believed that Wolf, Tony, and Wendell didn’t care for her anymore.

Virginia decided that as soon as night fell, she would leave the tower and head straight to the mirror room. Then Virginia remembered the ball. That was tonight, so everyone would still be up. She would have to be more cautious then. As soon as she was on the other side of the mirror she would head straight to her apartment to gather a few belongings and see if she couldn’t get some money from Murray. She felt a little guilty about planning on taking money from him, but the guilt soon passed. She would instruct the guards to turn the mirror off once she was through it so that she couldn’t change her mind and nobody could follow her as easily. She stared out the window, trying not to think about Wolf and her father. She didn’t even notice that the door was open and three figures stood in the doorway. In fact, she probably wouldn’t have noticed if Wolf had not said anything.

“Virginia?” Wolf asked hesitantly. Worry was evident in his voice. Virginia looked over in surprise. Wolf could see that she had been crying a lot and his heart almost broke. “Virginia? Are you all right?” He walked up to her and Tony and Wendell followed. They all didn’t rush, not wanting to make things worse. Virginia didn’t answer, she just looked back out the window. She should have known that Wolf would be able to follow her scent wherever she went. Hadn’t he once told her that he could follow her scent through time itself? But she hadn’t thought that anyone would come after her. That was mostly why she was so surprised. Why were they here? It hurt to see them. She choked back a sob and her eyes filled with tears again. She had thought that she had run out of tears, but a whole fresh wave of them were coming again.

Wolf saw her start to cry and rushed up to her. He tried to put his arms around her but she pushed him away. He whined and backed up a little. Virginia heard the whine and she started sobbing harder. Tony and Wendell came up next to Wolf.

“Virginia, honey?” Tony bent down so he was crouching next to Wolf. Virginia mumbled something inaudible. “What was that?”

“Go away! Don’t you have something better to do than waste your time using people?” Virginia said harshly. The words stung Tony. Virginia really had believed what Jessica had said. Virginia shivered and more sobs came. Wendell took off his coat and gently put it around Virginia’s shoulders. Virginia went to take it back off, but decided to leave it on. She was starting to shake now, from crying so much and from the amount of emotions going through her. She wanted to hate them, to make them leave, but found that she was still holding onto a small thread of hope that they really did care for her. She tried to stop the shaking but failed.

Wolf watched her and cautiously put his hands on her shoulders. This time Virginia didn’t shake him off. She was really weary now, she was drained from all energy. Seeing that she wasn’t going to protest, Wolf wrapped her in his arms and held her as she cried some more. She buried her face into his chest. At the moment she really didn’t care if he loved her or not, him just being there was a comfort. He talked to her, trying to calm her down.

“It’s okay creampuff. Shh, we’re here for you. I love you. I always have and I always will.” Virginia didn’t say anything. Her crying was beginning to slow down now and Wendell bent down next to them.

“Virginia, I want you to know that what Jessica said was no where close to being true. We all care for you very much and would never use you. I’m sorry we didn’t tell you about her. It was dumb of us, but we were only doing what we thought was right. We can see that it was a mistake now, but we made the decision thinking of you,” Wendell said sincerely

. “If you were thinking of me, then why didn’t you tell me? You kept something that important from me, and Jessica was right about one thing. I can’t trust any of you anymore. If you all really cared for me, you would have told me and not kept things from me.” Virginia looked at him and could see that all of their faces were filled with regret. That lightened her heart some.

“Virginia, we didn’t want to tell you because we didn’t want you to try and get close to her. We knew that she could be tricky and persuasive and we figured if you didn’t know about your relation to her, then…well, you would be better off.” Tony didn’t have a better way of putting it. “But Sweetie, you have to realize that we do love you. I’m very sorry that we caused you to lose faith in us, and we’re going to do all that we can to regain it. I just want you to know that we do all care for you and love you. I’m sorry that you have to go through so much. First with your mother and now to find out that you have a half sister…Jessica was just trying to get to you so that she would break us all apart and she would be able to escape. If you were to help her, she would only turn on you right away. You can’t change her I’m afraid.”

“I never planned on helping her escape. I knew that she was lying about that part, but about you guys…when she said that, I couldn’t help but believe it. I was going to go through the mirror tonight and leave Manhattan and find some small city to live and raise the baby. I couldn’t bear to live in the kingdoms or in Manhattan.” She started crying again as she realized that she had been wrong. They really did love her and she had almost made a big mistake. She would have never seen her father, or Wolf, or Wendell again, all because she had let Jessica’s words get to her. Realizing this, she buried her face in Wolf’s chest again. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have listened to her. I almost made a big mistake leaving. I’m sorry that I didn’t believe in you more.” Wolf shook his head.

“No, Virginia, I’m sorry. I was the reason that you couldn’t believe in us. I was the one who first said that we shouldn’t tell you. But I’ll make it up to you. I swear I will. I’ll do anything to prove myself to you. Just name it.”

“No Wolf. You have proven yourself time and time again. I don’t blame you.” She turned to Wendell and Tony. “Thank you. I shouldn’t have let her get to me. But thank you for coming after me anyway.” Tony put his hand on her shoulder and Wendell smiled warmly. Suddenly feeling like all of her energy was now gone, she let her head drop back onto Wolf’s chest. Wolf could tell that she was exhausted.

“Virginia, you should get some sleep before tonight. It’ll be a long night and you’ll need your energy back.” Virginia nodded her head weakly. Wolf stood and picked her up, to carry her to her room. Wendell opened the door and let him through. Tony and him followed Wolf down the steps and towards Wolf and Virginia’s room. Evelyn was waiting outside of their room and came running to them. Virginia was already fast asleep in Wolf’s arms.

“What happened? Is she all right?” Evelyn asked, looking worried. Tony nodded.

“Yeah, she’s just tired now. But we talked to her and she knows that we all still care for her,” he said and Evelyn nodded. Wolf disappeared into the room and after covering Virginia up under the blankets on the bed, he quietly came back out and shut the door. They all headed downstairs for lunch.