Continued from Chapter 1 --
Due to lack of space on the other page for my story (as you can tell, it was getting quite long...) So I am continuing the story on this page starting with part 31! (By the way, since school is out, each part is going to get longer, probably doubled from the last ones. :) - Just thought I'd let ya know.)




Part 31

Emptiness. Coldness. Fear. Everything coursed through Wolf as he watched the mirror, still and rigid on the floor. It was broken and totally lifeless. More emotions fled through him as he stood there even though a blank expression covered his face. Rage. Terror. Fright.

He didn't notice when Wendell and Tony came running into the room, out of breath and unaware of what had happened. When they saw the mirror, both turned away, not wanting to see what had happened, how they knew they failed.

Wolf was torn from his dismal gaze at the mirror as he heard their moans of despair as they saw the shattered pieces. Tony had a hand over his forehead and was pacing the alcove, regaining his breath and muttering to himself. Wendell was slowly approaching Wolf, his gaze transfixed on the scene of sharp daggers of mirror.

Wolf felt that he should howl, cry, tear his hair out and yell out in agony ... but he couldn't do any of that. He only felt a hard emptiness fill him and make his feeling of fear flood his mind and body. Wendell was shaking his head and talking to Wolf, but it was muted by the echoing chimes of the clock still ringing in his head. As much as Wolf tried to make them stop and focus on Wendell, they would give. It pounded in his head worse than any headache he had ever gone through, it was terrible. It was real.

They lost. That was it. It was over. Everything they had gone through had been lost because he didn't make it in time. A fresh new feeling of guilt sent a chill up his spine and made his body slightly tremble. Wolf tried to vent his feelings somehow, but it was impossible, nothing was coming out.

Wolf was snapped back to reality as Tony's hands clamped on his shoulders. Wolf turned towards him and saw he was near tears, his voice breaking as he spoke to him.

"Wolf, it's all right," He tried to speak reassuringly, but failed horribly. Both of them felt it was Wolf's fault, but neither said it. Wolf wanted to comfort him, but found that his voice was gone. "We'll find another way." Tony patted Wolf's shoulders, turned away, and walked about the alcove, pacing again and mumbling curse words to himself.

Wendell still hadn't brought his eyes off the mirror and was still breathing rapidly from the long sprint. Wolf walked over to the broken pieces and bent down. He hovered over them, looking at his mangled reflection in various fragments, all showing the same vacant look in his eyes, copied a hundred times over.

Wolf picked up a large piece and stood up. Finding no other way to expel his rage, he flung the piece back at the ground where it shattered once again and joined the others, cracked and broken. He kicked at the pieces, sending some of them flying across the room, and stomped on them, breaking more, hearing the loud snaps as the crushed beneath his feet.

Wendell rushed over to Wolf and gently led him away from the broken mirror, hushing him like a small child. Wolf obliged for a moment, but then tore from his grasp, turning his back to him.

Wolf had to search for it, but when he finally found his voice, it came out raspy and cold. "What does it matter!?" He shouted. "We've lost her!" Again, his feelings over filled and his body shook with jumbled emotions. He wanted to cry and howl, somehow get rid of his feelings, but nothing worked. Instead of tears, he only felt his body shake as it tried to release what he was experiencing inside.

"No, no, no, Wolf. It's not over--" Wendell said softly.

"Yes, it is." Wolf's voice broke, but no tears would shed. "There's no other way we can find her. Unless you plan on searching the Nine Kingdoms one inch at a time." His voice was hollow and broken, just like the mirror. "Which, I hate to tell you, would take a whole lot of time."

"No, but there has to be some other way."

"Face it Wendy, there isn't." Wolf said dejectedly as he took another swift kick at the shatter fragments and then threw the hollowed frame to the floor, letting the wood splinter and crack in two.

"Hey, hey! Maybe there is!" Tony snapped his fingers and came up to them. His face was beaming and bright, smiling happily almost as if nothing had happened. Both Wolf and Wendell looked at him as if he had gone mad, but kept their comments quiet and awaited his idea.

"Go on." Wendell crossed his arms and looked at Tony, hoping it was something useful.

"Well, Wendell, do you remember when --" He paused and shook his hands. "Wait, never mind you don't remember anything from then."

"What are you talking about, Antony?" Wendell said, a bit perplexed.

"When Virginia and I were in Dragon Mountain. You were going ... 'all dog'--" Tony watched as Wendell's expression switched to insulted and he looked at Tony in outrage.

"I was certainly not going 'all dog'! I just had some other things on my mind. There was a lot going on at the time and I ... I was concentrating on ... on various solutions to getting my Kingdom back." Wendell spoke in his defense, stuttering a bit. Even he didn't buy it.

"Do you remember anything from Dragon Mountain besides bones and cuddles?" Tony asked, trying to prove his point.

"I... well.....I remem--...there was the.... Oh, forget it. All right, go on Antony." Wendell shrugged him off and felt his pride take a hit. He ignored Tony's smug expression and focused on the retelling of his story.

"Anyway, when we were there, we spoke to this mirror, Gustav. He knew all about the mirrors and where they were." Tony saw Wendell and Wolf exchange clueless looks, and so continued. "Who's to say he doesn't know where Virginia is!?" Tony smiled brightly again as Wendell and Wolf both took time to sink it in.

"And you're expecting the Dwarves to welcome us with open arms?" Wolf asked. He remembered quite well from the story Virginia told him of the Mountain. How Tony had acquired his bad luck and broke a roomful of mirrors, thus infuriating the Dwarves and chasing them out. He was pretty positive that the Dwarves would hold a grudge.

"Well, I... no. I hadn't thought of that." Tony's smiled faded off his mouth and his arms dropped to his sides.

There was a moment of silence and then Wendell spoke up. "Yes, well, it is a plan. As far as I can tell, it's the best way to find her." He said encouragingly. "We'll figure something out." He was prepared to have them get started on it right away, and possibly begin the mission as soon as possible, but then he noted their appearances

Wolf and Tony looked absolutely dreadful. Their clothes were torn and dirty. Wolf's arm had a bandage wrapped around and the blood had soaked through, leaving a dirty dark red color on the once white cloth. Tony was completely exhausted and his eyes had dark bags under them. They were in no shape to be going out on another adventure, not like that! They needed new clothes, food, sleep and defiantly a long bath!

"Well, how about we get you settled in for tonight, we can start with the plans tomorrow morning." Wendell led Tony out of the room, but Wolf refused to move.

"How can you wait until tomorrow!? Virginia is out there alone, possibly hurt or --" He could bring himself to saying 'dying,' even the thought hurt him. He paused and then continued. "We can't stop, we have to find her!"

"Wolf, I want to find her as much as you do, but we can't go on forever. We need food and sleep." Tony said, trying to convince him it wasn't only for their own good, but Virginia's too. "Come on, let's get you and that arm of yours cleaned up. Tomorrow we'll head out early and get to Dragon Mountain as fast as we can."

Tony took his arm, but Wolf pulled it away roughly, only resulting in a harsh memory of his wound, which began to slightly throb. Even though a few days had passed, the cut was still recovering. He shook his head and backed away. "No! You're giving up on her! I won't do that!"

"Wolf, listen to yourself, you're getting hysterical. You need sleep." Wendell gently said.

Wolf took another moment and gathered his thoughts before nodding silently and following them out of the room. Just as he had done before, he paused as he was leaving and took on last look at the mirror before shutting the door.

As he watched Tony and Wendell walk down the hall in front of him, an idea exploded in his mind, but he kept his mouth shut and mutely followed them. Wendell showed them to their separate rooms and promised to return shortly with clothes and food.

Tony greatly accepted the idea of a hot meal and crisp clothes. He walked into his room and fell onto the bed, sighing heavily. The smiled that was across his face, quickly faded away as he thought about Virginia.

"Wolf's right. We can't be enjoying ourselves like this when she's out there alone." Tony quietly scolded himself. Still, he knew they needed time to sleep and reenergize themselves before the hike to Dragon Mountain that following morning.

While he thought of the possible reunion between the dwarves and him, Tony dozed off into a peaceful nap. It was quickly interrupted as Wendell sprang into the room.

"Antony, wake up!" He shouted.

Tony shot up in bed, drowsily looking around at what the commotion was about. "Wha ... what?" He asked angrily, mad to have been awaken from his slumber, one that promised to be the best in days.

"Wolf's gone!" He informed him.

"What?" Tony asked, not sure if he heard him right. He got out of bed and followed Wendell into Wolf's room. As they entered, they saw small pieces of Wolf's sheets ripped and scattered all over the room, while the majority of them made a rope that was tied to the bed post and hung out the window. As the drapes were tousled in the wind, Wendell and Tony looked at each other and then back towards the window.

"It seems," Wendell said towards Tony, keeping his eyes on the window. "He doesn't want to wait until morning."


Wolf pushed the branches out of his face as he galloped through the forest on a quick black horse that he borrowed from Wendell. The crescent moon lit up a small portion of the sky like a flashlight, only illuminating a diminutive part.

He grabbed the reins and gave another whack. Certain that the horse was traveling as fast as it could, Wolf eased off the continuous slaps he was giving the animal. His hands were raw and blistered from the reins and his feet were tired from kicking and his race to the castle earlier that evening.

He couldn't get rid of the awful feeling he had that he had again, let her down. As if the full moon night and the time he lost in the Deadly Swamp wasn't enough, he was bolted a remembrance of how he failed her from the very beginning. He should've been on guard, been anticipating an attack in their home, but no. He walked into that kitchen and practically invited them to knock him out.

Now it was the mirror. Another failed attempt to save her, and it was ruined because of him. "If I hadn't let my animal side take over, we would've gotten to the mirror in time to see her and find out where she was." He thought bitterly, scolding himself harshly. "And now you might not even be able to find her at all because you're low, filthy animal! You've let your mate and cub down! You're not worthy of them, you don't deserve them! They should leave you for good!"

The thought that he would never be able to see her again was too much for him to handle. Instead of thinking on ways to punish himself for letting her down repeatedly, he focused on ways to punish those who took her. A sinister smile crept across his face. Whoever dared to take his Virginia was going to pay dearly.

Wolf glanced back at the way he came. He hadn't noticed how long he had been thinking, but the sky was all ready beginning to brighten up as the sun prepared to rise. What a night it had been, so much had been lost and another adventure was about to take way.

Deciding not to cut through the Deadly Swamp, or hurt his heart anymore with Kissing Town, Wolf cut through the Fifth Kingdom and around to the base of Dragon Mountain. The entire way there he refused to stop for longer than a few short minutes, just to water the horse.

When he finally reached Dragon Mountain, it was near noon. He glanced up the mountain, and sighed. He felt that he was close deep inside him, but didn't allow it to cloud his thinking, that's what happened last time, and it turned out miserably.

Wolf tied the reins of the horse to a tree at the base of the mountain, certain that no one would be along there anytime soon and take it. As he turned towards it and began to climb, he had a burst of the memory pop into his head and run like a play, every detail vivid and clear.

//He was running through that same field, following the Trolls scent, mixed with Tony, Virginia, and Prince's. He was very tired, no sleep for days. They all had been there, all within a short time. Now it was his turn to follow them up the mountain. "Why are they going up there?" He had asked himself. Then decided that they were possibly just trying to flee from the Trolls that were pursuing them. Trolls. The thought made him flash his eyes a pure yellow. He hated Trolls.

He climbed up the mountain with ease, following the scent of Tony and realized that Virginia let her pride cloud her reason and went straight up on the rocks, instead of listening to her father and going along the path. He could tell by their scents, what had happened between them, like someone had told him previously and he was watching it happen. The thought of her fighting her father over who was right had made him laugh, she never wanted to admit when she was wrong, even when the facts were in front of her. Virginia and him were so much a like, if only she would see that as well as he did.

When he had reached a minor flat land, set in the middle of the mountain, he could tell that Virginia and Tony had met up and stayed the night in a small cave, and then left the following morning. Even though their scents were weak from a day or so back, he refused to give up and turn back, not when so much was riding on it.

He found the entrance to the Dwarve's underground lair through the skeleton mouth of a dead dragon. The ripped flags of Dwarves that were faded from years of weather, flapped in the breeze that passed over the mountain. Dragons. Dwarves. Trolls. And another scent. Oh cripes! The Huntsman was back and following them as well. The urgent thought made his pace quicken.

Wolf stepped inside the cave and continued to follow their scent, determined to find them. Nothing was going to stop him now. Not Virginia's pride, not Tony's temper, not even his own guilt and remorse for what happened in Kissing Town. That was in the past. He took another sniff, and followed the scent and trail of them into the mountain.//

Only, this time, there was no scent for him to follow or Trolls and a Huntsman to worry about. He could remember from the last time how to reach the main room of the Dwarve's factory, even though he had taken extreme measures to avoid it the last time. Wolf scratched his temple unconsciously and stepped inside the mouth of the dragon and inside to see the Dwarves. Since fate had not been on his side the previous night as he hoped it was going to be, he was praying that it would be now.

Part 32

Wolf took a step inside the entrance of Dragon Mountain and instantly felt the cold air from the depths of the immense cave rush up to meet him. As he stumbled down the layers of rocks and into the opening of the cave, his hand unconsciously reached out for the wall for leverage.

When he felt a smooth and rounded stone-like object sticking out of the side of the cave in his hand, he turned and noticed that his hand was in contact with a thick white bone. He pulled his hand away and followed the bone up until it came in contact with the spine it was attached to. Wolf shuttered away and continued his decline down the rocks.

The last time he had been down the tunnel, he had paid no attention to anything surrounding him or details about the cave itself. All that had mattered was hanging onto Virginia's scent and staying clear of the Dwarves for fear of punishment for entering their caves. He knew that they killed anyone for entering their mines, so worried about their secrets being stolen when the truth was, no one really wanted to.

When the sloping rocks finally ceased and he was standing on flat dirt ground, he came up to the sign that read; "9th Kingdom Royal Dwarf Mines" in yellow print hanging from the ceiling. The Dragon bones had finally stopped lining the walls of the cave and now all that remained were the slick limestones that glittered from the reflection of the torches lit in the tunnel.

Wolf continued on and came across the first tunnel slide. As he peered down, he noted how dark and endless it seemed. There was no glimmer of light coming from the end, nor did there ever appear to be any safe way to go down besides closing your eyes and hoping for the best.

"Oh stop it Wolf!" He scolded himself quietly. "Huff puff, you've been down this before, nothing's changed since then!" Or had it? He shook his head and grabbed a burlap sack out of the pile sitting next to the slide. He got on the slide and pushed himself forward.

A small yelp of surprise escaped his throat as he reached the bottom and nearly missed the sign that was hung over head. "Slide No. 46" With the momentum from the slide, he easily hopped off the sack and continued down the new tunnel and followed the sounds of clanking and numerous conversations.

As he quietly followed the torches down the tunnel, he weaved around several empty crates and boxes that were scattered over the floor. He rubbed his hands together for warmth and noticed how cold and damp it was in the mountain. As Wolf suppressed a sneeze, he stopped a moment and then let it out, not wanting to attract attention to himself yet. He scratched his temple and walked to the end of the corridor.

Wolf gasped as he saw below him the Dwarve's manufacturing room. There were ramps leading all over the cave, small carts on rails, a pile of discarded rocks and a huge kettle in the middle lit by a massive fire. Then he saw all the dwarves, parading up and down, back and fourth through the room.

Many were carrying small wheelbarrows and others pushed and pulled the carts along the tracks. Everything was so tiny, fit perfectly for their size. The cave itself, Wolf noticed, was low and for the first time he recognized that he was bending over, so as not to hit his head on the ceiling above.

As the opening he came from dumped out into the large room, the ceiling overhead seemed that it would increase higher. The stalactites that hung from the roof dripped water onto the dwarves below, but none of them paid any attention to the constant dripping. The huge rock icicles seemed deadly and dangerous to Wolf, as if at any moment they could come crashing down and easily take a life.

Wolf tore his thoughts away from the dangers and focused again on the Dwarves. They seemed so busy, so wrapped in their own little work that he thought it'd be difficult to get any of them to notice his presence. He was wrong.

"You up there!" A Dwarf shouted. Wolf searched around for whom the voice belonged to, but it was hard now that all the faces were directed at him. Everything had been stopped and it was completely silent. "Comrade, name yourself!" A Dwarf shouted as he climbed a ramp to get a higher view of him.

"I uh....." Wolf rubbed his hands down his jacket to get rid of the sweat that perspired there. It was amazing how his hands were sweating and he was so cold. He cleared his throat after a moment and spoke. "My .... my name is Wolf."

A group gasp echoed through the cave as each dwarf looked at each other and then back up to him. "Is it really you?" The leader said. "The famous Wolf who saved the Nine Kingdoms?"

Wolf nodded, not sure whether or not to be pleased that they knew about that. He let out a weak smile. Would they punish him for being in contact and knowing Tony? Certainly they wouldn't be mad for mentioning Virginia if he had to prove it; she had nothing to do with what Tony did. Wolf swallowed.

"Well, come down here, Comrade." The leader said, waving him down. "The rest of you, get back to work. We still have mirrors to replace!" The others grumbled as their reply and the noise level shot back up as the hammers started to bang and the carts resumed to being filled.

Wolf carefully made his way down the side of the cave on a tiny path that was created. As he approached the leader dwarf, he realized just how much shorter he was to him. His hair was a dingy brown and rested on his shoulders and he wore a red shirt with a dark red vest, both covered in a heavy layer of dirt and grime.

His face was paled from the lack of sun he received from being in the mountain, probably all his life, and it was covered with sweat and streaks of mud. He led Wolf over to his desk where he sat down behind it. The chair was elevated highly, giving him a chance to be eye level with Wolf.

"So, why have you entered our Kingdom, Noble Wolf?" He said as he cleared a few papers off of his desk. Wolf noticed that the dwarves that were working near the desk had stopped their jobs and leaned forward to hear him while the others across the room were talking to each other about him, telling tales that they had heard about what he had done to save the Kingdoms.

"Well, I.."

"You don't have that idiot Antony with you, I hope." He quickly said, leaning closer to him. Wolf felt sudden rushes of claustrophobia sink in; it was so strange that a small person like that was making him feel so uncomfortable.

"Well, no."

"Good," He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "That oaf has cost us years of remaking mirrors. He may have helped in saving the Nine Kingdoms, but he sure didn't help us." He glanced past Wolf and his face became furious. "I told you comrades, get back to work!" He shouted and then turned back to Wolf. "They're always so curious when an outsider comes in." He paused and then regained his previous thought. "So, why have you come down here?"

"Well, I need to speak with your mirror, Gustav." Wolf said briefly, hoping that the dwarf would oblige and take him to a different room where he could breathe easily. All the noise and the stench of unwashed dwarves were making him dizzy.

"Well, of course." He jumped down from his chair and over to Wolf. "As long as you're not suffering from any bad luck."

"Oh no!" Wolf shook his head. Sure, he lost the mirror, got his arm battered up by an ax, nearly lost Tony due to drowning, but that wasn't the type of bad luck they meant. Still, he thought it best to keep that to himself.

The leader of the dwarves led Wolf into another room that was set aside from the main room. They were greeted by another dwarf; this one was wearing glasses and seemed to be much older than the other. "This is out librarian, he can help you. I better be getting back to my work before my comrades sneak in here to pester you." And with that, he left. Wolf and the librarian exchanged quick greetings and then Wolf got straight to the point.

"I need to speak with your mirror immediately, it's very important." He said. The librarian nodded his head and led Wolf across the room. He noticed that there were several empty racks spread across the place, and small pieces of mirror were scattered all over the floor. A few dwarves were walking around, keeping themselves busy, but when they thought Wolf wasn't looking, they stole a quick glance at the new outsider.

The librarian led Wolf over to a wall that was covered by a heavy curtain. When he pulled it down, Wolf quickly realized that it wasn't a wall, but it was the mirror. It was dirty and covered in patches of filth and had been worn away from time.

"How does it work?" Wolf asked as he stepped closer to the mirror and saw his reflection, which was mangled from the blocking layers of dust.

"Well, he's a bit deaf so you have to speak up and he talks in verse. Which means, you have to ask him your questions in rhyme." Wolf nodded and gazed over the mirror. "I have to get back to my work as well, we're a bit behind. I'll be over there if you need help." He said and then headed off. Wolf sighed. Finally, this was it. He finally had the key to finding where Virginia was and all he had to do was put it in the lock and turn it.

Part 33

Wolf gazed over the mirror, it certainly was much bigger than any of the traveling or spying mirrors. He looked over the patches of dirt that covered the mirror in spots from top to bottom and wondered why the dwarves never cleaned it. He figured that since they were always so devoted to their mirrors, that they would at least clean them once in a while.

Wolf shook his head and cleared his mind of that thought, he wasn't there to critizise the dwarve's cleaning habits, he was there to find where Virginia was. The problem now was to think of a way to ask the mirror. He never was good at rhymes and at that moment, secretly despised the people who could. How had Virginia and Tony figured out so much from him? He knew they couldn't rhyme very well either. But if they could do it, there was hope for him.

Wolf cleared his throat and shut his eyes in concentration. After a moment of putting words together that rhymed and made sense, Wolf spoke to Gustav. "Gustav, will you be real nice and oh so kind, to help me see my mate so her I can find?" Wolf sighed, he knew it was lame, but Gustav seemed to get the point.

With a gigantic rippling effect, Gustav came alive from his placid state and his eyes and mouth formed from the water-like reflection. The patches of dirt remained with him, reminding Wolf that he was only a mirror. Wolf was broken from his observations as Gustav's old and dried voice spoke to him.

A long way you have traveled to seek my aid, to save your mate, a price will be paid.

Wolf stared at Gustav for a moment, unsure what to think of that statement but then pressed on to his next question. "Where is she and is she close, can I find her by using my nose?" Wolf somewhat winced as he bent the rules a bit, 'close' and 'nose' didn't rhyme to well, but it was the only thing he could think of.

Gustav seemed to notice Wolf's poor attempt, but only grunted slightly before answering. Obviously, not everyone could rhyme. " A Kingdom's King once stayed far from here, his magic helped to make himself disappear. His kingdom was built by vengeance and hate, he released queen from her cell and met his fate."

Wolf didn't need to hear much more to know the she was in the Troll King's palace, the simple thought of wicked Trolls keeping his beloved captive made him curl his lip and snarl under his breath. Why would Trolls want to take her? She was the sweetest person in the whole Nine Kingdoms! One thing was for sure; they were going to pay dearly.

Wolf turned his attention back to Gustav who was patiently waiting for his next question. "Why do the Trolls want to take my mate, and what are their plans for her fate?" Wolf felt better about that poem; at least it rhymed properly.

"The Trolls are aiding a girl who wants a crime to be paid, by killing a life she expects her hurt to fade."

Wolf whimpered, they were planning on killing Virginia! His heartbeat started to accelerate as he stood there, his fists were clenching and unclenching. Of course Wolf knew that whoever captured her probably had that in mind, but hearing it out loud for the first time shot through him. He had to reach her in time, he had to.

He was going to take off for the Troll Palace that very instant, but one more question loomed in his head. A woman was leading the trolls? The last time that something like that had happened, they lost their King. Wolf would've thought that they would learn from their mistakes, but then again, you can never be too sure what a Troll would do or forget. Wolf shook heads, leave it to Trolls to practically condemn themselves to ruin.

Wolf gathered up his thoughts again and formed them into a rhyming question. When he spoke, he was surprised to find his voice merciless and cold. "Virginia is captured by this controlling dame, who is she and what is her name?" Wolf swallowed.

The girl has a hate she holds to keep, once related to a Sally Peep. That was all Gustav said and Wolf needed nothing more. He nodded briskly and shot off towards the entrance of the library.

"Did you find what you needed?" The librarian shouted after him as he stopped in the middle of placing a book on a shelf. Wolf nodded and shouted his gratitude before springing through the manufacturing room and heading for the entrance where he came from. Most of all the dwarves stopped their work again to watch as Wolf flew by and up the ramp towards the tunnel. It grew silent except for Wolf's thudding steps up the ramp and over to the narrow dirt path up the side of the cave.

When he made his way up the bridges and into the tunnel, he lost sight of all the dwarves. As soon as he was out of their sight, the room suddenly exploded with noise of voices and banging. Typical dwarves. Wolf raced back down the corridor and up a crude version of stairs that were placed close to the slide.

Nearing the top, his breath was ragged and hot, he hadn't noticed just how steep or long the slide had been until he actually had to climb back up. As he ran out from the skeletal dragon mouth, he instantly winced against the blinding sun that shined directly in his face. When he had arrived, it was sunrise. Now it was mid afternoon. Time was slipping by quickly and he had no way of stopping it.

He brought his hands up and blocked the sun as he carefully, but swiftly, made he way back down the mountain. As he squinted out into the field at the bottom, he saw the horse patiently waiting by the tree he had tied him too, slowly eating the grass.

When he reached the bottom of the mountain, his eyes were finally adjusted to the light and he climbed onto his horse and untied the knot. Wolf kicked the horse and sped off to the West, towards the Troll King's Palace. This was it. He was finally going to be able to rescue Virginia, he was just hoping he would make it in time.



"I really think we should go after him. What if he needs our help?" Tony asked as he paced the throne room in front of Wendell. He had his hands behind his back and his brow was creased in thought and worry.

"Antony, I'm sure that if Wolf needs help, he'll come and get it. He can rescue Virginia, he did it before." Wendell's voice was so calm and sure, Tony wondered how he could possibly just sit there and shrug it off.

"I doubt it. He'll want to do it his was without help, even if he does need it." Tony said as he paused and stared down at the marble floor. Going after him didn't seem like a bad idea. He knew that Wolf was going to Dragon Mountain, of course Tony could just wait outside for that part, but he wanted to help bring home his little girl, he was very unnerved just thinking and waiting for her to come home.

"Antony, just relax. It won't do you any good to have a heart attack about it." Wendell said softly, with a tint of his own humor in it. Things like this happened daily in the kingdoms, he should understand that if it's meant to turn out Happily Ever After, it will.

"I can't relax when Virginia's out there in the hands of some maniac. At least when I was out there with Wolf, I felt as if I was helping her come home. Now that idiot decides to take off by himself, unarmed and alone." Tony shook his head.

"Antony, I think you should go to bed. You're becoming as much of a lunatic as Wolf was before he left. Stop worrying and get some sleep."

"Ya know, that's another thing." Tony said wagging his finger up and down at Wendell with his other hand on his hip. He looked like a scolding mother who was punishing their child.

"Oh, now what?" Wendell sighed and he slumped down in his throne, preparing for another one of Antony's 'the world is against me' theory. He put his hand over his forehead and closed his eyes, trying to momentarily tune out his voice, but to no avail.

Tony didn't notice Wendell's comment or his expression, he carried on anyway. "Wolf hadn't gotten any sleep, food, or clothes. How can he possibly go out there and successfully save Virginia from whoever took her? What? Does he think that I couldn't handle going out there with him? I thought I all ready proved to him that I am capable of many things. I think he purposely left so that I wouldn't go with him. I should show him a thing or two. Virginia's my daughter and--"

"And is also in love with Wolf." Wendell cut in. "If I can trust him, you can too." He said gently as he descended off of his throne and over to Tony.

"Wendell," He sighed. "I just want her to be safe."

"I know you do Antony. But taking your aggravations out on Wolf isn't going to help the matter. Just trust and believe that he'll bring her safely home." Wendell patted Tony on the back and turned to leave the room. "Get some sleep and food Antony, you look terrible."

Indeed he did. Tony nodded and headed off to his room as well, thinking of Virginia. Finally, after spending half the night thinking about it, he agreed with Wendell. If anyone could save Virginia, it was Wolf.

Part 34

Virginia twisted her neck towards her right as she awoke, immediately noticing a tender soreness. He throat was dry and her head was aching. When she went to rub her head, Virginia felt her wrists securely held down by manacles, and then noticed her ankles were as well. When her equilibrium was restored, she also realized that she was sitting upright in a hard wooden chair that was very uncomfortable.

Virginia gasped and her eyes flew open in memory. The room was too familiar, a closet filled with hundreds of shoes was to her right where an enormous fireplace sat near it. She shook her head in doubt and worry, it was the exact same room that she woke up in when the Trolls had fist captured her.

She craned her neck around the room and discovered that she was alone and unguarded. She tested the restraints and found they were just as tight as they had been the first time. Virginia just hoped that another pink package would come into the window and provide her with an escape. It wasn't very likely, but she still hoped.

She wondered how much time had passed since they caught her trying to escape. She felt like she had been asleep forever. She was groggy and had a terrible taste in her mouth. She was thirsty and had to go to the bathroom badly, even though she knew there wasn't that much of a chance they'd let her out and escort her to the lady's room.

Suddenly, the heavy iron door swung open and Ann strolled in very casually, barely acknowledging Virginia at all. After a moment or two after Ann had surveyed the room and glanced to make sure that Virginia was properly held down, she walked up to her and pulled her hand up into a wide arc before bringing it rapidly down on Virginia's cheek.

Virginia's head was snapped to the other side of the chair where the left side of her face made quick contact with the wood. The sound of her skin being slapped pierced her ears, but was dulled by the feeling of heat and pain on her face. She longed to rub it, to stop from throbbing, but with her hands held down by the tight iron, she was only left to hope that it would stop hurting.

"Maybe that will teach you not to try another stunt like that again." Ann said coldly referring to Virginia's attempt to escape. She swung around and approached the fireplace. Wood was already stacked inside and there were ashes from the previous fire below to aid the new one. Ann took a match and struck it against the cobblestone floor, instantly gaining a flame. She gently placed it against the wood and started a fire.

Virginia's eyes flew over to the iron slippers that were placed on the shelf with the other shoes and felt a sudden urge to stall whatever Ann was planning to do. "I don't understand why you're doing all this to me. It wasn't like I killed her myself! It wasn't my fault!" She yelled.

Ann said nothing for a moment, she only kept her gaze transfixed on the fire that was growing in front of her. With a hard voice, she spoke to Virginia with her back to her. "How many times do I have to tell you?" She paused and then whipped around and stared at Virginia. "If you hadn't made Sally lose the contest, which she deserved to win, Wilfred wouldn't have killed her!"

Virginia scoffed. At least she knew that Wilfred actually carried out the murder, not her. "Why am I to blame!? Do this to him!"

"No, he did that to her because she destroyed the well. She deserved some of the punishment. But don't you see? If it weren't for you, Sally wouldn't have destroyed it! The Peep's wouldn't have been driven out of town! It's your fault."

Virginia felt herself slump in her chair and another blast of sudden memory and regret hit her. //"If it wasn't for you..."// and //"You were nothing but an accident."// It was all too familiar, all too clear and all too painful. Virginia turned away, not being able to find the voice to argue with her again. She did deserve to pay, she had killed two people. Whether or not she actually did the deed against Sally, didn't matter, the fact was that because of her, Sally was dead.

Ann hid her smile as she saw Virginia turn away, guilt spread across her face. She saw her red hand print that was clearly marked across her face from the hit she gave her and it was like she had branded Virginia. It caused her to bit her lip to keep from smiling wholeheartedly. She was trying to make Virginia feel the way she should and it wouldn't help to start laughing and showing joy.

Ann turned away and slowly made her way over to the shoes in the closet, taking her time to look for a certain pair in particular. When she knew that Virginia was watching she slowly picked up the cold iron slippers and looked them over. She all ready knew plenty about them, but was delaying to cause Virginia to tense. Ann knew of the story between Virginia and the Trolls with those very slippers, she knew that Virginia wouldn't be pleased to see her place them on the fire.

But she did so anyway. Ann placed a pair of tongs near the fire and turned to see Virginia staring at the shoes, her eyes wide and her mouth parted slightly. Ann had to bite her tongue from smiling again, but a small grin slipped through her grasp and went across her face in display of her amusement.

"You know the story behind those, right? What they can make a person do?" Ann ask coyly.

Virginia turned her gaze off of the shoes that were atop the flames and glared at Ann. She quickly twisted back to her shackles and tried to squeeze her hands through them again or undo the clasp that was so close to her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. The iron will only rub your wrists and soon they will begin to ache and burn." She said as she walked around the room. Her farming accent that Sally had seemed to show more and more every time she talked, probably because Virginia was realizing how much alike in pain and torture they were. Living to see others suffer.

"You're a lot like your sister." Virginia mumbled, more to herself than to Ann, simply as an observation that didn't mean to burn through Ann like it did.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ann asked, flushing slightly. Sally had such a reputation in Little Lamb Village that wasn't one anyone wanted to have themselves. To be compared to Sally in any way was low and degrading.

"I said, you're a lot like your sister" Virginia said, exasperatedly as she twisted her wrists around again, desperately trying to free a hand. She hadn't realized the meaning of her words like Ann certainly did.

Ann felt her eyes burn. She instantly felt a heavy weight of new anger flood her chest and make her hands clench. Yes, she was avenging her sister's death, but mostly because her family was banned because of Virginia. "How dare you!" Ann screamed as she approached Virginia.

Again, Ann's hand swung up into the air and came swiftly down and in contact with Virginia's cheek. She leaned on the arm rests of the chair, only inches from Virginia's face. She herself could almost feel the heat off the brisk contact she had made.

It being all ready sore and red, Virginia immediately let out a yelp in pain as her cheek received another hit, sending her to the side of the chair again. The throbbing on her cheek never seemed to cease, it kept getting worse and worse, hotter and hotter. Ann had struck so hard that she could feel the pain all the way down to her cheekbone.

Without free hands, Virginia was unable to retaliate, until an idea came into her head. Before she thought through it logically, Virginia welled up the strength and pulled her head back. Ann didn't have enough time to move as suddenly Virginia spat on Ann's face, a smile of defiance slid up her mouth as she watched Ann grimace away.

Ann flew back and wiped the spit off her face, trying to reclaim her dignity, but it was all ready gone. "I'm going to make you regret that you little goblin!" The words were so familiar to Ann that they came out without a thought to them. Then she realized that Sally said that quiet often when she was angry with someone. She was copying her sister's words. She was becoming her!

Ann felt enraged and terribly angered. She wanted to slap Virginia again, punch her, kick her ... spit on her! She wanted to make her live through pain like she was, but couldn't decide on the best form. Until, her eyes fell upon the red slippers sitting quietly on the flames of the fire. She wiped the remaining spit from her face and let her eyes wander to the slippers knowing Virginia was following her gaze.

Ann picked up the tongs in her hands and then picked up the slipper with them. They were so hot that they sizzled on the tongs and threatened to burn right through them. Ann smiled. Perfect.

She walked back over to Virginia, whose smile had completely vanished off her face. The slap mark seemed to show darker now that the rest of Virginia's face had gone pale. Ann's smile grew.

She waved the slippers suggestively in front of Virginia's feet and then softly said to her; "Let's see how well you can dance."

Part 35

Virginia clenched the arms of the chair, turning her knuckles white. It was then that she felt a cold draft run across her feet, making her aware that her shoes had all ready been taking off. Ann was carefully carrying one of the slippers over to her while the other sat idly on the ground. As she watched it sit on the cobblestone, she was shocked and incredibly terrified as she saw it sear a black print into the floor.

"Don't you dare!" She managed to say through clenched teeth. She tried to move her feet away from her, but cold shackles held them down. Virginia struggled in the chair, desperately trying to free herself before it was too late. As Ann lowered one of the slippers by her right foot, Virginia could feel the heat that was radiating off of it, a horrible swell of fear and anger fumed inside her.

Just as Ann was about to unbuckled Virginia's restraint on her foot, there was shouting and yelling down the hall where several trolls in a heated argument of some sort. Ann glanced down at Virginia, whose chest was raising and falling so quickly from what Ann had planned to do, it made her smile again.

The shouts continued and Ann felt another sense of irritation cover her. Couldn't they do anything right? Ann sighed exasperatedly and with the tongs she picked up the other shoe and carried them both back to the fire. She placed them gently above a huge flame and then tossed the tongs to the ground.

"Don't worry," She said over sweetly. "I'll be just a moment." Her expression changed as she glared out the door and stormed out of the room.

Virginia watched for a few seconds and the eagerly started to work on her manacles again. She almost had gotten them off before, but Wolf had freed her before she needed to make herself slip out of them. It was up to her now.

She twisted, pulled, turned, pushed, and scrunched her hands up to fit through, but had no avail. Ann was right, the iron started to rub on her skin and made it hot and sore. Virginia let out a final grunt of anger as she tried one last time, but achieved nothing.

"I'm in the hands of a maniac." She said quietly to herself as she watched the slippers on the fireplace. There was no escape. There was no hope. Virginia felt a rush of coldness fly up her spine as she came to terms with what was going to happen. Ann wasn't going to stop until she was dead, that she knew.

Virginia shut her eyes tightly and banged her head against the hard wood behind her, resulting in a dull pain. "What am I going to do?" She mumbled to herself. She heard the voices quieting down in the hall. Dammit. Seeing no other option, she started to pull on her restraints again, ignoring the thickening pain that was resulting.

Suddenly, two hands clamped down over Virginia's eyes. Her first instinct was to bite them, fearing that it was a Troll's or even Ann's. She immediately refrained from that thought when she heard the voice that followed.

"Guess who!" A husky voice whispered near Virginia's ear, and Virginia found she's couldn't hold back her smile. The hands moved and Wolf rested his chin on the back of the chair. "You would think that after one escape before, they'd board up that window."

"Oh my God, Wolf! I thought you were dead!" She said quietly when she saw his face, it was so surprising, and she couldn't do much of anything but stare at him. He really had come to save her, and she wasn't going to be killed by a silly shepherdess. Well, that's what she kept telling herself.

"Am I the only one getting a strong case of deja vu?" He asked softly as he moved to the front of the chair and quickly undid Virginia's restraints. As soon as they were off, she flew into her arms and hugged him tightly.

"I've missed you so much." She said as she clung to him, refusing to let go. It felt so warm to be in his arms again, safe and welcome. She held onto him, running her hands through his hair and over his back. She wanted to be absolutely sure that he was real, standing there and rescuing her again.

"I've missed you too." Wolf whispered as he ran his hands through her short hair and kissed the top of her head. "Are you all right?" He asked, his voice was covered in fear and concern. He ran his hands down her back and then to her abdomen.

"Yeah, we're fine." Both Virginia and Wolf smiled and pulled in for a kiss. It was long and tender, neither wanting to break the embrace. Virginia had a million questions to ask Wolf, but they could wait, this was all that mattered at the time.

When they broke, both stared into each other's eyes as Wolf ran his hand down her face. Their reunion was broken when the sound of voices elevated and started to come towards the door. "Come on, let's go." Wolf grabbed her hand and rushed her over to the window.

"Wait, I need my shoes." Virginia rushed back into the room and over near the door. She ignored Wolf's attempts to stop her, she needed them. The terrain was terrible once outside the palace, she knew that from before. Besides, they had time. Maybe not much, but they still had some.

"Virginia! Forget them! Let's go!" He shouted, choosing not to mention how many trolls were coming down the hall. They were coming in close and fast; there wasn't enough time. Wolf jumped down from the parapet and halfway followed Virginia.

Just as she grabbed them, the doors swung open, Ann in front and followed by several trolls, all armed with heavy weapons. Virginia backed up into Wolf and the two of them quickly made their way over to the window. As they looked down, they were shocked and dismayed to see dozens of trolls lined up at the base of the balcony, pulling on the rope that Wolf had tied. After several tight jerks on it, the rope finally gave and fell down to the ground, landing in a heavy heap.

They were completely trapped.

Wolf put Virginia behind him and backed her up to the ledge of the balcony. Wolf quickly counted, there were seven trolls and a shepherdess, who he immediately could tell was related to Sally, there was no mistaking that scent.

"Ahhh, Wolf, it's a pleasure that you could join us today." Ann said as she and the trolls approached Virginia and Wolf closer. "Perhaps you would like to participate in the activities planned for today. We've got plenty of dancing prepared." Ann smiled at Virginia.

"Go to Hell!" Virginia yelled from behind Wolf.

"Tsk. Tsk. That's not very polite." Ann turned and faced the trolls, addressing each one of them. "Kill the wolf and bring her to me." Ann made her way through the crowd of trolls and to the back of the room to escape the massacre. She crossed her arms over her chest and smiled proudly, this was the way she wanted it. Finally, things were going the way she had planned all along, and there was nothing to stop her.

Virginia clutched onto Wolf harder than she had ever done before. She thought that she had lost him once before, she wasn't ready to let it happen again. As the trolls advanced, Virginia dropped her gaze below, the trolls had disappeared! Virginia was about to suggest to Wolf that they go down the balcony, but strangely, the shouting had resumed in the hall, only much louder and it mixed with the banging of metal.

Virginia and Wolf weren't the only ones to hear it, the trolls that had been advancing on them, turned to the doors as well. Wolf took one of Virginia's hands that were wrapped around him and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

The doors in the room burst open and soldiers came into the room, fighting against the trolls that turned to attack. Ann screamed as the battle suddenly shifted to her direction, and she found herself right in the middle of the clanging swords and shields. The soldiers all wore the symbol of the House of White.

Wolf turned to Virginia and smiled. She looked at the soldiers in awe, stunned of their timing. "You didn't think that I didn't come prepared?" Wolf asked her. Virginia was about to answer, when a figure she spotted came into the room.

"Dad!?" Virginia shouted as she saw him, covered in armor and holding a large sword in his hand. It was so unlike his normal frumpish style, and that's what caught Virginia off guard.

"Oh, Virginia. Are you all right." He asked as he hurried over to her and hugged her tightly.

"I'm fine." She breathed, still shocked at the massive turn of events.

"Good. Come on, let's get you out of here." Tony said. Both he and Wolf helped Virginia to the door through the battle that was taking place. The trolls were fighting the soldiers with their strength and not their brains. The men of Wendell were escaping the strong brutes with simple battle moves that the Trolls were too slow to block. The battle was practically even.

Swords clashed with shields and the sound of screams as skin was being pierced clouded Virginia's mind, it was completely horrible. Shouts and obscene language was being thrown around as the fight carried on, no one paying much attention to the three that were heading for the door, except for Ann.

"No!" Ann shouted as she saw Virginia. "She's not getting away!" She declared before making her way over to her. Just before she got within a few feet of them, Ann pulled out a small dagger that was hidden inside her boot. She concealed it in her hand and hurried over to them.

Just as Ann dove through the crowed, aiming to tackle Virginia, Wolf's senses picked up on the danger and pushed Virginia out of the way. Wolf and Ann tumbled to the floor near the roaring fire away from most of the fight. Seeing that Virginia was not beneath him, and Wolf was, Ann's temper rose to the extreme.

Ann took the dagger from her hand and aimed it over Wolf's heart. "No one is going to stop me! Especially not a wolf!" She yelled through her clenched teeth. As much as Wolf fought her, she had an advantage. Wolf was completely tired and exhausted. He was weak from his quest and his arm was still healing from the hit he took from the ax. The dagger was coming closer each second.

"Hey Ann!" Virginia shouted behind her. On instinct, Ann halfway turned only to be smashed in the face by the pair of tongs that she had discarded previously. The clamp that hit her face struck her cheekbone with full force and set her flying back onto the floor, tumbling off of Wolf.

In her effort to keep herself from falling, her hands reflexively flew to grab something, anything. Momentarily forgetting the dagger was in her hand, it flew down and broke through flesh. Both taken off guard, Wolf and Ann stared at the bloody dagger as she pulled it out from deep inside Wolf's stomach.

Part 36

After the realization dawned on him, Wolf felt an almost instant pain dig through his body. The dagger had gone deep inside his stomach and nearly threatened to punch right through him. He could tell by Ann's expression that she was almost as surprised as he was that it had gone through, her face was blank and emotionless, the rage that had consumed her moments before had vanished.

Wolf was half aware of Virginia's screams and Tony's moral support as they rushed over to him. Ann backed away and stared at the dagger that was still clutched in her hand like it was a foreign object she had never seen. With another gaze to Wolf and then back to the weapon she held, Ann dropped it on the ground and ran.

Virginia had to hold herself back from chasing after her, there were much more important things to attend to at the moment. As Virginia got closer to Wolf's crumpled form, the first thing she noticed was all the blood that had covered his clothes and the cobblestone floor. It seeped into the cracks that conjoined the stones and was running like a river, outlining each block.

Wolf's hands covered the wound on instinct, trying to stop the blood loss and the pain. It was unbearable. His stomach was clenching and his forehead was sweating. He curled himself into a ball and held the wound as best as he could.

Virginia didn't know what to do, she felt so helpless and confused. She bent down next to Wolf and tried to disentangle him from his position, but he wouldn't budge. His face was pain and scrunched up in desperate pain, she could feel her own stomach twisting as she tried to examine him.

"I'm going to go find Wendell." Tony said quickly as he rushed out of the room. Virginia nodded and attempted to try and help Wolf again.

Finally, he shifted over and Virginia was able to see the damage that Ann had done. The blood was flowing everywhere and didn't seem to ever stop. Wolf's hands and clothes were covered in the dark oily red. Virginia gently lifted up his shirt and folded it over the top half of the wound. She nearly retched as she saw the dagger's mark that it had made on him, the hole was no longer than two inches wide, but refused to stop bleeding. To Virginia's complete dismay, she realized that Ann must've punctured an organ.

"Virginia?" Came Wolf's raspy voice. His head was on the stone floor and his hair was glistened back from sweat. His face was a deathly pale and his eyes were clouded.

"What?" She asked gently in reply as she surveyed his puncture again. She busied herself with trying to fix the injury instead of looking at his face. It was to unbearable for her to look at, it was too frightened. She had never seen him like that, and never wanted to again.

"I'm not going to ma--"

"Don't talk like that!" She turned and made herself look into his eyes. "You're going to be fine." She wished that she had sounded more confident in her words than she did. She also wished that she could believe them.

"Virginia," He tried to continue, but another wave of pain made him wince away and clutch his stomach again. When it somewhat passed, he continued. "A wolf goes by his instincts, and I know. I can tell." Virginia shook her head at him, trying to find the words that could convince herself and him.

"We're going to get you out of here, and you'll be fine." Virginia said softly, even she could sense her fear dripping through her voice. Their conversation was muffled by the constant clanging of the metal from the battle that was still going in the background, but neither paid attention to it.

The blood continued to run from his stomach, even though they both tried to stop it. The bleeding wasn't just from the dagger's hole, it was from the punctured organ which was making him bleed internally besides. As Virginia clasped her hand over his, he lifted his own and gently squeezed hers in reply.

Wolf's body began to tremble slightly and his breathing began ragged. The pain was strangely passing, he could barely feel it anymore. His eyes were becoming heavy and threatened to close on him, but he held them open, refusing to give in. Virginia couldn't hold back the tears anymore, her emotions took the best of her. First the tears just blocked her vision and blurred everything in front of her, but then they soon flooded and ran down her cheeks.

"Oh, Virginia don't cry." He soothed. "Everything will be okay." He whispered to her as he found that his voice was leaving him. "Just promise me," He stopped as a coughing fit took over and he had to gather himself a moment before continuing. "Make sure that our cub has a good life,"

He wasn't done, but all ready Virginia was shaking her head and pleading for him to stop. She hated good-byes and lately, she had been experiencing too many of them. "Wolf, stop. You're going to be okay." It was a failed attempt to calm them down.

A heavy veil of black threatened to cover Wolf's eyes as he realized that his pain was completely gone, but the terrible thing was the loss of feeling in most of his body that went along with it. He felt cold and saw his body tremble deeper than before.

His chest was rising and falling in heavy heaves just in attempt to breathe. His heart hurt the most when he saw Virginia's pain as she looked at him and held his hand tightly. It was no use, he was slipping away and it was only a matter of time. He quickly memorized Virginia's face and cherished the time that he was blessed to share with her.

"Virginia," He whispered with a small smile. "I love you."

The trembling subsided and Wolf shut his eyes. Virginia's breath increased as she watched him slip away. She clutched his shirt and buried her face in his chest and sobbed. "Wolf, no." She mumbled between her wracking sobs. She felt it happening all over again and couldn't help but to repeat herself. "Please, don't go." She whispered. It wasn't fair. When she lost her mother, Wolf was there to help her through it. Now he was gone and she didn't want to accept it.

Virginia wasn't sure how long she was bent over him, but when she finally felt that she had no more tears left to cry inside of her, she lifted her head off of his shirt. As she looked over his still face, another wave of terrible emotions threatened to take her.

Before she could give into them, Virginia blinked and found herself in a different place, one she had never been to before, hollow and empty. It was cold and the air was thin, he own breath coming out in clouds before her face. She stood up and looked around. Wolf was gone, so was the battle between Wendell's men and the Trolls. The entire room was gone.

Virginia shuddered against the frigid air and hugged herself to conserve heat. As she looked around, she wasn't sure where she was. The room she was in was completely a pure white. It never seemed to end, nor did it seem to change color. White, just white.

Virginia spun herself in a circle as she looked at every different direction and tried to figure where to go. He voice had long since left her when Wolf had passed, now she wasn't sure whether to try and scream in frustration or yell for help. Suddenly something cold fell on top of Virginia's arm.

As she looked down, she saw a single snowflake. It sat on her skin for a suspended moment before it finally melted away from her warmth. After that one, several more began to fall on her and blanketed her hair with white dots. She looked up to see if there were clouds above, but it was a solid white ceiling, one that she couldn't tell where it ended. Her breath came out in heavier, thicker clouds as the temperature dropped. As Virginia spun around again, she came face to face with a smile.

"Hello Virginia." A calm rich voice said. Virginia backed away and marveled at the person in front of her. Her eyes were wide open as she looked at Snow White.

"Why am I here?" She asked. Her voice was noticeably raw from her crying and her eyes were still red. She was amazed that she even found her voice at all.

"I think you know." She paused. "I saw what happened." Snow White said as she circled Virginia.

"Then, you can help?" Virginia asked hopefully. Her question was almost desperate and pleading, begging for Snow White to help.

"I wish I could, but I can't." Snow White said with a deep depression in her eyes. Virginia felt a new sense of irritation burn inside her and fuel her anger.

"What!? But I thought you were my Fairy Godmother or something! You have magic, use it!" She snapped. Snow White's eyes met with Virginia and silently scolded her for her outburst.

"I have magic, yes. But I can't change things that were meant to happen."

"But it's not fair." Virginia said. He eyes started to water again and she heard herself whine, but at that moment, she didn't care. "He shouldn't have died like that."

"I agree Virginia, and it wasn't supposed to happen." Snow White said as she came next to Virginia.

"But you just said," Virginia asked, her mind was puzzled and in utter confusion.

"All things happen for a reason, that I cannot change. Wolf wasn't supposed to die so early. He wouldn't have, if..." Snow White's voice drifted off and she waited for all the information that she had given Virginia to sink in.

"If what?" Virginia questioned after a moment. She dropped her arms from her chest, not really feeling cold anymore. The snow continued to fall, but as they landed on her skin, she didn't feel the cold pinpoints like usual.

"If ... someone hadn't interfered." She finished. "I would bring him back Virginia, please understand that. But I can't."

"Why not?" Virginia's voice was soft and fragile, what Snow White was saying wasn't adding up.

"Because of the Swamp Witch." Snow White said with disdain in her voice and a hidden loathing for her. Her usual melodious voice was hardened by the mention of that name, a sudden change that only the Swamp Witch could bring out in her.

"The Swamp Witch?" Virginia repeated, not sure if she was hearing right. Snow White nodded and explained the quest that her father and Wolf had gone on to save her. She explained about the mirror, the crystals and led all the way up to Wolf's confrontation with the Swamp Witch.

"So you see Virginia, in that brisk contact between them, Wolf's mind was clouded and his common sense was ripped from him. For just that moment, so she could take what she wanted. She dealt the deadly blow of the dagger, not Ann. Ann never had any intention of killing Wolf like that."

Virginia wanted to protest and list off what Ann had done to her, but chose not to.  The pieces were starting to fit together and hope was returning to her. There still could be a way to save Wolf. Before she could ask, Snow White was all ready answering.

"To save Wolf from her, you have to destroy her. If you can do that, you can make her release his soul." She said and brought out a tiny vial, inside there was a light yellow substance. "This pollen came from the flower that I gave Wendell all those years ago. It's very powerful and very rare. To defeat the Swamp Witch, you simply need to pour this on her, and the evil will be eliminated. She will cease to exist."

It sounded so simple, such an easy task. Virginia knew better. She had been down into that cellar before, and hoped that she would never have to travel deep into it's depths again. Now that the task was before her, she was only left to dive right in and go for it. Virginia nodded and took the vial from Snow White. She looked it over carefully and then held onto it tightly.

"You must beware the Swamp Witch. She will try anything to get you to give up your own soul as well." Snow White cautioned her. "And with your baby, you need to be even more careful." Virginia nodded. "Now go, you don't have much time before she'll become strong enough to block it." Snow White gave her and encouraging push.

"But how do I..." As soon as she turned to face Snow White again, she saw that she was all ready gone. Virginia was left in the blistering cold room alone again and began to notice the snow that was falling and the strong winds again. The next time Virginia blinked and opened her eyes, she found herself over Wolf's body again, clutching the vial in her palm.

As she looked around the room, the battle had long since stopped and it was almost empty. Wendell and Tony came rushing into the room, instantly saddened by the scene in front of them. Their pace was slowed and Tony went over to console Virginia, but instead of seeing depression and loss, he saw determination.

Part 37

When Virginia met her father's gaze, she was somewhat given a new sense of hope. In such a sudden exchange of expressions between the two, she knew that she could complete what she had to do, having his faith was just enough. Virginia had told her father and Wendell what had happened when Wolf died and why she had to go.

Wendell had understood, but Tony was persistent on making sure she'd be all right and fretted over every complication he could think of. He had known about Virginia's meeting with Snow White the last time and how useful it had been so he didn't doubt her. But of all places, the Deadly Swamp? It was the very last place he wanted her to go.

Tony and her hugged briefly, but tightly, for a few moments before breaking. "Are you sure you want to do this alone?" He asked her as the broke, Virginia sighed patiently. He had asked her that more than a hundred times since she first told them. She nodded her reply, understanding his fears. "That witch is capable of anything." He warned. In his own way, he was trying to persuade Virginia to allow someone to come with her and make sure that nothing happened in the Deadly Swamp, but deep down, he knew that she had to complete the task alone.

He had always promised himself after Christine had left that he wouldn't let any harm come to his little girl. By letting her take off alone, he felt that he was breaking that promise somehow. Virginia nodded again; her eyes were strong and pure, showing no trace of doubtfulness in herself, he was very glad to see that.

"I can do it." Virginia said defiantly, her tone was daring anything or anyone to stop her. Tony believed it. After everything that she had accomplished for the Nine Kingdoms in the last month, he had no doubt that she would be able to stop the Swamp Witch again.

"I know you can sweetie." He said with a small smile and kissed the top of her head. "Just be careful." He pulled her in for another long hug before letting her go.

"I will." She smile reassuringly. "I'm bringing him back." She declared. Virginia stepped backwards and headed to her own carriage that Wendell had given her to travel to the swamp. She waved lightly to him.

"I know you will." Tony said as he watched Virginia get into the carriage. With a mighty whack, the horses neighed and headed down the rocky terrain of the Troll Kingdom. When the carriage was too small in the distance for Tony to make out the figures on top, he turned back towards Wendell who was talking with the Trolls and had been for quite some time. He approached them, but found he could only catch the tail end of their conversation.

"So..." Burly began thickly. "The witch didn't kill our dad?" He asked Wendell. After finding the best way to break the news to them, Wendell had explained everything from the breakout when he was first turned into a dog all the way up to when their father died.

"No. And she's not a witch at all." Wendell said, trying to clear Virginia's name. Burly and his siblings exchanged ashamed glances before getting caught up in their own conversation. "Oh, Anthony," He turned towards Tony and led him over to the carriage. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, I guess so." He said with a preoccupied expression on his face. Wendell stopped and turned to face him.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I would just like to know where Ann disappeared to." Tony said as he scratched his stubby chin. "It was too strange." Tony noted, mostly to himself than to Wendell.

"I suppose so, but I do believe we have other difficulties to be dealing with." Wendell said as he got inside the carriage. Tony nodded solemnly and watched the distance where Virginia's carriage had gone.

He climbed inside the carriage and shut the door. "I know Wendell, I know."



Virginia rested her against the red silky fabric that lined the sides of the carriage and watched the bumpy land that went by. Everything that had been happening to her didn't allow her any time to herself to just, think. She sighed shakily as her emotions threatened to get the best of her, but she fought them back and concentrated on what she had to do.

She fished into her pocket and dug out the tiny vial that Snow White had given her. It was no more than three inches wide and was very thin, but it seemed to weigh a lot more. Virginia turned it over several times and studied it from various angles before placing it back in her pocket and turning her attention back to the land ahead.

Her expression became terribly crestfallen as she thought about Wolf. He was really gone. This wasn't the same thing as when she told him to leave and they were separated for a few days. This time, life and death separated them. He was really gone.

She perked up a bit when she changed her thoughts over to her time with Snow White and played the entire conversation over and over in her mind to recall and useful information that she said. There was a way to bring him back and she knew that she would do everything to see it happen. Virginia felt an instant loathing as she thought of Ann and that dagger she had gripped tightly in her hands when her and Wolf fought.

It was like the entire scene was played in slow motion as it happened. Virginia saw the blade coming down in a fatal swoop as Ann squirmed about to regain her balance. She watched it happen, but didn't know how to stop it or how to save him from it. If he hadn't pushed her out of the way... Virginia suddenly became choked up as she realized that Wolf had saved her yet again.

She turned her attention to the setting sun that shined brightly off in the distance with an amber glow. As the carriage continued to creep closer and closer to the swamp, the sun set lower into the mountainous peaks that crested the hills ahead. Virginia felt her eyes falling and getting heavier, but did nothing to stop them. She caught one last glimpse of the pinkish sky and the puffy orange clouds before drifting into sleep.


Virginia woke not too pleasantly as the carriage came to a sudden halt and the door flew open in a quick burst. She snapped herself awake and stepped out of the carriage. The footman helped her down to the ground before shutting the door and resuming his post.

"This is as far as we'll go, Milady." The footman said. "You've had luck inside, but not too many others have." He said as is glance flew between Virginia and the swamp.

"Oh, I understand." Virginia said. Her gaze never once left the opening to the swamp. She could all ready feel a cold chill run up her spine. The sun had set and the stars were out. To Virginia's complete dismay, she realized how dark and cold it was going to be inside. Without even thinking another thought, Virginia set off inside and ignored the footman's warnings. She had heard them before and overcame them; she'd do it again. She only hoped that she'd be as successful as she made herself believe.

As soon as she crept inside the green dense forest, a blast of humid cold air rushed up to meet her and caused her to cross her arms over her chest. She looked all around her, not focusing on any one thing but trying to steady her nerves. She stumbled a few times over rotted logs that protruded out of the ground and lost her bearings more than once, but was traveling with high hopes.

Everything seemed so different when she traveled it backwards. The last time she had came through the back end of the swamp; everything seemed brighter and lush, now it seemed dead and rotting. She came around several pools of water and many patches of mushrooms, but they didn't call out to her or offer her eggs and swamp water.

The swamp was very dark and gloomy at night, without the occasional sun spots climbing through the heavy forest canopy, she had no light compared to the minimum she had before. Virginia continued to cautiously make her way through the swamp and avoided anything that looked too good to be true, knowing automatically that it was a trap.

When Virginia rounded another bend, she stopped dead in her tracks and stared. The Swamp Witch's Cottage. She frowned and her face filled with hate and rage, wanting nothing more than to unleash her feelings at the dead hag that lived inside.

She felt an eerie sense of déjà vu as she silently made her way up to the tiny house and opened the door without allowing herself to stop. She noticed that Acorn had long since left when all she found was a single candle that was sitting idly on the table.

Virginia closed the door behind her and tried to avoid any cracks in the wood floor to give herself the element of surprise. Despite her efforts, her presence was already known. As Virginia tried to calm her nerves and release the tension in her arms to open the cellar door, she heard a familiar and hated voice that seemed to sing to her from below.

"Virginia..."

Part 38

Virginia jumped back and forced herself to calm down. She kept reminding herself that it wasn't the first time that she had been in the Swamp Witch's cottage and things like that were to be expected. Virginia's hand met the handles of the cellar doors and clutched them tightly. She took a deep breath and gently lifted them up and peered inside.

Heavy clouds of mist swirled on the staircase and blocked her vision from seeing deeper into the tomb. She stared down at the first step and had to force her leg to move. When she got past the first step, she swallowed down a heavy weight that blocked her throat. When she made it halfway down, Virginia stopped and turned back around to look up at the entrance. It wasn't too late; she could still go and get help. Virginia nodded to herself and turned to go back up the stairs and find someone to come with her, she found that other things besides fear were pushing her up. Her memories of the last encounter were more than vivid in her mind.

Before she reached the top, the deathly silence that filled the tomb besides the faint dripping was broken by a faint voice. Virginia ... Where are you going, Virginia? Virginia froze in place and shut her eyes to the sound. She never wanted to hear that voice again, but she didn't get her wish. "I know you came to see me, child. Come and talk."

Virginia forced herself to turn back towards the bottom of the cellar and swallowed. She shut her eyes tightly and reminded herself why she was there and what she needed to do. Those few thoughts helped to push herself down to the bottom of the stairs and break through the mist.

The humid air that had hung at the top inside the house had faded drastically away and only a cool mist and a drafty breeze wafted by. Cobwebs covered the stone walls where the dripping water failed to touch, giving it another large feeling of death. As Virginia reached the iron gate, she gently pushed it open and stepped forward into the tomb.

The gate squeaked loudly as it opened and swung back with her very light push. The Swamp Witch still rested in the middle of the room, the exact same as when Virginia had seen her last. Only, there was something different about her, something that was making Virginia's skin crawl. The Swamp Witch seemed more alive, even though it was impossible. Her mind was confused with the new events she was seeing and was broken out of her thoughts as the old voice spoke once again.

"Virginia." She sighed in a superficial sweet tone. Her eyes seemed to shift over from her previous stare at the ceiling and over to meet Virginia's. "I always knew that you would return to me." Virginia felt he throat tighten and instinctively took another step back. Her hand reached into her pocket and fingered the vial inside, planning on when to take it out and use it. "You can have the power, Virginia. You can be so much stronger than your mother was."

Her hate for the Swamp Witch seemed to escalate to a new high. Due to her remark about her mother, Virginia was once again reminded that because of the Swamp Witch, her mother had left her. The evil witch that was in front of her killed two people in her life that meant so much to her. First her mother, and then Wolf. Virginia's loathing for the witch was beginning to become uncontrollable and she had to fight herself not to start screaming and punching the old hag.

When the silence continued in the tomb and started to deafen Virginia's ears, she found the voice. "Well, you can think again because I will never do that. I won't do what she did." She spat, unleashing her tone filled with venom and hate.

"But, my dear ... think of the power you can have. You will be given castles and wealth. Everyone will love you and always be under your ever whim. They will be yours to control forever." She promised.

Virginia shook her head but couldn't find the power to sound her denial and rejection of the offer. It was unthinkable, but very appealing. "No!" She thought as she tore her gaze from the Swamp Witch. "Stop being so conceded. She's doing this on purpose." But as hard as she tried to fight it, her eyes met the Swamp Witch's again. The offer was so appealing; it was like having the Troll King's magic shoes all over again.

"Come..." The Swamp Witch's hand became slowly outstretched, inviting Virginia. "Join me, and find the power you seek and crave." Then she was silent and left Virginia to think about what was being given to her. Virginia's hand came up and she watched it with fascination, like it was a foreign object attached to her body. As it came closer and closer to the witch's, she fought it harder and harder.

"Stop it!" Virginia screamed in her mind, but was surprised to learn that it came out of her mouth as well as she ripped her arm away and backed away from her. The Swamp Witch's expression of promise and care faded away and turned to an evil look filled with anger and rage. Virginia backed away so far that her body was pressed against the wall. When the Swamp Witch wouldn't release Virginia's gaze, her anger also rose. "I won't let you do to me what you did to my mother!" Virginia shouted, even louder than her last outburst.

The cellar was still and quiet for a long time, neither Virginia nor the witch moved or spoke. The dripping of swamp water that leaked in from above was the only sound to be heard besides Virginia's heavy breathing. Finally, the eerie silence was broken. "My child, you are strong. Much stronger than your mother was, and it seems that you are expecting one yourself." Virginia's eyes flew open in horror as the witch had spoken of her child in such an interested tone. "I would never harm you or your child, but think of the possibilities for a future between you both. You could be the ruler of the Nine Kingdoms and your child would be the heir." She said quite dramatically.

Virginia's hand flew protectively to her abdomen as the witch continued. "Your baby would live the life you dreamed of, Virginia. Filled with love and power. Don't you want that for it? Don't you want that child to live the best possible life it could?" Virginia's head nodded mechanically as if under some trance. "Gaze into the water and see what my words mean."

The Swamp Witch's eyes motioned over to a pedestal that was set in the corner of the room. Virginia looked at it in confusion, she never remembered it to be there before, nor did she notice it in her conversation with her that moment. She walked over to it; not really feeling her own legs and looked into the rippling water that was resting peacefully on the pedestal like a birdbath.

The water began to ripple and cascade; instantly distorting Virginia's reflection and blurring her own face. The inner part of the pool became suddenly still, while the outside remained to move. Virginia watched in awe as a young boy sat on top of a beautiful golden throne, cultured and proud. She gasped slightly at the form seated next to him, as it was her. She sat in a dark purple dress; a golden crown dressed with various jewels sat perfectly on her head.

Her and her son sat idly on their thrones watching entertainers perform in front of them while a grand buffet of food sat next to them. Musicians played beautiful pieces while many women and men danced before them and then bowed respectfully. Virginia and her son smiled happily together and watched the ball play before the eyes with delight.

The scene ended with one final look at her son smiling with the wealth and power he had gained and then faded to a bright white and the cascades began again, overtaking the once clear look into the future and slowly returning Virginia's face in the present. She looked down at herself and saw the face of a lonely little girl that had simply found a magic dog, but ended up saving the Kingdoms. She didn't want her child to live a life like the one she had been dealt. I she could prevent it, she would. Virginia broke her gaze and turned back towards the Swamp Witch, meeting her eyes again.

"So you see, my dear Virginia, you can become glorious things and make a grand life for your child to come." Virginia felt her head nod as her eyes became entrapped with the Swamp Witch's. "Join me, and it will be yours." The witch's hand became outstretched once again and she motioned Virginia to come closer.

She felt her legs move towards the hand and her own slowly lifting. It was like some terrible curse had been put on her for her entire life, and with this, it would simply fade away and her childhood dreams would come true. She felt like smiling and feeling proud, but instead, her eyes shut suddenly without warning and she instantly saw Snow White pleading with her to stay away.

//Do not do this Virginia. Remember who you are and why you are there. Do not become prey to her monster of evil and coldness. Stop before it's too late.//

And Virginia's eyes flew open, her arm whipped away and she backed up. "Stop doing this to me!" Virginia shouted. "It won't work!" She dug into her pocket and pulled out the vial seeing her time running out, not knowing how much longer she would be able to refuse her. As soon as she held the vial in her hand, a strong bolt of electricity shot through her arm and forced her to drop it.

The vial fell to the floor and began to roll away. Virginia watched in utter confusion, as the small bottle seemed to take on a life of it's own. She glanced at the Swamp Witch and momentarily saw her smile before going after the vial. As she reached the entrance of the cellar where the gate was, she was thrown back several feet by another blast. The rusted iron gate swung directly in front of her face and slammed shut, locking Virginia inside and the vial outside where it came to rest at the base of the stairs.

Virginia got on her hands and knees and stretched her hands through the bars to reach the vial, but it was too far away. She got up and tried to undo the latch, but was horrified to see it had been welded together, the metal twisted and melted. Her hands were still clenched around the iron bars as she turned slowly to the Swamp Witch.

The witch laughed a deep and throaty cackle that made Virginia wince. "Old magic isn't going to work my dear, and you're not leaving," She paused for a moment. "Not now, not ever."


Part 39

Time seemed to cease completely as Virginia stood by the iron gate, watching the Swamp Witch cackle in her tomb. The vial was too much out of reach and the gate was blocking her from getting it. She didn't know how much time she had left before she wouldn't be able to resist the witch anymore and fall to the same fate Wolf had. Virginia turned back to the gate and bent down, desperately trying to reach the small bottle.

Her shoulders seemed to pull out of their sockets and her arms felt tender and sore, but she continued to try. She shifted her weight and tried the other arm, but it was useless, and the vial was no more than two inches out of reach. Virginia grunted with one final effort before pulling her arm back in and glaring at the Swamp Witch.

"Just give into it, Virginia. It's so much easier." She said gently, her gaze never leaving Virginia.

Virginia had enough. The witch in front of her had caused her so much pain over the years without her mother and then took away the only man she had ever fallen in love with. So many tears had fallen with the gruesome memories made without a mother and then learning she tried to drown her, all because of the evil woman before her. Her anger was threatening to sore to a new height as she looked at the witch.

"And then what!?" She heard herself yell. "End up like you!? Destined to be here forever, stuck beneath a swamp?" Virginia worked herself up so much, her hands were shaking slightly, but she held them at her sides to keep the Swamp Witch from seeing them.

"Oh my dear, you have no idea the power you can gain. The wealth and the respect you can achieve from those you conquer. It can all be yours. Don't you see, I'm giving it to you. I know you can handle the power, it's in your blood. The Nine Kingdoms can be yours to rule and I can give it to you right now." She stated dramatically.

Virginia was suddenly completely enthralled. The rage she had felt a few moments ago had faded away with each promising word that was spoken to her. She was again reminded of what she could really become once she agreed. The deal seemed like it was almost too good to be true, but, her mother had almost accomplished that very thing. Perhaps it was in her blood and she was to continue her mother's work and to finish what she started.

Virginia had proven that she was stronger and smarter than her mother by defeating her at the coronation, maybe she was the next to complete the task. She knew that she couldn't run from her past generations and knowing what her mother had tried to do clicked something in Virginia's mind. If she continued to fight what the witch was trying to give her, it would only become more difficult in the long run to reject something that could make her feel the way she wanted to feel all her life.

As Virginia stared down at the Swamp Witch, she suddenly realized that she had moved from the corner of the room all the way up to her tomb. The revelation startled her for a moment before she became at ease with it. The word Destiny was constantly being thrown into her face and before not too long ago, she didn't realize what that word really meant. Now, she felt as if she did.

Destiny had brought her to find her mother and led her to the Swamp Witch the first time. It had happened again and now she was asked to complete what her mother failed to do. Virginia felt an odd feeling as though she was meant to do it and it was up to her not to let her mother down.

"So child, will you join me and rule the Nine Kingdoms?" She asked as she brought her hand out and reached for Virginia's, inviting her. When Virginia didn't move and only stared at the outstretched hand, she continued. "Remember what can become of you and your son. Think of every thing that will be yours." She said sweetly like an old grandmother giving their grandchild a piece of candy. "It's Destiny."

Virginia had been thinking of destiny for a while and what it meant to her, but as the Swamp Witch said it, Virginia had a suddenly flash and her eyes closed as she winced. She was suddenly sitting in a large dining hall, food and people were scattered everywhere and her father was sitting proudly across from her, and everyone was celebrating and talking joyously. The scene was so familiar, but she strangely had a hard time remembering it, like it was part of her life but was taken from her.

A voice spoke suddenly next to her and she turned her head to find it. It was Wolf smiling at her and stating simply, "It's destiny." before slipping the pearl ring onto her finger. The flash ended and Virginia found herself back in the Swamp Witch's tomb, staring down at the hand and then back at her. Virginia backed away, this wasn't the destiny she was meant to live.

Virginia was there to save Wolf from what the witch had done to him, not to give into her fake promises of grandeur. Wolf's promise to her was real, it was love. He and their baby was her destiny, her future, not to give it all up to end like the Swamp Witch or her own mother. Virginia felt sick at what she had almost done to herself and everyone else she cared about.

"Come my dear Virginia." The Swamp Witch said sensing Virginia's sudden change.

Virginia walked back over to the rusted gate and started to yank on the bars in hopes of breaking the latch. As she looked at it, she realized that it had been welded together, melted into a heap of twisted metal. She bent back down to the floor and tried to reach the vial, but with little avail. Suddenly thinking of something, she sat down on the floor and took off her shoe, scolding herself for not thinking of it sooner.

She placed the shoe in her right hand and pushed it through the bars. Using it like a hook, she used the lip of the shoe to bring the vial over to her. It wavered at first, threatening to roll away again, but as she pushed on it harder, it slid over without another fight. Once it was closer in reach, she stuck her other arm through and pulled it up.

Virginia held the small vial tightly in her hand as she put her shoe back on haphazardly. She walked over to the Swamp Witch, a grin on her face. The witch's on the other hand, was repulsed and worried, her eyes were darting around and trying to find a way to stop her.

"What are you doing my dear?" The Swamp Witch asked trying to stall.

"Paying you back for everything you've done to me." She jerked the cork off the top of the vial and held it over the Swamp Witch. Virginia stared down at the broken woman before her. This was the woman that had dreams of power and lost them. She had to dance in the red hot slippers like she had almost had to do. The witch took her mother from her and make her the evil creature that met Virginia again years later and didn't even remember her. She also killed the man she loved and threatened to take her own free will. And so, Virginia felt no remorse as she took a breath and poured the contents out of the vial.

Part 40

As soon as the contents left the vial, they immediately swarmed around the Swamp Witch like bees on honey, rather than just plopping onto her like Virginia had previously thought. The swirling motion first seemed light and slow, but the yellow contents soon picked up momentum and were flying all over the room. The speckled miniature spots flew around Virginia and reached the furthest points of the tomb, at first scattering, but soon developed a circular pattern. Virginia shielded herself against them as they started to move rapidly and became a mer blur as they whizzed by.

The Swamp Witch was yelling and screeching at what Virginia had done, trying to figure out a way to stop them. She reached out her hand and grabbed Virginia's arm. She used all her remaining strength to pull her towards her; a venomous glared shined in her eyes. "If I'm going, you're coming down with me." She declared to Virginia.

Virginia let out an angry shriek as she grabbed the Swamp Witch's arm with her free one and twisted it until she let go. She stumbled back, her chest heaving and her eyes darting about as an eerie light started to flood the room. It grew and grew until Virginia could no longer focus on it and had to turn her head away. When her attention was turned towards the opposite wall, she saw that the gate had opened and was slightly rocking back and fourth.

A gale-size wind suddenly picked up as the contents from the vial started to dissipate as the enormous light grew and threatened to consume Virginia. She stumbled over to the gate and grabbed the iron just as the wind started to pull on her. The Swamp Witch's yells turned to agonizing screams as the tomb started to fade away into the light. Her screams became weakened and muffled before they finally stopped. A small smile of triumph was written across Virginia's face as she felt an enormous burden being lifted from her. She had done it. The Swamp Witch was gone for good.

The wind that was pulling on Virginia started to grow stronger and soon she found that her feet had left the ground and she was barley holding onto the rusted iron bars. From the force of the spiraling wind, the metal bars that held the gate together started to bend and crack under it and Virginia's weight. If she didn't get out of there soon, she would fall into the same hole that the witch had fallen in.

Using her summoned strength, Virginia fought against the sucking whirlpool that started to form behind her and slowly climbed the bars like a ladder. She was begging to make progress as she came closer to the stairs, but the light had grown and made Virginia wince and squint her eyes.

A high pitched monotonous howl from the wind filled the tomb and grew louder and louder with each passing moment. Virginia had to fight the terrible urge to cover her ears with her hands and continued to climb up the gate. The wind continued to grow and miscellaneous items from above started to fly down the staircase and into the swirling winds, such as the single candle that was on the table and broken pieces of wood from the cellar doors.

Most pieces missed Virginia, but one stray small chunk of wood flew down and smacked into her knuckle. She let out a yelp and instinctively let go of the bar to favor her hand. It was a mistake she instantly regretted as her other hand struggled to hold on.

Before she could retrieve her grip again, her hand slipped and she found herself falling back and being pulled into the hole in the center of the tomb where the Swamp Witch once rested. Virginia's arms flailed about to stop herself from plummeting, and they finally gabbed onto the very last bar of the gate. She let out a grunt as her body was stopped from falling at the simple inertia threatened to take her down.

The winds seemed to scream as it grew once again in size, the shrieking high pitched tone never ceased and the light made Virginia completely shut her eyes. She made another effort as the wind increased its pull as she started to climb up the gate again.

After what seemed an eternity, she finally made it to the top after a few near hits from debris and almost loosing her grip again. Once she got over the gate, the pull from inside the tomb was lighter and easier to stand on her feet. She quickly climbed the stairs and as soon as she hit the top, the entire house began to shake. The roof was cracking and falling under the immense pressure from the pulling wind while the wooden table tipped over and slide across the floor.

Virginia made a break for the door and flung it open in one simple move. The boards on the floor were raising and twisting, some being pulled out of place. The glass windows broke and shattered to the ground, sending shards of glass flying around the room, some hitting Virginia and piercing her skin.

She ran out of the house just as the blinding light enveloped the entire cottage. She dove away from the house and rolled to the ground. Virginia looked back at the Swamp Witch's house and her eyes flew open. The light was brightly shining out of every window and crack like the sun was inside, making spotlights over the whole swamp. The wood creaked and snapped loudly, first slowly, and then began to speed up. Virginia realized what was going to happen and covered her head with her arms instantly, just as the Swamp Witch's cottage imploded.

Part 41

Debris flew everywhere from the cottage, plummeting down on Virginia where she was curled up on the ground. Pieces of broken wood and glass fell with muffled thumps from the soft bed of moss while others made a small splashing sound as the fell into pools of swamp water. When Virginia lifted her head out of her arms, she gasped in surprise at the leveled house.

Everything that stood in it's place, the mirrors, the windows, the door ... it had all been completely destroyed. The only thing that remained was an outline of where the house once was. As she approached the demolished house, she realized that there wasn't any hole for a basement to reside, it hadn't been destroyed, it had vanished.

Virginia looked around at the mess that she had created and instead of feeling ashamed or guilty of what she had done and who she had killed, she felt a small sense of joy. She felt happy knowing that what she did would prevent anyone else from living what she had. No one would loose a family member or a loved one, no one would be left alone at their young age to believe that the abandonment was their fault. The witch was dead for good, her house was destroyed and Virginia was happy.

Virginia started to walk away and think about the long trip ahead, knowing that the carriage had probably left. If not for the tales they had heard about the swamp, then most likely because of the explosion. But she was caught off guard when, suddenly, a small pinpoint of snow landed on her arm and took her attention.

Virginia stared down at it like she had never before seen snow. It was completely out of place in the muggy and humid atmosphere. As it melted away on her skin, she looked up as more began to fall. A white, glowing light illuminated from above and came closer to her, engulfing Virginia inside. Before she could struggle or pull away, she realized that she was no longer in the Deadly Swamp.

The snow continued to fall and Virginia found herself in the same empty place that she was when she last met Snow White. The cold wind blew again and the snow seemed to fall heavier, but this time, a small ray of sun shined down on Virginia and placed a warm glow on her chilled body.

"Hello Virginia." Snow White whispered happily behind her. Virginia spun around and saw her smiling gently at her. "I am proud of what you have done." She spoke as she approached Virginia.

Virginia swallowed and after a minute, spoke. "I'm glad I did it." She said with no resentment in her voice.

"I knew you could. She offered you everything that you could ever want, and you refused. You were able to show how strong your will and mind is, as well as your heart. You've done what many have tried, but failed."

"Destroying the Swamp Witch?" She questioned, finding it hard to believe that anyone would even step foot in her house, much less try and be rid of her.

"No," She sighed with a smile. "You resisted temptation and risen above greed, and because of that your greatest reward is far from what anyone could offer. It's the fact that knowing you were stronger than anything anyone could throw at you. Virginia, you should be glad, for no one else would've been able to accomplish that."

The was a pause in the air as neither said anything. Virginia blushed slightly at her flattering words as they sunk in and smiled. The sun was beginning to shine in the room brighter and the snow was beginning to slow. Virginia suppressed a yawn as she felt a wave of fatigue fly over her. She would be very grateful to go home and curl in bed. Then, another thought occurred to her.

"But, what about Wolf?" She asked. Snow White had said that once the Swamp Witch was gone, she could restore him. Could she still do it? What if she hadn't finished the witch off quickly enough or something went wrong?

"You can relax Virginia, he'll be as good as new in no time. As soon as you destroyed the Swamp Witch, his soul was freed from her evil clutches. I was able to give him his life back, but it will take some time for him to heal from the wound."

Virginia breathed a sigh of relief and came up to Snow White, encircling her in a hug. "Thank you." She whispered and the hug was returned.

"No, thank you, for everything that you have done. For me and the Kingdoms." A hazy glow began to shine. Once Virginia blinked away from the light and reopened her eyes, she found herself in the large throne room in King Wendell's castle. She blinked doubtingly and smiled.

"Virginia!?" A voice shouted in surprise at the other end of the room. Wendell descended his throne and rushed over to her. "Virginia, is that you?" He approached her and gave her a warm hug. "Are you all right?" He asked cautiously.

"I'm fine." She laughed as they broke their embrace.

"Oh, everyone is going to want to see you and hear of how you defeated that witch." He beamed ecstatically. "But first, I believe there is someone who will want to see you."

********** Part 42 **********

The hallway was long and tedious. It continued for miles without end or change. It was beginning to annoy Virginia. Wendell led her down the hall and to Wolf's chamber, all the while, Virginia had to fight the urge not to plow him down and find the room herself. He told her about their trip back and what they had done with Wolf, but nothing really seemed to process in her mind. The only thing she could think about was what she was going to say to Wolf and the sight of just seeing him alive after watching him be killed.

Wendell noticed Virginia's absent expression and so kept the topics light, choosing to stay away from her recent journeys and let her talk about them when she wished to do so. He began to question in his mind why he was even still talking; his words were falling on deaf ears. He also sensed her eagerness to see Wolf at the way she was practically skipping down the hall and saw her eyes darting from room to room. Wendell smiled at her and took her to the room where they stopped in front of the door. Instead of rushing full force into the room like he imagined her to do, Virginia stopped with her hand on the doorknob and simply stared at it, as if frozen in time.

"Virginia? What's wrong?" He asked quietly. "Go on." He urged. Virginia still didn't move and on closer examination, he saw her brow furrowed in thought and her lips pursed. When she didn't answer him, he took her hand off the doorknob and into his own where he squeezed them reassuringly. "Whatever you're unsure about right now, Virginia, isn't going to be any easier to deal with on this side of the door."

She stared at his hands for a long moment before nodding. He was completely stunned by her sudden change of moods and expressions, but after everything he knew she had gone through, told him they were normal. Virginia took her hands out of his and turned back to the door and with a heavy breath, she opened it slowly.

Virginia put her head through the door only slightly and took in the scene before her. Wolf was lying on the bed in the middle of the room; her father was sitting in the chair next to it, watching the nursemaid as she tended to Wolf's wound and bandages. The nurse was talking to her father about something, but their voices were low and so she couldn't hear anything. Before she could examine the room further, she saw Wolf's nose twitch and suddenly his head flew off the pillow.

"Virginia!" He exclaimed happily as a huge smile covered his face. He instantly winced as he tried to sit up and grabbed his side in obvious pain. The sudden movement pulled on his stitching and forced him to lie back down. Despite the nurse's attempts to calm him, he was all ready pulling the covers off the bed and trying to sit up again. Tony rushed over to Virginia as soon as he saw her and wrapped her in a warm hug. He kissed to the top of her head and barraged her with endless questions and concerns about her welfare.

Virginia rolled her eyes with a smile. "I'm fine, Dad." She said simply and cut him off before he could ask more questions. She turned back to Wolf who was being held down by the small maid and wondered how much longer the scene would last before he bit her.

"Calm down, sir, you need your rest." She was telling him. Both were too involved with their fight that neither really noticed Virginia approach. "You can't be jumping around with that injury of yours!" The nurse managed to say and she increased her hold on him. She was awfully lucky that Wolf was hurt, otherwise she'd be the one laying in the bed by now, bandages and all.

Both stopped their struggle instantly as Virginia came up to the other side of the bed and crossed her arms over her chest and raised one eyebrow. "You can let me go." Wolf said to the nurse with a deep tone, daring her to keep her arms in range for another second. She let go with a sigh and grabbed her basket of towels before leaving the room with a huff.

Wendell came up behind Tony who was still near the entrance and tapped him on the shoulder. He motioned him to follow and head outside the door to give them some privacy. After a considered amount of time to decide, Tony agreed with a wry smile and shut the door behind him. For a long moment, neither Wolf nor Virginia said anything. They both took the time to stare into each other's eyes and smiled lightly, the air was tense and both were unsure what to say or how to start. Virginia was the first to break the silence as she carefully sat down on the bed next to him.

"How are you?" She asked as she gently placed her hand on the white bandage that was wrapped around his upper abdomen. She was careful and kept her hand away from the wound to keep from applying any unwanted pressure to it.

"I'll live." He joked lightly. Wolf lifted his hand up and softly stroked Virginia's cheek. "Thank you." He said solemnly.

"Wolf, I..."

"Virginia, I..."

They both began in unison and turned away from the other. They turned back in revelation of the words started between the two and smiled slightly. Wolf pulled his head forward lightly and motioned for her to continue, and after a minute, she did.

"Wolf, I'm the one who should be thanking you. Dad told me what you both went through to find me ... and what you did after that mirror broke. He told me everything"

"Everything?" Wolf asked warily, his eyes widening slightly.

"Well, mostly, I think. Before I went to the Swamp Witch he explained most of your trip. From Kissing Town all the way up to the Troll King's palace." She said and noticed his uneasiness. "Wolf?"

"Um, well ... did, did, he say anything about a girl named Samantha by any chance?"

"No, why?" Virginia slightly glared down at him.

Instantly, Wolf caught that tone in her voice as she mistook his words. "No, it wasn't anything like that!" He declared defensively. "Um, did he tell you anything about what happened that night between us?" He asked and then wanted to take back his words as he saw her expression harden. "No, wait, wrong choice of words." He paused and worded his next sentence carefully in his mind before speaking. "I meant; did Tony tell you what happened the night we got the second crystal?" He sighed, that was better.

Virginia's expression softened and she shook her head lightly. "He just told me that you got the second one in a small town before going to the swamp. Why? What happened?" She asked quizzically. Wolf didn't speak, nor did he make eye contact with her. Instead, he stared down at his hands where he was wringing them roughly. After several minutes passed, she put her hands over his and held them still before asking again. "What happened?"

"Virginia," He started with a heavy sigh. "It was my fault."

"What was your fault?" She asked gently. Whatever was bothering him was having a hard impact.

"It was my fault that you had to stay at the Troll's Palace so long, and even at all. It was also my fault that you had to go to the Deadly Swamp."

"Wha.."

"Virginia I didn't mean to, I swear I would never, ever put you in danger. But everything that happened was my fault. I'm so sorry." If he could get to his feet, he'd be on his knees begging for her forgiveness.

"Wolf, what are you talking about?" She asked, confused. He was clutching her clothes and trying to prove his innocence to her so much that he ignored the side effect pain from his movements in his side.

"Huff Puff, everything! This whole thing was my fault to begin with! If I had been prepared at the cottage, you would've never been taken. Then, that night we got the second crystal, I...I.."

When he kept stuttering incoherently, she pushed his answer. "You what?"

"Cripes! It was that damn moon!" He shouted angrily at himself. He tossed in the bed and wished that he could have enough strength to pace the room. Being so helpless and weak on the bed made it even worse; he was forced to look her in the eyes as he told her. "The moon came up and I lost it. I attacked Samantha, I got hit with an ax, and I..." He paused and stared at Virginia's face.

Finding it too difficult to explain to her and look at her loving eyes, he covered his with his hand and rubbed them. "And, I... I almost killed Tony." He said as a slight whisper. He wished that he had covered his ears so that he could've blocked the sharp intake of breath from Virginia's direction. "I'm so sorry, Virginia. I didn't mean to, it wasn't me."

When he took his hand off his eyes, he saw Virginia staring into her lap as everything he told her sunk in. "And, I wish that was it." Her head snapped up and her face questioned what he could've possibly done besides that. She shook her head slightly with doubt, but before she could speak, he did.

"Virginia, ever since I met you, I promised myself that I would never put you into any danger." He put his hand back to her cheekbone and ran his thumb over her cheek "As if this whole kidnapping thing wasn't enough ... I'm the reason you went to the Swamp Witch's cottage. When Tony and I were there, I--"

"Wolf," She began as she clasped his hand. "I know what happened."

"You do?" He asked. When she nodded, his face changed and he looked like a puppy that had been kicked.

"I spoke with Snow White again, and she explained to me everything that happened. It wasn't your fault Wolf, none of this was. You have no reason to be punishing yourself over this, it was meant to be, no matter what we did." She paused and her face lightened up. "Call it destiny." Both Wolf and Virginia laughed lightly.

Virginia began to stroke his cheek as well and felt tears welling up in her eyes. "I love you, Wolf." She whispered with a small smile. "I don't want to loose you again." Wolf pulled her hand to kiss mouth and kissed it lightly.

"I love you too, and you won't." He whispered back. Wold encircled his arm around her waist and pulled her down, and halfway he met her into a kiss. Virginia's arms wrapped around his neck and he pulled her closer and down. When the long kiss was broken, they both stared into each other's eyes again, but this time it was not fear of what was unsaid between them. It was pure love for one another and the safety in each other's eyes, and that was something no one could take from them.

***************************

Sitting quietly on top of a small hill that touched the edge of the Royal Forests, Ann and her horse overlooked the estates and King Wendell's castle that was beautifully glowing in the night. Her lip curled with venom and her stomach turned with loathing for the Fair Virginia was safety nestled inside. She had escaped again.

Ann's life had changed so drastically in little over a month and there was one person to blame for that. First she lost her sister, then her home and now her family's respect when the learned of her failure. The entire Peep clan had put their faith into her to see the job was done after she had requested to do so, and now she didn't even have them. With her family turning on their backs on her, it was the last straw.

"I'm going to see that you pay for everything you've done, Virginia." She hissed under her breath. "This I vow, if it's the last thing I do." Ann sneered and turned her horse. With a kick of her heels and a neigh from the horse, she took off into the forests.

Revenge was a sweet thing, especially when you knew the perfect way to make a person pay. Time would bring Virginia to her undoing, and Ann was sure she would be there to deliver the final blow.


~*~ END ~*~