Strange Magic – ButterflyBog

by

Raven Diablo

Chapter 11 – WAR!

Author notes: I am sorry I have been away for a while, but there was much to deal with in regards to my father's death in March of 2017. I finally had everything taken care of in regards to that and I had sold his house this year (2018) in May. Things have finally returned to normal and I have resumed where I left off in terms of my Strange Magic fanfic. So I apologize to my fans for the long hiatus, but I am back and I intend to complete the story. There were two chapters left and the next one below is a biggie. The chapter came about as many of my readers mentioned that they liked Chapter 6 the best with the bird attack. So I decided to take it up a notch and put our star couple in the middle of a full on battle! So much is going to go on in this chapter, but I guess much is to be expected with a chapter that is aptly named; WAR! Yes, in the chapter below, the people of the Fairy Kingdom are suddenly thrust into a battle. But with who remains to be seen. I am going to say that Roland makes a return in this chapter and also a new OC is introduced. There was much forshadowing in the prior chapter and I highly recommend rereading chapter 10 before reading this chapter since the two chapters are very much related. Chapter 10 also hints of the new OC. As with my prior chapters this chapter also references music and I highly recommend bringing up the song in YouTube to get the proper feel of the scenario as the song plays out. There is support information on my page on and my page is under my name of RavenDiablo. So go to my page on DeviantART and click on my gallery. I have this chapter listed there along with any support material. I would like to point you in the direction of my drawings of Marianne's battle armor and also to that of my new OC. Thank you for putting up with the long hiatus and I hope you enjoy the chapter below. I recommend a full bag of popcorn for a snack and also a box of tissues as things do get pretty sad later on in the story. So I am not going to sugarcoat it, but yes, someone important does die. There is only one mature part in the story. As you may recall, I have separated the mature parts so those that are underaged or do not wish to read the explicit scenes, may do so without affecting the plot of the story. So put aside some time, sit back and relax because this one is a biggie! So without further ado, here is Chapter 11: WAR!

Bog had nodded off a bit, the last thing he recalled was getting intimate with Marianne in the dining room and they returned to her changing room to get cleaned up. He let her shower up first while he laid down for a moment on the bed. However, he knew that was a mistake given how tired he was. He knew he was going to fall asleep. The last thing he remembered was thinking about Marianne laying on his chest while she was washing up, but now he had awakened to the sound of someone snoring loudly. Marianne was there actually lying on his chest sleeping. He had no idea what time it was. All he knew that it was his turn to get washed up since she was done. He took a good sniff of her hair and it smelled from honey. She smelled so fresh and clean. He needed to get washed up and get as clean as she was, but she was completely draped over his body. Her face was completely clean and had no makeup on. He smiled as he still found her very attractive without makeup on. But he was feeling very grungy and he figured he would try to slide out from under her slowly and hope she wouldn't wake up. However, as soon as her legs slid off his body, she began to stir and climbed right back up on his body.

She then yawned and opened her eyes and gazed into his. She ran her finger down his chest and it felt so nice as just had the right touch. She softly said, "Hmmmmm, my sexy man."

Bog smiled as he put his arm around her and said, "My beautiful butterfly."

She giggled as she sighed, "Oh….you just know how to say the right thing to me."

She leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the lips. She sighed again as she nestled her head into his chest and said, "I don't want to get up, I want to lay here all day."

"Whoa, dear. I have to take a shower myself, don't go to sleep now."

However it was too late. She murmured something he couldn't understand and she went right to snoring loudly. He smiled and just figured it was best not to disturb her. He was so tired he didn't feel like moving anyway. So he let the sound lull him back to sleep.

A few hours later:

Bog had awakened to some rustling sounds and when he opened his eyes, his beloved Marianne was no longer lying on his chest, but fixing herself up, putting her makeup on in the mirror. She was wearing her regular halter outfit. Despite seeing her mostly in that outfit, it was still one of his favorites. Being a halter top, it was VERY showy in the upper part of her body showing of her shoulders, collarbones and arms. He just loved looking at her strong arms. They were very special arms for no other woman in the Fairy Kingdom had arms like Marianne. Furthermore, her entire back was bare. However she did change things up a bit by having a green leaf arm bracer on both arms today. They were a bit different than the bracer that she normally wore on her left arm. These came higher up on her arms and the leaves came to a point that extended well past her elbows almost to the indentation on her upper arm. This made her outfit even more sexy looking. He watched her back carefully as she was putting on her makeup, noting how she even had nice muscles on her back. He was surprised that he was immediately having a reaction looking at her backside. He shook the feeling off and began to speak.

"Good Morning, my dear," he said.

Her reflection in the mirror look towards him and she had a surprised look on her face as she said, "Good afternoon, my love."

"Afternoon! Oh, I didn't know it was that late. No wonder why I feel so well rested."

She said, "We slept through the whole morning! I wouldn't be surprised that they are looking for us, which is why I am rushing to get ready. My father said he wanted to go back to the palace after breakfast, so we are really running late."

"I must have slept like a log."

"Indeed you did. In fact your snoring woke me up. You must have been really tired."

Bog laughed as he said, "You snored loudly yourself, my dear."

Marianne shook her head and said, "It is very unbecoming of a princess to snore. I don't know why I do that. My father snores sometimes, but he is heavy and I'm not. I envy my sister...she doesn't snore at all no matter how tired she is."

"It's beautiful," Bog said. "I love the way you snore, it makes me go to sleep faster."

Marianne laughed and said, "It is funny how you like things that would put other men off...like the time I was reeking so bad from my under arms."

"Well, I am different from the fairy men and some things that your folks perceive as nasty are not really bad at all. Goblins snore and smell all the time...and they get way worse than you did. Usually females do smell better than men when they sweat. But you...your scent is heavenly. In fact, I would like to smell you like that again someday."

"BOG! No way, that is gross!" Marianne gasped. "You will just have to be happy with my snoring because that is something I can't control, but I can control my cleanliness and I am not going to purposely stink to high heaven. As much as I love you and want to do anything for you, that is one thing I am not going to do."

"Alright," he said as he sulked a bit resting his head on his arm.

Marianne then looked to him and smirked as she continued, "...at least not purposely."

Bog changing the sulking look on his face to a hopeful grin as he said, "I better take a shower."

He took another look at his fiancée and smiled. His eyes focused on her bare back and she noticed he was looking at it. She giggled and then opened her wings covering her back up.

He shook his head at her gesture and and said, "Can't help it if I stare at you. You're so beautiful."

She said, "Awww, thank you, Hon!"

"You're welcome," he replied but still stood and watched her as he leaned against the door frame.

Marianne then turned to him and her eyes followed his body up and down and he could hear she was starting to breathe heavy.

She said, "I'll be damned if I look at you standing like that and you are making my temperature rise."

"Oh really?"

She shook her head and said, "You best be going in the shower now. With you standing like that, looking all sexy, I am going to get riled up again."

Bog laughed and then turned around and closed the door behind him. He had a big smile on his face. His lady thinks he, the Bog King, is sexy. He kept that thought and everything that happened the day before in his head. He smiled the whole time through his shower, for what his lover said gave him a bright start to his day. He said, "I have a feeling today is going to be a good day."

Moments later:

After his shower, Bog put on his tartan sash and met up with Marianne outside. When they went downstairs in into the central part of the castle, it was a typical work day as usual. There was some questions about where they been since they were missing at breakfast, but they answered truthfully that yesterday was a very long day and they slept in.

The boat was gone and it was obvious that her father must have driven it back to the main dock himself in lieu of them sleeping in. Bog noticed a goblin that was standing by a nearby castle entrance. They flew over to him.

Bog asked, "How long ago did the boat leave?"

"Oh! It left a while ago, right after breakfast, Your Majesty," the goblin answered.

"Darn it! I am going to hear it from Dad for sure that I am not responsible enough to carry out a simple boat schedule," Marianne said in a worried tone.

"It was our engagement night. I think under the circumstances of last night, he think he will understand," Bog said. "It WAS a late night."

"It's just that...the boat was such a great gift and I want to show my father I can can be a good captain."

"Again, I think it will be fine. Don't worry. If he says something, then I will say something. I'll tell him I kept you and so it was my fault."

"Oh, my love. You are just too kind to me. But I can't let you take the full blame."

Bog took his large hands and began to rub his fiancée's shoulders and looked into her golden brown eyes and said, "Relax, it will be fine."

Immediately the look in her eyes softened and her breathing became heavier. She looked more relaxed already.

"I love the way you rub my shoulders...it is very relaxing, perhaps more later?" she asked as she looked at Bog's hands as he was rubbing her shoulders. "Well, let's be on our way then."

"Of course, my dear. You know I love any chance I get to run my fingers down your arms."

Marianne put a wide and bright smile on her face and then she said, "Yeah...definitely. Lets get going. Perhaps we can catch up with them."

They both took took to wing and flew towards the castle exit. Bog was very hungry and would have preferred if they had a bite to eat first, but Marianne seemed bent on getting back to her father as soon as possible. She began to pour on the speed and shot forward.

"Whoa, tough girl!"

Suddenly Marianne stopped looked back and said, "What's the matter, Flyboy, can't keep up with me?"

"Ohhh ho ho!" Bog answered knowing a challenge when he saw one. He shot off in her direction.

Marianne turned back around and she was a few fairy lengths ahead when she just shot off. Bog actually struggled to catch up as she was pumping her wings hard and fast. He could hear her giggling as she raced down the river. Bog poured on the speed as well, and initially he was slowly gaining on Marianne. But being out on the river, it was more open and a straight run with very few curves. He knew that this was more in Marianne's favor. She took one look back and even put on more speed. Bog was starting to breathe hard as he flew as fast as he could. Keeping up with Marianne was proving to be difficult. It was the fastest he seen her fly.

"Damn, she's fast!" he muttered to himself.

He poured on the speed but was barely gaining on her. When the river changed direction and a group of trees came up. He flew right through them weaving to and fro. Now he was in his element and knew Marianne would have a tough time weaving through the trees. He gained on her very quickly and soon he was right on her tail. She looked back and he could hear her utter some kind of four letter obscenity. As he continued to weave, he eventually broke off in a slightly different direction, knowing there were more trees. He looked behind him and to his dismay he didn't see Marianne. He was about to slow down, but knew she probably had a trick up her sleeve. So he just poured on the speed for up ahead he knew he would meet back up with the river and again that would be in Marianne's favor. At the end of the line of trees, Bog burst forth and flew out over the river. Again he looked behind him, but still no sign of his lover. He slowed down a bit.

"Marianne!" he shouted in a concerned tone.

All of a sudden his eye caught a hint of something purple coming from up river behind him. Apparently Marianne followed the river instead of weaving through the trees and she was coming on very fast.

"Whoa!" he called out as he zoomed forward.

He poured on the speed and didn't look back. He knew the dock was coming up soon and if he could maintain his lead, he had it in the bag.

All of a sudden he felt a gentle touch of a soft finger running up his back and between his wings as a flash of purple flew by laughing.

"Ohhhh you!" he called out.

He poured on even more speed and he was gaining on her. However, she was too far out ahead for him to pass and he could see the boat at the dock. Marianne suddenly darted downward and landed very hard on the roof of the boat. Bog landed a couple seconds after. Despite the short run, Marianne seemed to be a very much out of breath. Her face was flushed and her chest was rapidly expanding and contracting.

"Ha! I...won!" She panted as she pressed her long finger into his chest.

Bog grinned and said, "Wow! That was impressive! I never seen you fly that fast!"

"Well, I admit I was pushing myself pretty hard."

"I can see that."

The two of them looked down and saw that the dock was bustling with activity as goblins and elves piled items on to a single cart. Lizzie was waiting by the dock as well.

Marianne was still breathing hard as she put her hands down to her knees.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just a little lightheaded."

"You need to eat something, perhaps Sunny could fix us some breakfast in the galley?" he asked.

"Yeah, but first I want to find my Dad."

After they both looked down and scanned the dock area and the rear deck, they couldn't find him. The two then flew to the aft flybridge. The door was open and Marianne entered the bridge first. Bog then followed. As he looked over his fiancee's head, his jaw dropped at what he saw. K.D. was slow dancing with Yara behind the wheel of the boat. She was humming some kind of melody as she herself draped over his shoulders. She was straddling his bent leg and grinding heavily into it as the two swayed from side to side. Marianne stopped dead in her tracks and by not paying attention to her, Bog ran into her. "Uhhh!", they both uttered.

King Dagda quickly stood up straight and looked back to his daughter and Bog with a shocked look on his face. Yara slid down the king's leg and planted her butt on the floor and she muttered, "Uhhhh!...K.D!" She then noticed where he was looking and she turned to look too.

King Dagda immediately lent his hand down and Yara took it and he helped her too her feet.

He said in a stern voice to Marianne and Bog, "Would it trouble you both to knock?"

Bog said, "Sorry for the intrusion, K.D. my friend, but the door was open."

King Dagda grasped the wheel firmly and sighed as he said, "Well, I guess I left myself open for that one, quite literally."

Queen Yara face began to flush and was becoming red as she said, "Perhaps I excuse myself."

She then left the bridge. King Dagda looked to her as she left and he had a disappointed look on his face.

There was a bit of an awkward moment as no one spoke up next. But after a few moments, Marianne spoke up next and said, "I'm sorry we are late, we overslept. I know the boat is my responsibility and I …"

Just then her father interrupted and said, "It is OK, darling. I know it was a late night and I didn't expect you to get up early today. Besides, I was going back to the palace anyway, so I had everything under control."

Marianne asked, "So you are not mad at me...Uhhh us?"

"No," he answered. "But, now that you are here, I will be expecting you to stay behind and oversee the unloading of the boat as I will be taking Benny back to the castle with me," he said.

"Sure father," Marianne answered.

The two then exited the bridge the way they came. They started to fly down towards the dock, but Bog pointed for Marianne to land a bit off to the side out of earshot of anyone.

As they landed he said, "I don't know what to make of what just happened up on the bridge. Your father seemed to play it off cool and I think he was more upset that we walked in on Yara and him than us being late."

Marianne nodded and replied, "Yes, I am thinking the same thing."

"Perhaps he still thinks we don't know what is going on between them?" Bog asked.

"I don't know, but whether he likes it or not, word is getting around about him getting close with Yara. But I am worried about something else."

"What?"

"Benny has his sights set on Yara too, but I don't think she's interested in him in that way."

"I think it is more of a playful thing between him and her, I am sure he knows what is going on between your father and Yara."

"Are you sure about that?"

"No, but I don't think he would be completely oblivious to how she spends her time with your dad."

Marianne then looked to the dock and said, "We better get over there, I don't want Dad to catch us here talking when he gave us an assignment to carry out."

Bog nodded and they flew towards the dock. Benny caught sight of them and waved for them to approach him. He flew up to Marianne and said, "Good afternoon! Here is the manifest, Princess. I am surprised your father is having you do this instead of me."

Marianne decided to run with it and said, "I guess it is punishment for my showing up late."

"Well, I am just following his orders. I guess I will see you both at the palace then?"

"Yes," she said as she took the manifest from him.

Benny said, "I am already halfway through, so your task is that much easier."

Both of them said, "Thank you."

Benny then bowed and flew off while Marianne and Bog flew down to the rear deck of the boat.

Just then, King Dagda came down from the steps and said to Marianne, "You have everything here?"

"Yes, Benny just gave me the manifest."

"Good! Good! I will see you both at the palace then."

"Yes, Dad."

Her father began to look around and then said, "Have you seen Yara?"

"No, not since she left the bridge."

King Dagda, Bog and Marianne all began to look around when they suddenly heard a voice come from above.

"Yoo Hoo! K.D.!"

Everyone looked up and it was Queen Yara standing atop the rail of the flybridge waving to everyone. She then fully spread her wings open.

The King's eyes grew wide as he said, "Yara! No! You are not ready to..."

She began to fall forward. Bog immediately shot up to in an attempt to catch her, but stopped as the air caught Yara's wings and she began to glide down gracefully. She struggled a bit in keeping herself straight, but managed to hold on. Bog's eyes grew wide as she glided past him with her enormous wings spread wide open. He then noticed that the work on her bad wing was nearly completed. He glided down with her just in case she would need some help.

As she got closer to the ground, she pumped her wings hard three times. Bog could feel the gust of air coming from her wings. He could tell that she certainly was a powerful flyer. She landed a short way in front of King Dagda of whom just stood with his mouth agape and finished his sentence, "...fly."

Bog said, "You can fly now?"

Suddenly Rachel flew forward and almost crashed into Yara and exclaimed, "You did it! You did it! I saw!"

"I know I know! You fix Yara's bad wing!" She exclaimed as she held up the nearly fully reconstructed hind wing.

The two then embraced as Yara said, "Thank you, dear"

When they separated Rachel said, "Oh, it has been my pleasure. You are such an awesome patient. Have you tried to turn?"

"No, I could still feel it trouble to stay in straight line," Yara said. "I didn't dare try to turn."

King Dagda moved forward and was clapping his hands as he said, "Well, my queen, it seems a congratulations is due."

"Thank you, K.D. but work needs finishing before I can fully turn properly," Yara said.

Just then Dawn flew down and landed in front of Queen Yara and immediately threw her arms around her and said, "Oh! I saw, I saw! You are almost ready to fly!"

"Yes, dear Dawn, almost!"

Rachel said, "Why don't you try taking off now?"

"Ok," Yara said as she smiled.

Dawn let go of Yara.

Yara smiled a bit and then spread her wings wide open.

Benny flew over and said, "Oh...why is it when she does that, my heart skips a beat. Those wings are magnificent."

Marianne's eyes grew wide and she replied to Benny saying, "Indeed they are."

Benny was in earshot of Yara and her face started to become a bit flushed. She then replied, "Thank you, Sir Benny."

She then began to pump her wings hard and she started to rise up off the ground. She was a bit unsteady. Both Benny and King Dagda moved forward, but Benny got to her first.

"Let me have your hands," he said.

Queen Yara reached out and Benny took her hands. This apparently steadied her enough and she pumped her wings harder. She began to rise up from the ground, Benny rose up with her.

"Be careful with her!" King Dagda said in a very concerned tone.

"Yes, Your Majesty, with my own life."

Marianne had noticed that both her father and Benny seemed to be having a similar level of interest in Queen Yara. Neither one ever mentioned love as of yet, but both seem to be heavily flirting with the brown skin, dark winged queen. However, given to what she had seen moments ago, it had her thinking that Yara was favoring her father.

She looked on as the two rose higher and higher and they were about three times as high as from when she leaped from the boat.

"Do you think you can glide down from this height," Benny asked.

"I will try", she said.

Benny released his hands from hers.

She said excitedly, "Oooooo Benny I fly! Oh I miss this so much."

"Oh I am so happy for you."

"Thank you! You always gentleman to Yara. You are good friend to me."

Suddenly a gust of wind came and knocked them off balance. While Benny was able to adjust for it, the wind caught Yara's huge wings and she spun out to the side and began to spiral downward.

There were many below that gasped, "NO!" None louder than King Dagda himself. He even started to pump his wings hard and slowly began to lift off the ground. However, Benny was very swift and he managed to get in front of Queen Yara and he grasped her arms once again steadying her.

In a very frightened voice Yara, exclaimed, "Sir Benny, I'm not ready. Yara scared."

"Okay Okay. Don't worry. I have you. I will guide you down, just slowly flap your wings," he said as his voice wavered.

They slowly glided down and when their feet touched the ground, Benny was so relieved that he embraced Queen Yara hard. His body was noticably shaking.

"Oh my! Sir Benny, why so shaken?" Yara asked.

As Bog approached the two in embrace he could make out what Benny replied to Yara.

When they separated, Benny held her shoulders and with very loving eyes said, "Forgive me, my queen...I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you."

"Oh my, Benny, that was very nice thing to say," Yara said.

Rachel flew over and landed next to Benny. She looked very irate.

"What the heck are you trying to do showing off like that?" Rachel said as she poked her finger into Benny's chest. "Queen Yara is MY patient and I will say what she is ready for."

"I...I'm sorry Rachel. I figured the queen is very strong and capable and would be able to handle a glide from higher up," Benny said.

Rachel glared at him and shook her head as she put her hands on her hips, "From now on, while she is under my care, I will say what she can and can't do and then by when she feels she is ready. Not before. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it," he answered.

Bog's eyes grew wide as he never seen Rachel this angry before. She always seemed like a meek, soft spoken little fairy.

King Dagda came over and took Yara's hand in his and he glared at Benny and said, "I have to agree with Rachel on this one. Yara could have been seriously hurt!"

Benny shook his head in agreement and said, "Understood. I'm sorry, Your Majesty. But you know I would never let any harm come to the queen."

Suddenly a smirk appeared on Rachel's face as she then turned to Yara.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"Yes, dear Rachel. I a bit shaken. But don't blame everything on Benny. Yara thought I could do more."

"I know you have a strong will and want to return to flying, but these things do take time."

"Yes. I can be patient too, I can wait. I already wait this long."

King Dagda escorted Queen Yara to the side and when they were well away from the group, Yara and he embraced. When they separated, the two began to speak, but they were too far away for Bog to make out what they were saying. The king then guided her onto his platform and the fairy soldiers took off with them. Benny and Rachel followed. Bog then turned his attention to his fiancée and he noticed that she already returned to the boat and was coordinating the unloading of the boat. He went over to join her.

Marianne finished getting the wagon loaded up and had it hooked up to Lizzie in short time. Sunny climbed aboard her along with Pare. She then looked up to Sunny and said, "Sunny, I'm hungry. Bog and I didn't eat breakfast. Do you think you can find something in the galley for us before we get going?"

"Sure Princess," he said as he got down from Lizzie and headed back into the boat.

A few moments later he came back with two egg sandwiches and a couple cups of apple juice.

"Here, breakfast to go!"

"Thank you!"

"You're Welcome!"

Marianne flew on top of the wagon and Bog followed. She gave the order for Sunny to go and Lizzie started to move forward. She sat down on the wagon and then offered one of the sandwiches and an apple juice to Bog. He was really hungry and the sandwiches were small, so he had his devoured in no time, it was satisfying. He also noticed at how fast Marianne gobbled her sandwich down nearly as fast as he did.

With not much to do on the long boring trip back to palace, he laid down on the wagon and looked to the sky. Marianne sat next to him and began to rub his arm.

Bog jokingly said, "So this is how travel would be like without wings….Boring."

Marianne laughed as she said, "Well, not everyone is blessed with flight. But I do admit that I couldn't imagine a life without my wings."

"Neither can I, and I never want to either," Bog said.

"I have seen your goblins get around by flying on beetles and dragonflies. The elves do that at home too."

"Oh yes, they can get around, but it isn't the same as having your own wings. Just to fly anywhere and at anytime just by spreading my wings and flying."

Marianne then laid down next to him and yawned. She said, "Perhaps we could get a bit of rest now."

Bog grinned and said, "You took the idea right out of my mind, dear."

The two laughed and Marianne nestled her head into Bog's chest. He put his arm over her and began to rub her ear with his fingernail.

"Ooooo, that feels good!" Marianne called out.

She in turn began to run her finger up and down his soft, smooth chest.

"Yeah, that feels good too," he said softly.

It wasn't long until the two fell fast asleep.

About an hour later:

Bog had awakened to the sound of Sunny's voice.

"Come now you two sleepyheads, we are here at the palace!"

Benny met them at the loading bay of the castle and he said, "Good, you are here already, your father wants to see you immediately."

Marianne and Bog looked to Benny, of whom had a worried look on his face.

She asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Hmmmm, yeah, you could say that."

"What?" she asked.

"I think it is best that your father fills you in on everything," he said.

"If you say so. Where is he?"

"He is in his study."

Marianne and Bog took to wing and flew through the palace and made their way to King Dagda's study. Upon seeing them arrive, a guard outside opened the door for them and they just flew right in.

K.D. was sitting at his desk and the pale look on his face clearly indicated that something was indeed wrong. Benny flew in shortly after and stood by the left side of his desk.

"Dad' What's the matter?" Marianne asked.

The king hesitated as he reached around and scratched the back of his head as he said, "We have a problem darling."

"What kind of problem?"

"Roland has escaped," he said.

Marianne shook her head side to side with a look of disbelief on her face as she said, "Would you mind running that by me again?"

"Yes, Roland has escaped, Darling," her father repeated.

Marianne stuttered as she said, "Bu...Bu...But that is impossible. I thought those cell blocks are inescapable without a key."

Benny answered by saying, "Yes, your highness, by any normal means. I know because I tested them myself."

"So then, how did he escape then?" she asked.

Benny explained, "At first I was not sure, but while I was in his cell looking around, I was wracking my brain on how he could have gotten out of there, since there was no evidence of damage to the door or tampering of the lock. In frustration I tossed my key across the cell and it landed against a tapestry he had hanging from the wall. The key landed making a thud sound and not a clang as it would have hit the wall behind it. So I gave the tapestry a good yank, pulling it down. To my surprise, it revealed a huge tunnel that lead to the outside."

"Are you saying he dug himself out?" Marianne asked.

"No, that is impossible, the guards would have noticed or heard something like that. Also, a tunnel that size would have taken a month to dig and that is WITH a shovel. The ground is very much packed hard down there," Benny said.

"Can I take a look?" Bog asked.

"Yes, I want you to see what you would make of it," King Dagda replied. "Something strange about the hole. It made me feel uneasy just looking at it."

Bog nodded.

"Yeah, I want to see this too," Marianne said.

"Very well, Darling." Her father said.

The King got up and started for the door. Everyone else followed.

"There is something else I have to tell you."

"Yes, dad?"

"Roland isn't the only one that disappeared."

Marianne's eyes widened as she asked, "Who else is missing then?"

"Daniel, Nathaniel, Gregory, Rachel, as well some of the guards are missing too."

"Rachel?! But she was with us at the boat dock. Are you trying to tell me she disappeared when you all arrived here at the palace?"

"Shortly after, yes," her father answered.

As they walked down the main hall, they were joined by Yara and Dawn.

Dawn asked, "Dad, Yara told me what happened. Can I come see?"

"Yes, you both can join us."

Suddenly King Dagda's face grew even paler and he said in a softer voice to Benny, "This information isn't reassuring in any way. Please lead the way."

Sir Benny then took the lead, followed by the Fairy King, Yara, Bog, Marianne and Dawn. The King seemed to out pace Benny as his strides became faster and longer as they made their way to the dungeon.

When they got to the cell that contained Roland, Marianne's eyes grew wide as she grasped the bars and said, "Oh No."

Benny opened the cell door and everyone filed into the tiny space with the exception of Yara and Dawn of whom both just looked through the bars from the other side.

Bog moved forward in the cell and he got a good look at the hole. It was large and could easily accommodate a large fairy walking on all fours.

The Fairy King looked around the cell and said, "Benny pointed out that there is very little dirt inside...thus hole was made from the outside in."

"I agree," Bog said.

"Do you think the brothers dug him out?" Marianne asked.

"It would seem so as it is too much of a coincidence that they, as well as Roland, disappeared," Her father said.

Bog felt Marianne grasp his arm tightly as she looked up to him with her golden brown eyes. He smiled at their beauty before turning his attention back to the hole. Her father was right, there was something about the hole seemed that seemed unusual. He moved closer to it with Marianne and peered into it.

"K.D. If I may speak, my friend," Bog asked.

"Yes, of course."

"This hole goes perfectly straight up on an angle and it is perfectly round all the way up," Bog explained.

"Yes, that is what I thought was unusual about it." King Dagda said.

"Well, if you ask me, I don't think any team of fairies, elves or even goblins could dig a hole this large and this perfect without long calculations and, or using machinery. Yet this hole was perfectly made, very quickly and without noise."

"Yes, go on."

"This hole was dug by an animal."

"May I see?" Queen Yara asked.

"Sure," Benny said as he stepped out of the cell to allow room for Yara to enter.

Yara stepped forward, looked at the hole and said, "Bog King is right. This hole made by burrowing fly. We have them on my island. We hunt them down in holes, very good eating."

Suddenly the king's eyes flew open wide again and so did Marianne's. She said, "Oh, no! Do you think it was the fly that Roland fell in love with?"

Before Bog could speak Yara said, "This the fly you tell me about, Marianne?"

"Yes...So you think she is the one that dug him out, so quickly?" she asked.

"Yes," Yara said. "Yara seen them make network of tunnels in only couple weeks time."

Bog said, "Burrowing flies are known to make tunnels and caves to lay their eggs in."

"I thought we shooed her away?" King Dagda said as he turned to Bog.

"Well, that may be, but flies can be pretty tenacious and if she found Roland interesting enough to come back for him...well..." Bog said, but then stopped mid sentence.

King Dagda replied, "But that doesn't explain the disappearance of the others."

"I guess that is still a mystery then," Benny said.

"Are your men ready to conduct a search as asked, earlier?" The King asked.

"I already have them on it, Your Majesty." Benny replied.

"Very well then. Hopefully they can turn up something."

"Yes, I will be joining them as well," Benny said.

The king nodded in agreement and then raised his finger, "Oh! What of the guard that was on cell watch last night? Perhaps we can question him."

"Ummm, unfortunately I found out he is missing too."

"Hummmph...convenient," the king growled.

"Dad, do you think that Roland and the missing men are conspiring to do something?" Marianne asked.

"I don't know darling, it is too soon to tell, but this isn't good news at all...especially knowing Rachel is also gone. She's our head healer."

Everyone headed out of the cell block and into the guard's chamber. Dawn plopped herself down in the chair by the guard's desk. Dagda said to Bog, "I had a peculiar feeling those boys were up to something Saturday night during your Gala Celebration, it was like they wanted to be punished. I mean the two guards coming up and volunteering to take the brothers away? It seemed all too odd."

"Yes, I had that feeling too," Bog answered. "I should have said something to you."

Bog could feel a gentle set of fingers clasp around his hand as Marianne took his hand into hers.

The king nodded in agreement and then said, "While I don't trust Daniel as far as I can throw him, but what I don't get is why would they all run away...especially Nathanial, Gregory and Rachel. All three are in good standing with myself."

"I don't know, K.D." Bog answered, "But if it is the fly that freed him...How did she know about his whereabouts?"

"Hmmmmmm," The King replied lowering his eyebrows as in deep thought as he rubbed his chin. He then looked to Benny.

"Benny."

"Yes Sire?"

"It goes without saying that I would like you to beef up security around the palace and if you or your men should uncover something, I am to know at once."

"Absolutely, Your Majesty."

"Then you are dismissed to continue with your search and investigation."

Benny bowed and then took to wing and flew the rest of the way up the stairs and down the hall.

"What's this?" Dawn asked as she picked up a piece of folded parchment on the desk.

Bog and everyone else turned their attention to Dawn.

"What is it?" her father asked.

As Dawn picked up the parchment he could make out that Marianne's name was scrawled in block letters on top. Dawn flipped open the parchment and began to read what was on the inside.

"Hey! Sis! That has my name on it!" Marianne exclaimed.

Marianne started to approach the desk, but then stopped when her sister looked up from the parchment. She had the look of horror on her face.

Dawn was nearly to tears when she blurted out, "He's coming for Marianne!"

Her father, Marianne and Bog all said together, "Let me see that!"

"Whoa, it's addressed to me!" Marianne said.

"Yes, and I am your father," King Dagda said as he made a motion to Dawn to hand the note over.

Marianne had a bit of a shocked look on her face as her father practically snatched the note from Dawn. His eyes scanned the note and grew larger by the moment as he read. He then passed the note over to Marianne as he said, "It is OK, you can read it aloud."

Marianne also scanned the note with her eyes and her eyes grew wide too. But she remained silent. Bog looked over her shoulder as she started to speak.

"It….It says, 'You haven't seen the last of me, Buttercup! But you will. You ruined my life and now I will return the favor. I'm coming for you, Mare! '", she read, then looked up to everyone and said, "I hate having my name shortened, especially to Mare!"

Yara gasped as she put her hand over her mouth. Everyone had a shocked look on their face, except Marianne. She curled her lips up showing her teeth a bit and she looked cross.

Dawn looked very worried as she stood up and leaned against the desk. Her right hand was behind her back holding her left arm.

"I have a really bad feeling about this," Dawn said, her voice wavering as she was wringing her fingers together.

"Now, now sweetheart, Benny and I will have everything under control and we will get to the bottom of this," her father said.

Dawn looked to her sister and suddenly rushed to her, embraced her and buried her face into her shoulder. Her eyes began to well up as she turned to face her father..

She blurted out, "Daddy, I am worried he is going to do something bad to Marianne."

Marianne let go of Bog's hand and held her sister comforting her. "Hey, hey, Sis. Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself."

Dawn embraced Marianne hard and she was crying hard into her shoulder.

Her father walked over and put his hand on Dawn's shoulder as he said, "Now Dawn, please calm down. Everything will be fine. I will take measures to make sure the palace is secure and we will be safe here."

"It goes without saying that I will offer the services of my goblin army to assist your father's men too," Bog said.

"Thank you," King Dagda said.

Suddenly the facial expression on Marianne's face changed to one of anger, "If that no good bastard just tries anything...I will be the first one to put a sword through his throat."

"Marianne! Mind your temper," her father said in a stern voice.

The anger left Marianne's face as she sighed, "Yes, Dad, he will be caught, put in jail and then tried according to his crimes."

"There you go! That's my girl."

"I'm sorry dad, it is just thinking about what that creep is up to is getting me riled up. Also, Dawn is probably right...according to that note, it is obvious he is planning some kind of revenge against me."

"Ha!" Bog shouted. "He will have to go through me first."

Dawn wiped the tears from her eyes and she had a stern look on her face too as she stood in front of both Marianne and Bog and said, "And me too!"

Bog couldn't help but giggle at Dawn's gesture. Marianne smirked is it was very rare that she saw her sister get feisty.

"Everyone calm down," the king said as he pushed his hands down. "Both Bog and myself have soldiers and we guard the palace well with whatever Roland has planned. I seriously doubt he will overcome both our men."

"Well, I know I am going to sleep more soundly with a sword by my side," Marianne said in a low voice so mainly Bog would hear.

However, her father was within earshot. He nodded his head and said, "Very well. But for now lets all take a break and head to the ballroom for lunch."

Everyone nodded in agreement and headed back upstairs towards the ballroom. King Dagda put his arm around Marianne and the two continued to talk. Bog was a bit further up and tried to strain his ears back to hear what they were saying.

"Are you coming, Boggy?" Dawn asked as she stopped a few feet in front him.

"Yes," he said as he turned around and walked with Dawn up the steps.

She said, "You look after my sister now, right?"

"Of course. You know she means the world to me. I will protect her with my life."

"Good!" She exclaimed cracking a little smile through her tears.

Bog pulled out a leaf handkerchief from his pouch and gave it to Dawn.

She wiped her eyes and said, "Thank you. I am happy my sister has you, you're such a nice guy."

Just then Marianne and her father caught up with everyone else. He saw that Dawn was still upset and he put her arm around her and they continued to walk forward.

Bog and Marianne stood side by side and when there was some distance between them and the others, Marianne said, "I asked Dad when he said, 'very well' if it was really fine for me to have a sword with me when I sleep."

"What did he say?"

"He said, 'You know I always want good relations with my people and that following the laws are paramount.' Of course I agreed with him, but then he said, 'But between you and I, if Roland or anyone ever confronts you and if you feel your life is threatened, you do whatever it takes to protect yourself. So yes, I am allowing you to keep a sword with you, especially when you sleep.'"

Bog's raised his eyebrows and smiled and said, "So, I see King Follow-The-Rules, upholds those he loves above the law after all...And that is the way it should be."

She whispered, "Honey, that wasn't nice to say about Dad, but I am just happy he is letting me sleep with my sword."

"My apologies, but had he not agreed, I would have suggested it to you anyway. In fact, I think it is better if you sleep with me."

Marianne smiled and softly giggled as she said, "But of course!"

Just then Sunny came running down the hall completely out of breath.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty...Bad news!" He said as he gasped for air.

"Easy, Sunny. Catch your breath first," Dawn said.

Dawn moved close to Sunny and put her hand on his chest. He smiled as he then took her hand into his. He then took a couple deep breaths and looked to Dawn as he said loudly, "I can't find Sugar Plum!"

"I saw her not long ago, she was eating lunch in ballroom," Queen Yara said.

"That's odd. When did you notice she was missing, Sunny?" King Dagda asked.

"Shortly...after she said….she was going… to have lunch... I checked...the whole...palace," He said between breaths. "I wanted to ask her...about what to….prepare for dinner….tonight."

"Perhaps she flew to her suite at my place," Bog said.

"No...Your Majesty, ...I just came from there now."

Dawn's eyes flew open as she said, "You ran the whole way back to Bog's place?"

"No, I had Benjamin carry me, but once inside the palace, I ran here as fast as I could to find y'all."

Bog then asked, "Did you notice anything odd, when you were looking for her?"

Sunny's face grimaced for a moment and then he lit up exclaiming, "Yes! I noticed in the room where she keeps her spells, a book shelf was knocked over. But other than that, everything looked OK."

"So other than a tipped shelf, there was no indication of a struggle?" King Dagda asked.

"No."

Again the king looked deep in thought and pulled Bog over to the side. He said in a subdued voice, "I wonder what he is up to…Is he taking hostages?"

"It's a possibility, although not likely," Bog answered. "Too many people have disappeared."

"Agreed. Also there was no mention in his note about it either, it only mentioned my daughter," he said.

"Moving that many hostages around isn't practical. I think he is up to something else," Bog said.

King Dagda shook his head and said, "That's it. I am not going to take any more chances, before we have lunch, let's spread the word and put the palace in lock down. I don't want anyone else to disappear. Hopefully Benny or one of his men will turn up something in the meantime."

"I will send word to my castle and have some of my men here by nightfall," Bog said.

"Thank you. I appreciate that. Now lets have some lunch."

A few hours later:

It was nearing dinner time and because it was late summer, it was starting to get darker earlier. Benny and his men were unsuccessful in turning up anything in regards to Roland's escape. All they knew is that there was a huge hole in Roland's cell, the threating note to Marianne, and many people have gone missing.

Bog looked around the palace and couldn't find anything out of place either. King Dagda and Yara looked around the royal floor for anything suspicious. At dinner time, everyone got together to discuss their findings and for the most part everyone turned up nothing.

Dinner was busier than usual as a curfew was put in place and no one, but security personal, was to go outside after nightfall, thus many of the elves had chosen to stay in the palace rather than their homes in the village. Their homes were made of wood and straw and were no match for an attack, whereas the palace was made from stone. Special accommodations were made in the servant's wing of the castle to provide temporary shelters for the elves that decided to stay in the palace.

At dinner there was a big speculation as to what it was that Roland was up to and perhaps to be somewhat prepared for it.

"As strange as it might be, we cannot rule out the soldiers are siding with Roland and they might be planning a raid on the palace. Since that is the worst case scenario, no matter how unlikely it is, that is what we should be prepared for," King Dagda said. He then turned to Bog and continued, "Being a leader yourself, do you have any thought's to add?"

"Actually I suggest the same thing. Lets prepare for the worst case situation."

Dawn said, "A war with our own men?"

Her father sighed as he said, "It might very well come to that. But hopefully we can use reason and avoid a confrontation, darling, but it is best to be safe and prepared."

Dawn nodded in agreement as she said, "Yes Dad."

The king then went over more plans for securing the castle and ordered on-duty soldiers to be in armor and battle ready at all times and off duty soldiers to have their armor nearby and carry their weapons at all times.

After dinner, Bog noticed Marianne had disappeared and he was immediately concerned about her whereabouts. But a soldier notified him that she was in the armory. Bog flew to the armory and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his Marianne was scrummaging through a pile of armor parts made from insect shells, animal hides and other parts that were piled in the corner of the armory.

"Dear, what are you doing in here?" he asked.

Marianne briefly turned to look at him and said, "Oh, Hi Hon. I am looking to put some kind of armor together for myself."

"You know your father is going to forbid you to fight and besides, the dress I had made for you should be plenty strong."

Marianne stopped and turned around to face Bog. She said, "Hon, I love that dress and there is no way I am going to wear it in a battle and have it ruined."

"Well, you are not going in a battle and if it gets ruined, I will have another one made up for you. It will at least give you some basic protection."

"You don't know that. My father said to prepare for a worst case scenario and given what Roland's note said, I already have a target on my back. Also, what if I see my father, my sister, or you in trouble? I am telling you right now, I am NOT going to stand by and do nothing. So I want something a bit stronger to wear so this way I'll live through this and can put that beautiful dress on for you again. Okay?"

Bog smiled as he figured that it wouldn't hurt anyone and perhaps it could save Marianne if she did have some kind of armor. But it had to be strong, but light, so it wouldn't affect her agility. He knew this was the perfect opportunity to create another outfit for his fiancée. His smile grew wider.

"I see you have a smile on your face a mile wide," Marianne said and then shook her finger at him. "You are up to something…You're gonna help me, huh?"

"Of course I am. I would love to give you hand putting together an armored...dress. It will protect you and you will look good in it too. Just stick with the animal hides, the insect shells will be too heavy and they are harder to work with."

Marianne smiled and she raised an eyebrow. She said, "Well, then Loverboy, let's get to work."

Bog shook his head in agreement and said, "First let's plan it out."

"Okay," she said, "We should also get Sunny or Pare in on this, both are good with leather work."

Meanwhile in the lower part of the castle:

Dawn took it upon herself to search Rachel's quarters, but when she didn't come up with anything there, she then went downstairs to the infirmary. There were some items she thought might be missing, but she wasn't sure. She stood for a while scratching her head hoping she could remember, but she couldn't. Moments later Queen Yara came through the door.

"Nothing?" Yara asked.

"Well, there might be something missing here, but honestly I don't remember if we were low on those items or not," Dawn said as she slumped down on a nearby bed.

Yara sat down next to her and said, "So, I see your mind is preoccupied."

"Rachel's gone, Sugar Plum is gone. Both are the kingdom's healers. I really don't know what to do. Ever since I saw that note, I just want to do everything to help protect my sister, but with what my dad said at dinner that there might be a battle, I am going to be alone in here taking care of anyone that gets hurt. If I am stuck in here, I can't keep an eye out for my sister," Dawn said in a long run on sentence.

"You in big predicament then," Yara said.

"Yeah.

"Can you handle a weapon?" Yara asked.

Dawn shook her head and said, "No."

"Not at all?"

"Yara, I am a lover not a fighter. So, no. I can't even help myself if it came down to it."

"Well, then we must correct problem," she said. "Yara, teach you to protect self without taking life."

"Do you think I can learn that in such a short time?"

"I show you few things. You will not be expert, but any little bit helps."

Dawn looked at her hands and then her thin and frail looking arms. She then reached over and put her hand around Yara's upper arms. She could feel the muscles under her skin and knew they were much larger than hers.

"Gosh, you are so much stronger than me...what kind of weapon could I learn that doesn't require much strength?"

Yara smiled and said, "I have good idea for you."

"So, you are going to teach me what I need to know?"

Yara nodded and said, "Yes. But you have to listen to me very carefully."

"Okay," Dawn said in a small, meek voice.

"No! Say in strong voice. Be confident!"

"I'm scared, I am not as strong and confident as you are. You are a warrior."

"Battle is always scary, even for me. Warriors get scared too. But I help you to be more confident."

"Okay. So when do we start?" Dawn asked a little more enthusiastically.

"Tomorrow, after breakfast," Yara said. "It will be our secret."

"Secret? Why do we have to keep it a secret?" Dawn asked.

"The less know, the better. You have element of surprise," Yara answered. "Besides, you know what your father would say, if he find out I teach you to fight."

"Yeah, that is the last thing he would want to hear as he would say, 'What? Another warrior princess in the family?'" Dawn said as she tried to change her voice to sound more like her father's.

The two laughed.

"Could I at least tell Sunny?"

"Ok, but only if he can keep secret. So we start tomorrow, but for now we rest and relax," Yara said. She then looked over to the door to the bathroom and Dawn's eyes followed.

Dawn said, "I am in the mood for another one of those fun baths together. Do you want one?"

Queen Yara smiled and said, "Sweetheart, you read Yara's mind!"

The two laughed and then got up and proceeded towards the bathroom.

In front of the door Dawn stopped and turned to Queen Yara. She put her arms around her and rested her head on her shoulders.

She said, "Thank you for being so kind to me and my family."

Yara rubbed Dawn's back and said, "Awwww. It's least I do, for your family is kind to Yara."

The two then entered the bathroom together.

The next day:

Everyone was on edge the following day, not knowing what Roland was up to, but there was going to be some kind of fight for sure.

King Dagda spent most of his time pacing in his study and when he wasn't doing that, he was consulting with Benny.

The castle was on heavy alert and it became difficult to move around, especially with the curfews placed at night. Every entrance was to be guarded and only armed soldiers were allowed outside. Most of the doorways that lead to balconies were closed and those not needed were barricaded from the inside. In the day it was highly encouraged that everyone stay close to their home or in the castle and any suspicious activity was to be reported to Benny or King Dagda at once.

Bog had returned to his castle and had moved several of his key guards, over to the Fairy Kingdom palace. His mother, Stuff, Thang and Brutus took watched over the Dark Forest castle. When he was there, he made the grave discovery that some of his guards, several of the larger goblins, also went missing.

Upon his return to the Fairy Kingdom palace, he reported his findings to King Dadga. The king surmised that with so many guards, soldiers and now goblins missing, that it was looking more and more like a betrayal, and Roland was planning an attack. He decided to take it up a notch and had Benny turn some of the storage areas in the palace into additional training rooms in which many of the guards were honing their skills. In addition to the soldiers, Marianne and Bog would spar with each other in one such room. But tonight, with the help of Pare, they managed to put together a suitable armor for Marianne. Bog waited outside while she was putting the armor on for the first time. She wanted to surprise him. Even though he had seen the armor, since he worked on it, he never saw it on her. Anticipation was high as he knew she was going to look good in it, but how good still remained to be seen. He was slightly worried that the armor might be too sexy and he might get aroused. Luckily, he put on his tartan sash, just in case. A few moments passed and then Pare exited the room.

"She's all yours, Your Majesty," he said. He then burst out laughing and added, "Oh, you are in trouble."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Pardon my saying, but she's hot...really hot."

"Are you checking out my woman?" Bog asked in a gruff tone.

"Hey, I'm just warning you, that's all. Princess Marianne is very attractive. Her armor came out much better than I thought."

Bog calmed down and said in a softer tone, "Well, Thank you for your help."

"You're Welcome and good night, Your Majesty."

"Good night."

As Pare headed off down the hall. Bog put his hand on the door lever. He took a few deep breaths before he pushed down on the lever and opened the door. There a few paces in front of him was his Marianne, fully dressed in her new armor. She was leaning on her sword and she had a smirk on her face and her eyebrows were lowered.

"Oh my goodness! Heaven help me," he muttered under his breath and then swallowed hard.

He slowly started to work his way from her boots all the way up her body. Much of her armor was made from leather animal hides, but there was some metal work too. Most items were borrowed from existing pieces of armor and Marianne, Pare, and Bog pieced it all together. Pare made some custom pieces discreetly overnight so this way the armor could be put together in one evening.

The boots she was wearing were a combination boot and greaves which provided protection for her legs. The greaves, over her shins, were a scalloped leaf pattern made from animal hide, the leaves were green in color. There was a leaf on her shoes followed by a collar then then the leather leaves just stacked on over the other until they got to her calves where they widened and two green leaves wrapped around to the backside of her calves. A leather leaf on the front side extended up to her knees covering them. A leather guard extended from the knees up her thigh's and they curved up on an angle to the outside edge of her thighs. They were purple and had a gold band near the top. From there he could see a bit of her upper thigh was bare. Just that little bit of her leg showing was enough to make him breathe heavy. Then he could see a bit of her skirt.

Over her hips were four large green leather leaf panels that were sewn to a thick brown leather belt. They formed tassets that protected her lower body and thighs. The side panels were larger than the front and back panels as they curved around her legs. All four panels together, formed a protective skirt. The curvature of her hips pushed the side panels out further enhancing the look. On the front, the belt came down on an angle from each side of her hips. It was riveted to a metal ring in the center and this in turn was rived to a teardrop shaped decorative strap that attached to the center tasset leaf. Each side belt strap had an ornamental brass ring attached to it. The left side having a short scabbard sleeve on it to hold Marianne's sword.

Bog slowly looked to her mid section. The area covering her abdomen was liberated from a male soldier's armor. Marianne liked it because the middle was divided into six sections, like the six sectioned muscles seen on men with a strong build. They were a darker green than the tassets. The rest of the mid section that ran around her body was purplish brown in color. In order to fit a woman's shape, Marianne modified it by cutting a small part out of each side slightly exposing the sides of her mid section and pulling the remaining part inward. While this sacrificed some side protection, it allowed her to twist her mid section easier and it looked really sexy too as he just watched those bare sections expand and contract as his lover breathed. This, in turn, was making him breathe heavier.

Moving up, the abdomen section was attached to the bodice which was comprised of two layered green leather bands the same color as the tassets, one over the other, and an insect shell that provided a cup for each breast, which were a darker green like the abdomen section. The bottom of the layered bands formed an inverted curved 'v' shape with the point over the abdomen section and the curves that ran around to the back of her body going over the exposed areas on her sides. Going over each breast plate and the set of leather bands was a brown strap that was riveted with brass rivets. This reinforced the entire bodice and helped to provide more strength to the front. In the center, between the breast plates was a scrolled pattern of a butterfly in gold.

Moving higher up to her upper chest, the bodice was attached to this area via two very thick brown straps, the right one over the left one forming a a 'v' shape. Attached to these straps on each side was another purple strap that ran behind the v straps and under the bodice attaching to the purple areas of the abdomen.

The straps forming the 'V' shape ran from the center of the bodice, across her chest, and attached to shoulder pauldrons. The pauldrons themselves, were made of of two large green leather leaves and two smaller ones above them. Both sets ran out over and past her shoulders. A large stiff metal collar cut in a scalloped leaf shape provided protection for her neck, was attached to the neck area of the pauldrons and the thick straps. The thick straps continued down her backside, but there they weren't criss crossed as the opening they created allowed for her wings to pass through her armor. They connected to the purple abdomen part that ran around to her back.

Looking at how the collar showcased her neck was making him aroused. He wanted to kiss her neck badly, but he couldn't since the collar surrounded her neck and wasn't flexible. But his attention was soon drawn to her shoulders. The pauldrons protected mostly the top and part of the front of her shoulders, but her entire upper arms were bare. She knew he was looking at her arms and then she shifted her body sideways as she moved behind her sword and and with both hands she pressed down on the hilt causing her triceps to flex hard.

Bog's breathing intensified as his eyes lingered on her arms, but then he continued on. While her upper arms were bare, her lower arms had heavy gauntlets on them each made with a layered green leather leaf that was curved around her arm. As with her lower legs, each curved leaf attached to the one below it, getting increasingly larger as they moved up her arm towards her elbow, with the last one being a three pointed leaf that ran passed her elbows and halfway up the back of her upper arms. The point of each leaf jutting out away from her arm. Each point was reinforced with wire underneath and could be used as a weapon itself. While not sharp, it would still hurt someone. The gauntlets he made himself and they were four layers thick. No sword would be able to cut through them. At her wrist was a thick brown band and then a purple leaf that was made in the same manner as the others, but faced away from them pointed forward over the back of her hand. A leather glove at the end protected her hands.

Finally atop her head was a helmet made from a leather head cap and a mask made of bronze. The mask outlined her face and curved in front of her cheeks. It then ran up to her forehead and from there extended above her head forming a pair of large reverse curved horns with the points facing outward. Because it wasn't a full helmet, it only covered the top of her head, so he could see her hair poking out here from behind the mask and also from behind her neck. But because of the way the helmet covered the sides of her head, this was one of the rare times where he could see both of her ears when facing her. The helmet had ornate patterns scrolled into it in the cheek area and also on the bases of the horns. Bog didn't know about the helmet except for the fact that Marianne said it was a surprise from Benny. He loved it as it made her very queenly looking, but also very menacing at the same time.

Her face didn't have much make up on. Just some dark eyeliner that gave her that cat eye look, only she took the ends out further than she normally did. While she wasn't wearing any rouge or lipstick, she was definitely wearing some kind of lip gloss as her mauve colored lips were very glossy and shiny.

He continued to look up and down her body and more and more the tingling sensation increased. His eyes darted all over her body.

"My, you are breathing hard, Hon. Are you Ok?" She said seductively.

"I think so."

"So, what DO you think?" she inquisitively asked.

"Oh...So beautiful….So Sexy...So fierce!" He exclaimed as he clenched his fist.

"Awww, you are too kind," she said as her eyebrows returned to their normal position and she put her sword away.

"Seeing you like this, looking like a true warrior queen, I know for sure I want no other woman to be my wife. No one but you. For no other woman could look so hot in armor as you do."

"Awwww, Hon! Your touching my heart…Is it too sexy for you?"

"I'm good, I can handle it," he answered as he breathed hard.

"Uh huh...I see I have you panting like a lion in heat," she said seductively as her eyes narrowed more.

Bog just walked quickly towards her and then embraced her. With all the armor on her body, she felt solid and strong and he gave her a good tight squeeze. Some of the newer leather parts on her armor made a creaking noise as he hugged her.

"Oh my! Uhhhhh, Wow! What a powerful hug, my love!" She said, but then she sighed as she closed her eyes and tightly embraced him.

He closed his eyes too and all he could feel is his chest pushing into hers and the tingling sensation getting stronger.

"Goodness, my love, I can feel you breathing so hard, right through the armor."

Marianne slowly moved back and she looked down to his Tartan sash.

"Sooo, would you like to spar a bit, or would you like to get close?"

"Get close...definitely. I want to while you are wearing this."

"Oh...Are you THAT attracted to me, loverboy?" She asked in a coy manner.

"Yes, intensely," he said.

At first he couldn't believe the words coming out of his own mouth, but he just wanted her that badly. She just looked way too hot and sexy for him to just stand by and not do anything in his aroused state.

She turned and started to walk towards the couch with a swagger, her armor making creaking noises as she moved. He just stared and watched her walk. She turned back to him and made a 'come hither' motion with her right index finger.

"Come, Now Hon. I'm going to make you feel really good!"

Bog couldn't take it anymore, he opened his wings leaped over to her and wrapped his left arm around her body and with his right hand, he wrapped his fingers around the back of her head. He brought his lips to hers and at first he had to find a good angle to kiss her with her helmet on, but he found a way by tilting his head far to the side and she did the same. He immediately planted a heavy kiss on her lips. She aggressively kissed him back, pushing him down towards the couch. Bog loved it when she just took over and took control, especially with the way she looked now. She was so dominant, so queenly looking. Once she had him lying on the couch, she laid down on top of him and they continued to passionately kiss.

A week later:

King Dagda angrily shouted across the room to Benny, "This is fantastic! You are trying to tell me that after a week, your men have found nothing still?"

"No, Your Majesty."

"Well, perhaps you are not looking in the right places."

"Your Majesty, I assure you we looked in every corner of the Kingdom's boundaries. Roland and those that are missing are not here."

"So he must be outside of the kingdom then. We probably have to expand our search to the western part of the kingdom in the tall grass by the lake."

"If we do that, it will take us longer to come back and with fall coming, it has been getting darker earlier. Our search to the edge of the kingdom to the north already puts the return trip dangerously close to dusk. The west has more obstacles and it makes it more difficult to search."

The king shook his head and said, "No, that isn't good."

"So what would you like me and my men to do?"

"Continue another search around the castle," he said. "Ask around in the elf village to see if anyone has seen something recently. Put more people on the night watch and in the day, when you reach the West border have the soldiers fly up as high as possible and hopefully they can see something from higher up."

"As you wish, Sire," Benny sighed.

"Another thing. Given Roland's nature, I would have figured he would have done something by now. I am wondering if this is just a ploy and the note was meant to throw us off."

Benny's eyes grew wide and he said, "Hmmm, I was thinking the same thing. Roland is more the impulsive type. Swing the sword first and ask questions later. He is getting us to believe just that. Then when we lower our guard, that is when he will attack."

"Good thinking. Perhaps we should make him believe that we are lowering our guard, meanwhile we will make ourselves even more prepared."

"Yes, your Majesty."

Meanwhile in a training room in the palace:

Marianne and Bog were sitting down on a couch next to one another with their weapons by their sides. They were both catching their breath leaning on their knees with their elbows. Both were sticky and clammy from their exertions. Marianne was heavily sweating as her armor was way warmer than her regular clothes. Her neck was all all wet and the way the light was reflecting off her skin was arousing Bog. The adrenaline from their recent fight had his blood flowing.

Marianne pulled her helmet off and her hair was mussed underneath. Her hair was also a bit wet from her own sweat. She put the helmet aside and leaned a bit into her fiancé.

Bog looked down her right arm, he had noticed that Marianne's body seemed to becoming more toned and ripped than when they started training nearly a week ago. Her shoulders definitely looked more defined and the indentation where her shoulders met her biceps was more pronounced. Since she had been sparring with him with her armor on, the added weight was making her stronger. Her biceps as well looked more defined than a week ago. Her legs too looked stronger, mainly her calves were more pronounced. They bulged noticeably when she walked. He noticed the belt buckle on the back of her greaves at her calves had three remaining holes left last week, now she was in the second to last hole.

He looked down to his own body and even though he felt more agile and stronger the past few days, on his body it was barely noticeable. He looked back to Marianne and he found it amazing that even after a short period of regular workout, that her body had noticeable changes, noting the increase of her strength. He helped her out of her gauntlets and and he had noticed that after working out hard like they did today, he could see veins protruding on her lower arms.

"Checking me out, Loverboy?" Marianne asked.

"Of course, tough girl."

"Well, do you like what you see?"

He nodded, "Yes, I love what I see. You look stronger than ever...sexier than ever."

Marianne smiled and said, "Awww, thanks. I feel stronger than ever too."

"Same here," Bog said, then he sighed, "Ahhhh, That was a good fight."

"Indeed. You wore me out!" she said.

"Hummph! Same here. You are getting better and better with that sword. You swung it so hard, it got stuck in the dummy!"

They both laughed.

"And you...the way you twirl that staff. Took the dummy's head clean off! Friggin' windmill of death!"

Bog burst out laughing and then he held his sides, but when their laughter subsided, he noticed that Marianne was looking at his chest area. He looked down and sweat was running from his neck down right in to the crux.

"Mmmmmm, you are looking good yourself, Hon. Nice to see you sweating for a change."

"Thank you….Yeah, I am really warm, there is no air flow down here. I think we are over doing it a bit."

"Naw, I like our fights just the way they are," Marianne said. "You are giving me a great workout!"

"Of course, but what I am getting at...what if Roland attacked now? We are both exhausted."

Marianne's eyes grew wide and she said, "Yeah, you're right! I think we would be in trouble."

"Precisely. Perhaps we should shift our training time to just before bed time."

"Yeah, but what if he attacks at night?" she asked.

"Hmmmm, I guess it seems like a damned if you do, damned if you don't scenario, but a night attack is more risky with less visibility. So it is not likely he would attack at night."

Marianne nodded in agreement and then said something that mirrored what Benny said to her father earlier, "This isn't like Roland, he is usually impulsive. He doesn't really think things through. I figured he would have done something by now. I mean it is odd that it seems as if he is giving us time to get ready. It just doesn't make any sense."

"I agree," Bog said. "I guess the only thing we can do is just be prepared, like your father said."

Marianne nodded in agreement again. Bog resumed staring at her body and how her skin moved when she breathed, particularly the exposed sides of her abdomen. She noticed and then pulled herself on his lap and rested her head on his chest. The way the light reflected off her perspiring body at this angle made her look even sexier than before. While he tried not to stare, he couldn't help it. She just looked too darn good.

"Hon, you really look like you want to touch me."

"Yes, I do."

"Well, what's stopping you?"

Bog smiled and outstretched his long fingers and immediately ran his finger along the inside of her upper arm.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmm!" Marianne called out as she turned her head to the side.

Turning her neck caused the muscles on the side of her neck to flex. He then ran his finger from her neck and out to her ear.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" She called out. "You know how to make me feel so good."

Suddenly in a very swift motion, she turned, grabbed Bog by his lapels and pushed him down on the couch and she laid on top of him, propped up on her arms. She leaned on one arm and ran her finger over his lips. He lifted his hands on to her shoulders closed his eyes and ran his fingers along her upper arms, feeling every detail beneath her skin.

"Oooohhhhh." They both called out together.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that her eyes were closed too. But when she opened them, she was breathing heavy and she had a look of need in her eyes. Bog suddenly could feel himself becoming aroused by the look on her face alone. But then he looked to the way she was laying on him propped up on her beautiful and strong bare arms. He rested his hands on the backs of her arms and could feel her flexed triceps. They were very firm under his fingers and he was becoming more and more aroused.

"So...you wanna make love again?" she asked in a seductive voice.

Bog grinned as he answered, "I thought you would never ask."

The two giggled and then held each other in a tight embrace as they brought their lips together.

The following morning after breakfast:

Marianne and Bog were in Marianne's bedroom sitting on her bed as they were verbally going over some new training moves that they were going to try later on that evening, when a knock came at her door. She got up and opened the door.

It was a servant and he said in a nervous, wavering voice, "Oh, good, you are both here, your highnesses. Your father as instructed me to tell you to meet him on his personal balcony."

"Is there anything wrong?"

"Yes…Roland is here."

Marianne's face grew pale as she said, "Thank you, we are on our way."

When she closed the door, Bog immediately got up and he grasped Marianne's sword which was laying on her bed. Marianne grabbed his staff which was near the door. They both approached each other and handed the other's weapon over.

The both grasped their weapons together and said, "Here."

Marianne looked up and smiled and said, "I remember when we first met and you handed my sword to me. It was the first sign I got from you that I felt I could trust you."

"Yes, I remember the look on your face," he said as he looked down his staff as Marianne still held it.

He inched his fingers down to hers and softly ran them over her hand and said, "I think it is a good idea that you get into your armor."

"Agreed," Marianne replied. "I have it hidden here in my closet."

"Good, I will meet with your father now, meet us when you are dressed."

Marianne nodded and then leaned over and they gave each other a kiss.

When Bog came out onto the balcony to join King Dagda and his men, as he looked around the balcony, in the corner he could see Queen Yara. She stood with her bow in hand. Looking out over the balcony railing he was surprised to see that it was just Roland, Daniel, Nathanial, four prior palace guards and the female fly of which Roland had his arm around.

"I have returned for a nego-see-ation with you, KD."

Bog said, "What a dunce. He can't even pronounce negotiation right."

Everyone giggled.

The King bellowed in his baritone voice, "Roland, I am not going to negotiate anything with any of you. You are all traitors of the Fairy Kingdom. You will all be apprehended and tried for your crimes. Finally, I demand the return of those you have kidnapped."

"K.D., K.D. You are in a position to demand nothing. I, however, have a few demands that I would like to make at this time," Roland shouted as he shook his head. He began to raise his fingers up one at a time for each demand, "One, YOU surrender your entire kingdom to me. Two, everyone must vacate the castle by tomorrow. Three, Marianne stays as my personal servant."

"Yeah, in your dreams flyboy. You're not getting anywhere near my Marianne," Bog mumbled under his breath.

However he spoke loud enough that those around him heard, including the king. He looked to him for a second and smiled. He then turned his attention back to Roland.

"First of all, I am to be addressed as Your Highness or Your Majesty to you. Second, have you completely lost your mind, Roland? I will do no such things and I will not let you anywhere near my daughters."

"Well, your MAJESTY," Roland said in a cocky tone, "It is your choice, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. All you have to do is give me what I asked and I will let you leave peacefully."

"And if I refuse?" He said with a grin on his face.

"Well, then, I guess we have to do things the hard way and I will take what I want by force."

"Oh yeah…You and what army?" the King asked as he grinned.

Suddenly a huge smile appeared on Roland's face. His smile was so intense that the grin left King Dagda's face.

"I am so glad you asked," he said. He then turned to his fly companion and said, "My darling, go and get the surprise package."

The fly then took off towards the tall grass to the West of the palace.

"Roland, what on earth are you up to?" King Dagda shouted. "Whatever hair brained scheme you came up with is just going to dig you into a deeper hole than you already are in."

"Ahhh, your MAJESTY. That is where you are wrong. For my lovely lady friend that you just saw go in the grass there just so happens to be a queen herself."

Marianne and Dawn appeared on the balcony. Marianne had her armor on.

"Fill me in, please. What's going on?" Marianne asked.

King Dagda was ready to say something to Roland, but when he heard his daughter's voice, he quickly turned around and saw how she was dressed and she was wearing her sword.

"What the heck is this?" he said as he looked to Bog while pointing to her armor. He then turned to his daughter, waved his finger at her and said, "Oh, no, you are NOT going out there and fight, my dear daughter,"

"Well, I am not going to stand by and do nothing," She said.

Bog noticed that many of the soldiers that had face shields on their helmets raised them to get a better look at their Princess in her armor.

One close to her said, "My goodness, Your Highness, you look amazing. I love the headpiece!"

The other soldiers either nodded or said something in agreement.

"Thank you," she said.

Her father then looked to Bog and pointing to Marianne he said, "This was your doing, huh?"

Bog replied, "Ehhh, well, it was a collaboration."

Her father was ready to answer him when suddenly, in the distance, Bog could hear a buzzing sound and the sound grew louder and louder. Everyone looked back out towards the West. Just above the tall grass a large black cloud began to form and it was slowly moving towards the palace.

Roland shouted, "There IS a nice advantage to having a queen fly for a girl companion..."

He paused as he looked behind him, the dark shadow started to move closer and closer. Bog noticed the shadow was made up of hundreds, or perhaps a thousand burrowing flies.

Roland looked towards the king as he continued, "I finally got my army!"

He then proceeded to laugh manically, "Muhhaahahahahaha!"

The look of anger appeared on Marianne's face as she lowered her brow and formed a fist with her right hand and shook it and said, "Oh, I would love to shove this down his pie hole!"

"Shhhhh!" Her father silenced her. He then turned to look at Bog.

"Flies?" The King asked. "He thinks he can defeat me with flies?"

Bog looked pale as he said, "They are burrowing flies K.D. They have mandibles."

Given her experience with such flies, the king turned to Queen Yara and asked, "So, wouldn't armor help?"

"Yes, but not completely. While their mandibles cannot pierce like spider, they still can cut flesh and rip off wings. Dealing with one or two, not a problem for warrior fairy, but many at once?" Yara said as she shook her head side to side.

King Dagda then looked to Bog again.

Bog said, "She's right, in small numbers they are easy to overtake, but not a swarm like that."

King Dagda looked to the darkening sky overhead and Bog's eyes followed.

"So, he got us with our pants down," King Dagda said. "I wasn't expecting this."

"Dad, you are not considering giving up?" Marianne said.

Dawn leaned heavily into Marianne's back as if hiding behind her as she looked up to the ever darkening sky.

"No, absolutely not. We Farfallas don't give up that easy. You and Dawn go inside and rally up the soldiers, servants and any available hand to start to blockade the doors and the windows of the palace. Then you both go to the infirmary, since it is in the lower part of the castle, you both will be safe there."

Marianne said, "Infirmary? Dad you need me up here."

Her father then raised his voice and said, "Not now Marianne, we don't have time to discuss this, now, do as I say."

"Yes, father," she reluctantly answered.

Roland shouted from below, "I am waiting for your response!"

Marianne took a hold of Dawn's hand and the two disappeared into the castle and they took two of the guards with them.

"I...I need time to go over this," King Dagda answered. "What you are demanding is much and will take time."

"Time is a luxury you are fresh out of. However, being a gentleman I will give you 5 minutes to decide," he said as he held up his hand and splayed his five fingers out.

King Dagda turned to Benny and said, "Our first line of defense are our archers. When they start to move in try to take out as many as possible."

"I help too!" Queen Yara said.

The king said, "No, I want you inside too as backup defense."

"KD, if I may speak," Bog said

"Go ahead, my friend."

"Yara is the best shot among anyone here and she has killed stuff like this on her island before."

Queen Yara nodded in agreement, "Yes, Yara ranged fighter. I not in harms way."

"Oh, alright, but when they start to move in on the balcony, I want you inside too, Yara," he said.

She said, "Yes. Thank you for letting me fight."

The King looked to Benny and said, "I want six guards on her and once the flies get too close, you all need to take cover. Queen Yara is to be protected at all costs." the king instructed.

Benny said, "Understood".

King Dadga worked quickly telling the lead guard under Benny's direction the changes in plans to secure the castle. The guards quickly went to work. It wasn't long before he turned to to Bog himself.

"You! I need you to protect Marianne at all costs. You are the one I trust the most with her," K.D. said.

"What would you like me to do?" Bog asked.

"I mainly want you to make sure she doesn't get any crazy warrior ideas in her head. She cannot go blazing sword out into that swarm."

"Don't worry, my friend. I got it covered."

"Keep her safe in the infirmary with Dawn.

"I don't want to stand by down there while lives are lost up here. I think Marianne would agree with me on that too."

"Please, my good friend, think of Marianne."

"I am thinking of her. I don't want to wait until Roland and his flies picked everyone off and I find myself in a no win situation, boxed in the deepest part of the castle with no way out. I want to be in a position where I can see what is going on. Besides, Marianne is an excellent fighter. We been training like crazy for this."

"Fine, then you and her keep guard on the main floor, near the stairs to the lower levels. If at any time you feel things get out of control, then get my daughters out of here."

"Ok, will do."

"TIMES UP!" Roland shouted from below.

"Go, my friend! Find Marianne inside and stay with her."

As Bog was ready to turn around and leave, but he stopped and said, "What about you?"

"Don't worry about me. I have Benny and his best men up here to take care of me."

Bog patted King Dagda on the shoulder and said, "Good luck my friend."

Suddenly his face became very serious and he said, "I am putting my faith in you to keep my daughter's safe."

Bog reached over and shook the kings hand as he said, "I will do my best or die trying."

The king smiled, "Well, lets hope it doesn't come to that."

Just as Bog left the balcony, he could hear Roland's voice bellowing out below.

"I want your answer now!"

Bog strained his ear as he heard the king said, "You insolent buffoon. Over my dead body will you take this kingdom or my daughters from me."

He could faintly hear Roland say, "Well, then that's the whole idea."

Bog didn't like the idea of hiding inside the castle and he took to wing and was ready to fly back outside. But then the thought about what King Dagda said. If he went out and something happened to him, he wouldn't be there for Marianne as promised. But he was also worried about the him, Yara, Benny and his men.

He heard the roar of the swarm of flies soon above the castle. He started to fly down the stairs but then hesitated.

"Uhhhhh! I am damned either way!" He said.

He figured that since the battle just started and Marianne was inside the castle, she was currently safe. So he changed direction and went back up to the balcony As he neared the doors, a few soldiers flew by. A pair of soldiers at the door opened them up to allow the soldiers to fly outside. Bog took advantage of it and flew in right behind the last soldier. He took care to stay close to the back to not get the attention of the king. As he entered the balcony, he was shocked at what he saw. All archers lined the front rail and were firing arrows at the dark mass swarming above. A line of soldiers hovering in front of the balcony and slightly below the archers would take swings at any of the flies that came too close. To the left came a scream and Bog watched as a fly managed to grab a hold of one of the archers. It was trying to grab his wings with it's mandibles. But quickly a rear line soldier came to his aid and with one swing of his sword he chopped the fly's wings off. The fly immediately released the soldier as it dropped to the ground. The soldier then immediately picked up his bow and attacked the next fly that came too close.

Bog smirked as he said, "Give that guy a medal!"

Other soldiers that were in earshot laughed.

But all wasn't going easy, for the battle started only moments ago, and right away two soldiers were carried passed Bog inside. Both had wing damage and one soldier was bleeding from his arm.

Bog then heard a loud repetitive "Thhhwip!" sound. He looked to the direction it was coming from and it was Yara. She was in the far corner of the balcony and proceeded to fire off arrow after arrow. Bog was amazed at how see how accurately Yara's arrows were connecting with her target. Because the flies were packed close together, sometimes she was able to take out two with one of her large arrows.

He then started to look around for K.D. but couldn't see him. Suddenly he felt a hand grasp his shoulders and it forced him to turn around. As Bog turned to see whom it was, it turned out to be the king himself.

"I thought I told you to stay with Marianne," he said with a disappointed look in his eyes.

"Forgive me for not wanting to see what the situation was like here. I just wanted to make sure you had everything under control."

He then said in a softer voice, "Yes, I am fine. Now for the last time, please, go inside and keep my daughters safe."

Bog looked one more time out over the balcony. He could barely see the sky, but yet the king's men were keeping the flies at bay. Even though he wanted to help and be out there fighting, he didn't want to go against his friend's wishes. Further, the longer he was away from Marianne, the more she was at risk. He realized that she was the one thing that meant more to him than anything else and so the decision became clear. He had to get back to her, so he flew off back into the castle.

"Thank you, my friend!" He heard the king shout back at him.

When Bog flew back downstairs he noticed there was quite a gathering of soldiers in front of the lower level doors.

"What's going on here?" he said as he landed. "Where's Marianne?"

One of the soldiers came forth and said, "Her highness said she was going to find you and she put more of us here to protect the infirmary and Dawn."

"Oh no!" Bog shouted and he immediately took to wing but before flying off he said, "Did she say which way she was going?"

"Yes, The ballroom balcony."

Bog immediately knew that that balcony was one level lower than where her father was. She could fight there and he wouldn't know. But the bad thing was that they were now separated.

He took off and flew with all his might upstairs and towards the ballroom. When he got there, he saw some of his goblins helping servants barricade the balcony doors.

He flew up to one of his goblins and said, "Did you see Marianne come through here?"

The goblin looked to him with wide eyes and said, "Yes, she thought you were outside and she wanted to find you. But you are here."

"And you let her go outside!?"

"Yes, B.K. She ordered me. I wasn't going to disobey a princess."

Bog clenched his fist and the fingers on his other hand tightened around his staff. He then let out a yell.

"Open this door at once!" he yelled out.

Everyone in earshot stopped what they were doing and looked to him.

"Yes, B.K. Right away."

The door closest to the front of the ballroom was the only one that wasn't barricaded yet. When they opened the door, he shot out on the balcony. There were a row of archers in front and 10 swordsmen that were behind them. Every so often, one would would rise up and go out and attack a fly that would get too close to the balcony. However, Marianne wasn't in sight.

He shouted, "Where's Marianne!"

"She came out here looking for you," the soldier said as he pointed up.

Marianne was high above the balcony keeping a watch on the fight outside. She was up there alone with her sword drawn. Her eyes were darting all over the place as if she was looking for something, or someone.

` Bog gritted his teeth and said, "You leave her up there...your princess...alone?"

He grabbed the soldier by his arm and the soldier next to him and then flew up to Marianne with them.

"The both of you take flanking positions in front!" Bog ordered.

"Yes, your Majesty."

Marianne saw Bog approaching and she rushed to him and said, "Oh there you are, my love!"

Bog in a slightly gruff tone said, "What are you doing out here? You are not supposed to be out here!"

Marianne was surprised at Bog's slightly angered tone. She said softly, "I...I was looking for you. I figured you would want to try and help Dad, but I couldn't stay down there."

"I only was checking on your father, he ordered me to watch over you and Dawn downstairs! And now I find you out here fighting?"

"I am not fighting, I am not not even out here for a minute. When you didn't come down, I was concerned and came back up for you."

"As I said, I was only checking up on your father."

"And how are they doing up there?"

Just then a pair of flies swooped down from above, both Marianne and Bog got into a defensive stance, but the soldiers out in front managed to hold them off.

` "Alright for now," he answered. "We found each other now, so let's get back inside."

Marianne hung her head low and said, "Alright."

They flew down towards the balcony and landed. As they were ready to enter the castle, Marianne looked out past the balcony and said, "That's funny, why aren't the flies attacking us?"

Just then four of Roland's men shot around from the sides of the castle, 2 on each side. One of them was Daniel.

"She's here! Get her!" He called out to his men.

Quickly the soldiers on the balcony sprang into action and came towards them. Bog stepped in front of Marianne and he held his staff in front of him.

"You will not take her as long as I am alive, bastard!"

Daniel pointed his sword at him and said, "Well, I guess then we have to fix that then."

Bog turned his head slightly to Marianne, but kept his eye on Daniel as he said, "Get inside, dear."

"No, I am staying with you."

"I am sorry, Marianne. I was given orders by your father to protect you."

He ordered the guards, "Men take her inside, that is an order. My order overrides hers as requested by her father."

"Understood, Your Majesty."

"Bog no! Please! I want to fight with you!" Marianne shouted.

Just as the soldiers near Marianne took a hold of her arm, Daniel shot forward. Bog put up his staff and blocked Daniel's blow. On the far end of the balcony, King Dagda's men managed to dispatch the two soldiers that entered the right side of the balcony. They both had their wings injured and slowly fell to the ground. A pair of soldiers went down after them, presumably to capture them.

"Damn!" Daniel shouted.

The remaining soldier that was with Daniel was suddenly gone. He managed to sneak behind Bog and was ready to stab him with his sword. Bog felt his presence and spun around and smacked him in the head with his staff and he fell to the balcony floor. When he looked forward to face Daniel again, he was gone.

"Oh, now where did he go?"

"He went down, your highness," a soldier said.

Bog moved forward towards the railing of the balcony and looked down. He said, "I can't see where he is."

All the soldiers looked either down or forward. As Bog was looking down, another soldier cried out, "The flies are coming again! Archers ready!

Bog turned around in disgust and as he faced forward, the soldier that he thought he knocked out with his staff came lunging towards him.

"Ahrrrrrrrghhhhhhh!" he yelled out.

Bog tried to move his staff forward, but the soldier was too fast and he slammed into him with all his might. It was enough to send Bog over the railing. He started to flap his wings to break his fall. It was then that he caught sight of Daniel hiding under the balcony.

"You!" he called out, but before he could react, Daniel shot forward with his foot first and managed to land it square into Bog's chest.

"Ooooff!" he called out as he flew back back nearly having the wind knocked out of him.

The other soldier that was helping Daniel flew down from the balcony and said, "Let's cut his wings off one by one, Sir."

Daniel said, "Good idea."

Bog got into his fighting stance and as the two lunged towards him, he easily spun around and managed to block both of them. The soldier was trying to reach around and grab his wing. Daniel was backing up to make room to swing again. Bog spun around with his staff and again hit the soldier, but now he realized his back was towards Daniel and before he knew it, Daniel hopped on his back and was trying to stop him from flying. He swung back with his staff, but Daniel managed to put his shoulder plating on his armor forward and he blocked the blows. As he was slowly falling out of the sky. Some help came from above as some of the men from the balcony came down to assist. As they charged with their swords drawn, Daniel suddenly released Bog and started to fly upwards.

He drew his sword and said, "I will get you later, you buzzing cicada!"

Bog gritted his teeth and started to go after him taking a higher path. But as he flew past the balcony he looked down and noticed that the soldiers were still struggling to get Marianne behind the door. The other soldier that was helping Daniel was chasing him.

He noticed that they were heading upwards, toward the balcony where the king was. He looked up and then down to Marianne. He growled as he decided to go to Marianne.

When he landed, Marianne stopped struggling and looked to him. He looked at the soldiers that were holding her.

"Why is she still here?"

"Your Majesty, she's a lot stronger than she looks."

"I wanted to see if you were safe," she said. "Are you ok?"

"Yes."

"Than come inside with me," she replied.

"No, not just yet. I am going up, I think Daniel went to the other balcony above where your father is."

"Please let me come with you, together we are stronger, I want my dad to be safe."

Bog gritted his teeth and from the corner of his ear he could hear a fly coming in. He just swung his staff around and the end caught the fly in the face. It dropped down, hit the balcony rail and fell.

Bog looked to the archers and said, "That was too close, I don't want anything getting through."

"Yes, You're Majesty!" some of the soldiers said.

He then turned to soldiers holding Marianne and said, "Let her go. I have a plan for her."

The soldiers complied. Marianne face cracked a smile as she held her wrists and looked to Bog saying, "You gonna let me help?"

"Yes."

Her face lit up brightly.

"Now, it is not what it seems. What I want you to do is go inside and come from behind through your father's study. I am going after Daniel from this way," he said as he pointed up. "Hopefully between the two of us, we can corner him on that balcony."

"Ok, but please be careful. I don't want to lose you," she said as she reached for his lapels, pulled herself up and kissed him on the lips.

"I'll be alright."

She slowly retreated into the castle while Bog kept looking into her eyes until the door was shut. He then ordered two of the soldiers to keep the door guarded and to not allow her to come back out. He then took to wing and flew up towards the balcony.

When he got to the balcony, there were about a half a dozen flies, Daniel, the one soldier that Bog injured and two more of Roland's men flying about. The flies were keeping the archers busy while Daniel and the other soldiers were hanging out two on each side just below and to the sides of the railing. Bog surmised that now Daniel was turning his attention to the King and was planning the same attack strategy as he did on the balcony below. He decided to take an approach to Daniel from above and then swoop down on him, but a rogue fly suddenly broke from the main swarm and came for him. As it came close he swung his staff around and the fly dodged, but as it came forward again, it opened it's mandibles. Bog thrust the head of his staff into the fly's mandibles and when it clamped down on it, he started to spin around really fast and he stopped short in the direction of the wall, and then pulled back hard on his staff. The mandibles of the fly snapped off and it flew straight into the wall damaging it's wings. Bog flew over and swung his staff and the force clipped the fly's wings off and it slumped to the ground below.

After the short skirmish with the fly, Bog flew close to the castle wall and up above the balcony. Daniel was too focused on what was happening at his eye level and below him, but he never once looked up. Bog waited until he motioned for his men to to attack and one soldier from each side made their move. As they flew up towards the balcony and got the attention of the king's men, Bog dove down from above directly towards Daniel.

Just as he was on him, he let out a yell and slammed his staff down on him right between his wings hoping to stun him or better yet, damage his wing muscles.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" Daniel called out as he started to drop.

The blow apparently caused pain, but it didn't damage his wings as Daniel started to fly outwards away from the castle. Bog didn't hit him hard enough and he was only partially stunned. Bog followed, but he looked back to the balcony in the hopes that Marianne would be there by now. But he didn't see her. He started to worry if she was alright or if perhaps she was stopped by her father. He noticed that the three men that were with Daniel started to make their way on the balcony. There were about a dozen flies hovering around the front of the balcony and as soon as one of the archers took one out, there was another to take it's place. He looked to Daniel of whom was getting closer to the ground. He thought, he probably dealt him a larger blow than expected and he was about to go after him to finish the job, but then he heard a familiar tell tale yell come from the balcony. Even though he couldn't see her, it was unmistakably Marianne. It was too risky now to continue to pursue Daniel, he went back towards the balcony to be with Marianne. As he was flying towards her, the soldier that he injured earlier was flying away with a huge cut across his arm. When he caught sight of Bog, he came at him with his sword. Bog swung really hard and his staff slammed into the hand of the soldier, forcing him to release his weapon. Having been disarmed, the soldier held his hand and yelled in pain. Bog could see it was on a weird angle and he must have broken it. The soldier then flew off and it appeared he was going in the direction Daniel went. That meant that there were just two men left on the balcony. Bog aimed for it. The flies were so busy trying to attack from the front that they didn't see him approaching from the back and to the side. He let out a yell as he ran full force with his staff out into the group of flies.

Once he was upon them, he called out, "ARCHERS HALT!"

Immediately the archers stopped firing their arrows as he plowed through the more than two dozen flies that were there. He quickly took a glance down at the balcony and it appeared that everything there was under control. Marianne, her father and six soldiers on the balcony had their swords drawn and Daniel's men surrounded. That was a good sign. He looked behind him and another group of flies was coming in. He decided he would fly towards the balcony and have the archers resume their arrow volleys and then take Marianne below. But just as he was making his way towards the balcony, suddenly a few dozen flies flew down from over the top of the palace. His eyes flew open wide as he quickly realized he was out numbered. The flies from above began to push him down and away from the palace.

He could hear Marianne call out, "Bog! No!"

She was ready to lunge forward, but her father grabbed her by the arm.

As the flies drew near he decided not to wait for them to reach him, instead he turned towards the side and flew away from the balcony. Once he was far enough to the side and could see the archers resumed firing, he in turn, began to engage the flies one at a time as he fought his way back to the balcony. It was a swing here, a twirl there. But soon he found he was needing to take them out two at a time. He ended up pulling the ball off the end of his staff which revealed a sharp pointed end. He then started to jab the end of his staff straight into the fly's heads. But there was too many of them and he had to constantly turn around. It was difficult to see what was going on behind him. As he took another fly out, he glanced towards the balcony and two men were flying towards him, with their swords drawn. He figured either Marianne or her father sent them to help. However, they didn't get far as a majority of the flies broke off and began to attack them.

Bog yelled out, "No!"

He then turned around and He swung his staff and severed the wings off another fly that was approaching him. He then turned again and was ready to bury the end of his staff in the head of another fly that was flying towards him. Just then he heard another war cry and the fly that was heading towards him just dropped out of the sky, revealing a beautiful and majestic sight behind it.

"Need a little help?" Marianne said with a smirk on her face as she hovered in mid air.

Bog's face lit up as he said, "Yeah, just a little."

He then swung around and thrust his staff through two more flies. As he turned back he watched his lover easily take out a pair of flies on her own, kicking one in the face swinging her sword around and cutting off the wings on the other.

"Did you sneak away from your father?" he asked.

"No, he reluctantly let me go. He saw you were in trouble," she said. "I begged him to let me save you."

Bog said, "Back to back, dear! Like I showed you in training."

"Right!"

Marianne flew to him and turned around so this way the backs of their wing tips were touching as they fluttered. Bog swung his staff around and took out another fly. He could hear his lover fighting behind him, her sword clanging loudly as she attacked. She would scream and yell out as she attacked.

"I can't believe your father let you go alone….Yahhh!," he called back to her as he slammed his staff into another fly's head.

"I wasn't alone. I had two escorts, but they were cut off...Haaaaaah!", she said as she attacked another fly.

"I think I saw that, but I didn't see you….Huhhhhh!" He called out as he detached a set off wings off another fly.

"I flew down and around them and came up to you, Yeeeeeeahhhhh!" she yelled out. She then turned her head towards Bog and exclaimed. "Oh this is great! I love fighting with you!"

"As do I. I know, it is more fun fighting together and I know you are not going to get hurt when I am around...Huhhhhh! Haaaa!" he said as he thrust his staff into the body of another fly and then managed to cut off two of it's wings. It just spiraled downward.

There was a bit of time he had as the frequency of the fly attacks was leveling off as many resumed their attack on the palace. He tried to turn around a bit so he could see her, but there wasn't much to see because her huge wings obstructed the view.

She then called out and said, "Oh! The soldiers are OK, let's turn!"

The two of them flipped around and Bog was facing the castle now and he could see that the two soldiers adopted the same back to back technique and were also successful at fending the flies off.

"YEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHH!" He heard Marianne scream out and her sword clanged again as it hit the hard shell of a fly.

Bog noticed that they were not too far away from the side of the castle. He called back to her and said, "Lets make our way to the wall then we can both face forward and not have to watch each other's backs."

"Okay. Huhhhhhhhh!" she called out.

"HAAAAAAA! There are less flies this way," he said as he thrust his staff into another fly.

The area was thinning out behind him and then he said, "Lets turn. I want to take most of attacks from the front"

Marianne turned around and the two of them made for the castle wall. She started to move closer to the pair of soldiers fighting and called to them.

"You two! Let's get closer to the wall!" She shouted to the soldiers.

As they flew side by side, Bog smiled at his fiancee, but then her smile disappeared as she looked up. Bog swung around and three flies were headed straight for them. As he turned around, she lunged for them, yelling out loud. His eyes widened as she practically cut completely through the first one, kicked the second one out of the way using it as leverage to flip upside down and then come down with her sword through the head of the third one and then she pushed off it with her legs and then swung her sword and cut the wings off the second one.

Bog said, "Wow! Impressive – tough girl!"

With them closer to the castle wall, they concentrated mostly what was coming at them from the front and sides. Bog noticed that four more flies were coming from his side. They were like in a staircase formation one over and slightly behind the other.

"My turn! Watch this!" he said "Haaaaahhhh!"

Bog thrust his staff into the head of the first one and then used it to step up to the level of the next one as he spun his staff around and clipped that fly's wings off and again he used that fly to step on and come up to the next fly which he rammed the spear end of his staff into it's head and then pole vaulted up to the last fly and he landed on its back. The fly then buzzed around with him on its back. He could see that Marianne took out another pair of flies first thrusting her sword into one and then kicking the other so hard that she must have crushed it's thorax and it just fell out of the sky. Bog then thrust the spear end of his staff right between the wings of the last fly. As it fell out of the sky, he pushed off of it with his foot and then flew straight for Marianne.

"Wow! You HAVE to teach me that!" she said.

Bog then looked past her and saw a fly coming from behind, "Watch out, dear!"

Marianne's face became very angry as she flipped over and then shot forward. She let out another hideous yell as she practically ran the fly through from front to back.

"Yeah! Oh! So fierce!" he called back to her. "That's my woman!"

With the space cleared between them and the soldiers, the soldiers came to their aid and took flanking positions around the two of them.

One of them said, "We are so sorry, Princess, for getting separated. Your father is going to have our hides for that."

"It's Ok, guys, I can handle myself."

"I can see that Princess, but still he gave us an order."

Marianne said, "You two alright?

"Yes, your highness, we held our own, but we noticed our men are having trouble below on the balcony," he said.

Bog caught up and looked over to the balcony as he said, "Yes, I have noticed that too."

Marianne said, "Ok, we will hold them off while you both get to the balcony."

"But we were given orders to assist you."

As she was talking with the soldiers. Bog moved forward and took out two more flies that were coming in for an attack.

Bog said, "We will all go to the balcony together."

Marianne nodded and said, "Ok."

They slowly fell back towards the balcony as they fought off the flies. Just then a fly came in from slightly above. One of the soldiers and Marianne flew forward and pierced the fly's head with their swords.

As the fly dropped out of the sky, the soldier said, "For the record, I am astounded by your fighting ability. You truly are a great fighter...And I love your armor, it's beautiful!"

"Thank you", she said. She then noticed another fly approaching from behind the soldiers. She yelled out, "Ahhhhhrrrrahahhhhh!"

She managed to only clip the fly from the side, but Bog flew forward and kicked it towards one of the soldiers and he managed to finish the job, severing it's wings off.

"Thank you! It's a pleasure fighting with you, Your highness'," the other soldier said. "You two get to the balcony first."

The soldiers took out a few more flies. Before they followed Marianne and Bog to the balcony. Bog looked up towards the balcony that K.D. and Yara were fighting from and it looked like they were getting an onslaught from above.

"Lets go give them a hand," Bog said and then he turned to the soldiers and said, "You two stay here."

They nodded in acknowledgement.

Marianne said, "Agreed, I think my father would want us close by anyway."

"Yes. Remember he charged me with keeping you safe."

Marianne turned to face him and said, "Hey, Hon, look! Not a scratch!"

Bog laughed and said, "You're amazing."

"So are you Hon! Now let's give 'em some more! More punishment from Madame Butterfly!"

Bog laughed out loud. A single fly approached them from above and both Marianne cried out loud as both she thrust her sword forward and he thrust his staff forward at the same time and pierced the fly's body. It then fell out of the sky. The soldiers stayed in between the balcony and Marianne and Bog.

"I love that yell you do. It sounds so menacing."

"Well, that's my war cry. It's something I just do automatically."

The two took another pair of flies out that attacked.

Bog replied, "Yeah, I remember that from the night we met when you attacked me."

She laughed as she said, "It's my rebel yell!"

"Hahhhh!' Bog laughed out. "That it is."

As they slowly fought their way back up the balcony, Bog began to sing.

(Rebel Yell – Billy Idol)

(Bog)

Last night a little princess came dancin' to my door

["I can't believe you are singing to me and fighting!" she said as a fly came at them and she did a roundhouse kick to it's face.]

Today my little angel came fighting 'cross the floor

[Marianne giggled. Bog pointed up as he continued to sing. A fly was coming right at them from above]

What set you free and brought you to me, babe

[Marianne grabbed on to his staff and she said, "Throw me!]

What set you free I need you here by me
Because

[Bog spun around and swung his staff up with Marianne still holding on. She let go when he thrust forward.]

In the high noon hour she cried- "more, more, more"

[Marianne screamed out her yell as she ran her sword through the fly.]

With a rebel yell she cried- "more, more, more"

[Bog had to dodge the fly's carcass as he flew to the side.]

In the high noon hour babe- "more, more, more"

[Marianne joined Bog and then sang with him together.]

(Marianne and Bog together)

With a rebel yell- "more, more, more"

More, more, more!

When they stopped singing, the two of them laughed. Bog looked down and notice Daniel was right on the ground below them and he had the fly queen right next to him. He knew that prior to Daniel having the queen, the flies were just attacking haphazardly with the main intention of raiding the palace. But now it seemed as Daniel gave the queen fly a more specific order as he pointed to them.

"Oh crap!" He said. "You see that?"

Then they both looked at each other and said at the same time, "We have to get out of here."

The queen fly flew up and made a few loud clicks and pops and then suddenly the flies that were attacking the ballroom balcony swooped up and headed straight for Marianne and Bog.

"Lets go!" Bog shouted.

The two of them began to fly up to the higher balcony. When the flies were upon them, they both turned around and began to fight them off.

"Uuhhhhhhhhh! Ahhhhhhhhh. ARRRRGHGH!" Marianne cried out as she swung her sword back and forth hacking at the flies.

"Auhhhhhh, Yahhhhhhhh! Huhhhhhh!" Bog called out as he also pummeled the flies with his staff.

There was just too many of them coming at once. The both of them resorted to spinning maneuvers to take out many flies at once. But then Bog felt someone reach up from behind and he leaned against his wings and put him in a full-nelson hold which was forcing him to the ground.

Marianne called out, "No!"

Just then a group of four flies came around at the same time, while she was able to dispatch one of them, the others surrounded her and one clamped her arm very hard forcing her to drop her sword. Then another got her other arm. She managed to kick the last one from her legs. She tried to get her arms free.

"Urrrrghhhhhhh! No!" she called out to Bog.

Just then another pair of flies came from below and she could feel one grab her leg. She began flailing her other leg and she managed to kick the other fly several times, but then it grabbed on to her too. She tried flapping her wings but all that did was hit the undersides of upper flies.

"Marianne!" Bog called out

"Bog! Help Me!" she called out.

Bog swung his staff back and knocked the soldier in the head and he fell. He then made his way towards Marianne. He quickly looked up and four soldiers were heading their way from the balcony above. So help was on the way.

A fly got in his way and he swung his staff and it slammed hard into the fly in front of him, splitting it's side. But right behind it was another fly moving in. Another came from behind and that one got it's mandibles clamped around one of his hind wings. Then another clamped on to his arm that was holding his staff. He could see the flies were carrying his beloved Marianne away. He managed to get his arm free, swung his staff around and connected with the other fly on his wing. The fly fell, but not before it damaged his rear wing slightly. While they were easy to take out, the problem was the numbers. He frantically tried to move forward, but couldn't get anywhere fast. As he looked around, everything was getting dark as the flies closed in around him. He figured that even the approaching soldiers that were coming to assist wouldn't have a chance. Alas, he had soon lost sight of his beloved Marianne and his worst nightmare had been realized. He didn't do a proper job. She was gone. He let her father down.

"Ahhhhhhhhhrrrghhhhh!" he yelled out in anger as he tried to push forward.

He just kept swinging his staff, smashing mandibles here, severing wings there. But soon he was beginning to tire. He had no choice but to fall back. There were less flies behind him and the closer he retreated to the castle, the archers would dispatch the flies. He turned to find another fly behind him, but as he was getting ready to thrust his staff into the fly, its wings just flew off and it dropped to the ground. Behind the fly was were the group of four soldiers and they came to assist. In that short time, three of the four soldiers that came to assist were injured in some way. The lead soldier was out of breath and he was struggling to stay aloft as one of his forewings was damaged.

"I'm sorry, we came too late," the soldier said. "Let's get you back to safety."

Bog's breathing was labored as well. The five of them made it back to the balcony.

When Bog landed on the balcony, Sir Benny said, "Your Majesty, I see your wing is damaged, take a break, you been out there for a while."

"A break? Are you kidding me? Benny they took Marianne! I am sure you saw. It was Daniel, he had the queen fly with him and he singled her out, ordering the flies to attack her!"

"Yes, I did it. I am sorry I couldn't do anything more. I gave the order for the soldiers to assist, but it was already too late. They couldn't break through the line," He said he then turned to the soldiers and said, "Thank you for all your help Matt, John, Eric and Steve. Y'all can't do anymore. Go to the infirmary, Princess Dawn will help you with your injuries."

Matt replied, "I can still fight Sir, you need all the help you can get. Please don't relieve me of duty."

"Ok, but go inside, get some water and catch your breath, you can assist inside then," Benny ordered.

"Yes, Sir."

Matt then disappeared into the castle joining his fellow soldiers.

Bog noticed that King Dagda wasn't present and he said to Benny, "Where's K.D.?"

"Inside," he said. He shook his head and continued, "He saw it all. I don't have to tell you how upset he is now."

Queen Yara was still on the balcony and she came forward and said, "No! I can't believe Marianne is gone!"

"I lost her. I must redeem myself and get her back," Bog said to Queen Yara.

"She could be anywhere by now. Our best bet is to capture one of Daniel's men and perhaps they will know something," Benny said.

Bog nodded in agreement, "Yes, I think I know who too."

Benny then said, "I am going stay and hold ground here."

"Good idea." Bog said.

As Yara got back into her fighting stance and pulled her arrow back she said, "Yes, please find her. I love her as my own daughter."

"Don't worry, I will, I must," he said. As he clenched his fist.

Bog, leaned over the railing in between the archers and looked for the soldier that separated him from Marianne. It didn't take too long to find him. It looked like he was attempting a side attack on the lower balcony. Bog swooped down from above and behind. He thrust his hand out and aimed for the guy's back right between his wings. When his hand met his back, there was a cracking sound. The soldier flew into the handrail of the balcony and flipped over on the the balcony itself. Bog was worried he might have killed the soldier in his anger. But when he got to the balcony, he could tell he was alive as he was breathing hard and moving. As was getting to his feet, Bog grabbed him by the neck and thrust him up against the doors to the ballroom.

"Hello! Remember me?" Bog said angrily as he thrust his fist forward, hitting the guy in the face, knocking him out.

He collapsed before Bog. Again, he made sure the soldier was still alive. The soldiers that were holding the back line behind the archers stopped for a moment and clapped.

One even said, "Hurray for King Bog! He got one of Roland's men!"

They cheered.

"That was easy, and quite fun!" He said.

He carried the limp soldier inside the ballroom and tossed him on a table. There was a soldier nearby.

"Please get me something to tie him up and some water to wake him up, he's got some questions to answer."

"Yes, your Majesty, at once!"

The soldier immediately flew off to the kitchen. Bog grinned as he looked down at the limp soldier.

He said in a gruff voice, "I am going to make you sing like a canary."

Meanwhile, somewhere far away from the battlefront:

Marianne shook her head as she awakened. She was very thirsty as her mouth was very dry. The base of her head was throbbing. The last thing she remembered was Daniel hitting her on the back of the neck. She figured that he must have knocked her out. She wanted to reach back to feel it, but realized that she was tied up in a standing position. Her arms were bound separately with very thick vines that ran from a hide strap on her wrist to a joist on the ceiling. Her arms were slightly spread apart. She tried to spread her wings, only to realize they were bound too. Looking down, she had vines tied to her ankles as well in a similar manner to her arms. The vines on her ankles were tied to the floor. She also realized that she had been stripped of her armor and she was just wearing what she wore underneath which was a mauve colored halter crop top, a short matching leaf mini-skirt that wrapped around her waist and a pair of dark tan leggings which ran from her feet to just above her knees. Her armored boots were removed. She felt very exposed as her arms, neckline, her whole abdomen and thighs were all not covered She only wore such clothing around her lover, usually when they were faux fighting alone, and as of late, under her armor.

She said, "Oh this isn't dignified. I am hanging here half naked like this."

She began to look around and check out her surroundings. The room was very dank and dimly lit with light sphere torches lined along the wall. The room's walls and floors had a burnt orange and brown color. On her initial scan of the room, it appeared to be some kind of cell block or dungeon. It was round in shape and pretty large with a high ceiling. There was definitely room enough to fly around in it. The far side of the room had a small doorway and it looked like it was the only way in or out. To her right were four cells with bars. To her left there were more places where people could be bound up like she was. On her wall, there were a total of three more places where someone could hang from the ceiling on her side of the wall. Next to the entrance but to the right was a large flat table with huge leather straps to tie someone down onto it. In the middle of the room was another large table which had chairs around it. There was a dagger lying on the table, in addition to a pitcher of water and a few goblets. The sight of the water made her more thirsty than she was. There were also some slices of fruit on saucer in the middle of the table. Over the table in the middle of the ceiling was a large light sphere that lit up the middle of the room.

Marianne tried to pull on the vines and even though they creaked a bit, they weren't giving. She looked to the dagger on the table. Only if she could get it some how.

Just then there were some voices coming from the door, one of them was clearly Roland. She could hear some footsteps and then he started to sing. His voice was turning her stomach and she grimaced.

"A lovely Day, A lovely Day. It's gonna be a Lovely Day!"

He finished singing as he entered the room and then his eyes locked on to hers. The reaction was immediate and she began to snarl. It was almost a primal instinct as when a lioness sees her prey. She hadn't seen Roland in over 5 months and just the sight of him evoked a deep anger from within.

Roland smiled and said proudly, "Buttercup! Long time no see! Nice face you have on there."

"I am not your Buttercup. How dare you attack my kingdom and kidnap me!" she growled.

"Very easy. It is something I have been wanting to do for a while, so I am doing something about it."

"Oh, just you wait until Bog and my dad find me here..." Marianne said as she snarled even more, but she was cut off by Roland.

"That's highly doubtful, my little tigress."

"Stop saying that! I told you once before, I am not your anything!" She barked out.

Just then Daniel came into the room and he took a seat by the table.

Marianne glared at him and said, "You son of a….If you harmed Bog, I swear it will be the last thing you ever do."

"Oh really," Daniel said sarcastically.

As Roland walked closer to Marianne, she pulled even harder the vines than before and there was a groan coming from the beam overhead. He looked up and then looked back to Daniel and he said, "You sure this is going to hold?"

"Sure, I had Nathan tie me to it earlier and I couldn't break free. I doubt she's stronger than me."

As Marianne pulled on the ropes she noticed that Roland grimaced as his eyes were trained on her arms. She noticed that as she pulled on the vines how her biceps and forearms bulged. The veins on her arms seem very pronounced.

"My goodness, what the hell has happened to you? You used to be so pretty, that monster has changed you. Looks like he is trying to make you one of his kind. You are lookin' like a goblin now."

"Bog had nothing to do with the way I look, you creep! I trained hard and made myself stronger. I like the strength, I like the way it feels, and I like the way I look. I am hard and toned, not soft and weak like I used to be," she said still showing her teeth.

"You look grotesque with all those muscles," he said still grimacing. "That is so unnatural for a woman."

"What the heck do you care for? It's my body and I can do with it whatever I want with it."

Roland put his hand to his chin and said, "So tell me, Princess. Have you ever been mistaken for man?"

Daniel giggled softly at Roland's remark.

Marianne snarled even more as she responded. "No...have you?"

Just then Daniel made a flatulent sound as he attempted to stifle a loud laugh by putting his hand over his mouth.

Roland's eyes narrowed as he turned around and said, "Watch it, bud!"

"Sorry, Roland Sir...It was an accident."

Roland started to play with the curl that hung down from his forehead and he looked around for a moment and then turned back to Daniel.

"You best get me that mirror I asked for, or there will be another accident," Roland said.

"Nathan has a guy on it. It will be here shortly."

Roland's vanity was making Marianne's stomach turn and that made her snarl even more as she growled, "You are STILL doing that thing with your hair? Oh please!"

"Looks like your lioness is ready to pounce." Daniel said.

Roland looked down to her mid-section and he scrunched his lip and said, "She's got a nice mid-section though. Very flat and taut looking."

He reached his hand out and Marianne started to move back, but she could only move so far being tied up. His fingers ran down the creases of her abdomen. Her skin began to crawl once he made contact with it.

She shouted, "Stop touching me!"

"Hey hey, easy there," he said as he moved his hand from her abdomen to the side of her face.

As his hand got near her face, she tried to bite it, but he quickly withdrew. He turned to Daniel and said, "Did you see that? She almost bit me! That bastard turned her into a wild animal. She's so primal now, I mean check out that look on her face."

Roland's face changed to anger and he just swung his hand over and slapped the right side of Marianne's face, very hard. Suddenly the anger within Marianne shot through the roof and she pulled hard on the vines. They made a loud straining sounds and the beam above groaned. Roland moved back for a second as he looked up at the beam.

Marianne growled, "Urrrrghhhh! Why the hell did you do that for?"

"Well, in part because you tried to bite and in part just because I wanted to. But really you knew you had that one coming to you."

"How do you figure?"

"Uhhh, you trying to be funny before, making Daniel laugh and also for the time you had me locked up."

"You were locked up because you tried to strangle me. Remember? That was your doing alone."

"Well, if you hadn't got me so angry that night..."

"Aww, can it, Roland. You can make all the excuses you want, it isn't going to help."

Just then Daniel reached for the pitcher of water. He looked at the group of goblets on the table and said, "Uhhhhh, which one is yours?"

There was one goblet set a little to the side and Roland grabbed that one first, but just moved it further to the side. He then grabbed another goblet from the group and handed it to Daniel.

"Here, this is a clean one."

"Thanks," Daniel said.

He filled the goblet with water. Marianne was feeling her mouth was very parched and the sound of the water filling the goblet made her even more thirsty. The water sparkling clear and looked good. Then she followed the goblet as it reached Daniel's lips. He gulped the water down, swallowing hard three times. The last time, some of the water leaked out past the sides of his mouth.

He slammed the goblet down on the table and said, "Ahhhh, that was good! I needed that!"

"Now you are making me thirsty," Roland said.

Roland grabbed a goblet, and filled it with water. He did the same thing as Daniel did, but exaggerated everything even more. It seemed clear that he was taunting her. She tried not to look at Roland, but the sounds he made were enough to make her really want the water bad. She looked passed Roland at the pitcher of water on the table. She curled her lips inward and licked them.

"What are you looking at, Princess?" Roland asked like if he didn't know.

"The water. I'm thirsty."

"Ohhhhh, so you want me fetch a cup of water for you, huh?"

"Yes, but I don't expect you doing me any favors, huh? You are just going to taunt me."

"Oh, are we forgetting our manners? That is hard to believe since you were brought up a prim and proper princess, right?"

Marianne gritted her teeth as she said, "I see where this is going...May I have a cup of water, please."

"That's better," Roland said with a smile. He then said, "What's in it for me? "

"I knew it!" she snapped.

Roland moved closer to Marianne and actually started to put his arm around her.

"Perhaps a lap dance?" He asked as he looked to Daniel.

Daniel chuckled loudly.

At first Marianne didn't do anything except look him angrily in the eye and snarl at him. She pulled on the vines. As his hand had touched her back, again she felt her skin crawl and she began to tense up. She closed her eyes and turned her face away.

"Oh, C'mon Buttercup, it will be just like old times."

She could feel his leg straddle hers. Now he was where she wanted him. She turned around to face him and gave him a dirty grin.

"That's better, be a nice princess." Roland said.

Daniel said, "Uhhhh, Roland you are getting too cl..."

In one sudden movement, Marianne rammed her knee into his groin.

"Uhhhhhhhhhh!" Roland exclaimed as he collapsed to the floor.

Daniel looked on with wide eyes and said, "Can't say I didn't see THAT coming."

Marianne looked down to him said, "Next time, don't invade my space!"

Roland said in an agonized tone, "Oh you are going to pay for that, Mare!"

"Oh what are you going to do, strangle me again?" Marianne asked.

Roland clumsily got to his feet using the table for support. Still holding his groin, he hobbled over to Marianne. He stood a few moments in front of her becoming angrier by the moment. Suddenly he shot his hand forward and it slammed against her throat.

He growled, "That is a good idea."

Marianne started to struggle, pulling hard on the vines. As she tried to look downward, she could feel his large hand tightening around her small neck.

"No Daddy or Bog monster here to save you now, you nasty b..."

Daniel rose up from the table and patted his hands down and said, "Easy Roland. Stick with the plan, remember? Like you said."

Roland released his grip on Marianne's throat and said, "Right, I will get even with you soon enough."

She immediately inhaled and began to cough.

He shook his head and returned to the table.

"I got this watch, Daniel. You can go back out to the palace and get me a progress report."

"What? I just arrived," Daniel said. "I'm tired. Remember, I just brought her in from there."

"Well, I want to ask Marianne some questions..." Roland said.

At first Daniel didn't move.

"Alone!" He said as he glared at him.

"Don't do anything brash now," Daniel said.

"I won't" Roland said.

Daniel sighed as he got up and the then flew out of the room.

Suddenly Marianne felt a bit of anxiety come over her as now she was in the room with Roland alone. Given as to what he tried to do before, she was worried he would have his way with her. He stared her down and his eyes ran up and down her body constantly. It made her feel uncomfortable, especially with the way she was dressed, but she still maintained an angry look in her face. Once again, the pitcher of water had caught her interest more and she kept looking at it.

Roland apparently saw what she was looking at and stepped to the side so she could get a better look at it.

"I should make you beg for it, after what you just did." Roland said.

"I'd die of thirst before I give you the satisfaction," she snarled.

"Yeah...I figured you would say that."

Roland walked over to the table and grabbed the goblet that he placed aside earlier and filled it with water. He brought it over to Marianne and held it close to her mouth. She hesitated at first.

"Go ahead, drink up," Roland said.

In a surprised tone, Marianne said, "What? No trick, no catch?"

Roland laughed as he said, "Why? You want one?"

"No."

"Don't worry I have plenty in store for you today."

Marianne didn't like the sound of his last sentence, but right now she was thirsty and he seemed to nicely hold the goblet to her mouth.

She wrapped her lips around the goblet and began to drink. At any moment she was expecting Roland to pull the goblet away, or jounce it so that it splashes into her face. But no, he carefully tipped the glass as she gulped the water down. It was actually cool and tasted very fresh. Marianne couldn't help but to gulp it down. It was very refreshing, but so good that she wanted more.

Suddenly without even thinking to what she was saying, she heard her lips utter, "Thank you."

"Ahhh, I see you can be nice."

Marianne hated to be nice to him, it turned her stomach into knots as she heard her self say, "I would like more...please"

"Nope! That's enough for you," he said as he tossed the goblet across the room and it landed in the forth cell which was cell closest to her.

For the one brief moment where he was actually nice to her, he suddenly shifted back to his mean, selfish, self.

"Now, where were we?" Roland asked.

He then walked back over to the table and looked at the dagger sitting on it.

"Ahhhh, yes!"

He nonchalantly grabbed the dagger and began to inspect the blade for it's sharpness. Marianne's eyes opened wide. Despite the anger she was feeling towards Roland, it was more and more being replaced by fear. She was hoping at any moment that either Bog or one of her father's men would come barging through the door. As he drew nearer, he was playing with the tip of the dagger in his fingers.

Marianne swallowed hard and mustered up the courage within her and the fear subsided a bit as she said, "So, are you going to kill me now?"

"Naw, that wouldn't be any fun. I have a better plan."

He then suddenly moved forward and pulled his arm back that held the dagger. She didn't know what he was going to do with it. But the maniacal look on his face started to make the fear in her well up again, but on the outside she still showed anger in her face. She tried to move back but she immediately had her back up against the wall. Roland grabbed her under the chin and pushed her head back against the wall. He then swung his arm around, the dagger was headed right for her face. She closed her eyes and tried to move her head but couldn't. She could feel a light touch going from the right side of her mouth then across the bridge of her nose and then finally over her left brow. She opened her eyes and pushed her body forward and into Roland, which caused him to stumble back. She then used her tongue to feel the edge of her lip. She could feel that it was cut. It didn't feel deep and it wasn't very painful, but she could feel some light stinging in the areas the blade contacted her face.

"What the heck you do that for you crazy moron!" She yelled out in more fearless and angry tone.

But then she realized that probably wasn't the best thing to say while she was tied up and the guy in front of her had a dagger in his hand.

"I just want to get my revenge on you."

"And now you want to cut me up?"

"Well, perhaps that Bog monster will not love you anymore if he sees you are not pretty and casts you aside."

Marianne thought fast. She knew something about her fiancé that would be something that Roland couldn't comprehend.

As he came near to her with the knife again, she yelled out, "Go ahead, cut me all you want. Bog loves me for me...and...and uhhhmm. If these cuts become scars he will be even more attracted to me because I would be more unique to him. I can always say I got these scars in battle. In fact I wouldn't mind if you gave me a cut on my arm. I want to show him I am a tough warrior that isn't afraid to get a little cut here and there. Bog loves a tough looking warrior woman."

Marianne could see the anger in Roland's face growing and he had a snarling look. But she wasn't sure if he was going to get ready to lunge at her again. Again she thought fast.

She then continued, "Bog is a goblin and he loves my body and my muscles and all my imperfections. He loves me for what I am on the inside and outside."

"Uhhhggggghhhhhh!" Roland called out and he did lunge forward while he once again pulled the dagger over his shoulder.

Again Marianne backed all the way up to the wall. She kept her eyes open this time right until the last moment when he swung the dagger. She was waiting for the knife to slash a part of her body somewhere on the right side, but instead she heard a clang from the left side of the room. She opened her eyes to find Roland had tossed the dagger aside. He reached up and slammed his hands down on her shoulders pushing her into wall. He immediately let go of her and turned around and headed back to the table. He turned his head to the side and began to yell:

"Confounded minx, you are right! That is exactly what he would like. All of his kind has cuts and scratches. Scarring you…WOULD make him love you more."

Marianne breathed a sigh of relief. Her fast thinking, was her way out of having Roland severely harming and scarring her.

Just then Nathanial flew into the room and he was followed by the queen fly.

"Ahhhh, my dear Queenie, do you have anything to report?"

Marianne almost laughed when he heard Roland address the queen fly. But she started to notice that her bleeding brow was dripping down over her eye. Also she could feel the blood from the cut on her nose was trickling to it's tip and then that too started to drip down to the ground.

The queen fly spoke to Roland in a series of clicks, pops and buzzes. Normally fairies couldn't speak fly, but for some reason Roland could speak to them, or at least as far as she knew, just the queen. It was probably a side effect of the potion.

Suddenly Roland's face lit up and he hugged 'Queenie' and gave her a kiss on the mandibles. Marianne cringed when she saw them 'kissing'. She also noticed that Nathan cringed as well. After they released from their 'embrace', Roland turned around to Nathan.

"Good news, Nathan, my friend, the flies have penetrated the castle and have an idea where the King is being kept. Let's go and apprehend him."

"As you wish."

"NO!" Marianne blurted out.

The blood was now dripping on the edge of her eye and it was running down her left cheek. Nathanial's head turned to Marianne and he had a bit of a shocked look on his face. He grabbed a leaf towel that was draped over one of the chairs and headed over to Marianne.

"Whoa! Nate, what are you doing?"

"Just wiping her face…What did you do to her?" he asked.

"Ahhhh, not much...she pissed me off, so I taught her a lesson."

"Oh, Okay" Nathan responded 'matter of fact' like, but he was facing towards Marianne and he had a very uneasy look on his face as he looked to her. Not knowing what to expect from him, she lowered her brow and showed her teeth slightly as she backed up.

"Look, I am not going to hurt you, Princess, I just want to wipe your face," he said.

She stopped snarling and allowed him to approach her. He began to wipe the blood away from her face. The cut on the bridge of her nose was deeper and he applied pressure there.

"NATE! We don't have time for you to play the caring nurse. We have to capture the king. Now help me move her into a cell and lets get going."

"Why? She is tied up good here and no one knows we are here."

"That may be true now, but if that buffoon of a boyfriend of hers finds her, it is a lot harder for him to take her if she is in a cell and we have all the keys."

"Good point," Nathan said and then pointed to her bindings and continued. "Now we have to tie her in a specific order. Legs together first, then one arm to the other, then we can take off the shackles and move her into the second cell to the right."

Roland nodded in agreement. As they started to tie her up, Marianne didn't give in easy as she fought every step of the way. As Roland was tying her legs...he got a knee to the face. She used her elbow to knock Nathan in the ear. As they were tying her wrists together, she headbutted Roland. She gave them quite a struggle to move her into the cell. When they finally got her into the cell and removed the rope around her legs, Roland got another kick in the groin. Sadly this pushed him over the edge and he ended up punching her in the stomach. It was a solid punch too as her knees buckled and she slumped to the ground in pain.

"Ughhhhhhh!" she called out as she held her stomach.

"Roland stop!" Nathan said.

"Are you kidding me? You see what she did to me and you? No, she had that coming."

"But, she's a woman, our princess."

"Yeah, but damn, she's just as strong as a man. Are you getting soft on me?"

"No, but I don't think you want to kill her now, right?"

"No, not just yet. Come on! Time's a tickin'"

"Yes, Sir."

The two left the cell and locked the door behind them. Roland and Queenie flew out the door first, but Nathan hesitated as he looked to Marianne on the floor of the cell. Marianne noticed that concerned look in his face again.

"Thank you," she said.

Nathan looked puzzled at first, but she continued, "For cleaning the blood off my face."

"Oh...You're Welcome, Princess."

"What did he mean by not killing me just yet?" She asked.

Nathan was ready to say something to Marianne, but then Roland flew back into the dungeon and said, "What the heck is keeping you. Let's go!"

"I can't find my dagger," Nathan immediately said.

"Oh...it's over there in the corner."

Nathan had a puzzled look on his face as he turned to Roland and said, "What's it doing there?"

"Never mind that, just get it and lets go."

Roland flew back out of the dungeon as Nathan retrieved his dagger. Marianne could see that he was examining it and apparently some of her blood was on it. He looked to her while pointing at the dagger. She nodded, "Yes" knowing he was asking about the blood on the dagger. But he didn't say anything more as he took to wing and left the room.

Marianne got up and even though her feet were no longer tied, her hands were still bound together. She looked around the cell and what was not clear before was that towards the ceiling was a window. It was heavily barred with thick stones. There was a bed under it and when she stood on the bed, she was able to reach the ledge and pull herself up to look out of it. She was hoping that she might be able to recognize where she was. The window was actually level with the ground outside, making it clear that the dungeon she was in was partially above ground level. It only took her a few moments as she recognized some of the trees and other plant life. A few moments later a long centipede walked by in the far distance. There was no doubt in her mind that she was in the Dark Forest!

Immediately she started to call for help.

"Is there anyone out there! Please Help me! Goblins! I'm Princess Marianne of the Fairy Kingdom and I am held here against my will. Please Help!"

She would say this at regular intervals in the hopes that someone or something that would walk or crawl by would understand her and help out. It was a remote chance, but worth a shot. She kept at the window at regular intervals for what seemed like a half hour but nothing. She didn't want to give up, but then someone came into the dungeon. It was a soldier. He only poked his head into the dungeon for a few moments. Marianne tried to ask him a few questions, but he didn't respond and promptly left. After trying to call from the window again for a few moments. Marianne began to look around the cell for something she might be able to escape with. She didn't find anything and began to resume calling out the window.

Another half hour went by and the guard came back again, but like before, he just poked his head in, looked around and then left. Marianne was feeling a bit funny and she chalked it off as not having eaten since the morning. She was also tiring from constantly pulling herself up on the ledge and her biceps were starting to ache. She called for about another 5 minutes or so but found out that her throat was getting parched again and she needed some water. Hopefully she could coax the guard into giving her a drink.

"Uhhghhhhhhh! Someone please help! I am Marianne from the Fairy Kingdom…" she called out.

She was growing more tired and she placed her head on the edge of the window frame and closed her eyes. She started to think of when she was fighting with Bog earlier and how much fun she was having with him. But now she was just wondering if he was even alive. Her arms were starting to shake and she couldn't even hold her own weight up any more. Just as she was ready to let go she heard a rustling outside and she looked up. It was a spider and it was coming towards her.

"Oh! Oh! Yes! Come here good spider!"

Suddenly the spider started to come towards her faster. As it came closer, Marianne could recognize the patterns on it. As it came to the window, it was making all sorts of clicking noises as if it was excited to see her. It poked one of it's legs through the window and it had a missing clasper.

"STUMPY! It's you!" Marianne shouted.

The spider moved it's head up and down and it tried to get passed the bars, but it was too big.

Marianne said, "Listen. I don't know if you understand me, but I am in trouble."

She got down and stood on her bed as she pointed to her face to show Stumpy the cuts on her face. She wiped her brow and showed him her blood. She also raised her arms to show him that she was bound.

"I hope you can understand me. Can you? Move your head up and down for 'yes' and sideways for 'no'."

Marianne was having trouble at first. But after a few questions and some verbal direction, suddenly Stumpy got it and it seems like he was mostly understanding what she was saying.

"Ok, I need you to find the Bog King, my boyfriend," Marianne said. "The guy that was with me when we helped you?"

She did her best to describe Bog and again, it took a while, but then Stumpy seemed to understand.

"Find him and bring him to me," Marianne said as she made hand gestures to make like she lost something and wanted it returned to her.

For the most part, she thought that Stumpy was understanding what she wanted, but she wasn't sure. Worse, it was nearly the time the soldier would be checking in on her. For the last moments she tried to explain the Fairy Kingdom as to where Bog might still be, but it was a long shot at best.

"Ok, go now and good luck to you," she said.

She reached as far as she could and could barely pat Stumpy on the head. But he then turned around and left and not a moment too soon as the guard came in once again to check on her. She tried to ask him for water, but again, he didn't say anything and he left.

Since her throat was sore from calling so much and since she was feeling funny, she figured that perhaps it would be best to get some rest. She curled up on the bed and closed her eyes. Even though she wasn't tired she figured that perhaps laying there like that, she might fall asleep.

Meanwhile over at the Fairy Kingdom Palace:

As the battle ensued, King Dagda's men were forced away from the upper most balconies, which was hindering their archers as that was their first line of defense. The battle became one more of stealth as archers would pick off the flies from hidden locations now. Fighting head on was quickly deemed as suicide and the king lost several of his good fighters to injury and even death early in the battle. But like with fighting any new foe, there is a learning curve and King Dagda was finally figuring it out.

The flies pounded against the doors with their mandibles, but being mostly blunt on the ends, the mandibles had trouble with the large flat surfaces of the doors. This was something that worked to their advantage for flies weren't able to penetrate the castle. However, Roland's men figured this out and they were using their swords and axes in an attempt to assist the flies in trying to breaking down the doors. But this also meant that Roland's soldiers could be easier dealt with soldier to soldier as the flies couldn't attack when Roland's men were present. Despite King Dagda's men being able to gain an advantage on the flies in this manner. Based on the reports of soldiers, they managed to dispatch close to half of the flies, but they were still greatly outnumbered.

While he wanted to help out, Bog was also eager to get some information on the whereabouts of his fiancee. Sadly, his questioning of the soldier didn't get him anywhere and he threw him into the castle's dungeon. Then we went on patrol to capture someone else in the hopes that they might know something.

In his patrols, he did engage in some small skirmishes and dispatched a few more of the flies. But they were getting more aggressive and more and more the fight was turning into a game of hide and seek, knowing which door to open and attack from.

Bog proved to be a dynamo and could dispatch the flies quickly. Marianne and himself were the fastest fighters, but without her by his side, he lost his 'eyes on his back'. Because of that, a turn of events worked against him when a change in orders had the flies go after Bog's wings. He found out the flies were singling him out. At one point, six flies managed to box him in and they were after his already damaged wing. After narrowly escaping that fight, he decided that he was done with a front line attack for he was tiring and he worried that if his wings were damaged any further, and he wasn't able to fly, then wouldn't be able to find Marianne. So he ended up helping out on a rear line defense of the balcony. But that drew the flies to the balcony and it was heavily attacked forcing Bog and the soldiers into the ballroom. They lost the largest balcony where the archers were perched. King Dagda looked around the ballroom as soldiers were doing everything they could to barricade the doors to the balcony. If the flies got into the ballroom, they would have no choice but to retreat to the lower portion of the castle. It was here that Bog finally met up with King Dagda and as expected, the monarch refused to want to speak to him. He tried numerous times to apologize, but he could see the king was disgusted and upset. But over time, his face started to soften and he leaned up against the wall with his back to Bog and it was apparent the monarch had lost his composure but seemed to be better now.

"I am sorry to be cross with you. It was my fault. I sent her after you...she pleaded and begged me. I was a fool to give in to her, but I knew without her help you would have been overcome. Not only that, but it was her face. The look on her face, the girl was nearly to tears. When I finally gave in, she was so happy that I let her help you. I wanted her happy, and in giving in to my heart, I betrayed my own better judgment and now she is gone!"

There came a loud bang at the door. While they were talking the flies were apparently trying to bash their way through the doors. But the doors to the ballroom were very thick and the barricade of tables and other furniture in the ballroom was holding. There was a garrison of soldiers in the ballroom waiting with weapons drawn in the event the barricade would fail.

Bog said to King Dagda, "Again, I'm sorry I didn't listen to you and did as you asked of me. I was just so torn between making sure Marianne was safe and also to how you were doing. I should have known better that you would have things under control. But I just figured it wouldn't hurt to just look, but when I came back, Marianne was gone. She was looking for me and eventually made her way outside. While we initially did well, when I saw Daniel talking with the queen fly, I knew things were going to take a turn for the worse. It became a battle to get her back to you. Things fell apart quickly from there. I am sorry I let you down. But I promise I am going to get her back. I just need to know where she is."

"The trouble is that both of you are headstrong and seem to have a strong desire to fight and I begged you to keep my daughter safe," the king said in a cross tone.

"I am sorry, but I can't change who your daughter is and I am not going to try. One of the reasons why she fell in love with me is because I don't try to change her. I let her be the person she is. I love her the way she is. She is a strong willed woman, a fighter. She is also a wonderful lover and always tells me how she feels."

"Yes, but I can't see my daughter putting herself in harms way," he said. "She is the heir to this kingdom and her place is not on the battlefield."

"She fights for what she loves and I love her for that. I admire her for that," Bog said. "I never felt for any woman the way I feel for her."

Bog started to pick at his lower teeth with his fingernail as he continued, "But you are right too. If I listened to you, Marianne probably would have been safe with me right now."

"Yes, but it is as you said. It is not in yours or her nature to back down from a fight," He said. "Sadly it is a trait that both her mother and I have. I thought she was different growing up, but after her heartbreak from Roland, something snapped inside of her, and she's more confident, stronger, and….fearless. She became more like me when I was her age.

"You forgot stubborn too," Bog added.

The king laughed and he looked to his wing and he sighed, and said, "Yes, that too. Again, I am sorry for being angry with you. You did try to save her. This battle is turning out to be a nightmare, and losing Marianne, I find myself looking for someone to blame."

"I do too, but the blame is on Roland and no one else."

The king then turned to him and said, "Then I implore you to get her back from him, please. Heaven knows what he is going to do to her."

"I will, that you have my word on. I would give anything to trade places with her now."

"I know, so would I," He said.

There was a bit of silence between them. King Dagda then looked to his damaged wing and asked, "How is your wing?"

"Well, they pinched it a bit, but I still can fly."

"You have done enough, get some rest until we find out where Marianne is. Then I will need you to get her."

"No, I'm sorry, I will not rest until I know myself. I at least owe you that much. I am still the fastest guy you have. I can't stop now and I certainly will not rest until I have Marianne back in my arms."

King Dagda nodded and said, "I saw you didn't get anywhere with that fellow you were questioning. I am assuming you are attempting to find another?"

"Yes, that is my plan. I am hoping to get Daniel himself. He would know the most."

"No sign of Roland?"

"No, he is a coward. He is probably hiding somewhere and more then likely that is where he has Marianne. So if I find Daniel, I find Roland, then I find Marianne."

"See what you can find out...Please." King Dagda said.

Just then Benny flew into the ballroom and said, "Bog, Your Majesty, one of your goblins said you can speak spider."

"Yes, a little bit, why?"

"Well, there is a spider that is banging against an exit door. It doesn't appear to be hostile and it is trying to get our attention almost like if it were actually knocking on the door. I told my men not to attack it without consulting you first."

Bog asked, "Is there a point where I can see this door from above?"

"Yes, the bay window in Princess Marianne's room is right above the door."

He looked to K.D. and said, "I need some men to come with me. Marianne's room is open to the outside.

"Take what you need," the king said.

Bog, Benny and a small group of soldiers flew up to the next level and made their way to Marianne's room. With everyone ready with their swords drawn, they slowly removed the barricades covering the door to her room. Bog went first slowly turning the knob to the door and opening it carefully. He poked his head in and looked around. It appeared to be empty. Slowly entering the room, Bog looked around again. The room was a total mess. Marianne's bed in the middle of the room was completely destroyed. He slowly tip toed his way to the balcony and hid behind a curtain at first. Every so often, small groups of flies would buzz around over the castle, but it seemed as if that side was not covered. When a group of flies passed by, he got down on all fours and crawled to the balcony's handrail. He poked his head over the ledge and looked down. Sure enough it was a spider. And as Benny said, it looked as if the spider wasn't attacking, but knocking on the door. He noted that the patterns on the spider's abdomen looked familiar. He crawled back into Marianne's room and stood against the wall.

"A spider?" he said aloud.

It was very unusual that a spider would make it this far out of the Dark Forest, especially in the daytime. The familiarity of the markings had him stumped. STUMPED! That's it! STUMPY!

Suddenly he realized that the spider might be Stumpy, the one that Marianne and him saved the other night.

He quickly ran out of the room and said to Benny, "It is a spider."

"A spider? Awe great, now they are attacking us too?" one of the soldiers asked.

"No, I think I know this spider. It is from the Dark Forest. Follow me..."

They all flew down to the ground level while Benny and Bog still spoke to one another.

"How well can you speak spider, your Majesty?"

"A little bit. I can make out one in five words, but it might be enough."

When they got to the door, the soldiers stood on guard while Bog slowly opened the door. Immediately the spider started to coo and it spun around in a circle. Bog looked to it's claspers and noticed one of the front ones was missing. It WAS indeed Stumpy.

"Stumpy! It is you!" Bog said excitedly.

He then proceeded to open the doors fully to allow Stumpy to enter.

"Your highness, are you sure this is safe?"

"Yes, I know this spider."

Stumpy entered and Bog closed the door behind him. Immediately he started to speak in a series of clicks and pops. Bog put his hands down and said, "Whoa whoa there. Slow down, I can't understand you going that fast."

The spider appeared to take a couple deep breaths and it began to speak but more slowly this time. From what he could make out, Stumpy was saying, "Mah, E en. Mah, E en."

"Marianne?"

The spider nodded and repeatedly went 'tss tss'.

"That means 'Yes'," he said getting more excited. "I think he might know where Marianne is!"

The soldiers all smiled and cheered.

Bog excitedly said, "Is she alright?"

In the next series of clicks and pops, Bog couldn't make out much except for the word, 'hurt'.

"So Marianne is alive, but she is hurt?"

"Tss tss", Stumpy said.

There were some mixed emotions from the men. Suddenly Bog's heart sank, he proceeded to ask Stumpy if she was badly hurt."

"I can't make out if she is badly hurt or not, but he says she is alive," he told the men.

"Do you know where she is?" he asked Stumpy.

'Tss tss'

Everyone cheered and even Bog threw his fist in the air and let out an elated, "Yes!"

"Where?" he asked the spider again.

After a few clicks and pops, Bog made out 'Dac Furast nee castle'.

"Do you mean in the Dark Forest near my castle?"

'tss tss'

The eyes grew wide on the soldiers that were nearby.

Bog looked to them and said, "The bastard has her practically under my nose! At the one place I was least likely to look...near my own castle!"

He looked down to Stumpy again and asked "Can you take me to her?"

'tss tss', Stumpy answered.

Bog's face lit up as he knew that there was hope and if he could get to Marianne in time he should be able to help her.

Bog proceeded to repeatedly pet Stumpy on the head and said, "Thank you so much, my friend."

Bog pointed to one of the soldiers and said, "You, please get me some supplies from Dawn in the infirmary. Also tell her where we are going."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The soldier then took off down an adjacent hall.

Bog then pointed Benny and said, "You notify the King that I am taking a band of men into the Dark Forest in an attempt to rescue Marianne."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

He took off towards the stairs.

"The rest of you, I need six very fast fliers to accompany me to the Dark Forest. More than likely, when we find Marianne, we are likely to find Roland and his men."

Eight of the 10 men left moved forward and said at the same time, "I can fly fast."

"Eight huh?"

One of the soldiers said, "Yes. I am sure I speak for all of us when we say that we want to get our princess back."

Bog smiled and then said, "We have to get out of here without detection from the flies or Roland's men. Is there a back door or underground passage out of the castle?"

One of the soldiers all the way in the back came forward. He was an older fairy, he said, "I know a way out that exits near the lake. We used to use it to shuttle supplies to where we held lake parties. It is all the way down below the lowest part of the castle, under the dungeon. The King had us block it off in fear of an attack. It hasn't been used in years, so I am not sure of it's condition."

Bog smiled for he knew the area the soldier was referring to. He remembered seeing a passage there behind the waterfall by the lake when he was there with Marianne. He knew it would put them behind the ensuing battle and they most likely wouldn't be detected and could fly across the lake to the Dark Forest.

"Ok, that's it then, we leave the castle that way."

The soldier then said, "Oh! Have a couple of your large goblin friends come too. They have to move the blockade of heavy rocks out of the way of the entrance."

"Very well."

Bog issued a few more instructions to the soldiers to prepare for their journey to the Dark Forest. He had some scraps of food and some water to drink brought down from the kitchen to give to Stumpy. The little spider was more than grateful. They packed their gear up and were ready to go.

Bog said to the large goblins that moved the stones out of the way, "I am going first to see if the way is clear. If we have to come back, I will hit my staff against the wall like this."

Bog hit his staff against the wall twice then paused and hit the wall three times more.

"If you hear anything but that, seal this entrance up at once."

"Yes, boss."

Bog made a couple clicks and pops and Stumpy folded himself up. He picked up the spider and his staff and then flew down the tunnel. The others followed behind him. It was pitch dark when they got inside. The head on his staff glowed brightly to light the way. The passage wasn't meant to be flown through, but it was possible going single file. Even still their wings hit the ceiling and walls every so often.

There were surprisingly very few obstacles in their path. Mostly it was stray roots in which they had to stop flying, walk around the obstacle and then resume flying. As they continued on, Bog could hear the sound of water running.

"I hear water," he shouted back.

The tunnel started to curve to the right and as Bog turned around the bend, he almost flew into a large spider web.

"Stop!" he shouted back to the rest so that they wouldn't fly into the web.

As the soldiers landed in front of the web, one said, "Great! It will take quite a while to get through this."

Bog looked down the tunnel ahead and he could see that the web ran a long way down the tunnel ahead.

"Well, I guess we better get started and hack away at it with your swords."

As the men drew their swords, Stumpy began making clicking and popping noises again. Bog wasn't sure what he was saying this time. But he recognized "I help."

He put Stumpy down and the spider ran up the wall of the tunnel and began using his claspers to cut the web's moorings to the wall. He worked very fast and soon the web collapsed section by section and it fell back to the opposite wall. Slowly the passage opened up before them and they were able to slowly walk down..

One of the men said, "Fascinating. Here I thought spiders were mindless animals that ate fairies for breakfast."

Bog replied, "Some spiders, such as this species, are pretty intelligent."

"If you don't mind my asking, Your Majesty. How did you come to know this spider?"

"No, I don't mind, besides, it will pass the time as Stumpy clears the way for us."

Bog then proceeded to tell the soldiers of his trip to the Forbidden Forest to get the stone for Marianne's ring and how he encountered Stumpy.

"So Princess Marianne and yourself saved him, huh?"

"Yes."

"So it seems like he is returning the favor."

"It appears so. And to think I almost didn't save him. It was Marianne's insistence to save him and her act of kindness is about to be rewarded and...I will see Marianne again."

The fairies were very intrigued with Bog's story and they where also very happy that they will see Marianne again.

Once the way was clear, an excited Stumpy returned to Bog and automatically folded himself up. Bog picked him up and they all resumed flying down the tunnel. Moments later, they could see light ahead and they figured it would be best to walk the rest of the way to the waterfall exit. What had Bog worried was that if he knew about the secret opening behind the waterfall, more than likely Roland knew about it too when he was with Marianne. So he was worried that he might have guards in that area.

He carefully moved forward and poked his head out from behind the waterfall. He looked all around and slowly moved forward, looking above, to the sides and in the tall grass and trees. The area looked clear. He moved slowly back behind the waterfall.

"The coast looks clear."

The men breathed a sigh of relief.

"We fly low and slow through this area since we have the grass cover...but once we get out over the lake, we are going to have to pour it on full speed. The faster we get across the lake, the better," Bog explained and paused. He then continued, "Oh, I would like to add that we must continue to fly very low to the water's surface as that will lessen the chance that we will be seen."

The men either confirmed by saying, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Bog made a few clicks and pops and Stumpy once again folded himself up and Bog picked him up. The men then proceeded out from behind the waterfall and took to wing and slowly headed for the inlet to the party area. Bog had everyone hover in place. As a precaution he instructed one soldier to act as a scout and head out much further ahead to make sure the lake was clear.

When the soldier was a quarter of the way into the lake, he waved everyone on. Bog and everyone else followed. He couldn't help but look over to the palace in the distance. Even though he couldn't see the palace itself, he could clearly see the dark swarm of flies over it. He began to worry that all it would take is for one fly to notice them zooming across the lake and the entire swarm could be down on them in no time flat.

Bog wasn't taking any chances, he poured on the speed. His wings seemed to buzz much louder than normal because of his one damaged wing. He could feel the vibration through his body and he could tell that he was not flying at his top speed. He was concerned about the noise his wings were making so he slowed down. The soldiers started to catch up with him and one of them said:

"Why are we slowing down, Your Majesty?"

"My wings are making too much noise. It might attract unwanted attention."

"Understood."

Bog continued to find a balance between a good speed and the volume of sound he was generating as he flew as they all continued flying across the lake. Bog's plan was that once he was on the other side of the lake then they could swoop down and enter the Dark Forest from the north side.

Several moments later they reached the opposite shore line of the lake and Bog then began to make a broad turn south. They had to fly higher since the opposite side had fairly tall grass. They were now in the open and could easily be seen if Roland had some lookouts in the area. But everything went smooth and they all reached the border of the Dark Forest seemingly undetected.

They continued to fly in until they were fairly close to Bog's castle and then they all landed.

Bog then placed Stumpy on the ground and he instructed him to lead the way to Marianne. The spider then went on ahead. Bog and his men stayed behind a good distance and they spread themselves out. He had instructed some to take the high ground and fly from tree to tree. Since his wings made much more noise than the fairies, he stayed low on the ground and took care to keep Stumpy within sight as the spider lead the way.

Later in Marianne's cell:

Marianne paced back and forth in her cell wondering if Stumpy got her message through to Bog. But she knew he was just a small spider and to go all the way to the Fairy Kingdom would take time. The chances were even slim that he would find Bog, IF he was even OK. Then she wondered if the spider understood her and delivered her message properly in the first place.

Roland was gone for a long time and so were the brothers, but the one soldier kept poking his head in at roughly half hour intervals. Marianne tried to get him to speak to her, but even yelling at him, calling him a louse and a traitor didn't seem to affect him.

On top of everything, Marianne was starting to feel nauseous and very warm. Despite being close to fall, it felt very warm in the dungeon and she even noticed that her skin was getting clammy.

Suddenly she heard some footsteps outside by the window and she jumped on to her bed and shouted, "Is someone there! I'm Princess Marianne of the Fairy Kingdom and I am being held against my will."

A voice responded to her call, "Shhhhhh, Marianne it is me, dear. Thank goodness I found you."

"Oh! My love!" Marianne called out. "I knew you would come for me!"

"Of course, I am just happy to find you alive."

Bog tried to fit his head between two of the wider spaced rocks in the window. Marianne pulled herself up on the ledge and planted her lips on his. It felt good to kiss him again!

When they separated, Marianne noticed that Bog had a shocked look on his face. He said, "Oh my, what happened to your face?"

"Roland did it. He cut me with a dagger."

Bog put his hand up through the window and made a fist. The look of rage appeared on his face as he said, "Say no more, dear. Wait until I get my hands on him."

Marianne smiled and even though she knew she could take care of herself, this time it felt good just having such a strong man to stick up for her. Her arms were starting to give out again and she lowered herself back down to the bed.

"Has he hurt you anywhere else?" Bog asked.

"No."

"Alright, I can't stay here, you are going to have to give me a moment to find a way passed Roland's men."

"Ok, my love, but please don't be long. Roland has been away for a while and he is sure to come back."

Just then there was the sound of something metallic falling. Marianne quickly turned around and right there by the table was the guard. She lost track of the time of when he was due back. She saw a goblet rolling to a stop on the floor that he knocked over.

Bog looked up and his eyes met the guard's. His eyes grew wide and he started to shout, "Men! Gaurds! He's here! Bog King is here! He's outside of the dungeon by the window! Get him!

"Oh No!" Marianne shouted. She then turned to Bog and said, "Fly away, Hon! Go! Please don't let them catch you!"

Bog wiggled his head out from the window and he shouted, "I will be back for you!"

"I know you will! I love you!" Marianne called back.

"I love you too, dear!" He said as he got up and flew off.

A few moments of silence when by, but then Marianne heard some scuffling and shuffling coming from down the hall. It sounded like something was being dragged towards the doorway. Marianne moved to the front of the cell and put her hands on the bars as she tried to look down the hall. Soon she could make out Nathan and a guard and they were dragging something down the hall towards the cell block.

Nathan said, "Darn this dude is heavy!"

"Yes, sir," the soldier answered.

Marianne couldn't see well at first since the table was blocking her view.

"Daniel told me to put him on the table and not in a cell," Nathan said.

As they dragged him further in, Marianne could see that they managed to capture her Bog.

"Oh, no, no, NO!" she called out as she suddenly burst into tears.

Her savior was captured. He was so close to rescuing her. Tears rolled down her cheek as she watched his unconscious body was heaved up onto the table that had the bonding straps.

"Daniel said to tie him face down."

"Face down?" The soldier repeated.

"Yes."

"Why?"

Nathan answered, "I asked the same question and Daniel just said 'That's what Roland wants'".

Marianne shouted across the room, "You bastards! Why are all you soldiers doing this? My father...my family was always good to you and now you betray us?

Nathan answered coldly, "That may be princess, but Roland is offering us a higher position in the kingdom."

"What? Is this about money? I can give you money if you want. I will pay you and brother's handsomely if you stop this madness now," she said.

"That is only part of it. There is something else."

"What?" she asked.

"When the time comes that your father passes, you are going to be married to this monster and I speak for most of us when I say we don't want a monster for a king." he said as he pointed to Bog.

"He is NOT a monster! Bog is a good man. You have seen how he is. When it comes time to rule, Bog and I will always put our people first."

"I don't think so, princess."

"You are also forgetting, when I marry Bog, I will run the Dark Forest kingdom with him. So then Dawn will be the heir to the Fairy Kingdom."

Nathan laughed as he said, "Really, Princess? You think that is any better? I seriously doubt that ditz of a sister of yours could run a kingdom."

"She can! She is growing and taking on more responsibilities. She will be a sweet and kind ruler. As it is everyone loves Dawn. She will make a great queen. I will make sure of that as I will help her every step of the way."

"I have nothing more to say about this. Speak to Roland if you have questions."

"What are you going to do with Bog?" Marianne said in a distraught voice.

But Nathan didn't respond. He just continued to tie Bog down with the soldier.

"Answer me, now!" She said...her voice strengthened as she was becoming angry.

Neither of the men answered. They continued to tie up Bog's wings and they used the shackles to pin his arms and legs down on the table. As a final measure, they also strapped his body down to the table.

"Stop ignoring me! I am your princess, your superior! I demand an answer!"

Again they didn't answer, but Nathan turned to the soldier and said, "There, that should do it."

"What about the other men that we caught that were with him?"

"We are going to tie them up and gag them outside. Roland doesn't want any of the king's men near the princess," Nathan said.

The men were getting ready to leave.

Marianne called out, "Wait!"

Nathan turned towards her, but said nothing.

"May I please have some more water, I am feeling very warm," she asked in a polite but stern tone.

He then turned to the soldier and said, "Go on, I will catch up with you."

"Yes, sir," The soldier replied and then flew out of the room.

Nathan went to the table and poured her a goblet of water and then walked over to the cell and gave it to Marianne. Because her hands were tied she had to hold the goblet with both hands. The look on Nathan's face softened a bit as he watched Marianne drink. As before she gulped the entire goblet down.

"Thank you," she said still in a slightly gruff voice.

"You are looking a little pale. Are you feeling alright, Princess?" He asked in a concerned tone.

Even though she wasn't sure if his concern was genuine or not, she answered in a more calm tone, "I am just a little nauseous."

"There's fruit here, you want something to eat?" He asked.

"No, thank you. The way I feel, I don't think I will keep it down."

"Well, lie down and rest then."

Marianne nodded, but she was puzzled why he was suddenly nice to her. She said, "I noticed your demeanor change when I said I wasn't feeling well."

"Well unlike my brother Daniel or Roland, I really don't have any beef with you. I...I …" he said but cut himself short.

Marianne felt he was going to say something important and she asked, "Do you know something? When you spoke with Roland before...Is he planning to badly hurt me?...Or even kill me?

"I don't know what he plans to do, I just know he hates you with a passion. All he ever talks about was getting even with you and your family."

"I can see it in your face, you are not fully happy with this arrangement with Roland. Are you?"

Suddenly the look on Nathan's face became more stern. He shook his head and said, "No no, I can't say any more. I already said too much."

Nathan then turned, opened his wings and flew out the door. When they were gone Marianne called out to Bog, but there was no answer. However, she could see his chest expand and contract, so he was still alive, but knocked out. She looked over the rest of his body and then she noticed his damaged rear wing. It was slightly fractured with the leading edge bent. She was concerned if it affected his flying, but he must have been able to fly to have found her.

Marianne waited in the front corner of her cell closest to Bog and she would call his name every now and then in the hopes that he would wake up. All the while she was also hoping that if he knew where she was, then maybe so would others. Perhaps her father knew and another rescue team would follow. Hopefully they would be more successful and free both herself and Bog. She felt a bit better after having something drink, but she still felt tired. She looked over to the bed and laid down on it. Since it was made of half a tree branch, the solid wood bed was uncomfortable. There was only a small mushroom on the end that served as some comfort as a pillow. She laid her head down on it, but kept her eye on Bog.

Soon her eyes felt heavy and she closed them. She thought about how happy they were together the other night when he gave her the engagement ring. She looked down to her ring finger at the spot where the ring sat. However, the ring wasn't on her for she taken it off prior to battle and she put it in safe keeping. She was afraid the ring would have been damaged or even lost in battle, and she didn't want to risk that. She just stared at the empty spot on her left ring finger and could see the outline the ring created on her finger. As she longed to see the ring on her finger again and then she slowly drifted off to sleep.

What seemed like only a few moments that had passed, suddenly Marianne awakened to water being splashed in her face.

"What the…!" She exclaimed as she came to.

"Wake up Mare, I want you to see this," Roland said has he had his outstretched arm in her cell and he was holding a goblet.

When Marianne rubbed the water from her eyes she looked over to the table where Bog was. He was still unconscious, but Daniel, Nathanial, and another large soldier were standing on chairs around the large table that Bog was bound to. Roland took a chair brought it over to table.

Marianne's eyes flew open wide as she jumped up, ran to the front of the cell and pushed her face up against the bars.

"What on earth are you all doing?" she said in a deep angered tone.

Roland said, "We weren't able to find your father as of yet, but we got your scaly backed cockroach boyfriend."

"What are you going to do to him?"

"Since I couldn't get to you by cutting your face, I figured I can get to you another way," He said. "Let's de-wing the beast fellas!"

"Finally!" Daniel said as he grabbed one of Bog's forewings.

A feeling of horror filled Marianne as she tried to thrust her hand forward through the bars of the cell, but being tied together she couldn't do so.

"NO! NO! NO!" She screamed out. "Please no!"

"Ahhhh, I see I have a reaction out of you now. Nice to see you suffer for once," Roland said.

"Me suffer? Whatever have I done to you?"

Roland approached Marianne's cell and brought his face close to hers. He slammed his hands up against the bars and she jumped back.

"You ruined my life, Mare! If you hadn't been poking around and frolicking in the field on our wedding day, everything would have went to my plan. You ruined everything and then I end up spending loosing my freedom for over five months?" he said and then shook his head side to side. "No, I am sorry, you are going to have to pay for that."

Marianne started to feel herself get even warmer as she started to become more angry with the poor excuse Roland gave her.

Marianne held her finger up to him and said, "You cheated on me and were caught. You are the one that put your hands around my throat when my father threw you in jail. This is all your own doing. The only thing I did wrong was fall in love with you. You never loved me in return. All you ever wanted was my father's throne and his army."

"Yeah, and then you get back at me by going out with this monster?" he asked.

"No. You had nothing to do with that. We just fell in love," Marianne answered as she slowly approached the bars again.

"Well, let's see if you still love him without his wings. Will you still love him when he can't carry you. I know you love that, huh?"

"Yes, I still will love him, I always will. Unlike you, he has a good heart beating in his chest. A heart I will always love. You can't take that away from him."

"Sure I can. Just watch me!" Roland said as he scrunched his lips and then turned around to his men and said, "Alright, new plan fellas, draw your swords...Kill him and cut out his heart."

Danial grinned as he replied, "With pleasure."

"WHAT?!" Marianne blurted out as her eyes flew open wide.

He then turned to Marianne and sneered, "He can't love you anymore if he has no heart beating in his chest!"

The men began to draw their swords.

"No no! Stop! I will do anything. Please!" Marianne blurted out.

The feeling of nausea increased and she was feeling very warm and was beginning to perspire.

Roland put his hands up to halt the men.

"Alright, Alright. Well, there IS something you can do for me."

"Yes?"

"It seems my fly army has a bit of trouble getting through closed doors. Perhaps if I knew the whereabouts of where the soldiers are keeping your father, that will make it easier to capture him. So, if you tell me were your family is hiding in the castle, I will spare the life of this beast for you."

Marianne knew that when in danger, the lowest floors of the castle provided the best protection under an attack. The doors were smaller and thicker down there. Emergency food stores and quarters were down there. However, she didn't want to betray her family. So she had to make up something fast and something that was believable.

"I...I don't know. There are many good places. One is the back of ballroom."

Roland sneered as he said, "Not good enough, we are already in that far and he wasn't there."

Marianne's eyes widened at hearing the news that Roland managed to get that far into the castle. She quickly came up with a fib and hopefully Roland would buy it.

"Do I have your word that you are not going to kill Bog?"

"Yes, of course."

Marianne stuck her hand partly out of the cell and said, "Shake on it."

"Only if I believe you are telling me the truth."

She thought hard, but the only thing that came to her mind was a place that her father told her to never hide in the event of a battle as there is no way out. That was it...it was perfect!

She then said, "There is a secret room in his bedroom that is behind the closet. The entrance is hidden carefully. The door will not unlatch until you close the closet door behind you. It is a security measure as it only allows one person to enter at a time."

"Clever device," Roland said.

"I will tell you something else, provided I have your word that in addition to Bog, that my family will also be safe," she said.

"Sure, sure. I just want to capture your family and bring them here that is all I want to do for now. They will not be harmed, you will see them again."

"Okay, In that room is also our most valuable items. Take what you want, but don't harm my family," she said as she fibbed again. While it was true that the room contained money and jewels, by far the most valuable items were also kept in another safe room deep within the castle.

"Interesting. Alright, this is useful information. I will spare his life.'

"Promise?" she said as she again stuck her fingers through the bars.

Roland rubbed his chin and he took her hand and shook it. He gritted his teeth as he said, "I promise."

Marianne felt disgusted with herself for making a deal with Roland and then taking his awful hand and shaking on it. She breathed a sigh of relief as she reluctantly said, "Thank you."

The men standing over Bog had a puzzled look on their faces as to Roland's bargain with Marianne.

Roland turned to his men and said, "Men, back to the original plan, just de-wing him."

"WHAT!? Are you kidding me?" Marianne shouted. "I just gave you valuable information, you just promised he would be okay?"

"Wrong, Mare! I promised you that I will not kill him, he will live without his wings."

"But Why?!" Marianne yelled out.

Suddenly Marianne could feel a fire starting to brew within and she was losing control over her feelings as she was becoming angrier and angrier with each passing second.

"Well, how do I know you are really telling me the truth? You could be setting me up and I will fly into a trap."

"No! Damn it! I am telling the truth! I shook on it! You have the word and honor of the Farfalla family."

Roland looked at Marianne's face as if he was trying to read her expression.

"Hmmmm, I can't tell if you are telling me the truth or not. You sound genuine though."

Suddenly there was a groan from the table. Bog was coming to. Marianne's eyes fixed on his head and it was moving slightly.

"Bog! Wake up! Wake up!" She called out.

Roland then shouted, "Guys! Grab a wing and pull now before he fully wakes up."

Daniel grabbed the same wing he did before, his brother grabbed Bog's other forewing. The soldier grabbed his good hind wing and Roland grabbed a hold of his damaged wing.

"NO!" Marianne screamed out so loud her voice cracked.

The men gave his wings a good yank but they couldn't pull them free from Bog's body. But it must have hurt as Bog yelled out in pain.

"Stop now!" She yelled out. She began to breathe hard as she pulled on the bars. Her anger was returning in full force.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! What the hell is going on!" he grumbled as he came too.

"Again!" Roland called out.

They gave his wings another hard pull this time putting their feet on the table for leverage. There were some cracking sounds as if the wing bases were starting to give.

"Arrrrrrrrghhhhhhh!" Bog called out in pain.

Marianne could feel her heart pounding hard as she continued to yell out, "Stop this! Now!

Bog was writhing on the table and pulling as hard as he could on his restraints. The table under him was making groaning sounds. Bog was also trying to flap his wings in order to get them free. The strength in his wing muscles were actually knocking Roland's men off balance.

"Darn it! He is too strong!" Daniel exclaimed.

Roland drew his sword and said, "Ahhh, to heck with this, I am doing this the easy way. Just lean his wings forward men!"

The men each pulled each wing taut and pushed them forward. Roland put both hands around his sword and then swung towards the bases of Bog's wings.

Marianne screamed out as loud as she could, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

As Roland's swung his sword down, she couldn't watch and turned her head away and closed her eyes.

"Aarrrrrgghghhhhhhhh!" Bog screamed out."

Marianne couldn't open her eyes.

In a very gravely voice she heard Bog said, "Damn you all! You took away my flight, and you call me a monster! I will kill you for this, Roland! You are a COWARD! Instead of fighting me straight on, you do this to me! I will kill you all!

Marianne then heard the sound of vines straining and wood creaking as Bog was forcing himself free. She finally opened her eyes, Her eyes were fixed on Bog. He laid still bound to the table struggling to break free. Three of his wings wings were completely detached, the forth one was severed halfway where it was initially damaged.

She couldn't handle the wave of emotion that took her over, it was a combination of sadness, anger and hatred. She just slumped to the ground in horror at what she saw. Her Bog's face had a look of death in his eyes as he didn't take his eyes off Roland. She quickly glanced at Roland and while he had a smirk on his face, she could see he had fear in his eyes. There was no doubt that Roland just signed his own death warrant, it was only a matter of time until her Bog would get a hold of him. Anger was growing within her as she was breathing hard and pictured Roland being torn apart piece by piece with her fiancé's powerful claws on his huge hands. Her hands grasped the bars tightly. She scrunched her face tightly as she lowered her brow and bared her teeth as she looked to Roland.

The soldier that was with them said, "Oh man Roland, I never seen her look that pissed off before."

The vines were holding Bog down were making straining sounds and the ones holding his arms were beginning to fray.

"What are you worried for? She's in a cell, she can't do anything." Roland said. "Worry about this guy. These vines aren't going to hold him much longer, quick, carry the whole table into the cell."

The men jumped down and all three with Roland, managed to carry the table with Bog still on it into the first cell adjacent to Marianne. As he was struggling, the vine holding his right hand was beginning to fray, strand by strand it started to snap.

"Yes, free yourself, Hon!" Marianne shouted.

"He's getting loose!" Roland called out.

The men just got out of the cell in time as the two arm straps holding Bog's wrists snapped free from the vines. Bog tried to turn around and lunge at Roland, of whom was the last one out. His finger tip just caught the edge of his hood but it tore loose. Roland managed to get out of the cell and slammed the cell door shut behind him.

"Ugghhhhhh!" Bog grunted. He pointed to him and in a seething voice said, "I am going to get you for taking my wings and hurting my Marianne."

"Ha! You missed me! Na Na Na Na." he said as he rocked his waist side to side mocking Bog.

Marianne snarled at Roland's little victory dance. His immature action was making her more sick than she already was.

"Coward! Fight me like a man! I'll still take you down even with no wings!" Bog shouted.

Roland just smirked as he said, "Ahhhh, revenge is so sweet."

Marianne looked to Bog's now wingless back and it was bleeding a bit. She thought of her lover not being able fly again was fueling the rage within her. She was so angry she wanted to tear Roland apart herself. She had never felt such a rage within her before. She could feel the beads of sweat forming on her brow as she was heating up inside, her anger building moment by moment. She then looked to Roland and her ears moved slightly back.

She then jumped forward and pressed her face into the bars and growled, "You are going to regret this. I will kill you myself!"

Roland jumped back and said, "Shut up, Mare! Unless you want me to remove your wings too."

"You are not going to get near me. Let's see how big you talk if these bars weren't here. Let me out and let's fight!" Marianne said. She then growled loudly and violently shook the bars. "Ggrrrrrrrrrrrughhh!"

"Man up for once and fight her, or are you too scared she will kick your butt." Bog said. "I would enjoy watching her tear you apart limb from limb!"

"No, but all the same, you both are in there and I am out here."

"Coward!" Both Bog and Marianne shouted together aloud.

Roland backed up even more. The soldier that was with them actually flew back. Marianne looked over to him and showed her teeth and his eyes widened. He then looked over to Bog. She glanced over to Bog and he too showed his teeth. He looked very frightening to her. She then looked back to the intimidated soldier.

"Ummm, guys, I have to go," he said as he nervously looked back to her.

Roland turned to him and said, "Hold on there, we are not done yet."

"Sorry sir, but I mean I have to go," he said as he started to cross his legs together.

"Oh! Well, go then," Roland said.

The soldier flew off out the door as fast as he could.

Roland then looked to the ground and said to Daniel, "Destroy those wings now."

"Yes sir," Daniel said as he bent down and gathered up the wings.

Bog said, "Don't listen to him if you know what is good for you. You do it and I will come after you too."

For a moment the anger subsided in Marianne as she said to Bog, "Rachel could probably reattach them for you."

Bog nodded in agreement as he said, "I'm counting on that."

Daniel suddenly stopped in his tracks as he looked Bog in the face. The smirk he had on his face slowly fell away.

"That's right. You save the wings, you keep your life," Bog said.

Roland said, "Don't let this fool sway you. He can't come after you without wings."

The smirk slowly returned to Daniel's face and the then took to wing carrying Bog's wings with him.

"Daniel!" Bog shouted to him, but he was already gone.

Marianne looked back to Roland and the anger built up within her even more, as she started to snarl, her ears folded back all the way to the side of her head.

"Damn woman, you are just as like an animal as he is," he said as he pointed to Bog.

She grasped the bars of the cell tighter and tighter. She grabbed the bars so tight that her hands began to shake from the anger built up inside her. Her hands shaking the bars could be heard.

"You're damn right I am. And I am totally pissed off. Just wait until I get out of here," she said in a deep husky voice. "Just you wait, Roland!"

"Ha ha" Roland said as he tried to force a laugh, but Marianne could see he was a nervous.

He continued, "Yeah, good luck with that, Mare."

Roland turned around and joined the brothers by the entrance to the dungeon. She could see Daniel giving Nathan a key. They were mincing some words and Marianne turned her head to try and hear what they were saying. She could barely make out what they were saying.

In a low voice she could hear Nathan say, "But Gregory supposed to be on watch, I wanted to go back to the palace with you guys."

Roland then said, "There was a change in plan. I assigned Gregory elsewhere."

"Why?" Daniel asked.

"I am not one hundred percent sure he could be trusted here alone with them."

"Gregory said he was with us all the way," Daniel said.

"I am not sure, there was an incident with Rachel and her loyalty to us has been swayed."

"You think Gregory might side with her."

"It might be, so I assigned him elsewhere to be on the safe side." Roland said.

"Where?" Daniel asked.

Just then Roland looked back towards the cells and yelled, "Hey! Mind your own business!"

Marianne just snarled even more.

"Guys, let's talk elsewhere," Roland said and they all walked out of the room together.

As Marianne turned to look at Bog, her face was still contorted from her anger. But as soon as he looked to her face, his anger faded and he even smirked a little when he looked at her. She relaxed her face and her ears went to their normal position.

He said, "You look awesome when you are angry like that. So fierce. I love a fierce woman and you, my dear, are as fierce as they come."

She then looked to his wingless back. Suddenly her face softened and her eyes glistened as she said, "Your wings. You must be so upset."

His eyes locked on to hers and he said in a dark voice, "Yes, I am…In all my years, despite everything my wings and I been through, I never though that I would lose them like this in such a distasteful and dishonorable act."

"That is because Roland is a coward, he knows he doesn't stand a chance fighting you alone. You would tear him apart with those big strong hands of yours," Marianne said.

He looked down to his hands for a moment, sighed and then continued, "I am nothing without my wings, my dear. How am I going to protect you without my wings? How can I even think I can be a suitable husband for you, when I can't protect you?"

Marianne softened the look on her face as she said, "Oh, my love, please don't think that way. You know I will never leave your side. Wings or not, I will always love you."

Bog smiled a bit and he said, "Thank you. I will always love you too."

He just sat there with an angered, but shamed look on his face. All Marianne wanted to do right now was was be near the man she loved. She approached the inside bars to Bog's cell and pushed her hands though them as far as she could as they were still tied together. She could feel her anger fade away to sadness.

"Please, if you are not too upset, I want to hold you," she said.

Bog smirked a bit as he said, "Alright."

Bog then grabbed the ankle shackles around his legs and gave them several good yanks and they they slowly started to break free.

"Arrghhhh!" He yelled out as he tore the final vine from this legs.

He immediately jumped down from the table and tried to put his arms through the bars to embrace Marianne, but he could only go as far as his forearms as they grew thicker at his elbows and they wouldn't fit all the way through the bars. She pressed herself against the bars as much as she could, but the bindings on her wrists kept her from getting her hands through the bars. She looked down to them and Bog's eyes followed.

"Let me help you out of that," he said as he pointed to the bindings on her wrists.

Marianne held her hands up to the bars and Bog reached through with his long fingers. Since the bindings were just leather and vines, he was able to pick it it with his long fingernails and eventually they started to fray and tear. She then gave her arms a good twist and the bindings just snapped.

"Oh, that feels good to be out that," she said as she rubbed her wrists from them being on her so long.

"Let me free your wings too," he said.

She turned around and her wings were just tied with a vine and it was easily undone.

"Thank you," she said as she momentarily opened her wings to stretch them and then she folded them again.

Now Marianne was able to put her arms through the bars. Her slender forearms easily fit through the bars. Her upper arms were more of a snug fit, but she managed to get them through as well. She then wrapped as much of her arms as she could around Bog and pulled him close. She held him tight with one hand and the other she ran up and down the back of his neck.

He closed his eyes and started to breathe heavy. He whispered, "Ohhhhh. Oh, that feels good."

Marianne knew that her touch was comforting him and it made her smile.

Bog moved his left arm up and she could feel his large hand just wrap around the back of her head. She pressed her head back into his hand. His other hand went around her waist. His gentle touch was very soothing and suddenly a content feeling just fell over her body like a refreshing waterfall on a hot day. She closed her eyes.

"Mmmmmmmm Yessss," she called out. "I love your hands, you can touch me all day with these hands of yours."

Bog lowered his head down and Marianne moved her hands to his face and held it. He too had a similar reaction.

"Oh, your long soft fingers. They are so beautiful," he said.

Marianne pulled his face closer to the bars and then put her hands on his shoulders and continued to pull him closer and into the bars. They then brought their faces close together. While the space between the bars were narrow. Bog's chin was narrow as well and he managed to squeeze part of it through the bars. Marianne got the message and knew he wanted to kiss her. She got up on her tip toes and cocked her head to one side. As awkward as the position was with her face pressed against the bars, it was sheer bliss to be able to touch her lips to his. She closed her eyes and just let her feelings go.

Bog was very gentle, but passionate as he held her head and proceeded to push his tongue into her mouth.

"Hmmmmmmmmmmm," Marianne hummed as it felt so good.

She then returned his gesture and pushed her tongue into his mouth and intertwined his tongue with hers. Their tongues danced a nice soft dance together in his mouth. She began to run the tip of her tongue under his and he moaned loudly.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmm!"

They slowly parted lips. She just continued to stare into his eyes. It was like magic, she was no longer upset or angry, she was just very happy to be with him and share a special moment with him.

"You have such an amazing way to make anything that bothers me go away with just a kiss," she said.

"It is amazing how you can kiss like that. Your kiss is what I live for. It is all I have left now that I can't fly," he said as he held her chin in his hand.

Marianne was nearly to tears at her fiancé's kind words. For a flighted being to loose that ability was a horror she couldn't begin to comprehend. She took his hand and began kissing the palm of it.

Bog said, "He is playing a very unfair game. Instead of fighting us honorably, he choses to gain the advantage through deceit and cheating."

She took his hand in hers and said, "That is what he is, Hon. He's a dirty rotten cheater. He will do anything to gain the advantage, that is with status, money, women and even life."

"I hope you didn't give him vital information just before?" Bog asked.

She sighed as she said, "Some of it was true, but I wasn't going to tell him where my family is hiding in the palace. You know I will not betray my own family."

"Of course."

"Bog, my love. I am afraid that if he finds out they are not there, he is going to go back on his word and attempt kill you, touting that I tricked him."

Bog nodded in agreement and he said, "Well then, let's see if we can find a way out of here before he gets back."

"I know I am in the Dark Forest, but where is here exactly?"

"You are not going to believe this, but this is my dungeon."

"What?" Marianne replied in disbelief.

"Yes, this is just one of three cell blocks that is to the rear and partially under my castle."

"I don't get it, why would Roland chose this place? I would think that would be very stupid especially so close, with your goblins just above." Marianne said. "He would easily get caught."

"Well, it isn't so stupid if you really think about it. This clearly would be the last place anyone would think to look especially since everyone knows it isn't finished yet," Bog said. "It is also unguarded. So, he must have been keeping an eye on this place somehow. Most likely through the brothers. The night of the Gala ball I mentioned my unfinished dungeon in front of Danial and Nathaniel. Then there was the time when they were gone. I bet they probably came down here and then when we sent them back to your palace, they relayed that information to Roland."

Marianne nodded in agreement and then said, "Well, since you are here, I take it that you somehow found Stumpy."

Bog replied, "Stumpy found me actually."

"Were you able to understand him?"

"For the most part, yes. He also led me here to you."

Marianne shook her head and said, "I owe so much to that spider. He brought us back together."

"Yes, he seems to be a special spider. Now I am glad you talked me into saving him."

"See! A good deed was rewarded." She paused for a moment and wiped her hand across her brow and said, "Goodness it is hot in here!"

Bog replied, "Not really, but I can see you are sweating. Are you feeling well?"

"No. I have been feeling nauseous ever since I was put down here."

She noticed that when she wiped her brow, her fingers were red.

Bog had a puzzled look on his face as he reached forward with his finger and touched the bridge of her nose. He pulled his finger back and showed her the drop of blood on his finger.

"You are bleeding slightly."

"Yeah, I can see that."

Marianne reached up to the cut by her mouth and when she pulled her finger away there was blood on it too.

"Hmmmmm, that's odd, this should be healing by now. Not starting up again," she said. "Perhaps it is related to why I am not feeling well."

"Well, lets find a way out of here. I am hoping that someone may have some information on the whereabouts of Rachel or Sugar Plum by now, and either one should have a look at you."

"Yes."

Bog grabbed his cell door and gave it a few hard yanks, but it wasn't budging.

"Well, getting out of here is going to be easier said than done. These cells are my own design and I tested it myself and with some of my largest and strongest goblins," he said. He paused for a bit, then looked to her and continued. "By the way, did you manage to overhear anything what they were saying by the door. I could tell they gave Nathan a key."

"Yes, I did. Roland assigned Nathan to be on watch. Nathan said, it was supposed to be Gregory, but plans changed. Something that had to do with Rachel."

"Rachel? Did they say where she might be?"

"No, they only said something about not being clear about where she stands loyalty wise."

"Hmmmm, so that means she is on Roland's side now?"

"I am not sure. It might be better to find Sugar Plum first, she would never betray my father."

Bog nodded and said, "I agree."

"So what is the plan?"

"Well, If Nathan is keeping watch, he has a key. So if one of us gets out of here, clocks him over the head and takes his key to get the other out, then we go out the door and go left. There is a passage that leads up to my castle. From there we can tell my goblins what's going on and we come back and apprehend Roland and his men."

"Okay. That sounds good, but now one of us has to get out."

"Yes, Now look around your door or the bars, see if you find anything odd," he said as he started to look over his door and how it mounted to the frame. Marianne surmised that he was looking for some weakness that he might be able to exploit. She too started to look at her door, but being not familiar with jail cell design, she really didn't know what to look for.

After a few moments, he came over to the bars on Marianne's side and he looked over to the door on her cell. Then she noticed something caught his eye, he quickly looked back and forth between his cell door and hers.

"What is it, Hon? You see something?"

"Yes, actually. Remember when I said that the dungeon wasn't complete?"

"Yes."

"The top part of the door frame on your cell is missing the top bar," He said as he pointed to the top of her door.

He then pointed to his door and his had the bar in place and continued to explain, "The top bar prevents the door from being lifted off its hinges in the closed position. Without that bar in place, the door can be easily unhinged."

Marianne looked at the hinges on her door and noticed that they were just simple pin and eyelet hinges. All she had to do was to lift the door up to clear the top of the pin. However the doors looked massive and heavy being made part metal and part wood.

She said in a sarcastic tone, "Easily, huh? You think I can lift this door?"

"Yes, I believe so."

Bog moved forward and put his hands on the bars next to Marianne's cell right under a cross plate.

He said, "Grab the bars under the cross plate like this and try to lift the door up."

She looked at the massive metal and wood door and she firmly grasped the bars. She clearly doubted that she would be able to budge the massive door.

"Go ahead, try to lift it."

As Marianne pulled up on the door, Bog's attention immediately turned to her arms. The muscles on her shoulders and upper arms flexed considerably and her upper arms became thicker.

"More!"

"Uhhhhhhhhhhh!" Marianne called out as she pulled up on the door again. She then let go and said, "It isn't budging."

"Try crouching down and extend your arms fully, then use your legs to push up."

She complied and got into position. She then pushed up on the cross bar. Her shoulder muscles became very pronounced. He could see lines of definition showing through skin. While he knew this wasn't the time or place to be checking her out, he just couldn't help but admire the strength she had and how beautiful her arms looked as they strained against the heavy door.

"Push more!" He said. "Get angry!"

"I'm trying!" She exclaimed. "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhgggghhhhh!"

The door made a groaning sound and it moved slightly up. Marianne looked down to her legs. They were shaking. She was becoming very warm and could feel beads of perspiration roll down from her brow.

"Keep going!", Bog urged.

Marianne scrunched her face up and then let out a loud grunt, "Uhhhhh!"

After another loud groan, the door moved up again. It was now halfway up the pins. But Marianne could feel she was was rapidly tiring and now her arms were beginning to shake too. She was also breathing very hard. The door was clearly more weight than she could handle.

"I can't!" She shouted and then let go and let the door slam back down.

Angry and frustrated she slammed her hands into the door and then pull on the bars. She yelled out, "Damn it! I'm just not strong enough."

Bog shook his head and said, "It's alright. Rest up a bit and then try again."

Marianne shook her head as she turned to face him and said, "I can't. It is too heavy, you seen yourself."

"I saw you had it lifted up halfway. I think you can do it."

Marianne shook her head and then looked at the space under the door and that gave her an idea. She replied, "Well, if I had some kind of pole, perhaps I could wedge it under the door and…

Bog immediately knew what she needed and he completed her sentence with her as they said together, "...create some leverage."

"Good thinking, my dear!" Bog said.

She looked around and said, "But there is nothing in here I can use."

Bog turned around and looked at the table he was bound to. He looked it over and said, "I think ripping a leg off this table will get what you need."

With one hand he flipped the table upside down. Marianne's eyes widened at her lover's strength as he tossed the heavy table over with ease. He began to throw his weight into one of the legs.

"Uhhhh! Uhhhh! Uuhh!" He grunted with each push.

The table appeared to be built stronger than he thought as the leg was barely moving. After a few more tries, Bog stood up straight and shook his head.

"Oh no!" Marianne said. "What now?"

Bog was breathing heavy too as he said, "No, no no. Don't worry, I have another idea."

Bog moved the upturned table and placed it against the edge of the bed in the room. He then walked to the opposite end and positioned his back against the door of his cell and then he grabbed the leg with both of his feet. He then tried to extend his body, using his legs.

"Arrrrrggghhhh!" he called out loudly.

Marianne looked at the table leg and it was moving much more than when Bog was trying to pull on it with his hands. Soon, there was a loud groan and then a pop and the table leg moved considerably.

Bog called out as he pushed hard, "Uhhhhhhhhhhhharrrrghhhhhh!

There was another loud pop and Marianne could see the spot where leg was bolted to the table just split open. Then there was loud splintering sound and then the leg gave way. He then pulled hard with his right leg and pulled the table leg off.

Marianne smiled as she admired her lover's strength. She said, "Wow! You're so strong and I love that you have an extra pair of hands for your feet."

He flipped the table leg with his foot and and caught it with his hand and then handed the table leg through the bars to her and said, "Thank You. You're pretty darn strong yourself."

"You're Welcome," she said with a smile.

However, the act of smiling led to a warm feeling right were her cut was near her lip. She just reached up and wiped it away.

Bog noticed and asked "I see you are still bleeding."

As she rammed the table leg under the door frame she said, "Yeah, I don't know why."

"We will get you checked out," he said as he shook his head. He looked down to the lever that Marianne just created and he continued, "Ok, give that a shot, use your legs."

Marianne straddled the table leg and crouched down. She curled her hands under the table leg and straightened her arms. She then pushed her legs down while pulling up on the table leg.

"Uhhhhhhhhhh!" she called out.

The door groaned and slowly lifted up.

"Harder!" Bog called out.

"Arrrrrrghhhhh!"

There was another groan and the door slowly slid upwards more.

"You're doing it, my dear!"

Marianne looked down to her arms and noticed that her forearm veins were bulging. Since she was very warm her arms also glistened from perspiration. Again her legs began to shake.

She thought to herself, 'C'mon Marianne. You can do this!'

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" she called out as she gave the table leg a good yank.

The door emitted one more loud groan and then it slid a bit more up.

Bog hummed loudly as he looked to her. The look on his face was of desire.

"What Hon?"

"You look good, you're arms look amazing."

His praise was motivating her and she scrunched her nose and the gave the lever one more good pull, but she had another idea. She remembered the day she participated in that tug-of-war and realized her wings were stronger than her legs. So she opened her wings and flapped them hard as she pushed up with her legs.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" she called out.

The door immediately slid the rest of the way up. It then became unhinged and fell forward to the floor with a loud bang.

Marianne dropped the wooden leg and thrust her arms in the air and shouted, "I did it! Yessss!"

Bog grinned as clapped his hands and said, "That's my tough girl. ...Your wings and your muscles are so beautiful!"

"Awww, thank you... Tough guy." she said.

"You're Welcome!" Bog answered also smiling.

Marianne then flexed her arms for him and opened her wings wide.

"Oh, don't be doing that now, love. You know what that will do to me."

"I know!" she said as she laughed. She then folded her wings.

The smile then left Bog's face as he looked at the door on the floor. He continued, "I am sure that is going to attract some attention. Now you have to get the key from Nathan to open my door."

Marianne picked up the leg from the floor with her left hand and started to lightly hit the inside of her right hand with it.

She looked towards the doorway and said, "I believe this key is universal."

Bog laughed as he said, "You read my mind. Now we just have to wait until Nathan walks in that door and you pop him good."

There was a noise that came from the doorway.

"Speak of the demon, that is probably him now," Bog said.

Marianne ran over to the door with the piece of wood in her hand and she leaned up against the wall. She was wondering how much force should she use to Nathan with. She didn't want to accidentally kill him as she remembered that he gave her water and there was that look on his face. Perhaps he could be swayed back to her side. As the footsteps came closer and closer. She momentarily closed her eyes. The figure then entered the room and his backside was now facing her.

She took her swing, but when she heard the voice of the person that entered, she regret that she didn't swing harder.

"What in the blazes is going on here!" the voice spoke and it was Roland.

Marianne was in mid swing as he turned around and the end of the table leg caught him in a glancing blow to the chin rather than the back of the head. Everything went in slow motion as the wooden leg met his face. He stumbled a bit and fell into the table. When he raised his head up his eyes contacted hers.

"What the...YOU!" He shouted as he rubbed his chin. "How the heck did you get out?"

He was ready to say something else, but at this point Marianne only had one thing on her mind...Swing again right towards his face, but twice as hard this time. But as she swung, he quickly reached out his hand and lunged forward. He moved his head to the side dodging her swing and then he grabbed a hold of her wrist with one hand and pulled the table leg out of her hand with his other hand.

"Nooo!" she heard Bog shout.

But despite having been relieved of her weapon, her other hand was free she made a fist and reached back and thrust forward with all her might. She aimed for his forehead and hoped that her blow would be strong enough to knock him out.

Wham! Her fist hit his head, knocking him back, but not knocking him out. He just stumbled back into the table again. But the good news was that he let go of her wrist. She immediately took to wing and hovered over him and got both her fists out in front of her. Roland was a bit dazed as he got back to his feet. As he looked to face her, it became apparent that she did more damage than she thought for she split the skin on his forehead and he was starting to bleed. As he was coming to, Marianne was slowly hovering to the area where the cells were.

"Damn you!" He said as he reached for his sword.

"No, no. No sword," Marianne said. "A fair hand fight. It's simple, I knock you out, I take your key and Bog and I leave. You knock me out, I go back to my cell."

"Are you kidding me, right? One punch to the head and it is lights out for you, Mare."

"Well, you have nothing to lose then," she said as she got into a fighter's stance.

"Alright," he said.

He tossed his sword aside and it landed on the floor near the doorway. As he got into a fighting stance, Marianne realized that he still had the advantage. He was wearing full armor and she wasn't. But, that also meant he would move slower than she.

Marianne took to wing to get above the table that was in the middle of the room. Roland did too and for a while the two just looked into each other eyes as they circled the table. She was trying to anticipate his first move. She moved forward a bit and her foot clipped one of the goblets on the table knocking it over. She looked down for a second to look at it and then Roland lunged forward, throwing his fist at her. She quickly dodged to the side and he missed her and went a bit passed her original position. Seeing this, she knew that the armor was definitely weighing him down. She set him up again and made like she was moving in, but then pulled back. He swung again and missed. But as he turned around, Marianne moved forward and threw her fist to the side of his head. It connected with a thud.

"Got him!" Bog yelled excitedly as he shook his fist.

"Owww!" Roland called out as he retreated a bit towards the cells holding the side of his face. He checked his hand to see that he wasn't bleeding. "You certainly don't hit like a girl."

Marianne smirked at his remark feeling good that even he admits she is strong.

Bog watched as Marianne set Roland up again. He could see her pattern and it was a good one. With all the lunging and recovering Roland was doing and Marianne on defense, he knew Roland would wear himself out quickly. But by the fourth time Marianne connected with Roland, he got wise to her moves. On the next set up, he made like he was going to set up with his right hand, but quickly swung with his left and connected with Marianne's right temple.

"Uhhhhhhhh!" she yelped and ended up landing on the floor stumbling a bit.

Roland stayed airborne and swooped down at her cocking his fist back. Marianne flew upwards and raised her arm to block. His fist hit her upper arm and hard.

"Owwwww!" she called out. "Uhhhhhhh!

Bog could tell Marianne was getting very angry as she held her arm. But then Roland made her even more angry by taunting her. He moved closer to her and said, "Awwwww, the warrior princess got hurt? Tsk tsk. Little girls shouldn't play soldier. That's a man's job."

Then her brow lowered, her nose wrinkled and she started to show her teeth. Bog smiled as he knew that when Marianne got that angry, she became very determined, when she got determined, she was more accurate.

She didn't cock her fist back when Roland approached her, but as he was getting ready to hit her again, she suddenly came with an uppercut to his chin and and he flew backwards falling flat onto the table.

"HA!" Bog yelled out.

Again she didn't knock him out, but he was a bit dazed and he closed his eyes for a moment.

Marianne noticed that her breathing was getting heavier and heavier. She remembered faux fighting with Bog for close to an hour before needing to catch her breath. She has only been fighting Roland for about ten minutes and she was already breathing hard. Her arm hurt badly and she quickly glanced at it. Just above the elbow was starting to turn red.

She heard Bog anxiously call out, "Hit him again! Knock him out while he is down!"

Marianne lunged forward, but as she started to swoop down on him he opened his eyes and raised both his legs and kicked his feet forward. Both of his boots planted firmly into Marianne's abdomen. In the last second she tried to make her abdomen as taut as possible to absorb the blow.

'Wham!' The impact nearly knocked the wind out of her and sent her upwards towards the ceiling. Roland flew up off the table and lunged for her, but she flew backwards and was nearly sideways when she took another shot at the side of Roland's face. It was another solid hit as she caught the side of his lip. His head cocked to the side from the blow.

"Yes!" Bog shouted as he clenched his fists. "That's my tough girl!"

Marianne looked to Bog and smiled, but that was a mistake. Suddenly she felt Roland grab her foot and pull her down. She tried to pull herself free, but he then hooked his legs under the table top and twisted her sideways. Her wings twisted too and she started to fall out of the air. He then grabbed her other foot and then he jumped on the table knocking a few goblets off of it and he started to spin her around. Marianne tried to orient herself and open up her wings, but he spun her around faster. Given the way she was feeling, the spinning was making her very nauseous.

She could hear Bog say, "Let her go!"

Roland replied, "Okay."

He released her feet and Marianne found herself flying across the room. She quickly opened her wings in an attempt to break the fall, but then she saw the cell bars coming right at her. She slammed hard into them and then slumped to the floor on her stomach. Her legs and her hands took the brunt of the impact. She was breathing very hard and didn't know how much longer she could keep it up.

She heard Bog call out, "No! No! Marianne get up!"

Marianne pushed herself up from the floor, but her arms were shaking.

"Look at you with all your muscles, all show and no go. Give up now," Roland said as he put his foot on her back and pushed her back down to the floor.

"Uhhhhhh!"

As warm as she was, suddenly Marianne began to feel hot and this fueled an anger with in her and she started to snarl again. Her heavy breathing subsided a bit and she felt that she was getting a second wind. turned to face Roland showing him her snarling face.

"Oh, not done yet, huh?" Roland taunted. "Now the little animal is coming out to play?"

Marianne didn't answer him. She just made two fists with her hands and started to get to her feet, but instead of allowing her to get fully up, he lunged at her again. She cocked her left arm back to get ready to hit him, but he was already swinging at her. In the last moment she opened her hand up and thrust her arm forward locking her elbow.

'Wham!' A stinging sensation ran from her finger tips all the way up her arm. But she managed to stop his fist cold.

"What the...?" Roland had a surprised look on his face.

Her breathing became harder, and she snarled even more. She tried to push his hand back, but couldn't. However he had trouble pushing his fist forward too.

"How the heck..." he started to say.

She tightened her grip on his hand and then swung around with her right fist and she swung with all her might. She caught him in the temple. He began to stumble backwards. She then flew and came at him with both fists. First the left hit his forehead in the same place where she hit him before and the right got him in the temple again. She noticed that she split the skin there too.

He fell back on the table, everything else on the table flew off except for one goblet and a few leaf napkins. He moved his head side to side. Again he was in a daze. But this time she wasn't going to let him come too. She flew up on the table and grabbed a hold of his neck and drew her right fist back. He grasped her arm in an attempt to pull it off his neck. She could feel he was succeeding in removing her hand.

"Rrrrrrrrahhhhhhhhh!" She called out as she slammed her fist right into his nose. She could feel something crunching under her knuckles and at first she was worried she might have broke her own fingers.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Roland called out.

When she pulled her fist back she wiggled her fingers and saw that her hand was fine. She looked to Roland and noticed that his nose looked a bit misshapen.

Roland's hands slipped off her arm and she saw his eyes roll back in his head and his hands collapsed down on to the table.

"YES!" Marianne called out as she shook both fists in the air as she landed in front of the table and faced Bog. "I did it! I think I knocked him out! I also think I broke his nose!"

Bog seemed very happy as he yelled out, "Yeah! Yeah! That's my warrior queen!"

When he said, 'queen', a joy came over Marianne and she looked to him and said, "Queen?"

Then she saw the smile wipe away from her lover's face as he called out, "Marianne! Watch out!"

She quickly turned around to find Roland lunging forward, swinging his hand at her, but it wasn't empty, he was holding one of the metal goblets. Her eyes grew wide as she quickly started to fly off to the side. While he missed hitting her with the goblet, his body slammed into hers and she found herself on the ground in front of the far cell. His body was halfway on top of hers, pinning her down. When she looked up to see if there was something to grab a hold off, she noticed the table leg that Roland took from her earlier.

Roland had her legs pinned down and he rose up on his knees. It was now that she got a good look at his face. He was bleeding from his nose now, and with all other spots she hit him earlier, he had blood all over his face. He reached up and touched his nose. It was slightly flat in the middle.

"You demon woman. You broke my beautiful nose! Oh! You are going to pay for that."

He thrust his left hand forward and wrapped his fingers around her neck. He raised his other hand holding the goblet and it looked like he was aiming for her face.

Bog called out, "Roland you bastard! You are not fighting fair! She said hands only!"

Roland looked back and said, "She broke my nose, so I am going to break hers!"

At that moment, Marianne took the opportunity to reach for the table leg while Roland had his head turned to Bog, looking away from her. Instead of pulling the leg forward, she broke into a swing. When his face turned back to her, the table leg hit him right in the side of the mouth. His lips parted and something white flew out and into Marianne's cell. She apparently knocked another tooth out of his mouth.

As Roland started to fall backwards, she got up and lunged forward and gave him a good shove into the table behind him. The back of his head hit the edge of the table and he slumped down to the floor like a lifeless rag doll.

By now Marianne had her mouth open and was panting. She was completely out of breath and perspiring heavily. She grabbed one of the napkins that was resting on a chair and wiped her face dry. She looked at the napkin and there was some blood on it. It was clear that her cuts were not healing properly. She just dabbed the napkin over her face to wipe away any blood that was on her face.

Again Bog smiled and clapped his hands.

Marianne said, "I am not sure celebrating is a good idea. He might wake up again."

"No, I think you got him this time. That was a good whack to the mouth AND the back of his head."

She smiled as she pointed to her cell and said, "Did you see that? I think I knocked another tooth out."

"Indeed! I saw it fly in there." Bog said, he then paused for a bit and continued, "See if you can find the key on him. I wouldn't be surprise all the noise you two made attracted some attention."

Marianne looked around on Roland's body and she managed to find the key in a small pouch on his belt.

"Got it!" She said as she smiled and held it up to show Bog.

"Ok, now please let me out," Bog said.

As Marianne stood up, she noticed that the nauseous feeling came back. She coughed a couple times.

Bog said, "I think whatever you have is getting worse."

"Yeah, I don't feel well at all," she said as she held her stomach.

Marianne started to walk towards Bog's jail cell to let him out when all of a sudden a voice called out.

"Not so fast, Princess!"

Marianne looked and standing by the cell block entrance was Daniel. She fumbled with the key, trying to get it in the lock, when Daniel said, "Nah uh ah! Don't be doing that, I have something to show you."

Just then Nathan and another soldier came around the corner and they were holding her father!

She let out a gasp and yelled out, "Dad!"

Nathan had his dagger to her father's neck. Slowly she moved away from Bog's cell.

"Ahhhhhh," Daniel said, "That's a good princess, move away now, and hand over the key."

Marianne was shocked that they managed to capture her father. When his eyes connected with hers they widened. He suddenly got very cross and yelled to Danial, "What have you done to my daughter!? Her face is cut up!"

"He didn't do it. Roland did it!" Marianne said.

Daniel stood in front of Marianne and held his hand out. She handed the key over to him. As he took the key from her, he looked around.

"What the hell happened here? Where's Roland?" Daniel asked Marianne.

Marianne then looked down to the floor behind the table. Daniel craned his neck to see, but had to walk around to the other side of the table to get a better look. His eyes grew wide when he saw Roland slumped down on the floor. He then looked to the unhinged door on the floor and back to her.

"Ya...You did this?" He asked Marianne.

She didn't answer.

Daniel stooped down and got a good look at Roland's face. He put two fingers on his neck and then paused.

Nathan said, "Is he OK?"

"He's alive, but she beat the crap out of him."

Her father then smiled as he looked to Marianne and said, "Good for you, my daughter."

"With what?" Nathan asked.

"Looks like a table leg. Probably what she used to unhinge the door too."

"Where did she get it from?"

Daniel got up and leaned over to table and grabbed the water pitcher from the floor. It still had some water in it. He looked into Bog's cell and saw the broken up table in his cell.

"The table. Remember I said it was a bad idea to leave the table in there with him when we left?" Daniel said.

"Yeah, you did say that," his brother replied.

Daniel splashed what little amount of water that was in the pitcher into Roland's face. Roland shook his head and he was starting to come too.

"Wha...what in tarnation! What the heck happened?" Roland asked as he sat up.

"You were knocked out," Daniel said.

"She...what a girl, knocked ME out?" Roland asked in a surprised tone.

He leaned over Roland and grabbed a leaf napkin that landed on one of the chairs. He handed it to Roland and said, "Here, wipe your face."

Roland did so and when he ran the napkin over his nose, he yelped, "Owww! Now I remember. That wench, hit me with a table leg!

When he removed the napkin from his face his eyes widened as it was completely red from his blood. Daniel lent his had down to Roland as he helped him up. As he got to his feet, he glared at Marianne.

"What did you do to my face?" he shouted angrily.

"Ummmm, I rearranged it?" Marianne said.

Suddenly there were some chuckles and giggles throughout the room with Bog chuckling the loudest. Only Roland and Daniel had straight faces.

Roland turned to Bog and said, "You think it's funny, you wingless cockroach. Well, I will show you what's funny."

He then started to walk over to Marianne and outstretched his hands towards her neck. She quickly took to wing and flew up to the ceiling. She tried to fly towards her father, but Roland lunged forward and grabbed her leg.

Her father yelled out, "Let go of her now!"

Daniel shouted, "Nathan now."

Nathan began to push the tip of his dagger into King Dagda's neck. Marianne stopped in her tracks and then slowly landed.

Roland said, "Now, anymore funny stuff out of you, and your dad gets it!"

He grasped her by the shoulders. Again the feeling of his hands on her was making her skin crawl. He drew his cut up and bleeding face close to hers and said, "It is over for you and your family. As you see. I captured your father."

Marianne felt the anger grew within her and she tried to pull his arms off her shoulders. She continued to struggle as Roland tried to drag her over to the third cell. She opened her wings and tried to pull back. His hands slipped off her shoulders, but managed to grab a hold of her wrists. She pumped her wings hard and she was starting to drag Roland. He was having a hard time keeping himself from moving.

"Would you give me a hand here?" Roland said as he looked to Daniel. He then looked to Nathan and said, "Tie the king over where we had Marianne earlier. Same way with his arms up and feet to the floor."

Nathan and the soldier walked King Dagda over to the wall and began to tie him up. Daniel flew up and got a hold of Marianne's wings forcing her to land. He then began to tie them together.

Marianne struggled a bit as she rocked her body side to side to wrench her arms free.

"Stop squirming or I will tell Nathan to put his dagger through your father's throat," Roland said.

"Urrrrrghhhhhh!" Marianne grunted loudly as she stopped struggling.

Daniel manged to tied her wings up. He said, "Her wings are secure."

"Okay, now tie her hands back."

Roland pushed them back as Daniel began to tie her hands behind her. His body leaned into hers as he got very close to her face. He had an ugly smirk on his face and all she wanted to do was to punch him hard in that face to make him bleed even more. But suddenly she had to cough, but with her hands tied behind her back, she couldn't put her hand over her mouth, so she smirked a bit just before she coughed directly into his face. Her expression immediately changed to shock as she was horrified that Roland's face was suddenly spattered with small specs of blood. She stopped struggling and just looked at his face. At that time they were finished tying her up and Roland backed up as Daniel held her hands from behind. He reached up and tapped his hand to his cheek and then looked at his hands and smiled.

"Quite a nasty cough you got there, Princess."

King Dagda looked on to what was happening, but he seemed stunned and didn't say anything.

She began to realize that what she had was no ordinary illness and that whatever it was, it was deliberately done to her. She looked to Roland and snarled.

"What's wrong with me? I'm coughing up blood! I see that ugly smirk on your face. You had something to do with this!"

Roland looked to Daniel and smirked as he said, "Let's put her in the third cell."

"Damn you! Answer me!" She snapped.

"I am not saying anything right now, Princess," Roland answered still having a smirk on his face.

That gave it away that he actually did do something to her. There was a bit of a stunned silence in the room when King Dagda said, "I demand to know what is going on with my Marianne, she looks sick!"

They struggled a bit to get her in her cell, but once they got her in, Daniel pushed her towards the bed, they left the cell and locked the door behind them. She quickly turned around and snarled at them. Roland walked over to the king.

"Once again, Your Majesty, you are in a position to demand nothing," Roland said. He then slowly turned to Nathan as he said, "I, on the other hand, have demanded a mirror!"

"Ahhh, yes Sir, and I got one for you, a full size one." Nathan said. "I had one of the men put it in the next room and set it up for you."

"Good! Nathan, very good! I will be right back, I need to see my face." he said. He then turned to Daniel and said, "Please, do me the favor of inspecting that cell and make sure she can't get out this time."

"Of course."

"Oh! But before you do that, grab a couple guys and get that door back on the cell. We still have to get Dawn and the Black Swallowtail and I will need that cell.

Daniel nodded and then waved Nathan and the soldier with him to help. All three men were grunting and groaning under the weight of the door as they managed to get it back on it's hinges. Marianne looked to Bog and he had a very concerned look on his face. She could tell that he mouthed the words, 'I love you.' She mouthed back, 'I love you too, Hon.'

When they were done, Nathan said, "How the heck was Marianne able to lift this alone?"

"She used a table leg as a lever," Danial grunted as he pointed to the leg on the floor.

Just then there came a scream from down the corridor.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! My face!"

Bog laughed and everyone in the room looked to him. He said, "Well, I guess Roland saw his newly rearranged face."

Marianne laughed out loud and so did her father, but the others were quiet. Then came the sound of stomping footsteps came from down the hall. Roland entered the room and pointed to Marianne as he approached her cell.

"You beast loving concubine, you ruined my beautiful face!" He exclaimed angrily. "And I am missing another tooth!"

She shook her head and said, "Oh please! You are so vain and pathetic. Trust me, it's an improvement."

Again Bog and her father laughed out loud.

"Enough!" Roland yelled out as he looked to Bog. He then turned to Marianne and grumbled under his breath saying, "I am going to enjoy watching you die. Then I will have the last laugh."

However, his subdued voice was still loud enough for her father and Bog to hear.

"You so as to harm a hair on my daughter's head, I will see that you are punished in the severest manner," King Dagda said.

"And that will probably be nothing compared to what will happen when I get my hands on you," Bog said, He grasped the bars firmly and shook the door. "You are dead meat!"

"After her, you are next, you scaly backed cockroach."

Marianne shot up from her bench and said, "No! You promised me you wouldn't kill him."

Roland said, "You heard what he said, Mare. I can't let him live knowing he wants to kill me."

"Damn you, Roland! Always going back on your word! You are such a coward!" She shouted.

"What word?" Her father asked.

Marianne hung her head low and sighed, "I bargained with Roland to save Bog's life. He was ready to kill him. So in exchange, I told him about the secret room in your closet.

"What!?" King Dagda said in a shocked tone. "YOU told him about the room?"

Marianne had a shocked look on her face, and in a soft barely audible voice she said, "Yes. I'm sorry dad."

"Yep, she did K.D." He said and then turned to Marianne and said, "He was right where you said he would be. I appreciate you being honest about that."

Marianne still stood speechless as in a bizarre twist of fate, her father was found in the place she figured he wouldn't be. The place he told her never to hide.

"Bu...but how can that be? How could you know I was there? I was boxed in and retreated to my bedroom and took refuge there. It was not the…"

Marianne then gritted her teeth and shook her head as if saying, "No"

Her father apparently got the message and stopped talking.

Roland had a puzzled look on his face as he looked between Marianne and her father. He said, "Am I missing something here?"

"Nope! Nothing...that was the way of it," King Dagda said. He then turned to Marianne and in a cross voice said, "I am VERY disappointed in you, Marianne, you betrayed your family!"

Marianne wasn't sure if he really thought she betrayed him, or if he got the message and was playing along. One thing was certain, if it got out that she tricked Roland, he would certainly kill Bog for sure.

She shook her head and said, "Ugggghhhhh! Dad I am so sorry! I'm so stupid!"

"Yes you are, Mare. You are your family's undoing." Roland gloated. "I have you to thank for that."

Roland moved towards Bog's cell and when he was out of eye shot of Marianne, she looked to her father. He smirked a bit and gave her a wink. She let out a sigh of relief in that gesture was her confirmation that her father was, indeed, going along with it.

After a long pause, Marianne said, "Even though he spared Bog's life, he took his wings."

"What?!" King Dagda shouted as he craned his neck to get a better look into Bog's cell.

Marianne said, "Show my dad."

Bog shook his head and said, "Great, now I am an exhibit."

"Bog, please. I know you are upset," Marianne said.

He grunted but stood up and turned around so her father could see.

Marianne saw the shocked look in her father's eyes and then he shook his head. He looked to Roland.

"How could you? Marianne gave you her word and I am here as your prisoner. And then you cripple Bog by taking his flight. Don't you have an ounce of decency in you."

Roland then turned around and said, "Fine. I will keep my promise, but mark MY word, if he attacks me, I am going to defend myself. If he loses his life in the process, then so be it. It is out of my hands at that point."

Marianne noticed that her breathing was becoming even more labored than before. She noticed that a drop of blood fell from her brow to her cheek and another rolled down to the tip of her nose. It fell down onto her skirt. She noticed that the cuts on her face seemed to be bleeding more now.

Roland looked at the door to the cell that Marianne got out of and then looked to Bog's cell. He said to Daniel, "Did you figure out what happened?"

"Yes, I believe I have, but I will tell you the details when we are alone, but for now we have to get that table out of there. Otherwise he will just break another leg off when we are not looking. We need some extra muscle to hold him down," Daniel said.

Roland pointed to the soldier that assisted Nathan with King Dagda and said, "You...Fetch Titus."

The soldier nodded then left the cell block.

Bog then said, "Who? You mean my Titus?"

"Yes, he works for me, now," Roland said. "Along with about 10 of your other goblins."

"Why? What did you do to them?" Bog asked.

But before Roland could answer a huge hulking goblin slightly larger than Brutus entered the door along with the soldier.

Roland walked up to him and said, "You and I are going to hold him against the inside bars while Daniel holds his arms back." He then turned to Nathan and the soldier and said, "You two will remove the table."

He then approached Bog's cell with Titus and put the key in the lock.

"How dare you go against me! Titus!" Bog said. "The idea alone…One of my own turns against me! I shall have your head! Why?"

"You have gone soft boss! Several of us liked the old you, a fearless and ruthless leader," Titus replied. He then pointed to Marianne and said, "This soft skinned Princess fairy has made you soft and now you allow love in the Dark Forest. Roland is more like the old you. I follow him instead."

"Thank you Titus," Roland.

"I am not soft! Marianne is not soft! She is a strong warrior. I would never choose a weak wife to rule by my side." He looked to Roland and said to Titus, "Just look at his face, she beat the crap out of him. How dare you call her a weak fairy!"

Marianne softly sighed as what her fiancé said made her feel good inside that, he, the Bog King, the fiercest warrior in the land saw her as a formidable warrior, strong enough to be his wife.

Bog gritted his teeth and was ready to lunge forward at Titus.

"Uh ahhhh", Roland said. "Go all the way back and lean against the bars. Do it now or I will hurt Marianne again."

Marianne wanted to shout to her lover, to tell him to flee, but without his wings, he wouldn't get anywhere far. She could feel a drop of blood run from the cut by her mouth and again it landed on her skirt. As Roland and Titus entered the cell, Marianne got up and tried to look through the other cell to see Bog. But Daniel entered that cell and demanded that Bog put his hands through the bars in back of him. Titus and Roland both put a hand on Bog's shoulder and his upper leg and pressed him against the bars. Daniel yanked on his arms hard.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" Bog yelled out.

Marianne could see that Daniel was attempting to pull Bog's thick forearms through the bars. He was putting his foot against the bars for leverage.

"Stop it! You are hurting him!" She called out.

Her breathing was becoming more heavy due to her anger. Another drop of blood fell from her brow and it landed on her cheek and rolled down to her chin and fell to the floor.

The men just ignored her. Once they had Bog secure. Nathan and the soldier entered the cell and removed the broken table. Anything that seemed loose Roland had them remove from the cell.

Daniel kept holding Bog until Roland and Titus left the cell and shut the door. Bog then pulled hard on his arms pulling Daniel forward. He hit his head on the cross bar in front of him causing him to let go of Bog's arms.

Daniel quickly held his head in his hands as he called out, "Ahhhhhh! You wingless cicada!"

Bog just turned around and snarled as he said, "That's what you get for messing with me."

Marianne chuckled as she looked to Bog. He looked to her and made a circular hand motion in front of his face. She got the message. Another drop of blood fell from her nose. She looked down at her body and noticed that her top and skirt had a few blood stains on it. Also the redness on her arm was becoming darker and more noticeable now. Her condition was clearly getting worse. She then looked out towards Nathan.

"Uhhh, I need a bit of assistance here. I'm bleeding all over," Marianne said.

Roland looked over to Nathan, and said in a nasty tone, "Go ahead, take a few napkins to her."

Nathan grabbed a few leaf napkins that were laying on a chair and approached Marianne's cell. She got up and walked to the door of the cell. Just then another soldier entered the room and Nathan turned his head to look back at him. The soldier wanted to speak with Roland and Daniel, privately, so they both left the room. The soldier that helped him remove the table from Bog's cell was left in the room and he stood guard beside King Dagda. Nathan turned back to Marianne.

"Bring your face closer to the bars, Princess" he said.

Marianne did so and he gently dabbed her face. As he was doing so, he had a remorseful look on his face. She wondered if he was having doubts and more and more she was thinking she might be able to sway him.

She whispered, "You don't have to go through with what they are doing. I see it in your face."

He spoke to her in a voice so low she could barely hear, "Roland did something to you. He told me he would, but he didn't tell me what. I see you are not well."

Marianne whispered, "Please help me, find out what you can. I am worried that what I have is fatal. The bleeding won't stop."

"Sir, is everything alright?" The soldier asked as he moved closer to Nathan.

Nathan lied as he answered, "Yes, the princess was just asking if I would help her by tying her hands in front of her body so she can wipe her face on her own. I told her I would have to ask Roland first."

"Oh, Ok. Sorry for interrupting."

Nathan grabbed a few more napkins that were still on the table and put them in his pocket. He continued wiping Marianne's face, just as Roland entered the room.

"Good News…!" He exclaimed, but interrupted himself when he saw Nathan still standing in front of Marianne's cell.

"What are you still doing there with her?"

"She's bleeding a lot, Sir. It's getting into her eye. So I figured it would be easier if her hands were bound in front so she could wipe her face on her own," he said to Roland as he still was looking at Marianne.

"I am not so sure about that. It is harder for her to do anything with her hands behind her back," Roland said. "Leave her be"

"But then someone will have to constantly help her."

"Who cares, let the blood drip from her face then."

Nathan turned to Roland and said, "C'mon now, its getting in her eyes."

"Ahhhh, alright," Roland said. "But first, the good news I mentioned."

"What's that?" Nathan asked.

"Nathan my friend, we caught the Black Swallowtail!"

An evil grin formed on Nathan's his face as he replied, "That's great!"

King Dagda groaned aloud and he slumped down in his bindings he said, "No, Not Yara too!"

He pulled over a chair and put it near the end of the table that was close to Marianne's cell. He also gathered up some of the leaf napkins that were around the room and placed some on the table and he put a few in his pocket. He stayed close to Marianne.

A few moments later, Daniel along with Titus pulled Yara into the cell block. She had her hands tied behind her. She was bleeding from her upper arms. Judging by the marks, it looked like a couple of the flies managed to get a hold of her. She had smaller lacerations on other parts of her body. Her clothing was torn in places. Daniel and the Goblin stopped in front of Roland, he had Yara's bow and arrow quiver on his back.

"Yara!" The king called out. He started to breathe heavy when he saw the condition she was in.

Daniel said, "I can't believe the strength this one has for her age."

"Yeah, but she's certainly uglier than you described," Roland said.

"Grrrrrrrrr!" Yara growled as she tried to lunge forward.

"Hmmmm, just as feisty as Marianne. Primal too. All black wings, brown skin. The missing link of butterfly fairies?" Roland said as he was looking Yara over.

All of Roland's supporters laughed.

Yara said, "So finally we meet face to face. You call Yara ugly, have you look in mirror lately?"

This time everyone on the Fairy Kingdom side laughed.

Yara continued, "Marianne slam you good, huh?"

Those that laughed before laughed again.

"Shut up unless you want me to cut your tongue out, you brown skinned wench," Roland said.

Yara growled again, "Grrrrrrr."

Roland then turned to Marianne and said, "Are you taking grunt and growl lessons from her?"

Marianne just sneered as she said, "Perhaps. Why? You find it unsettling?"

"No, I find it barbaric and uncivilized like that beast there," Roland said as he pointed to Bog.

Bog then said, "Who cares if they show their anger on their faces, both of those women have more honor and integrity then you ever will. They are strong warriors. They show their anger and are not afraid of you. They see you for the meathead you are."

Marianne and Yara both turned to Bog and said, "Thank you."

Roland said, "They are women, they will never be true warriors. They cannot do what a man can do. Us men are stronger then they."

Marianne sneered and said, "Well, that might be true, but your brain is much smaller than ours."

There was again laughter in the room.

Roland whipped around and yelled, "Enough!"

When everyone quieted down, he then turned to Daniel and said, "Put her in the second cell."

Daniel said, "But that cell has the…"

"That she doesn't know. And I'll take that," he said as he pointed to Yara's bow and quiver on Daniel's back.

He walked over to him and removed them and then hung it up on the same wall that King Dagda was tied to, but much further down.

Daniel then brought Yara over to the cell that Marianne was originally in and his brother opened the cell door for him. They placed Yara into the cell and locked the door behind her.

Marianne immediately approached the bars between the two cells. Yara immediately came to her. She had a shocked look on her face.

"Oh, my dear Marianne! What did they do to you? Your face bleeding."

"It was Roland. He first cut my face and then I had a fight with him trying to escape."

Marianne could feel a drop of blood drop from her brow and another from her nose. She whispered to Yara, "Roland did something to me, I feel very sick and tired and my wounds are not healing. In fact I am losing more blood now than earlier."

"You two stop talking and sit down," Roland said.

"Something wrong with Marianne! What you do to her?" Yara said to Roland.

"Shut up and Sit down!" Roland ordered again.

Yara snarled as she backed up and sat down.

Nathan said, "Wait Princess. Let me clean your face before you sit down."

She approached the cell bars and once again, he wiped the blood from her face. Roland didn't take his eyes off the two until Nathan was finished.

Suddenly Yara yelled out, "My goodness Bog King! What happened to your wings!"

Bog pointed to Roland and answered, "That idiot cut them off while I was unconscious."

Queen Yara shook her head and her eyes were welling up, "This Roland is so ruthless and dishonorable. Much better to fight and lose your flight than this."

"I know. I know. But as you figured out, Roland has no honor. He's a monster in every way."

"Is everyone deaf? I said SHUT UP!" Roland shouted.

Bog began to snarl as he sat down. Yara also looked to Roland with wrinkled brow and their teeth slightly showing. Marianne smiled at Bog and then looked at Roland the same way. Her breathing was very labored and the blood continued to drip from the cuts on her face. She looked to her arm and the black and blue mark not only darkened in color it was growing in size. It was starting to wrap around her arm.

"So, the only one we have to get now is that little minx, Dawn," Roland said as he stretched his fingers.

"Yes, Sir," Daniel said.

"Alan should be back in about an hour from now with a report and once she is found, we'll go and get her. It is just a matter of time now."

"Yes."

"Most likely she is hiding in the infirmary, probably helping those that are injured," Roland said.

"Agreed, but we have not been able to get down that far yet."

Roland smiled and said, "That infirmary should be pretty packed by now and chaotic."

"Probably."

"You should probably take a few lesser known soldiers and fake an injury. Lure her out of the basement."

"No! Leave Dawn out of this, she not a fighter," Yara said.

Roland turned around and said, "Swallowtail, my plan will not work until I have the entire Farfalla family here behind bars."

"Well, what do you plan to do? You can't keep us here forever," King Dagda said.

Roland just put an ear to ear grin on his face.

"What? Why are you smiling like that?" The king asked.

Everyone was looking around at each other with a puzzled look on their face.

Roland didn't answer the king, he just looked around and said, "Well, is anyone thirsty?"

Everyone nodded or said, "Yes."

He said, "Okay, I am thirsty myself, so I will fetch everyone a round of water."

Surprisingly Roland himself got up and then said to the soldier by the door, "Come, I'll need a hand with the goblets."

The soldier followed him out of the room so that left only Daniel and Nathaniel in the room.

Marianne looked down and a couple drops of blood fell from her chin. The blood stains on her pants and shirt were growing larger. It was growing clear to her that if she didn't get medical attention soon, she was going to bleed to death. Nathan looked to her and his eyes widened. He dug out the napkins from his pocket as he quickly came to the cell door. Marianne got up from the bench and she stood up she was feeling very nauseous and a bit faint. She made her way over to the door.

Nathan wiped her wounds, he looked more remorseful than ever. She whispered, "Please help me. I think I am going to die."

Daniel said, "What's going on there?"

Nathan turned around and said, "Brother, can you tell me what Roland did to Marianne?"

"No. Roland had specific instructions saying he will explain everything when the time is right."

"Daniel I don't like the way she looks. I think she might be dying."

Everyone else's eyes widened as they looked to Marianne.

"So if she has an illness, then so be it. Why all of a sudden a concern for the princess? You don't care for her any more than I do."

"Yeah, I know I don't see eye to eye with her, but I still don't want to see her die. What did Roland do to her?"

"I don't know," Daniel said.

"Come now, I am your brother. What is the big secret anyway."

"No, I don't have that information and I just said Roland will explain everything in good time."

"He must have done something when he was alone with her. This isn't a normal sickness she has. For crying out loud she's bleeding all over and it is getting worse! Can you let me untie her and give her napkins to apply pressure to her wounds."

Daniel hesitated for a moment but then he said, "Fine, but leave your dagger and the cell key here."

Nathan put his dagger and his cell key on the table.

Daniel approached the door and shouted to Marianne, "Get back to the bed."

Marianne snarled a bit as she backed up.

"Aye now. Be nice otherwise I won't let my brother help you."

Marianne slowly wiped the snarl from her face and then Daniel opened the door and allowed Nathan to enter. He quickly went behind her and removed the tie from her hands. As she moved her arm forward, she noticed that the black and blue mark on her arm had gotten larger, it was almost all the way around her arm and it was starting to extend up her shoulder.

Nathan grabbed the napkins from his pocket and put them on the bed. He took one and gently helped her wipe her face and then he began to apply pressure to her wounds.

Daniel said, "She can do that on her own, now come out of there."

He then ordered Marianne to stay sitting on the bed while he unlocked the door and allowed his brother to exit. He moved closer to the table and pulled a chair out.

"Daniel, please. If you have any information that can help my daughter, I will be lenient with you and your brothers. Let Roland take the fall for the attack." King Dagda said in a calm tone, but then his voice became more stern as he continued. "But if you continue to stick by him and something happens to my daughter, I will deal with both of you in the harshest manner possible."

Danial sat down at the table alternately looking at the king and his daughter. The look on his face softened a bit and it looked like he was getting ready to say something, but before he could answer, Roland came back through the doorway with the soldier and together they had three pitchers of water and 9 goblets. Five were on a silver plate which the guard brought in and 4 were on a gold plate that Roland brought in. Since there were 8 people in the room, there appeared to be one extra goblet.

"Yes, the water is here. Fresh and cold. I don't know about everyone else, but I am parched!" He exclaimed.

He then began to pour the water into the goblets on the silver side and then on the gold side using the same pitcher. When it was empty he grabbed another pitcher to finish filling the goblets. He gave a goblet to Daniel, then to Nathan, and finally to the soldier standing guard. All of them guzzled their water down.

As Marianne wiped her face, Roland noticed that she was untied. He pointed to her and looked to Daniel.

"Why is she untied?"

"I let Nathan untie her so she can wipe her face on her own."

Roland shook his finger at Nathan and said, "It is on you if she gets out again, my friend."

"I seriously doubt she is going to plan an escape, her condition is worsening," Daniel said.

"Well, let's hope you are right. I have learned not to underestimate her."

Just then a soldier came flying into the cell block a bit out of breath and he had a concerned look on his face.

Roland looked up and said, "Oh! Hello Alan, I wasn't expecting you for about another hour. How are things going on the battlefront? Did your men finally find Dawn?"

"No Sir. Something unexpected has happened."

"Oh? I sure hope it is good news."

Alan shook his head and said, "I am afraid not. Just as our men were getting a foot hold onto the lower levels of the castle, the castle was suddenly attacked by a massive horde of spiders."

Roland grimaced as he asked, "Spiders?"

Marianne saw Bog's ears perk up when he heard the news.

"Yes, Sir, Spiders," The soldier said.

That's unusual. Where there many? Are they a threat to the attack?"

"Yes, sir...on all accounts. They are spinning webs very quickly and trapping the flies. Their sticky web messes up their wings and they just fall out of the sky. Once the king's men realized that the spiders were their side, trapping the flies, they were assisting them."

"Damn!" Roland said as he slammed is fist down on the table, shaking the water goblets.

Alan looked down to the goblets and water on the table. He quickly reached for one of the goblets that was on the gold side. Roland immediately slapped his had down on top of the goblet and then handed Alan a goblet from the silver side.

"Here you go."

Marianne's eyes narrowed as she thought Roland's gesture was odd.

Alan took the goblet and chugged it down. When he was finished he said, "Thank you, Sir. That was refreshing."

"I don't get this, in all my years at the palace we never had a spider attack," Roland said. He turned to the king and said, "Was this your doing, Dagda?"

"No, and that is Your Majesty to you!"

"Yada Yada." Roland said then turned to Alan and said, "Go on."

Alan continued, "The spiders were actually scaling the walls of the castle freeing the balconies up by spraying the flies and our soldiers with their webs. The King's soldiers were able to retake the balcony and the archers resumed firing at the flies in the air, further thinning their numbers."

"And the spiders weren't harming the king's soldier's?"

"No. But they naturally did stay clear of spiders as well."

"Are our numbers still holding up?" Roland asked.

"Yes, for now, but the flies are dropping off, well...like flies!"

"Where's Queenie?"

"She's being guarded inside the palace."

"Good. Is there anything else you can tell me?"

"Yes, I have seen their queen. She's a massive ugly half fairy, half spider creature thingy with 8 limbs. She was riding atop an enormous spider while shooting webs from her back legs. She also was throwing spears at our men. She happens to be a good shot too as I saw her spear one of our men mid flight. It wasn't pretty."

"Is the guy alright?" Roland asked.

Alan shook his head side to side.

"Oh...we lost another one, huh?"

As Alan explained the news, a smile appeared on Marianne's, Bog's and the other captors faces. Roland and Daniel and Nathan's faces were of concern. She noticed Bog was becoming more excited by the moment. She figured out that the arrival and assistance of the Spider Queen could only mean that Stumpy must have went back to her and talked her into helping out. She could feel a drop of blood run down the corner of her mouth and drip down to her shirt. She started to wipe her face again when she noticed Bog giving her thumbs up indicating that the news was a good sign. She nodded smiling back at him as she gave him a thumbs up back. As she raised her right arm, she noticed the black and blue mark on her arm was spreading up her shoulder now.

Roland sighed and said, "This isn't good news."

"There is another thing too," Alan said.

"Like what you told me isn't enough already," Roland said in a snippy tone.

"Sir, You told me to tell you everything I know."

"Right, yes. Go on," Roland said correcting himself.

"There is another warrior fairy with them. He appears to be another outsider."

"Really? How so?" Roland asked.

"He's wearing a leather armor with a hood. He also wearing an unusual mask that has weird shaped eyes and the mouth area has these four large teeth that jut forward and curl inward around the front of his mouth. He's got wings blacker than hers," he said as he pointed to Yara. "He must be a Black Swallowtail mix."

Roland held his finger up to interrupt Alan and then he turned to Daniel and said, "I thought you said there was only one Black Swallowtail."

"Yes, I don't know anything about this new arrival," Daniel said.

He then shouted to Yara and said, "And you? What do you know of this guy, he appears to be one of your kind?"

"Nothing...New one on me," Yara said.

Roland turned back to Alan and said, "Tell me more about this guy."

"He's got a weird bow and arrow setup. I have not seen anything like it before as it sits cross ways and the arrow is loaded into a trough. It is released by a trigger," Alan explained.

King Dagda said, "Sounds like a crossbow to me, but we don't use them."

Roland turned and said, "Hush, no one asked you."

The King just sneered at him.

Alan continued, "Further, He's just as good a shot as she is," he said as he again pointed to Yara. "He led a group of soldiers on the balcony and drove the flies back. I figured I had to get out of there and inform you as soon as possible. I took care and made sure I wasn't seen. At the rate the spiders are helping, the king's men will retake the palace by nightfall."

Roland gritted his teeth as he nodded, "Very well. I want you to go back and take the garrison of men here with you. Perhaps you can capture or kill this new warrior and also that spider queen."

"Thank you, Sir, but will you have enough men in the event the goblins find out and attack?"

"This is a secret location and I believe I will be fine with a half a dozen or so men here," Roland answered. "Take the garrison with you, it sounds like you need them more than I."

Alan nodded and then said, "Yes and thank you, Sir."

As the soldier started for the door, Roland raised his finger and said, "Oh, one more thing."

"Yes, Sir?"

"Spread the word around to the men to keep an eye out for Dawn, I have everyone but her," he instructed.

"Yes, Sir."

The soldier then took to wing and flew out the door.

Marianne sat up straight and in an angry tone yelled out, "You will NEVER find my sister. She can hide and blend in."

Roland sneered back and said, "Don't worry, missy. Queenie has a great sense of smell. If Dawn is hiding in that palace. She will find her."

Marianne hung her head low and two more drops of blood dripped down on her lap. She felt awful. Her breathing was becoming more and more labored. She started to worry that she might not live through the day and all she wanted to do was to wrap her arms around Bog and kiss him, but now she was separated from him.

A few moments later:

Another one of Roland's soldiers entered the cell block, however, he had is sword drawn and he was swiftly approaching Roland. His helmet face guard was down, not allowing his face to be seen. He appeared to be out of breath and a bit on edge.

Nathan grabbed his dagger and held it out to the soldier and said, "Sheath your weapon soldier."

"Where's your sword?" Roland asked Nathan.

"It's on the table in the hall."

"Nice place for it," Roland said sarcastically.

The soldier didn't say anything but just drew nearer to Roland with his drawn sword. Both Daniel and Roland pulled out their swords.

Daniel said, "Sir, who are you? Identify yourself!"

The soldier took one hand off his sword and removed the helmet off his head. Roland and the brother's eyes grew wide. It was Gregory disguised as one of Roland's soldiers. He had a seething look in his eyes as they were fixed on Roland.

"Gregory!" The brothers said as they immediately put their weapons away..

But both Gregory and Roland kept theirs drawn.

Daniel said, "Everything is fine brother. Put your sword down."

Gregory lowered his sword a bit, but didn't put it all the way down.

"Everything is OK, you say?" Gregory asked condescendingly. "I can assure you that everything is not OK, Daniel."

Nathan said in a puzzled tone, "Gregory, what's going on here? Roland said you were going to spend the duration of the battle guarding a weapons supply. Why are you here?"

"That was a lie," Gregory said as he continued to stare down Roland. "I was with Rachel."

Marianne approached the bars and grasped them firmly as she shouted to Gregory, "Rachel? Is she here? I need need to see her at once!"

There was a murmur among everyone else that was held captive. Gregory turned to Marianne and his eyes widened as he looked to her face and then her blood stained clothes.

"Princess! My goodness what has happened to you?" He asked as he approached her cell.

"I don't know. I can't stop bleeding and I feel awful," she said and then looked to Roland and continued. "He did something to me."

Just then Marianne put her hand over her mouth as she coughed. As she pulled her hand away, there were blood spots on her hand. She held her hand up to Gregory and said, "I am bleeding on the inside too. I need to see Rachel at once. Please say she's with you."

A pale look came over Gregory's face and tears began to well up in his eyes. A tear rolled down his face as he said in a solemn tone, "I'm sorry Princess, but Rachel's dead."

Astonished looks fell upon everyone in the cell block except Roland.

"What?! How?" Marianne said in a shocked tone.

King Dagda's eyes began to glaze over as he shook his head side to side and exclaimed, "Oh no! No! Not little Rachel! She was like another daughter to me. Please say it isn't so, Gregory."

Tears continued to roll down from Gregory's eyes as he approached Roland. He raised his sword and said, "Bog King is right. He is a monster, he killed her."

Daniel said, "Brother, hold your tongue! That is no way to speak to your leader."

"Leader? I am sorry, he took away the love of my life, I will no longer follow him. I suggest you both come to my side against this murderous beast."

Bog said, "Bu...But that shouldn't be possible. Rachel is a healer. Even a sword through the heart can't kill a healer. Sugar Plum told me that."

Roland said, "Gregory, YOU are the lier. I have not laid a finger on Rachel."

Daniel said, "Brother, Is this true."

"Indirectly, he is responsible for her death and he has to pay for what he has done," Gregory said as he moved forward with his sword."

Nathan didn't say anything as he seemed confused as to what was going on. Just then Roland moved forward with his sword. Nathan quickly drew his dagger and blocked Roland's sword.

"What are you doing? That's my bother," he said.

"You saw, he drew his sword against me. He must be punished."

"Yeah, lock him in cell for the night or what have you, but you are going at him with your sword," Nathan said.

Daniel put his hand on his sword hilt, but now he had the confused look on his face. He looked to Gregory and said, "Explain yourself, brother. Do you have proof Roland is responsible for Rachel's death?"

"Fine, I will show you," Gregory said. "I will put down my weapon, so put down yours."

Gregory lowered his weapon and everyone else did too. He then proceeded to take his armor's chest plate off. He unbuttoned a leather shirt underneath, exposing his chest. In the middle of his chest and abdomen were the remnants of multiple sword stab wounds to his body, they were crusted over in blood and not fully healed. Daniel and Nathaniel's eyes grew wide.

"What's the meaning of this?" Daniel asked Roland. "Those are stab wounds, the flies couldn't have done that."

Nathan nodded in agreement and said, "With all these wounds you should be dead."

"Yes," He said. He then pointed to Roland and continued, "He had me tied up and then stabbed me multiple times with his sword. When he flew off, Rachel came to my aid and saved me. But...it was too much for her."

Marianne's father then spoke up and said, "Rachel healed you and because she loved you so much, she didn't stop until you were healed."

"Yes."

"And there was no one else around for her to transfer from."

"Yes, Sire."

King Dagda then glared at Roland and angrily said, "You damn bastard! You knew the only way to kill her was to drain her completely of her power. Once her life force was drained from her body, she would die."

"Yes," Gregory explained as he quickly lost composure.

He slumped down at the table and began to weep.

Nathan looked to Roland with his knife still in his hand and said, "I can't believe you did this. You attempted to kill my brother?"

Daniel started to grow very concerned as he had his hand still on his hilt. Roland took notice as he turned back to Nathan.

He said, "No no, let me explain. I knew that Rachel was going to save him, so I did not kill him. My goal was to kill her."

"What if she didn't heal him, or his wounds were too extensive and they both died," Nathan explained.

"It was a calculated risk, but I knew she would do anything to save him and as you see, your brother is perfectly fine. I planned this out well," Roland said.

Nathan said, "Calculated? He is not perfectly fine, he isn't fully healed. You cut this rather close."

Daniel then turned to Roland and said, "Why haven't you told me of this?"

"Because you probably wouldn't have approved, not that I needed your approval," Roland explained.

"I know I don't always see eye to eye with Gregory, but he is still family," Nathan said as used some water and a napkin to spot cleaning his brother's wounds. He then looked to Daniel and said, "What do you have to say about this. He is your brother too."

Daniel had a dumbfounded look on his face and then he just blurted out, "Well, he's fine and alive Nate, So apparently Roland's plan did work."

Nathan said, "And you are OK, with this?"

King Dagda then interrupted and said, "I don't see why that poor girl had to die...why?"

Gregory said, "Your Majesty, it was because Rachel wouldn't follow him. She turned her back on him and Roland knew that I would side with her. She had a conversation with him and something set her off. She raised her voice and said her loyalty was with the king and she wasn't going to follow him. That being said, I told him I was not going to be part of his plan either and I wanted to stay by Rachel's side. He then turned his anger on me. He had Rachel and myself taken to some far off area under blindfold."

Nathan said to Daniel, "We can't look at this with a closed eye, brother. Had Rachel not been so in love with Greg and given her life for him, he would have perished from his wounds. Roland took a massive gamble, which thanks to Rachel for sacrificing herself, Gregory is still alive."

Gregory shook his head and said, "There's more. While Rachel was dying in my arms, she told me what set her off. She found out that Roland was going to do something bad to Princess Marianne. She told me to warn her, but it appears that I am too late."

Roland drew his sword and held it out to Gregory and said to the three brothers, "Enough! So Gregory is not with me, but I need to know that you both are with me.

Daniel said, "Yeah, I'm good. He is still alive. I….I just wish you would have told me before taking an important matter like this into your own hands."

"I would have my friend," Roland said. "But things just didn't happen according to plan. Rachel turned on me and I had to think of something fast."

Daniel nodded as if agreeing with Roland. Roland then turned to Nathan.

"And you? Are we still together?" Roland asked.

Nathan signed as he said, "I guess I am getting worked up over nothing, as Daniel pointed out, Gregory IS still alive."

Marianne was puzzled at Nathan's response, be she got to thinking that perhaps he just said that to give Roland what he wanted to hear. She still had hopes that she could sway Nathan to her side. But she knew she had Gregory on her side which was very important to her, that meant her chances of swaying Nathan were pretty good.

Gregory had a shocked look on his face as he dropped his sword to the ground and said, "I don't believe this, my own brothers turned against me. Don't you both see that if anything doesn't go to Roland's way, that he will turn on both of you in a heartbeat. Do you really want that for ruler? That is not monarchy, that is tyranny and I don't want any part of that."

"I see you made up your mind, Gregory" Roland said.

He then grinned as he walked over to the doorway and called for a couple soldiers. A few moments later a pair of soldiers walked into the room.

"Put him in the next cell block," he said.

As the soldiers grabbed Gregory, Daniel said, "There is still one more cell here, why can't we put him in there?"

"That is because that cell is for Dawn," Roland said as he motioned for the soldiers to take Gregory out the door.

Gregory stared down Roland when the soldiers started to pull him towards the door.

He cried out, "You are a murderous monster, Roland! You took away the love of my life! You took away my Rachel!"

Roland then put his hand out to Nathan and said, "Let me have your cell key."

"Why?"

Roland gave him a cock eyed look and said, "Because I said so."

Nathan said, "You don't trust me now? I had given you my word I am still with you."

Roland's brow lowered as he repeated what he said, "Let me have your cell key, NOW!"

Reluctantly Nathan handed over his key and Roland took it from him and put it in his pouch. He then looked down to the goblets of water on the gold tray.

"Oh! Where are my manners!" he said. "I forgot to offer our captives something to drink."

He grabbed one of the goblets and turned to King Dagda.

"Thirsty?" He said.

The King answered, "Yes."

As Roland brought the goblet of water close to the King's lips, Marianne shouted, "Dad, don't drink it!"

Her father then craned his neck to look passed Roland and said, "Why, my darling?"

"It's poisoned," she said as she approached the door of her cell.

There was a murmur among those in the room.

"Buttercup, your sickness is making you delusional," Roland said as he turned to her. Then he turned to everyone and said, "Y'all have seen yourself that I have poured everyone's water from the same pitchers. The same water I and my friends drank from. There is nothing wrong with the water."

Marianne gritted her teeth and said, "It's not the water. It's the goblets."

As she lowered her eyebrows, it forced a drop of blood to fall from her brow to her cheek. She just let it roll down her face and could feel it fall from her face to her shirt.

There were some 'Oh's' among the captives in the room.

Roland laughed and said to King Dagda, "Look in the goblet, you can see the water is as clear right down to the bottom."

King Dagda smiled and said, "Then if the water is as safe as you say then you drink it, from that goblet."

"Uhhh, well, I am not thirsty right now," Roland answered.

"Yeah right, I thought so," Marianne said.

Bog then said, "He called your bluff and confirms what Marianne said. Now come out with it and tell us what you have done to her."

King Dagda said, "I think myself and everyone at this point are not going to accept anything from you to eat or drink"

Roland's scarred face began to turn red as Bog could see a rage building up inside of him. Daniel's eyes widened and he took a couple steps back. Roland then threw the goblet in his hand across the room towards Marianne's cell. It landed against the bars and splashed all over Marianne's bare mid section. But she didn't budge from her spot. She just stared Roland down.

"Fine then! You can all stay down here and die of hunger or thirst then!" Roland snapped.

Marianne said, "So that was your plan. You wanted to kill us all and make it look like a sickness."

Roland snapped at Daniel saying, "Did you tell her anything?"

He replied, "No, honestly."

Marianne said to Roland in a dark voice, "He didn't tell me anything, I figured it out on my own. It took me a while though, but you gave yourself away when you put your hand over the goblet Alan was going to take. Then I thought back to when you gave me water earlier, you took a goblet that was separated from the rest."

Again there was a din among those in the room.

Roland sneered, gritted his teeth and said, "Clever girl."

"Now tell me what you have done to me, now!" She exclaimed as she put her hands on her hips.

Just then all those captive began to raise their voices demanding Roland to tell Marianne.

"Fine! Fine! Fine!" Roland shouted. "Since you are all going to die anyway. Yes, I did put something in her goblet. It is some clear stuff that dissolves perfectly in water leaving no trace, no smell, and no taste. Its an anti-cogu-len."

"Huh?" Marianne asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"He meant to say anti-coagulant," Danial corrected.

"Yeah, that," Roland said.

"It's a blood thinner," Daniel said. "A medical aid actually, but in large doses it can cause extreme bleeding."

King Dagda said, "You seem to know a lot about this. You had something to do with this, didn't you?"

"No, Your Majesty. Roland showed me the book though."

"What book?" The captives said all together.

"I am not saying!" Roland yelled.

Daniel said, "Roland, your secret is out, may as well tell them."

Roland gritted his teeth and said, "I...I took one of Sugar Plum's books."

Nathan then said, "Can I see this book? Perhaps there is an antidote."

Roland said, "There isn't one."

Marianne's coughed into her hand again and looked at it. There was more blood spattered on her hand than before. Her eyes grew wide as she knew that without an antidote and without a healer, she was going to die.

B- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

All of a sudden there was a 'thwip' sound and Roland stumbled as he screamed out in pain, "Ahhhhhhhhhh! Ahhhhhhhhh!"

Bog looked down and to his surprise a short arrow was embedded into Roland's Right thigh. Roland almost collapsed, but Daniel rushed to his side and steadied him.

Roland looked down to his leg and cried out, "Where the hell did that come from?!"

"I don't know, it seems like it came from Yara's cell," Daniel said.

"Check it out! She's got a weapon in there," Roland said as he pointed to Yara.

"That isn't possible, her weapon is right there," he said as he pointed towards the wall where Yara's bow and quiver were hanging.

Queen Yara put up her hands and said, "Do you see weapon on Yara?"

Just then there was a loud click sound that came from her cell. Yara's eyes widened a bit at the sound, but she still looked forward to Daniel for the moment. Everyone else looked past her to the window and then she turned to look too. While Bog couldn't see out of the window, there was much less light entering the cell block, he knew it was getting dark out.

Bog could see Roland and Daniel squint their eyes towards the window just as there was another, 'thwip' sound. This time the arrow landed few inches higher very high up and almost between his legs.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" Roland called out.

This time Roland stumbled backwards into Nathan and the two landed on the floor. Nathan hooked his hands under Roland's shoulders and assisted him into a nearby chair. Nathan then glanced towards the window then started to fly towards the door.

"Where are you going, brother?" Daniel asked.

"To get my sword!" he yelled back as he exited the door. "Remember, I left it on the table outside."

As Daniel looked to Nathan, Yara suddenly lunged on top of her bed and reached up towards the window. She then pulled in a bow with a quiver of arrows. Daniel caught the last part out of the corner of his eye, but by the time that he was approaching her cell, starting to draw his sword, she already had her bow drawn and aimed at him.

"Stop! Or I put arrow between your eyes, Daniel." Yara shouted as she got down off the bed and slowly approached the bars. "You know I can do it!"

"Yes, I know." Daniel said as lowered his brow and began to back up a bit.

A few moments passed and Nathan entered the room with his sword drawn.

Daniel said, "Nate, stop! Yara's got a bow. Whomever is at the window just gave her one."

Nathan's eyes widened as he stopped in his tracks.

Then a rough gravely voice spoke from the window, "Move and the next one Roland gets is in the jewels!"

Roland grimaced as he attempted to cross his injured leg over his good one.

"I said, don't move!" The gravely voice said.

Bog began to smirk as nothing would please him more than for this new found ally to do as he said. He struggled to get a better look out the window of Yara's cell, but couldn't make him out. The mystery archer was capturing his interest. Apparently he was a good shot as well with two of his arrows connecting to the inside of Roland's thigh exactly where his armor was thinner.

Just then there was another 'thwip' sound and a small arrow cut through one of the bindings on King Dagda's arms. Queen Yara then aimed and fired at the remaining binding completely freeing the king's arms.

Daniel tried to move in between Yara's cell and Roland, but he only got in a few steps before Yara had another arrow in her bow and she aimed right at his head.

"Stop!" She shouted again.

"We have to get that bow away from her!" Roland said. He then turned to Nathan and said, "Go and get help and apprehend whomever that is outside."

Another click came from outside.

"Stay put if you know what good for you," Yara said as she momentarily aimed the arrow and Nathan, but then she shifted back to Daniel and said, "All of you, toss your weapons to the side."

Roland, Nathan and Daniel complied. But Daniel didn't toss his as far off.

With his arms free, King Dagda reached down and began to work on untying his feet.

Roland formed a fist with his right hand and was ready to push off to the side with his good, left leg, making a lunging motion towards the king.

'Thwip', another arrow flew in threw the window. This one landed slightly off center from Roland's crotch a bit towards left leg. He immediately slumped to the floor and placed his hand on the newly injured area.

"Ahhhhhhhhh! Ugggghhhhh! Damn you! That was close!"

"Don't say I didn't warn you!" The rough gravely voice shouted.

Roland pointed towards the warrior and shouted, "I have my men coming for you!"

The voice just laughed, cackling like a witch.

Roland's eyes widened as he said, "What's so funny!"

"Because my men are coming for you!" he said.

When King Dadga was free, Yara said, "Take a sword, K.D."

King Dagda walked towards Daniel and picked up his sword and then walked to Roland and pointed the sword at his neck.

At that moment, Alan flew into the room.

Queen Yara said, "Stop right there! I have an arrow on Daniel."

Alan looked around the room and had a confused look on his face at the current state Roland was in. King Dadga being freed and having a sword pointed to his neck. Daniel had his hands up and Yara had an arrow on him from within her cell.

"Wha...what the heck is going on here?" he asked as he drew his sword.

"I'll show you what's going on here," a familiar voice said from outside the doorway.

Gregory flew into the room, grabbed Alan and held Nathan's Dagger to his neck. He then ordered Alan to toss his sword aside, which he did. At first Queen Yara had a confused look on her face, but she kept her arrow on Daniel. Nathan assumed the mystery archer still had his arrow on him.

Daniel said to Nathan in a stunned voice, "Brother, what's the meaning of this? Why is Gregory free."

"I'm sorry brother, but it's over." Nathan said. "I freed him."

"What? But how? I took your key."

"When I assisted Roland up before I reached into his pouch and took his key."

Roland opened up his pouch and said, "I don't believe it, it's gone!"

"You forgot I am an expert pick pocket." Nathan informed them.

Roland pointed his finger at Nathan and snarled, "Uhhhughhh! I knew I shouldn't have trusted you! You been acting weird since Gregory came back and being all nice, nice with the Princess."

Daniel turned to Gregory and Nathan and said, "What? But...why? We still have unfinished business here. Both of you are armed, if you stick with Roland and myself we can still come out of this."

"Yes, we can," Roland said. "I will not stop until I see Marianne and her family dead!"

Bog shouted, "And I will not stop until I see YOU dead!"

"Neither will I," Gregory said, "I got a mark on you for what you did to Rachel."

Roland said to Nathan, "I though you were with me and Daniel. Why have you gone back on your word?!"

Nathan said, "Yeah, well there was that bit of information that you didn't inform me about. Remember? You said that the Farfalla's will be just out of the way. You mentioned nothing of killing them. Then there is what you did to Gregory...our brother? Let's just say that doesn't sit well with me either."

Nathan took the key out of his pocket and tossed it to King Dagda and said, "I am sorry, Your Majesty for the trouble I caused, but seeing Marianne like this has changed my mind. I don't want to be labeled as a murderer. I don't want Marianne's death on my hands. She doesn't deserve to die like this."

King Dagda said, "Thank you Nathan, come time for your trial I will be more lenient on you."

He then motioned for Daniel to move to the final cell in the block. He complied and slowly moved towards the last cell. He then placed him in the cell and locked the door behind him. He then put his sword into his own scabbard.

Alan said with his hands still raised, "Ummm, I do have news from the battlefront for whomever is interested."

King Dagda said, "I am."

"As well as I," Roland said.

"The Spider Queen has taken the castle. She personally killed Queenie and suddenly all of the remaining flies broke off the attack and flew off."

Roland cried out, "No! Not my Queenie! Ohhhhhh! I thought you said she was well protected!"

"Well she was, but that was until the spiders got into the palace. Once she was killed, we lost the support of the flies and they broke off the attack and flew away. With the spiders on the side of the Fairy Kingdom, we were outnumbered and were forced to surrender. I managed to slip away to inform you that it is over. We lost, Sir Roland."

Roland held his head in his hands and cried out, "NOOOOOOOOO!"

King Dagda proceeded to unlock the remaining cages freeing Yara and his daughter. She immediately embraced her father. Yara trained her arrow on Alan and motioned for him to enter the cell she was in. The king then locked the door as he was still holding his daughter. He then gave the key to Yara and told her to release Bog.

Roland said, "No! Don't let him out!"

As soon as Yara opened the door to his cell, Bog immediately marched over to Roland. The bravado Roland had for the day instantly faded to fear. His eyes widened and he tried to stand up, but couldn't in time. Bog, made a fist and plowed it into his stomach shattering his armor plate over his abdomen.

"Oooooooofff!" Roland exclaimed.

The force was so strong that Roland fell back in the chair and flipped over the chair back and on to the floor. Bog then grabbed him by the arm and yanked him to his feet. His shoulder made a cracking sound.

"Owwww!" Roland cried out again.

He then slammed Roland up against the cell that Marianne was in.

"Arrrrahhhhh!" He yelled out.

Roland tried to make a fist in an attempt to defend himself, but both Gregory and Nathan flew over and pointed their swords at him.

Bog grasped Roland by the throat and looked down to the arrow that was the closest to his crotch and he said in a sarcastic tone, "That must be uncomfortable. Here, let me help you."

He grabbed the arrow firmly.

"No! No!" Roland gasped out.

Bog gave the arrow a good yank.

"Arrrrrggguguuhahhhhhhhhhhh!" Roland screamed out and his knees started to buckle.

Bog still held Roland up by the throat. He looked to his Marianne as she was still being held by her father. She had an evil looking sneer on her face and she shook her fist as he could see her mouth the word, "Yes." She then reached up with her other hand and wiped her nose as she still continued to bleed from her cuts.

A few moments later a blood stain started to form on Roland's leg.

"Oh look, you sprang a leak, tsk tsk." Bog said as he got into Roland's face.

Marianne had a small smile on her face as she snickered a bit. He then grabbed another arrow and was ready to yank on it.

"No no! Not again!" Roland called out.

King Dagda said, "Bog, my friend, you must stop."

Bog then turned to the king and said, "Why, K.D.? I'll enjoy watching him bleed to death as that was his intention for Marianne."

King Dagda said, "Understood, but remember, we need to find out where Sugar Plum is, if she is still alive."

Bog let go of the arrow and then he motioned to Nathan and Gregory and said, "Tie him up!"

Still holding his neck, Bog dragged Roland to a place by the wall where King Dagda was, and then the brother's started to tie up his arms.

Bog stared Roland down and said, "You better tell me that Sugar Plum is still alive, or else."

He once again grasped an arrow as he tightened his grip around his neck.

"Yes, Yes! She is still alive," he gasped.

"Well then, where is she?" he snarled.

He shook his head and said, "Even if I tell you, it is too late. She will never be able to heal Marianne in time."

"I still want to know where she is!" Bog yelled to his face.

"Hmmm, I seemed to forgot where I put her." Roland said.

"Perhaps this will refresh your memory," Bog said as he yanked the arrow out.

"Aarrrgghhhhhhhh, Uhhhhhhhhh, THAT HURTS!"

Roland was breathing heavy as he continued to say, "Uh... Ahhh! As the king says, if you kill me, you will not only lose Marianne, but you will NEVER find sugar plum. For only I know where she is!"

Bog gritted his teeth and curved his hand into a talon shape. He brought his hand down across Roland's chest. His fingernails gouged his armor but didn't penetrate deep enough to cause much damage. He then turned to Marianne and she suddenly rushed to him. A softer, calmer feeling came across Bog as his arms just opened allowing her to come into them. She wrapped her arms around his body and at that moment it just felt so good. His arms naturally collapsed around her body. He could feel her inhaling and exhaling rapidly almost as if she was out of breath from exertion. As soon as her face looked up and he looked into her eyes. He used his finger to wipe some blood from the corner of her mouth. He couldn't help but sigh as he placed his lips against hers. Everything suddenly became quiet around him as he just concentrated on what his lover's mouth was doing with his. Oh, it felt so good, almost as if he hadn't kissed her in ten years. He became oblivious to what was going on around him as their tongues intertwined. He vaguely could hear some cheering and some clapping around him as the sounds around him slowly came back.

"Uhhhh, a princess kissing a cockroach, I will never get used to the sight of that," Roland commented.

As he continued to kiss his fiancee, Bog just shot his right fist out and it connected with Roland's nose.

"Owwwwwwwww! Not again!" Roland exclaimed.

Yara said, "You infernal beast, you not know what true love is. They in love and look beautiful together!"

When they separated, Bog took a good look at Roland. His nose was bleeding and his legs started to give out and he was practically dangling from his wrists. He watched as the blood ran from his face and dripped to the floor.

"Not so funny now that the tables have turned, eh?" Bog sneered.

"Uhhhhhhhh!" Roland groaned.

"Now tell me where Sugar Plum is," he said as he made a fist again with his hand.

Suddenly Marianne put her hand to her mouth and coughed loudly. When she removed her hand it was completely spattered in blood. Her breathing increased even more. She looked to him and slowly her legs were beginning to give out. Bog reached over to her and supported her with one arm. With his free hand he grabbed one of the full goblets on the silver tray and offered it to Marianne. She began to drink from it. When she was done she looked into his eyes and smiled.

"Thank you," she softly said. "I'm Okay now."

"That's it, dear. Hang in there, we are going to get help for you."

"Mmmmmmm," she hummed as she continued to look into his eyes.

Bog looked to King Dagda and it looked as if he was about to snap. He then approached Roland as he drew his sword. Suddenly Roland had a worried look in his eye as the King held the sword to his throat.

He said in an angered tone, "Heaven help me that I don't run you through now for what you did to my daughter. Tell me where Sugar Plum is, now!"

Roland's voice wavered as he said, "Ummm, Your Majesty, I thought I have a right to a trial? You aren't going to kill me now, right?"

As the King held his sword higher up on Roland's throat and he said, "No, by the laws of the Fairy Kindom, you would have a trial."

Roland grinned ear to ear as the King withdrew his sword.

"However!" The king said as he raised his finger as he walked away a bit. He then turned back to Roland and smirked. "We are not in the Fairy Kingdom now, are we? Your act against my daughter took place here, in the Dark Forest, which is under the rule of the Bog King. So your life is not mine to take."

King Dagda then handed the sword to Bog. As he took the sword from him, Bog put an evil grin on his face as he positioned the sword on Roland's neck.

Roland looked to King Dagda, and said, "No, No, you can't do this Your Majesty! Please have mercy on me. I...I was delusional. I had something bad to eat!"

"Stuff it, you beast!" Bog said. "Now one final time, where is Sugar Plum?"

Roland sneered as he nodded to Marianne and said, "Not until after she dies."

The anger swelled up inside Bog and he felt the urge to just push the sword deep into Roland's neck. But he glanced over to his beloved Marianne. He saw she was suffering as she was breathing hard and constantly wiping her wounds. The black and blue mark on her arm was now cresting the top of her shoulder. The more he looked at the condition she was in the more it made him angry.

Roland then said nervously, "So are you going to kill me or what?"

Bog grinned from ear to ear as he said, "You know, taking your life is not a right I am entitled to."

Roland again grinned ear to ear as he asked, "It isn't?"

Walked over to Marianne and said, "It is hers."

The grin left Roland's face and it was replaced with shocked look. Bog placed the sword in Marianne's hand and stepped aside and put his hand out towards Roland.

"He's all yours, my dear."

Marianne looked to Roland and smirked as she said to Bog, "Thank you my love, you were always a gentleman to me."

Bog bowed a bit towards his fiancee and he put a smirk on his face as he folded his arms together over his chest and looked towards her. When she turned towards Roland, suddenly the soft expression left her face and it slowly turned to anger. She started to snarl as she slowly started to walk towards Roland. She lowered her brow and as she did so, the cut on her eyebrow started to bleed more.

"No! No! No!" Roland called out as he tried to scramble backwards in vain.

He frantically tried to pull himself free. Marianne held the sword with two hands and then swung it back as if she was aiming to take off his head.

Roland blurted out, "Sugar Plum is in her original prison sphere. She's in a crate buried behind the palace, near where I was freed."

Marianne stopped and then lowered her sword.

Bog grew pale as he realized that even if they would make it to the palace on time, they still had to find Sugar Plum and most likely Marianne's condition would have deteriorated to the point where she wouldn't be able to save her, for Sugar Plum couldn't perform a transfer healing.

King Dagda said to Roland, "I had mistaken you for a fool, but you planned this out well. Such hatred for my daughter, she's one of the kindest women in my kingdom! And then you took out our healers, knowing without them, my daughter will perish!"

He then nodded to his daughter.

"Whoa! No, No! I told you where she is!" Roland called out.

"The information is useless since it will not save my daughter in time!" King Dagda shouted.

Again Marianne pulled the sword back, but she hesitated.

"Cut him down. Give him something to defend himself with," she said.

Bog said, "What?"

Her father said, "No Marianne, he will certainly kill you."

Roland smiled.

"If I am going to die anyway, I would rather be fighting," she said.

Bog grew concerned as he looked to his lover and said, "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes", Marianne nodded, "Don't worry, Hon. I won't go down easy, I still have some fight left in me."

Bog proceeded to untie Roland's bonds. He said, "I admire that woman, she has honor. Choosing to fight instead of just killing you. It would have been different with me."

After Bog untied Roland he said to Gregory, "Give him a short sword."

"A short sword!" Roland exclaimed. "That's not fair."

Bog grinned as he said, "You poisoned my Marianne. THAT's not fair."

"I can barely walk on my legs!" Roland said.

Gregory came back with a short sword and handed it to Roland.

"Well, that's a pity, isn't it? This is war, and war isn't always fair now is it?" Bog sneered.

Suddenly Roland swung the sword and Bog jumped back. However, the tip ran across Bog's arms and chest. Bog looked down and he was now bleeding. He looked back up and growled at him. He was ready to jump into him, but he held his sword up to him.

Marianne then took to wing and shot from behind Bog and swung her sword down on Roland as she yelled out, "Ya!"

"Whoa!" he called out as he took a defense stance and managed to block her.

Already with one swing Bog could see his lover was breathing hard. Roland swung but Marianne flew backwards. She managed to get out of the way, but barely. She was flapping her wings very slowly. Roland saw this and then took to wing himself. He came down on to Marianne and she held her sword up as he swung. She manged to block him, but her arms were shaking as she tried to hold him back. Bog could see the odds were in Roland's favor and he motioned to Gregory for him to give him his sword. As he gave it to him, Bog stood ready for he wasn't going to allow Roland to kill Marianne.

"You know I am stronger than you," Roland said. "I will easily overtake you."

Bog was getting ready to jump at him, but he watched as his lover's face began to snarl. She gritted her teeth and growled as she pumped her wings harder and slowly she was pushing Roland back.

"What?" Roland said with a puzzled look on his face.

She said, "Even in the state I am in, I am still faster than you and smarter than you."

She began to pump her wings very hard, panting with each wing stroke. Her arms were noticeably shaking, She then twisted her sword causing his sword to slide down his blade and her sword caught him in the chin. He immediately flew back not realizing how close to the wall he was. His wings contacted the wall and he tried to move forward, but Marianne pushed her sword into his. He couldn't move his wings enough to stay aloft and he slid to the ground. He couldn't get his footing because of his injured legs. He tried to move out and take to wing again, but Marianne came down on top of him and pointed the sword downward.

"Nooooooo!" Roland screamed out!

He tried to block her, but since her sword was longer, it just pushed his out of the way. Her sword came down and pierced the thinner part of his armor just at the lower part of his neck.

King Dagda squinted as he said, "Oooooohh!"

Bog thrust his fist in the air as he yelled out, "Yeah! That's my tough girl!"

Marianne came down with such a force that her sword went through Roland's neck and stuck into the wall behind him. He was in a half standing position on the wall and has his legs were giving out

Roland was making gasping and coughing sounds. Marianne stood over him leaning against the sword breathing hard with her mouth open. She took a couple deep breaths and said, "How does it feel to drown in your own blood?"

Yara turned away into King Dagda's arms, burying her face into his chest.

Marianne then grasped the hilt of the sword and gritted her teeth and said, "I have had enough of YOU!"

She gave the sword a quick 90 degree twist. After some hideous gasps and coughs, Roland's body stopped moving and he became silent.

There were cheers among everyone in the room, except for Daniel. Even Alan smiled as he looked to Marianne with admiration.

"My future queen has slayed the beast," Bog said as she bowed before his woman.

Again there was cheering around the room.

Marianne then looked to Bog and her anger disappeared as she smiled. Her face was in need of wiping again as her cuts continued to bleed. Nathan handed him some of the napkins he had in his pocket. He took them as he handed the sword back to Gregory. As she started to walk towards him, suddenly her legs started to wobble and she started to blink her eyes rapidly.

Bog called out, "Marianne! No!"

She started to fall to the ground, but Bog was very fast and he was able to catch her and support the back of her head before it hit the ground. Bog began to cradle her in his arms as he walked over to a chair. He sat down in it and then laid Marianne across his lap. He supported her head and back with one arm and then started to wipe her nose and brow with his other hand. She put her hand over her mouth and coughed hard into it. When she removed her hand, Bog noticed she had blood spattered all over her hand. He wiped her hand clean with the napkin.

"I'm getting worse," Marianne said as she continued to breath hard.

Her father's face became pale as he turned to Gregory and said, "We have to hurry, I think I can trust you the most. I need our fastest fliers to take Marianne, in my mobile throne, to the palace and then find Sugar Plum as quick as possible.

"Your Majesty, with all due respect, but it is doubtful we will make it in time," Gregory answered.

Bog looked into his lover's golden brown eyes as he said, "If I only had my wings, I could carry her. She so light and easy to carry."

She smiled at him as she reached up and caressed his face with her long fingers.

Gregory said, "What about taking a dragonfly, or a beetle?"

Bog thought hard and answered, "Yes, there is one beetle I know that is very fast and should be able to carry Marianne and myself."

King Dagda said, "Well that is it then. You take Marianne with this fast beetle and we will follow. When you get to the palace, gather up as many strong men and Elves as you can to dig behind the palace."

Suddenly Daniel said, "You are all wasting your time."

Everyone looked with wide eyes towards Daniel.

King Dagda walked towards his cell and said, "Is there anything you would like to share with us?"

"If I told you, would you reduce my sentence?"

The king looked a bit cross and said, "I don't want to lose my daughter. If I have to plea bargain with you on your sentence to save her life, then so be it."

"Roland lied, your Majesty. She's here in the Dark Forest," Daniel said.

"What? Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" King Dagda asked as he clenched his fists in anger.

Bog saw that Marianne tried to look back towards Daniel and he repositioned his body so she could look towards him better.

"I don't know. I believed in Roland for a long time. He was my best friend. But when I heard what he did to my brother and Rachel, I started to question things. I began to question my own actions." he said and then paused before continuing. "Further at this stage he would have pitted me against my brothers and that I am not going to. I fight with my brothers often, but I will not kill my own brothers for anything, they still are my family. Also…I admit I am unsettled seeing Marianne like this. Roland said she wouldn't be in any pain. I can see she is suffering. She was always fair with him, but he kept going against his word. I guess seeing Roland what he really is, is making me have a change of heart. Marianne is far more an honorable fighter than he was...or I am for that matter."

King Dagda said angrily, "I don't know what it is that you have against my Marianne, but I ask you to put it behind you and help me so I can help her."

Daniel then looked past the king and looked to Marianne. He then looked back to King Dagda and said, "Roland told me that he hid her here in the Dark Forest. I did ask where, but he told me he would tell me in good time, but he never did and that is the truth."

"Is that all?"

"No," Daniel said as he reached into his pouch and pulled out a folded piece of parchment that initially looked like it was crumpled up at one point.

Daniel continued, "As were planning this location, we also talked about kidnapping Sugar Plum, when we discussed her, Roland drew this."

He unfolded the piece of paper and held it up through the bars. King Dagda snatched the paper from Daniel and looked at. He had a puzzled look on his face as he walked over to Bog and handed him the parchment.

"What do you make of that, my friend," he said.

Bog took a look at the parchment. The drawing was that of a tree that had a staircase wrapped around it. Towards the top or canopy of the tree was a rough sketch of a box. Marianne wiped her brow as she tried to look herself. Bog turned the drawing around to show her.

"Do you know of this place?" she asked. "It looks like a tree house."

"No, there isn't anything like this here. Nothing with stairs like this," he said.

"How did you get this then?" Bog asked Daniel.

"He ended up crumpling it up and tossing it aside. When we left the room, I nonchalantly picked it up and I kept it on me since. I was going to ask Roland about it, but never did."

"So, we are back to square one not knowing where she is," The Fairy King said.

He grabbed a chair and brought it over to Marianne. As he sat down next to her, he began to softly run his hand over her head. He had a lost, helpless look on his face as he took her hand in his.

Just then Bog could hear voices coming down the hallway. Both Nathan and Gregory drew their swords. King Dagda also got up and drew his sword.

A large group of Goblins entered the room and they were all carrying assorted weapons. They were lead by a short fellow that was wearing a leather armor. He was holding a crossbow style of weapon in his hands. Bog figured that this must be the same fellow that was by the window earlier firing the arrows into Roland. But now he got a much better look at this mysterious ally.

The warrior's dark brown mask totally covered his face and there was only a small opening in the back in which his blonde hair protruded through coming to a spiky looking points on the back of his head. His pointed ears protruded though openings in the sides. The eye parts were cut out in a severe cat eye slant. His eyes were darkened black with the pointed ends silver. There was a metal part with ridges over the bridge of his nose. But the distinguishing feature of the mask were four hideous looking tusk like fangs that surrounded the mouth area. It seemed as if his facial hair could be seen protruding through the opening as well. His mouth had very narrow lips.

Looking down from his face mask, the warrior's armor was all a dark brown leather. The armor looked old and well worn. It looked like it was pieced together as some parts were darker and others were lighter in color. The armor had a riveted design that extended from tasset side panels covering his legs towards his abdomen and then curving up and out towards each of the shoulder pauldrons. The pauldrons fully covered his outer shoulders. But part of his upper arms and the front's of his shoulders were showing. There was a strap that attached the pauldrons to midway of his upper arms. The was a small part of exposed skin of his upper arms too. His lower arms were covered with very ornate leather gauntlets that covered his lower arms fully and extended to a point towards the back of the elbows. The armor covered him well and only a small portion of his neck shown through and part of his upper arms. For a warrior he had very thin upper arms. Thinner than the average male fairy. His wings were a solid black with white spots around the edges. They were even darker than Queen Yara's wings. It was clear that by his bodily features, he was a fairy. For the lower portion of his body he wore pants and high boots. From his waist hung four decorative tasset panels that formed a protective 'skirt' around his upper legs.

The crossbow in his hand was loaded and pointed slightly forward. It was of an unusual design that had a strange mechanism attached to it. Bog couldn't recognize it's function but he surmised that it might be some kind of mechanism that would make reseting the crossbow easier, hence the loud clicking noise he heard coming from the window earlier.

King Dagda stood up and came forward and approached the strange warrior. He put his right fist across his chest.

"Greetings my fine fellow. You were the one by the window," he said and then he gallantly bowed before the warrior and continued, "I thank you good warrior, I am in your debt. If it wasn't for you, things down here would have taken a different turn. What is your name?"

In the same thin and rough distorted voice like earlier, the warrior answered, "Rise Your Majesty, I have a surprise for you."

King Dagda stood tall and his eyes were fixed on the warrior.

The warrior handed his crossbow to the goblin next to him and then he reached around to the back of his head and it appeared that he unfastened a strap below his hair towards the back of the mask. Then in one swoop he pulled the entire mask from his face. He then shook his head and his hair flared out. Bog's eyes opened wide in shock. But no one was more shocked than King Dagda himself.

Suddenly everyone shouted at the same time, "DAWN!"

Bog stood up with Marianne still in his arms so she could get a better look.

Dawn bowed before her father gallantly putting one arm behind her back and her other hand out as a gentleman would bow.

"Princess Dawn at your service, Your Majesty," she said and then laughed out loud as she arched her shoulders forward.

Her father just stood before her with his mouth agape.

Marianne also looked with her mouth open but didn't say anything.

Her father said, "How did you alter your voice like that?"

Dawn just shrugged her shoulders and said in her disguised voice, "You know it just came to me and I liked the sound and disguised my real voice. Do I really sound like a man?"

Everyone laughed at how Dawn sounded. Bog raised his eyebrows in amazement.

Her father said, "Yes! I wouldn't have thought for a second it was you."

The large Goblin holding her crossbow said, "She's a good warrior too, Your Majesty."

"Dawn? Ha…..How?" Her sister asked. "I don't believe what I am seeing!"

Dawn's eyes widened as she looked to her sister in shock and said, "My goodness! Did Roland cut your face like that? Your outfit, gosh it's all full of blood!"

"Yes..." she answered.

It looked like Marianne was going to say more, but she was interrupted by another voice that came from behind the goblins.

"Out of the way, please! Let me through!"

It was Sunny as he managed to squeeze passed the goblins and stood beside Dawn. He looked to her with stars in his eyes as he said, "You were magnificent, my love!"

"Awwww!" Dawn giggled as her face started to turn red.

King Dagda looked to Sunny and said as he pointed to Dawn, "Did you do this?"

"Partially, I helped her with her armor and the crossbow design, but someone else helped too," Sunny said as he craned his neck to the side and looked towards Queen Yara.

"You had a hand in this too?" King Dagda asked Yara.

There was a small giggle coming from Queen Yara as she said, "She come out good, huh?"

But before her father could answer, Marianne began to cough again, but this time she covered her mouth. She swallowed hard a couple times. Her breathing was rapid and labored and she was starting to wheeze.

Dawn rushed over to her sister and asked, "My goodness, what's wrong, Sis?"

Bog was about to lay Marianne on the table when she said, "No, Hon. Don't let go of me. I want to die in your arms."

"Die? No, Marianne, not you!" Dawn exclaimed in a shocked tone as she came around the table. "No no! How can this be?"

Dawn got a good look at her sister's clothes and said, "Is this all YOUR blood?"

Marianne nodded and said, "Yes. I'm bleeding to death."

Bog noticed that her cuts were in need of wiping again. He sat down and lowered Marianne on to his lap has he held her. He grabbed a napkin from the table and proceeded to dab his lover's face.

Dawn reached down and touched her sister's face. Marianne grabbed her sister's arm.

"I want to say that I am so proud of you. This is not like you, to be so brave and bold all of a sudden."

"You're right, Sis. I am not really a warrior…And I'm not brave."

Sunny said, "Yes you are. You stood up to Roland's men and fought back for us!"

Dawn shook her head as she stood up and showed Marianne the inside of her pant leg. While her pants were dark, there was one area that was a bit darker.

"Oh no, poor Dawn," Marianne said as she reached up and took her sister's hand into hers. "You must have been so frightened."

"Yes, I was so scared that I…I peed myself," she said in a meek voice.

"But she overcame her fear and helped," Sunny said "And I am so proud of her."

Dawn shook her head and held her arms forward as she asked Sunny, "Please help me out of these, love, I want to hold my sister with my own hands."

Sunny helped her unbuckle and remove the gauntlets.

Dawn looked to her sister, reached down and cupped her hands around her sister's face. She then looked to Bog and her voice wavered as she said, "Wa...Where is Rachel or Sugar Plum?"

"Sugar Plum is still imprisoned, but we have no idea where she is. And Rachel…," her father said, then he sighed and continued. "She's dead."

"What?" Dawn exclaimed as she then put her hands over her mouth and suddenly burst out in tears. "No! She was my friend and mentor in the infirmary! How?"

Gregory stepped forward and said, "Rachel and I were initially going to side with Roland as I wanted to be with my brothers. But, Roland had a falling out with Rachel and she refused to follow him stating she was loyal to the Fairy Kingdom. Naturally I sided with Rachel and stood by her side. He then took us both to an isolated area and tied me up. He stabbed me multiple times and because she loved me, Rachel gave her life to save me."

Dawn shook her head and called out, "No, No!"

She then turned to her father and said, "And Sugar Plum?"

"We still have yet to find her. We think she is somewhere here in the Dark Forest."

"No, no! This is terrible, I can't lose my friend and my sister too!" Dawn called out.

Suddenly Dawn began to breath heavily and as she lowered herself down towards her sister, she raised her hands up. They were visibly shaking.

"Dawn, what's wrong?" Bog asked as he wiped Marianne's brow.

"I'm scared."

Everyone in the room nodded as Bog said, "I understand, under the circumstances."

"I know Sis, I am too. I don't want to die."

"I don't want you to die either," Dawn said.

Dawn lowered her hands to Marianne's face and she said in a soft voice, "I love you, Sis."

"I love you too," Marianne said.

Dawn closed her eyes and then placed her lips on her sister's cheek. She then lowered her right hand down and placed it on Marianne's chest and the other on her hips. Her hands were visibly shaking. Suddenly a pinkish purplish glow formed around Dawn's hands.

Bog's eyes flew open wide as to what he was seeing. Suddenly the despair within him was turning to joy. Everyone also had a wide eyed look when they saw the glowing around Dawn's hands.

King Dagda moved closer to Dawn as he said, "By word from the heavens above, it's a miracle! Dawn! You have the healing power!"

Dawn lifted her head up to her father and said, "Yes, I know."

"Oh...Dawn. I didn't even know," Marianne said in a puzzled tone, but then she asked, "Can you save me?"

"I don't know. I am going to try."

"How long have you known?" her father asked.

"A few months now, but I was scared to tell anyone. As you see, I didn't even tell Marianne."

"You got it late as your mother told me she was 16 when she got it. By the time both of you girls turned eighteen, I had given up hope that either of you would be a healer. So this is a precious gift!"

"No father, it is curse. You told me it is what killed mother. I'm afraid it is going to kill me too. That is why I hid it and didn't tell anyone about it."

"No, no. It is not a curse darling. I will explain later, but please, concentrate on your sister. Please tell me there is still time to save her."

Dawn nodded as she closed her eyes and she had the expression of deep thought on her face. After a few moments she shook her head and looked to her father.

"Dad, I don't know what I am doing. I am seeing colors but I don't know what they all mean," she said in a worried tone.

Her father came and sat down by her side, "Your mother explained it to me. She said, red is good, green is bad."

"There's a lot of purplish black, what's that?" Dawn asked.

"Oh no! That's dying or dead tissue," he said and then put his hand over his mouth.

Marianne put her hand over her mouth again, and coughed again. When she withdrew her hand it was again full of blood. Bog immediately wiped her hand and noticed some on the corner of her mouth and he wiped that too. She was breathing hard with her mouth open wheezing even more, she said, "I don't think I have much longer, Hon."

Bog held her tightly, saying, "No No, dear! Please fight! Stay with me!"

Suddenly that feeling came over him as that time when he listened in to Marianne when she was singing that slow song in the ballroom. But it was stronger this time. He could feel it in his chest.

He looked to Dawn and in a pleading tone said, "Dawn, please try."

"I will try my best," she said.

Dawn closed her eyes and the glow around her hands intensified. She said, "Heal the black, kill the green."

She then moved her hand to the cuts on her sister's face one by one and as she ran her finger across each one, it totally healed, however, each left a noticeable scar behind. She then put both her hands on her sister's chest. A few moments went by and the the purplish glow grew brighter and brighter.

"Ohhhhh!" Dawn gasped out. "I can feel it pulling on me Dad! I'm scared!"

"Just ease up a bit, Darling, you can control it. Look around her body and try to isolate the bad areas. Perhaps you can buy her time. Time enough for us to find Sugar Plum."

"Okay Dad," she said as she closed her eyes and scrunched her face as if she was deep in thought. The glow from her hands began to turn to more a purplish pink color.

As Dawn was working on her, Marianne snapped her fingers and said, "Hon, can I see that drawing Daniel gave you?"

"Sure." He said as he handed the drawing over to her.

She looked it over a bit and then turned the parchment over and she smiled as she said, "I remember that your old castle had a spiral staircase. Here, take another look."

"What?" Bog said as he in it's current orientation.

Bog's eyes widened as when held upside down, the stairs resembled those in his old castle. What he thought was the tree trunk was actually the center column support. The treehouse, was actually Sugar Plum's cell in his old dungeon. His eyes widened.

"Does that help you, my love?" She said.

"Oh baby, you are genius!" he said. "Yes, it does help."

He wanted to kiss her but her sister was over her at the moment with her hands still glowing and he didn't want to disturb her.

Bog called out to his Goblins and said, "Brutus! Are you there?"

"Yes, Boss!" He said as he moved forward.

"Good, take a team of our strongest Goblins and head out to the ruins of my old castle. Dig down to the lower parts. I have a funny feeling Sugar Plum is hidden in her old cell in the dungeon."

"You figured it out?" King Dagda asked.

He handed the parchment to King Dagda and said, "When Marianne mentioned the staircase in my old castle and reoriented the parchment, it clicked. Earlier, Roland mentioned that he put Sugar Plum in her old prison sphere. It occurred to me that the sphere was never recovered from the ruins of my castle. The staircase in that drawing from the tree...when you turn it upside down, it looks like the staircase around the central core of my old castle. And what I had initially mistaken for a tree house, is actually Sugar Plum's cell."

King Dagda's eyes widened he looked up to Brutus and and said, "Brutus, are some of my men with you?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, a whole garrison outside."

"Good. Have the strongest of them assist you in carrying your men over to Bog's old castle site and have them help find Sugar Plum. And please, make haste. I don't know how much longer Dawn can hold out."

"Yes Your Majesty," Brutus said as he bowed.

Bog pointed to the two largest goblins in the front. One of them was the one that was always with Sugar Plum. He said, "Pirus, the both of you stay here just in case more of Roland's men should show up. They probably will not know the know the war is over."

Pirus then said, "Ummm, Boss, I have feelings for Sugar Plum and if it is alright with you, I want to be part of the team to find her."

"Yes, you may. I have seen you two getting close lately. Just have someone take your place here."

"Thank you," Pirus said as he left the room.

Moments later another large goblin entered the room and stood by the door with a spear in his hand.

Bog then turned his attention back to Marianne and now she looked to be unconscious, but she was still breathing rapidly.

"No! Marianne! Fight it!" He called out as he gently shook her body.

"No, No! It's OK. I put her under. With her sleeping it slows everything down. Don't worry, I have managed to get rid of the poison. I am trying helping her heal now...but the damage is so extensive." With tears forming in her eyes, Dawn began to stammer, "Oh! It's too much! I am surprised she is still alive. I don't think I can handle all of this. This is horrible!"

"Easy there, Darling, slow down and just do the best you can. What did you find?" Her father asked.

"All her capillaries have burst in her vital organs. She's bleeding all over."

"I know I am asking much but and this is a big task for you, but please try." Her father asked. "Start with what is threatening her the most first."

Dawn nodded as she then closed her eyes again. The glow around her hands grew even brighter. Her hands were darting all over Marianne's body, but then she settled them down on her chest and abdomen areas. Everyone became quiet as they all watched Dawn work.

After several moments of her hands glowing a bright pink. Bog noticed Dawn's breathing was becoming more labored as she was working she was also beginning to perspire. Sunny sat in one of the chairs and he had a smitten look on his face.

He sighed and said, "I have the most wonderful woman in the world. She's so amazing!"

There were smiles, giggles and some 'Awwws' across the room.

A smile appeared on Dawn's face as she said in a slightly straining voice, "I heard that, Sunnybun. Thank you. But don't party yet, I am far from being out of the woods."

A few more moments passed as Dawn continued to work. She was perspiring more and continued to breathe heavy. Dawn then squinted hard as if she was in pain.

Sunny then said, "Dawn, I hope you are not pushing yourself too hard."

"It's pulling hard on me. I don't know how much more of this I can handle."

"Perhaps you should rest for a while." Bog said.

"I am almost there," She said. "Besides, rest periods must be long as I have witnessed with Rachel."

Her father said, "Dawn, please just do enough to keep her alive. If you feel the need to stop then do so."

Dawn nodded but it was only a few moments later when her breathing was becoming even more labored than Marianne's. Bog could feel the air rushing out of her nostrils as she exhaled.

"Dad! It's pulling at me."

"Okay, Stop then!"

"I….I can't."

"It must be your love for your sister. That fuels it because you want to save her so bad. It is always harder with someone you love. Think of something else now!" her father explained.

"I'm trying!" Dawn exclaimed.

Dawn's body started to shake and Bog rested Marianne's head on his lap. He then grabbed a hold of Dawn's arms and pulled them away, breaking the connection. She then opened her eyes and stood up, she took one step back and almost collapsed back on the table as she continued to breath hard with her mouth open. Her forehead and arms were glistening from perspiration.

"Dawn!" Sunny called out as he rushed over to her.

He then took her hand and put it around his neck as he helped her into a chair by the table. Dawn was panting hard as she buried her face in her hands and called out, "I don't WANT this power! I could feel it taking me over. It frightens me."

King Dagda grabbed a chair and sat down beside his daughter at the table and took her hand into his and said, "It is a good power, you just need to be trained."

Just then Marianne began to come to and she looked up to Bog and asked, "Am I still alive?"

Bog couldn't help but smile as he looked down to her and said, "Yes."

"Did Dawn save me? I remember her trying to heal me and then I passed out," she said.

Marianne looked down to her chest and Bog's eyes followed. Her breathing was less rapid and less labored, but she was still breathing hard.

"Breathing is a bit easier, but I still don't feel right." Marianne said.

Dawn took a couple deep breaths and said, "The poison is out of your system and I have stopped the bleeding in critical areas such as your lungs."

Marianne reached up to her face and could feel that her wounds have been sealed up.

"I healed those too, however, you still have hemorrhages across your body. Even though I fixed your lungs, the bad blood has to be removed from there and the rest of your systems and you need new blood right away." As she spoke, Dawn began to lose her composure and began to cry. "I failed! I used up all my energy and I can't do anymore."

"That's alright, Sis,"

Dawn was near tears again when she said, "No it's not. You are still going to die. I only bought you some time."

Her father said, "That might be good enough. How much time do we have, Dawn?"

"An hour, maybe two."

"Oh!" Her father called out as he came around and embraced his daughter. "That's good, Darling. You didn't fail."

She turned to her father with a stunned look on her face as she said, "Dad, didn't you hear me? I said, she's still going to die."

"Yes, I heard you, but you bought much precious time, darling. They should be able to find Sugar Plum in that time. She should be able to finish the job."

Dawn nodded in agreement as she smiled through her tears and said, "I hope so."

"Rest up now, my daughter, perhaps later on you can assist Sugar Plum and save your sister."

Everyone smiled as the air in the room changed from despair to hope.

"Someone please clear the table." Bog said.

Nathan and Gregory removed everything from the table. Dawn got up and moved her chair back.

Bog took Marianne in his arms and began to lift her onto the table.

"What are you doing my love? I want you to hold me."

"Don't worry, I will." he said as he placed her on the table, pulled up a chair and then placed his arm around her torso.

Gregory fetched a pillow from one of the cells and brought it over to the table and gave it to Bog. He placed the pillow under Marianne's head.

"Rest now," my dear. He said.

Everyone gathered close around the table and either stood or sat close to Marianne. Time seemed to move very slowly as minutes felt like hours. Every so often Dawn would check on Marianne's condition. Bog would look often to Marianne's chest and she still appeared to be breathing hard.

King Dagda sat down by the table to Marianne's left side. Bog sat by her right side close to her head and Dawn was sitting also on her right but closer to her torso.

Nathan came over and said, "At least when this is all over we will have two healers again."

Dawn blurted out, "I said before, I don't want this power. I just want to save my sister. It killed my mother and it also killed Rachel. I just know it will eventually kill me too."

"It is a good power and no, your mother didn't loose control of it," her father said. He then looked up to the ceiling and sighed, "Oh, I may as well tell you both."

"Tell us what, Dad?" Marianne said.

"When you both were younger, I wasn't being fully honest with the both of you when I told you how your mother died."

Dawn's eyes grew wide.

"What?" Marianne said. "You said that mom died saving a soldier's life, that there was no one around for her to transfer from."

"Yes, that part is true...but, it wasn't just a soldier she saved."

The princesses both had a puzzled look on their faces. Their father took a couple deep breaths and the look on his face turned to sadness.

"Your mother gave her life to save me. I was the person she saved."

Everyone had a stunned look on their face.

"I didn't want to tell anyone this as I didn't want to deal with the guilt that I am the one that is alive and she isn't, for I loved her so much. I especially didn't want to tell you both when you were so young. But it is a guilt I have had to deal with every day of my life since she passed. I told her not to do it that she should rule in my place. I told her that you girls need their mother in your lives, but she told me that she lacked my knowledge, she lacked my leadership abilities, even though she helped me run the kingdom. She...she," the king hesitated and paused as he started to lose his composure.

Marianne held out her hand and her father took it in his. She had a very soft look on her face and he looked into her eyes for a moment. He then turned to look into Dawn's eyes. He took a few deep breaths and continued.

"She felt that without me, she would fall into despair and depression and wouldn't be fit to run the kingdom, so she wouldn't take no for an answer. There was no changing her mind. She was just as stubborn as you Marianne."

"Yeah, that's me alright," Marianne said. She coughed a little, but it wasn't as bad as before.

Her father's eyes glazed over as he continued, "I reluctantly agreed. It was the worst thing ever to just watch as her life-force was draining from her body. It was the worst thing I had to witness. I just watched her destroy herself to save me. So it was her choice, not the power that took her life, my darling."

Dawn's eyes welled up again as she said, "Did she know that she saved you?"

"Yes, she fully healed me, but collapsed shortly after. She said she would always love you both and me. And I told her how much I loved her and she died in my arms a few moments later."

Yara came over to King Dagda and put her arms around his neck. Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she said, "It is horrible to lose someone you love like that. You are too good a family. Why bad things happen to good people is beyond Yara."

King Dagda continued, "I have been torn about your mother's decision for many years. But I manged to get through….Now I am so afraid that I am going lose you as well, my darling, Marianne. You are the spitting image of your mother and the one thing that is a constant reminder of her when I gaze upon your face."

Dawn got up and walked over to her father and said, "Why haven't you told us this before?"

"Because I was afraid you and your sister would blame me for your mother's death and I...I couldn't live with that. So I kept the truth from you."

Suddenly Dawn just threw herself at her father and just embraced him. Marianne just smiled has she reached up and wrapped her arm around his arm and grasped it tightly.

"Neither of you are upset?" He asked.

Both of the sisters said at the same time, "No."

Dawn then added, "Dad, you were in a no win situation. Had you insisted and mother lived, then we would have had a life without you. You were the one I grew up with and got to know. I never knew mother."

"I was too young to even remember mother. Only vague bits of her I remember." Marianne said and then paused, "Dad, you were there for both of us all the time AND you ran the kingdom. That is what we know. We both know that you didn't cause mother's death. Her giving up her life to save you was her choice."

King Dagda reached down and brought his arms around Marianne as best he could and embraced her. He then kissed her on the cheek. He then turned to Dawn of whom had tears running down her cheeks. He embraced her and also kissed her. When he pulled back he held Dawn by her shoulders and tears started to roll down his cheeks as he said, "Oh I am so blessed with such wonderful daughters. It saddens me so much to think of losing one of you."

Through her tears Dawn said, "Well, Marianne looks the most like mom and she is smarter than me. She helps you to run the kingdom, so you need her more."

"Dawn, don't say that, I need you both. It was the two of you that kept me going and pushed on with my life when your mother passed. I need you both in my life. I mean look at what you have done. You are a healer now. You have overcome your fears and changed the outcome of our situation here. While I am not supporting having another daughter that wants to be a warrior. You still saved us."

Dawn smiled as she said, "You don't have to worry about me being a warrior, Dad. I have no desire to be a warrior like Marianne. I am a romantic. I feel more at home in the infirmary as I want to save lives, not take them. It is just this time...my family was in trouble and I wanted to help."

All of a sudden Marianne tilted her head back and held her abdomen as she cried out, "Uhhhhhhhhh!"

Bog put his arm around Marianne's upper back cradling the back of her head on his arm. Dawn quickly moved to her sister's side and put her hands on her stomach. Her hand began to glow.

"What is it, darling?" Her father asked.

Dawn had the look of horror on her face as she said, "Oh no! Without the anti-coagulant in her system, the bad blood is started to congeal inside her. I have to remove it now or it will kill her."

"But you have not rested fully and they aren't back with Sugar Plum yet," her father said.

Marianne tried to pull herself up a bit and Bog brought her face closer to his. But she suddenly coughed hard and couldn't put her hand over her mouth fast enough. When she coughed, dark red blood sprayed into Bog's face.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Hon!"

"NO no no! Don't be, my dear. Wearing your blood is an honor! I will not wash it off," he said.

She raised her hand up to his face and said, "You always managed to say the nicest things to me. Like before you called me your future queen even if there is no hope for me."

"Please don't say that my dear, I am still hoping for a miracle," he said as his voice wavered.

Marianne's face grimaced as she called out, "Uhhhhhhhhh! I think I am going, my love! I can feel it.".

Her father's eyes began to well up as he said, "Oh my darling daughter, I...I don't know what to do. I can't go through this again. First your mother and now you."

Queen Yara slowly came over and tears were already rolling down her cheeks. She leaned over next to King Dagda and put her hand out and took a hold of Marianne's hand and held it in hers.

"I only know you short time, and I have grown to love you. You and your sister are like daughters I never had."

"Please everyone, don't cry for me," She said softly. She coughed lightly.

Tears started to roll down King Dagda's cheeks as he said, "You are my first born, the spitting image of your mother. You were not meant to go before me! I love you, you're my daughter. So, of course I am going to shed tears for you.

"Dad, I don't want to die, not now," Marianne said as tears formed in her eyes. She looked to Bog as she said, "For once in my life things are going great and I met the man of my dreams. A king... A king that loves me for me. Now this has to happen."

Bog replied, "I know, my dear. I been searching all my life for a special woman to share my life with and do fun things with. And no woman I had so much fun with than you. And now that I have fallen in love with you, and want to spend the rest of my life with you, this has to happen, I feel like I been cheated out of my happiness."

Marianne continued to look at her lover and she started completely break down. Tears started to form in her eyes and roll down the sides of her face as she shouted out, "I love you with all my heart. I want to live and share my life with you. I wanted to grow old with you. This is totally unfair. Why?"

Bog held her a little closer as he used his fingers to wipe the tears that were now steadily falling from his woman's eyes. As she was crying, he could feel something brewing inside of him. It wasn't anger, and it wasn't sadness, but something else. It was similar to the feeling he had earlier, but much stronger now.

Everyone, her father, Dawn Sunny Queen Yara, Gregory and even Nathan all came over, reached out and placed a hand on Marianne. Nathan all of sudden seemed to be shaken the most as he had a very remorseful look in his face.

Bog could feel the strange feeling come over him. It was like something was squeezing his heart. It was a kind of pain, but not a pain like when he was cut. This felt worse and it was growing inside of him. It was similar to the feeling he got when Marianne sang that slow song in the ballroom. The feeling grew worse as he looked to everyone around him. They were all very much saddened all of them having their outstretched arms around him as they held on dearly to the one he loved. He realized that in loving Marianne, he had become attached to those around her and he developed a strong bond with her father, Dawn and Yara too. Even Gregory was starting to grow on to him. Seeing everyone upset and to tears was becoming more and more difficult to bear. But seeing how his beloved Marianne just completely breaking down in front of him with tears now flowing out of her beautiful golden brown eyes was was all he could handle. The thought of never being able to look in those beautiful eyes again completely overcame him. The feeling now was in his eyes and he could feel them welling up strongly. He tried to fight the feeling and put it out of his mind. But the feeling didn't come from his mind, it came from his heart. He released her hand from his and he started to clench his fists hard.

"Hon, what's wrong, my love?" His lover asked through the tears in her eyes.

"I don't know! This is a feeling I never had before, or for at least as long as I can remember. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," He yelled out. "Why can't stop this awful feeling!"

He then pulled Marianne closer to him and wrapped his fingers tightly around her shoulder. His body started to shudder and then he could feel it. A tear emerged from each of his eyes. One rolled down his check and fell down to Marianne's cheek. The other he wiped away and he grimaced as he looked at it.

"What's this?"

Everyone looked to bog and had an astonished look on their faces.

He found that the same feeling was causing his chin to wrinkle. Another tear formed in his eye and as it started to roll down his cheek, Marianne looked to him with the most sweet and endearing look as she wiped it away.

"Awwwww, Boggy, you are crying." Dawn said as her eyes welled up again.

Bog refused to believe it himself. He just cried out, "Noooooooooooo!"

"Suddenly King Dagda and Yara put their arms around him and it just made everything worse. The pain in his chest was becoming unbearable. He looked to the endearing face of his beloved Marianne as she started to speak through her tears.

"Let it out, Hon. It will just hurt more if you hold it back."

"No! I must not! I am the strong and mighty Bog King!"

She reached up with her hands and held his face in them, "Yes, you are. No one will think of you differently, you are dealing with a pain that most with a loving heart couldn't keep within. I never experienced such a love from a man before. I know you truly do love me and I will die, knowing this."

Her loving words was all he could handle and he knew that without her, he would spend every day of his life thinking of her. He just felt like hiding somewhere not to let anyone see him in his current state. But he was holding his Marianne tightly and he didn't want to let her go. So he ended up embracing her and he pulled her right to his chest. She threw her arms around him. He lowered his head down to her shoulder and he buried his face into the small divot between her neck and collarbone. He could feel his eyes well up and no matter how he fought, he couldn't stop the tears from coming. He could feel the hands of others touching his back, even rubbing it. It was the worst feeling he had experienced more than losing his wings. He felt very weak and powerless. But the comforting soon started to help. Marianne was right, once he let go of the feeling, it started to subside and he could feel himself returning back to normal.

He slowly pulled his face out from her neck and looked to her face. Miraculously, she stopped crying too and even had a smile on her face. He smiled back at her and then got the courage to lift his head up more. All of a sudden everyone handed him a leaf napkin. He took the one from Yara and started to dab his face. Marianne took one from her father and helped him by dabbing the other side of his face.

Bog looked to her and said, "I'm Ok, I'm a tough guy and I can handle myself.

The both of them looked to Dawn of whom was crying so hard into her hands. Marianne lifted her head up for a moment, but then winced in pain as she again started to call out, "Uuuuuhhhhhhh!"

Dawn then got up and walked over to her sister and wiped the tears from her sister's face.

Dawn then said to her sister through her tears, "It touches my heart so to see how much you both love each other I can't bear to see Bog without you as much as I can't bear to know a life without you. You were always there to watch out for me and keep me out of trouble. You saved me many times."

She then looked up to her father.

"Dad you said mother had to make a difficult decision and now it is time for me to make one and I have decided what I am going to do," Dawn said.

With that placed both her hands on her sister's torso. The glow started and then quickly went from a purplish glow, to pinkish to almost white.

Her father called out, "DAWN NO!"

"I'm sorry Dad, Sunny and everyone else I love, but I made up mind. I love you all."

"No, Dawn! Don't give your life for me!" Marianne yelled out.

Sunny rushed to her side and began to try to pull her away, "No Dawn! Please, I know you all my life and I want to share my life with you. I know you love your sister, but please. I don't want to live without you."

Dawn replied, "I'm sorry Sunny, but I have to do this. I love you!"

Bog looked to Dawn and he found he couldn't say anything for he was shocked that Dawn would even do such a thing since she was so scared of losing her life to the power. Now she was going to deliberately sacrifice herself for her sister. He couldn't fathom how much hurt the poor girl was feeling. Her heart so big and giving that she was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice so her sister can live.

Suddenly Dawn's face grimaced and she cried out in pain, "Aaaaahhhhhggghhhh!"

"Dawn! There is no guarantee it will be enough!" Her father called out. "You both could end up dead!"

"Uhhhhhhhh! There...Is...No.. Other way!"

Bog looked to Marianne and her face grimaced in pain too. Then she started to close her eyes.

"Marianne! Noooooo!" he called out as he wondered if it was her time and the life was leaving his lover's body.

Bog was one not to scare easily, but this time he felt truly scared for what was happening. He then looked to Dawn and her skin was starting to turn red and the veins on her forearms and neck were bulging and becoming thick. He could see them pulsating. He could only imagine at the force her heart was pumping to force her blood to course through her body at such a rate.

Bog said, "Dawn, back off now, you are trying too hard, you are just going to destroy yourself."

"Ok, I'll try, but it is pulling so hard!" She said.

"Stooooop!" Her father called out as he placed his hands on hers and pulled on them.

"No Dad! I have to save her...let go!" She called out.

Her father pulled on her hands again and managed to get her right hand lose. Suddenly the glow appeared around both his hand and hers.

"Oooooooohhhhh! I can feel that!" She said as she looked to her father.

Dawn had a bewildered look on her face as suddenly the color of the glow subsided to a pink glow.

"Oooh! I feel it too!" Her father said.

"I'm not in pain anymore. Oh! Ooooo! In fact it feels good!" Dawn said as started to smile.

Bog just watched as slowly Dawn's breathing subsided and her skin returned back to a pink color.

King Dagda grasped Dawn's hand more firmly as he said, "I don't believe it, it's another miracle!"

Dawn called out and said, "Okay Okay! What's happening? What am I doing?"

"Oh, my dear daughter...you are transferring!"

"I am?!" She said. "I don't even know how I am doing that."

She then closed her eyes as she turned to her sister and splayed her fingers out more on her chest. Then her eyes flew open and her face erupted with joy, "Yes! It's working! It's working! I'm healing her! Oh it's working so fast! I can control it better too!"

Her father said, "Ok, Good...Good. Everyone group around and we must all take turns. I don't want Dawn to lose the connection. She may not get it back."

Dawn said, "Wha...What do I do?"

Her father said, "Just keep your mind on saving Marianne, we will do the rest."

"Okay."

Bog immediately jumped up and said, "I got it from here."

King Dagda started to breath heavier has he said, "Just a little more B.K. Let's get the most from everyone."

Dawn said, "No Dad, you did enough, I believe I will be fine with a little from everyone."

He then nodded to Bog. He held Dawn's hand in place of her father's and suddenly he could feel a pulling force that extended from his mid section right through his arm and out his hand and into Dawn's.

His eyes flew open wide as he said, "Ohhhhhhh! This feels really weird!"

King Dagda then instructed Bog, "When you start to feel tired or it becomes painful, then you switch."

Dawn's breathing was still a bit heavy, but they were deep and long breaths.

"Ooooooooooo, Now THIS feeling I like!" She said. "I can feel it just go through me!"

Her father laughed as he said, "Your mother liked to transfer too."

After a few more moments, Bog could feel that he was tiring and he was starting to breathe hard. The pulling feeling was more of a forceful tugging now and it wasn't as pleasant as when it first started.

King Dagda said, "Bog your breathing is labored, switch now."

He looked next to him and Queen Yara was beside him. She then took Dawn's hand from him and she closed her eyes.

Upon switching over, Yara's body twitched a bit and she made a bit of a whimpering sound.

"Ohhhh! You are a strong one!" Yara said. "You pull much harder than Shakira."

Dawn said, "Sorry! Lemme see if I can slow it down."

Just then the glow around her hands subsided to more a purplish pink glow.

Bog staggered to the nearest chair. He slumped down into it as he watched Dawn work.

King Dagda pulled a chair beside Bog and he made a grunting noise as he sat down.

Bog just looked in awe as he said, "This is amazing, I never seen anything like this. Such an unbelievable magic ability."

"I wouldn't be surprised if my wife had something to do with this looking down from the heavens above," King Dagda said.

"Looks like Dawn inherited Evelyn's full healing ability," Bog said.

"Indeed. I think she is even stronger than my wife. I could really feel her pulling," K.D. said.

"So the healing power's strength depends on the healer?"

"Yes, very much so. Rachel wasn't as strong as my wife, but my wife isn't as strong as Dawn."

"Interesting to know," he said as he got up. "I am going to sit by Marianne and thus free up this chair for Yara, so she can sit next to you."

"Thank you my good friend. I am sure Yara would like that," he said.

Bog then grabbed another chair and sat down next to his fiancée. He was still breathing hard. Marianne's eyes closed, but she had a tiny smile on her face. As he looked to her chest her breathing looked normal. He then looked up to Dawn as Gregory moved up and took Queen Yara's place. The queen staggered away from the table holding her hands out.

"Ooooo! Someone hold room still!" she called out in a comical fashion.

Everyone laughed. She ended up collapsing into King Dagda's arms.

"Whoa! I gotcha!" He called out.

Dawn ramped up the transfer and her hands glowed more pink. Bog could tell by the look on her face that she was enjoying what she was doing. Apparently the feeling must be radically different when having the life forced removed from you than to having it flow through you. He could only imagine what it must feel like.

He heard her father call out, "How is she doing, Darling?"

Dawn turned to her father and said, "Good! Good! Almost all red! I am just getting her blood level up."

She then turned to Bog and said, "This is what I was meant to do! I'm a healer, not a warrior."

Bog laughed and said, "And a few moments ago you didn't want any part of that power."

"I changed my mind, Boggy", she said as she raised her eyebrows a couple times.

Everyone in earshot laughed.

"Oh, this feels good!"

"Dawn!" Gregory called out. "I think that's enough, it's starting to hurt me!"

"Oh! I'm sorry, yes, switch!"

Sunny switched out with Gregory next.

Sunny then exclaimed, "Ohhhhh! Zowie!"

"Too much for ya? Loverboy?" Dawn asked her lover as she scrunched her nose.

"Yeah, just a bit."

Dawn toned it down a bit.

Just then Bog could see Marianne starting to come too and she opened her eyes. Dawn looked down on her.

"Hi Sis! Feeling better?" she asked.

Marianne took a couple deep breaths as she looked to how Dawn was holding on to Sunny as well as her and her hands were glowing. She said, "Yeah. Are you transferring?"

"Uh huh! ...Just rest now. I am almost done," she replied.

Marianne said, "Oh! Does this mean I am going to live and you will be fine then?"

Dawn smiled as she excitedly said, "Yes. I am going to live too."

Her sister said softly and a bit dazed as she smiled and said, "Oh, that is wonderful."

"Whoa! This feels kinky!" Sunny said.

Bog's eyes widened and he burst out laughing. Marianne smiled and giggled too, but then her face winced in pain. She said, "Oooooohhh! It still hurts when I laugh."

"Don't worry, it will pass soon," Dawn said, "Your insides are newly healed and will be a bit sore."

Bog brought his hand to Marianne's face and said, "Rest, you will be fine soon, my dear."

He then moved closer and then gave her a small sweet kiss on the lips.

"Hmmmmmmm," she hummed as she closed her eyes.

When he pulled back she smiled and then blinked her eye a few times before she went back to sleep.

Dawn said, "Don't worry, it's just me putting her under. It is better if she sleeps now."

Nathan and one of the Goblins by the door were next in assisting with Dawn's transfer. The room became quiet as everyone that took their turn became exhausted and they all just sat motionless in their chairs. When it was done, Dawn pulled back and she looked at her arms. Her neck arms and face where shiny from perspiration.

"Oh! I feel so warm!"

Her father got up and stood in front of her and said, "Are you finished? Is she going to live?"

"Yes, Dad. I saved her...everyone here helped in saving her," She said as she pointed to everyone around the room.

He then opened his arms and Dawn fell into them and she held him. As they embraced the king rested his head on his daughter's head and then gave her a very long kiss on her forehead. He then said, "You have no idea how relieved I am that you have this gift. Your timing was perfect and you have given me the greatest gift a father could ever want. Thank you for saving, my Marianne."

"You're Welcome, Dad. Anything to help the family."

He pointed to one of the open cells and said, "Why don't you rest up now, darling."

"Oh! But I want to do more healing! I like transferring!"

Everyone laughed.

"Oh don't worry, there will be plenty in need of healing when we get back to the palace. So you will get your chance again darling."

King Dagda looked around the room and said, "I want to thank you all for helping to save my daughter."

There were a bunch of 'You're welcome, Your Majesty' that came from around the room.

Bog got up and when he stood in front of Dawn he took her hand in his and then got down on his knee and kissed her hand softly. Dawn just giggled. He then stood up and also opened his arms. She embraced him and his arms enveloped her. He gave her a long kiss on the cheek and said, "I am sure I don't have to tell you what that is for."

Dawn bit her lower lip and said, "You're too much...you know that. Right over the top distinguished gentleman, just like my Sunny."

He then felt her pat around his back and she started to get a shocked look on her face. She looked around to his back and gasped.

"What happened to your wings? I just noticed their gone!" she asked in a distraught tone.

Bog sneered as he pointed to Daniel and said, "Ask him."

Dawn's brow lowered and her forehead wrinkled and she started to march towards Daniel's cell.

Bog raised his eyebrows and softly said, "Hey, Thanks for saving my fiancée."

The anger left Dawn's face as she stopped, and smiled as she looked to Bog and said, "I am happy my sister has a good guy now and I know how much you love her."

"Yes. If there is anything you desire or need, just ask. I am forever in your debt."

She waved her finger at him and said, "Hey now, don't make me start crushing on you. I already have a good man!"

"That you do. I am just expressing my appreciation for what you have done."

"Yeah, my sister has a good guy this time. Definitely."

Everyone laughed as Bog turned around to face them. The anger returned to Dawn's face as she marched towards Daniel's cell.

Bog walked over to his chair by Marianne and held her hand. He could vaguely make out that Dawn and Daniel were going back and forth about his wings. But it wasn't long before Dawn started to raise her voice.

"You are horrible! I can't believe you destroyed them! I could have helped him," she yelled out as she clenched her fists. "You're just a big bully like Roland."

She then started back towards the table but not before walking over to Roland's body and giving him a swift kick.

"You big stupid turd lily!" She yelled down to his lifeless body with her fists still clenched.

Everyone burst out laughing. Bog was the loudest as he wouldn't mind giving Roland a swift kick himself. But it was the way Dawn looked and acted when she was mad. He couldn't help but laugh.

He said, "Well, Dawn, I never heard that one before."

"I just made it up."

Bog then turned around and looked to Marianne. He looked back to Dawn and said, "Can you wake her up?"

"Yes, but it isn't a good idea. Even though I am finished, her body is healing itself now, she will wake up on her own."

She then came over to her sister and put her hand on her chest and a soft purplish glow formed around her hand.

Bog asked, "Well, are we good?"

"Patience my future brother in law, your future queen will be ready soon. She's healing nicely...I see all red. And she's breathing fine now….so yeah, we are good."

Given how her father explained her condition in 'colors' earlier, red was indeed good. He looked at his fiancee's chest was rising and falling. Very calm and effortless, not the labored and forced breathing she had earlier. But his eyes looked at her blood stained clothes and body. He wanted to clean her up so bad. He looked to her face. While she was no longer bleeding, she had a definite scar across the three places from one side of her face to the other. He took her hand into his and started to rub her fingers. They were beautiful. Very thin and long, dainty, but yet strong. They were the prettiest hands he ever held or even looked at. Without even thinking about it, he just rested the back of her hand on his face and closed his eyes.

Just then he heard an 'Awwww' come from both Yara and Dawn. When he opened his eyes, the both of them looked to him with cute faces. It was then he realized what he was doing and he thought it came off as too cute. He quickly took his fiancee's hand from his face and just held on to it. He felt very embarrassed.

"Sorry, I guess that was a bit too cute, huh?"

Everyone nodded.

Bog reached around and scratched the back of his head as he said, "Yeah…Awkward."

Dawn then said, "Oh come now, it's fine, we know you did it because you love her."

Just then there was a ruckus coming from the hallway and Bog looked back towards the doorway when he saw it suddenly light up all blue. A few seconds later Sugar Plum flew full speed into the room. Everyone turned to look at her. She looked once around the room and then saw Bog holding Marianne's hand. She then looked to Marianne lying on the table with her eyes closed.

She clenched her fists together and let out a scream and she immediately burst out into tears, "OH NO! I'm too late! Curse my slow flying body! I couldn't fly fast enough!"

King Dagda got up and said, "No no! Marianne is fine, she is sleeping."

"What? I don't understand. They told me Rachel is dead and Marianne is near death and in need of my help."

"It is a miracle, Sugar Plum," he said. "Dawn has the healing power too."

"What? I never knew of this. Rachel didn't mention anything either."

"No one did, Dawn just came out with it now."

Sugar Plum looked to Dawn and said, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was afraid. I feared it because I thought it killed mother. I was even more afraid when I thought it killed Rachel too. But Daddy cleared things up and told me the power is a good thing...and I managed to save my sister. So, now I like the power."

Her father added, "She can transfer too."

"Oh thank the heavens! With Rachel gone I wouldn't know what to do."

Sugar Plum flew over to Marianne and she was shocked when she saw the condition she was in.

"For goodness sake, all the blood! What happened to her?"

"Roland overdosed her with an anti-coagulant drug," King Dagda said. "He tried to kill her and almost succeed too if it wasn't for Dawn."

Sugar Plum made a face and said, "My goodness that is horrific. I am surprised that buffoon was smart enough to come up with such an idea. Nevermind. Where did he get the information from to pull off such a thing?"

He said to Sugar Plum, "He didn't come up with it. He got it from a book he stole from you."

"From me?" she asked.

"Yes, I believe he stole it from you after he kidnapped you."

"Can I see this book?" She asked.

Nathan walked over to Daniel's cell and asked him where Roland kept the book.

"It's in his bag on the floor in the other cell block," He said.

Nathan left the room for a moment and then came back with a bluish green book in his hand. He handed it over to Sugar Plum.

"Uhhhhhhh!" She said as she gritted her teeth. "I am going to have to lock this stuff away from now on."

Bog said, "I was going to suggest that to you myself. Especially knowing now how dangerous your books can be."

She waved the book towards him and said in a cross tone, "This is a medical book! He perverted a healing aid into a weapon!"

"I still want it locked away. I don't want any future instances just in case someone else gets any crazy ideas like this. That stinking..." he said as he pointed to Roland's body. He then turned to Dawn and asked, "What did you call him before?"

"Turd lily."

Bog continued, "Yes, that stinking turd lily almost killed my Marianne."

Sugar Plum burst out laughing and made a snorting sound as she said, "Turd lily. That's a good one!"

Everyone else started to laugh.

Sugar Plum flew closer to Marianne and put her hand on her chest and a soft purple glow appeared around her hand. She then moved her hand around her body. Dawn slowly walked over to the opposite side of the table and clenched her fists together, holding them close to her chest. She had an extremely worried look on her face. Sugar Plum continued her examination, but Dawn grew anxious. The look on Plum's face was more and more becoming one of shock.

"Did...Did I do something wrong?" Dawn asked as she appeared to hold her breath.

"No, No, No. Forgive the shocked look on my face, but is this is your first time doing a healing like this?"

"Well, I have done small things before. But I never saved anything or anyone that was this close to death before." Dawn paused and she had a worried tone in her voice as she said, "Please say my sister is going to be alright."

"Yes, of course, she is fine. You're work...it's magnificent. I have seen healers with 2 years experience or more do this kind of work."

Dawn exhaled loudly and and took a few deep breaths. She said, "Oh thank goodness. You had me worried there."

"Well, it isn't a perfect job, but definitely amazing for someone new at this. You have a gift, your highness." She said. She then pointed to Dawn's outfit and said, "Now what on earth are you wearing? And what gives with the black wings?"

Yara laughed and said, "That long story we could discuss over meal. Yara hungry."

Sugar Plum said, "You had a hand in this."

"Yes"

Gregory raised his hand and said, "I'm hungry too."

King Dagda held his belly and said, "Me three."

Everyone laughed loudly.

The King said, "Dinner is going to have to wait, however. We have to get back to the palace and assess the situation there. I am sure there are wounded that need attending to."

He turned to his daughter and Sugar Plum and said, "I think you two are going to have a busy night….You should rest up before we leave, Dawn."

"Yes, dad."

Suddenly Marianne sighed and moved her head from side to side. She turned towards Bog and then blinked her eyes a few times. He couldn't help but smile as he once again gazed into her beautiful golden brown eyes. She slowly looked around and then her eyes stopped at Sugar Plum. She took a couple deep breaths and brought her hand to her face where her scars were."

"Am I going to live?" She said softly.

Bog, Her father, sister and Sugar Plum answered at the same time, "Yes!"

Marianne then asked Sugar Plum, "You arrived on time and saved me?"

"No, I was late. It was your sister that saved you."

She pointed to her sister and said, "Ya...You saved me?"

"Yes," Dawn said in a meek voice. "Remember just before you passed out, you saw me transfer?"

"Oh yeah, I remember," she said softly. Marianne's eyes began to glaze over as she raised her arms up and her voice wavered as continued, "Oh! I don't how I can ever thank you for this."

Dawn helped her sister sit up and the two embraced. She said, "You already have by being alive."

There were some "Awww's" that came from around the room.

Marianne held her sister by her head and then planted a kiss firmly on her lips. Bog's eyes widened at the gesture. But it was just a short quick kiss. She then moved her head to the side of her sister's and then brought her cheek to Dawn's and said, "Oh Thank you, Sis. Thank you so much! It's so great to be alive. Having been so close to death, I'm never going to take life for granted ever again."

She then gave her sister a long kiss on the cheek.

There was some clapping and cheering in the room as the sister's held each other for a long time before they separated. Marianne then swung her legs around to the side of the table.

"Whoa! Feeling better I see," Bog said as he took her hands and helped her up.

"Much!" she replied.

As she stood up he gazed into her eyes, the feeling came over him again like before, but this time, it felt different. It was brought on by the extreme happiness he was feeling inside. He found himself completely lost in her eyes and completely at a loss for words.

"Oh…..I just don't know what to say," he said to her.

Marianne's voice wavered as she said, "Don't say anything, Hon, just do!"

With that he just threw his arms around her body and pulled her tightly close to him. She, in turn wrapped her arms tightly around him.

Marianne raised her eyebrow as she said, "That speaks volumes alone."

"Oh you!" Bog exclaimed.

He closed his eyes and brought his lips to hers. She pushed her lips onto his with a bit of ferocity. Oh it felt so good. He wanted to bury his tongue into her mouth, but resisted the urge as he knew there were spectators and already he could hear the howls and whistles. However, what was going on around them wasn't stopping Marianne and she pushed her tongue into his mouth almost forcefully hard.

"Mmmmmmmm!" He hummed loudly, but not out of passion, but surprise.

Yet, he always had a weakness for her strong tongue kisses and soon he found himself much mellowed out. Oh, it felt so good! He too suddenly had a new found appreciation for his fiancee and even though he treated her well before, he aimed to be an even better gentleman for her. He wanted to ensure she would always stay with him. He could feel it within him at how much he loved her. And on that feeling he just drove the kiss deeper.

But then he heard a voice in the background, "Ummm Sis. Sis!"

Suddenly Marianne pulled back and Bog opened his eyes.

"What? Can't you see I am kissing my man here?" she said in a disappointed tone.

Her father stood behind Dawn and said, "A wee bit too intense, my daughter."

"Sorry! It's just..."

Her father than rested two fingers on her lips and said, "Under the circumstances, I understand."

She smiled at him as mostly everyone clapped and cheered. But then Daniel shouted from his cell.

"Get a room, guys!"

Many looked to Daniel's cell with cross eyes. However, Bog felt something snap inside him. He felt more than cross. He could feel a raging anger boil as he turned around to face Daniel.

He gritted his teeth, pointed to him and said, "You have some nerve shooting off that pie hole of yours."

He could feel his blood boil with each step as he moved closer to the cell.

He then pointed to Marianne and said, "That woman is the only joy I have now that YOU and that turd lily on the floor there took away my wings! And you both almost took her away from me too. This is MY castle and if I want to stick my tongue down my fiancee's throat in front of the whole kingdom, then so be it. I think it is high time I teach you a lesson."

Bog then pointed to Nathan and said, "You! Give me the key."

Nathan said, "Whoa, wait Your Majesty. You are not going kill my brother now, are you?"

Bog gritted his teeth again and growled, "This is my castle, my kingdom, my rules and I sentence your brother to death for his crimes against me and Marianne and the Fairy Kingdom, our ally."

Nathan shook his head and said, "I don't think my brother deserves this, he can be mean and nasty at times, but I know he didn't murder anyone."

"He was an accomplice to this entire war in which people died. In addition, he partook in the act of removing my wings," he said as he pointed to Marianne and continued, "I can't fly with her anymore. My freedom has been taken from me. I may as well been better off dead!"

Marianne approached him and put her hands on his shoulders.

"Bog, Please don't say that. You know I love you for who you are, losing your wings changes nothing about the way I feel about you. I love you."

He looked into her eyes and what she said almost calmed him down.

"I love you too, dear, but they have to pay for what they have done."

"They?" Both Gregory and Nathan questioned.

Bog pointed to Gregory and said, "You are free, as you were not a part of this and suffered your own loss today."

He pointed to Nathan and said, "But I distinctly recall you were there pulling on my wings too."

Nathan swallowed hard and it looked like he tried to come up with something good, but all that came out was, "Roland was the one that swung his sword and cut your wings. I...I'm sorry. If I could take it back I would."

Dawn walked over Bog and said, "Perhaps if I had the remains of your wings I might be able to do something for you."

Bog turned back to Daniel's cell and said, "Give me the remains and I will reconsider my sentence. Maybe Dawn can fix them."

"They are buried in the back, to the left of the window. You will see an area of newly disturbed ground. That is where they are."

Sugar Plum said, "I will retrieve them."

As she floated out of the cell block, King Dagda said, "I know this is your kingdom and I will respect any decision you make, but I think that Daniel should be punished in a traditional manner as I feel he was more of an accomplice to Roland's plans and not the executioner. So far was what I can see, he didn't kill anyone."

Bog said, "Accomplice? No. I know too well that he has some grudge against Marianne. I am beginning to wonder if he is the mastermind behind Roland's plan. I seriously doubt that, that bastard was mentally capable of pulling this all off. I mean, the idea of poisoning Marianne? That seems more Daniel than that turd lily's idea."

Marianne crossed her arms over her chest and started to become angry as she looked to Daniel but said to everyone, "Bog's right. He always had something against me and he tried to turn his brothers against me too."

Before the king could reply, Daniel got up and said, "It was Roland's idea, honestly. I only made the suggestion to look through Sugar Plum's books when we kidnapped her. He's the one that picked that potion."

"So you had something to do with it." Bog said as he gnashed his teeth.

"I found the potion and was reading it, I got up for a moment to take a bathroom break and when I came back I found Roland hovering over the book."

Before Bog could say anything more, Sugar Plum returned with the remains of his wings wrapped up in a large leaf.

"I found them!" She exclaimed as she placed the leaf on the table and opened it up.

"Let me see," Bog said.

He walked over to the remains along with Marianne and Dawn. The wings were completely cut up into pieces.

Sugar Plum said, "I'm sorry, I can't fix them in this condition."

He slammed his hands down on the table and started to gnash his teeth as he look to Daniel from the corner of his eyes before saying to Sugar Plum, "What about making that stuff that Rachel used to fix Yara's wings."

"Chitin? No. It would take way too long if it is even possible," Sugar Plum said. "You saw how long it took to fix one of Queen Yara's wings."

"Yes, Rachel replaced a whole wing, I can wait if it means getting my flight back."

"Even so, there is another problem. The Chitin type has to match otherwise your body will reject it. You are not even a fairy, the likely hood of a match is very slim, but it is not entirely impossible."

Just then Bog heard Dawn humming a song. He turned around and saw her over Roland's body and she was inspecting his wings. It looked like she was measuring them out in an impromptu way with her hands. Then she looked closer to his neck.

"Ewwww! That's brutal Marianne."

"Well, I was angry, Sis."

"Remind me, never to tick YOU off when you have your sword on you."

"Oh come now, you're my sister, I would never hurt you. Goodness knows I owe you so much for saving my life as it is. And besides he deserved it, he cleared intended to kill me," Marianne said. She paused for a moment and said, "What are you doing there anyway?"

"I have an idea," Dawn said.

She then walked over to Bog and went to his back. Bog was ready to turn to face her, but she reached up and turned him back.

"I want to see your back," Dawn said.

She began a measuring motion using her hands like before. When she was done doing that she placed her hand right between his wing bases and her hand glowed.

"What are you doing?" Bog asked.

"Measuring and checking."

Sugar Plum caught on to what Dawn was doing and she shook her head saying, "Oh, I don't believe this. She only discovered she's a healer an hour ago and now she thinks she can do a wing transplant."

"Well, I think I can do this. I learned quite a bit from Rachel when fixing Queen Yara's wings and if it means restoring Boggy's ability to fly then I want to try. Besides, I think I found a near perfect chitin match."

"What?" Sugar Plum, Marianne and Bog said all at once.

"Roland's wings are pretty darn close match to Bog's"

"You know what to look for?" Sugar Plum asked.

"Yup! Rachel told me and with my power, I can see it myself."

Bog's blood started to boil as the thought of him having butterfly wings was bad enough, but Roland's wings? No he wasn't having that.

He shook his head and blurted out, "NO! Out of the question! I will not wear the wings of that dishonorable cretin!"

Marianne said, "Hon, be reasonable. If my sister can do this and this is your chance to fly again, take it. I already see how not having your wings is making you miserable. Ever since Daniel opened his mouth about us getting a room, something snapped with you. You were fine up until that point."

"That is because I had a greater concern on my mind than me and that was you," he said, but then for a moment his voice softened as he said, "I know I couldn't stand it to lose you. So before that moment my mind was preoccupied with you and your well being."

"Awww, I know you have a good heart and to hear that you put me ahead of losing your wings just gets into my heart. But my heart is hurting because you can't fly.

The anger slowly left Bog's face as he looked into her beautiful eyes .

He then turned to Dawn and said, "If you think you can do a wing transplant, then I will do it, but I would rather wear the wings of an honorable fallen soldier."

"Well, you are a big guy, and if you want to fly fast you need big wings," Dawn said. "None of the other men have wings bigger than turd lily over there."

Bog looked at Sugar Plum.

She said, "Despite Dawn's lack of expertise, she happens to be right and Roland has the largest wings of any man in the Kingdom."

Dawn went over to Roland's carcass and unfurled one of his fore wings and said, "I think these will look good on you."

Both Marianne and Bog scrunched their faces and shook their heads together.

A large grin formed on Sugar Plum's face as she reached up and tapped her fingernail to her chin and said, "I think I have an idea."

"Really? What?" Marianne and Bog said together and then smiled at each other.

"You know, you two should really stop that, it's annoying," Daniel said.

This time both looked at each other and an evil grin formed on both their faces as the got up together, clenched their fists and marched over to Daniel's cell.

Marianne said, "This time you are getting under my skin."

"Enough!" King Dagda shouted. "For now, I will handle Daniel."

He approached the cell and said, "I see it myself how you provoke my daughter. One more word out of you and I will turn you over to Bog. Remember you are in his kingdom."

Daniel backed down and said, "Sorry, Your Majesty."

King Dagda said, "Now let's put this all behind us for now, because we must take care of those in need of medical attention at the palace. We have to get Dawn over there as soon as possible.

"Yes, Dad," Marianne said.

Everyone else nodded in agreement too.

Dawn approached Bog and said, "Will you decide soon? I am not sure if the wings will keep for very long without blood flowing through them."

Bog looked to Sugar Plum again.

Sugar Plum said, "She's right again. I can seal the ends once they are removed and keep them in a cool moist place, but you will have to decide soon. Wings can keep for a while, but they will need blood flowing through them soon."

Marianne looked to him and held his hand as she slowly pulled him aside and softly said, "If not for yourself, think of me. I enjoy flying with you and want to do so again. I want you to carry me again. You are going to need large wings for that and to fly fast."

Bog thought it over and everything she said made it worthwhile to put his anger behind him on the type of wings they were, or whose they were. He wanted more than ever to fly together with Marianne by his side.

He looked deep into his fiancee's eyes and she looked so beautiful, even with her clothes stained with blood. He knew that being flightless meant he would be a burden for his future queen. He didn't want that. He knew being flightless meant they couldn't fly through the Dark Forest, or the sprawling meadows together. He didn't want that. But most of all, he didn't want to disappoint her or show he was weak. No, he could never show her he was weak. No, he didn't want that. He always had to be strong for her. It was enough to do this for himself, but he wanted to do it for her even more.

He looked then to Dawn and said, "Ok, I'll do it."

Suddenly Marianne, Dawn, Sugar Plum and Queen Yara all shouted together, "YES!"

King Dagda just smiled and gave him a nod. He put his hand towards the door and said, "Come on you two, we have much to do."

He exited the cell block followed by Yara, Nathan and Gregory.

Marianne reached up and wrapped her arms around Bog's neck. She planted a firm kiss on his lips and then said, "Thank you my love!"

As they walked out the doorway Marianne and Bog held each other's hand.

"Well, I guess that decision just about made everyone happy," he said with a smile, but the smile was short lived as he put on a straight face and said, "I just wonder if the goblins will talk behind my back seeing me in butterfly wings."

Marianne then whispered, "Oh come now, you are a tough guy AND their king. I would think such talk would be dangerous."

"That's true."

"Also, don't worry, you know I'll stick up for you," Marianne said as she made a fist so tight her knuckles cracked.

Bog smiled even wider and almost began to laugh.

"Ahhhh, there you see! I made you feel better, huh?" She said.

"Yeah, you did," he said as he put his arm around her, "That's my tough girl!"

Up ahead, Bog could hear King Dagda say to Nathan, "My apologies, but under the circumstances I am sorry to say that I must place you under arrest."

"Your Majesty, why? I told you that I am loyal to the crown now and haven't my actions today proved that?"

"Yeah, now you are, but I have to run an investigation to see how involved you were with this plan of Roland's, so you will be tried. But rest assured, your punishment will not be as severe as Daniel's."

"Yes Sire."

Gregory asked, "I'm good right, Your Highness?"

"Unless something comes up against you, yes, you are free to go."

"Thank you, You're Majesty."

They all walked towards the exit together.

Moment's later:

When Bog exited the outside entrance to the dungeon, he was greeted by a horde of goblins and a garrison of the King Dagda's soldiers. There were some elves in the mix as well. There was a deafening roar among the crowd as they saw the royal family and Bog exit the dungeon. All the way up in front were Stuff and Thang and they ran to Bog.

"BK! BK! You're alive!" They both shouted happily.

"Yes, but we didn't come out of this unscathed." He said.

The both of them looked around to Bog's back and Thang said, "We heard you had lost your wings."

"Yes."

The both bowed before him and said, "We are so sorry."

"Thank you. However, Dawn and Sugar Plum are working on something so I can fly again."

"Oh that's great boss!" Stuff said excitedly.

"Both of you go round up some rides for us all, we are all flying to the Fairy Kingdom tonight."

"Yes, B.K."

The two of them took off and ran around to the front of the castle.

Bog then noticed that King Dagda was being swamped by questions from his men. The goblins were starting to approach him too.

Bog patted his hands down and said, "Now, now, all your questions in regards to today's battle will be answered later on. We currently have urgent business in the Fairy Kingdom. For those of you not in the know, they were attacked this morning by a borrowing fly army lead by Roland and the Queen fly."

There were some gasps among the crowd.

"However, as of not too long ago, they were defeated and we were victorious."

The crowd then broke out into a loud cheer. Again Bog patted his hands down.

"The royal family and myself were separated from the battlefront at the palace and brought here as prisoners. Now that that battle is over, my concerns are with those that are injured at the battlefront. So I ask you all to assist my friend, King Dagda, and myself."

Just then a soldier interrupted and said, "Sorry for interrupting, your Majesty, but I heard Rachel was killed. Without her there is only so much Sugar Plum can do since she cannot transfer her healing power."

Bog was ready to dismiss the soldier but King Dagda said, "I got this one." He turned to the soldier and replied, "It turns out that in an hour of dire need, a miracle has been bestowed upon us." He then turned to Dawn and put his arm around her and continued, "It turns out that my darling daughter, Dawn is a healer and she can transfer too."

There initially was a stunned silence among the crowd, but then they started to cheer. Dawn smiled and curtsied.

K.D. put his hand out towards Bog indicating for him to continue. The crowd, again, started to ask a bunch more questions. Many were asking what happened to Marianne since her outfit was stained with blood. Many also pointed out the scars on her face.

Bog said, "Marianne is fine now. So please! I ask you to save your questions for a later time, there could be injured soldiers that may be dying and need our help. So we will leave for the Fairy Kingdom palace at once. We are flying across the lake. If you don't have wings...like me...get your rides.

King Dagda then looked to Bog and said, "I will take the first trip back with Yara and then send my chair back for you and Marianne."

"Oh, that's Ok. I am sure I can bum a ride off one of the goblins."

"Oh really?" Marianne said.

"Remember we have the beetles and dragonflies. I am not completely flightless you know," he said as he looked at her and grinned.

"Well, I guess I will meet you at the palace then, B.K." her father asked.

"Sure thing, K.D. But I am going to stop off at my suite as I am sure Marianne wants to get herself cleaned up first."

"Very well, I was going to suggest the same. That is too skimpy an outfit anyway."

"Dad! I don't know where Roland hid my armor. I was wearing this underneath."

"I know, but I am sure you want to get out of it given...uhhhh...you know," he said

"Yeah, Dad, I know, I am covered in my own blood and I might scare the elves."

He burst out laughing and said, "Alright you two. See you at the palace.

Bog bowed a bit while his fiancée gave her father a kiss on the cheek and said, "See you later , Dad."

Four soldiers brought his chair over and he walked over to Queen Yara and she put her hand in his arm and they walked together to his chair.

King Dagda's soldiers took Daniel, Nathanial, Alan and three other soldiers on the premises into custody and were bound for the trip back to the palace. Bog had Titus and two other goblins that sided with Roland put into cells and the dungeon was to be placed under regular supervision.

Bog was shocked to learn that Roland managed to collapse the tunnel that connected the dungeon to the upper levels of his castle. That explained why no one upstairs knew what was going on in the dungeon as it looked like a natural cave in. He ordered some of his goblins to clear the way.

He then called over two Goblins, one of which was Dean.

He said to the first goblin, "You search the dungeon for Marianne's armor, my tartan sash, and our weapons."

"Yes, your highness," the goblin said and then ran towards the dungeon entrance.

"Dean, I need a ride. Please get me Hercules."

"Hercules?" Marianne asked.

Bog grinned as he said, "Oh ho ho! Remember when I mentioned having a fast beetle earlier?

"Yes"

"Well, wait until you see this," he said as he raised his eyebrows and rubbed his hands together.

While they were waiting they watched as the fairies started for the palace. Dawn and Sugar Plum waved to them as they headed out. Many of the goblins got their rides in the form of dung beetles, cicadas and dragonflies. Bog had instructed a small group to stay behind and to leave with Marianne and himself when they were ready leave later on.

Marianne looked to Bog and said, "Well! You seem to be in better spirits than you were earlier."

"Yeah, a little."

"Hmmm, I would say quite a bit."

Bog shook his head and said, "I was not in a right frame of mind before. I realized that I do have other means of getting around and also….well, Dawn gave me hope too, so that did put me in better spirits. But most of all I could see I was bringing you down. I could see you were not happy."

"Hon, you know that if you are unhappy, then I'm not going to be happy either."

"Precisely. I didn't want to make you unhappy, Especially with what you went through. I realized that there was something more important in my life than my own wings."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"It's who rather, and she is standing right next to me."

"Awww!" Marianne said.

She began to lick her lips and then started to reach up on her toes and their lips just began to touch when suddenly there was this deep buzzing sound. Given how loud it was and how deep the sound was, Bog just smiled as he knew that was Hercules.

Bog smiled as he said, "I believe that's our ride."

As he came around the corner into view, Marianne's eyes grew wide. Hercules was much larger than she expected, but what made him different from other beetles as the large crab like pincer he had for a snout. He was without a doubt a battle bug, a fighting beetle. He had very long legs that were outstretched. His antennae were also very long and doubled as handlebar, of which Dean was holding on to and could steer the beetle. He carefully landed Hercules in front of Marianne and Bog.

"Your ride awaits, your highnesses," he said as he dismounted.

"Thank you Dean, now fetch a ride for yourself."

"You want me to come too, B.K.?"

"Yes. You heard me before, anyone that can help must come along, but you are going with me later."

"Yes, Sire."

Bog climbed aboard the beetle using it's front leg as a step. He then made a space in front of him and put his hand out instructing Marianne to sit in front of him.

"You want me in front?"

"Sure. I want you to see. I can see over your head."

Bog put out his hand and Marianne grabbed it and then followed Bog's steps as she got on and straddled the massive beetle.

"Oh, it's wide! This thing is huge!"

"Hang on now, I am not totally sure what will happen."

Marianne's eyes flew open wide as she turned around, pointed to his chest and said, "You have flown one of these before, right?"

"Oh yeah, a long time ago, yes. I just hope I remember everything."

Before Marianne could say anything, Bog tapped the sides of the beetle with his heels and yelled out, "Ya!"

Suddenly the wing casings opened up behind them and a pair of huge wings unfurled.

Bog said, "Given the length of time since I drove one of these, you might want to hold on."

Marianne grasped the antennae firmly and then the wings started to flap and buzz loudly. The vibration of the fast moving wings could be felt through the beetle's body and into her body.

Bog gave the antenna a slight twist and Hercules took off.

"Whoaaa!" she called out.

As Marianne held on, she was amazed at how fast the large beetle was. She could tell that Bog was a bit inexperienced with driving as he was bouncing around a bit. But he quickly managed to get control over it and then he flew it more steadily. She then looked out ahead and noticed that it was dusk and the sun was setting. Bog was then having a bit of fun purposely making Hercules sway from side to side. Marianne slowly moved her hands so that her pinky and ring fingers were overlapping Bog's middle and index fingers. She looked back at him and he looked to her and raised his eyebrows.

"Oh wow! This is fun!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, it is, but it is not like having your own wings."

They zipped around to the front of the castle and then zoomed into the entrance. Bog flew in a bit high and his head just barely missed the top of the front archway.

"Watch out, my love!" Marianne called out.

"Whew! That was a close one," he said.

They flew all the way to the back and then he banked the beetle hard around the pond. He got very close to the waterfall and the tip of it's right wing touched the water and created a cool mist they flew through. The mist sprayed all over them.

"Oh! That felt good!" she exclaimed as her face lit up.

"Indeed! Very refreshing!" He said.

Bog flew towards the balcony of his suite and he slowed the beetle down.

"You are going to land on the balcony?"

"Yeah."

"I don't think we are going to fit."

"Sure, we will just straddle the railing."

Bog maneuvered Hercules right over the railing and he got the message and curled his legs around the rail pulling himself down on it and then folding his wings.

As Bog got off he said to Hercules, "You stay put now."

He grunted and dipped his head in acknowledgement. Bog then put his hand out and assisted in Marianne as she dismounted.

"That was pretty cool!" Marianne said.

Bog smiled and said, "Yeah it was. But...you made it cool. I don't remember it being as fun without you."

"Awww! And I see you are so gallant and such a gentleman as always. Helping me get on and off."

"Of course, my dear."

She then asked, "Why haven't you mentioned riding the beetles before. I think I am going to love riding them."

"Well, it was something that never came up. Like I said, I had my own wings and didn't need a beetle to get around. The beetles, dragonflies and cicadas are here for the goblins that cant fly. Besides I am...well, I was faster than them all."

"Ok, I will quickly change and then…" she said but Bog interrupted her.

"Whoa whoa! Don't you want a nice refreshing shower too?" he asked. "I told your father that is what we were going to do first."

"Yes, but Dad also said he needed everyone as soon as possible."

"He has Dawn and Sugar Plum, they are the two most important people to help with those that are injured."

"Yeah, but the castle could be a mess and he could use us to help clean up."

"Come now. You are covered in blood. How about I help you clean up...to speed things up a bit.

Marianne giggled as she arched her shoulders forward and said, "I doubt THAT will speed things up. In fact I think it will slow things down with what I think YOU have in mind."

Bog just grinned and raised his eyebrow and said, "I think you deserve to be primped, preened and pampered."

Marianne liked the sound of that. She scrunched her nose and gently bit her lower lip.

"Okay," she said, "But I know you have more on your mind than just that."

"Of course my dear, you know I want to get close with you after that ordeal."

"Not too long though," She said as she raised her finger to his face.

"Oh no….not long at all." He said with a grin on his face.

The two laughed as they entered his living room.

Marianne pointed towards her room and said, "I'll just get a change of clothes."

"And I will get the water ready," Bog said.

She watched for a moment as Bog walked towards his bathroom. He had a bit of a jaunt to his walk. She couldn't wait to get out of her blood stained clothes and into a nice bathrobe. She opened the door and then looked into the mirror. It was the first time she got a good look at herself since she looked in the mirror that morning when she put on her armor. This was the first time she saw the dagger scar that ran across her face. Her jaw dropped. Even though the three main cuts were healed, there were very visible on her face. She involuntarily let out a scream.

"Are you kidding me!" She exclaimed.

Just then she heard running footsteps come down the hall. Bog rushed into the room and slammed into the door which was open part way. It bounced off the wall and back at him practically knocking him off his feet. He looked around the room and then to her.

"Are you alright? I heard you scream."

Marianne pointed to her face and said, "You didn't tell me it was this bad."

"What was bad?"

"Uhhh, the huge ugly scar across my face!" she exclaimed.

"I didn't think much of it," He said. "It really isn't that bad. It's just three little spots."

Her breathing started to become heavier and she began to pace back and forth as she said, "Oh no no! I hope Dawn or Sugar Plum can do something about this. What will my people say?"

"Who cares what they think."

"Who cares? I care!" She said in an annoyed voice. But then she sighed and in softer voice said, "I...I am not pretty anymore. Princesses can't have scars on their face!"

"Oh, you are starting to sound like your sister now."

"What?" she said a little shocked at his response. "This is my face we are talking about. I am heir to the throne and I am concerned what my people will think. I don't want to be called Princess Scarface behind my back."

"I don't care what they have to say. You are still the most beautiful woman in both kingdoms. To me it is a beautiful scar that will always remind me of how you fought and won in battle. You are a warrior princess and some scars will be expected. Anyone that cares about you will probably feel the same way. I think your people will say, "That's Princess Marianne, the warrior. She fought for us to keep us safe. I remember the battle where she got that scar. She is a valiant, honorable hero. I admire her so much, such a great leader!"

As the words poured from his mouth, Marianne put her hand over her heart and started to swoon.

She sighed as she said, "Damn that sounds so good. I never thought of it that way. You just have such a way with words, my love."

"So will you keep the scars?"

"Alright, maybe I will have Dawn minimize them, just a little bit?"

"Okay, but could you keep that one as is," he said as he pointed to the scar that coursed through her eyebrow.

She looked in the mirror again and looked at her scars. The one across her nose was the worst one and she wanted that one almost gone. The nick by her lip was smaller but looked deep. However, the one across her eyebrow didn't look bad.

"You like that one?"

"Yes."

She replied, "Okay, I will keep that one...just for you."

He exhaled deeply and smiled as he said, "Thanks, I will go and put up that bath."

Marianne smiled. When he left the room she looked at her face again. Perhaps she was overreacting and Bog was right, she WAS beginning to sound like her sister. The main thing was that he accepted her for who she is even with her new scars. She thought about how much of a gentleman her lover was, but then came to as she knew that they had to get cleaned up and be on their way to the Fairy Kingdom.

She started to undress, practically peeling the clothes off her body. She dabbed most of the blood off her body with a leaf towel that was nearby. She then grabbed a bathrobe to cover herself up. She tied the belt around her waist and also the band around her neck. She then proceeded down the hall to the bathroom. She came too the door and knocked on it.

"Can I come in, Hon?"

She then heard him say, "Go ahead, I have it all ready."

Marianne opened the door and entered. Bog had the lights low and like he did before, he just had a few light spheres strategically placed around the room and also in the water. There was just enough light in the room to create a romantic setting. Bog was by the side of the pool and he was getting the soap and towels ready. It was very warm in the room and the water looked so inviting. Marianne didn't hesitate as she began to march towards the water as she untied her robe.

Mature Chapter 11a:

Later on:

After her bath with Bog, Marianne was rifling through her clothes in her closet, when she said, "Darn it!"

"What's the matter?" Bog asked.

"My halter mini-dress is at the palace."

"Well, just put something on. It doesn't have to be fancy. When we get to the palace you can put your regular outfit on. I will wait outside and just call me back in when you are dressed."

"Okay."

Just then there came a knock at the door and Bog went to go see who it was. He slowly opened the door and it was the goblin that he instructed to find his sash, Marianne's armor and their weapons."

"I found them, Sire!" the goblin said.

"Ahhh, Thank you," he said as he took the items from the goblin. "Now find my mother, I need to tell her a few things," he said.

"Actually, I bumped into her on the way here, and was asking about you, I told her you were here, so she will be here shortly."

"Very well."

The goblin bowed and exited his suite.

Bog rushed back to Marianne's room and knocked on her door. She opened the door part way and still had her bathrobe on.

She said, "I only have skimpy little outfits here she said as she held her bikini in her hand."

Bog smiled as he said, "Well, that might be enough to wear under this."

He then opened the door the rest of the way showing her what he was carrying.

"Oh! Your goblin guy found my armor!"

"So now you have some appropriate dress."

"Well, it isn't made for comfort, but I'll certainly look great!"

"That you will. I do admit this armor is actually a pretty hot outfit. Besides given what happened today, I think your people will love to see you arrive in this."

She smiled and said, "Sounds great! You wanna help me put it on?"

"Sure."

Moments later:

Marianne was looking at herself in a full length mirror that Bog had in his living room.

She said, "I can't believe how stunning this armor looks, especially since it wasn't made from scratch."

"Well, I might be the Bog King, ruler of the goblins of the Dark Forest, but I still have an eye for detail."

"Hmmmm, Mmmmm. That you have my love. First that beautiful dress you made me and now this armor."

"You are so beautiful and sexy in this," Bog said.

But before Marianne could answer, they heard the door bell chime.

"That must be my mother," Bog said.

"Oh you were expecting her?"

"Yes, I sent for her earlier."

They went out to the living room and then down the main hall to the door. Bog opened it.

"Oh my boy, my boy!" She said as she looked up to him. Tears started to form in her eyes, as she approached him. "I heard what happened to the both of you. Oh, such terrible news! The whole day we were here and not knowing that a war was going in the Fairy Kingdom. I just found out now about everything!"

As he let her into the suite, she grabbed his torso and turned him around. She then let out a scream and her voice wavered as she said, "No, No No! It is true what they told me! No! Not your wings!"

She turned him back and said, "Come down here."

Bog got down on his knees and his mother embraced him and kissed him on the cheek. She then buried her face into his neck and wept.

"Mother please."

She pulled away and looked to him with tears in her eyes as she said, "You must be so furious! All these years you kept all your wings, with what you and they went through. Tears and holes but still they carried you so fast. Then I hear that bastard, Roland, cut them off after knocking you out? So disgraceful!

"Yes, I had my moment earlier, but I am better now though."

Even with tears still in her eyes, her voice changed tone and became angry, "That son of a dung beetle! Oh, if I still had my horns, I would gore him to death myself!"

"He's already dead, mother. Marianne killed him."

"Good for her! I heard what he did to her too. Almost near death! Then my boy would be without his wings and his woman."

"She was saved though."

"How?" Griselda asked. "I heard about poor Rachel too. She couldn't have saved her then."

"It turns out that Dawn has the healing power as well and can also transfer. She was able to save Marianne."

Suddenly the anger left Griselda's face as she said, "Oh! That's a new one. Didn't know she could do that."

"None of us did. We were all surprised."

Just Marianne then stepped into the hallway and said, "Hi Griselda."

Griselda put her arms out and said, "Oh, my dear. I heard what happened to you. You must have been so scared."

Marianne came over and bent forward and embraced Bog's mother. She said, "Yes, I was. I didn't want to die. I so much wanted to live and spend my life with your son. I fought it so hard. I tried to will myself to stay alive. But a miracle happened when my sister revealed she had the healing power and she saved me."

The two separated and Griselda said, "Why wasn't there mention of your sister's power before?"

"She was afraid of it, knowing that power is what indirectly killed mother. So she kept it a secret. She only came out with it now because of me. She didn't even know she could transfer and she was willing to give her life for me."

"Oh, bless her. She has such a good heart like you do," She said.

"I was very upset about losing my wings too, I could feel myself going back the way I was, hiding my hurt and becoming angry."

"Huh! You had every right too," Griselda said.

"But I realized that my love for Marianne is stronger than my desire to fly. I don't know why, but that is the way I feel now."

"You feel that way because you both are in love. You both want to share life together."

Marianne put her arms around Bog's neck and gave him a soft gentle kiss on the lips. When they separated they both looked back to Griselda.

She said, "Say, that's a snazzy suit of armor you got there Princess. It's beautiful and shows off your nice strong arms."

"Thank you, Bog helped me make it along with Pare from the elf village."

"Wow, Son, I have to say you make a great fashion designer."

In an embarrassed tone, Bog said, "Mother please. I am not a fashion designer. Marianne needed a good suit of armor and I wanted her to have something that protected her as well as made her look good. I mean she's a Princess, she can't look like she's dressed in some hand me down suit of armor. She needed something with pizazz and elegance."

Marianne said, "Your son, he's just wonderful. He can create such beautiful things."

"It's because he loves you and I can see that by the work he has put into this outfit for you."

She then turned to her son and said, "So, my son, are you okay, now?"

"Yeah. There is some hope as Sugar Plum and Dawn think they might be able to give me a wing transplant."

"Oh, that is good news!"

"So I guess in the meantime I am going to be riding dung beetles. One of them could be Roland's mother."

Marianne and Griselda laughed.

"Ever ride a beetle?" Griselda asked Marianne.

"No, not up until just now when Bog took me for a ride on Hercules."

"Oh yeah, the big guy. He's very fast! Sadly I can't ride him because my legs are too short and can't get fully around him, but I am fine on a June bug."

Marianne pointed her finger to Griselda and said, "You ride?"

"Of course! Us Masters of the Bog are also great riders! How do you think I was able to keep up with this one when he flew away from me as a kid?"

Marianne laughed again.

Bog said, "Oh, when I was a kid and did something wrong, there was no out flying my mother. Once she hopped on a June Bug, that was it, I was doomed."

Everyone laughed.

He then said, "Uhhhh, listen Mom, I would love to chat all night with you, but it will be dark soon, so we better get going to the palace. We are going to fly over the lake, it is faster that way."

"Ok, lemme fetch my June Bug."

He nodded in approval and said, "Meet us in the main throne chamber along with the others."

"Will do, son."

Griselda let herself out and proceeded down the steps. When Bog closed the door, he grabbed his staff and Marianne's sword and said, "Lets go."

"Wait! Your sash!"

"Oh yeah."

Bog quickly put on his sash and then the two headed out to the balcony and he put his staff and Marianne's sword in a holster on the side of Hercules. Marianne also didn't put her helmet on since she didn't want to block Bog's view. But she was bringing it along. They then climbed aboard him and took off. They flew to the first throne room chamber. Waiting for them was Griselda, Dean and several other goblins that didn't leave earlier. There were about a dozen of them all on assorted beetles and a few cicadas. They landed closest to Griselda.

"Alright, everyone ready?" He asked.

Most answered, "Yes Sire!" Some answered, "Yes B.K."

Bog pulled up to his mother. She was on a green June Bug and she had a pair of goggles on her face.

"Nice to have you riding with us, mother."

"Pleasure is all mine, son," she said. She then turned around and shouted to the rest. "Let's ride boys!"

She gave her beetle a tap on the side with her foot and it opened up its wings with a loud buzz. All the other goblins followed suit and started up their beetles.

Dean pulled his beetle up right next to them and his eyes flew open wide as he said, "My, Princess Marianne, you are hot! I love that armor. You look so fierce!"

Marianne giggled as she said, "Thank you, Dean."

Dean then said as pulled off to the side, "Hey everyone see how hot Her Highness looks today?"

Marianne smiled as she looked to the goblins and they reacted positively to the way she looked.

Bog then looked to Marianne and she turned to face him as he said, "He's all yours."

"What? You want me to drive?"

"Sure!"

"Alright! I'm gonna love this!"

Marianne grasped the antennae and then gave Hercules a tap on the side. He opened up his wings and the deep loud buzz overpowered all the other beetles.

Bog pointed forward and shouted, "Yo!"

Marianne tapped the beetle's side again and they took off and flew out the front entrance of the castle.

"Whooo Hoo!" she exclaimed.

His mother was next and pulled right along side them. Dean and the rest of the goblins followed closely behind. The light of day was wanning and it was already fairly dark in the Dark Forest. Through the canopy the sky was already a purplish blue and Bog knew it was going to be nightfall by the time they reached the palace. Luckily beetles were more nocturnal and had no problem flying in the dark.

Bog placed his hands over his fiancee's and then started to weave to and fro between the trees, swinging back and forth. Marianne started to laugh. Soon they were out of the forest and the lake could be seen in the distance.

"Hold on!" she said and she pushed down on the left antennae and pulled up on the right one at the same time.

"Marianne wait!"

Suddenly Hercules did a barrel roll to the left and instinctively Bog grabbed one antennae and wrapped his arm around Marianne while squeezing his legs around the body of the beetle.

"Son! Stop showing off, remember you can't fly if you fall off!"

"I'm good mother, and besides, Marianne's doing the driving!"

Griselda lifted her hand and shook her index finger at Marianne.

"Sorry! I am just enjoying myself."

"Be careful you two."

As they started out over the lake, Marianne pitched Hercules down and very close to the surface of the lake.

"Oh this is so amazing. Such a different perspective on flying!"

She looked back to him often and she had such an amazing smile on her face. She then started to swoop down and up banking heavily to the side causing the wing tips of Hercules to touch the water. Some water splashed on Griselda and Dean.

Dean called out, "Argghhhh. I hate getting wet!"

Griselda said, "Easy you two, don't get wild now."

As Marianne steadied Hercules, Bog said, "You certainly are wild, my dear, and I am wild about you!"

Marianne reached her left arm up and back to Bog's face. She turned to face him and raised an eyebrow and said in a seductive voice, "I was born to be wild, Hon."

Bog laughed as he said, "That you are."

Marianne reached her lips up and gave him a peck on the chin before turned around and taking the antennae. Bog then turned around to his fellow riding goblins.

He shouted, "How about a song fellas!"

Everyone cheered!

His mother said, "Sing a riding song, son!"

He pointed to his mother and said, "That's exactly what I had in mind, mother. This one goes out to my wild lover, Marianne!"

"Awwww!" Marianne exclaimed.

Bog reached around and grabbed his staff. He inched back a bit and put his staff in it's guitar position. He began to strum out a riff that was very familiar and everyone cheered.

(Born To Be Wild – Steppenwolf)

(Bog)

[One of the larger goblins pulled forward on his beetle and said, "Perfect choice boss!"

Marianne shouted, "Whooo Hoo! Yesss!"

As Bog started to sing, Marianne found she was bobbing her head up and down to the beat and every so often she called out, 'Yeah!']

Get your beetle runnin'
Head out on the skyway
Lookin' for adventure
And whatever comes our way

[Griselda was now swaying back and forth to the music and the other goblins were also doing the same, also bobbing their heads to the music. Marianne shouted out, "Whooo!"]

Yeah Darlin' go make it happen

[When Bog said 'Darling' she wanted to reach up and give him a kiss, but since she was driving and he wasn't holding on to anything, she just blew him a kiss as she said, "Mmmmmuahhh!"]

Take the world in a love embrace

[He smiled down to her.]

Fire all of your wings at once
And shoot off into space

I like flying fast as lightning
Wings a roarin' thunder

[Suddenly Griselda zoomed past them and did a couple barrel rolls out in front, and yelled out. "Oh Yeah!" Marianne looked back and noticed her Bog's eyes grew wide. She just laughed.]

Racin' with the wind
And the feelin' that I'm under

Yeah Darlin' go make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your wings at once
And shoot off into space

[Some of the Goblins were also doing some tricks, but most were just swaying to the music and bobbing their heads.]

Like a true nature's child
We were born, born to be wild
We can climb so high
I never wanna die

[Marianne threw one fist in the air and shouted, "Yes! I love living!" She then turned and softly said to Bog. "I love living with you." The driving look Bog had on his face softened for a moment as he looked into her eyes. He then grabbed a hold of the antennae with one hand and then thrust his staff in the air as he sang out.]

Born to be wild!
Born to be wild!

[Bog put his staff back into guitar position and hammered out an ending solo. Marianne was heavily bobbing her head to the beat and regularly called out, "Oh Yeah! Whoo Hoo!"]

When Bog strummed out the last chord he thrust his staff in the air and yelled out, "Yeah! We are born to be wild!"

Everyone pulled their beetles and dragonflies closer to Bog and began cheering. Some were even more daring and let go of their bug's antennae to clap for Bog.

Marianne steered towards Griselda and said, "I can't believe what you did before and you talk of us being wild?"

"Oh, my dear, I did much more than that when I was younger."

Just then the palace came into view just south of the lake and everyone steered for it. Once they cleared the lake they entered the main battle area just behind the castle.

Marianne was expecting to find a huge mess from the battle, but the battlefront was amazingly clear. She could make out numerous spiders carefully wrapping up the fly carcasses and stacking them in neat piles on the field. Other spiders would put them on their backs and began to carry them off. She then pulled around to the front entrance of the castle and then Bog took the antennae from Marianne to guide Hercules in for a landing. There she could make out her father was speaking to an unusual creature. The creature was very tall and fairy like in her initial appearance. It had two arms and two legs like a fairy, but it appeared to have four additional limbs that came out of it's lower back, just above the buttocks. It's head appeared to be female, but it's body, while having the feminine curvature of a woman, was far too muscular for a woman's body.

Bog leaned over to Marianne's ear and said, "That's Spydera, the Spider Queen."

"That's the spider queen? With such a masculine build, she looks like a he," Marianne commented.

"Yes, she is very strong. Stronger than me in fact. Her arms are thicker than her legs!"

Even with her arms mostly covered, Marianne could see her large rounded shoulders and a good part of her biceps.

"Damn her arms ARE big. What is she?" She asked.

"She's a fairy-spider mix. Supposedly the only one of her kind. She's very old too, but never bring up age around her."

As they landed, Bog said, "Darn, I wish I had a cape to cover my back."

Bog untied his staff and gave Marianne her sword. She put it in her scabbard on her belt as she said, "Why, my love?"

"I don't want her to see that I am in a weakened state."

"Why?" Marianne said as she put on her helmet.

Bog helped her fasten the rear strap on the back of her head as he said, "She doesn't like weak people. Trust me when I say that this is one person you don't want to mess with. She is mean, nasty and if you cross her, she will not hesitate to kill. This is one creature that not even I wouldn't be able to take down."

Marianne swallowed very hard and slowly started to dismount off of Hercules as she replied, "I am NOT weak."

"I know that, but you are a fairy and in her eyes all fairies are weak."

"Ok, I will leave the talking to you then."

Marianne wasn't afraid of much, but this creature was very fierce looking and towered over everyone being nearly a whole head taller than Bog. Even though she wasn't scared of her, she certainly looked like a formidable and intimidating warrior. She was wearing an ornate and very modern looking armor differing in her own armor in that it had many hard edges and was very 'pointy'. It was mostly black but had some blue accents here and there. The dominating feature was it's ornate breastplate that looked to be made of thick leather over an insect shell for each breast cup. They were covered with layered leather straps that peaked in the middle. All the straps together formed a vertical ridge that across the crest of the breast cup. The breastplate came up high on her chest and in the center where two parts came together was a slight protrusion in the middle, which Marianne figured was designed to deflect sword blades. Most of her armor was made of this unusual black satin like leather material. While it wasn't shiny, it had a bit of a sheen to it. It formed shoulder straps that ran up from her breast plates and out to her shoulders to form pauldrons with two points that curled upward over her shoulders and one curling down slightly, partially covering the side of her shoulders. The tips of the points were blue. Going around the back of her neck was a huge protective scalloped collar that went more than halfway around her neck. The collar was web-like in appearance and it was supported by 8 ribs that terminated to a claw like point. Like the shoulder pauldrons, the tips were blue. The front of her neck area was a bit exposed, but it was mainly due to the large muscles on her back that sloped very high up on her neck. She wore long gauntlets on her forearms that seemed to be made of the same black satin leather material as the upper part of her armor. The gauntlets extended from her wrists just slightly above her elbow. There were four thorn like spikes on the outside edge of her forearms. At the elbow joint, the backside of the gauntlets flared out to a dual point that went behind her upper arms. Her upper arms and shoulders were mostly exposed. The satin leather armor also extended down from the breastplate towards her abdomen and then out to a short tasset on each side of her legs. They extended down to about mid thigh. There were large tassets that extended down from her under her belt to her front and back. They were a little longer than the side ones. The tassets appeared to be a part of the same section that made up the abdomen. They also seemed to be made from the black satin leather material. She wore a 'v' shaped leather belt that was blue with black accents, it curved down over the center tasset. Under the tassets she wore a dark grey short skirt made from layered sections of leather. Each layer's edge was adorned in blue trim. The skirt was a little shorter than the side tassets. In the center of her body, just below her breast plate and above the belt, was an ornate cutout that exposed the middle of her abdomen. Marianne found this to be rather odd, that the spider queen allowed a major portion of her body to to be exposed like that. Either she was overconfident in her ability to fight or she had very tough skin. Marianne thought it was the latter considering how muscular her mid section was. She clearly had a well defined and chiseled six pack.

As Marianne and Bog moved closer, she could make out more details on her body. Her skin was light grey color and it contrasted well with her long white hair. The sides of her head were shaven and the front top part formed a Mohawk with a crest towards her forehead. The hair on the back and top of her head was gathered into a high ponytail that was braided and ran all the way down the back of her head. The sides of her head were shaved. She had long ears similar in size to her own, but they curved up rather than out and they angled more to the back of her head. Marianne noticed that her eyes were closer together than hers, the were a bit smaller and they had more of an angle on them. She had very unusual light colored eyes, but Marianne was still too far away to make out any details. Her face was a bit elongated and drawn, accenting her high cheekbones. She had a very strong jawline. Her neck was very thick. Her shoulders were very wide and broad giving her a masculine looking neckline. The long pauldrons on her armor made her shoulders look broader yet. Given the size of the breastplate on her armor, her breasts were much larger than her own, but still a bit on the small side given the size of her body.

She had six legs, two of which looked like normal fairy legs which had slender but strong looking thighs and on her lower legs she wore sort of a foot-less boot on her legs that matched the style of her arm gauntlets. They extended from a little above her knee to about halfway over her foot. The tops terminated to point just mid thigh where the tassets stopped. The area of her thighs from the top of her boots to her skirt was exposed. The end of her feet curved down as if she was wearing heels, but she didn't have toes. Instead her feet came to a point and had a black spider like pincer which she stood on. She had two more sets of legs that were thinner and more shaped like spider legs that appeared to be coming out of her lower back. They started out with grey 'shoulders', one set over the other, but then slowly darkened to black just above the 'knee' joints. These legs terminated to a sharp point. The tips of ends of these limbs were blue. Those sets of limbs were just hanging limp in-line down her back for the moment. They draped over her buttocks. As she stood a bit sideways with her hand on her hip, Marianne could see her buttocks seemed be much larger than the average female fairy's This made her back legs flare out a bit from her back. The satin leather like material completely covered her back side save for a small teardrop shaped cutout at the nape of her neck and also a triangular shaped cut out just above her belt for her rear legs. Unlike the front, there wasn't much in terms of details on her back. Extending down from her back over her buttocks was a large tasset. She had two large spears strapped to her back along with a large pouch. There seemed to be an article of clothing peeking out from the flap of the pouch.

Bog said to Marianne, "I know that she is here for something. She is not going to outright help someone and not receive some kind of payment for it. I fear the cost will be high on this one."

Marianne turned to Bog and said, "Well, whatever it is she wants, she will get, she helped out right?"

"Yeah, but I could imagine she would want much. She wouldn't have come out here to help if there wasn't something here that she wanted. Whatever you do, if you must speak, be extremely polite and well mannered, no matter what she says. She is very big on that."

As they approached Spydera and her father, Marianne got a better look at her face. She had a very feminine but long nose and like herself she wore dark cat eye makeup, but hers was mostly black but she had a little navy blue shadow over her eyelids. Her eyebrows were very long and extended past her face and swooped upwards past her eyes. She also got a closer look to what she thought were her gloves, but they were actually her hands. They were black like her legs. Her fingers were very long, just as long as Bog's and like his fingers, they also ended in very long fingernails which were blue.

When they were directly in front of her, Bog stopped and he reached over and pulled down on Marianne's belt and he whispered, "Bow."

Both Marianne and Bog got down on one knee. He leaned on is staff as they both lowered their heads in front of Spydera.

Then a very soft, low pitched, but beautiful voice, she said, "Arise my neighbor. Let me see whom you are with."

They both slowly got to their feet, Spydera looked directly into Marianne's eyes. Her eyes were unusual in that they had a starburst like iris that was white and blue in color. Her eyes matched the blue accents on her body very well. Suddenly her brow lowered. Marianne looked down fearing that she stared at the queen's face for too long.

"You seen my eyes, let me see your's" she requested.

Marianne looked back up to the queen for she stood almost a half fairy's height over her.

Worrying that her staring might be taken the wrong way, Marianne just blurted out a compliment, "Forgive me for staring, your highness, your eyes are so different, I have not seen anything like them before, they are very beautiful."

Bog looked to her and his eyes widened and she knew it was because she went against what he instructed her to do. The queen's eyebrows raised a bit and a smirk appeared on her face.

"Thank you, I see you have pretty golden brown eyes….Ummm, I take it that by way of your lovely crown, you are Princess Marianne?" She asked

"Yes, your highness, but this is just a helmet I have on."

"My mistake, the horns on it are very impressive," she said, then paused for a moment before continuing. "I have heard much about you from your father. Escaping a near death experience and I see that you are a warrior too since you are wearing armor. I will add that it is also beautiful."

"Yes, your highness. Your armor is stunning too."

The queen smiled as she extended her her hand to Marianne and said, "Thank you. I am Queen Spydera of the Forbidden Forest."

Marianne took the queen's hand in hers and but was careful as her fingernails looked even sharper than Bog's. At first she was going to give the queen a regular handshake, but then she remembered what her lover said about coming off as weak, she she gave the queen's hand a good solid squeeze as she shook her hand. Again the spider queen raised an eyebrow as she then squeezed Marianne's hand harder. But she squeezed a bit too hard and it hurt. But Marianne just clenched her teeth in her mouth.

"Pleased to meet you, Your Highness," Marianne said trying not to show pain.

"Like wise," Spydera said as she let go of Marianne's hand and then she looked to her side and continued, "A swordsman...or should I say swordswoman?"

"Yes." Marianne said as she discreetly shook the pain out of her hand behind her.

"Not often women fight with long swords. Most don't have the strength. But I see that you have a very strong build, very unlike the other women I have seen here and I have to add you have a nice grip too. I'm impressed."

"Thank you, Your Highness, I mostly trained myself early on, but now I have a good sparring partner," as she looked at Bog.

"I see," Spydera said as she glanced over to Bog. "Well, it is nice to see another woman that has some muscle on her arms."

"Thank you."

Whatever it was that she said, Marianne realized that the small talk between the Spider Queen and herself seemed that she took an interest in her. In the very least, she wasn't angry. She put her arms behind her as if to look relaxed, but she rubbed her hand with the other as it still hurt.

Bog said, "It is a pleasure to see you again after such a long while, your highness."

"Thank you, my neighbor Bog King. Yes indeed it has been a while. I see you have a new look now."

Marianne could tell Bog was feeling uneasy and he said, "Yes, I lost my wings in the recent battle."

"Hmmm, while I have noticed that too, but I was referring to your your sash."

"Oh! Yes. Thank you," Bog said as he bowed to the queen.

"Please do accept my apologies on the loss of your wings."

Bog again said, "Thank you for your kind words."

"I have see that you seemed to have changed quite a bit since we last talked several years ago. You seem more, respectful and nice."

"Yes, your highness, I have undergone some changes after meeting Marianne."

"And I hear you both are engaged to be married?"

"Yes," they both said together.

Spydra put her hand out towards Marianne's left hand. At first Marianne was going to outstretch her right hand again, but she quickly realized that Spydera wanted to see her ring and she raised her left hand and placed it in Spydera's hand. This time she had a very gentle touch and her skin felt surprisingly soft like her own. She then wrapped her long fingers around her hand and pulled it closer up. Marianne had to move forward to hold her arm up more comfortably. She looked up to her and was surprised at how tall the Spider Queen was.

"Very pretty." she said. She then looked to Bog, lowered her brow and continued. "I wonder where you got such a beautiful stone from, neighbor."

"Uhhhhh, it is a long story, your highness."

"Indeed. I would like to hear it some day as I am sure it is interesting. Purple diamonds like this are not easy to come by."

Bog nodded in agreement as he said, "Yes, it was hard to get, but I wanted her to have something that matches her look and is different, just like she is."

"You have changed, my neighbor," Spydera said.

"I hope that is a good thing."

"Indeed it is. You are very gallant to give a woman such a wonderful gift like that," Spydera said.

"Uhhh, if you would like one, I can have one made up for you. However, I figured you would want more than a ring for your assistance today."

"Your intuition serves you well, Bog King. I most certainly am looking for something more."

Bog said, "Of course, just name what it is that you would like for payment."

She looked to King Dagda, and said, "His Majesty of the Fairy Kingdom and myself were just starting to discuss that."

"Oh, could you fill me in K.D.?" Bog said as he turned to the king.

"Yes, well, one of the things Her Majesty wanted was to clean up for us in the form of removing all the fly carcasses. She will be taking them back to her kingdom. But she did indicate to me that is only part of the payment."

"What is the other part?" Bog asked.

"We didn't get that far as I was waiting for you to show up with Marianne."

Marianne and Bog looked at one another and smirked knowing they spent far longer than they should have in his bathroom at the castle.

"Shall we continue inside?" Her father asked as he looked up to the queen.

"Yes, please."

As they were starting for the castle entrance, Bog suggested, "We should host a dinner in her Majesty's honor for helping. Perhaps we could discuss her payment then?"

Marianne raised her eyebrows and looked to her father as she said, "What is the condition of the ballroom, Dad?"

Her father sighed as he said, "I am afraid not very good. All the upper levels have some appreciable damage. It would be an embarrassment to host a dinner in the ballroom's current condition."

"Dinner at my place would be out of the question as it is getting quite late to shuttle everyone back there," Bog said.

"Agreed. I am sure everyone is going to be hungry as many have not eaten since this morning. I guess we just have to just make the ball room as presentable as we can. It is just not going to be perfect this time," K.D. said to Bog. He then turned to Queen Spydera and said, "Is that fine with you, your highness?"

"Yes that will be fine. I understand that you are cleaning up after an attack and I am not a very fussy woman," She answered.

"Splendid! I will also see if we can quickly fix up a room for you to stay in the meantime."

"Thank you, your Majesty, but please, you don't have to go out of your way for me. I don't want to be an inconvenience."

Her father then held out his hand towards the castle entrance and said, "Nonsense. You are our most honored guest! After you, my dear queen."

"Thank you, but you go on ahead, I would like to have a word with, his Majesty, Bog King. So we will bring up the rear."

Marianne smiled as it seems that Bog's description of Queen Spydera was quite off the mark. She seemed like a very pleasant person. She and her father started in towards the castle and they continued to discuss the condition of the ballroom together and what they could do to get it ready for dinner that night. Then she changed the subject.

"Dad, what is the injury and casualty situation like?"

"We faired better than I thought, but we lost 11 men not including those that betrayed us for Roland. However, I didn't even finish tallying up all the injuries. Let's just say, Sugar Plum and your sister will be kept busy for quite some time tonight. Last time I checked, Dawn is due for a break. Even though she can transfer and she is learning quickly, she will still become tired and will need rest. Don't forget she already is tired from healing you."

Marianne glanced back for a moment and noticed that Queen Spydera and Bog wasn't behind them.

"That's funny, what is keeping them?" Marianne said as she looked down the empty foyer hall. She then looked at her father and said, "I'm going to to check up on them."

"Go on, I want to see if I can flag down Benny or another high ranking soldier and inform them of our dinner plans for tonight."

Marianne nodded and then flew back down the hall towards the door. She opened the door and went outside. Her jaw dropped as she was shocked at what she saw. The Spider Queen had her Bog pinned up against the wall with one hand wrapped around his neck. Her four limbs that were resting on her buttocks before were now also up against the wall completely boxing her lover in. Her other hand was made into a fist and was cocked back. As he was kicking and struggling to get free, she used one of her legs to hold his lower body still.

"I don't believe what I'm seeing!" Marianne said aloud to herself as she drew her sword and flew towards the Spider Queen.

As she drew closer, she heard her say, "Don't play coy with me, Bog! You snuck into my territory and found the cave on the north side close to the river. That is where you got the stone for your lady's ring."

Marianne lunged forward, letting out a scream. Spydera looked to her and her eyes widened, she reached back with her free hand and grabbed one of her spears and put it out in front of her as Marianne swung her sword and it hit her spear with a loud clang.

Marianne was shocked that she was flying forward with full force and she was pressing her sword hard into Spydera's spear. Yet, the spider queen was able to stop her in her tracks and hold her back with just one arm.

Spydera yelled out in an angry tone, "Stop! right there, Princess!"

Marianne stopped pushing but still held her sword against Spydera's spear. The sight of her fiancé being held by his neck just deepened the anger within and the snarl on her face intensified. Her reaction actually made Spydera raise an eyebrow. The anger within her was reaching a boiling point as she stood watching Bog trying to pry away Spydera's large fingers from his neck. But instead of pushing forward, Marianne pulled back an switched her attack stance to one of defense as she demanded, "Release my boyfriend, now!"

"Easy there, Princess. I would watch it if I were you as I am just beginning to like you. You have no idea what you are up against. Now, stand down."

"Not until you release him," Marianne said as she snarled a bit, growing more angry by the moment.

King Dagda then exited the castle and came running towards them drawing his sword. He looked up to Spydera and said, slightly out of breath, "Your highness, what is the meaning of this? Put your weapon down at once."

"This doesn't concern you, Fairy King, as this is between Bog King and myself. Call your daughter off now."

"He is engaged to my daughter, my future son-in-law. So it darn well does concern me. However, I am sure whatever difference you have with Bog we can work it out inside."

Marianne suddenly realized that she was once again letting her feelings and anger get in the way as she noted how her father was handling the situation. She remembered her father's countless explanations of the value of handling things in a diplomatic way and to keep a cool head.

"I know what it is, Dad." Marianne said.

She sheathed her sword and then pulled her engagement ring off her finger and reluctantly started to hand it towards Spydera. The spider queen in turn, put away her spear and started to put her hand out towards Marianne's.

Trying hard to suppress her anger, she said. "I love this ring because it was given to me by Bog as a present for his engagement to me. But I don't want any rift between our kingdoms. This ring is a material item and it can be replaced. I don't want lose my boyfriend as he cannot be replaced. Please, I put away my sword and I kindly ask you to release him and we can work out whatever it was that he did to upset you."

"Well spoken, my daughter." King Dagda said proudly as he put his sword away. He then turned to Spydera and said, "I want to make a good relationship between you and your kingdom, but you are getting off on wrong foot, my dear Queen. Now I do not want to use force of any kind as you are here a guest so we can come to a reasonable solution to this and your terms for payment for your service to my kingdom."

Spydera slowly let Bog down and brought her back legs behind her as she said in a slightly gruff tone to Marianne, "Don't be so melodramatic, I had no intention of killing him, Princess. I just wanted to teach him a lesson."

"Well you could have fooled me," Marianne answered.

Bog coughed a few times and then said, "Just before you grabbed my neck I wanted to tell you that I would pay for the stone. Now if you please, let my fiancee keep her ring. Outside of the stone, the ring belonged to my mother."

"Fine, she can keep it," the spider queen said in a disappointed tone.

"I don't understand why you are making a big deal of this when you have a cave loaded with insanely huge purple diamonds," Bog said.

"That isn't the point!" Spydera shouted as she poked her finger into his chest her voice sounded more rough when she raised it. "It is the idea that you went on my land behind my back and stole what is mine. Then I have to hear about it through my spider sentries. I had been thinking long and hard about invading your territory in return, but if it wasn't for my current situation and the fact that you and your girlfriend saved a very rare spider that I am very fond of, I would have mounted an attack on you. YOU violated our treaty, not me!"

Bog lowered his head and said to Spydera, "I'm sorry, your highness. I can't argue with you there. I wanted to get a stone for her ring on a short notice. I was keeping my word on a wager. I knew it was wrong, but that cave was the only place I knew where the stones were. I knew that going through the Forbidden Forest and finding you and then hoping you would grant me permission would have taken too long. Naturally I don't want to be labeled as a thief and I am more than willing to I will pay for it. This is embarrassing as it is to say this to you in front of my fiancée."

Spydera moved her lower lip to one side and said, "Alright, I see your apology is sincere so she can keep it. If you and the Fairy King can help me with my problem, then I will consider it part of the deal."

"Fair enough," Bog said as he held his neck again.

Marianne could see the marks her hand left on Bog's neck. His amazing looking neck that she loved to kiss marked by that vicious creature's huge fingers. She knew she must have hurt him given the strong handshake she had given her. She still stood with her hands clenched to fist and her brow lowered and she was breathing hard.

Just then a few soldiers flew down from above and when they landed they said, "Is everything alright here, Your Majesty? We heard raised voices."

King Dadga said, "Yes, it is fine, I have this under control, you can stand guard inside the foyer as I may have instructions for you later."

"Yes, Sire," they said together and they flew towards the castle entrance.

When they disappeared inside, Spydera turned to King Dagda said, "I believe, I owe you an apology. I guess my timing for this was bad. But pardon a old woman that has been living mostly isolated by herself for a long time. I am going though a difficult time myself and I guess this was a bad time to bring this up."

"Apology accepted. Now I hope that there will be no further altercations, otherwise I am going to require a guard escort for you."

"I am fine, that will not be necessary, your Majesty."

"Good, now let's be on our way."

As they started back, Marianne stayed just ahead of Spydera and always looked back. Once they entered the castle, Spydera began to speak as she closed the door behind her.

"Princess Marianne, a word if you may."

Marianne sighed as she really didn't want to speak with the 8 limbed spider queen. But she slowed down a bit until she was walking side by side with Spydera. She couldn't help but notice that as Spydera walked across the floor in the castle, her 'feet' made no sound at all. In fact all she heard was the movement of her armor. She put on a long face as she said, "Yes, you may."

"I am impressed. I must say are certainly a feisty one."

"So I have been told," Marianne said with a bit of anger still in her voice. "I can get pretty ugly when I am mad."

"Indeed. It is amazing how your facial expression can change so dramatically. Also, You have some strength in your wings and arms. It took a bit of strength to hold you back. Not quite what I expected from a fairy, let alone a female fairy. You are far stronger than you look, Princess."

"Thank you. I been working hard at building up my strength so I can be a good fighter."

"I liked that you still stood up to me knowing you were easily outmatched."

"Well, when it comes to people I love, I will fight for them even if it means I lose my life trying. I am not to be underestimated, Queen Spydera, and I don't scare easily," Marianne explained in a slightly gruff voice.

Spydera smiled a bit and said, "I understand. I know what it is like to lose something you love."

"You do?" Marianne questioned wondering if the 8 limbed queen was capable of love.

"Yes, as hard as it may seem, I do have a heart."

"Care to explain?" she asked, her anger slowly subsiding as she was curious to know if perhaps if she might have had her heart broken too.

"Perhaps later, but I just wanted to say that I really meant it when I said I was starting to like you," Spydera said.

"Well, I was starting to like you too and you made a great impression on me initially despite the fact that Bog warned me you were a mean and crass woman. But after the stunt you just pulled back there, I am not sure what to think about you. So I think Bog was right, you have worse anger issues than I do."

"No different than he was when I first met him."

"Well, he changed," Marianne said. She got lost in her own thoughts as she looked to Bog ahead and continued speaking. "When we fell in love with each other, he changed. The wonderful gentleman he truly was came out. He's the man I always dreamed of having and I fell hard for him. Naturally if anyone crosses him, they are going to have to go through me."

Discontent with talking with Spydera, Marianne opened her wings and started to fly forward.

Spydera called to her, "I am trying to change too, Princess."

Marianne stopped, flew back and said to her face, "Well, I have news for you, your highness. With all do respect, you need to do a better job of it, otherwise you will always be alone and without friends."

Apparently Marianne struck a nerve as Queen Spydera became quiet and even though it seemed she lowered her brow in anger, it was the way her chin wrinkled a bit and the way she bit her lower lip that Marianne could tell she was holding something else back. She then started to speak again.

"You are right I am alone and I have no one to turn to with my problem. That is why I am here."

She said, "Go on, I'm listening."

"I figured if I helped with your battle, perhaps your father would help me. I saw an opportunity when the spider you called Stumpy came to me and told me what you did for him. It is also another reason why I like you, Princess. You saved one of my favorite spiders. I often told him not to play around by the river, but being a juvenile spider, he often doesn't listen to me."

"Well, he listened well to me and he told Bog where I was being held. If it wasn't for Stumpy, I would be dead now."

Marianne looked over her shoulder and saw that her father and Bog were standing by the door to the main hallway and they were looking towards them.

"I guess I have to learn to be in better control of my anger and not lose my cool over petty things," Spydera said.

Marianne laughed as she said, "You are not the only one. As you saw I have quite the low boiling point myself. And here I am going to rule this kingdom one day. I always longed to be good with reasoning like my father is. He always handles situations so beautifully and I have trouble dealing with my own temper."

"Well, it seems you tamed Mr. Beast over there," Spydera said.

"Bog is a wonderful, caring, loving and gentle person. He is not a beast. But a beast, one of my own, people tried to kill me today and also for the stupidest of reasons. He is the one that started this war."

"Who is he if you don't mind my asking."

"Roland, my ex-fiance."

Spydera had an intrigued look on her face as she asked, "Ex fiance, huh? Care to tell?"

"Look, not to be disrespectful, but not right now, I am not in the mood."

Spydera sighed and said, "I guess I really put my pincer in my mouth with you, huh?"

"Oh, I am a very forgiving person. But like I said, I get very hot under my collar when someone crosses me or the ones I love. I am sure if Stumpy died you wouldn't be happy. It seems like you care about him."

"Yes I do care about him very much and I would be very upset if he died. I care about all my spiders, that is why I am here."

"Then you understand how I feel...By the way, if Stumpy is here, I want to thank him personally for his help."

"No, he is back home sleeping, he has done a lot today. But I will send for him if you like."

"Yes, please."

Spydera bowed slightly and said, " And thank you for saving him, Princess. I forgot to tell you that earlier."

"You're Welcome. Now if you please, your highness, I think we have much to discuss with my father and my boyfriend. I apologize for showing up late, Bog and I should have been here sooner." She said as she put her hand out towards the door ahead. She then flew up ahead to Bog and her father.

Bog asked, "What was that all about?"

"Just clearing the air so there is no animosity between us," she said and then paused for a bit. "I'm so sorry that I didn't take your word for it that she is a Madame Meany."

"Well, I think she is trying to turn over a new leaf as when we initially talked with her, she seemed fine and rather pleasant...at first," Bog said. "But then when I thought she just wanted to talk, she had me instantly pinned to the wall."

"Well, she seems like she can be reasoned with. She said she has anger issues she is working on."

"Ahhhh, kind of like someone else I know," Bog said.

"Oh yeah, and like you are the King of Cool yourself," Marianne mocked. She then laughed and added. "You can be the worst one when you are mad!"

Bog laughed and shook his head as he said, "Here we are going to negotiations with three royals that have high blood pressure."

Everyone laughed, including Queen Spydera as she joined everyone. She put her hand on Bog's shoulder stopping him. He turned around and looked at the queen.

"I am sorry for my actions back there. As Princess Marianne said, I shouldn't have become so upset over something so trivial. I also understand the situation better and the reason for your actions."

"And I am sorry that I, myself went back on my word to you and trespassed on your land. If I told you the whole story, you would probably laugh."

"Perhaps it is something that we can talk about over dinner."

"Perhaps," Bog said.

King Dagda then said, "Are we Good? We all going to kiss and make up?"

Everyone laughed.

"Ok, we can skip the kissing part," he said.

Marianne lowered her brow and said, "Dad, speak for yourself!"

She then undid the strap of her helmet, pulled it off and walked over to Bog and wrapped her arms around his neck. She brought her lips to his and gave him a quick gentle, but sweet kiss.

As they were ready to break off the kiss, Marianne noticed from the corner of her eye that Queen Spydera turned around and looked away as they kissed. She began to thinking that perhaps there was something more that bothered the unique looking queen. Perhaps like herself there was much more to her than met the eye. She was wondering more and more if the Spider Queen did indeed have her heart broken. Regardless, Marianne still didn't trust her and she was going to keep a steady eye on her the whole night if need be.

As they entered the main hall, a couple soldiers approached King Dagda and he pulled them aside to talk to them privately. Marianne put her helmet back on and tied the strap behind her head.

In the hall there were fairies flying to and fro, many of them carrying items. Many stopped mid air when they got a good look at Spydera. One fellow actually plowed straight into a pillar as he tried to get a better look at her. Yet other fairies flew by and waved to the queen. There weren't many spiders inside the palace, but those that were there seemed to be doing what the ones outside were doing, cleaning up the palace of the fly carcasses.

The hallway was in a disarray with some of the tile work on the walls and floor being damaged from skirmishes in the hall. Plants were knocked over, pictures on the wall were crooked. King Dagda then waved them to follow him and they all went down the hall a bit and noticed that that Ballroom doors were wide open. They all stepped inside.

"Oh my!" Marianne said as she put her hand to her mouth getting a good look at the room.

Like the hallway outside, the ballroom was in a disarray. Tables and chairs were knocked over and strewn about. The main chandelier was lying on the floor in crumpled heaps of twisted metal and wood. The doors that led to the balcony were ripped off their hinges. One was scattered into many pieces across the floor.

The king turned to his daughter and said, "When I had my chat with the guards, it turns out that we have a full house of hungry fairies, goblins and elves. Just about everyone from Bog's castle is here too. We are going to have to get this entire ballroom ready for dinner."

"Do you know the condition of the kitchen?" Marianne asked.

"Oh that is fine! In fact I had one of my servants send Griselda and Sunny to the kitchen to come up with a quick menu tonight. A simple one course meal."

Spydera said, "That's easy, just toss a few of the flies on the grill. Each one could easily serve a dozen of your people."

Marianne scrunched her nose in disgust as she said, "Uuhhh, fairies don't eat meat."

Bog added, "Well every fairy except Queen Yara."

"Oh yes, the dark skinned, dark winged woman I met earlier," Spydera said.

Bog said, "Don't forget there's my goblins. I am sure they would be looking forward to a meat dish and I wouldn't mind it myself."

King Dagda said, "Yara mentioned they used to hunt similar flies like these on her island."

"Yes, they are good eating, especially when warmed up," Spydera said.

"Very well, I guess we will put a meat item on the menu if it is a fast item to prepare," King Dagda said. He turned to Bog and said, "B.K., perhaps you could have your mother make up a meat dish tonight?"

"Sure, I will mention it to her. Not sure if she had prepared flies before."

"I will have a servant fetch Yara, she could probably give your mother her recipe."

Bog nodded, "That's a good idea."

He then called over a servant and he said, "Please find Queen Yara and tell her to come to the ballroom at once."

"Yes Sire," the servant said and then flew off.

Marianne then looked over the ballroom again and said, "Now what about this mess, Dad?"

The spider queen answered, "Let me help with something."

"Your spiders are already helping with the fly carcass removal," King Dagda said.

"They should be almost done by now," she said.

She then walked over to the open doorways that lead to the balcony. She made some whistling and clicking noises and moments later six large spiders came crawling onto the balcony and they entered the ballroom. At first some of the fairies and goblins that were in the ballroom began to run from the spiders, but then all six of them stood in a single line before their queen. Some of the fairies and goblins just stopped and watched."

Queen Spydera held her hands together in front of her meshing her fingers tightly together. She said, "What would you have them do?"

"Well, the tables and chairs need to be put back in place but I don't know if spi…"

Before King Dagda could finish, Queen Spydera turned to her spiders, clapped her hands twice and made a series of clicks and pops with her mouth. As she was 'talking' with her spiders, she was pointing at the tables and chairs and making a row like motion with her hands. When she was done, the spiders immediately went to work. Everyone that was working in the ballroom as well as King Dagda, Marianne and Bog just stared with wide eyes as the spiders worked in a very quick and organized manner. They were extremely fast and had all the knocked over tables righted and put in rows on each side. Then the spiders picked up two or more chairs at a time and lined them up at the table.

King Dagda said, "The main table extends down the middle and ends by the dance floor."

Spydera nodded and then called over one two of the spiders and again spoke to them in clicks and pops and pointed to the center where the thrones were. The spiders then went to work making a row of tables.

K.D said, "I am amazed that they can do that."

"Spiders are very good and efficient workers, my good King," the spider queen said in a matter-of-fact like tone. "Sadly they are often mistaken for mindless creatures haphazardly put up webs wherever they please and eating everything that flies into them."

A female servant holding a pile of folded table linens carefully approached Spydera, bowed before her and said, "Your Majesty can your spiders set the linens too? They are much faster than we are."

"I don't see why not," she answered.

With a few more clicks and pops, the spiders then approached the servant and one my one they used their toe pincers to grab a table cloth from the servant. The servants eyes widened as she and everyone else watched the spiders as they placed the cloths on the tables. The servant then shouted across the room towards the kitchen.

"Cecilia! Please get me more linens and bring out the plates!"

A fairy poked her head into the ballroom from the kitchen. She then saw the tables being set up by the spiders and then she fully entered the room. "Oh my, Morgana, what is going on here? The tables are back up and set up!"

"Yes! The spiders are helping. Quick! I need more linens and get the plates!"

"So I take it we are all eating here tonight?"

"Yes! Now round up some more of the servants," Morgana said.

King Dagda said to Morgana, "I guess I will put you in charge."

"Yes, your Majesty."

"Have this room cleaned up as best as you can and if you need more assistance from the spiders, just ask Queen Spydera."

"Understood Your Majesty," Morgana said as she bowed.

King Dagda looked to the Spider Queen and said, "I need to find Benny and see Dawn, my other daughter. I take it you will be fine here?"

"Yes, I have a handle on this, but who is Benny again?" she asked.

"He's my Chief at Arms. First commanding officer for my soldiers. You haven't met him yet."

"Ahhh, the chief warrior of the Fairy Kingdom?" She asked.

"Yes, kind of like that."

"I thought your daughter, Marianne, was your chief warrior. From what I seen by the way she is dressed and her actions before, she appears to be a formidable leader and a fearless fighter."

"Yes, she is quite skilled, but also the heir to my throne. I don't approve of her charging into battles, as she is headstrong and has a tendency to bite off more than she can chew. That is what I have Benny for, he leads my army."

"Dad, I can handle myself," Marianne said.

"Hummmph," her father grunted. "I have told you before, a battlefront is no place for a Princess. Both you and your boyfriend here disobeyed me today and I will deal with you both later, young lady."

"Yeah, about that...", Marianne said as she scratched the back of her head.

"Nevermind now, daughter, we will talk more later," her father said in a slightly angered tone.

"I only went out to find Bog, I'm sorry Dad!" Marianne blurted out.

Queen Spydera laughed as she said, "Your father has a point, but I like your spirit. I can see your strength comes from your heart. You have a very strong will."

"Thank you," she replied under her breath.

The spider queen then turned to Dagda and said, "So, I will be looking forward to meeting Benny then. He must be a very large and strong warrior to lead your army."

"Well, he isn't that large, but he is certainly a strong leader. You will meet him just before dinner."

Just then Yara walked into the ballroom and she approached the king and said, "You want me K.D.?"

"Yes Yara. Since you mentioned that you have had these burrowing flies to eat, I would like you to work with Griselda in preparing a meat dish tonight for both Queen Sydera and the goblins. Something tasty but easy to prepare."

"Of course, no trouble at all," she replied.

Bog raised his finger and said, "Oh, Yara, I will be joining you, I also need to speak to mother about dinner as well."

Before he left for the kitchen, Bog took Marianne's hand and kissed it since she had her helmet on. Marianne just looked at her hand and smiled. She then looked back to the ballroom she was amazed that all the tables were in place with the linens set up without a wrinkle on them.

"Wow! I never knew spiders could set tables like this," she said.

"They are quite intelligent. But sadly they are often misunderstood," Spydera said softly.

"Well I best be going, I want to check in with Sugar Plum and Dawn and see how they are doing with my men. I will have a servant send for you when we will get together for our meeting," King Dagda said to Spydera. He then turned to his daughter and said, "Come with me, my darling."

"Dad, if you don't mind, I would like to stay here and wait until Bog returns," she said.

"Bog will be tied up with his mother and Yara for a while. Your sister could probably use your help."

Marianne pulled her father out the doorway and out of earshot of the Spider Queen.

"After what happed to my fiancé before, I don't trust that woman..spider, whatever you want to call her. I want to keep an eye on her," she said.

"I trust that it is in the past and it would be right if you could lend your sister a hand."

"Couldn't Yara go? You know how she loves to be with Dawn."

Her father sighed and said, "Alright, tell Yara that once she is finished with Griselda to meet me in the infirmary. But don't you be causing any trouble with Spydera. I don't need another war today."

"I promise to keep my cool. Thanks Dad," she said.

"Very well, now if there is a problem, you are to get me at once. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Dad...Crystal."

"Good. Now as I said to Queen Spydera, I will send for you and Bog when I am ready."

Marianne nodded in acknowledgement and then watched her father as he walked towards the stairway.

He was immediately joined by a couple guards. Marianne could make out that one was asking if they were going to have a celebration that night. But when her father answered, they were too far away for her to make out his answer.

Marianne didn't feel like being around Spydera, but she just knew she felt better if her and Bog were together. She slowly walked back into the ballroom and walked towards her.

"Perhaps if you have a moment we could sit and chat for a while?" Spydera asked.

"No, I can't, I have to return to my father and assist my sister, I am just going to tell Bog." Marianne said knowingly lying to the Spyder Queen as she just wanted to see Bog.

Marianne unfolded her wings and started to fly towards the kitchen. She stopped in front of the kitchen door and entered. Sunny was closest to the door and he looked up from chopping onions and waved to her and said, "Hi Princess! Got a minute!"

"Sure Sunny, what's up?"

"Well, I know that your father said that it was going to be informal tonight, but since the Spider Queen is helping us clean up the ballroom perhaps we could have a bit of a dance?"

"I would have to clear that with Dad, but outside of that, it's fine with me."

"Thank you! I already have some good numbers lined up. I just have to inform everyone."

Marianne smiled and said, "I know I should feel tired, but I sure will be out there shaking my groove thing."

Laughter came up from the back of the kitchen and then Bog came forward and said, "Can I watch?"

Everyone in the kitchen laughed harder.

Marianne said, "Watch? Oh, no, no Honey, you are going to be shaking it with me."

Everyone laughed harder yet.

Queen Yara came forward, but shouted back to Griselda, "Now just follow that and if you have questions, come get me."

"So how is it going?" Marianne asked both Yara and Bog.

Yara then stood next to Bog as he said, "Oh, I think mother will be good. Yara's method for preparing meat is different so I just suggested a compromise and they both came up with something good."

Griselda said, "We are using Yara's recipe and I suggested to put some peppers and onions on it."

Bog said, "It sounds great I know I will try it."

Sunny said, "I'm definitely going to try it."

Yara smiled.

"What is the main dish going to be tonight, Sunny?"

"Stuffed peppers and pizza."

"Pizza! Oh Yes!" Marianne exclaimed.

Griselda said, "I am making that specially for you and Dawn, knowing what you both went through today."

"Thank you so much! I am ecstatic and I am sure Dawn will be too."

"You're Welcome, my dear."

Marianne said to Yara, "Oh, Yara, my father wanted you to meet him in the infirmary."

"Well, I guess I best be on my way," she said as she headed for the door and exited the kitchen.

Marianne and Bog also started to head towards the door.

"I wonder if any of the fairies will touch the meat dish. I doubt it," Marianne said.

"No worries, my goblins will NEVER turn down a meat dish. And you know Spydera will be in for sure."

"I believe they will like it," Bog said. "Will you try it?"

"I don't know," She said. She then looked out the door and continued, "Ummm, Dad is just checking in with Dawn and Sugar Plum, then he is going to see Benny. I think he intends to have our talk with Spydera just before dinner."

"Very well, perhaps that gives us some time for ourselves until dinner is ready."

Marianne smiled and said, "Yes, I would like that."

The two of them exited the kitchen and they were greeted by Spydera. She put her hand out and said, "They are finished."

Marianne looked one by one at every single table. Several servants were out and quickly were putting out the china place settings. She raised an eyebrow and said, "Yeah, it looks good."

"Is there anything else you would like, Princess?"

"No, I'm good, you could go back to your quarters. It is my understanding that father, Bog and myself will meet with you just before dinner."

"Very well, but, I have not been assigned to any quarters yet."

"Oh. Well I guess you can follow us as I am going in that direction anyway."

The three of them then exited the ballroom and they headed upstairs to where the bedrooms were. As they went down the royal corridor, there were several servants darting about from room to room. Marianne pulled a servant aside and said, "Is any of the suites available?"

"I believe the room by stairs is the last available, your highness. Your father informed us that it is going to be a full house tonight and the state the castle is in is not making things easy on us."

"I am sorry for the extra load especially this late in the day," Marianne said.

"It is OK, I understand under the circumstances. Your armor is beautiful by the way."

"Thank you."

"If you can please lead Queen Spydera to that room, she will be staying with us tonight."

The servant looked to Spydera, bowed and said, "Glad to have you here, Your highness. This way to your room."

Spydera then followed the servant back towards the first room that was closest to the stairs.

Marianne then grabbed Bog's hand and softly said, "Finally we are rid of her for a while."

They walked quickly to her room and just as Marianne was ready to place her hand on the door knob a male servant that was flying by yelled out, "Your highness, wait! Your room is not ready."

"What? Wa...what do you mean it isn't ready?"

"Uh oh." Bog said, "There's something I forgot to tell you."

"You forgot to tell me what?" she said as she turned to him.

"I was up here earlier when they discovered Stumpy. He was below your balcony and when I came up here to investigate, I discovered your room was trashed in the attack."

"What?!" She said as her eyes widened.

The servant said, "That is what I meant by it wasn't ready, Princess."

She pushed down on the lever and gave the door a shove, but instead of swinging open it just fell down flat on the floor with a loud bang. Her eyes widened as she peered into the room. It was completely destroyed. All her furniture was in a disarray. The flower petals from her bed were torn off and strewn all over the room leaving the base behind. Her canopy was torn to shreds her vanity table was smashed on one side and leaning over only on two legs.

"Uhhhhh, No! My room!" she exclaimed.

The servant said, "Your room is one of the few that has an open window. The flies entered through your room and even though our soldiers tried to hold them back, they eventually broke the door down.

"Great! Now where is Bog and I supposed to sleep?" Marianne asked

"Well, the room by the stairs we prepared for you temporarily, but I saw you just gave it to the Spider Queen."

Marianne put her hands on her hips and in a crass tone said, "Great, that's just great!"

She then slammed her hand on the other door hard and the sound echoed down the hall. The servant took a couple steps back.

He said, "So I am so sorry to say there are no more rooms available on this floor, your highness."

Marianne looked to the ceiling and said, "Seems like it just never ends today!"

"I hear you, my Princess and really I am sorry."

Bog said to the servant, "Can you set us up with a room somewhere else then?"

"I will see what I can do, your Majesty. But even the servant wings are full as we are putting many of the goblins up there."

Marianne then took Bog by the hand and pulled him into the room.

"Uhhmmmm, Princess. I don't think you should be going in there, it isn't safe. I...I wouldn't want you to get hurt.

She shouted back, "I can handle myself, thank you! Now, if you please, find us another room."

"Yes, your highness, I am on it," the servant said as he took to wing and flew off. But then moments later he flew back.

Marianne sighed with impatience as she crossed her arms over her chest. She could tell Bog was looking at her up and down. He must have liked the way she was standing.

"Ummm, Your highness' will you be both needing your own rooms, or can you sleep in one room?"

Bog put his arm around her and answered and said, "Were engaged now, so one room will be fine."

The feeling of his arm around her neck was very soothing and it calmed her down a bit.

"Ok then, just making sure. Sorry if I have disappointed you in anyway your highnesses," the servant said.

"It's OK, I am sorry if seem a bit a bit short with you, I know it is not your fault." Marianne said.

"I understand, Princess. Everyone has been a bit twitchy today...myself included."

Marianne smiled and said, "Thank you."

The servant flew off and then Marianne grabbed a hold of Bog's lapel and practically pulled him into her room. She pushed him up against the door and started to lick her lips and she began to breath heavier. She undid the strap to her helmet, pulled it off and put it down on the floor.

"I need some serious mellowing out, Hon," She said.

Before he could answer she planted his lips on his, closed her eyes and immediately pushed her tongue into his mouth. She could feel his slip by hers as it enter her mouth. It felt so good. The effect his kiss had on her was amazing. She instantly felt so much better. She then tried to twist her tongue around his and he did the same with hers.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm," she called out.

"Hmmmmmmmmmmm," he hummed.

She just let her tongue dance around his and he did the same with hers.

She momentarily pulled back and looked into his eyes.

"Hmmmmm, Oh, I love you," she said.

"I love you too, dear," he said. "That was an amazing kiss."

Then she brought her lips to his again and she pushed her tongue hard into his mouth.

He hummed loudly, "Hummmmmmmm!"

Then she could feel him caress the underside of her tongue with his. The feeling was intense that she almost called out, but she moaned several times.

"Mmmmm! Hummmm! Mmmmmm!"

Bog broke off the kiss and said, "Is something wrong dear?"

"No! It just felt so darn good! Please more, Hon!"

They locked lips again and he drove his tongue so deep into her mouth, now she caressed the underside of his tongue. He wrapped his arms around her so tight she could hear the leather of her armor creaking as he pulled her close to him.

"Mmmmmmm! Hmmmmmmmm!" he cooed.

Once again they twisted their tongues together. Marianne could feel her knees getting weak and she found herself collapsing down to the floor. But, her man had her and he just gently eased her down on the floor and he gently placed his body on top of hers. With her armor on, she felt more solid and he felt more confident laying on her with his full weight. She found that she had to come up for air and reluctantly broke off the kiss and found herself breathing hard.

"What's the matter, dear?" he asked.

"OH! Hon! This is living! To think I almost would have not experienced this with you again."

"I know, we both owe your sister a lot."

"Definitely," she said.

She just smiled at him and then pulled his body down on top of hers and again brought her lips to his. Again they intertwined tongues.

About a half hour later:

Marianne laid on top of Bog and she was partially undressed as he helped her remove her gauntlets and boots so she could be more comfortable. After a long kissing session of which they both driven themselves to a euphoric state, they found it hard to leave the room. But they had to get ready for their meeting with her father and Queen Spydera. Marianne wanted to change her clothes.

"Where's my halter mini-dress!" she called out as she was searching through the debris in the room.

"Where did you leave it when you changed into your armor?"

"Over the vanity chair, and that was totally destroyed and there is no sign of it here."

Marianne walked over to the remains of the vanity while Bog looked over the remains of the bed.

Suddenly Marianne just grabbed the vanity, grunted loudly and pushed it over.

Bog looked at her with wide eyes and said, "Wow!"

"What?"

"You just flung that thing over like it was nothing," he said amazed by his lady's strength.

"It's not that heavy, really, and all that is in it is some make up. BUT I just found my boots, belt and leggings!" She said as she reached down and held them up.

"Oh that's good. Are they fine?"

"Ummm, for the most part yes. There is small tear in one boot, but nothing bad, I can still wear them."

"Oh wait! I see something," Bog said as he noticed a bit of red towards the middle part of the flower remains.

He got down on his knees and began to pull out the branches and remaining vein structure from the huge flower that once made up her bed. She smiled when he pulled out her minidress.

"Found it!" he exclaimed with a huge smile on his face.

"Great!"

He was about to hand it over to her when he noticed the top was torn all the way through right down the middle right where the plunging neckline created it's 'v' shape. He said, "Oh no!"

"What?"

"It's torn."

"Oh no!" Marianne echoed Bog's response as she took the top from his hand and held it up. The strap that ran around her neck was also torn and there was a large hole on the left side."

"Darn it! I love this minidress!", she said in a disappointed tone.

"Yes, it was one of my favorites too," he said. "Can you fix it?"

Marianne shook her head and said, "It is probably easier to make a new one."

"Will you make one just like it? I have grown fond of the way you look in it."

The disappointment on Marianne's face disappeared for a moment as she seemed happy that he liked the way she looked in that top.

"Yes, of course I will, but I can't tonight. My father is going to send a servant up soon to let us know he is ready for the meeting with Queen Spydera. I can't go in this," she said as she pointed to her armor.

"Why not, it is bold and shows strength."

"Bog, this is a negotiation I don't want to come off as militant and I want to be more comfortable too. Also I have a funny feeling Spydera is going to show up in something nice and cool looking.

"Knowing her she will show up in her armor."

Marianne shook her head as she said, "She had pack with her, and I saw something clothing related peeking out through the flap."

"Oh that could be anything she could have in there."

Marianne looked like she was deep in thought for a moment and then she snapped her fingers.

She said, "Yes! I just saw something moments ago in my armoire. It's a bold looking mauve peplum top that will go with the leggings."

She walked over to the armoire and rifled through it again. She pulled out a garment made from mauve colored leaves. She then pulled a dark purple belt out and quickly put the items behind her back. She said, "No looking, I want to surprise you!"

Bog said, "Well, I hope it isn't too sexy. You know what will happen to me if it is."

She just giggled and said, "Well, it is a bit sexy, but it isn't has hot as my torn outfit there."

Bog sighed as he shook his finger at her and said, "Go easy on me."

"I will be right back", she said as she collected the boots, leggings and belt and headed to the bathroom.

He figured while she was changing that he would straighten himself out. He went over to the vanity and picked up it's mirror which had a crack right through it. He just propped it up against the wall and just adjusted his sash and made sure everything was in place.

He then looked to the unhinged door that had fallen on to the floor and he proceeded to pick it back up and lean it against the door frame. He went over to Marianne's armoire and picked the whole thing up and brought it to the doorway. He placed the door back into the frame and then put the armoire against it so it wouldn't fall over. As he was getting into place he heard Marianne exit the bathroom.

"Huh? Oh my! You sure are strong! That cabinet is heavy and it is full of my clothes.

Bog grunted a bit as he moved the armoire against the door.

"Well, I figured I would prop up the door. To give give us a bit more priv..." he said as he turned to face her. But he stopped mid sentence as his eyes flew open at what he saw.

It certainly was a sexy top or was it a dress? It was very different from what she had worn before. Perhaps it was that style she said, peplum. It was mostly mauve in color, but being that it was made from leaves, the color had more of a gradient that was a bit darker near the veins and towards the middle it was lighter. It perfectly matched the dark purple leggings she was wearing and her wings. It appeared to be made of only a few large leaves. It had an unusual short skirted design, and it was asymmetrical in two ways. The lower part appeared to be made from one huge leaf and it stretched from the waist all the way down to just above her right shin as it came to a point. It wrapped around and came back up to her waist coming down only to hip length on her left side. The upper part was very similar to a strapless design in that it had the left shoulder shoulder totally exposed. A pair of leaves on on the front and one on the back came up and they came to a point over her right shoulder. Her neckline was well open and it was slightly dangerous on the left side as it swooped around her mid section just barely covering her from the side. The leaves all joined together at the waist. It was a bit of an edgy looking outfit as it more angular, giving her a bold look as well as being beautiful and sexy. Instead of her brown belt, Marianne wore a decorative purple belt across her waist line. The belt came to a diamond shape in the middle of her body and there was a round amethyst and gold brooch in the center. She also wore a matching gold necklace with an amethyst butterfly on it. Completing the look was her brown boots.

She then turned around and his eyes opened wider as it looked just as amazing from the back. The back side leaf started from the point over her right shoulder swooping down under her wings and attaching to the front leaf under her arm. Moments later she turned back to face him.

Bog swallowed hard as the outfit was indeed very sexy. His eyes just focused on the large exposed area on her left side. He looked from her neck and slowly examined her exposed left collarbone.

Marianne smiled as she said, "Still examining, Honey? Need more time?"

"Yes...it's beautiful, dear. I like the necklace too." he answered her as his eyes still went over the length of her body.

The cut on the short skirt added elegance to the outfit. While not as elegant as the dress he designed for her, or her red dress, it certainly was a nice balance of an elegant dress and the more casual halter dress she normally wore. Marianne turned around one more time and he drew nearer to her as his eyes focused on her bare shoulder. He reached out and ran his fingers over it.

M- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Ohhhh!" She called out and turned her head over her left shoulder. She saw his fingers run up and down her skin. She could hear he was breathing heavy.

The sound of his breathing started to make her breathe heavy. There was no doubt in her mind that he thought she looked good in this outfit. She could feel him moving closer to her neck and she leaned her head to the right, purposely elongating her neck on the left. She knew what was going to happen next. He placed a soft gentle kiss on her neck, but he didn't stop there. He began to softly lick her neck up and down. The feeling shot through her body.

"Uhhhhhhh! Please don't!" she said as she turned to face him.

"What's the matter, dear? Doesn't it feel good?"

"Yes...too good, Hon. You are starting to turn me on." she said.

Just then, there came a knock at the door.

"Darn it!" Bog softly called out.

Marianne sounded disappointed too as she said, "Well, we can resume this later, right?"

Bog nodded in agreement, "Yes, of course dear."

She then raised her voice as she said, "Come in on the right side, the other door is broken!"

A servant came in and it was the male one from earlier, he said, "Yes, Princess, I know the door is broken."

Marianne asked inquisitively, "Oh, did you find us a room?"

"Ummmm, I'm sorry, Princess, but we are still working on that, however, I am here because your father says he is ready for his meeting with His Majesty Bog King, and Her Majesty, Queen Spydera."

Bog said, "This is it."

Marianne nodded and said, "Is he holding it in the ballroom?"

"Yes, on the ballroom balcony."

"The balcony? I thought that was trashed?" Marianne asked.

"Yes, it was, but Queen Spydera's spiders helped us put a pair of the doors back up and we set up a table. It was Queen Yara's idea. It is very nice and private and when your father is done, all everyone has to is just come inside for dinner."

Marianne raised an eyebrow as she said, "Sounds good."

Bog put his hand out and Marianne placed her hand in his. She had a soft smile on her face as she thought about the intense kisses they shared moments ago.

"Well, it seems you have mellowed out quite a bit," Bog said.

"Yeah...Thank you very much, my love," she replied as her smile became even larger. "I needed that."

Bog giggled a bit as he said, "Glad to be of assistance, m'lady."

Marianne sighed at how Bog always treated her like a queen and always was a gallant gentleman. He was wonderful and she wanted to share her every waking moment and every sleeping moment with him so much. Right now she was just so happy to be alive and walking with her man hand in hand.

They followed the servant downstairs and they made their way to the ballroom. Her father was waiting outside the ballroom doorway. He was dressed in his royal suit which he normally put on for events and important events. It was mostly blue, white and gold.

Marianne looked around and said, "Where's Queen Spydera?"

"She should be on her way as I sent word to her to meet us here."

A few moments passed and then Marianne could see the Spider Queen at the top of the steps. Then unexpectedly she ran towards the steps and then sprung off the top step, and then came to a landing on four of her legs at the bottom of the steps. She then proceeded to run and within a few long stride steps she was at the ballroom door.

Marianne whispered to Bog, "Show off!"

The spider queen, said, "Sorry if I was running a bit late, I had a bit of a clothing change. A servant thought what I initially had on was a bit...skimpy."

Her father looked at her slightly stunned as he said, "That was a pretty impressive move there, your highness."

Marianne got a good look at Spydera's current outfit and she wondered at how skimpy that other outfit was considering what she had on was still fairly skimpy. She was wearing her hair out and was very wavy. It flowed over the shaved side parts and looked very full. She wore a silver tiara head. Her hair ran down passed her ears and down the back of her neck. Her outfit resembled a two piece mini dress made from an animal hide with the upper part a cap sleeved Queen Anne neckline crop top that had a high collar. The collar, sleeves and much of the neckline were semi-sheer lace in a spiderweb pattern. The main color of her top was a deep maroon color with trim adorned in silver. The top edge of the bodice was also silver color and ran around the neckline and sleeves of the top. At her shoulders the sleeve tips curved up and outward to a point. The bodice was 'v' shaped in the center. While the notch went well into her cleavage area, it was covered by an elliptical brooch which was was adorned in the same purple diamonds like the one Bog got for Marianne. The top of the ellipse extended up from the midway point and over the silver trim on the top and it created an accent point along her neckline and nicely covered the cleavage area of her top. She wore a special silver choker necklace that ran around her neck and it too was adorned with a similar but smaller brooch on her top. The choker had three chains that ran down from the the necklace brooch, one each going on an angle to the lower outer edges of the bodice and one going directly down to the point on the center brooch of the top. Most of her neckline was exposed in addition to her shoulders, arms and abdomen. While it overall looked like an elegant top, it just further accented how large she was and how big her upper arms were. She was wearing matching short fingerless leather gloves that covered her wrists with the pointed tail ends running along her forearms and almost reaching her elbows. They had a sliver scrolling pattern on them very similar to a web look. The other end also came to a tie that went around her middle finger. The lower part of her outfit that she wore on her hip transition to her lower abdomen, was a matching short skirt to her top. The top edge of the waist was ordained with the same style silver trim. The skirt had an overlay made in sheer fine grayish-silver spider web. The overlay was asymmetrical and came down over her right leg more in a similar manner to Marianne's top. She wore black leggings under her skirt to cover her thighs to her knees. From her knees down her legs were bare. Her lower legs transitioned from the gray color to totally black at her ankles and feet. Her feet looked cool in that it looked like she was standing in high heel shoes, but her feet terminated into a spiders pincer. For her face she seemed to have touched up her makeup especially around the eyes. She also wore something on her cheekbones that took them down a bit and made her look less gaunt. She took the cat eye look out even further and the blue eyeshadow looked deeper. From her neckline up, she actually looked more feminine and even pretty. But below her neck was another story.

Marianne got to thinking that the Spider Queen was obsessed with showing off her deep chiseled six pack abdomen as she felt for the function at hand she was a little bit too exposed. Since Bog mentioned she was an older woman, her outfit was very young looking, but given the physique she had, she seemed to pull off the look very well. She got to thinking that the outfit was nice enough that she would want a similar one for when she shared some private time with Bog. Definitely when she was sparring with him, or when getting close with him.

She looked up to Spydera and said, "Nice outfit. I like it."

"Why thank you, Princess. Your outfit is quite striking as well. I like the skirt especially."

"Thank you," she replied. "Yeah, I noticed our skirt area is similar."

Her father smiled as he said, "Indeed, it is very beautiful. I remember this one. You only wore it once before, but you wore it over another skirt and it covered more of your legs.

"Dad, Please? I have my dark leggings on so my legs are not exposed," she said.

Queen Spydera then said, "Goodness, Your Majesty, I hope I am still not under dressed?"

Marianne was ready to say something when her father scrunched his face a bit as he looked straight at Spydera's exposed abdomen.

He just said, "No, no, it is fine. It is a cute outfit."

Spydera lowered her brows a bit at the remark as she said, "I guess cute is a good thing here?"

"Yes, you are fine," The king said, he then turned to his daughter and Bog and said, "Well, we best get going, it is getting late as it is."

He proceeded into the ballroom and everyone followed, Bog was the last to enter and he closed the door behind him.

Marianne flew up a bit and landed next to her father. She said, "Why the balcony?"

"Wait until you see what Yara has done with it," he answered.

As they headed towards the Balcony Marianne could see the doorways. The first opening the doors were still missing. The second set of doors were put back into place, but attached to the frame with heavy spider webs. It looked like they were just put there temporarily to keep the doors from falling over while also barring them shut. As Marianne looked around she could see more evidence of the spider's handiwork. But what caught her eye the most was the chandelier. It was a reworking of the old chandelier but with an intricate spider web detailing around the light spheres. The supports were adorned in decorative webbing. It very much looked like a work of art.

Queen Spydera leaned forward and said, "Like the chandelier, Princess?"

"Yeah, your spiders did a pretty good job of fixing it."

"Thank You, but actually, that's my work."

A servant walked by and caught the conversation as and he said to Marianne, "Oh you should have seen her, Princess, she climbed up on the ceiling and pulled the whole thing up there on her own!"

King Dagda's eyes widened as he said to Spydera, "Wow, that is an impressive feat of strength and also a nice ability to climb."

"Thank you, it was no trouble at all as I can easily climb walls with my feet and hands."

Marianne wanted to say something too, but she noticed that right by the open doorway to the balcony stood Yara and Benny. He had is back to them. When they got closer, Marianne could tell that that Benny was heavily flirting with Yara. She was smiling at him and then she turned around and opened her wings.

"Oh, so beautiful, my dear Queen," he said aloud. "Uhhh! Such beautiful and large wings."

She folded her wings and turned back to him saying, "Thank you, Sir Benny. Seems you never tire of looking at Yara's wings."

"No, never. I love their size and their color too."

He took her hand in his and turned her back around and then leaned over and kissed her on the hand as he said, "I would be the greatest honor if I could dance with you tonight, my Queen."

She replied, "Yes, Yara look forward to that."

She then looked up and she saw they were coming. She tapped Benny on the shoulder and said, "Benny, they are here."

Benny quickly turned around and stood at attention.

"The balcony is ready for your meeting, Your Majesties." he said his voice slowing near the end of his sentence as his eyes focused on Queen Spydera and grew wide.

King Dagda initially had a stern look on his face as he looked to his Chief At Arms. But then the look faded.

"Oh! Pardon me," the king said as he then raised his hand to Spydera and continued, "Benny I would like you to meet The Spider Queen of the Forbidden Forest, her highness, Queen Spydera."

The king then looked to Spydera and said, "Queen Spydera, this is my Chief at Arms, Benedict Farouque."

Benny bowed very low before the queen he then placed one fist across his chest and said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, your highness. I had the honor of watching you fight earlier and your skills with a spear are extraordinary. And I have to say you look stunning then and now."

"Thank you, good kind Sir. You can arise now."

As Benny got back to his feet. Spydera said to Benny, "Curious, you are not what I expected for a Chief At Arms."

Benny replied, "I beg your pardon, your highness?"

"Sorry, it was just I was expecting someone larger and much more muscular."

King Dagda laughed and said, "Well, funny you mention that. Prior to appointing Benny, I based my Chief At Arms on his looks, huge, brawny and very good with a weapon. But sadly, the last one...well, he wasn't very bright either. He would go charging in swords drawn to any confrontation without properly assessing the situation first. In fact he is the one that started this battle."

"Roland?" Spydera asked.

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Your daughter mentioned him earlier."

"Oh...Yes. So, I have noticed this pattern over the years and I wanted a change. So for his replacement, I wanted a guy that could use his head, someone that could be diplomatic and reason as well as be a good fighter. I wanted a guy that would think first before drawing weapons. So this time around I chose Benny and I have to say I have made a fine choice as he uses his head. He managed to keep our casualties low today. He is an excellent trainer too as our soldiers have never been so skilled and accurate before."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, I appreciate the kind compliment." Benny said.

"You're very Welcome, good Sir. You more than earned it."

` "I guess your choice payed off well then," Queen Spidera said.

"Yes, indeed."

"Am I in on this meeting, Sire?" Benny asked.

King Dagda replied, "No, However, I would like you to personally stand watch inside since there is no door to the balcony."

"Yes, of course."

Queen Yara bowed and said, "Right this way."

She walked out on to the balcony and put her hand out towards the back. King Dagda entered first followed by Queen Spydera, Marianne and finally Bog.

King Dagda said, "Yara, would you be a sweetheart and check on dinner for me."

"Absolutely," she replied and then left the balcony.

As Marianne walked on to the balcony, she got a good look around. Even though it was dark outside, the balcony was well lit. There were strings of mini light spheres that ran around the entire perimeter of the balcony as well as over the table. One of the round tables from inside was placed at the far end. Upon the table was some paperwork, a quill and a few ornate pens. There was also a pitcher of water and goblets for everyone. In the center of the table was a large light sphere which cast a warm glow across all sides of the table. The seating was arranged to allow a view off the balcony. Three ornate chairs were placed towards the back and right side of the table and a short ornate bench was placed towards the front of the table also to the right. She surmised that was Queen Spydera's spot considering she couldn't sit in a normal chair with a back due to her hind legs. The bench was further covered with an ornate blanket. Her father put his hand out towards the bench.

"After you," he said.

"Thank you," the queen said.

But before taking a seat she looked around the balcony herself and said, "Very pleasant outdoor setting. Did your wife do all of this?"

King Dagda looked puzzled for a moment, but then his eyes grew wide and said, "Wife? Oh! You mean Yara?"

"Yes, you introduced me to her earlier as Queen Yara and I hear Benny and others address her that way. She looks a bit older than the other women, so I only assumed she was your wife."

"Oh no. She isn't my wife. But she is a queen from another land."

"Oh, so she is a guest too?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. Kind of a semi-permanent guest."

Queen Spydera moved into position over the bench and then lowered herself down on it and folded her back legs under it. She folded her hands on the table and sat in a very tall, regal like manner with her back very straight.

"Semi-permanent? Care to elaborate?" she asked.

King Dagda started to move towards the right most seat that was closest to Spydera.

"Her homeland was destroyed by a Hurricane and she was the only one that made it through alive."

As King Dagda was telling the story of how Queen Yara ended up in the Fairy Kingdom, Marianne and Bog took their seats. She sat next to her father, and Bog next to her. He was the furthest from Queen Spydera sitting almost across from her.

"Oh, that's terrible," she said. "So she is only one of her kind left?"

"No, I am sure other's of her species are in other lands, but she is the only one of her kind here."

"And she can't fly?"

"When the hurricane blew her inland and she ended up crash landing here in my kingdom and her hind wings were ruined. She couldn't fly for a while. But her wings are almost fully fixed and she can now fly, partially. She started to fly again today in fact."

Marianne was wondering why Spydera suddenly had an interest in Queen Yara. She was feeling very thirsty and she reached for a goblet and filled it with water from the pitcher. She then took a couple large gulps from the water. Bog also took a goblet and Marianne poured some water into it for him. He mouthed, 'Thank You.' and his lover mouthed "You're Welcome."

"It was nice of you to take her in and fix her wings," Queen Spydera said. "Will she be returning home?"

"Sadly, she doesn't have much at home to return to, I am hoping she will stay here with us as many have grown rather fond of her, my daughters and myself included."

"I see. She has an interesting story." Spydera answered. She looked to Marianne with a straight and cold face, but still spoke to her father as she continued, "Any particular reason why your daughter is here for this discussion?"

Marianne was shocked as to what Queen Spydera asked and she said, "What? Am I not welcome here? I am usually always present with my father for important dealings. But I'll leave if you want."

"I am sorry, Princess, I didn't mean any offense. My request mainly concerns your father and Bog King. Thus, your presence is unnecessary."

Suddenly Marianne could feel herself get warm and she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, but she tried to keep calm.

Marianne said, "I would like to add that since I am going to be the future Queen of the Dark Forest, naturally I am concerned what goes on there too and I stand by my fiance's side as well."

"Very well, I see your point."

"And another thing, why you are so suddenly interested in Queen Yara?" she asked.

Her father then said, "Marianne, enough, this isn't an interrogation this is an important meeting."

"Sorry, Dad, I know, I am getting out of line." Marianne said as she grabbed her goblet and audibly gulped down the remaining water inside.

"I am sorry, Princess, I didn't mean to pry. I was just trying to make small talk to break the ice and I brought Queen Yara up as I found her interesting and unique. Again I didn't mean to offend you, but I can see that you still have somewhat of an animosity towards me with what happened earlier with your fiance."

Marianne shook her head and said, "No I don't."

Her father raised his hands up and said in a moderate tone, "Ladies please."

Both Marianne and Queen Spydera looked to him and stopped talking.

"I apologize as this time it was my fault," he said as he took his daughter's hand in his.

` Marianne had a puzzled look on her face as she wrapped her fingers around her father's hand.

He looked to Spydera and began to speak:

"I am sorry that I didn't mention to you that I usually have Marianne present with any important dealings involving the kingdom. She is my first born and thus the heir to the throne. If our discussion will entail a long term solution, then in the event of my death..." He said as he then put his hand out to his daughter and continued, "Marianne will be the one fulfilling the agreement."

"I see," Spydera said nonchalantly.

"Now shall we get under way?" King Dagda said.

"Yes," everyone said around the table.

Marianne was very surprised that Bog was so quiet but as she looked to him, he smiled back at her and then raised his hand up behind her neck and began massaging it. She could feel his fingers were coursing over a few knots at the base of her neck. She could feel that she was tense. The muscles in her upper back were knotted up badly and the gentle massage was soothing and it was making her calm down.

Queen Spydera opened the discussion.

"I would like to thank everyone for meeting with me and hearing out what it is that I would like in return for my services in assisting the Fairy Kingdom today."

Everyone, said, "Your Welcome, your highness."

She looked to Marianne and said, "Earlier I told Princess Marianne that I had a problem in my kingdom."

"Yes." Marianne confirmed. She poured more water into her goblet and then took a good heavy gulp from it.

"My kingdom is dying and we are running out of food."

Everyone's eyes widened. The look on Marianne's face grew softer as she realized that the queen wasn't after riches and jewels as she initially thought, given how she reacted to her ring. Her problem was much bigger than that and it certainly explained Spydera's erratic and moody behavior.

The spider queen continued as she looked to the King, "One main reason for assisting you in battle and clearing your fields of the fly carcasses is because I need food for my spiders."

Bog said, "How long will that supply tie you over?"

"Given the number of carcasses we collected, it should last us through winter. But come spring a new brood of spiders will hatch and there is almost nothing left to sustain us."

Bog replied, "When I was in your forest I noticed that that it was devoid of much plant life and animals, other then the trees and the spiders themselves. I knew something was wrong."

"Then you saw first hand what the situation is like," Spydera said.

"Yes."

"The spiders are growing restless and several groups were looking over to your forest. I was starting to think they might do something behind my back. It is getting harder to keep them in line," she explained.

King Dagda then entered the conversation and said, "So I take it you would like us to help you rehabilitate your part of the Dark Forest so it can once again sustain your spiders."

"Precisely. If you can help me revitalize my land, I will consider that more than enough payment for giving you assistance today."

"Well, I don't see what your asking to be too difficult, but it will be time consuming. Your timing is good because we can start a cleanup program going into the fall that will make the ground ready for a spring growth. Then it is a matter of planting seeds and saplings."

Bog added, "The goblins and I could breed fresh live stock and once there is ample supply I can release the live stock into your forest. As long as the food supply is plentiful, they will thrive and in turn will provide food for your spiders."

Spydera put her hand over her chest, closed her eyes for a moment and sighed, "You both make it sound so easy as I have struggled with this problem for a few years now."

Bog said in a matter of fact tone, "Well, you could have come to me about it."

"Could I have? I hesitated as I knew you didn't like to be disturbed. Remember I was going by the Bog King I knew and not the much changed man I see before me."

Bog nodded in agreement, "Alright, you got me there."

King Dagda said, "We have the resources and personal. The elves that live in the village just in front of the castle are great gardeners and planters. They grow much of the food for the palace. They will be of great assistance as well. They can also grow some nice fruits and vegetables for you as well.

The Spider Queen had a bit of a shocked look on her face and her eyes wandered around for a bit. Her breathing changed too as she started to take longer and heavier breaths.

Bog said, "Is everything alright, Queen Spydera?"

"Yes, just pardon me if I am at a loss for words...mainly because of your actions, and the actions of your friend, the Fairy King."

"Why?"

"I am not used to this kindness. The last time I saw you, you were quite different. Not as giving."

"I guess I can say the same as you weren't winning any hospitality awards yourself, hence the reason why I wanted to avoid unnecessary contact with you," Bog explained.

"Yes, I guess I was quite the angry shrew then. But I knew I had to change my ways if I was ever going to get anyone to help me."

"Well, if you are up for it," King Dagda said as he pushed a document forward that was sitting on the table. "I have made up this treaty that would unite all three of our kingdoms in peace, so in the advent of adversary, like with what happened today, we all have each others backs."

Queen Spydera picked up the contract and looked it over, her face became very soft and melancholy as she read it.

Marianne reached over to the pitcher of water and refilled her goblet she brought it to her lips. She gulped down half of it and when she put the goblet down, she involuntarily went, "Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

Bog giggled under his breath as he softly said, "Thirsty dear?"

"Yeah, very."

Spydera looked up from the document and her eyes met Bog's. She said, "You approve of everything written here?"

"Yes, and with a full heart. I believe if it wasn't for your help and Stumpy's, I would have lost Marianne today."

Marianne wanted to say, "Awww" out loud, but instead she just smiled to her lover and batted her eyes a bit. He took notice and smiled. She then started feeling warm inside and she took another drink from her goblet.

A smile appeared on Spydera's face as she said, "I accept."

She took a quill pen from the table and began to sign her name to the document.

"Splendid!" King Dagda said, "I will be looking forward to this project."

She passed the contract to King Dagda and he signed it. He, in turn, passed it to Bog. Marianne leaned over his shoulder as he signed it. The queen's signature was very scrawling and very masculine looking with hard edges on her name. Marianne then signed her signature to the contract as executor. She then returned the document back to her father.

King Dagda said to Spydera, "I will go over the team assignments with you tomorrow after breakfast. Oh! And another thing, you probably will have inform your spiders that we are all friends now. I don't want them inadvertently cocooning my men for a late night snack."

Queen Spydera laughed as she said, "That will not be a problem, Your Majesty."

"Clearing a safe path to the areas we are working in also will be advised as well. Given most of us will be flying into your kingdom, we don't want to be flying into webs.

"Understood."

He stood up and reached his hand to Spydera and she took his hand and very enthusiastically shook it. Suddenly his eyes opened wide and there was a soft cracking sound that came from his hand. King Dagda's eyes opened wide. She immediately released his hand and she had a concerned look on her face. He moved his hand and wiggled his fingers.

He said, "Oh! Wow! What a good grip you have there, Your Highness."

"Are you fine, Your Majesty?"

"Yes."

"I just thought that when I shook your daughter's hand she had a very strong handshake."

"Well, I do too, but I just wasn't expecting such a strong grip on a woman."

"Sorry, I just have to keep in mind not everyone is built like I am."

"Well, then, I guess if no one has any further questions, is everyone ready for dinner?

All answered, "Yes!"

Marianne said, "I'm starving!"

Suddenly her father's belly made some grumbling noises. He held it and said, "Me too."

Spydera just burst out laughing, and it was a loud hearty laugh.

Everyone got up and then proceed out the door. In the ballroom, Benny was talking with Sunny and Marianne could overhear that Benny was asking Sunny for a song spot after dinner.

Sunny said as he scratched the back of his head, "Well, I don't know. We are not going to have a multi-course spread tonight. His Majesty thought to keep it short tonight as everyone is probably tired and some might be in mourning. I already have the opening spot, Dawn probably will want a spot too. So if Marianne wants to sing, then that's it, and you know everyone wants to hear her sing."

Sunny then looked to Marianne and in a loud voice said, "Princess, are you going to sing tonight?

She shook her head and said, "No, I'm good. If my sister sings, I'll just hijack her song."

Everyone in earshot laughed.

He then turned back to Benny and asked, "Well, I guess then you have a spot. What is the song that you want to sing?"

Benny leaned over to Sunny's ear and put his hand up over his mouth. Marianne couldn't make out what he was saying, but apparently it was something good as his eyes widened.

Sunny said, "Good one! That will have quite a few up and dancing for sure."

"Great! I am off to my room to pick out something to wear for the song," he said and then took to wing and flew off.

After sharing a few words with Spydera, King Dagda approached Sunny and said, "Sunny, you can tell Griselda that she can serve dinner in twenty minutes. That should be enough time for everyone to freshen up and get settled in."

"I'm on it!" he said and then took off for the kitchen.

Marianne then looked back towards the balcony and then she looked to Bog and said, "I want to stand out on the balcony while they get dinner ready."

"Sure, my dear."

They walked out to the balcony railing. Bog stood by her right side. She leaned her head into his shoulder and he put his arm around her. When she felt his long fingers wrapped around her bare shoulder she felt so content that she sighed loudly. She then put her right arm around his body."

"Everything alright dear," her fiance asked.

She answered, "Yes, I feel great. It is a beautiful night and I just feeling spending time with you tonight. Perhaps we can just lay under the stars. But I don't want us to be rude and run off."

"So given the situation with your room would you like to sleep outside tonight?"

"Yes, I wouldn't mind that. Do you have an idea where?"

"No, but I am sure either I, or you will come up with something during the course of the evening."

She nodded in agreement as she looked up to his face and gazed into his blue eyes. He looked deep into her eyes. She started to run her tongue around her lips as they felt dry. She reached up around his neck and pulled herself closer to his face. Her lover knew what was coming and he curled his lips inward for a moment and then they looked shiny and moist. They were so inviting.

"Please, kiss me," she said.

"Gladly."

His lips came to hers and she closed her eyes. He kissed her very softly at first but it wasn't long before she could feel his tongue pushing into her mouth. She gently caressed the underside of his tongue with hers.

"Mmmmmmm!" He called out.

The tone and the way he moaned had her wanting to take the kiss so far as to get to that euphoric state they reached earlier, but deep inside she knew any moment now...her sister…

"Hi Sis! Whoa! Sorry for interrupting, but not my fault! There's no door," Dawn said as she flew out to the balcony from the ballroom.

Marianne broke off the kiss and she just stood for a moment looking into her lover's eyes. While normally she would get upset at her sister for barging in again when she was getting close with Bog, she just said, "It's OK sis. I kind of was expecting you."

Bog on the on the other hand looked a bit perturbed.

Dawn lowered her brow and she said, "That's not the typical response I get when walking in on you two knoodling. Are you feeling alright? Perhaps I should check you out."

She started to fly towards her sister putting her hand out to her chest, but Marianne said, "I'm good. I am just not about to be angry with the one person that allowed me to continue my life with the one I love.. I can't thank you enough for what you have done, Sis."

Dawn landed in front of her. Marianne took her hands in hers. She smiled at her sister and then just embraced her. She then gave her a kiss on her forehead. Dawn in turn kissed her on the cheek and said, "I really meant it when I said that I didn't want to know a life without you in it."

Marianne could feel the feelings in her heart tighten up and her eyes began to well up she said, "Now you are making me misty eyed."

She hadn't seen Dawn since they left Bog's dungeon earlier. She was wearing her light blue dress with gold trim, it looked like she had issues with cleaning the black paint off her wings and there were dark splotches and streaks all over her wings. Dawn noticed that her sister was looking at her wings.

"Yeah, I had a tough time trying to get the paint off, but it should all come out with my next bath."

Marianne smiled and then she looked to her fiance and he was standing all sexy like with his right hand leaning on the handrail and his legs were crossed and his other hand was on his hips. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. She wanted to resume that kiss, but again her mouth was dry. She marched over to the table and poured herself a goblet of water. This time she chugged the whole thing down, swallowing hard.

"Goodness sis! I guess you are thirsty."

Marianne placed the goblet down hard on the table and said, "Yeah. You asked if anything was wrong before, well, I been drinking like crazy."

Dawn had a puzzled look on her face as she walked up to her sister and then placed her hand on her chest. A purple glow formed around her hand. She looked deep in thought at first, but then moments later her eyes widened and she put a smile on her face."

"Oh yes! I see. Your body just needs the water so it can make up more blood. Your blood is very rich now and it kind of needs to thin out and make more. Blood is mostly made up of water anyway and your body is craving it now. So you probably will be drinking like a fish tonight."

Bog giggled as now he was leaning with his back and forearms against the railing. Marianne could feel something inside her as the way he looked standing there like that, she was beginning to want him.

Just then she could hear Sunny make an announcement in the ballroom, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Dinner will be served momentarily!"

"Well, I'll guess we will talk more later, Sis, I'm really hungry!"

Marianne smiled, as she said, "Me too."

Bog raised his finger up and said, "Me three."

They all laughed as Marianne said, "That seems to be a running joke today. Everyone's so hungry!"

Dawn started to fly towards the doors, but Marianne and Bog walked. Dawn landed and then turned around and said, "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot."

Marianne knew her sister was referring to the fact that Bog couldn't fly now. As they were walking though the ballroom towards the royal table, Dawn moved to Bog's side and said, "Don't worry, Sugar Plum and I have a good plan on how to graft Roland's wings to your wing muscles."

Bog gritted his teeth for a moment and Marianne knew why. She said, "Look, I hated him too, but at least he is gone and his death benefits you. You are just taking back what he took from you...Your flight."

Apparently what she said made him feel better as he nodded in agreement. Marianne looked to the table and noticed that the seats were changed.

Her father come over and said, "Oh! There has been a change in the seating arrangement."

"I can see that," Marianne replied.

"But it is only for tonight, I needed to make more room on that side for Queen Spydera," He said as he pointed to the side next to Dawn's seat at the table.

"I just moved Yara's seat down a bit and she will be sitting between her and your sister. So on that side it will be Dawn, Queen Spydera, Queen Yara, Benny, and Gregory. Your side of the table is unchanged."

Queen Yara entered the ballroom and she was wearing her island dress that she wore the second night she had dinner at the palace. Everything was the same except she didn't have the gold rouge on and she was wearing smaller earrings. Also her headpiece had all black feathers this time. Nevertheless, the reaction it had on her father was very similar as it was that night, for his eyes were fixed on her.

Dawn leaned over to Marianne and said, "I helped her with her makeup again. She looks so pretty!"

"She always looks so amazing," Benny said and then sighed a bit.

As everyone started to take their seats and settle in, King Dagda stood up at his seat and he tapped his fork against his glass to get everyone's attention as he bellowed out, "Everyone! Everyone please settle down as I have a few announcements to make."

When everyone settled down, he began to speak:

"I would like to thank everyone that is attending our semi-informal dinner tonight. I know it is late and we are all hungry and tired as it has been a very trying day. In lieu of the fact that there are many bitter-sweet emotions among us tonight. While I am thankful that we were victorious today, our success has come with a price and at this time I would like to us all to reflect on those that are no longer with us. I have lost 12 good men today and 15 more lie in the infirmary injured. These may sound like good numbers, considering what we were up against, however, my army is small to begin with and it pains me to lose a single soldier as I know that person has given his life to serve and protect our kingdom. We have also lost someone very special and not only dear to our kingdom, but also to me personally. Among those that have perished is our dearest Rachel."

There was a small din among the crowd as most reacted in shock.

Marianne could tell that her father was starting to lose his composure as his eyes became very shiny. She got up from her chair and grabbed some extra napkins that were in a holder close to where she was sitting. She approached her father and put her hand on his shoulder. Dawn reached over and held her father's left hand in her right. He looked first to Dawn and then Marianne and then nodded to them know he was fine. He then looked back out to everyone.

"Funeral services will be held in honor of those who perished after breakfast tomorrow," he said and then paused for a moment.

"On a lighter note, I would like to personally congratulate my Chief At Arms for coordinating his troops in a well trained manner to keep the casualties low," he said as he looked to Benny, "Benny would you please come forth at this time."

Benny got up from his seat and made his way around Spydera and Dawn. King Dagda pushed his throne back a bit to allow Benny to stand next to him on his left side. Marianne noticed that a servant came up to the right of the throne and she had a medal on a small pillow. She stepped out of the way to allow the servant to stand next to her father.

He took the medal and put it up and around Benny's neck as he said, "Sir Benedict Farouque, I would like to present this award to honor you for your service to my kingdom for your expertise and quick thinking proving to me that you are exemplary in your position as Chief At Arms."

Benny was glowing as he shook the kings hand and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. This is a huge honor."

"You earned it!" The king said and then he patted Benny on the back, "Well done, Benny."

There was a loud applause among the crowd. As Benny took his seat, Queen Yara said, "Oh, Benny, Yara so happy for you! Congratulations!"

The King raised his voice again and he put his hand out towards Queen Spydera as he said, "At this time, I would also like to introduce you to and offer many thanks to our new friend, Queen Spydera for her assistance with her spider army. In return for her kind assistance, we will also help her with a situation she has in her kingdom. Just moments before dinner, we had signed a treaty with her and thus we have new ally, the Spider Kingdom of the Forbidden Forest."

The Spider Queen rose up from her seat and bowed before everyone. Again there was loud applause especially coming from the goblin's table. There were quite a few whistles coming from them as well.

At this point Marianne figured that her father wouldn't be needing her assistance after all. She just looked at the napkins in her hand and then went back to her seat. But she stopped behind it when her father spoke again.

"On top of everything, I nearly lost my eldest daughter today," he said as he put his hand out towards her.

Marianne looked around and all eyes were on her as there was din amongst them. In a cute manner she just smiled and raised her hand up. When the crowd simmered down, he started to speak again:

"She was saved by none other than her very own sister by a truly miraculous event. We have discovered that Dawn has inherited her mother's healing power and with that she saved Marianne," he said.

There was cheering and clapping and whistling from the crowd. Marianne then took her seat.

He then turned to Dawn and said, "My darling Dawn, would you please rise and stand next to me."

Dawn's had a puzzled look on her face as she stood up next to her father's left side. The servant came around again and it appeared she had another medal with her on the pillow.

King Dagda placed both his hands on Dawn's shoulders and looked her in the eyes as he continued to speak.

"My dearest Dawn, what I am about to give you is considered the highest honor a soldier of the crown could receive."

Dawn had a very confused look on her face as she said, "But Dad, I am not a soldier, I am a princess."

"Nevertheless, what you have demonstrated to me and your kingdom today was the highest honor and bravery I have seen in the line of duty in a very long time. I watched you overcome your fears and help your fellow people and your own family. Even though you are a princess and not a soldier, you still deserve this in every way."

Her father reached over to the pillow and picked up the medal. It was all gold and shaped like a cross. There were many 'ooooo's and ohhhhs' from the crowd, especially from the soldiers. The King spoke again:

"My dearest, darling, daughter, Dawn…." he paused for a moment as he held the medal, he then turned to everyone and said, "My there are a lot of 'D's' in that."

Everyone laughed.

He then continued, "I present to you the highest award any person serving in the line of duty can receive, The Golden Cross of Honor."

Dawn was visibly shaken and stunned as she meekly said, "But Dad..."

She stopped mid sentence as her father put his finger up and said, "Inscribed on this medal are the words, 'Awarded for an Exemplary Act of Honor In Service For The Fairy Kingdom.'"

Everyone cheered loudly as he placed the large medal around her neck. He then embraced her and gave her a kiss on each of her cheeks.

When he withdrew, he looked Dawn in the eyes and said, "I love you, Dawn, with all my heart and thank you for all you have done for me, your family and your kingdom."

Suddenly Dawn's chin started to wrinkle and her eyes welled up and she burst into tears. Her father immediately embraced her again and Marianne could hear her say, "Thank you so much, Dad. I love you too."

The crowd erupted into the loudest applause yet. Some even started to chant Dawn's name. Benny just stood watching as he smiled at Dawn. Marianne could even feel her eyes welling up as she was about to lose composure herself. Bog just kept throwing his fist in the air and also chanted Dawn's name.

Queen Yara yelled out, "My dear Dawn, I am so happy for you!"

Gregory said, "Such an honor, only true war heroes get that medal."

Benny said, "Indeed. The King and I had a long discussion about it as he wanted an unbiased opinion and I agreed that Dawn should get the medal."

"Ya…You had something to do with this too?" Dawn said to Benny through her tears.

"Yes, of course..."

But before he could continue Dawn flew over to him, threw her arms around him, gave him a kiss on the cheek and said, "Even though I still don't think I deserve such an honor, Thank you so much."

When they separated, Benny gave Dawn some leaf tissues and she wiped her eyes. He then put his fist across his chest and said, "It is I that thanks you, Princess Dawn Farfalla, it has been a pleasure serving for you and with you."

Suddenly soldiers around the room called out, "Speech! Princess Speech!"

Dawn turned towards the crowd and said, "Oh my goodness! I can't believe this! I hope I get through this as I am already a mess! I just want to say thank you again to my Dad and Sir Benny and also I want to thank Queen Yara for training me and helping me with my armor, and Sunny for building my weapon and also helping with my armor.

I know that only true war heroes get this and I am not a soldier. This family has one warrior princess already and even though I did overcome my fears to assist my family when they were in trouble, I don't consider myself a warrior and never will. But I have found a place I want to be and that is to help others. As my father just said, I have my mother's healing power. But I kept it a secret because I was afraid of it. But now that I know what good I can do with it, I will be taking Rachel's place as head nurse in the infirmary. So if anyone is not feeling well or gets hurt, you will be seeing me now."

There were some cheers among the crowd. Dawn continued to speak:

"I feel that is where I belong," she paused for a moment as she looked down and then held her medal in her hand she started to cry again as she said, "But I will remember this honor and gift for as long as I shall live."

The crowd erupted into a loud roar, again chanting her name.

Dawn patted her hands down and said, "Please Please. Thank you all! You make me feel so special, but there is more..."

The crowd simmered down and she continued to speak:

"While, I initially viewed my power as a curse and kept it a secret, this power has given me the greatest gift of all and that is that it helped me save my sister, Marianne," she said as she put her hand out towards her sister.

Marianne was already fighting to keep her composure, but now couldn't hold back the tears any longer as they started to roll down her cheek. She got up and flew over to her sister and tightly embraced her.

"Ohhhh! Sis! I love you!" Dawn said.

"I love you too," Marianne said as she wept into her sister's shoulder. She could hear her sister do the same on her shoulder.

After a while, the sisters separated and their father gave them napkins to whip their faces. He then held his hand out for them to take their seats. He then address the crowd again:

"I initially just wanted to have a simple dinner tonight, as I feel it is too soon to have a full on celebration. However, Sunny had informed me that this probably would have made the night too quiet and I don't want to create an atmosphere of mourning either. So we will have a few songs and dancing later on tonight."

The crowd began to cheer. When they subsided, the king said, "Well, then if there isn't any more questions, dinner is ready to be served."

Marianne looked around and no one came forth with any questions so her father turned to his servant and said, "Have Sunny serve dinner."

"Right away, your Majesty." she replied.

Marianne looked to her sister as she was sitting in her chair. She wouldn't take her eyes off the medal she was holding in her hand and still tears were rolling down her face. There was a pile of leaves on her plate from when she was wiping her tears. The table cloth in front was also damp from her tears.

"Oh my goodness, Sis, you are crying a river!"

"So many good men could have got this medal, but Dad and Benny chose me."

"Well Dawn, You truly did save us. You clearly were the turning point in that dungeon. And then what you did for me alone," Marianne said.

"As I said, I owe so much thanks to both Sunny and Yara, they both believed in me."

"Oh, you're welcome Dawn, glad to help," Yara said from across the table

Marianne asked Yara, "So was Dawn's armor your doing?"

"A little yes, but most of it was Sunny. I mostly help Dawn with training accuracy. A regular bow was a bit hard for her to pull back, so Sunny suggested crossbow with loading mechanism that easier for her to handle and load. She loved it," Queen Yara explained.

Marianne looked to her sister and said, "Really?"

"Oh I loved using the crossbow, it was fun to use, and I am good at it too!… But, I really don't want to hurt anyone. Remember, I want to save lives."

Yara then asked Dawn, "So your power you use in infirmary to help?"

Dawn said, "Yes. Transferring feels awesome! I am learning quickly too. Sugar Plum's assistance with my getting to know the power is great. She said I am a very strong healer, stronger than Rachel and mom combined!"

Yara said, "That is great! I am glad that you are finding your place and you are finding something you enjoy doing."

Dawn said, "I remember when I couldn't stand the sight of blood, but I think I am getting used to it, but I am still having trouble with some of the more gruesome injuries. Sugar Plum still needs to help with those. There was one point where a soldiers arm was..."

Marianne put her hands up and stopped her sister as she said, "Whoa, Whoa Dawn, a T.M.I. moment, we are getting ready to eat now?"

"Sorry."

B- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Marianne called down the table, "Can someone please pass the pitcher of water?"

Soldiers passed the pitcher down the line to Bog and he filled her glass for her.

"Thank you," she said.

She picked up the glass and looked to make sure her father wasn't looking and then began to gulp it down. Bog just watched as his woman audibly swallowed hard.

He leaned over to her and said, "Don't let your father catch you gulping that down like that."

"Ahhhhhhhh! Oh that is so good! It is nice and cold and refreshing. I just really love water tonight," she said.

Bog replied, "Yes, and the bathroom is going to love you as well tonight."

She laughed, "Well, so far I am good. You heard Dawn, I need the water."

The servants came out and began to take everyone's order. One approached the royal table and announced:

"We are serving three dishes tonight your Majesties. The first is a new dish and for the first time we are having a meat dish. It is a Peppered Fly Steak. The next dish is a old favorite with a twist, Stuffed Vegetable Peppers with Cheese, and finally we have a long time favorite, Pizza Bread."

As soon as the servant mentioned the last item, the table just erupted at at once, with most wanting the pizza bread. King Dagda banged his goblet with his fork to get everyone's attention. When everyone settled down he began to speak:

"I know everyone is hungry, but let's not forget our manners and place, we will go down the table in an orderly fashion like we normally do. By traditions, Since Queen Spydera is our guest monarch, she orders first and then we go down the line."

Everyone answered, "Yes your Majesty."

King Dagda looked to Spydera and said, "After you, Your Highness."

"Thank you….Well, all three sound great and it seems everyone likes the last one, but I am going to go with the meat dish, the Pepper Fly Steak. But may I ask what is in that?"

The servant was a bit intimidated by the Spider Queen and she stammered a bit as she ran down the list of ingredients. She listed the ingredients of the other two meals as well.

"Yes, I will stick with Pepper Fly Steak," Queen Spydera said.

The servant then looked to King Dagda.

"I'll have the Stuffed Peppers with Cheese," he said.

Both Marianne and Dawn said together, "Pizza!"

Bog said, "I am going to try the Pepper Fly Steak."

Benny said, "The Suffed Peppers with Cheese."

As the orders were taken down the line it seemed as if the Pizza Bread was the favored dish among the fairies. The elves mostly went with the Pizza Bread or Stuffed Peppers. The goblins mostly ordered the Pepper Fly Steak dish.

Since it was only a one course dinner, much of the food was already prepared and service came very quick to the tables.

When everyone was served at the royal table King Dagda said, "Well, everyone this is what we been waiting for. Dig in and enjoy!"

Bog slowly examined the contents of his plate and then suddenly he heard his mother's voice boom out, "Just take a bite and stuff it, son. You do this all the time when it comes to something new. I am your mother and will not steer you wrong when I say that dish is great. In fact, am having it myself!"

She walked by Queen Yara, and patted her on the shoulder and said, "Great recipe, our goblins will love this."

"Thank you Griselda, I was hoping you would like it."

"Your Welcome, dear."

Yara moved a bit closer to Benny to make room for Griselda to sit at the table. A servant appeared a few moments later with her place setting and her order of Pepper Fly Steak.

Just then Queen Spydera said, "Mmmm. My, this is excellent. Your mother is right, Bog King. Just dig in."

Reassured by two that the meal was good Bog finally took a fork full into his mouth, his eyes widened.

"Wow! This is great!"

"Thank You," both Griselda and Yara said at the same time. Griselda then added, "That was made with love!"

Everyone laughed.

Marianne had an inquisitive look on her face as she examined Bog's plate and looked to the part where he cut in. Bog took another fork full and looked to his fiancée.

"Would you like to try some?"

"Alright."

Bog carefully brought his fork to her mouth. She hesitated at first, but then opened her mouth and leaned forward. For some reason he just enjoyed feeding her and he smiled as her beautiful lips enveloped the fork and she took the serving into her mouth. Everyone one at the table looked towards her as she chewed on it for a while and then swallowed.

Dawn leaned over and said, "Well? Do you like it?"

She rocked her head side to side and said, "Not bad! My favorite is still the pizza."

Bog could see that Dawn seemed very curious and he said, "Would you like to try some, Dawn?"

"Hmmmm, I see many have ordered it and like it, but I am not sure."

Queen Spydera said, "Oh come now, Princess, give it a try, it will put hair on your chest."

Dawn looked up to the spider queen and said, "Nuh uhh, I don't need that! I'll stick with the pizza."

Everyone at the table laughed, Spydera the hardest as she was just joking with Dawn.

"Mmmmmmmmm!" Marianne hummed loudly as she took a bite of her pizza bread.

She caught the attention of most at the table when she closed her eyes and chewed the piece in her mouth very slowly before swallowing.

"Oh this is so good!" She said aloud when she opened her eyes.

She slowly bit off another piece and did the same thing as before.

"Gosh, Sis, you act like you never ate pizza before."

Marianne continued to slowly chew the piece in her mouth as she held her finger up and swallowed before speaking.

"Dawn, I almost died today. If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here eating this wonderful meal with all the people I love and care about."

There were a few, "Awwwws at the table."

Bog suddenly thought about what she said and the awful thought crossed his mind if he was sitting at the table at that moment and the seat next to him was empty. He almost lost the one thing he cared more about than even his own wings.

Marianne continued to speak, "After what happened to me today, I am going to look at life a bit differently. I almost lost mine today and it made me appreciate what I have more. I love this meal, I love drinking water. I love being in everyone's company. That matters more than material things. Each day is a gift and not a given right, so I am going to spend as much time as I can with the people I love because I don't know how much time I really have with them."

A few more 'Awwww's' were spoken while others nodded in agreement while applauding.

Her father raised his glass and said, "Well spoken, Darling!"

Everyone else raised their glass and said, "Here! Here!"

"Thank you," Marianne said.

After everyone took a sip and put their glass down, they resumed having their meals.

Benny was curious about the meat dish as he looked over to Queen Yara's plate. She ended up feeding him a forkful as everyone looked to him. He chewed it slowly and then moments later, he swallowed hard. He had an unclear look on his face.

He said, "Well, it is different and not bad, but I think I will stick with my Stuffed Peppers."

As dinner went on, it became a taste testing venture as many fairies were curious about the meat dish and were willing to try it. Some liked it, some didn't, some just outright refused and some were on the fence about it. It was the same story with the elves. The goblins, on the other hand, savored the meat dish with many even asking for a second helping. Luckily Griselda anticipated this and made more than enough portions.

Marianne helped herself with another forkful from Bog's plate.

He laughed as he said, "Seems you like it, huh?"

"Yeah. I mean I would still take pizza over it, but given the similar ingredients to the Stuffed Peppers and this, I like this as much as the Stuffed Peppers."

Queen Yara said, "Meat protein rich, it make you even stronger yet."

King Dagda said, "Oh come now Yara, she's got enough muscle on her as is."

Dawn quipped as she said, "Yeah, you get any more muscle and you will be bigger than most of the guys."

Suddenly Dawn's eyes grew wide as she looked to Queen Spydera and said, "Oh I'm sorry your Majesty, I didn't mean any offense."

"None taken, young Princess Dawn. I know I am pretty large for a woman."

Bog then noticed that Spydera looked down to her arms and her hands and she had a soft look on her face.

Just then Benny bellowed out as he looked to Queen Yara and said, "Well, I for one, love a strong woman and I like a woman that has some muscle on her. It looks sexy to me."

There were some, 'oooooooo's' from the men at the table. Marianne looked wide eyed to Benny, while Yara smiled at him. Spydera's soft look changed as she smirked and raised an eyebrow.

Bog then noticed that Marianne was carefully watching her father, again and as soon as he turned to talk to Queen Spydera, she grabbed the glass of water in front of her and she proceeded to chug it down. Bog just watched her neck expand as she swallowed it down. He liked the way it looked.

She quickly put the glass down and sighed as she said, "Oh that was good."

Marianne noticed that Bog was looking at her and she said, "I hope you are not going to lecture me about gulping like that. I can't help it, I am thirsty."

Bog leaned in and whispered in her ear, "No, I was just watching your neck when you were drinking and I wondered what it would be like to kiss you there as you swallowed hard like that."

She smiled as she turned to look him in the face. She raised an eyebrow and said, "Well, Loverboy, I like the sound of that. Perhaps later on I will let you try."

As everyone was eating their meals, they started to break off into groups and began talking, mostly about what happened earlier in the day. Benny went on about how Yara and Marianne fought in the battle. Marianne went to talk with her sister for a while. Benny then started telling everyone at the table how Spydera and her spiders fought and turned the tables on the flies and Roland's men.

Having figured that most were done with their dinner Bog heard King Dagda call for Sunny. Moments later he emerged from the kitchen and walked over to the king.

"You called, Your Majesty?"

"Yes, Sunny, you can start the festivities."

Sunny smiled and said, "At once!"

He then pointed over the opposite corner of the ballroom where some elves were setting up some instruments and getting ready to play. Sugar Plum floated over to the corner where the band was setting up. She was going to be on drums for the night. Since the real drums were ruined in the battle, she made a magical drum set appear.

Bog got up and said, "Sunny, may I have a word with you?"

"Of course, Your Majesty."

"Would it be too much trouble to ask for a song spot tonight?"

"Not at all, I think I can shoehorn you in. Dawn isn't going to sing tonight, so we have an open spot."

"Great! Thank you."

"Well then without further ado, I will kick it off then!" Sunny announced. He then turned Dawn and said, "You wanna dance, you sweet war hero you?"'

Dawn laughed as she started to stand up and she walked with Sunny to the middle of the Dance floor.

Sunny took Dawn's hand and shouted out, "This goes out to all the warriors of the Fairy, Dark Forest and Forbidden Kingdoms for winning today's battle. This is our Victory dance!"

There were cheers and applause from the crowd.

Sunny then pointed to the band and said, "Hit it Sugar Plum!"

(Victory – Kool And The Gang)

(Sunny)

[Sugar Plum started with a short drum intro. Pirus stood up and shouted, "Yeah! Go girl! Whoooo!"

Sugar Plum looked to him and giggled.

The band then started up with the bass, guitars and horns. The song had an overall dance music feel. Bog rolled his eyes and shook his head as he said, "I have to say, Dawn and Sunny, the Disco Dynamic Duo."

Marianne said, "Oh Honey, it is a good song."

Bog smiled and said, "Alright alright, You want to dance?"

"Yes!"

As Marianne and Bog got up, other fairies and elves did too. The goblins weren't budging from their seats, but they weren't running away either.]

Soldiers, get ready. It's time to show
What you got
Fighters, take your places. It's only
One way to the top

[Sunny and Dawn were dancing freestyle to the beat and others followed. Some fairies took to the air and danced over head. Benny paired up with Yara and the two took to the dance floor.]

You must feel the victory release that
Energy and fly like the wind

[Marianne and Bog got into a dance hold, but more or less just shuffled to the beat. Benny and Yara got into hold and began doing a Foxtrot.]

With fire in your eyes, shake those
Butterflies and do the best you can

[Marianne said to Bog as she was looking to her father, "I am surprised Dad didn't ask Yara to dance." Her lover replied, "Yeah, I noticed that. But it looks like he is busy talking to Queen Spydera."]

Victory, Victory! Let the party begin
Victory, victory! Let's do it again

[Over at the goblin's table Stuff said, "Uhh, it's a war song! Not bad for Disco. Most of the goblins nodded in agreement and some got up to dance. Sunny stepped back and pointed to Dawn as he sang to her]

You... are the best. You seem to stand
Out from the rest

[Sunny sang as he reached out and held Dawn's medal in his hand. Marianne said, "Awww, he's too sweet."]

Oooo! Your intentions were to be more than a honorable mention

[Sunny sang as he traced the word 'honor' on her medal]

You must've felt that victory, released that
Energy and flew like the wind!
Fire in your eyes, you shook those
Butterflies, and you went
For the win, now

['Sunny I was scared and full of butterflies,' Dawn said to Sunny, while Marianne said to Bog, "Oh, leave it to Sunny to find a way to take a song of victory to serenade Dawn." Bog laughed out loud.]

Victory, victory! Let the party begin
Victory, victory! Everybody can win

[Bog looked to the way he was shuffling and looked to Marianne as she was dancing very smooth and freely. He looked to Yara and Benny and they both were gliding across the dance floor. He said, "Let's do a Foxtrot too."]

'Cause it's the same way in life

[Pare leaned in over Sunny and sang]

(Pare)

Same way in life

[Marianne nodded in agreement and they got into hold and began to dance.]

(Sunny)

Inside the tunnel see the light
- See the light
The perfect balance you must find
It's the same way in life

[Bog did a sashay type move with Marianne]

Victory victory victory

[Marianne scrunched her nose and said, "Nice! I like that!"

(Instrumental break)

[During the instrumental break, King Dagda came over to Yara and Benny and cut in. Benny looked a bit disappointed as he took to wing and flew back to the table.]

Victory-sweet-oo-victory-sweet
Victory-sweet-can you feel It?
Victory sweet, so sweet, so sweet

[As Bog continued his Foxtrot with Marianne, he looked around the room and there were quite a few people up and dancing. He then focused on her beautiful face.]

There's only one way to the top if You really want it
You can never stop pushin' for the
Victory-go ahead, go ahead

[Bog looked to Dawn and Sunny and they were really shuffling well together. He said to Marianne,"I would like to learn to do that sometime."]

Soldiers take your places-go ahead!

["I can show you," She said. He said, "Perhaps another time in private." She nodded.]

Feel that victory release that energy
So sweet, to the top-go ahead, go ahead. Victory

Soldiers take your places...to the top

Victory (Victory)

[Just before the song ended, Marianne pulled herself close and rested her head on Bog's shoulder and sighed, "I'm so happy to dance with you." "Me too," he replied.]

Victory, Victory, Let's Do It Again.

Victory, (Sweet) Victory let the party begin

When the song ended, everyone clapped and cheered while Sunny took a bow. Dawn reached down and gave Sunny a quick kiss. When they separate, he patted his hands down for everyone to settle down. Once the applause died down he began to speak:

"Thank you everyone, at this time his Majesty, the Bog King is going to do his song for us," Sunny said. He then turned to Bog and said, "Are you ready, Your Majesty?"

"Yes," he said and then put his arm around Marianne as he turned to everyone and said, "The song I would like to sing tonight is, like Sunny's, a song of inspiration. I am sure most of you probably have either lost someone today or nearly have.

I too, came close to losing someone I love very much," he said as he looked to Marianne. She smiled. While still looking into her brown eyes, he raised his voice and said, "Thang, my staff please."

"Sure B.K."

Thang got Bog's staff which was propped up behind his seat at the table. He brought the staff over and gave it to him.

"Thank You," he said. He then looked over to Sugar Plum and said, "Give me a medium tempo beat in a rock ballad chord."

"Yes, your Majesty," she said as she bowed. "I'll follow your lead."

Bog nodded and he started to strum out a few chords. Sugar Plum followed the tempo and the rest of the band followed. Once he had the rhythm going everyone started to bob their heads to the beat.

"Yeah, that's good!" He said in approval to everyone.

The intro had a rock feel, but it wasn't very heavy. Regardless, most of the goblins got up from their table and moved closer to where Bog was playing.

Bog turned to face Marianne as he began to sing.

(If Today Was Your Last Day - Nickelback)

(Bog - Random band member backing vocal in parenthesis)

My girlfriend gave me the best advice
She said, "Each day's a gift and not a given right."

[Marianne realized he sang the very words she spoke earlier. Her face became very soft when she said, "Oh Bog!"]

Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind

[Everyone swayed and clapped to the beat]

And try to take the path less traveled by.
That first step you take is the longest stride.

(What if, What if)

If today was your last day

[Bog laid harder into the chords playing louder. The band followed. Everyone swayed more.]

And tomorrow was too late
Could you say "goodbye" to yesterday?

(What if, What if)
Would you live each moment like your last?

[Some out on the floor took to dancing slowly with their partners, but most just watched Bog perform while moving to the beat. Marianne danced a little to the side of him. He could see her getting lost in the song.]

Leave old paintings in the past
Donate every coin you had?

(What if, What if)
If today was your last day

[Instrumental Break]

[Bog slowed down the rhythm again as he went into a small break. Marianne came over and moved slightly behind Bog as she draped her arm around his neck. She rocked her shoulders to the beat, never taking her eyes off him. Sugar plum shot her hand up to the ceiling and the lights dimmed in the room.]

(What if What if, If today was your last day)
Against the grain should be a way of life
What's worth the prize is always worth the fight
Every second counts 'cause there's no second try

[Marianne rested her head on Bog's shoulder and she sighed loudly. Benny started to slow dance with Yara, he got very close to her. ]

So live it like you'll never live it twice
Don't take the free ride in your own life
(What if, What if)
If today was your last day

[Suddenly Alice and Monica each grabbed a string of light spheres from the wall and flew up and above Marianne and Bog. They danced together with the light strings trailing behind them. There were some, "Oooo's from the crowd.

And tomorrow was too late
Could you say "goodbye" to yesterday?

[Even more of the goblins got up and joined the crowd swaying to the beat.]

(What if, What if)
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old paintings in the past
Donate every coin you had?

(What if, What if)
And would you call old friends you never see?

[Everyone continued to pair off with the ones they loved and they started to sway back and forth with them. Dawn and Sunny went off to a table in a darkened corner and he sat on it while she stood. They started to kiss as they swayed to the music.]

Reminisce old memories
Would you forgive your enemies?

(What if, What if)
And would you find that one you're dreamin' of?

[King Dagda cut in and resumed slow dancing with Yara. Benny was a bit frustrated, but one of the taller elf women came over to him. The two spoke for a bit and the two started to slow dance.]

Swear up and down to Heaven above
That you finally fall in love

(Finally Fall In Love)
If today was your last day

[Thang got a light sphere that was in a flower decoration and he gave it to Stuff. The two sat down on the goblin's table and he slowly put his arm around her. The two swayed to the music.]

If today was your last day
Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart?
You know it's never too late to shoot for the stars

[As Bog continued to sing, he couldn't help but notice that Queen Spydera just stood in the shadows and she was constantly putting her hand near her face. Alice and Monica continued to dance above with the light strings. Marianne just watched in awe.]

Regardless of who you are
So do whatever it takes
'Cause you can't rewind a moment in this life

[Marianne had such a soft look on her face as she leaned into Bog's body. Then he could feel her kissing the nape of his neck. ]

Let nothin' stand in your way
'Cause the hands of time are never on your side

[Marianne came around to his front and just looked to him with her soft golden brown eyes. He almost missed his song cue as he started to get lost in her eyes. But he came to and just slowed down a bit.]

If today was your last day
And tomorrow was too late
Could you say "goodbye" to yesterday?

[Marianne again leaned into his shoulder as she draped her arms around his neck.]

Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old paintings in the past
Donate every coin you had?
(Would you? Would you?)

[By now everyone held on to someone they cared about and just heavily swayed back and forth or slow danced to the music. Alice and Monica took to wing again and danced above with their string lights trailing behind them.]

And would you call old friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories
Would you forgive your enemies?

(What if, What if)
And would you find that one you're dreamin' of?
Swear up and down to Heaven above
That you finally fall in love

(What if, What if)
If today was your last day

[Alice and Monica flew into each others arms and embraced, the light sphere strings just dangled below them]

When the song ended, the applause was deafening. Marianne held Bog's face in her hands and said, "Such a beautiful song with such good advice it is for today was almost my last day."

"That is why I picked the song for you, my dear."

"Oh Hon! You did it to me again", she called out

She then nestled her head into his chest and began to sigh heavily as she unfolded her wings and began to open and close them slowly. She then began to repeatedly kiss him all over his face. He even sighed heavily receiving so much love from his lady.

Alice and Monica landed nearby. Both had the light strings around their neck as Alice said, "Oh, she's got it bad for him."

Bog looked to them and said, "Oh, thank you ladies for your illuminating assistance."

Both of the them laughed as they put an arm around one another and they then wrapped their wings around each other. What they were doing behind those wings Bog could only guess. But the shadows created by the light strings had given him and everyone else a good idea.

Just then King Dagda and Yara came over. He said, "Great song, my friend! A good message indeed and you based that off that line of advice my daughter spoke of earlier."

"Well, the song isn't mine, I just changed the words around a bit to fit the situation."

Marianne still had her arms around his neck as she turned to her father and in a swooning tone said, "It is beautiful. Ahhh, he's so wonderful isn't he?"

Bog's eyes widened as he told her father, "You don't have to answer that."

Everyone in earshot laughed. Marianne just looked to him with starry eyes.

Her father watched his daughter as she continued to open and close her wings. He said, "Ummm, not to sound like Griselda and be pushy, but have you two thought about when your wedding will be?"

Marianne and Bog looked at each other and they both said together, "As soon as possible."

They both laughed and she said to her lover, "Well, I will wait if you want, I don't want to be pushy either.

"No, I can't see a reason why we should wait. We both have known for a while that this is what we want."

Marianne finally folded her wings as she said, "Not to sound needy or anything, but I do want to be your queen."

She then reached up and brought her lips to his. There was cheering and clapping among the crowd.

King Dagda and Yara smiled as he said, "Well, that is good to know, and let me know if I can be of assistance in anyway."

"As do I, Yara love planning weddings! Being tribal queen, I am good at it too." Yara said.

Marianne said, "Don't worry, I think we are going to need quite a bit of help with this one."

Her father said, "That big, huh?"

Everyone laughed and then slowly headed back to their seats.

When they sat down, Bog just looked into Marianne's eyes and she stared back at him. Moments later he heard Sunny speaking to Benny:

"Well, if you are gonna sing you better do it now, we are going to wrap it up shortly."

"I know, I know, I just have some butterflies."

"Why? You sang in front of everyone before."

"Yes, but this time I want to tell Yara how I really feel," He said. "I think I am falling really hard for her."

"Oh….yeah, I guess I can see why you are nervous. But just go with what you feel in your heart and everything will fall into place," Sunny advised.

One of the three sprite fairies said, "Your song choice is beautiful. I think she will love it."

"Alright then, give me a few moments to change," Benny said.

Sunny nodded and then Benny took off towards the kitchen. Benny rounded up a few of his elves and they took their positions at the instruments.

Several moments later a servant emerged from the kitchen and notified Sunny that Benny was ready.

"Our final number for tonight will be by our very own Chief at Arms," Sunny announced. He then put his hand out towards the ballroom doors and yelled, "Benny!"

The doors of the ballroom flew open wide as Benny pushed them open very hard. Everybody began to applaud as he entered. Sugar plum started up a slow piano chord progression as he entered.

The outfit he was wearing resembled a gladiator type outfit that looked very old. The color was mainly brown and gold and it quite matched the look of Queen Yara's outfit. The outfit had three layered plates on each side that formed pauldrons that went out to a point past his shoulders. The two center paudrons came down and attached with a strap to a chest plate which had straps that ran under the first set of pauldron plates. The neck line was scooped and showed his neck and a good portion of his upper chest. The top center crease of his sternum could be seen. The lower edge was scalloped and layered down his sides and stopped about mid abdomen where the center part of the last later came to a point both on his abdomen and back. This left the sides of his lower abdomen open. He wore bracers that matched and ran up to his elbows and also terminated to a point. The bracers were heavily adorned in gold trim. For the lower part of his body, he wore a tight pair of shorts and over it was a layered tusset that was formed of two large brown leaves that overlapped on the backside and formed a part on the front. His legs from mid thigh down were bare. He completed the look with matching laced sandals. The laces ran all the way up to just above his knees. Despite the fact that Benny wasn't as muscularly built as many of the other soldiers, he had a lean and ripped look and many of the girls in the room took notice. Still, Bog had to chuckle a bit as he noticed that Marianne's arms were almost as big and and just as ripped as his.

As Benny walked by the elves' table the tall pretty elf girl he danced with during Bog's number, stood up to get a better look. She was breathing very hard as she said, "Oh he looks so hot!"

Benny apparently heard and he walked even more proud pushing his chest out. He bowed a bit and said, "Why, thank you, m'lady."

"Oh and so gallant too!" She said as she swooned, put the backside of her hand over her forehead and passed out.

Another well built girl elf caught her and said, "Brittany! Get your head out of the clouds, he's a fairy and a knight, he would never go out with you!"

"Oh can it, Celeste! Leave it to you to suck the fun out of my fantasy," Brittany said.

Benny shook his head and then proceeded to proudly walk straight up to Queen Yara with a swagger as the slow piano chord progression continued to play in the background.

Yara's eyes were as wide as dinner plates as he approached. Her lips even cracked a small smirk.

"May I have this dance, m'lady?" he said as he bowed before her with one hand behind is back and his other hand out for her to take.

"Yes, of course, good, kind Sir." she said as she took his hand and he helped her out of her seat. She continued. "Do we dance the Trot of the Fox again?"

Everyone in earshot laughed.

"Not exactly," he replied as the two got into a dance hold on the ballroom floor. "This is more freestyle."

"Oh Okay."

He took a few turns with her and then began to sing slowly in a soft voice. Yara smiled as he sang to her.

(Give Me Your Love – Sigala, Feat John Newman)

(Benny, Marianne, Pixies)

(Benny)

I may be selfish but I'll take your pain
When you get weak I'll make you strong again
When all is lost, I will comfort you, mmm, mmm

[A guitar riff played out and the beat changed to an up beat dance rhythm. Benny broke out of his dance hold with Yara and took her hands in his. At first she looked confused but she got the idea by the manner of how he was moving her arms to the beat and the way he started to step his legs to the beat. She then followed along and she began to smile.]

So give me your love, I need it
Give me your heart, I'm bleeding

[He still sang softly, but by this point Marianne began to move side to side in her seat rocking her shoulders to the beat. She said, "Oh! I know this one, it's really good!"]

Give me your love, I need it, oh yeah, oh yeah!

[Just then the beat dropped out and Benny took his voice up in loudness as he dropped his arms to his side. He began to just sway side to side. Yara's eyes widened as followed and began to sway with him.]

Give me your love, I need it!
Give me your heart, I'm bleeding!
Give me your love, I need it, uh, uh yeah!

[The music then stopped altogether and Benny thrust his arm forward pointing towards Yara and in almost a cross tone in his voice he yelled out.]

Why don't you give me your love?!

[The music started up again with the beat changing slightly to more of a hip hop style.]

(Benny, - pixie fairies in parenthesis italics)

(Your love, love, your love, your love)

[Spydera said, "Oooo, this is catchy." she said as she tapped one of her back legs on the floor and slightly bobbed her head to the beat.]

Give me your love!

[The dance shifted more to Benny's legs as he was shuffling them to the music. The top half of his body was swaying to the beat as he swung both his arms back and forth.]

(Your love, love, your love, your love)

[Spydera said, "Hmmm, little warrior man sure can dance well.]

Give me your love!

[Yara attempted to follow the upper body movement while also snapping her fingers to the beat.]

(Your love, love, your love, your love)

Uh, uh, yeah!

(Your love, love, your love)

[Marianne was bouncing to the beat in her seat with more energy now. Again there was a pause in the beat and Benny stopped for a moment, put his finger out to Yara and sang out loudly.]

Why don't you give me your love?!

(Pixie Fairies in a lower pitch.)
(Your love, your love, love
Your love, your love, love)

[Marianne looked to Bog and said, "I can't sit still for this. The beat is too good!" ]

(Your love, your love, love
Your love, your love, love)

[She got up from her seat and started to dance off to the side. As Spydera watched her, she began rocking her shoulders to the beat and tapping her leg to the beat even harder.]

(Benny)
Give me your love!

[Bog's eyes widened as he noticed Marianne was doing the dance style even better than Benny.]

(Pixie Fairies)
Your love, your love, love
Your love, your love, love
Your love, your love, love
Your love, your love, love

[Once the beat shifted back to a dance beat, Yara started to move her lower body more to the beat. Benny nodded in approval.]

I will be there every lonely night

[Yara added a bounce to her movement and Benny's eyes widened. She noticed and smiled widely.]

When you wake up, I'll be by your side
I will always be there for you, mmm, mmm, oh yeah!

[The beat then dropped out again and Benny put his hands on Yara's shoulders and was gently squeezing them. He had a passionate look in his eyes. Yara put her hands on Benny's hips and the two swayed back and forth. Marianne turned around and grabbed Bog by is lapels and practically pulled him out of his seat. She ended up singing along with Benny, but at a softer level.]

So give me your love, I need it!
Give me your heart, I'm bleeding!

[Marianne started to 'push' Bog towards the dance floor, he said softly, 'Marianne no! I can't dance to this!']

Give me your love, I need it!

[Marianne continued to push Bog back until he found he was backed up against a pillar].

oh yeah, oh yeah!

[She continued moving forward and up until her face was close to his. She thrust out her arms over his shoulders and they slammed into the pillar behind him and when the music dropped out she sang along with Benny. Meanwhile Benny held Yara's face in his hands as he belted out the next line.]

Why don't you give me your love?

[By now many noticed something going on with Marianne and Bog as well. Marianne then flew off to the side of the dance floor and began to dance in a hip hop style similar to Benny.]

(Your love, love, your love, your love)

Give me your love!

[Bog had a wide eyed look on his face as he watched the intricate legwork Marianne was doing. The crowd started to applaud when she took to the dance floor.]

(Your love, love, your love, your love)
Give me your love!
(Your love, love, your love, your love)

[By now Yara was moving her lower body more to the beat, but wasn't moving like Benny or Marianne.]

Uh, uh, yeah!
(Your love, love, your love)

[Marianne moved closer to Benny and she sang out the next line aloud to Bog as Benny sang to Yara. Spydera continued to rock her shoulders to the beat but in a different way with a bit more bounce.]

Why don't you give me your love?!

[Their harmony was spot on and and they quickly glanced at each other before the beat started up again. Benny shouted to Marianne, "Hip Hop number eight". Marianne nodded in agreement and the two broke out in the same legwork routine, but they moved their upper bodies a bit different.]

(Benny, Marianne, Pixies in parenthesis)

(Your love, your love, love
Your love, your love, love
Your love, your love, love
Your love, your love, love)

[The crowd was cheering loudly as they clapped to the beat and watched. They were really getting into it and soon others were getting up and dancing by their tables and some even on the tables. Bog just marveled at the way Marianne danced and he just leaned up against the pillar and crossed his legs as he watched.]

(Benny, Marianne)

Give me your love

(Your love, your love, love
Your love, your love, love
Your love, your love, love
Your love, your love, love)

[The beat dropped out again and both Marianne and moved closer to their partners. Benny had backed Yara into a pillar and he moved close to her face as he put his hands on her shoulders again.]

(Benny alone)

You don't need no other man baby
He won't treat you like I could
Stop your searching around
I will always love you more

[Marianne and Benny backed off their partners and sang together to them.]

(Benny, Marianne)

So give me your love, I need it!
Give me your heart, I'm bleeding!

[Again their harmony was spot on. The both broke into the same routine as they did earlier dancing in sync. Everyone was cheering and clapping to the beat with the exception of the goblins. More and more people started to line the edges of the dance floor, clapping to the beat.]

Give me your love, I need it,

oh yeah, oh yeah!

[Both Marianne and Benny pointed their fingers at their respective partners and yelled out.]

Why don't you give me your love?!

[Suddenly Yara moved from the Pillar and began to dance in between Marianne and Benny. She attempted her own leg work to the song as she opened her large wings behind Benny and Marianne. She was moving them up and down to the beat. Everyone was cheering her on.]

(Pixies)

Your love, your love, love

[Marianne joined in the backing vocals with the pixies]

[As she sang out her line, she had a heavy bounce to her step. Her hair bounced along and Bog just looked at her in awe.]

(Marianne to Bog)

Oh, you got to give me, give me more!

(Pixies)
(Your love, your love, love
Your love, your love, love
Your love, your love, love)

(Benny Marianne)

Give me your love

(Pixies)
Your love, your love, love

[Marianne then broke out of the dance line and marched over to Bog and put her arms around him and rocked her shoulders as she sang]

(Marianne to Bog)

Oh, you got to give me, give me more!

(Pixies)

Your love, your love, love
Your love, your love, love
Your love, your love, love

[Benny put his arms around Yara as he and Marianne sang together.]

Why don't you give me your love?

As the song ended, Marianne opened her wings and wrapped them around Bog. She then leaned forward and gave Bog a semi private kiss. Given that her wings were up and no one could see them kiss, Bog was about to indulge in her kiss. Suddenly there was some very loud cheering and many wolf whistles. Marianne realized something was up and she lowered her wings. Both her and Bog looked over to Benny and Yara, and both of them had their lips locked. Both of their eyes widened. But after a few moments, Yara suddenly pushed Benny away. She had a shocked look in her face.

Benny said, "I Love you Queen Yara."

She shook her head and called out, "No no! You mustn't, not for real."

"Yes, I love you for real. I want to start dating you if you will have me?"

Suddenly she got a frightened look in her eyes. Then she did something unexpected as she took to wing and started to fly off.

"Open the door!" she shouted as flew towards it. However, there was no one standing by the door.

Marianne said to Bog, "Oh no!"

There were many that gasped out, "Ohhhh!" as this was the first time they saw Yara flying. She still had a bit of trouble keeping herself straight. She started to veer off to the side when Benny shot into the air and came to her aid. He managed to catch her and he helped her down and into the corner.

Marianne, being as curious as she always was, flew over to a pillar and tried to listen in. Bog ended up joining her. He could barely make out what they were saying.

"I thought we were falling for each other, Yara. I just sang my heart out for you there."

"I thought we have fun like with other song. Yara love to dance with you and have fun with you. You are kind to me and treat me like a queen. I want to be friend to you, but nothing more. Forgive my saying, but Yara too old for you. You could be my son," Yara said as her voice wavered and her eyes welled up.

Bog could tell that Yara was ready to cry.

Others slowly started to gather around them but still stayed at a distance. King Dagda moved forward and put his arm around Marianne. He was slowly trying to pull her back, away from Benny and Yara.

"I don't care. I happen to like older women, but don't take that the wrong way. You look young to me. You're a beautiful, strong woman and I find myself more and more becoming attracted to you. So tonight I sang to you to show my love for you and I want to start going out with you."

Bog could hear many of the girls saying softly, "Awwww!"

"Thank you for wonderful compliments, Benny, but no, it will not work with Yara." she said as tears started to roll down her cheek. Yara wiped her face as she started to walk towards the door.

"Why not? Why don't you give us a try, please. I will be good to you," Benny said as he followed and was ready to grab her by her arm.

She turned and yelled back to him, "It will not work because Yara in love with someone else!"

She inadvertently raised her arm up not knowing that her hand was pointing right in King Dagda's direction. She then looked towards the slowly growing crowd on the floor and right in front was King Dagda. He slowly looked down as he curled his lip inward.

Yara grasped the large handles on the door and grunted loudly as she pulled on the handles and opened both huge doors with such a force that they swung all the way open and slammed against the wall.

She then turned to the crowd and with tears rolling down her face, she yelled out, "No one follow me! Yara want to be alone!"

She made again eye contact with King Dagda, and then she took to wing and started to fly off down the hall.

Benny then took to wing as he he started to fly towards the door. But then he changed direction and flew towards the King. In a gruff voice, he said, "Why didn't you tell me?"

As he started for the door again, King Dagda shouted, "I didn't know. We never professed our love for one another."

Benny stopped in mid air and said, "Well, do you love her, Your Majesty?"

King Dagda looked around as all eyes were on him. He looked very uncomfortable.

"Well, Sire? I need to know, because if you don't then you have to tell her."

"Darn it, Benny, you are not putting me in a good position right now," the King said. He shook his head and then said, "If you must know, Yes, I do love her."

There were some 'Ohhhhhh's' from the crowd as they looked to the king with wide eyes.

"Well then, I will back off of her, Sire. She's yours," he said in a calmer, but disappointed tone. He then looked towards the balcony and said, "I need some air, I had enough for today. Thank you again for the medal, Sire."

"You're Welcome. I think we all had enough today," The king said. He then turned and looked to a nearby servant and said, "Wrap it up, party's over."

Benny flew off towards the balcony as the servant headed for the kitchen.

There were some disappointed voices among the crowd. But it was getting late anyway. The crowd started to break up with most saying goodnight and leaving the ballroom. But all of the royals remained. Sunny, Pare and a few other elves stuck around to help clean up.

Queen Spydera was the first to get back to her seat by the table. King Dagda followed and then Marianne, Bog and Dawn.

Spydera said, "Well, I thought it was a good song, I have not heard music like that in a long time."

King Dagda said, "I saw that by the way you were moving."

Dawn said, "Yeah, you were really dancing in your seat there, Your Highness. You have good rhythm."

"My daughter is right, you do have good rhythm. Can you dance?" King Dagda asked.

"Just A little."

Marianne asked, "You don't have parties in the Forbidden Forest?"

"Sadly, spiders are not much into things like dancing to music, so no."

"Well perhaps the next time we have a party, you could take a turn on the floor with myself or even Bog, he is much taller than I and would be a suitable dance partner for you," King Dagda said.

Bog's eyes widened as K.D. volunteered him to dance with Spydera, something he had no desire to do. But what seemed odd about the conversation was that no one mentioned his falling for Yara.

Griselda came over shortly after and said, "I saw that all. It was a beautiful song up until the end when things just got…."

Spydera finished Griselda's sentence and said, "Awkward?"

"Yeah."

The Spider Queen put her hand to her mouth and yawned.

"Perhaps I should be off myself," she said. "I will be heading back to my kingdom in the morning as there is a lot a prep work I need to do to make it safe for your fairies to fly into my realm."

King Dagda got up and said, "Very well. I am assuming everything is fine with your room, Your Highness?"

"Yes, it is a beautiful room, Thank You."

"Then rest well and I will see you tomorrow morning for breakfast."

"Yes, I will look forward to that," she said.

As Spydera got up from the table and started to walk towards the ballroom exit, there came a loud bang against the sealed doors from the balcony. She stopped, looked towards the balcony and said to King Dagda, "Is he going to be alright out there?"

"Yeah, he should be."

"Before I go to bed, I'll check on him for you."

King Dagda said, "Thank you."

"You're Welcome," she said and then she turned and walked towards the balcony.

On the balcony:

Benny sat in a chair leaning back on two of it's legs. His legs were up on the balcony rail and he just felt so miserable and ashamed of himself for having done what he did. He was so angry that he threw one of the goblets on the table against the doors behind him. He knew Yara was getting close to the king, but she never mentioned anything about falling for him. He thought he had a chance with her, but she told him otherwise. Then the king came out and said he loved her too. He was hurting bad inside and he just closed his eyes for a moment as he sighed loudly. He then thought of a song that reflected on how he was feeling about love at that moment. With his eyes still closed he began to tap his foot to a beat and he started to sing:

(Victim Of Love – Erasure)

(Benny)

I don't wanna look like some kind of fool
I don't wanna break my heart over you
I'm building a wall, everyday it's gettin' higher
Next time I won't end up another victim of love

"Are you okay?" a voice suddenly said aloud.

Benny jumped up, chair tipped and as he fell backwards his head nicked the edge of the table when he came down. When he hit the floor he quickly scrambled up, took to the air and flew into the corner of the balcony and began to breathe hard.

"Whoa, what the heck!" he said as he splayed his fingers out, but then he focused on Queen Spydera and said, "You scared the crap out of me, Your Highness! Sheesh, please make some noise or something when you come up behind someone."

She laughed for a moment and then said, "Sorry, I don't make much noise when I walk."

"I'll say." Benny said as he flew down, righted his chair and sat back down in it. "You thought that was pretty funny, huh?"

Spydera sat down on the table and her rear legs splayed out across the table behind her as she said, "I'm sorry, I wasn't laughing at you, but it was rather comical the way you fell and scrambled to get up like that."

"I guess so," he said as he rubbed the bump on the back of his head.

"So, Queen Yara let you down pretty hard, huh, little warrior?" Spydera asked as she crossed her front legs and placed her left hand on top of them.

"Yeah," Benny said as he looked to how long and shapely her lower legs were. "I guess my little song proved that much, huh?"

"Uh huh...I can see you look very disappointed," she said as she placed her right hand a bit behind her, twisting her midsection so she could face him.

Benny glanced down to her stomach for a moment.

"Well, I thought we had something going there. It was the way she looked at me when I did something nice for her. It was how she smiled when we danced together. Earlier when I helped her with flying, the way we held hands, she just looked so happy. I was so certain that we were falling for one another. But she sees me nothing more than just a friend."

"So, I heard. I am surprised she turns away the affections from a younger man."

"I thought being younger than her didn't matter. She doesn't look old to me," Benny said.

"Well, it is her loss. Even though your king is a fine gentleman, like yourself, you are far more handsome than he is. Coming from an older woman myself, there would be no contest as to whom I would pick."

Benny raised an eyebrow as he said, "Thank you, Your Highness, I appreciate the compliment."

"You're Welcome," she said and she paused for a bit before continuing, "Did you mean what you said back there about being attracted to strong women."

"Yes, of course. I don't care for a woman that is overly thin. Sadly most women here are built that way. That type of frame is in style as most of the fairy men like a woman like that, but not me. I like strong, well built women."

"Why haven't you ever pursued a relationship with Princess Marianne? She has nice strong arms."

"She wasn't always like that. She was thin like the other women. She used to be clumsy and I didn't find her interesting until she took up sword fighting. She became less clumsy, more agile and more athletic looking. Then I started to become interested in her. But she swore off love after being hurt by her ex-fiance, so I didn't want to push the issue and let her be. Then all of a sudden she ends up falling for, and becoming engaged to the Bog King. And just that fast she's unavailable," he explained as he sighed. He then continued. "Then Queen Yara came. She was different, strong, independent, beautiful mocha skin, beautiful eyes and beautiful black wings and also a warrior. The attraction was immediate. But what drew me to her most was that she was so kind and appreciative of anything we did together. After I escorted her to a few of our functions and danced with her, I felt myself falling for her and I figured she was going to be the one. When I held those large solid shoulders of hers…Well, I started to want her."

Spydera had a disappointed look on her face as she said, "That's a shame it didn't work out for you."

"What about you, your highness? Do you have someone special in your life?" Benny asked.

"Me? No," Spydera said as she reached up and splayed her long fingers over her chest. "In fact it has been a VERY long time since I been with anyone.

"Why?"

Spydera put her hand back down behind her on the table and lowered her brow as she said, "Why? Just look at me. I'm a monster. No man would want me."

Benny found himself constantly looking down to her strong abdomen. He liked the way it moved when she spoke.

He looked back up to her and said, "Are you kidding me? You are so cool and awesome! I saw the way you were fighting out there. You came in riding that huge spider and then the way you were shooting those webs out of the tips of your hind legs. The way you threw your spears with such a force they went through multiple flies at once. That's amazing. You are so strong and unique. What guy wouldn't like a woman like you?"

"Huh? Ya...you don't think I am a monster?" She asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"Hell no! You look very much like a woman to me and an attractive one at that. You are different, yes, but you have a pretty face," he said as looked to her face and continued. "You really have amazing looking eyes and those cheekbones of yours...so cool looking. The way you are sitting now, you look very feminine and womanly to me."

She suddenly shot her hand forward and got him by the chin, stared him down and said, "Are you sure you are feeling alright, little warrior?"

She released his chin and allowed him to speak.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What is it? Has no one paid you a compliment before?"

"No, until today I have not heard a compliment for as long as I remember. Monsters don't get many compliments now do they?"

"Please stop saying that, Your Highness, you're not a monster. I see a unique, strong, and attractive woman."

She swallowed hard as she said, "Thank you."

"By the way, your outfit looks pretty hot."

Spydera's eyes widened as she said, "You like what I am wearing?"

His eyes grew wide as he looked again to her abdomen as he said, "Yes, very much."

"I noticed you are always looking at my stomach."

"Oh forgive me for staring, Your Highness, it is just I never seen a woman that had such strong abs like you," he said as he looked again at her abdomen and he liked the way it flexed when she talked. He had such a strong desire to run his fingers along her abdomen. Without even thinking he just raised his hand towards her stomach, but he stopped and asked, "May I, please?"

He found her answer very unexpected as she smiled a bit and said, "Go ahead….But make it quick."

"Yes, Your highness."

Spydera uncrossed her legs and leaned back on her both arms a bit to straighten and elongate her abdomen. He slowly moved his fingers forward and it seemed like she was tensing up. The lines on her abdomen became deeper. He gently touched his fingers to one of the center squared off parts of her stomach and she flinched a bit and she tensed up even more. While her skin was soft, the muscle beneath it was rock hard. He ran his finger across one of the creases her muscles made. He noticed that her breathing changed and her face seemed to tense up even more. He then ran his finger down the middle crease of her abdomen. He just watched as his finger fell deeper into the crease when she exhaled. He couldn't help but scrunch his nose as he liked the feeling of her muscles moving under his fingertips, getting very hard to the touch. It felt really kinky. He then gently raked his fingertips over her entire abdomen.

Suddenly there came a heavy scratching sound. He looked up to see her fingers curl inwards on the table scratching it as her sharp fingernails dug into the wood.

Spydera tossed her head back and called out, "Uhhhhhhhh!"

She then scrambled to her feet using her back legs on the table and her main legs and quickly moved away from Benny. She stood wide eyed with her fingers splayed out and she was still breathing heavy.

Figuring something went wrong, Benny said, "I'm sorry! Did I hurt you? I was trying to be as gentle as possible."

"No, I am fine. I just didn't expect the reaction to your touch. I normally don't let anyone touch me."

"I hope I didn't make you feel uncomfortable."

"No, it wasn't you, it was me," She said as she still was breathing hard.

As big and strong as she was, she suddenly had a bit of a scared look on her face.

"Well, as long as you are OK, Your Highness."

"Yes, I am fine."

"Well, I am sorry if what I did displeased you in any way."

"No, it wasn't displeasing. Just don't do it again," she said as her breathing returned to normal.

"As you wish, your highness. I was just satisfying a curiosity."

"I would like to go back to our interesting chat, but I want to ask you something now."

"Alright."

"This might sound strange, but that dance you did with Marianne. Can you teach me that?"

Benny's eyes widened as he wouldn't figure that the spider queen of the Forbidden Forest would be interested in modern dancing. He put a smile a mile wide on his face as he said, "With pleasure, m'lady, but I can only show you a few things now since it is getting late, but we can continue tomorrow."

"That is fine. Are you available after breakfast tomorrow?" She asked.

"Definitely."

She smiled and raised an eyebrow.

Meanwhile back in the ballroom:

Once Spydera exited out to the balcony, Marianne leaned on the table and said, "Congratulations Dad! Dawn and I were hoping that you would hook up with Yara."

"You did?" he asked in a puzzled tone, "I thought you both would be upset."

"Why?

"I thought you would would think I was betraying your mother."

Marianne said, "Dad, it isn't betrayal. You were so true and loved mom well beyond when she died. I think it is high time you finally let go and love again."

"I don't know, but it just doesn't seem right," he said.

Dawn said, "Dad, tell her you love her, Please. I want Yara to stay with us. I love her too."

Marianne said, "Yes, Dad, I am with Dawn on this. I want her to stay too and I love her three."

Everyone laughed at her remark.

"Alright, but for now I just want to respect her wishes and leave her be."

"Ok, Dad, but please go to her, tonight yet. I saw the way she looked at you when she said she was in love with someone else to Benny."

"Yes, I saw it too."

Bog said, "Don't forget that dance you had with her earlier on the boat."

K.D. lowered his eyebrow and said, "Yeah, next time knock or something, you two nearly scared the bejesus out of us."

Bog, Marianne and her father laughed.

Griselda said, "Poor Benny, he should have asked Yara how she felt about him first before doing what he did. It must be so embarrassing for him."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Well, I am heading off to bed now," Griselda said as she yawned. As she was getting up, she said to her son, "Oh! I did as you asked earlier. Trust me, you will love it."

Bog said, "Thank you, mother."

"You're Welcome, Son. Have a good night."

"You have a good night as well."

She waved for him to come to her level and she gave him a kiss on the cheek and then she wanted Marianne to do the same and she did. She gave Marianne a kiss on the cheek too.

"You gave us quite the scare today, but I am more than thrilled that you are still with us. Good night, sweet Marianne."

"Goodnight Griselda," she replied.

Griselda said goodnight to Dawn and King Dagda and then headed off towards the main doors.

King Dagda said, "Well, I am going to call it a night myself. I will give it some time before I check in on Yara, though. Everyone have a good night."

Everyone wished the king a good night, and his daughters gave him a nice long hug. As he started to leave he turned around and said to Marianne, "That was a good song up until the end there, and it was nice to hear you do some singing, tonight, my darling. That must have taken a while to practice that."

"Actually I pretty much winged it. The dance was an old hip hop dance from school. I knew Benny knew it too as he took the same class."

"Even more impressive. Very nice harmony you two have as well," he said.

"Thanks Dad."

He turned to Bog and took his hand and shook it as he said, "I am sorry for being upset with you earlier, I am just happy that you did find my daughter and in time that Dawn could help her."

Bog said, "And I am sorry for being headstrong and not listening to you. Had I paid more attention to your instructions, Marianne wouldn't have gone through what she did. I was stupid for going back to the balcony to check how things were going when I should have been watching your daughters."

"Bog, you were checking on my father. You were being true to an valiant toward my family, you were not being stupid."

King Dagda said to Bog, "Well, what is done is done and it is water under the bridge now, thankfully, I didn't lose either of my daughters today. It is just a sad shame that you lost your wings, though."

Bog smiled as he answered the king, but looked to Dawn and said, "Well, upsetting as it was, your daughter is up to something in that regard. So I am hopeful that what she plans will work and I will fly again."

The king nodded and bid everyone goodnight once more. He then walked towards the door a few servants followed him out the door. Bog looked around the ballroom and the last of the servants finished clearing the tables. He heard Morgana talking to Celeste that they were going to wait until morning to set up for breakfast since it was late. The two then disappeared in to the kitchen. Soon it was just the three of them in the ballroom. Dawn sat down in her father's seat to be closer to her sister. She was ready to say something when there came some loud laughing and giggling in the direction of the balcony. A few moments later Spydera and Benny entered the ballroom and they walked towards the main ballroom entrance as they laughed. They didn't notice that Marianne, Dawn and Bog were still sitting at the table in the back. They both looked very happy. They stopped for a moment and Spydera put her arms up in front of her.

"And so you do that move like this," Spydera said as she moved her hips side to side and rocked her shoulders to and fro while pushing her hands out in front of her. Her rear legs swayed back and forth behind her.

Bog saw Marianne's eyes widen in shock, but he was in shock himself at how the spider queen could move.

Benny said, "Yeah, you're getting it! We will work on that tomorrow."

Bog looked to Marianne and he whispered, "Is he teaching her to dance?"

"Looks that way. She actually looked good doing that."

The two continued to walk to the main doors when Bog heard Spydera ask Benny, "So do you think you can talk your king into letting you work directly with me on the project?"

"Sure, I believe so. I really look forward to personally working with you," he said.

Queen Spydera's face lit up as she had a huge smile on her face.

Benny put his arm out and said, "Would you like me to escort you to your room, my dear queen?"

"Gladly, Sir Benny," she said as she practically wrapped her fingers totally around his upper arm.

The two then disappeared into the hall. They seemed oblivious to the fact that Marianne, Dawn and Bog were still sitting at the table behind them.

Marianne said, "Did you see that? Am I missing something here?"

Bog said, "I was about to say the same thing."

Marianne said, "He looked so heartbroken over Yara, just a half hour ago. Now, he seemed all happy and she...she was glowing all over and doing funky dance moves? If I didn't know better I would say she likes him."

Dawn giggled and said, "Uh oh. I think Benny's got it for Queen Spydera. He was looking at her the same way he looked at Yara."

Bog said, "I hope Benny knows what he is getting himself into with her. Goodness only knows what will happen to him the first time he pisses her off."

Dawn said, "Eggs Benedict?"

Everyone burst out laughing. Bog laughed the hardest as he said, "That's a good one, Dawn! But right you are."

"Naw, Benny knows better." Marianne said. Then she lowered her brow and continued in a dark smoky voice, "….and I smell a dance battle with that woman coming on."

Marianne and her sister laughed but Bog had a serious look on his face as he said, "I am sorry, my dear, but you will do no such thing. In fact I forbid you to have any kind of competitive interaction with that woman."

"What?" Marianne almost had a look of disbelief. "Bog, you never took that tone with me before."

"No, but I know this woman. Heaven forbid that you best her at something and she becomes a sore loser. If she decides to fight you, I know you will not win."

"Bog I can handle myself."

"No, you can't, not against her. You saw how quickly she had me disarmed and pinned to a wall?"

"Bog this isn't like you, I just..."

Bog nearly shouted as he said, "Marianne please! I almost lost you today and you saw what happened to me when I thought you were going to die in my arms. I...don't know what would have happened if I actually lost you."

Suddenly Marianne became quiet as her face softened listening to her lover speak.

"Forgive me if I am sounding a bit overprotective of you and taking a wrong tone of voice with you. But after the long struggle you had today to live, I don't want to see you get cocooned and stuck by that spider woman's spear all because you bested her at a competition. When it comes to dancing...that is one thing you probably will beat her at."

"Bog don't be afraid of her…

Bog interrupted again as he said, "I am not afraid of anything, not even Spydera. But the one thing that scares me to to no end is losing you."

Marianne put her hand on his hand and her eyes welled up as she said, "Oh Bog. I...I am happy that you are just looking out for me….for us and our future together."

Bog nodded as he said, "Yes, we are going to plan our wedding soon and I want you to be my wife for a long time."

Dawn said, "Awwwwww!"

Marianne rested her arm on his shoulder and said, "It's Ok. I see your point. I guess with my temper it is probably best that I avoid Spydera and frankly, I don't really care for her myself. You're right, it isn't worth it."

"Thank you and I am sorry for raising my voice to you."

Marianne smiled.

Dawn said, "Well, what about Benny? Isn't he in danger?

Marianne said, "Perhaps we are all jumping to wrong conclusions. He is just being nice to the woman. She could use a good mellowing out that is certain. I just don't trust her."

Bog rubbed his chin and raised his eyebrow as he said, "I wonder what happened out there on that balcony."

Everyone laughed.

Dawn sang out as she raised her hands up and moved her fingers around,

(Strange Magic – ELO (Reprise))

(Dawn)

You got a Strange Magic

Oh what a Strange Magic.

Oh, it's a strange magic

[Bog grabbed his staff and put it across his lap as he strummed out a chord progression]

(Marianne, Bog and Dawn)

Got a strange magic
Got a strange magic

Everyone laughed again as Bog played short outro on his staff.

Dawn was looking at her medal when she said, "I still can't believe Dad made me a war hero."

"No, sis, you made you a war hero. You were the one that overcame your fears and did what had to be done. Dad just awarded you for that. You deserved it, Sis."

"But I am not brave, I peed myself, remember?"

Bog laughed but then caught himself and said, "Oh, sorry, I am not laughing at you, but rather the way you said that. Even the bravest folk get scared sometimes. As I just said, I even found something that scares me. With what I have seen today, you certainly did earn that award."

"Well, I am happy that y'all think I am a hero. I just think that I am just a princess and a lover."

Marianne laughed as she said, "Oh, Dawn, you are so much more than that and now everyone loves you and that big heart you have. Also you are now our head healer and with that medal you are going to gain a ton of respect from everyone. You are going to be extremely popular, Sis. You are already on the road to becoming a good queen for this kingdom."

"Really? You think so?" she said as she smiled brightly.

"No, I know so." Marianne said.

She reached over and embraced her sister. They gave each other a kiss on the cheek.

Dawn put her hand over her mouth as she yawned. Then she said, "Well, I am going to check on Sunny in the kitchen and then we are probably going to call it a night ourselves."

She then walked over to Bog, hugged him and said, "Overall, you have been very quiet tonight, Boggy."

"I am just tired. It has been a very trying day and with everything that your sister and I been through today, I think it good that this day has finally come to an end. It is a day I would like to forget. However, I know for you, it is probably a very memorable day," he said as he pointed to the medal around her neck.

"Yeah, it is," Dawn said. "Good night and don't forget to see me in the infirmary tomorrow. We are going to talk about your wings."

Bog smiled and said, "Thank you."

Dawn then flew off towards the kitchen.

Marianne asked Bog, "What did your mother mean by, 'I did what you asked me too?."

"Well, thanks to my mother, we have a place to sleep tonight."

"Oh that is great? Where?"

"Your room."

Marianne said, "What? But my room is trashed right now."

"Not anymore," he said with a grin as he started to get up. The two of them headed towards the door.

"What? What did she do?"

"Well, you know my mother and her surprises."

"Yes, I do, I hope she didn't decorate it with hearts, streamers and those love balloons."

The two exited the ballroom and headed for the main stairs.

Bog laughed as he said, "No, no love balloons."

As they walked up the stairs and proceeded down the hall to her room, Bog thought how different the world was now that he couldn't fly. Going anywhere just took so much longer. But it wasn't too bad with Marianne by his side.

"So did you see what your mother did?"

"No. I wanted to, but just didn't get a chance to get away from the ballroom for a moment," he said.

The two were quiet for a while as they walked hand in hand all the way to her room. When they got there, there was a note on the broken door that said, "Bridal Suite, Please use other door."

"Bridal Suite!" They said together.

"Ohhhh, Mother!" Bog said aloud, but perhaps a bit too loud.

"Shhhhhh!" Marianne said. "Not to be mean and shush you, but people are sleeping now."

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that."

As Marianne put her hand on the door lever for the working door. Bog suddenly got the thought that his mother probably decorated the room in all white, and he put his hand on Marianne's.

She looked to him and said, "What is it?"

"I think I should go first...just in case."

She stepped to the side and smiled as she, "Okay."

Now Bog found that he was the one with his hand on the lever and he sighed as he pushed the lever down and opened the door. His eyes widened as he entered the room. The room was totally opposite what he expected. Instead of what he thought would stark white, the room was actually very mellow and had a dim reddish glow. The room was nice and clean. Butted right up against the window, dominating the room was a new bed made from huge purple flower with the center in gold. It was much larger than Marianne's old bed and could easily fit two people. A new sheer canopy was draped over the top and sides of the bed. Within the sheer draping were small amber light spheres. A pair of pillows were placed by the ledge of the window.

As Bog looked to the floor there were several balloon buds on the floor, but they had a light sphere inside. There were some amber light spheres strategically placed throughout the room. The vanity was put back upright and a couple rocks were put in place of the broken legs. The mirror was reattached, but still broken. A light sphere string was placed around it. A new chair was put in front of it.

While Bog was looking around the room, Marianne stepped in behind him.

"Oh! This is beautiful!"

He said, "I know, my mother did good this time."

"Yeah, Nothing too fancy, but thanks to her we have a nice place to sleep tonight."

"Yes. I told her to put the bed by the window so we could look up to the stars," He said.

"Oh, Bog. It's wonderful and sweet of you," she said as she leaned over and kissed him. Then she said, "We have to thank her in the morning."

"Yes."

"Now the only thing to do is figure out what I am going to wear for you," Marianne said.

"Well, if you look to the vanity, you will see mother took care of that too."

Marianne walked over to the vanity and upon it was a nice and neatly folded purple and black silk nightie. When she held it up and let it unfold, Bog got a good idea of what it would look like. It was a two piece nightie as a separate panty fell to the vanity and she picked it up.

She then turned to him and said, "Oh! No looking! I want to surprise you."

"Oh Ok." Bog said as he sat down on the bed.

She went off to the bathroom as she said, "Be right back!"

Bog looked around the bed and ran his fingers along the flower petals. It was nice and soft. He figured that his mother must have got at least two of his largest goblins to help her get the bed into the room. He got up and took off his sash and laid it over the vanity chair. He then laid down across the bed. It was very comfortable.

Marianne came back in from the bathroom and he propped himself up on one arm as he looked to her. She was holding her wings which were draped around her. She looked at the way he was lying on the bed and raised an eyebrow to him.

"Ready, Hon?"

"Yes."

She let go of her wings and folded them behind her as she said, "Ta-da!"

Bog's eye's widened as he got a good look at his lover in her new nightie.

The top bodice portion was purple and it thin straps and it has a semi-sheer floral web like pattern on it. It left a good area of her neckline exposed in addition to her shoulders and arms. The center of the bosom area had a single flower and from it dangled four black strings. It had a very high waistline that was in the shape of a 'v'. Attached to the waist was a black see through skirt that fell to just above her knees. Under the sheer skirt she wore the matching panty. It was purple and very small and had black ties on each side. When she turned around the upper half of her back was open, while the lower portion was in a shallow 'v' shape and it extended over her buttocks and came to a point where it attached to the sheer black skirt.

"Oh wow! You are beautiful as ever."

"Awww, thank you, Hon."

The two embraced and Marianne started to run her tongue around her lips. Bog knew what he was in for.

The two brought their lips together and they kissed for a long time. He brought his tongue forward and entered her mouth, but as his tongue intertwined with hers, it wasn't as strong as when they kissed earlier. He broke off the kiss and as he looked into her eyes, she suddenly looked very tired.

"I'm sorry, hon. All of a sudden I'm just so sleepy."

"I understand, it has been a long day."

He scooped her up and carried her into the bed and carefully laid her head down on the pillow, up close to the window. He then laid down next to her. The bed was very comfortable and he could feel himself becoming sleepy too.

She said, "Hmmmmm, I love it when you carry me. I will make it up to you in the morning."

"Yes, I am sure we will have our fun then, but until then…" Bog turned his face away as he yawned and then looked to his lover and said, "Goodnight my dear."

"Goodnight, Hon. I love you," she said and then draped her arm around his body.

"I love you too, dear."

She smiled a little and then her head turned slightly to face outside the window and she said, "Oh, Hon, the stars are out tonight."

"Yes, it is very nice and you wanted to sleep under the stars tonight."

"Hmmmmmmm, This is so beautiful," she said softly.

Her eyelids became heavy and she turned over and laid her head on his shoulder, within a few seconds, she began to snore. She just went out that fast. He just ran his hand down to her leg and pulled up the sheer skirt to expose her bare leg. He started to rub it and feel her soft skin beneath his fingers. He did that until his eyes became too heavy to keep on her soft slender legs. The sound of Marianne's snoring was further lulling him to sleep and soon he went out too.