THE ONE THING

It was the day after.

So many things had happened the previous day, it had taken long enough, it seemed, for everyone to get back on their feet – particularly Giselle. There had been the ball, the kiss, the dragon… Then the rescue, and the homecoming. Well, at least, to… here. But this was her new home now.

Robert and Morgan had said that today was Saturday. She wasn't sure what, exactly, this meant, but everyone appeared pleased with this fact, so she decided to be, also – since everyone was staying home for the day. No school, no work. It was fun!

Still, aside from all of the previous day's events, there was something in the back of Giselle's mind that seemed, rather insistently, to be making its way to the front. When she and Morgan had gone shopping together, not only had she felt a sense of belonging, but also a curiosity. She was eager to take in as much information as she possibly could, and one question of Morgan's was particularly nagging. So as the new little "family" sat down for breakfast together, she decided to bring it up.

"Robert?"

The man looked up from his eggs, a bit of it having (adorably) dribbled down his chin in his rather wolfish desire to finish the meal.

"What is the One Thing?"

Morgan looked at Giselle in interest and nodded approvingly.

"Yeah, Dad. We were talking about it yesterday," she agreed. "What's the one thing that every boy wants?"

Robert cleared his throat, rather startled by their abruptness.

"Ah, can we talk about this later? I have some paper work to do…" he wheedled.

"You always have paper work," Morgan sighed, almost accusing. "And you can do it later. Besides, we want to know!"

Slowly, her father exhaled.

Giselle watched him with wide eyes, expectant.

"Well," he began, not eagerly, "you have a point, Morgan. But I'm not sure if you're ready to talk about it. And besides, we have a guest here."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Daddy, she's not a guest. She's…" She paused, unable to think of a word to describe Giselle. 'Friend' didn't cover it, 'Princess' was too formal, and 'Mother' gave her a warm fuzzy feeling but didn't seem accurate for the moment.

"She doesn't need to hear this. And neither do you," he said finally, pushing his chair back from the table to get up. "Now, I'm going to go do that paper work."

"Daaaaad," Morgan moaned. "You always say to discourage fairy tales and that I should act more like an adult, 'cause that's what I'll be someday." Morgan's mocking tone revealed that she did not exactly agree with the things that he had told her. "If you want me to hurry and grow up, then just tell me!"

Freezing, Robert realized his daughter had a point. Smart little girl…

"All right. Fine," he sighed, sitting on the couch. "Come here and I'll tell you what you want to know."

Somehow he knew he would come to regret this.

"Yay!" Giselle galloped over to the couch to snuggle in beside Robert. Clearly the previous night's romantic dance and rooftop kiss had made her believe that her happily ever after was supposed to be with him.

"We're ready," Morgan declared, waiting.

"All right," Robert said, sighing. "The One Thing that all boys want – well, most of them, anyway, is…"

"Is what?" Morgan pushed.

Giselle bounced up and down excitedly, spurred on by the suspense of the moment. "Tell us, Robert!"

Robert shook his head, knowing that they couldn't handle it.

"The one thing that all boys want is… S-E-X."

Morgan blinked.

"Sssex?" she guessed.

Giselle smiled brightly.

"Is that a game? I like games," she chirped, absolutely sincere.

Robert was tempted to smack himself in the forehead. All right, all right. If he had to, he would just go with the good old "birds and the bees" speech that his mother had given him. The whole bit about people loving each other very much and hugging tight, yadda yadda yadda.

"It's not quite a game," he said slowly. "When two people love each other very much—"

"Like we do," Giselle cut in, beaming.

Robert grimaced. "Uh, not quite."

"Then how?" Morgan frowned. "I don't get it."

"Anyway," Robert said, flustered, "when two people love each other very much – and they are adults and get married, then they decide that they want to, ah… ah…"

"Play sex," Giselle interrupted again.

"It's not a game," Robert repeated. "It's just something that men and women do together to be happy."

"I want to be happy," Giselle insisted.

"Why is that a secret?" Morgan pushed.

"This is rather awkward," Robert muttered. "Telling a grown woman about sex."

"Why?"

Robert gritted his teeth and looked at Giselle, trying to stay patient. "Look, Giselle, just… don't worry, okay? When the time is right, you'll know what you're doing. And Morgan – you don't have to worry about this for a long, LONG time," he emphasized.

"When's the time right? We didn't tell time in Andalasia," Giselle quipped.

"I'm going to go do paper work now," Robert said quickly, standing to excuse himself.

"I still don't get it," Morgan sighed.

Giselle looked at her and shrugged.

"Well, that wasn't very helpful at all," she decided, standing and fluffing out her new dress. "I think that we should go shopping. That's the one thing that I want."

Morgan giggled and nodded her agreement.

Suddenly, they heard a groan from Robert's room.

"Why are there a thousand dollars charged to my credit card?!"