Hello there. This is a Mendanbar and Cimorene oneshot that supports why something else happens without fuss in my other story, Test of Heart as Temperature Rises. I hope you all enjoy this, and if you do, or even if you don't, let me know. So, if you read the next chapter of my other story first before this and are like, 'say what?', this will clear it up. I'll post a note when that chapter is up to remind you, either way.

For my lovely girlfriend.

Hey, sometimes, you just have to dance.

Disclaimer: I don't claim to have any rights or ownership of the Enchanted Forest or its respective characters. I receive no profit, as this is just for fun.

0000

In which there is an upgrade, a lesson, and a happy steward. (Oneshot)

0000

"Finally!" The king of the enchanted forest exclaimed with a smile as stormy grey eyes fell upon the large wrapped up item in the corner of the study. He walked up to it and pulled it toward him in inspection; everything was held securely in the brown wrapping paper.

"It arrived this morning your Majesty," Willin said as he looked up to the king in confusion. "But the scroll of incoming inventory states that nothing was scheduled to arrive today." The small steward stated as he pulled out a large scroll from inside his vest and read it over again.

Mendanbar shook his head as he pulled the large item onto his shoulder with ease. "That's because Cimorene and I decided to get it over a year ago,"

"Before your wedding? Why wasn't I informed?" Willin asked in alarm, rolling up his scroll and tucking it neatly back inside his vest.

"You were not aware of it because you were so engrossed in the preparations for the ceremony." Mendanbar replied with a laugh.

"I see." Willin replied with a huff, not thrilled about surprises of any kind.

"I promise you will be informed of everything from here on out," Mendanbar swore as he started to walk out of the study with a steady gait. "Can you forgive me Willin?" He called over his shoulder, stopping momentarily in his mission to look at the steward.

Willin held back a smile and sighed for effect. "Of course your Majesty."

Mendanbar grinned and nodded his head in goodbye as he walked down the corridor. Genuinely excited about the item in question, he made his way down to the main hall, where he heard Cimorene's voice in the kitchen. Smiling at her predictability, he walked silently up to the large door on the kitchen and set the package down to lean against the wall. The wooden door was cracked wide enough for a person to sidestep through, but not wanting to interrupt blatantly, he peered inside.

Cimorene was walking around the several stoves inspecting each pan every girl had. Satisfied at what she saw, she spoke up again, loud and clear. "Now you want to remember that while the cherries are cooking, you want to prepare the ice cream in the bowl. For a dragon size portion, I recommend letting the ice cream soften a few moments before, so it will be easier to scoop." Waiting patiently for the next step to be done, she continued. "Now, you remove the cherries from the heat- no Aaricia, just turn off the sto- yes, that way." Cimorene brought a hand up to her temple and rubbed it in exasperation.

Mendanbar saw this as an opportunity, and whistled softly to get her attention. Cimorene's head went up at the sound, her eyes shining with mirth when she saw her husband hiding behind the door, and she raised an eyebrow in questioning. Mendanbar smiled and waved her over with his hand, but she shook her head no and gestured to the women around her. Thinking for a moment, he disappeared from behind the door. Cimorene smiled fondly at her lovers antics and shook her head.

"Now, stir in the cherry extract, without burning yourselves," She added quickly as a precaution, "and then pour in the brandy." She watched everyone to make sure they were following. "Whoa Adelaide! Let's not over saturate it, okay? A tipsy dragon is hardly ever a good thing. Yes, that's good." Taking a couple steps back, she smiled. "Now be careful with this step ladies, the flame may get quite high, but that will be fine as long as you're aware of what's above you. Now, using the long piece of wood, light the cherries like I explained earlier. Good!"

Cimorene watched as the flames ignited, and looked over to see Mendanbar trying to get her attention again. Rolling her eyes in good humor, she watched as he tilted the package into view so she could see. Grinning widely at the sight, she spoke her students through the next part very quickly as she made her way to the doors. "Alright everyone, gently shake the pan until the blue flame has extinguished itself, but make sure the cherries do not burn!" She was almost there and she turned around so that she was facing the crowd. "Now all that's left is to spoon the cherries onto the ice cream, and there you have it! Cherries Jubilee! Chef will answer any questions from this point on, and meet this time next week for the solo run, great job ladies!" And with that she was out the door before the last flame could be put out.

"I'm guessing you forgot when I told you this morning that I was training the princesses from the Mountains of Morning, hm?" Cimorene asked with amusement as she kissed her husband quickly on the lips in greeting.

"To make Cherries Jubilee? No, I didn't forget, I just wasn't aware of when….okay, I did forget… But let's get out of here before they take in what you told them, yes?" He asked with a smile, and quickly hoisted the package on his right shoulder, and took her hand with his left. Cimorene laughed and kept up with her husband as they ran over to the stairway leading up to the east tower.

"I'd thought it'd never get here." Cimorene said as they climbed, already almost to the tower.

"I agree with you love," He said as they slowed and stepped out onto the large balcony. Mendanbar placed the item on the stone beneath them and placed his hands on his knees. "I also thought that those were a lot of steps to take in so quickly."

Cimorene laughed, "Then why didn't you take us up here instantly with your magic?" She asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"Oh. I forgot about that too." Mendanbar said sheepishly, bending a knee to untie the twine holding the paper in place.

"You must be excited," She said fondly, watching as Mendanbar unrolled the large carpet out across the balcony.

"I am indeed my Queen," Mendanbar said with a playful light in his eyes, "It is our first magic carpet after all."

"Not going to feint and fall off this one, are you?" Cimorene said in jest, smirking as she folded her arms neatly across her chest.

Mendanbar smirked as he took a seat upon the carpet. "And seduce you for a second time?"

"Oh yes, because both of us falling to our doom was the perfect setting for romance." Cimorene said with playful sarcasm as she sat down beside her husband on the carpet.

"You fell in love with me that day."

"I fell out of the sky. You were falling with me." Cimorene corrected simply.

"Such fond memories of our first time." Mendanbar said in mirth as he continued to tease her.

Cimorene shot him a look, "Our first time for what?"

"Of us tumbling through the air to certain doom together, of course." He said smoothly as he took his wife's hand and interlaced her fingers with his.

Cimorene grinned and rolled her eyes. Honestly, she was sure that only her husband could take a life threatening event and flirt with her about it. "Just say the words, love."

"Share them with me?" Mendanbar requested lightheartedly, "I'm curious to see if it will respond to different users using only-" Cimorene interrupted with a kiss on the cheek, understanding the idea.

"Up, up," Cimorene began clearly so that the carpet could hear the command.

"Up and away!" Mendanbar finished excitedly. The carpet shifted and shuddered beneath them almost immediately, and the both of them were careful not to shift their weight until they rose a far distance into the air and safely above the trees.

"Whoa," Mendanbar said softly when they were up rather high. The carpet shuddered lightly and stopped. After waiting for a moment, they both let out a sigh of relief; the carpet was stable and remained where it was, waiting for the next command.

"So far so good, right my love?" Mendanbar asked, looking relieved. He was half expecting to drop three feet out of good measure alone, but it didn't.

"Mmhm." Cimorene agreed hesitantly, thinking along those lines as well. "What's this?" She looked down to her side slowly to see what her hand was brushed up against and smiled. "Dearheart, you're sitting on the instruction manual." Letting go of his hand so that she could grab it, she gently pushed her husband to one side so that she could slide it out from under him. She looked up to her lover to see why he was so quiet, and grinned. She saw a child like curiosity and amazement written on his features as he looked at the sights all around him. She couldn't blame him one bit though, when you looked to the sky of your kingdom and saw mainly trees, the open sky was a real treat. Wondering what could be said about their transportation however, she tore her gaze away from her lover to thumb through the booklet.

Mendanbar was hardly paying attention as he looked around, everything was so beautiful. Wanting to try out the maneuvering and speed, he leaned forward. They picked up speed rather quickly much to his surprise, and soon he began to zoom around in big lazy circles in the sky.

Cimorene never looked up from the manual, but she knew what her husband was doing, and knew no matter how crazy his driving, he would be able to protect them from falling when they were above their kingdom. "The things they won't think of these days, love." She said after she read through the whole thing and rolled the book up and slid it into her belt for safe keeping. "Carpet, motion control switch and lock. Whoa." The carpet gave a shudder and slowed down safely to a stop. Mendanbar looked over at her in surprise.

"Wow! What happened? How did you do that?" He tried leaning in different directions to see if it would move again, but it stayed where it was.

"My turn, my love." Cimorene said with a mischievous grin as she leaned forward and the carpet began a sickeningly fast descent through the air.

"Oh holy-"

000

Cimorene laughed and grinned happily when she was done testing out the carpet. "That was amazing!"

Mendanbar didn't say a word, his eyes still wide from the experience. He fell back on the carpet's surface and laid there for a few moments. Cimorene looked down at him and laughed.

"Oh come now, was it that bad?" She asked innocently, a hand reaching to try to fix Mendanbar's wind-whipped hair.

"If someone was chasing us, it would have been phenomenal." Mendanbar breathed out, still seeing trees go speeding by, and how she had to maneuver to not crash into them. "And we would have escaped successfully."

"You liked it."

Mendanbar grinned as a response.

"Oh, look at this my love." Cimorene pulled out the manual again and flipped to a page she had dog-eared as she read through it earlier. Mendanbar sat up out of curiosity to listen as she read something from the book. He bit back a yelp as he felt the carpet stop its wavy movement underneath him. Fearing for a moment that it would drop like a brick, Mendanbar watched in horror as Cimorene stood up and began to jump up and down.

"By the hounds love! What are you doing?"

Cimorene stopped and looked down at him. "It's a new function. Not only will the carpet remain where it is, but it will also sit completely still and firm, as if it were stiff."

"I see." He paused a moment to think. "That is a neat function." He stood up and tapped the carpet warily with his foot. When he saw that it was indeed stable, Mendanbar grinned and looked at Cimorene. "Huh." He said in amazement, allowing himself to relax a bit. Cimorene returned his smile with a bright one of her own, and turned to face the scenery. Mendanbar came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and set his chin gently upon her shoulder.

Cimorene closed her eyes in contentment. "Mendanbar," she began softly, her fingers interlacing with his. She felt him kiss her shoulder, so she continued. "If I were to jump right now, would you-"

"Catch you." Mendanbar finished firmly, pulling her closer to himself possessively to show he meant it.

"And if I said I wanted to dance," Cimorene asked, turning slightly in his embrace with a smile.

"I'd jump." Mendanbar said jokingly, and smiled when Cimorene turned around and swatted him in the arm.

"That's what I thought." She said, a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips.

Mendanbar was confused, "What?"

"You can't dance, can you?" Cimorene asked as her arms went around his waist to keep him near.

"Err-" He started to look nervous.

"Willin told me all about the balls your father used to have, and how when you became the King, it was the first thing that you eradicated." She leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips. "But he didn't tell me why."

"That traitor," Mendanbar murmured softly, not really meaning it.

"So it is because you can't dance," She stated with a brilliant smile.

"No! It's because of the princesses, and the stuffed shirts… and the .. and..!.."

Cimorene watched him stammer with an eyebrow raised in interest.

"Love,"

"Fine! …I can't dance." Mendanbar grumbled and looked away with a pout. Cimorene leaned in and quickly kissed it away.

"That's nothing we can't fix. Let me teach you."

Mendanbar looked startled. "Here?" He looked at her and then to the carpet, and finally looked over the edge to see just how high up they were. He immediately blanched. "But- but! The carpet is only so big!"

Cimorene gave him the sexiest smirk he thought he ever saw.

"Then you better not mess up."

0000

Several hours later they returned to the study, Cimorene opened the door for her husband as he walked in behind her carrying the carpet.

"Enjoy your joyride?" An agitated voice spoke up as they propped the carpet up in a corner. The King and Queen stopped and turned to look over their shoulders.

Cimorene grinned at the small steward, deciding to ignore his facetiousness. "We did very much so, thank you Willin."

Willin's expression lightened at his Queen, because it was not her he was annoyed with. "Forgive me your highness." He bowed and turned to Mendanbar, with his arms folded neatly across his chest.

"What?" Mendanbar said under his scrutinous gaze, not being able to help this guilty feeling, although he was pretty sure there was nothing that he needed to feel guilty about.

"You must have forgot to mention how long you would be away, my love." Cimorene added helpfully, seeing that look directed at Mendanbar before.

"Oh." Mendanbar said softly.

"Oh indeed! I'm all for a break every now and then, but your Majesty, you were gone for-"

"Willin," Mendanbar tried to cut in, knowing that the small steward would want to hear what they decided.

"And there were cherries all over the place! And-"

"Willin," Cimorene tried, but she received the same response.

"And then Kazul sniffed out the cherries and ice cream from where she was, and then sauntered over, which alarmed the princ-"

"Cimorene convinced me to bring back the formal occasions."

"She ate all of the-!" Willin stopped immediately and looked up to the two monarchs. "I beg your pardon?"

Mendanbar rolled his eyes playfully, "I said, Cimorene convinced me to bring back the formal occasions."

"You mean… the balls, and the banquets…" Willin said hopefully as he started hopping back and forth on each foot in excitement.

"Mmhm," Mendanbar confirmed, getting a little concerned about the elf's excitement level.

"All of them?" Willin asked, his eyes increasing in size.

"I believe so. I think some renaming is in order, but for the most part- Willin? Willin. Breathe." Mendanbar reminded him gently, as he plopped down behind his desk.

Taking a huge breath of fresh air in, Willin held back a squeal. "We must begin preparations! Can I? May I?" He asked desperately, looking first at Mendanbar, and then to Cimorene.

"Of course. Who better to organize than you, Willin?" Cimorene asked with a smile. "Although, I would like to review your plans with you before anything begins, so that I can guarantee that Mendanbar will attend with full cooperation. Baby steps are in order, I believe."

"Hey!" Mendanbar exclaimed, looking over to his wife with a look of mock betrayal.

"Agreed! Thank you Your Majesties!" With a quick bow, Willin ran out of the room, pulling several scrolls out of his vest as he went before Mendanbar changed his mind.

"We probably won't see him until next Tuesday." Cimorene said as she walked over to close the door that Willin left open in his haste to leave. Mendanbar looked up to his wife and grinned.

"Come on then, let's practice some more." Mendanbar said as he stood from his desk to walk over to his wife.

Cimorene looked at him in surprise, not thinking that he really had enjoyed it that much. But who can resist the feeling you get when your lover is so close?

"Really, dearheart?" She asked, her hands finding his without much thought.

"Sure," Mendanbar said, and gave her a smile that made her heart skip a beat. "Dance with me."