Some annoying kids in my geometry class were singing Disney the other day while I was re-reading one of the Septimus Heap books (don't ask they're just really weird) and they happened to be singing "A Whole New World " from Aladdin and it was like *ding* LIGHTBULB!

I know it's sort of dumb, but since I am a firm believer in JennaXBeetle I think it seems appropriate XP. So there^^. In Maya-chan's weird imagination, Jenna is with Beetle and all is well in the world. So read this please and if you don't like it, well too bad! I do not own Septimus Heap or any of the characters. Sheesh.

Princess Jenna sighed. It was getting late, and she knew she needed to get back to the Castle. "I'm so sorry, Alice," she said to the ghost who was chatting away beside her. "I need to get going. Mother will be worried."

It had been almost 11 months since Alice had died, since Alice had saved Jenna's life, and it was almost time for her to move on from her place of death. Alice had adapted to being a ghost remarkably well, and was very comfortable with her death and ready to leave the Pavilion. Then she could wander around with Alther at her leisure.

"Oh my, is that the time already? You should be getting back to the Castle, dear. Your mother will worry, you know." Although Alice was used to being a ghost, she was still a little forgetful, a common trait in a newly dead ghost.

Jenna waved goodbye as she pulled on her cloak and stepped outside into the chilly air. Fingering the J pin Nicko had gotten for her, she started for the Castle. There was no one to be seen on this dark night, and Jenna thought it strange that she couldn't even hear the late night noises coming from peoples' homes. Lost in thought, Jenna had been walking for nearly twenty minutes before she became aware of a strange sound.

Hiss-thud-thud-hiss-thud-thud. It seemed to be coming from somewhere to her left. Her curiosity instantly piqued, she turned and started toward the sound, not noticing that the path she was taking was leading her into a part of the city she had never even been in. The sound was closer now, and she could now tell that the hissing was from a person. It was like some sort of chant. She saw a light ahead and slowed her pace, cautiously poking her head around the next corner. What Jenna saw nearly made her cry out.

Merrin Meredith, Ex-Apprentice to Dom Daniel, was slowly making his way in a circle around a Darke Fire, chanting and hissing like a mad-man. Around him, shadows of Things were dancing on the walls of buildings, looking menacing and Darke. He had his eyes closed, but when he reached the side of the circle opposite from where Jenna was hiding, he suddenly opened them. Merrin's eyes instantly found Jenna, and he gave a shout of surprise and anger. The Darke Fire sputtered out and the shadows of the Things disappeared.

Cursing, Merrin started toward Jenna, who started running as fast as she could. Looking over her shoulder, Jenna saw Merrin was gaining on her. He might have been a lazy toad face, but he was a fast lazy toad face. Just as Jenna realized she had no idea where she was going, she ran into a dead end. Panic-stricken, she turned to find Merrin blocking the only exit.

"Y-You," he panted, "Are going to pay for this."

"What did I do?" cried Jenna.

"You ruined my spell!" Merrin shouted, as if it were obvious. "I used the last of my sage to make that Fire! And it was going great, until you showed up. That was my only chance to get my army of Things, and you ruined it! You always ruin everything, Queenling."

Jenna had seen Merrin angry before and not been scared in the least. But there had always been someone with her. Nicko. Aunt Zelda. Sep. Now she was alone, and Merrin looked fit to kill. He took a step forward and Jenna backed against the wall.

Merrin looked as if he was trying to figure out how to make her "pay for this", when out of the corner of her eye, Jenna saw another figure sneaking up behind Merrin.

Trying not to betray what she had seen, Jenna put on her best Princess voice and said, "I am not scared of you, Merrin. Leave me alone if you know what's good for you." Merrin just laughed and took another step forward, just as the shadowy figure leaped out of hiding and brought a shovel down hard on Merrin's head.

Merrin crumpled to the ground instantly. But Jenna had eyes only for her rescuer. "Oh, Beetle!" she cried, and flung herself at him with such ferocity that she almost knocked him down.

"P-Princess," Beetle chocked out. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" In the near total darkness, Jenna couldn't see how furiously Beetle was blushing, but she wouldn't have cared anyway.

"Yes, I'm alright. No, he didn't hurt me, thanks to you. And Beetle, how many times have I told you to just call me Jenna?"

"Okay then," Beetle said. "Jenna, what on earth were you doing all the way out here? This avenue is nearly deserted. No one lives out here." Then Beetle noticed something. "Hey, Pr- Jenna, are you crying?"

And she was. Jenna didn't know why. Maybe it was because she had been so scared. Maybe it was the relief of being rescued. Maybe it was both, combined with the fact that Beetle was here now, and she knew everything would be okay.

Jenna finally pulled away from Beetle and wiped her eyes. "I'm okay," she sighed. "I guess I just got lost. I accidentally walked in on one of Merrin's idiotic spells, and "ruined it". He chased me down here, and, well, you know the rest. By the way," Jenna added. "What were you doing out here?"

"I was in the Ice Tunnels, doing my rounds." But the way Beetle said it made Jenna suspicious. She gave him a look that he knew all too well. It was Jenna's original I-know-you're-not-telling-me-something-so-you-might-as-well-tell-me-now-or-else-I'll-find-out look. Without meaning to, Jenna broke through all of Beetle's resolve instantly.

"Fine, I'll tell you." he muttered. "I was practicing on the sled, okay? It was just luck that I was trying to make it do a triple-spin and heard shouting. I grabbed the shovel off the back of the sled and saw you and that creep." He pointed to Merrin. "And I just, you know…" Beetle broke off, not needing to finish the sentence. That was one thing Jenna liked about Beetle. He never bragged about anything, even possibly saving her life. "Umm, listen, Jenna," Beetle started. "It's against the rules, but if you need a ride, I could get you to the Castle through the tunnels."

"…You would do that? For me?"

Jenna looked into Beetle's eyes and saw complete and utter honesty in them when he replied. "Jenna, I don't think there's anything I wouldn't do for you."

Jenna suddenly grabbed Beetle's hand and said, "Lead the way." Obviously trying to act cool and not blush too much, Beetle grabbed his shovel and guided Jenna to the nearest entrance to the Ice Tunnels. It was in the wall of an old building that Jenna and Merrin had run right by and not noticed.

When Beetle Un-Sealed the hatch, a blast of air even colder than the winter air around them engulfed them as well. Beetle jumped down into the hatch, and then helped Jenna down, too. "I-I th-think i-it's k-k-kinda cold in h-h-h-ere." Jenna couldn't even understand the words that were trying to get past her chattering teeth, but Beetle seemed to be feeling the same way, and understood perfectly.

"H-here," he stammered, walking to the sled and sitting down. He then brought a large furry blanket out of his bag on the sled. "S-sit on th-the sled behind me and wr-wrap this around us." Jenna did as instructed and instantly felt a deep, cozy warmth spread through her.

"Wow… I always wondered how you kept from freezing to death in here. Why haven't I seen this before?" asked Jenna, now completely warm.

"Actually," Beetle replied. "I just got used to the cold. But I thought you might need it tonight. It's one of the few magic things I have, and nobody at the Manuscriptorium knows I have it."

Jenna was touched that Beetle trusted her enough to share this with her. Then she realized that she trusted Beetle just as much as he trusted her.

"Okay, we're all set," said Beetle. "Are you ready? There's a short route to the Castle, but it's so rough, I'm not sure if I can navigate it with two people. So we're taking the long way. No spins, no flips, no detours. You have absolutely nothing to worry about, okay?" Jenna nodded her assent, and away they went. Beetle started up the sled and they moved smoothly but swiftly forward.

They had just been traveling for about ten minutes when Jenna yelled, "Look out, Beetle!" In their path was a Wraith, one that wasn't supposed to be there. Beetle swerved to avoid it, and shot into a different tunnel.

"Hold on, Jenna," he shouted. "This is the rough stretch I was talking about. Hold on to something!"

Jenna almost didn't have time to process what Beetle had said, because just then the sled flew up off the ice and into the air. Jenna screamed and grabbed Beetle around the waist, burying her face in his shirt. For a short time all Jenna was aware of was flying, landing, swerving, and Beetle. Always Beetle, trying so hard to protect her.

When the wind finally died down Jenna felt, rather than heard Beetle say, "We're past it. It goes on smooth from here."

Jenna slowly looked up and blinked, then gasped as her vision cleared. "Beetle…" she breathed. "Oh, Beetle!"

They weren't in any part of the Ice Tunnels that Jenna had ever seen before. While in most of the tunnels the only colors you saw were gray and maybe a little blue, this tunnel was lit up with every color of the rainbow. From the brightest reds and yellows to the deepest purples and greens, the whole place dazzled her eyes.

"I know," Beetle said. "This is my favorite place in the entire world. And you know, if you take the colored ice out of here, it never melts. Never ever." At that, Beetle reached above their heads and snagged a small piece of purple ice, the exact color of Jenna's eyes. But Jenna didn't even see, she was so enthralled by the ice.

"Does anyone know about this place?" she asked.

Beetle shrugged. "I haven't really asked anyone. Not many people can ride the sleds, and most that can are dead by now. I'm the only one alive who can get through that" he gestured behind them, "so I really think that I might be the only one who knows it exists… except you, now." Jenna didn't know what to say to that, so they rode on in silence until the colors disappeared and they were at the hatch that led to the Castle.

Beetle jumped off the sled first and offered Jenna his hand with a polite flourish. Jenna grinned, and took his hand graciously. Then they walked over to the hatch, and after Beetle Un-Sealed the hatch, the two of them just stood there for a moment, looking at each other. Then Beetle took the piece of purple ice from his pocket and presented it to Jenna, the whole time blushing and smiling from ear to ear. Jenna looked at it for a moment, then took it carefully, put it in her pocket, and turned to go.

"Jenna, wait a minute." Beetle blurted out. When Jenna turned back to look at him he made up his mind. He quickly closed the distance between them and then kissed her. Right there in the Ice Tunnels, O. Beetle Beetle kissed Princess Jenna with everything he had. When Beetle stepped, back, face as red as a tomato, he was sure he had overstepped the mark. But then Jenna stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

Then she ran to the hatch, calling, "Thank you for everything! I'll see you tomorrow!" over her shoulder. For a few minutes, all Beetle could do was stare into space, his hand on the cheek where Jenna had kissed him. Then he punched the air and ran back to his sled, speeding away to get home and get some rest. Tomorrow was going to be the best day of his life.

Okay, so it was really dumb, and almost nothing to do with Aladdin. I was just thinking that the magic sled=magic carpet. Maybe. I have warned you about my twisted mind. I started writing this at like, 9:30 PM and finished at 11:00, so my brain was fried and I didn't spell check or anything, so I don't give a cat's meow about punctuation, spelling, grammar, or even details of Septimus Heap.

I also couldn't care less what happened to Merrin. He is completely unimportant. I am tired and going to bed so I don't die. Tootles!