Chapter Twenty Nine: Happily Ever After

Happily Ever After isn't really the end…

-KC Randall

xxXxx

It has been several years since my curse has been broken. Palace life quickly grew dull after Baron had to leave to do damage control on his holdings, so I bullied my dear cousin into letting me provide free defense lessons to the womenfolk of the kingdom. Men do all they can to protect them, obviously, but I was shocked and amazed at how many women, both young and old, wanted to learn at least the basics of defending themselves from thieves or worse. Even Yuki offered to teach archery, although she wasn't able to devote as much time to the project as I could.

Lune informed me that several of his advisors and courtiers were outraged at what I was planning. But after he invited them to talk to me about whether or not women can fight against men, they decided they weren't all that offended after all. Such a shame, really. I would have been more than willing to give them a personal demonstration.

The lessons started in the capital. Then they spread throughout the kingdom like wildfire. I doubt there's a single girl left that doesn't know my 'hood' trick, at least. Even better; some of my more gifted students have become teachers themselves and live quite happily traveling to other kingdoms to spread their knowledge and right wrongs as deemed necessary. I couldn't be more proud of them and, even better, crime is at a record-breaking low as a result. I guess the mere knowledge that intended victims can defend themselves is sometimes enough to encourage more honest occupations and lifestyles.

I cannot strictly claim Tokoyo as one of my students, but word has reached Lycea that she has turned into a hero in her own right. The Wilan emperor even changed the name of his capital to honor her. If she ever reads this, I hope she knows how proud I am of her. I can't claim Robin of Locksley either, but he and Marian caused a lot of trouble for the Figlashian king's brother when he made a try for the throne. They're married with a baby on the way, but I doubt they'll truly give up on mischief any time soon. Although I've since told Robin and Marian, I'll take the extra chance to say I'm proud of them, too.

There have been a few assassination attempts over the years from old enemies that thought I'd be easy prey without my curse. None were very successful, on account of I can still defend myself and, even if I couldn't, my people are fiercely defensive of me. Have you ever seen a sweet old granny attack a man with a frying pan and win? I have, and it was amazing, not to mention hilarious.

After the lessons were passed onto my students, I decided to write this book to help keep the record straight on what I have or haven't done. No matter how many times I tell people I've only taken down the one dragon, the old stories still run rampant, and I want to be sure to have the final word on the subject.

That, and I promised the Mist Island mermaids that I would write this. I know there will be many that are not happy with how little information I have provided on the island, but quite frankly, no one needs to know how to reach Medusa. She was considered family by the time Baron and I left, and she truly does love her new peaceful life. She is hurting no one, and she is content to stay where she is. I do wish that she could have had a chance for love, but mermaids have a 'share and share alike' mentality concerning men, so it's probably better that she doesn't.

On the off-chance that someone not only ignores my warning, and manages to find and kill her, let it be known that cursed or not, I'll hunt the murderer down and behead him with a butter knife. Leave. Her. Be.

Thankfully, life hasn't been all swords and pens for me. Many of the friends I've made in my travels have come up with reasons to pay a visit. Some were more transparent than others, but it never fails to warm my heart than to see old friends getting along with their own happy endings.

At least mostly. Blanche suffered a severe shock upon learning my identity and true gender, rendering her mind permanently into that of a small child. Belle and Bernard have made sure that she is provided for and are now the proud parents of several children, of which they insisted on naming me as the godmother. Juan and Zela were just as insistent on that detail, but even if I were not the godmother, they know I'd still act like one to their little ones. The crown prince of Lutia, Raoul, is showing great promise for his future role, but even he treats me like a beloved aunt. His mother says his favorite bedtime story was my duel with Rumpelstiltskin, which is probably why he enjoys the sport so much. He especially loves sparring with me, but it won't be long until he surpasses me in that regard. Not that I mind. Even the best must eventually pass on the torch.

Without the influence of the Nexan coven, the old stories have become only that; stories. I never did get that rematch with Hercules, but thankfully, by the time my true identity reached him, he had calmed down enough so that being the best didn't matter to him anymore. We still exchange letters, actually. He's turned into a pretty decent man and a good king without the coven's influence.

I still exchange letters with dear Machida as well. Although shocked by the truth, not even that was enough to make him hate me. But he does take a certain amount of pleasure in reminding the village how they had treated a princess, even if I never did officially take my mother's crown. Personally, I know my old sparring partners would be ashamed enough, just by the fact that I was a scrawny little girl that could repeatedly take them on in a group. And win.

It may be a little petty of me, but I love karma.

As for my fate? There is a little boy with orange hair standing in my doorway right now, asking me if the baby's coming yet. His father tells him to be patient, but it has little effect on a boy who wants a brother to play with instead of another sister or a cousin. I don't see what the problem is. All my girls took to their play weapons just as well as he did and his cousins are always willing to get into mischief with him. Baron says it's a boy thing.

Sometimes I'm worried that none of this happened, that it was all a dream. My beloved husband does everything in his power to assure me that our life together is real, but it feels beautiful enough to be a dream.

Speaking of dreams… don't give up on yours. I don't care who's reading this; if you are, it means you're the type to believe in happy endings. I've found mine and it took me several years of pain and suffering to earn it. Don't you dare be afraid to do the same, even if everyone tells you it isn't done, or it's too grand to be done alone. It's your dream and no one has the ability to win or take it but you. You came up with that dream; fight for it, because no one else is going to fight for you. As conceited as it sounds, I think everyone has the right to be just as happy as I am.

Oh dear. Maybe our son doesn't have to be patient after all. Sorry, but my happily ever after is calling. Don't keep yours waiting.

May good fortune fall to you,

Baroness Haru von Gikkingen,

Or, as the people still call me, no matter how many times I tell them it's inaccurate,

Princess Bearskin.

xxXxx

Lots of love goes to; Catsafari, Sol Fox, Bambi4ever, Flawed Harmony, BillyTheMadHatter, mizgardenia21, aznchocoholic, FutileCrux, katdemon1895, BelleBeauty2694, Kristen Hiwatari, The Count Luca van Andrews, parable-sama, inulover1993, CC21, Nanenna, Orihime-san, Midnight the Black Fox, YAYfanfics101, LxiaNi, inujisan, neko girl, Delilah Hunter, Raye of the Sunshine, gacktxx, Color-de-la-Musica, YunaLee, An Insane Nobody, Iria the Seeker, Lady Merridell of Penndragon, Agesilas, Halle78657, FutileCrux, PrayerGirl, Karshiva, maddie-mira, AnimeCrazed121, DaylightAgain, Kathy Sacuba, Kaa, AdorningLives, Guest, sibyl97, laurashrub, mizgardenia21, Kaomy, Kaomycs, lordnitemare, Hiron Otsuki, PeaceLightVictory, Rowena BaronErikandSnapelover, NINJAkitten214, Raine Haruto, clara954, Nonimouse, Xiang Yun, Ebony Mitsu, Haras Noxim, Harufan9, Chantal, Princess who can't find love, Anon Foxy, Gemini-Victoria, dreaminginthecorner, , rinoaheartilly9, Shatatomyo, Random Lurker, immortal chord, Angelus Draco, Bloodsong, Annemarie, alynwatlovers, Charisma girl, ADL1, Jac Grove, WhiteDemoness11, The-Right-Girl, Anonomous-Allstar-Fan (along with Bob), Choko-Pie, Triva, isara-love, Astracia, rinoa9485, E-man-dy-S, Diving in, HannokiKaen, poakkis, Arael Tenebris, Lighted Candle, Anon, Princess lost in darkness, Tetsuni, minshe, Catgirlfireflare, princessoftheshadowsofdestiny, IdrilPuck, Awwe, Nyan girl, Gatoconbotas964, ShadowXMoonlight, Rhyselle, Nichelle M, Ayesha, kyothefallenkit, ScyRy, Suki-Alanna, Randoom, JadenFlame, LxiaNi, foxchick1, Mystera II, MoonShadow396, IchikoKitsuneKoumori, Calemirneth Evans Potter-Snape, Tamarillo-chan, wolfstar.e99, alynawatlovers, Kaoru-Yuki, Ninetailedvixen1, Shatatomyo, Somesadfangirl, Featherhart, b, argentorum, ZNinjaBear, arandomfangurl, PsychEmpress, Beautiful Phantom, Day-Dreaming Writer, Agesilas, I am coming back, loveghibli, arandomfan, FREAKINGOUT, sailor star rainbow, Hiron Otsuki, Cecily Mitchell, Adorablehedgi12, Haras Noxim, MrPirate461, JadenFlame, Nyxlind, death angel shadow kat, Noose, Mei-chiri, paintslapped proclaimer, and Marlene00891 for their kind and hilarious reviews. I'm seriously considering taking out this part of the ending since the list is getting kind of ridiculously long (but a good long!). Let me know how you feel about this, because this list is getting harder to write.

This story started out being based on a little-known myth that was part of the King Arthur legend. I don't remember any names or such, but it was about a guy that got betrayed by his wife and her lover and changed into a wolf using a spelled stick so that they could be together but still keep the guy's estate. Then these other stories started taking hold; Bearskin, Princess Furball, (Disney's) Mulan, Robin Hood, Red Riding Hood, Blue Beard, Puss in Boots, The Traveling Companion, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, mermaid myths, very light Don Juan mixed with The Prodigal Son, Rapunzel, Hercules, Medusa, Rumpelstiltskin, Tokoyo, dragon myths, slight (Disney's) Princess and the Frog, Ugly Duckling, The Princess and the Pea, Cinderella, and a touch of Anastasia. A lot of people saw a Polar Bear King or East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon reference, but this was completely unintentional. Oh, and some people probably saw a slight Santa Claus reference with the midnight visits. Plus more than one person thought that Ukima was a lot like the Snow Queen.

Um… yeah. So, the whole updating biweekly thing was supposed to be for giving me more time to write the next one. And it would have worked pretty well if it weren't for real life hitting me like a Muta body-slam. Seriously, when I tell people why I'm only halfway done with the next story, they understand completely. Luckily it's nothing bad; just a bunch of really good things happening one after the other, on top of trying to make just as good things happen. Though I think the handmade king-sized applique quilt for my engaged sister would be reason enough to say that it's going to be a while. (It has a tree. All those leaves. From start to finish in six months. I was so relieved to be done that I celebrated by cleaning my room.)

I honestly have no idea when I'll be posting the next story, it's been hard to get my juice back for it. But I'm pretty sure that spring or summer of next year would be a fair guess, because I really don't want to abandon it and Christmas stuff is… well, you don't need to be told about that. I keep wanting to start new stories, but I'm forcing myself to be good about this one. I doubt it's going to be one of the longer stories, but I think all of you would like it a lot. It's another one of those conglomerates that you can see the inspiration if you know about the originals.

Once upon a time, there was a curse and a girl. Too bad she didn't know about the curse.

P.S. Most of my betas have been busy as all heck and couldn't get to looking at my work the past few stories. If plot holes drive you insane, you like to insert your thoughts into the text in a different color (my fave!), and most importantly, have the time and desire, let me know and I'll give you a paragraph to look at. We'll go from there.

Lots of love,

YC