"Wait, Patrick. Stop. Virginia and Wolf aren't with us." Tony came to a halt in the
middle of the Forest of Gold breathing heavily. He tried to advert his eyes from not looking at all the shiny gold
leaves and tree trunks around him. If he looked he knew he was going to touch something.
Patrick didn't even seem flustered from all the running. He stopped in front of Tony and Princess
Wendy also stopped to catch her breath.
"Let-let's wait for them to catch up." Wendy panted. She had never run like that in
her whole life. Thank god Patrick had picked her up and carried her half the way but he didn't even seem bothered
by any of it at all.
"Man, Pat. You must be in good shape." Tony remarked to get his mind off the gold trees
surrounding him.
Patrick looked confused but brushed it off. They waited silently for Virginia or Wolf to show
up but they didn't. They couldn't hear much of anything either except for the tinkling sounds the leaves made from
brushing against each other.
"So what happens if we touch something, Pat?" Tony asked.
Patrick frowned at the nickname "Pat" but ignored it. "Well, if someone or anything alive were to
touch or disturb the trees, the earth beneath you will crack open right beneath your feet. You'll fall in and the
hole will close up and you will be forced to dance for eternity. Notice that there aren't any birds or other woodland
creatures in this place."
"What in the world kind of curse is that?! Forced to dance? What do they do, make you wear
ballet slippers and you can't help yourself but dance?" Tony cried out in exasperation. "Who comes up
with these things? And I thought that damn frog with the two doors was stupid. Urgh!"
"Well, it's a pretty old curse. You know the story of the 12 Dancing Princesses right?"
Said Patrick.
"No."
"Oh, well, there were 12 dancing princesses who would sneak out every night to go dancing.
A jealous witch had hypnotized them in order to get her hand on the princesses' father for marriage for she wanted
to be queen. The father was getting incredibly angry because he didn't know where the princesses would go each
night but their slippers were always tattered and torn the next morning. He began hiring soldiers to find out where
they'd go but everyone who came along would fail to find out the princesses secret. Then a man came along and he
was able to find out the secret. He had been able to follow the princesses through the Forest of Gold, the Forest
of Silver and the Forest of Diamonds. He had even been able to touch and take the leaves of the forests home with
him. He broke the enchantment the princesses were under and he ended up marrying one of the princesses as his reward.
The witch was fuming from having her plan fail that she cursed the three forests and lured the son and daughter
of the man and princess into the forest. The son and daughter fell into a hole in the ground and were never seen
again. The couple was devastated and as far as I know, they died unhappily ever after somewhere in the 9 Kingdoms.
"The forests have stayed here for centuries now and everyone basically knows not to touch
anything here. There are the occasional buffoons and greedy dolts, but the amount of victims have been depleting."
"Wow, that's horrible!" Tony cried out. "I never heard that story before though.
I wonder if Virginia knows it."
"Oh my gosh, what was that?! I think I just heard someone scream." Princess Wendy called
out in a frightened voice. Patrick and Tony both looked up but they didn't hear anything. They only heard the tiny
tinkering sounds the gold leaves were making. They both turn to look at Princess Wendy and gave her a shrug.
"I didn't hear anything, did you Pat?"
"No, all this tinkling noise is interfering."
"Maybe we should go back and see what has happened. Maybe Virginia or Wolf are hurt or those
horrible creatures caught them." Princess Wendy said.
"No, you two, stay here. I'll go check. If I don't come back in 10 minutes, leave without
me. Do you understand?" Patrick commanded. Tony didn't like the idea; he wanted to make sure Virginia was
okay. "It won't do anyone good if we all go back. We might just end up interfering with something. Just stay
here and watch over the princess, Tony. I'll be back." And Patrick ran back into the Silver Forest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Virginia clawed at the dirt ground but her fingers gripped nothing. She was already half way
into the yawning cavern that had opened in the ground. She could hear Bon struggling and it didn't help matters
at all. All the wiggling was making it harder for her to hold on.
The Waltzing music was blaring so loud that it roared in Virginia's ears. Her feet were already
dangling in mid air in the hole. Bon still held onto her foot and had also managed to grip onto her other foot.
He was so heavy! She was baring all the weight on herself and she could feel herself losing her leverage at the
edge of the chasm. She looked over at Wolf but he was still out cold. She whimpered but didn't dare make a louder
sound for she was afraid a slight change in her air supply was going to cause her lungs to inflate or deflate and
she was going to lose her grip. But it was too late, her hand slipped and she completely lost her grasp. And she
screamed as she felt herself quickly sliding into the crack.
A hand suddenly shot out and grabbed her arm. It gripped tightly and held on. Wolf! It was Wolf.
He's all right. I knew he'd help me just in time. Virginia thought and gripped the hands in hers as tight as she
could. She looked up and was thoroughly surprised to find someone else in front of her. It wasn't Wolf at all.
In fact, it was the last person she had expected. It was Melody.
Melody strained and got her footing hooked in a protruding rock. She also somehow dragged Wolf's
body closer and used his weight as leverage. Her face was turning red from the exertion but she still held on to
Virginia's hands with all her strength. Virginia quickly got a hold of herself. It was no time to wonder why Melody
was here. They had to get out of the gaping crack or they were going to be forced to dance for eternity.
"Pull, Melody! Pull!" Virginia cried out.
"I'm trying, Virginia. But I can't hold on much longer!"
"No, please don't let go!"
"I didn't realize you were so heavy!"
"That's because I've got a Tazzie holding onto my ankles at the other end!"
Melody's eyes opened wide in shock. No wonder Virginia was so heavy.
"Make that two Tazzies!" Came a low voice bellowing out of the chasm. "The Sire's
at the other end of my feet!"
"WHAT?! Let go you filthy beast!" Virginia tried kicking but it only made Melody frustrated.
"Stop, Virginia, don't move! I can't hold on if you keep wiggling." Melody cried out.
Virginia quit her wiggling. Her knees and arms were getting scraped on the rocks that were pointing
out of the dirt. It felt like she's been there holding on for dear life for over days now but it was only for a
mere 5 minutes. She tried to relax and think logically. If they only had some rope. Or maybe a-a, she didn't know
what else. Melody held on with all her might. She was so afraid she was going to pull Virginia's arm out of her
socket if she pulled any harder.
"Melody, is that you?" Came a voice. Melody turned her head slightly to see who had
called out her name. It was Patrick. He had the most bewildered expression on his face. One of confusion, relief
and worry.
"Patrick! Please help. Virginia's going to fall in." Melody cried out.
Patrick studied the situation and realized that Virginia was indeed hanging on at the edge of
a huge hole that had opened in the ground. He could also hear loud earsplitting waltzing music coming from the
gap. He also realized that Melody was trying to save Virginia. I knew it! I knew she'd come back! And she's not
evil. She's good! Patrick thought in his head.
He raced over to the gaping chasm and looked down. His jaw dropped open as he saw that Virginia
had two Tazzies holding onto her at the other end.
"Virginia! How can you still be holding on?! The weight must be unbearable!"
"Patrick, tell me something I DON'T know. Just get me out of here! I don't want to end up
dancing for the rest of my life." Virginia hollered at Patrick and he immediately jumped up and got a firm
grip of Virginia underneath her arms.
"Cripes! Virginia!" Wolf's voice cried out above the blaring waltzing music. He had woken up and immediately
took in the situation. He howled in distress at the site of Virginia hanging on for dear life. He quickly stood
up awkwardly for his head ached profusely. Then he noticed that Melody had Virginia by the arm and he was thoroughly
surprised! What in the world was Melody doing here?! But he quickly pushed the thought out of his head.
"We gotta get Virginia out of there!" Wolf half howled and half whimpered.
"Wolf, what do you think we're already doing here?" Patrick gave Wolf an annoyed look
as he held on to Virginia too. The weight of Virginia and two dangling Tazzies was too much for even Patrick to
pull up. "Come and help, Wolf. With you, I think we can get them up."
"Them? What do you mean THEM?"
"Just quit asking questions, Wolf. Help me out of here!" Virginia impatiently yelled
out. "I've got Bon and the Sire hanging onto my feet. I can't hold on any longer. This isn't the most comfortable
position I'm in right now as you can see."
Wolf scratched at his forehead and also rubbed at the large bump that was forming on the back
of his head. He, Patrick and Melody all grabbed Virginia by her arms and torso and slowly hauled her out of the
large crevice. Bon also reached the surface. He let go of Virginia's feet and he grabbed onto the ledge with his
feet still dangling below. The Sire still had a firm grasp of Bon's legs. Bon kicked out trying to free himself
from the Sire's grip.
Virginia dusted herself off and stepped away from the hole as far as she could. Wolf grabbed
her from behind and gave her a ferocious hug. She turned and gave him a quick kiss on his forehead.
"Should we help the Tazzie's out of there, Wolf?" Virginia whispered against his ear.
She also kept a close eye on Melody. Patrick and Melody had also stepped away from the hole in the ground but they
just stood awkwardly trying not to look at each other.
"Let them hang for a while." Wolf stroked Virginia's hair. "Are you all right
though? God, what happened?" He spun Virginia around to check for any damages.
"They broke some branches and one hit you and knocked you out. Then the ground opened up
and they fell in. But Bon grabbed my foot and was intending on dragging me in there with them. Thank god for Melody!
If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't been dancing my feet off by now." They both peered over at Melody who was
standing around trying to look invisible.
"Get us out of here!" Bon growled.
"I don't think so Bon. I think you and the Sire need some time alone." Wolf said with
a sly grin on his face. "Let's get out of here!"
"We're just going to leave them here?" Patrick asked.
"Yes, they would've done the same thing to us."
"You can't leave us here, Wolf! We're gonna die if you don't get us out!" Bon cried
out in anguish.
"You won't die, Bon. You'll just be waltzing to your heart's content."
"No, you can't leave me here!" Bon clawed at the ground but it was no use. He wasn't
going to get out. But he also had a firm leverage so he wouldn't fall either. He was stuck between a rock and a
hard place. The Sire was the one who was slowing pulling himself upwards by holding onto Bon's body. He hadn't
made a peep the entire time. Wolf didn't care. They were going to leave and get the hell out of the forests as
far as they could.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Melody, how did you get to the forest in time to help me?" Virginia asked Melody once
they had made it into the forest of gold and had caught up to Tony and Princess Wendy. They were making their way
out of the gold forest now and trying to suppress the urge to touch the gold. Virginia was a bit uncomfortable
around Melody. She didn't know if Melody was up to something again or she was actually for real and seriously saved
her life.
"I-I heard from the old man who rowed you across the river that you guys had gotten out
of the mess in the 6th Kingdom. I just wanted t-to see if I could catch up with you."
"Why? Are you going to try and finish us off now that you have the chance?" Virginia
said in a cold voice.
Wolf held her hand and gently squeezed. "Listen to what she has to say, Virginia."
He said softly in her ear.
Virginia gave a deep sigh and calmed herself. "I already know what she has to say to me,
Wolf." She turned to Melody. "I think there is something we should discuss and get out of the way."
"I agree." Melody nodded. She stole a glance over at Patrick who was talking to Princess
Wendy and Tony. Why won't he look over at me? Now that he's found a princess to keep him company he probably won't
even talk to me now. She turned back to Virginia with her eyes cast down. She gave a deep sigh. "Virginia,
I know you, Wolf and Patrick and all your friends probably hate me right now. I don't blame you. You have every
right. But….you will have to understand that I hate you, Virginia, and I have every right to hate you."
Virginia's eyebrows perked up at that. "Why do you hate me, Melody? Cuz I killed the queen?" Virginia
stopped a moment. "I-I didn't want to kill the queen, you know. I had no choice. She-she was evil and was
going to kill everyone if I didn't stop her. Why is she so important to you, Melody?"
Melody raised her head up and stared up at the clear sky. "I don't hate you anymore, Virginia. I have come
to terms with what you did. I finally realized that the queen had been sick and she was going to harm people. I
just never knew that part of the story until the Old man told it to me." Tears were beginning to well up in
her eyes and she brought her head down to eye level with Virginia. "I never thought that my mother, she was
so kind and good to me, that she-that she would harm people."
Virginia clutched Wolf's hand when she heard Melody's last sentence. All the blood drained out of her face. "Your
mother? You-your mother was the evil queen?" Her heart was beating so fast in her chest that she was having
a hard time breathing. "Melody, I-I think I need to tell you something. The shoes, the Shoes of Truth. It,
I……"
Melody put up her hand to stop Virginia from saying anything further. "I know, Virginia.
You and I, we're related somehow. We share the same blood. I don't know how that is possible and I'm scared to
find out but I must. You killed my mother, therefore you had also killed someone you were related to through me."
She gave Virginia a pleading gaze.
Wolf tightened his grip on Virginia's hand to let her know that he was there for her. Wolf, Wolf must have known
all along just like before. Why didn't he say anything? This is stupid. This can't be happening. Why is everyone
that was related to me end up wanting to kill me? Next thing I know, Dad's gonna want to throttle me. This seriously
cannot be happening. History is repeating itself! Virginia could feel herself starting to hyperventilate. She took
deep breathes and gazed up at Wolf and he smiled and gave her loving expression.
"Melody. Melody, I-." Virginia paused to think of the words to use. "The evil queen that I killed.
She-she was my mother too!" She finally blurted out.
Melody's eyes shot up and she glared up at Virginia with shock and disbelief. "You're my
sister?!" She hollered out.
Her loud announcement brought up the heads of Tony, Patrick and the Princess and they all peered
over curiously. Tony narrowed his gaze for he thought he had heard something about sisters. He excused himself
from Patrick and the Princess and strolled over to his daughter.
"What's going on? Is everything all right?" He asked with an eyebrow raised towards
Wolf.
Wolf grinned and patted him on the shoulder. "Seems like you've gained another daughter,
Tony. Congratulations!"
Tony's jaw dropped open. "What? What are you talking about?"
"It's true Dad. Melody and I are sisters." Virginia said as calmly as she could.
Tony closed and opened his mouth and closed it again. He looked like a fish breathing in water.
He stared at Virginia, then at Melody. Then his eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he fell down in a
heap.
"Dad? Dad!" Virginia crouched down and gently slapped at Tony's face. "Get up."
Tony opened his eyes and peered up at the faces looking down on him. "Virginia. I hate this
place. I don't think I can take another surprise. Please don't tell me that I'm the father of this girl here too."
Virginia smiled down at him. "Dad, we don't know if you're the father or not. We just know
that Mom was also Melody's mother. For all we know, Mom could've had Melody with someone else."
"Maybe Christine's adopted her cuz she felt bad for leaving you and she wanted to fill up
the void in her life." Tony suggested.
"No, Dad. We're related by blood. The shoes said so."
"Oh. The shoooooes." Tony cast his gaze down to the ground and wrinkled his nose in
a snotty fashion. "Might as well ask the shoes if I'm the father too then." He threw his hands into the
air. "I am going back to New York once we get back to the castle. I swear I cannot take any more of this!
It's like watching those damn daytime soap operas on TV."
"Dad, just calm down."
"Huff, puff. Tony. You really got to relax. Back in Manhattan, they have this thing they
call blood pressure that you must keep low. I think you need to or that vein that's throbbing in your forehead
is going to pop." Wolf put his arm about Tony's shoulder. "You knew this all along, didn't you Wolf?
Why didn't you tell Virginia?" Tony demanded.
"I-errrr…..I didn't know until recently. I had sneezing fits that screwed up my sense of
smell when we first met her. I didn't know then." He turned to Virginia. "You're not upset with me, are
you Virginia?"
"No, I'm not upset. It's not important. Let's just please get back home. I want to see Little
Peter. He hasn't been without his parents for such a long time."
"I don't know who my father is." Piped in Melody's voice. The others turned to look
at her. "I think I would like to use the shoes, Virginia."
Virginia didn't say anything but obeyed the request and pulled out the old brown shoes. She understood
Melody's need for answers even if they weren't the answers you wanted to hear. "Should I wear them? Or would
you?"
"I thought only you could wear them?"
"No, the billy goats changed it for me."
"Oh, well I suppose I can wear them then." Melody took the shoes and slipped them on.
"Ask me who my father is, alright? And tell me exactly what it says."
They nodded and waited for Melody to get comfortable. Virginia looked at Wolf and he gave a slight
nod. Tony had a look of worry but with a slight hint of excitement put into one.
"Melody. Who are your mother and father?" Virginia decided she wanted to know the truth of Melody's mother
too. What if the Queen had lied to Melody the whole time?
"Recent departed Evil Queen.
Is the mother of her, she be.
Mother may the two girls share.
But different fathers for the pair.
In a place and far away.
The father has gone without a trace.
He is ruler of another time.
Banished by the queen in her prime."
Tony's eyes narrowed at the rhyme and he frowned with his mouth gaping open. "What load
of crap is that?!" He cried out. Melody shook her head to shake off the haze and looked eagerly at the trio
standing in front her. But her face immediately turned to a frown when she saw the confusion on their faces. Even
Wolf, who knew almost anyone just by their scent seemed to be clueless of the rhyme.
"What did I say?" Melody asked hesitantly. She was afraid to hear it. Virginia repeated
the rhyme to her. "That doesn't tell us who my father is!"
"Well, I think it rules me out." Tony said.
"He's a ruler of some far away place? But he was banished by my mother? I don't understand
it." Melody frowned but gave a sad sigh. "It doesn't matter anymore. I have lived without my father for
as long as I've lived. I don't need to know who he is." Melody declared with as much confidence as she could
muster.
"But now that our mother is gone, don't you want to find other family members?" Virginia
said.
"I-I don't think so. Not right now at least. I do have you, I guess." Melody gave a
weak smile. "I think I need to find myself first."
Virginia smiled at that. She knew exactly what that felt like. In a lot of ways, she was very similar to Melody,
her newfound half sister. Melody had saved her life. But she had also tried to ruin it just a few days ago. Trusting
her wasn't going to come easy.
"Sorry to interrupt but I think we should get going. The King will be expecting us since
the guards had gone ahead to tell him." Princess Wendy interrupted.
"Oh, yes. We should get going." Virginia and Melody both said in unison.
Wolf raised an eyebrow and gave a crooked grin. Virginia seemed to have come to terms with Melody
so there was nothing to worry about now. He put his arm around Virginia and they all set out again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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