King Wendell couldn't believe what he had heard. The guards who had rushed ahead to give him
the news, had found the King to be in a complete wreck after hearing the explanation for their delay. They were
sent to their quarters and given their pay, which included great compensation for the difficult situation they
had encountered. The King was nervous but also relieved. His friends seemed to have gotten into a terrible mess
but had somehow also found their way out of it. How he wished he had been there to join in on the adventure. But
he was King now and he couldn't just leave his kingdom alone w/o a ruler even if he did have a handful of advisors
who could've taken care of any matters that came up.
He paced around his throne room waiting for his friends to show up. And hopefully on schedule
this time. He sent for his godson, Peter and a servant quickly brought the baby boy into the room. In the last
few days, Wendell and Little Peter had bonded incredibly. Wendell didn't expect himself to actually enjoy it when
he was around the baby but for some odd reason, the boy could calm him down with just a slight gurgle or drooling
smile.
"Your mother and your father are coming home, Little Peter." Wendell picked up the
baby and smiled into his face. Little Peter stuck a fist into his mouth and just made gurgling noises and slobbered.
"Aren't you excited?! I will soon also get to meet Princess Wendy. My betrothed. I'm so nervous I think-I
think I should sit down." He slumped into his throne.
"Your Majesty, your Majesty. They've arrived!" A servant came rushing into the room.
King Wendell composed himself and said in his most calmest voice to show the group of people into his waiting room.
Inside, his stomach was doing flips and turns and cartwheels. The servant quickly rushed out again. "Little
Peter, you better not leave me alone with the Princess or I'm afraid I might faint. All this matter on marriage
is nerve wracking." Wendell whispered to the baby who just looked at him with a curious face.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Wendell! Man, am I glad to be back here! You won't BELIEVE what we've been through."
Tony greeted the King when he entered the waiting room.
King Wendell smiled and stood as regal as possible.
"Trust me, Antony. After last year's ordeal, I think I'm capable of believing anything."
He turned to Virginia and Wolf. "I trust your adventures were safely encountered? I should thank you two for
saving my faithful manservant and my betrothed Princess."
Virginia and Wolf smiled and bowed to the King. The King turned his head about to look for the
princess but she didn't seem to be around. He saw a tall man and a young girl though and he quirked his eyebrow.
"This is Patrick and Melody. Patrick is from the Mother Goose Village and he has helped us tremendously on
our journey. Melody, uh…..she has errr…..also helped us a great deal." Virginia hesitated. She didn't want
to tell the King that Melody had in fact, been the person who had been behind all the mess that had occurred. Well,
except for the Tazzies.
The King nodded and thanked the two and promised them all great rewards. All of a sudden a bird
flew in from a window and began flapping around noisily. A servant tried to shoo it out.
"Yo, King. I also helped! Without me, your friends wouldn't even be here! I should be getting
a reward too. Tony promised." Pip had entered through the window and wanted his share of the excitement. King
Wendell looked at Tony who just nodded and shrugged. Wendell gave a nod to the talking bird so he would quiet down.
"I'm sorry if I sound a bit too eager, but where is the Princess?" Wendell said after
looking around once again.
"She has been shown to her chambers and is being washed and changed so she could present
herself royally to your Majesty." Virginia said.
"Oh." The King said with a bit of relief. "Well, I suppose you would like to see
how much your son has grown in the past few days?" Wendell said.
Virginia beamed and nodded her head vigorously. Wolf rubbed his hands together like he was expecting
some sort of great feast. A servant brought in Little Peter and Virginia rushed forward to take him from her arms.
Wolf and Tony both stepped forward in a rush at the same time and almost collided into each other.
"Let me see my grandson! Let me see him!" Tony cried out.
"Calm down, Dad. He's right here." Virginia whispered. She handed Peter over to Tony
who absolutely beamed with pride. The baby immediately made for a grab of Tony's hair and yanked.
"Ow!"
"Huff, puff. He's got a mighty strong grip there, doesn't he? He's gonna make his Daddy
proud!" Wolf grinned and ruffled his son's hair. Tony held his grandson up high and walked over to Patrick
and Melody to show them the baby. They all smiled and played with the baby who was grinning from ear to ear with
all the attention he was getting.
At that moment, Princess Wendy walked into the room. She had washed her hair and face and was
now wearing a most beautiful gown. They were all awestruck at how much of a difference it made. She was lovely.
Wendell was speechless but he finally made his way to her and bowed formally and held up her hand for a kiss. Wendy
smiled and curtsied.
"Finally, King Wendell. We meet again."
"And it is definitely with all my pleasure!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everything had rushed by in a blur. Little Peter was given his proper 9 Kingdom christening.
Strange how religion wasn't even present. But Virginia didn't care. They were all safe and sound now. Wolf was
happy. Her father was happy. The king was happy. The princess was happy. Everyone was happy. Well, except for Melody
and Patrick. They seemed to be playing a game of Avoid Each Other as Much as Possible. Virginia saw the attraction
that the two had for each other. And as an older sister, Virginia felt it was her duty to make Melody happy. She
spoke with Wolf about it and Wolf just gave a silly grin and told her to leave it alone. No use playing matchmaker
and get caught in the middle. But Virginia didn't let up.
A few days had passed and Patrick was preparing to return to his Mother Goose home to care for
his pumpkins. Virginia and Wolf were also preparing to leave for the 10th Kingdom with Tony tagging along. Virginia
did have her Psych test that she didn't want to miss. They all promised to return for the wedding of King Wendell
and Princess Wendy as soon as word was sent.
Melody moped around. All her friends were leaving once again. And she was going to be alone once
more. She was going to go back to her little old cottage by the river and live in it all by herself. Pip had volunteered
to go back with her but she didn't want to force him. And Virginia also offered to take her back with them to the
10th Kingdom for a visit but Melody didn't really want to.
"Would you like to come and visit my pumpkin patch and help with re-harvesting?" Patrick
piped in after seeing the melancholy on Melody's face. He had gathered up his courage and finally asked for he
knew Melody was going to be very lonely now everyone was leaving. Heck, he was going to be lonely too except for
his huge pumpkins to keep him company.
Melody's eyes lit up at the offer but she didn't want to sound so eager. She also felt that people
were taking pity on her. She shook her head slowly at the offer. "Come, Melody. I would really need your help.
And I think I would also like it if you came with me. I'd like your company." Patrick said as sincerely as
possible. Melody smiled and finally nodded her head. Virginia relaxed and decided that Melody and Patrick can handle
themselves and their destiny will run its course without her.
Patrick held onto Melody's hand as they watched a servant switch on the magic traveling mirror.
Instantly the image of Central Park flashed onto the mirror's surface and Melody gasped at the magic at work.
Virginia held Little Peter in her arms and she kissed the King and Princess Wendy good bye. Tony
gave the King a quick hug and bowed down to Princess Wendy. But at the last minute they both laughed and embraced
each other in a big hug. Wolf bowed to the King and Princess but also gave them huge wolf hugs.
"Huff puff, Prince. It was sure nice to have come here for vacation. Cripes, and what a
vacation it was!" Wolf laughed at his own joke. "Make sure to send us a message for the wedding. I don't
think I want to be missing that!" He scratched at his temple absentmindedly
King Wendell promised that he would but the wedding wouldn't even be taking place until a few
weeks later. He said that he would send a servant as soon as the official invitations were going to be sent out.
Wolf looked into the magic mirror in front of him and he caught the faintest reflection of himself.
He grinned and smoothed a lock of his dark hair behind his ears. I'm still a pretty handsome devil ain't I? He
smirked. Virginia nudged him in his side and he quickly gave the King one last pat on the back and he stepped into
the magic mirror. There was a moment of complete nothingness. All his five senses shut down for just the barest
of seconds. But then a rush of cool air hit his face and he felt himself moving at high speed. And a split second
later he was standing in the middle of a grassy clearing in Central Park, New York.
Virginia, with baby Peter in her arms quickly followed and Tony appeared right after her.
"Can't believe I'm gonna say this….but I think I actually miss the smog!" Tony gave a silly smile and
the trio set out to make their way home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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