The crowd stood in silence, mouths agape, pushing back so hard against the tent's canvas sides that the tentpoles began to buckle and groan. The mud in the center bubbled and burbled, gradually filling in the sinkhole. Ashley thought she heard the strains of One Hundred Bottles of Mead on the Wall from deep beneath the hole. With one last blurp, the hole closed up, blocking out the stench and the ghostly echoes of arguably the most aggravating song in the English language.

The question now was the safety of her friends. How would the crowd react to the demise of their "beloved" prince? Did vestiges of Prince Charming's love potion run through their veins? Ashley held her breath and tried to read the faces in the crowd. What did she see? Anger? Betrayal? Bewilderment? Happiness? Relief? Or all of the above?

Although the royals could make a reasonably swift departure with Ruth's help, it would take a few minutes to board her. In Ashley's mind's eye, she pictured the prince's followers clambering onto the stage in droves, tossing the loyal guards aside, and tearing her and her friends limb from limb. "Ruth, maybe you should prepare to fly us out of here. The crowd doesn't look happy, do they?"

"Don't worry, Ashley. I'll take care of 'em," Ruth said, skidding to the platform's edge, flapping her enormous wings, and letting out a fiery warning.

"Please don't incinerate the people, Ruth," Ashley said.

"You sure? Some of them look like they deserve at least a good toasting. Look at that one over there with the parchment and pen."

"I'm sure. The spectators are innocents. Charming and Marveloni put them under a spell. Not to mention, they've suffered enough under Charming's rule."

Ruth hung her head. "I guess, but I haven't had a good flaming lately."

Ashley patted her friend's scaly haunch. "You will soon. I promise."

"You're the best, Ashley," Ruth said. Poised on the stage, like a lion ready to pounce, she held her mouth open, exposing glittering teeth and the furnace within her belly. Her deep green eyes scanned the crowd, unblinking. All this, combined with her regal ruby crown, conveyed the message: Do not piss me off. Or else. And there was no doubt Ruth could come up with a very effective and painful 'or else.'

"Ruumsph," came a cry from behind Ashley.

She spun. "Oh, no! Gerald!"

"Go get him," Ruth said. "I'll keep the peace over here."

Ashley dashed toward her dear knight, who was still gagged, blindfolded, and with his hands tied behind his back. "I'm so sorry!" Throwing an annoyed glance at her friends, none of whom had thought to untie Gerald, she began untying the blindfold.

"Don't look at us. It's not our fault," Derek said. Paris had joined Derek on stage and played 'fetch the executioner's basket' with Derek Junior while Hilda Mae and Mercer cheered them on. "He's your boyfriend," but Derek was smiling at Paris as he said it.

"He's not my boyfriend," Ashley said through clenched teeth.

"Uh, huh," Derek said. "Sure."

Once she'd unknotted the blindfold, Gerald narrowed those big dark soulful eyes. "What did I do now?" Ashley said.

"Mntyurbfrnd," he replied.

"Oh, hold on. I'll get rid of the gag."

Once his luscious mouth was once again free to complain, banter, rant, heckle, and maybe, hopefully, a few more pleasant things, he said, "I'm not your boyfriend?" and then wasted those sexy lips on a pout.

"You're my knight," Ashley teased. "Now hold still while I finish untying your hands."

"Some knight I am," he grumbled. "Why are you the one rescuing me?"

"Quiet, or I'll put the gag back on. Maybe it's okay for you to be the one getting rescued every once in a while."

She freed his hands, and he sat, that appealing curl bouncing onto his forehead. He was okay. Gerald was okay. The effects of 'true love's kiss' had dissipated, and she recognized him. Every inch, from the curls on his head, to the curve of his neck, and the firmness of his chest. Even better, she had (almost) no desire to have him beheaded! The horror of what had nearly happened filled Ashley with guilt. Tears trickled down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Gerald," she said, enfolding him into her arms.

"Ouch!" he said. Not the response she'd hoped for.

Ashley released him. "Sorry," she said with an awkward laugh, "didn't realize my own strength."

"You never do," Gerald said, with an emphasis that implied he wasn't talking about the hug. "It's just that I've been in one position for so long, I'm stiff."

"How can you ever forgive me for ordering your beheading?" she cried. Plop, plop, plop, her tears chanted as they struck the stage.

"Stop that," Gerald said, wiping them away with Borin's stocking. Ashley grimaced. "Buck up, princess. You're getting pigeon poop everywhere."

"I'm sorry," Ashley snuffled.

"Why are you sorry?"

"You know why. The whole "off with his head" thing."

"Hey, I'm hoping it's not the last time," he grinned.

Ashley lifted a crusty eyebrow. "You mean you want me to have you beheaded?"

"No, but I do want the opportunity to make you angry enough in the future to at least think it."

"Why would you want that?"

"Because this is life," Ashley. "Couples fight. Things aren't all roses and violins. There are ups and downs. And if I make you that angry, it will mean we are real. Not a fairy tale."

"So, you forgive me?"

"How could I not? You were under a spell." He drew his eyebrows together. "You were under a spell, right?" Ashley punched him in the arm. "Hey! Ow!"

"You dummy, of course. I was under a spell. I will always prefer your head right where it is." Gently, very gently, she gathered his precious head in her hands.

"I was never in any real danger with Terrowin and Layyin as my executioners."

Ashley glanced at the oddest couple in human history who took turns sinking the battleax into the tree stump. "You sure about that?"

"Not one-hundred percent."

"Hey," Layyin said. "Stop doubting us, or I'll throw this battleax at you."

"Maybe you weren't at risk from them, but the crowd was also under a spell. They could've torn you apart."

Ashley checked in with the audience's current status. No grumbling, fighting, or tossing of rotten fruit. All good signs. Off in a corner, Derek Junior had left the basket game to entertain a group of small giggling children by flitting between them and reheating their fried stick foods. Great to see him playing nice with kids his own age.

"Careful, son," Derek said. "Don't singe off any fingers. Safety first!"

"Da - ad," Derek Junior whined. "Can you stop being such a drag?"

"Don't speak to me like that, young man," Derek said. "I am a cool dad."

"You go on telling yourself those lies, Pop," Derek Junior said, flaming a fried tarantula on a stick.

The guards, still at the front of the crowd, laughed.

Ashley brushed aside Gerald's curl. "The guards seem pretty jovial."

"They would never have allowed anyone to hurt us. Terrowin had warned them not to drink the water, so they weren't under the spell. They trusted Terrowin because many of them worked for him before. No guard in his right mind would drink water. Real men drink mead or beer or whiskey."

"Lucky for us," Ashley said.

"Yes, lucky. So, is it time to kiss?"

"In front of all these people?" Ashley breathed.

"They seem tame. Mostly," Gerald said.

As if magnets had been embedded in Ashley and Gerald's lips, they drew together with a passion never before experienced by any two people. Tongues, teeth, lips exploring, tasting. Ashley moaned. His kisses were fire, heaven, bliss. The sensation radiated toward her core and into her soul.

The world outside of the kiss fell away. It did not matter that Ashley still had pigeon poop on her face, nor that Gerald had recently had a filthy stocking in his mouth. None of it existed. Only passion. It was such an ardent kiss that its magic touched all who witnessed it that day for decades.*

This was true love's kiss. It brought Ashley 'back to life' because it was not a kiss of obligation, power, potion, or prevarication. It was pure, like an angel's heart or expensive soap.

A nagging finger poked at Ashley's back, dragging her from paradise. "Derek. What's going on?"

"Look," he said, pointing to a pigeon flying over the crowd toward the stage, holding a twig in its beak.

"You're interrupting true love's kiss because a pigeon got into the tent?" Ashley griped.

"Look at her," Derek said. "I'd recognize those ruffled feathers anywhere."

"Oh, my god. It's Domino!" Ashley stood and held out her hand as a proposed perch. But rather than alight there, Domino dove and tumbled to the velvet cushion on Ashley's throne. A flash of light and in place of the bird, sat a tiny wrinkly, silver-haired woman, holding a long wooden staff.

"Who are you, and what have you done with my favorite pigeon?" Ashley said.

"Glad to know you missed me," said the crone, flashing a devious smile.

"Do I know you?" Ashley said.

"I'm your fairy godmother Maxine."

"My what?"

"It's not your fault, dear," Maxine said. "I couldn't have you remembering you had a fairy godmother who could swoop in and solve all your problems. So I placed a spell on you for the duration of your quest. But now I shall remove it." She waved her staff, and a stream of water splashed over Ashley's body.

"Agghhhh!" Ashley cried as memories flooded into her mind. "Why'd you do that?

"Cleansing spell."

"With actual water?"

"You needed a bath. What can I say? And a change of clothes." She pursed her lips and waved the staff again. After a flash of light, Ashley had been given a full makeover. She was dry, wigless, clean, and sporting the comfortable groom's outfit she wore the day she snuck out to visit Gerald so long ago.

"Wow. Thanks," Ashley said.

"She did need a bath," Derek agreed. "I'm Derek, by the way. Ashley's best friend, who totally deserves a fairy godmother." He shook Maxine's hand.

"Who says you're the best friend?" Tressa griped.

"Yeah?" Kai agreed.

"We're all her best friend," Sadira said.

"Easy for you to say, Miss 'I have three fairy godmothers,'" Derek said.

"Maxine!" Ashley ran to her godmother. She knelt before her and placed her head in her lap as Maxine stroked her hair.

"My dear child," Maxine whispered.

Ashley's heart exploded with love, but then, something occurred to her. She lifted her head. "Wait, so you're Domino, my pigeon?"

"Yes. We are one and the same."

Ashley eyed her friends. "Are all of you who you say you are or are you going to turn into farm animals or unicorns or teacakes?"

"I'm just Derek. I mean, I have been a frog at times, but you already knew that."

"And I'm Layyin. Used to be a scaredy-cat, but that's only a figure of speech. Not an actual cat."

"I'm Sadira. Plain Sadira."

"You're hardly plain," Tressa said.

Sadira blushed, and Tressa took her hand. Sadira looked at Tressa's hand. "Same with you."

"You already know I am part fish, but all human when it comes to my heart," Kai said.

"I'm just Blanche," Blanche said. "Although an evil stepsister has impersonated me. But that's hardly my fault."

"And I'm Gerald, unicorn groom posing as a handsome knight, at your service."

"What about you, Ashley. Are you just Ashley?" Derek said. "You're not going to pull off a mask and show us you've been the bad guy all along."

"I just took off my disguise. I'm done pretending to be someone I'm not."

"So, my dear Ashley," Maxine said. "Tell me, what have you learned on your quest?"

"Don't go on a quest without a thermos of soup, a tankard of whiskey, and a jar of skin moisturizer?"

"I'll drink to that," Derek said.

Maxine rose and leaned on her stick. "Nope."

"Stay off of frozen mountains unless you're dressed properly?"

"No."

"Never anger a dragon while you're on its back flying over pointy things?"

Maxine stomped her tiny foot. "Ashley! Please!"

"Okay, okay. What have I learned?" Ashley closed her eyes and searched her memories. She didn't want to disappoint her fairy godmother with the wrong answer. If only the perfect response would come to her on a breeze or spoken by that useless disembodied voice. Like magic. But what good would that be? Because accomplishments and answers come from hard work. Not by magic. If it's easy, it's not as meaningful. So what had she learned? "I learned that I don't need magic to solve my problems. And that I've had the power to succeed inside me all along."

Maxine smiled and clapped. "Well, done, Princess."

"Don't call me that," Ashley said.

"Whyever not?"

"I'm not a princess any longer." She took Gerald's hand. "I'm with this guy now."

"Are you saying I'm no prince?" Gerald said, smiling.

"Okay, you told me you were regular old Gerald. Are you really a secret prince from a far off kingdom who's come to sweep me away to your castle?"

"Nope."

"Thank heavens," Ashley said.

"But I wouldn't mind sweeping you away to my barn and having my way with you!" he breathed into Ashley's ear, making her heart race and her nether regions tingle. She surreptitiously espied the exits.

Maxine frowned, seemingly anxious to continue with her fairy godmother revelations. "You are still royal, Ashley. As are all of you."

"How do you know?" Ashley said.

"Listen."

Ashley listened. And sure enough, the people in the audience were repeating her name and tossing rose petals into the air.

"They know you care about them because you are one of them. The seven of you will join the kingdoms and usher in an era of peace and prosperity. "For millennia, there will be harmony."

"What happens after that?" Ashley said.

"Don't ask," Maxine said. "You know happy endings only last so long."

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