On the road again

[Willow]

Yes, one crow may be dead, but where one dies, another is born. Willow didn't really need an animal to tell her where to find Moon and Meekal. Something was up. She had to follow her instincts. The Queen had taken a rescue party and gone in search of our missing friends. Willow had been able to tell them the general area at that time. Now, her senses becoming very accute, she had their location almost totally pinpointed. Pregnant or not, nothing was going to stop her from fulfilling her promise to the Queen of Schoolcraftia. She had, after all, vowed on her life that she would protect the Princess.

Willow gathered the things she would need most on this journey: her cloak, some spare clothes, her complete book of spells, and the beef jerky she was totally craving right now. Slipping out of the castle, she got her horse, the one she had been neglecting as of late, Cider (so named for her brilliant color), and began her search.

She had timed her journey so that she would encounter very few people or none. As the sun was coming up, however, she began to have the feeling that she was being watched. Stopping to eat some of her jerky, she reached inside her cloak, touching the dagger that she had secreted there. She wouldn't give up without a fight. "Who is out there? I know you are there. Show yourself, if you dare!"

A dazzling looking man with hair the color of summer wheat and eyes the color of sapphires stepped out from behind a tree. "Do not be afraid of me, Lady Willow," he said, "I have been following you to protect you." "Do I know you, sir? Who are you to be so familiar to me?"

The man smiled at Willow. "Do you not remember me?" She shook her head and said, "Should I?" He threw his head back and laughed. "Lady Willow, think back to your past. Back to when you were but a child." Willow shook her head, saying, "Who ARE you? Where did we know each other from?" "Ah, my dear Willow, how soon do you forget. Maybe this will spark your memory," the man said. From a pocket in his cloak, he pulled out a scarf, brilliant in its colors of green and burgandy.

Willow stared at the scarf. Why, wasn't that the scarf she had made as a child? Wait! Hadn't she given that scarf to someone? Someone who had been her friend. Someone who had left Schoolcraftia because his father had needed to leave to take over a neighboring kingdom after the death of the King. Realization dawned in her eyes as she stared at the scarf in the man who was not a stranger's hand.

She whispered, "Nicholas?" He smiled the sweet smile that she remembered from when she was but 6 years old. Bursting into tears, she ran into his outstretched arms, thrilled to reunite with this dear friend.

[Willow]

Nicholas smiled down at Willow, loving the feeling of having her in his arms. He had been in love with her since she was 3 and he was 6. Now, 14 years later, his love for her was even stronger. He had been watching her for the past 6 months, waiting until he felt it was the perfect time to reveal himself to her. So much had been happening in the kingdom of Arconia that he had decided to wait in the wings until he was needed.

Willow smiled through her tears at Nicholas. "I can't believe you're here," she said, "It's been way too long." Then, her smile faltered. "There's a lot you don't know about me right now."

Nicholas looked away. "I know everything that's been happening," he said, "Nothing has been hidden from me." Willow looked at him in amazement. "Why? Why have you come here? Why me?" Nicholas turned to her and replied, "Do you not remember our promise 11 years ago? I told you one day I would come for you. I meant that with all my heart. Nothing has come between my love for you and my desire to spend the rest of my life with you."

Willow said, "Even though I'm pregnant and I don't know who the father of my baby is?" Nicholas blushed and told her, "You have nothing to worry about. I know who the father of your child is." "Who is it? Why do I not know?"

He then said to her, "You have nothing to fear. I came across you when you had been kidnapped. You were drugged and under a spell. I used magic to enable you to wake up and find your way back to the castle. When you first began to wake up, you saw me and you asked me to hold you. Well....one thing led to another. The child in your womb is mine."

"YOURS!?" Willow was in shock. Her mind was reeling at everything that had been happening. At last she knew the truth. Her child had actually been conceived in love, such as it was. "Well," she said, "Where do we go from here, then?"

Nicholas smiled his dazzling smile. He then dropped to one knee, holding Willow's hand in his. "Will you marry me?"

[Willow]

Willow started to cry yet again. Ok, she couldn't help it. Have you ever seen just how hormonal pregnant women are? Searching her heart, she realized that she had loved Nicholas her entire life. She owed it to herself and the baby to marry him. She opened her mouth, took a deep breath, and said, "Yes, I'll marry you."

Nicholas swooped her up in his arms and kissed her. "I promise, I'll make you the happiest woman in the world!" Laughing, Willow said, "Please, put me down! I don't want to throw up on you!"

Nicholas complied, and told Willow, "We'll have the wedding as soon as we can. I won't leave you alone for another minute! You are mine at last!"

Willow frowned. Yes, she wanted to get married. But, could she get married without her best friend there? Nicholas looked at her, knowing what the problem was. "We'll continue on our way, and we'll see what happens on the way. We'll find Moon. I promise you."

Smiling, Willow reached into her pocket, pulled out some beef jerky and began to eat. Looking up at Nicholas, she asked him, "Want some jerky?" Laughing, he took a piece.

[Willow]

Nicholas and Willow resumed their journey, hoping to catch up to Queen Zelda and her troops. Willow knew that they weren't too far behind them. Hopefully, they would meet them within a few hours, when everyone would stop to rest and eat.

For the first time in over a month, Willow's stomach was actually co-operating, and not threatening to spew its contents. Except for having to make frequent bathroom breaks, they were actually making very good time. Their horses treading the ground carefully, they saw the Arconian soldiers eating their evening meal at the site they had chosen to stay the night.

Zelda looked up in amazement at the sight of Willow and this stranger approaching the camp. "Willow, why are you out here and who is this man? Is something wrong back in Arconia?" Willow replied, "No, everything is fine in Arconia. I came to fulfill my promise to the Queen of Schoolcraftia, that I would protect her daughter. As for this man, this is Nicholas. He and I are engaged to be married."

[Zelda]

As I stared open mouthed at Willow she said "Didnt you mother ever teach you its rude to stare?"

I shut my mouth and swallowed. I will admit I was glad to see Willow as I was starting to doubt my sense of direction. However she had expressly DISOBEYED my orders to stay put in the castle and followed us. Oh well she is here now with a good looking man. "Man those girls from Schoolcraftia can pick them," I thought to myself."What am I thinking? I am MARRIED!" I pushed the thought out of my mind.
"Willow how far are we from the cave?"

[Willow]

Willow, knowing full well that the Queen disapproved of what she had done, told her, "Zelda, I believe that if we travel due north, we can reach the cave by early afternoon tomorrow." Zelda smiled, grateful that it wasn't going to be too much longer. "Now, since we have nothing else to do...tell me about this Nicholas."

Willow blushed and smiled. "Nicholas and I have known each other since we were children. His father is the King of a neighboring country, Marsteria. He is also the father of the child I carry. It turns out he rescued me when I was held in that hovel."

[Zelda]

"And if we leave now Willow? How long?"

[Lord Tellurine]

Zelda, Queen of Arconia, a dozen Arconian troops, Willow, a pregnant sorceress in training, and Nicholas, the father of Willow's child and Prince of Marsteria, were all trudging their way through a swamp in northeastern Muu. They were all on their way to rescue Lady Moon of the Quill, who is also known as Princess Buffy of Schoolcraftia and Meekal the Daft, Prince of Muu, who is also known as a waste of human skin.

Queen Zelda led her horse through a puddle of mud and asked, "Willow, are you sure they came through this horrid swamp?"

"Yes, Zelda," confirmed Willow, taking her horse around the puddle. "We have taken a slightly more easternly course, but that's so we don't have to walk through the Muu village of Swampton. I doubt a dozen troops from Arconia walking down Main Street would be ignored."

"Good thinking my chil-"

Suddenly there was a flash of light, a slight pop noise, and appearing upside down in a tree branch above them all was the not-so-great wizard Oddeldoodle. "A little help," he said.

Queen Zelda motioned at two of her troops and they dismounted and began helping him down. She replied, "That's why King Arcon won't let me do that any longer."

Once Oddeldoodle was upright and on the soft ground of the swamp he said, "I must speak with Willow."

Willow dismounted and approached him through the crowd. "I am Willow, Oddeldoodle. What do you have to tell me?" Nicholas joined her, grasping her hand, both of them fearing the worst.

"When last I was in Arconia, your friend, Lady Moon, told me that you had become pregnant and that you did not know who the father was. She gave to me a single strand of your hair and once I was back at my cottage I was able to ascertain the true identity of your child's father." He paused to take a breath. "The father of your child is Prince Nicholas of Marsteria."

Willow breathed a sighed of relief and smiled. "I know."

"Yes, of course," said Oddeldoodle nodding. "I just told you. ...It wasn't an easy task. There were many complicated spells involved. Why, I nearly blew up part of my cottage..." He noticed the man grasping her hand. He asked, "Who's this?"

Willow said through a giggle, "This is Prince Nicholas of Marsteria."

"Oh... Well..." Oddeldoodle peered at him over the glasses that hung onto the end of his long nose. "Congratulations."

Zelda sighed loudly. "Can we get moving?"

"Of course, Queen Zelda," said Willow.

Oddeldoodle turned and faced the Queen. "So? Where are we off to?"

[ 08-08-2001: Message edited by: Lord Tellurine ]

[Zelda]

"We are off to rescue Lady Moon and Meekal the Daft from Lord Tellurine, Oddleboodle. I take it you wish to join us?"

"Yes please your majesty, I havent been through here before!"

"Great," I thought, "we now have 1 slightly incompetent wizard along with a pregnant scoress, a Prince I dont know and miscellaneous other guards....."

As we tramped through the swamp I thought to myself
"I must ask Moon to be abducted to a more habitatble place next time! She really picks wonderful places to be rescued from, FS castles, caves, Muu, Why cant she just get stuck up a tree or something for a change?"

I must have been muttering outloud because Willow came up behind me and said, "She was always like that, never did anything simply... always took the HARD road. Goodness knows how many messes I had to hide from her parents when we were in Schoolcraftia!'

"I DONT want to know, Willow I Really DONT want to know!!!"

"But there was this time...."

"WILLOW!" my temper was getting shorter as we neared the caves, mainly cause I had NO idea what we were heading for, "I'm Sorry Willow, but I am slightly jumpy about being this far away from Arconia and the King...Its so long since we spent any quality time together. I suppose I am just missing him..."

"Thats Ok your Majesty, I know exactly what you are going through..." Willow smiled knowingly and trotted her horse forward to converse with Nicholas and Oddelboddle.

"Willow, how much further is it by your reckoning?" I asked as I bought my horse alongside hers.

[ 08-09-2001: Message edited by: Zelda ]

[Moonitic]

hmm...

art imitates life

[Lord Tellurine]

The group had finally made it out of the swamp, were well past the bustling streets of Swampton, and were currently lost in the foothills of the Muuvian Mountains.

Willow, Nicholas and Oddeldoodle were atop one of the higher hills in the area trying to get their bearings. Willow pointed in a northeasternly direction. "I beleive Mount Spire is that way."

"Quite the contrary," disagreed Oddeldoodle. "Mount Spire is this way." He pointed due west.

Nicholas interjected, "There aren't even any mountains in that direction."

"What?" asked Oddledoodle. "Oh... er, yes... I meant that way." He pointed to the northwest.

"How much longer till we're there?" came the call up the hillside from Queen Zelda.

Oddeldoodle observed, "She's worse than a child in the backseat."

Willow smiled. "Yes, she is." She called down, "We're just trying to figure that out. There's a little disagreement as to which direction it is to Mount Spire."

"Perhaps I can help," came a voice from the other side of the hill. Willow turned around and saw a man covered in dirt join them on the hill.

"Who are you?" asked Nicholas, readying to protect Willow and his unborn child.

"My name is Kliff Fauldergraft, of the Muu Fauldergrafts, once the proud royal geoligist to the King of Muu himself." He bowed slightly. "Tell me, are you all after the non-exsistant treasure at Mount Spire?"

Nicholas took a step towards him, his hand on his sword. "How do you know about that?"

"I met Meekal and his companion on there way there a few days back. They left before I could tell them there was no treasure. I myself mapped that mountain for the King of Muu and there was never any intention to keep treasure there. I suppose they've made that discovery by now."

"Yes," confirmed Willow, "but now they are being held captive there by Lord Tellurine."

"Really?" asked Kliff, placing dirty hands onto his dirt-covered hips. "Lord Tellurine, huh?... His family illegally took control of Fauldergraft land many years ago, forcing many in my family to have to... work."

Nicholas shivered.

"Can you help us?" asked Willow. "Can you lead us to Mount Spire?"

"I'll do more than that." He gave her a dusty wink. "I'll show you the back entrance to the cave."

"How much longer till we get there?" came the call from Queen Zelda.

"Not much longer!" yelled back everyone from the hilltop.

"Well," she said, adjusting herself on her steed, "at least there's a consensus."

[Willow]

As the group began to follow Kliff, tensions began to mount. They were almost there. Would they arrive at the cave in time to rescue their friends? (Ok, Moon.....Meekal has to be rescued only out of respect for his title) When were things ever going to return to some semblence of "normalcy?" As the group traveled, suddenly a howl of anguish ran out. Who? What? It was Willow. "I'M OUT OF BEEF JERKY!"

[Zelda]

"WILLOW!" I whispered as she cried out,,, "remeber the fact is is supposed to be an ambush!"

At least Willow had the decency to blush as I reprimanded her.

"Sorry my Queen" she replied sheepishly as I hastily sent scouts forward to make sure we hadnt been heard.