Monday, October 19, 2020

Upcoming Projects and Stories

This is a list of stories I'm working on or are in the midst of developing. Keep in mind that this list can and will change depending on what I'm interested in and whatever else is going on in my life. 

Currently Working On: 

Match Game 1973 - 1982
Novels/Novellas/Chapter Stories

Gene Rayburn: Pirates of Blank (Alterative Universe - Pirates/Swashbuckler) 

Original Short Stories for Children

Stories inspired by childhood memories, including:

Painting someone else's fence.
Little kids running through other people's yards when Mom and Dad aren't looking.
Beach frolics - walking home from the beach as a child.

Coming Up Next: 

Match Game 1973 - 1982
Novels/Novellas/Chapter Stories

Gene Rayburn: Superhero Blank, Part I (Superhero/Fantasy/Sci-Fi)

Richard Dawson: Wild Wild Blank (Alternative Universe - Western)

Joyce Bulifant: The Wizard of Blank (Alternative Universe - Fantasy/The Wizard of Oz)

Match Game 1973 - 1982
Short Stories

The Wedding
Missing scene between Brett and Jack Klugman after 1978 "wedding" episode.

In Development: 

Match Game 1973 - 1982
Novels/Novellas/Chapter Stories

Brett Somers: Murder Is Blank (Alternative Universe - Film Noir/Mystery/Thriller)

Richard Dawson: Spy Blank (Alternative Universe - Spy Thriller)
Richard Dawson: Singin' In the Blank (Alternative Universe - 1920's/Historical/Musical spoof)

Charles Nelson Reilly: Star Blank (Alternative Universe - Star Wars/Sci-Fi)
Charles Nelson Reilly: Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Blank (Horror - possible Alternative Universe)

Betty White & Allen Ludden: East of the Sun, West of Blank (Alternative Universe - Fairy Tales/Fantasy)

Gene Rayburn: A Christmas Blank (A Christmas Carol/Fantasy/Horror)
Gene Rayburn: Superhero Blank, Part II (Superhero/Fantasy/Sci-Fi)
Superhero Blank, Part III (Superhero/Fantasy/Sci-Fi)

Fannie Flagg/Ensemble - Freaky Blank (Fantasy)

Bill Daily
McLean Stevenson
Marcia Wallace
Nipsey Russell
Elayne Joyce

Introduction - A Charles Nelson Reilly Story: Fairy Tale Blank

My second Match Game fanfic took me a LOT longer than expected! I was originally going to do a spy spoof featuring Richard Dawson. I'll likely still do that, but I thought it needed more work. Fairy tales, on the other hand, are something I know well. I thought I could knock this out in a few months...but the craziness in the spring increased my hours at work, and then I broke my elbow in May and moved in July. Not to mention, this story wound up being really big. I wanted to get everyone in and see what I could do with so many different people and characters.

Having focused on Brett in the last story, I thought I'd work with her partner in this one. Even today, Charles is known for his portrayal of oddballs and nebbishes on shows like The Ghost and Mrs. Muir...but for once, he'd like to be a hero. Encouraged by Brett to be "the hero of his own story," Charles dreams himself into a fantasy world where he can save his friends...and prove that you don't need to look like a typical tough guy to be a true hero. 

Fairy Tale Blank, Prologue

This is a work of fiction. Match Game 1973-1982 and Password belong to Fremantle Media. All characters belong to their respective estates.

Set in 1975, after Charles returned from his hiatus directing a play in New York.

And they lived happily ever after. Charles Nelson Reilly sighed as he paged through the old book of fairy tales at his desk in the studio. It had been his mother's, and her mother's before her. He rather enjoyed the dark and romantic tales of courageous princesses, enchanted princes, and wicked trolls. Not that he'd ever tell anyone...

“What's that?” Brett Somers leaned over his shoulder, her stiff gray-black curls brushing against his neck. He absently pushed them away. “Fairy and Folk Tales From Around the World. Aren't you a little old for those?”

“You're never too old for fairy tales.” Charles shrugged. “I'm looking for stories my younger acting classes can tell by just using their bodies.”

“I remember doing something like that when I was in New York.” The clear liquid Charles strongly suspected was vodka slid down her pale throat. “Only we had to imagine we were dripping ice cream or something. I'd rather be Snow White or Sleeping Beauty. At least they get to rest between kisses.”

Charles chuckled. “Sure, you were snow white once, but you drifted.”

“Charles, that joke is older than creation.” She gave him a light punch on his shoulder. “Don't let Ira catch you with that. You know how he is about keeping the set in order and things running smoothly.”

He made a face. “I know, I know. And he always says 'it's not me, it's orders. It's from my bosses. They wanted me to ding this or buzz that.'”

“Speak of the devil,” Brett muttered as two familiar voices rattled the sparkling orange and yellow walls. “Ira must be getting on Dickie's nerves about the contestants always choosing him for the Head-to-Head round again. You can probably hear them on the Password set across town.”

Even as Brett spoke, two men stomped in, pushing past cameras and crew members. “Look, Ira,” Richard Dawson snapped, “I'd don't see what all the fuss is about. We're here to help the contestants win. Isn't that the point to all this?” Charles thought Richard was beautiful. Handsome and suave, with sleek salt and pepper hair, a stunning smile, and a laid-back urbanity that won him the heart of almost every female contestant, and many of the female panelists as well.

“Richard, Richard.” Ira Skutch was a skinny, pinch-faced blond in a tight maroon suit with a mauve shirt open to the navel and entirely too much jewelry. “I know it's important to help the contestants. That's what we all want. But this isn't your show. You need to let the others have a chance every once in a while.”

Richard put his hands on his hips. “I try to make it as suspenseful as I can. Why don't you go back to your buzzer and leave us alone? Let the contestants decide who they want and don't want. You act like I'm an outlaw for helping these people win money!”

“I'll buzz the answers I feel fit to buzz. Half of them are stupid as hell, anyway.” The scraggly producer looked down his nose at the angry Brit. “When you have your own show and your own kingdom to play in, you can call the shots. I'm just doing my job. I feel like the only sane person in this entire studio! Even Rayburn acts like he left his brain in Cape Cod sometimes. You want to complain? Talk to my bosses.”

“You know how I feel about the buzzer, Ira.” Brett gulped the last of her vodka. “I don't like it any more than Richard does. We understand that you're doing your job and you mean well...but Rich is our best player. People call on him because they trust him.”

Ira turned on his shark grin. “Brett, sweetheart, I'm only following the bosses' orders. Can't help the buzzing. I know you don't like it, but it's part of the show. I'm just trying to spread the love around and give everyone a chance to be Match Game royalty.” Charles didn't like the way he leaned over her, how he waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “And I wouldn't mind spreading a little more love around, if you know what I mean. You are practically the queen of this show, just like Ludden and Betty White are the queen and king of Password.”

Brett put down her cup and gave Ira a death glare. “I'm not interested. I just separated from my husband. I need space.” She ducked away from his hand as he reached for hers. “A lot of space.”

Charles was still opening and closing his mouth when Richard stepped in. “Cut it out, Ira. She doesn't need you to be her king.”

“Oh, and she needs you to be her prince charming? The guy who kisses everything within a five mile radius?” Ira made a face and turned on Charles. “Reilly, close that trap of yours, before you catch flies. And unless the book is part of an onstage gag, lose it. We're on in fifteen minutes.”

“It is part of a gag,” Charles stammered. “I'll be so busy reading it when we're introduced, I won't hear Johnny Olson's cue. Something different.”

“Fine, Reilly.” Ira turned it over in his head. “Not a bad idea. At least you know how to cooperate.” He gave Richard a scathing look. “We'll discuss this after the show, Dawson, in Goodson's office.”

Brett stuck her tongue out at his retreating back as Richard threw a card in his direction. “Thanks for trying to save what little remains of my virtue, Dickie.”

He bowed before her with a flourish. “It's the Englishman in me,” he told her in his most posh accent. “I can't help it. I must get involved when a lady's virtue is at stake.”

“Even when that virtue is questionable at best?” Charles added with a small grin.

“Especially then.” Richard settled in the bottom center seat under Brett. “You know, Charles, you should stand up to Ira more. You're not half-bad at this game, and people do like you. You could probably get yourself a lot more than just a spot on a game show.”

“With everything else I do, I'm lucky I can fit this on my schedule.” Charles sighed. “I like it here, Rich. I like the people I work with. Ira doesn't really bother me. Maybe some of us aren't cut out to be a prince charming.” He waved a hand at his thick glasses, round face with its dimpled chin, and slightly pudgy body. “There's a reason most of the roles I play are milquetoast men who run from the first sign of danger or sniveling villains. Hello Dolly was the closest I ever got to being a hero.”

Brett gave him a kiss on the cheek. “You're the hero of your own story, Charles. Just because you're not a loudmouth like Dickie and me doesn't mean you're not brave. And,” she added with a grin, “I think you're kind of cute. You have a nice smile. Some guy is going to be very lucky when they nab you.”

He flashed that sweet smile of his. “Thanks, Brett. No matter how much we lay into each other on the air, I'm glad you're my friend.”

“Don't you start getting mushy on me.” Brett nudged him playfully. “I'm going to go get a quick bite before we start. Want something?”

“I had a big sandwich at lunch.” He patted the book. “Think I'll stay with this for now.”

Brett shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

He made sure no one tried anything else when she walked off, then returned to the fairy tale he was reading. “Hero of your own story,” he muttered as he leaned on his hand. “Just for once, I'd like to be the hero. I'd like to take care of my friends once in a while. Maybe fight a troll...maybe save a prince...stand up to Ira...help Brett...save Rich...”

He barely even noticed it when he nodded off, his cheek sliding off his hand and onto the brittle paper.

Fairy Tale Blank, Part 1

Charles of Yorkalia was neither knight, nor prince, nor nobleman. He wasn't a rich man, and his bright tunics and hose were shabby and worn. He was, however, a popular minstrel and teacher of the performing arts, a man who was much in demand in the kingdom of Nerdocrumbesia.

If he wasn't performing in a play in Yorkalia, he was teaching eager young minstrels the tricks of his trade in Holly Woods. He spent all of his time traveling the dusty roads on his little chestnut pony Cornelius, searching for another court or kingdom that required his services. His only worldly goods, besides Cornelius, were his lute, his few travel supplies, and his small bag of threadbare costumes.

Normally, Queen Betty and King Allen welcomed him with open arms. The good rulers adored music and dancing and often held elaborate parties in their main capitol Telavisia City. Here, even peasants dressed in colorful dirndls and trousers, dancing with abandon well into the night. He'd entertained the royal couple in their court many times.

Today, however, something was most definitely rotten in Nerdocrumbesia. The shutters on every building in town, still painted in bright crimson, were shut tight. The few souls to be seen scuttled past him in mournful gray and black cloaks, not even looking him in the eye. Even little children sat lethargically in their schoolrooms as a slender woman half-heartedly taught them two plus two. Date palms and green scrub were limp against the gloomy clouds and closed shops. A few pairs of eyes watched him from slits in their shutters as he rode past.

“What the hell happened here?” He mused as he and Cornelius rode up to the gates of the palace. “Who died?”

The iron gates of the magnificent Password Palace were slammed shut, something Charles had never seen. Two guards in the yellow and orange uniforms of Nerdocrumbesia stood on either side, their long lances shining in the darkness of the dull afternoon. “Halt!” The taller of the two, a handsome man with broad shoulders and swirling chestnut hair, dropped his lance in front of him. “Who goes there?”

“Sir Dick Gautier,” he frowned, “you know I'm Charles of Yorkalia. What's going on here? I've been away in Yorkalia's Land of the Time Square for nearly a year, and I return to find everyone in hiding! Did something happen to the king and queen?”

Dick's striking face fell. “Ah, but you don't know then, old friend. I'm sorry, but you're no longer welcome here. This is now the domain of the Queen Malade. Lord Skutch keeps watch over her affairs while she's away.”

“I want to talk to him, then.” Charles held firm. “Or to the king and queen.”

Dick awkwardly held out his lance. “Charles...really, I am sorry. I wish things were different, but the queen has banished all performers. No music, no parties, no performing, no laughter.”

“What?” Charles' mouth dropped open. “That's the dumbest thing I ever heard! Even dumber than some of our answers. No one can live like that! Where's the real king and queen?”

Dick made a face. “I don't know. No one knows.” He took a quick look over his shoulder and shoved at Corneilus' flank. “You have to go now! Skutch is coming!”

“Sir Gautier,” honked a slender blond man in a tight maroon suit made of fine silks and velvet, “what is this? What's all the noise here?”

“Please don't punish him.” Charles climbed off Cornelius and bowed before Skutch. “I'm a humble minstrel who has come to play for King Allen and Queen Betty. What has become of them? Or the Wizard Rayburn, their head adviser?”

“Gone. They're not here. Not anymore. I have my top men looking for them.” He waved his hand at the road. “Sir Gautier, Sir Walden, can you show this weirdo out? I have taxes I must bring to Queen Malade's vault, before she starts ranting and raving and turning people into stone again. I'll be leaving in twenty minutes. You and your men are to accompany me. I don't want that knave of a bandit making off with this one.”

“Right, sir.” Dick took Charles by the arm and grabbed Cornelius' bridle, tugging both to the road. “I'll see them to the street. I take it they're banished?”

Charles' jaw was nearly on the ground. “But I didn't do anything!”

Lord Skutch waved a ring-studded hand dismissively. “I don't care what they are! Just don't let Her Royal Nastiness see him. You know how she feels about comedians.”

“Yes, sir.” Dick gave his boss a short nod and bow, then shoved Charles back to the main road, tugging Cornelius along behind him.

Charles dusted himself off the moment they were away from the gates. “Did you have to handle me so roughly, old friend? I mean, there's foreplay, and then there's...”

Dick's flashy smile was gone now. “You have to go. Skutch can be a pain, but he's right about Queen Malade. If she catches you here, she'll do far worse things than throwing you out.” He gazed around him furtively, then drew a gold pendent shaped like a heart on a leather strip from his armor. “Here.” It came away easily from his neck. “Give this to the man they call Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest. He's the bandit Skutch was talking about. Skutch can't stand him, but he'll know what to do.”

“Well, all right.” Charles attached the heart pendent to the crimson scarf he wore around his neck. “Just...be careful. If Skutch finds out you helped me...”

“He won't if you go now!” The muscular knight nearly threw Charles on the back of his horse. “Take the left road into the heart of Sherwood Forest. It's more likely he'll find you before you find him. Take care!” Charles finally galloped off down the dusty road, before Skutch came back and decided to throw him bodily out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sherwood Forest was just a few miles to the north of Telavisa City. Normally, Charles found a ride through the woods relaxing, but the damp gloom that permeated the capitol infested the woods as well. Towering black pines blocked the sun and masked hideous screeches and moans. A bare breeze rustled the leaves on the ancient oaks and elms. Every sound made him nearly jump off Cornelius!

He pulled out his worn old lute and strummed the taut strings. “What we need, Cornelius, is a good, happy song. Something that will make things seem a lot less scarier than they look.”

He strummed the instrument and opened his mouth...but the first notes of “Brotherhood of Man” stuck in his throat. Something was definitely in the trees. The leaves just over his head rustled too loudly to be just the wind, and he swore he heard voices whispering around him.

“H...hello?” he called as Cornelius stumbled over a root, nearly sending him crashing into the forest floor. “Oof! Who goes there? Please, whoever...or whatever...you are, come out! I won't harm you, I swear!”

“You there!” He stopped and looked into the trees, his nearsighted eyes managing to pick out the figure of a small man in a dark green leather tunic in the gloom. “We order you to stop! This is Robin Hood's country, and all must pay the toll.” The figure held a bow with a loaded arrow aimed directly at him!

He gulped, his hand going to his heart. “Please, I'm a poor minstrel. I have no money. Only what you see here, my lute and costumes and horse. I was instructed by Sir Gautier of the Royal Guards to find Robin Hood.”

The bow and arrow wavered slightly. “How do you know Sir Gautier, minstrel?”

“He's a good friend of mine.” Charles untied the scarf with the heart on it and waved it at the trees. “He gave me this. Said Robin Hood would know what to do. I thought he was a myth.”

“In a way, he still is.” The figure dropped easily from the trees, but he kept his bow raised. “Why do you seek Robin Hood?”

Charles put up his hands. “All I want is to learn what happened to King Allen and his Queen Elizabeth. I've been away from Nerdocrumbesia for over a year, and I return to find them gone and the current rulers claiming they have no need of my services.”

“Aye,” the voice whispered, “you deserve to know that much. Malade struck about a year ago. She swept in with her demons and trolls, destroying all magic and beauty. The Sheriff claimed the entire royal family died in the raid, but there's a...rumor...that the queen and their children survived.”

“Please, Sir Hood,” Charles begged. “I have friends in the Court. It was one of my best-paying gigs. I must know what happened, and if there's anything I can do to help find them.”

“It's not 'Sir Hood,' minstrel.” The man finally sheaved the bow and pulled down his hood, revealing a handsome, tanned face with eyes of sapphire blue and ebony hair sprinkled with flecks of silver. His easy smile made Charles' heart skip a beat. “It's Sir Dawson. Or it was, once. Sir Richard Dawson, formerly of Hogan Manor in the Summerlands.”

“You're a knight?” Charles' voice came out in a squeak. He gulped and spoke in a far lower tone. “What are you doing out here?”

Richard narrowed those deep blue eyes. “When Queen Malade came through, she ordered my family's lands seized and murdered my father and most of our servants. Skutch made Hogan Manor his new quarters. I was told I would be able to remain if I became Skutch's lackey. I despise the man. He's little more than a sycophant. I fled into the woods with my remaining men, making him believe we'd perished in the escape."

More rustling in the trees and a few murmurs drew Charles' eyes back into the trees. He drew back behind Richard. “The...there's something there. I can hear it. Is it some beast?”

“Hardly.” Richard stuck his fingers in his mouth and let loose with a piercing whistle. “Boys,” he called into the trees, “you can come out now! Meet the rest of my Merry Men.”

“Master Charles!” A red and gold blur dashed out and almost leaped into his arms. “Charles of Yorkalia! What are you doing out here?” The two men wound up on the ground, the shorter one wriggling like a puppy.

His mentor could barely gasp an answer. “Glad to see you too, Gary Scarlet. If you'll get off me, I'll tell you!”

A meaty cocoa brown hand snatched the smaller body off his. “Don't mind the lad,” said the broad-shouldered, dark-skinned man attached to it. “Though sometimes strong of mind, in his enthusiasm, he'll often leave good sense behind.” He easily yanked Charles up with one hand. “Nipsey's the name. Normally, I recite poetry and jokes, but it would seem the queen doesn't approve of my livelihood.”

“Nor mine. We're in the same boat, so to speak.” The minstrel gazed around at the four men, then turned to Richard. “And that's why I'm here. I heard Sir Gautier talking to Lord Skutch when I was at the palace gates. He mentioned bringing the tax money through. He and his men will be guarding it.”

A taller man with shaggy nut-brown hair and a dancer's elegant gait frowned. “Something doesn't smell right here. I think this is a trap.”

Richard nodded. “So do I, Bobby. We must be wary.”

A diminutive fellow with a droopy mustache and thinning black hair and eyebrows poked his head out of the same tree Richard had been in. “Hey Boss, I think I see something coming! Might be important.” He tapped on a cigar in his mouth. “The carriage has Skutch's emblem on it, anyway. Two flowers and a money sign.”

“We'll be up in a minute, Donald!” He grinned at the other four men. “I think that money would be of more use to the poor people of Holly Woods, don't you? Why don't we give Skutch a little surprise and relieve him of that terrible burden he carries?”

“Boss,” Donald called from above their heads, “he's almost here!” He poked his head in again, this time with a dazed grin again. “And I think he has a guest with him. A lady guest, if what her voice sounds like is any indication.”

Richard swung to Charles.”How are you with climbing?”

The minstrel made a face. “I've escaped my share of angry bees and crowds who didn't like my jokes. I can figure it out.”

“You're going to have to figure it out fast, Master Charles,” Gary yelped as he pushed him off the road. “The carriage is coming!”

Fairy Tale Blank, Part 2

Charles quickly tied Cornelius to a tree, then the climbed into the same one Richard and Donald were perched in. It wasn't very comfortable. The branch was knobby and rough, and he feared it would snap with both of them on it.

Somehow it managed to hold all of them, just as a magnificent carriage bounced along the path. It was the finest carriage Charles had ever seen, a mahogany vehicle trimmed with gold inlay and hubcaps made of solid gold. A trunk of leather and metal was strapped to the back end.

Velvet curtains pulled back to reveal Skutch and a figure in a heavy black cloak, their head swathed in a silky red scarf. He couldn't tell if this was the “lady guest” or not. Skutch held a slender hand bound in an iron manacle. “Don't worry, my lady,” he purred. “Queen Malade has special plans for you. All she wants is for you to use your magic to read the forest and find that meddlesome Robin Hood and his men.”

“I'd rather stay powerless for the rest of my life than betray those men,” a gravely female voice hissed under the scarf. “They've done more for the people of Nerdocrumbesia than a rich bastard like you could ever dream of!”

Ira grabbed her cheeks. “Careful what you say. Malade has spies everywhere. One wrong word from you, and you'll make a lovely statue in the garden with your loudmouth husband.” He poked his head out the window as the woman yanked her face from his grasp. “Stop here, Sir Gautier. I want you to lead our guest as deep into the woods as you can.”

“I think that woman is a prisoner,” Charles whispered. “He tried to hurt her! And she stood up for all of you.”

Lean and lanky Orson gave Richard his shining grin from another tree. “Looks like we have two precious treasures to rescue, the trunk with the loot and the smart lady who doesn't want to be with Ira.”  

Richard nodded. “I won't leave her to be abused by the likes of Skutch. She should be returned to her family.”

As soon as the cart stopped, Sir Gautier dragged out the figure in the cape. Charles could now see that she was tall, but slender and boyishly built. Her long wrists were bound in heavy iron cuffs. The scarf fell back enough to give a small glimpse of graying curls and flashing dark eyes before they shoved her into the woods.

“You and Gary go after the lady. Dick won't harm her, but I wouldn't put it past Skutch to.” Richard held up his bow and arrow. “We'll release the treasure and those golden caps.”

“But...but...” Charles had no time to explain he wasn't a bandit or adventurer before they all leaped out at the guards. “Um, right.” He hit one guard with his lute before just barely avoiding getting a sword in the gut. “I think I'll find Gary and go help the lady.”

As it turned out, the lady didn't need their help. “What in the hell are you doing, Dick?” she snapped as he shakily raised his sword to her chest. “If you're going to play with sharp objects, go help the bandits get that tax money and return it to the people where it belongs.”

“I can't do it.” Charles and Gary hurried over just in time to see Sir Gautier bring down his sword on her iron manacles, breaking them to bits. “Queen Malade ordered me to take you into the woods and cut out your heart. I just can't do it.”

The woman threw her freed hands over her chest. “I appreciate that, Dick. I like my heart where it is!”

“I'll get a heart from some animal at the castle.” He winced as they heard yelling on the road. “Get going! I'll deal with Skutch.”

“No, Dick. I can handle this,” the lady called to him as she threw her hand on an apple tree by the road. The second she touched it, a green light flowed into the trunk, and it moved and swirled on its own. Her fingers brushed against an oak, and then a willow, all with the same green light. “You boys might want to move.” She waved her hand, and the apple tree hurled its fruit right into the guards' faces! “This could get a little rough.”

“Whoa!” Gary just missed being pelted by acorns. “Thanks, ma'am! Whomever you are! Now this is more like it!” He pulled out a knife and jumped right into the fray.

Even with the lady's produce-pelting trees and willows that grabbed guards and threw them into the road, Skutch and had more men with heavier weapons than Richard and his crew. Charles shoved two more away with his lute, then grinned as he passed Cornelius. “You go help them, boy.” He untied the horse and sent him into the fray to frighten Skutch's proud stallions and kick guards away from the trunk.

Skutch was fighting Richard, trying desperately to reach for his hood. “Let's see who you really are,” he hissed as he tossed Richard's bow away. “You're not so tough without your arrows!”

Just as he was about to tear it from the shorter nobleman's head, Charles strummed his lute and let loose with the loudest, highest note in his repertoire. The crowds of guards were already making him nervous, but he figured if he stayed near the trees, where there was more space, he would be fine.

“Damn it!” Skutch put one hand on his ear and tried to grab at Richard with the other. The bandit slashed the Sheriff in the arm with his last arrow, just as a fat apple klonked him on the head. “You're going to pay for that, Hood!”

“No, it's you who'll be doing the paying, Skutch.” Richard leaned on his bow, giving him a wicked grin under the hood. “We'll take that trunk and the lady you were driving with. I don't think she really wanted to be spending time with you.” Big Nipsey tossed the remaining men into the carriage and Sir Gautier pushed the rest onto their horses.

“Good luck finding her.” The skinny nobleman gave Richard a death glare. “Next time, Hood...ow!” The willow threw Skutch into the carriage before grasping the door and slamming it shut. Richard slapped the flank of the lead horse, sending what remained of it bouncing back down the path.

It took Donald and Bobby to hold up the hubcaps. “Pretty nice haul we had here.” Donald flicked the gold rim with his plump finger, listening to the metallic sound. “Yeah, these babies are fourteen karat, all right. They'll fetch real money at the goldsmith's in Holly Woods. Maybe even in the thousands.”

“And look at this!” Orson let the gold and silver coins in the trunk spill through his thin fingers. “This is enough to buy bread for everyone in Nerdocrumbesia, never mind Holly Woods!”

Charles took Cornelius' rein and gave him a nuzzle. “Good boy!” He managed to find an apple that wasn't smashed into the dirt and fed it to his steed. “You deserve this.”

Richard gently placed a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you for saving my hide, sir. You've done us a great service. If there's anything we can do for you...”

“Well,” Charles blushed a bit, “I could use a place to stay for the night. I assumed Cornelius and I would sleep in the royal palace, but we were almost literally thrown out.”

“Can he stay with us?” Gary pleaded. “Boss, he's my teacher! You saw what he can do today. He might be able to help.”

“We have room.” Richard boldly threw the velvet cloak he'd snitched from Skutch over his shoulders. “I think we could use your talents, Master Reilly. Your music would do much for our morale, and your four-legged friend could carry lighter loads.”

“By the way,” Orson added as he and Donald hefted the trunk, “what happened to Skutch's lady friend?”

The forest seemed empty now. The trees only swayed in the breeze. Piles of acorns and smashed apples littered the ground, and the willows had torn limbs. “I don't know,” Charles admitted. “I think she was a friendly sorceress. Skutch was going to have her killed, but Sir Gautier let her go.”

“I wonder why she didn't stick around?” Donald asked his boss as he hefted the hubcaps onto a crude wooden sled.

“If she's smart, she'll catch the next carriage out of the kingdom, before Skutch finds out she's still alive.” Richard tugged the cloak around his shoulders. “I think it's time we took our loot home and decided how to divide it among the people.”

Fairy Tale Blank, Part 3

“Home” turned out to be a small cottage nestled in a clearing deep within the woods. It wasn't the neatest or cleanest dwelling in the universe. Splintered shutters hung off the windows, and the plaster was clearly crumbling. Still, it was standing, and it seemed cozy enough, with its two floors and bright blue door open to the elements...

Richard suddenly put out his arm to stop the others. “Lads, I know I didn't leave the door open like that when we went out for the afternoon. It looks like we have an unwanted visitor.”

They tip-toed into the house, setting the hubcaps and the trunk down near the door. “Follow me.” Richard drew an arrow as Charles held up his lute and the others pulled out knives or bows. They all slowly crept up the creaky staircase...maybe a little too slowly, as they jumped at each creak in the slightly warped wood.

“Master Richard,” Gary whispered as he pointed at the lump in the beds in the upstairs room, “someone's sleepin' in our beds!” He made a face. “Maybe we ought to go check our chairs and porridge, too. You know how some of these nosy blonde kids can be.”

The lump under the gray woolen blanket on the bed moaned as they all clomped in. “Good gravy Marie! Can't a woman get any sleep around here?” To Charles' surprise, the lady from the carriage emerged, rubbing the grit from her eyes. The red scarf hung on the end of the bed, revealing tousled locks that fell in stiff curls to her shoulders tied back with a frayed black ribbon. She stretched, yawned a little, and grabbed her scarf. “And now that I've taken that nap, it's time I moved on. Are you coming?”

“What?” Richard shook his head. “Ma'am, we're not going anywhere. First of all, who are you, and who do you think you are, ordering us around like this in our own home? You, ma'am, are an intruder.”

“My name is Brett.” Work-roughened fingers patted graying curls into place and straightened the homespun mud brown smock that passed for a dress. “Look, Robin Hood, I didn't mean to intrude, but I can't return to Password Palace. Not yet, anyway.” She pulled on a pair of worn wooden shoes. “You guys can come with me, or you can stand there with your mouths open.”

Charles followed her downstairs while the others continued to stare. “Mistress Brett, I don't think they mean to be rude, but this is their house. Besides, it's getting dark. You shouldn't be out there in the woods at night. It's dangerous, especially when you don't know the territory.”

“A fine lady like you shouldn't be alone at night.” Nipsey gave her a short bow. “Stay with us, until the time is right.”

Orson grinned. “We've never had a dame around before. Who knows? Might be nice.”

“Can she stay?” Gary pleaded before Richard. “She's smart, and she knows magic! She could help us stop Skutch and his boss, and we could help her find her family.”

“Oh, it's not a matter of finding my family, shorty.” Her smoky voice faltered. “I know where they are. My sons are locked in the basement at Password Palace, and my, er, husband is being used for birds to tinkle on in the thorn gardens. Malade forced me to work as her scullery maid while she had those iron bands on my wrists. Iron inhibits a magician's powers. Gene got stuck in them, too. That's how she was able to lure him into the woods.”

“That's terrible!” Donald sobbed as he wiped tears from his eyes. “Poor Brett! Separated from your family. We have to help her, boss!”

Richard sighed. “Very well, Mistress Brett. It seems we're all in the same boat. Most of us were thrown out of our homes when Malade's forces invaded, and Charles and Nipsey's talents are no longer welcome in the kingdom.”

“Well,” Brett smoothed out her tunic, “that's settled. Now, who wants dinner? I can make vegetable stew, if you boys have anything edible around here.”

“I have a little dried beef in my supplies,” Charles added. “And I know how to cook. I cook for myself when I'm on the road. We'll make beef vegetable stew.”

Big Nipsey's grin nearly lit up the room. “Sounds good to me. The rest of us will set the table and separate the money into bags for the poor.”

“I think we'd better do some dusting, too.” Donald coughed and swatted at a cobweb. “This place isn't fit for a lady's company.”

And so it happened. Brett gathered the few vegetables and dried bits she found in their cupboards, and Charles brought water from a nearby stream. Donald and Orson dusted and swept and scrubbed the little cottage until it was as spotless as they could make it. Gary fed carrots to Cornelius, who was tethered in a little shed behind the cottage. Bobby set the table with mismatched clay crockery. The other two men dropped coins into a pile of small burlap bags, along with a larger one intended for the church.

They all sat down to a hearty feast, with ale from the cupboard and brown bread from Charles' bags. Brett turned out to be a delightful companion. She told jokes that were as ribald as any of theirs, laughed heartily at their jokes and stories, and drank as much ale as they did without becoming the slightest bit sleepy.

After they cleaned up from dinner, Charles played songs for them on his lute. He was really only so-so on the instrument, but he had a fine, clear voice, and was a nimble dancer. Brett belted with her deep croak and danced like her wooden shoes were made of feathers.

Almost every man took his turn dancing with her. Gary leaped and wriggled like a small red fish caught in a net. Nipsey easily lifted her into the air and swung her around. Bobby was the best dancer among them, moving with grace and energy. Orson stiffly twirled her until she complained she was dizzy. Charles showed them the latest steps from Yorkalia.

Only Richard refused to join the festivities. He sang along in his light tenor and occasionally added witty remarks, but he neither danced, nor joked with the others. He mostly stared into the crackling fireplace, his eyes soft and far-off.

After the last dance wound down, Richard finally stood and stretched his tanned limbs. “It's time we were getting off to bed, lads and lady. Mistress Brett, we'll make up our couch down here for you to sleep on tonight. Charles, you could share Gary's bed, since you're familiar with him.”

“If it's all the same, I'd rather sleep down here.” The minstrel shrugged. “I'm used to laying on the hard ground from my travels. I have blankets among my supplies. Besides, Brett may need some help guarding our treasure.”

“Suit yourself.” Richard ushered the others upstairs. “We'll see you in the morning.”

Brett laid an old plaid cloth on the couch as he came in with his blanket. “You don't need to stay down here,” she admonished him. “I can take care of myself.”

“I know that. I saw you earlier.” He spread a woven blanket on the floor, then huddled under another. “I wanted to talk to you. I don't really know any of those guys besides Gary very well.”

She sighed as she settled down on the couch. “I'm lucky they took me in. I did barge into their house. Jack always said I could drive a saint to distraction, talking all the time.”

“Jack?” Charles turned over in his blankets, just in time to catch the sorrow in her eyes. “Is he your husband, the one Malade turned into a statue?”

“Yes, he is. Or was.” Her orange-pink mouth drew into a thin line. “She only did it because he opened his big fat mouth. She wanted him for a gardener and handyman. He said 'nothin' doin'.' And that's when she cursed him. He's covered in stone, but he's still human, can think. He just can't move or speak.”

Charles gently set his slender hand on her shoulder, his boyish face heavy with concern. “I'm truly sorry. It must be horrible to lose someone you love like that.”

“Jack and I argue constantly. We drive each other crazy.” She picked at the raveling threads on the upholstery. “But he didn't deserve to be cursed. His children and this kingdom need him. They need us.” She turned on her shoulder. “How about you? You tear up the floor pretty well with that lute, and you were handy against Skutch earlier.”

“Let me tell you a secret,” he whispered as he leaned in closer. “I was terrified this afternoon. I've never fought anyone in my life, and all those men flying around...they scared me. I hate crowds. But even more than that, I hate fire. I was in a terrible fire at a traveling circus as a child, and I've never wanted to be in an audience again. The memories...no. I just can't.”

Slender fingers slid over his own. “I'm so sorry, Charles. You were very brave today. Especially if you don't like crowds.”

His hand went over hers. “I'm not brave, Brett. Not like you.”

“Oh, I'm not that brave. Just couldn't stand seeing you boys hurt, that's all.” She lay back on the couch. “Now, why don't you try to get some sleep? We have a long day tomorrow.”

He snuggled into his blankets. “What about you?”

“Oh, don't worry about me.” She was already yawning. “I'll sleep...when I'm tired...night, Charles...”

He pulled the wool over her shoulders where it had slipped from her grasp. His new friend looked so much younger when she slept. Almost like...like a princess. He hoped Jack thought so, too. “Night, Brett.” It took longer for him to nod off, thanks to all the snoring men in the house and the creaky sounds of the woods, but sleep did finally claim him.

Fairy Tale Blank, Part 4

After a hearty breakfast of porridge and dried fruit, they split into two groups. Richard gave the others the bag to bring to the church, while the rest of them would deliver the remaining bags in town and try to find out more information on the whereabouts of the royal family and the Wizard Rayburn. Brett, of course, wished to go into town right away. Charles refused to leave her, and Gary wouldn't leave him.

They set off on two different paths, theirs heading down a sun-dappled lane. “Well,” Charles admitted, “at least the woods aren't so spooky in the daytime.” He leaned over to sniff a stand of pale gold wildflowers. “It's kind of pretty here.” Cornelius tried eating a bush as he pulled the wagon with the bags of gold.

Brett shuddered. “I don't like the vibrations I'm getting. I can read the trees...and they're feeling something dark. Not here, specifically, but there's dark magic in these woods that doesn't normally exist.”

“Mistress Brett,” Richard began, “this might be a good time to explain your powers. What you did yesterday with the trees...that's sorceress magic.”

“That's because I am a sorceress. I can control trees and other plants, and I know what's going on from feeling the vibrations of the earth and nature herself.” The other three men just stared at her. “What? That's what I do. It's gotten me out of more than a few tight spots, let me tell you that!”

Charles raised his eyebrows. “I think you're a very sick lady. Maybe we ought to take you to an apothecary when we get into town.”

“And maybe we ought to take you to a rug maker.” She swiped at his head. “Your wig is crooked.”

Gary laughed. “Good one, Mistress Brett!”

“You're both cute,” he grumbled as he fixed his toupee. “I can tell when I'm not loved, right Cornelius?” The horse responded with a slightly amused whinny.

Richard rolled his eyes. “That's enough, or I'm going to toss all of you out of the cart right now. Maybe we ought to stop and eat the bread and fruit we brought for a snack. That might help our nerves.”

“Yeah, fruit. Something sweet.” Gary's eyes weren't on the road, or their meal. A youthful figure in a knitted red cape with a ruffled hood stood in a meadow of wildflowers, gathering a bouquet of blossoms in her soft little hands.

“Here!” Gary leaped out as she struggled with a stubborn flower that wouldn't break. “Let me help you.”

“Oh, thank you!” She possessed a sweet voice that perfectly matched her delicate looks. “That's the prettiest flower in the whole meadow, and I wanted it for my Granny Mary.”

Gary had a goofy grin on his face as he handed her the blossom. “You're going to visit your granny? Aw, that's so nice of you.”

“Uh huh. She's not feeling well.” The girl hefted a wicker basket with a blue checked cloth hanging out. “I'm bringing her bread and cheese and fruit and cakes from my mama. They always make me feel better when I'm sick.” She pulled down her red hood, revealing an adorable young woman with golden hair and a playful smile. “I'm Sarah, but everyone calls me Little Red Sarah Hood, because this cape is my favorite thing and I almost never take it off.”

“You like red, too? I love my red cape!” Gary's goofy grin was nearly ear to ear now as he bowed before her. “Once Lord Gary of the 4077th Apothecary Brigade in the Korean lands, now simply Gary Scarlet.” He gently kissed her hand. “But you can call me yours.”

Brett rolled her eyes as Sarah giggled, but Charles smiled and Richard chuckled. “Aren't they cute?” Charles whispered to him. “I know Gary's fond of ladies, but I've never seen him quite so smitten before.”

“A lad after my own heart,” added Richard with a smirk. “The girl doesn't seem to be the brightest lamp in the manor, but she's certainly a looker, and very kind-hearted besides.”

Sarah was continuing as she and Gary came over with her bouquet. “I met the nicest wolf while I was on my way here, and he suggested stopping to pick flowers for my granny. He kept sniffing around my basket, and I even spared him a cake. I know we're not supposed to feed animals sweets, but I figured one wouldn't hurt him...”

“Wait,” Brett started as she joined them. ”Did you say a talking wolf?”

The girl nodded. “Yes. He was awfully jumpy, too. Every noise scared him! I told him about my granny, and he told me I should stop to pick flowers to cheer her up. I didn't know wolves were such darling creatures. I heard they were mean and kept to themselves.”

“Lass,” Richard explained with a frown, “most of them aren't mean, but they usually keep to themselves at this time of year, when there's plenty of game. And they certainly don't talk.”

The sorceress looked equally concerned as she added “Not unless they're under an enchantment or are one of Malade's creatures.”

Gary's fingers tightened around Sarah's. “Do you think the wolf wanted to hurt her?”

“There's no way of knowing for sure,” Charles told them as he fed Cornelius wildflowers. “If that wolf is smart, it's returned to its own pack by now.”

“I don't think she should be alone,” Gary insisted as his arm slowly snaked around Sarah's shoulders. “Could we give her a ride to her granny's?”

Sarah shook her head. “Oh, you don't need to do that! It's not far.”

“Maybe we'd better. If the wolf is still out there, you may need help.” Brett spread out Charles' blanket. “But first, let's eat.”

After a hearty lunch of bread and fruit, the group was on their way. Gary and Sarah chattered in the back the entire time. The lad managed to convince his crush that he and Richard were woodsmen, Brett was his aunt, and Charles was a minstrel they were driving into town. She told them about her crusty old Granny Mary and her mother and their little home just outside of the forest, and how she made extra money by bringing food to the elderly and sick.

Granny's cottage was just a few miles from town, not far from the church. “I don't like this.” Brett climbed out first. “The door is wide open.”

“After last night, I don't think we should take chances. Not every intruder is a lady.” Richard pulled out his bow and arrow, while Gary removed his knife. “Sarah, you go upstairs and see if your Granny is all right. Gary and Charles, you search the first floor. Brett and I will make sure there's no one outside.”

Sarah immediately darted into the house and up the stairs. “At least it's a nice place,” Charles admitted as he checked a wide-open pantry stocked with many jars and bottles of gleaming jellied fruits and pickled vegetables. Several bags of dried meat lay on the ground, obviously torn by a pair of teeth. “Except for right here. Maybe we can help Sarah sweep up this. Granny must have gotten really hungry to use her teeth to open these bags!”

Gary's eyes kept darting towards the stairs. “What if there's a thief – one who isn't one of Richard's men – or a troll up there?”

“Then we would have heard it by now.” He patted the young man's shoulder reassuringly. “Don't worry, Gary. I'm sure she'll be all right. If something happens, we'll hear about it.”

No sooner had the words escaped Charles' lips than a scream echoed down the perfectly polished staircase. “I think we just heard it!” Gary yelped. He nearly knocked over a table in his haste to rescue his lady fair, Charles hard on his heels.

They squeezed themselves in the door of the only bedroom at the same time, just as a brown wolf wearing a ruffled cap and nightshirt leaped at Sarah. “You leave her alone!” Gary shouted as he grabbed its tail. “She's not your lunch! Don't you dare try to eat her up!”

“Owww!” The little wolf let out a pained howl. “I don't want to eat her. Too many calories, and that would be cannibalism! Besides, I'd never fit all of her in my stomach. I just want what's in her basket! I'm hungry! I haven't eaten anything but berries and roots in days!”

“Oooh!” Sarah squeaked as she hit him over the head with her basket. “You Big Bad Wolf! What did you do with my granny?”

“I don't know!” Tears flowed from the wolf's round blue eyes. “I came in, and some old lady jumped up and ran out of the house. I thought I'd dress up and see if I could distract you and steal the basket. I didn't mean to scare you! I'm not big, I'm not bad, and I'm not really a wolf. I think you're a cute kid, but my stomach's growling, and I don't know how to catch lunch!” The poor canine covered his face with his paws and bawled like a pup.

“Awww!” Sarah rubbed the balding spot between the wolf's ears “There, there. I'm sure it'll be all right.”

“No, it won't,” the wolf sobbed. “I'll never be me again! I'm stuck this way!”

Charles pulled some dried beef out of his pocket. “Here. You can have the last of this. Good thing I brought it along for a snack.”

He slurped it up with his rough pink tongue. “Thanks. I needed that. You're a prince of a guy.”

“No prince. Just a minstrel who likes to be prepared.” Charles cut him off before he could ramble on. “I'm Charles of Yorkalia. These are Gary Scarlet and Little Sarah Riding Hood.”

The wolf eyed Sarah, then snorted. “Funny name. My name is Pr...Pri...Wil...Bill,” he finally coughed, “you can call me Bill. That's my name.”

Richard and Brett squeezed into the room next, followed by a skinny older woman in a flowered cap and nightgown and a cloud of curly dark hair carrying a rifle. “Are all of you all right?” he asked. “We heard Sarah scream half-way across the glen.”

The older woman aimed her gun at the wolf's muzzle. “Sarah, get away from him! That's the rascal who tried to snitch the dried quail from my pantry. You're not going to eat me or my food, you furry thief!”

Bill let out a frightened howl and dove under the bed. “Mistress, I'm sorry, but I was hungry! I couldn't help myself!”

“Wait a minute.” Brett shoved the gun down, then peered under the bed. “You're not really a wolf, are you? Your light isn't canine. It's human.”

“No, I'm not.” A rough black nose surrounded by bristly whiskers poked out. “Do you promise not to let her shoot me? I didn't hurt anybody! Honest!”

“All right.” Granny Mary finally set the rifle by her side. “But don't try anything like that again, or you will be getting buckshot in your back end!”

Sarah poked her head next to his. “Why did you want me to pick wildflowers?”

“You said your granny was sick.” The black nose sniffled at her cheek. “I thought it would be nice for her...and it gave me a head start, so I could see what she had to eat.”

“Stop that!” The girl pulled away, giggling. “You're tickling me!”

Granny coughed so hard, she nearly doubled over. “Look, Sarah's here 'cause I have a cold and haven't been up to cooking. I don't have much to offer you folks to thank you for helping us out.”

Brett rubbed the wolf's muzzle. “How about we take him off your hands?”

“Maybe we can help him.” Charles used the last of his dried meat to coax the wolf out from beneath the bed and get him out of Granny's clothes. “Someone in town might know where he came from and what happened to him.”

“I know that part.” Bill whimpered as Brett rubbed his belly. “Yeah, just...a little to the right, ma'am...oh yeah. Yeah, I know where I'm from. I just need to find the person who can change me back.”

Gary eyed Sarah as he helped her out from under the bed. “Richard...can I stay here?” he queried hopefully. “Someone needs to get Sarah home. Not every wolf is going to be as friendly as Bill!”

“I wouldn't mind.” Her pale cheeks turned a soft shade of blushing pink. “I don't want to wander off the path again!”

Richard just sighed. “All right, lad. I know the look on your face. I've had it on mine more than once, when I favored a lass. Just go straight home after you help her.”

“I will!” Gary chirped, but he was really looking into Sarah's eyes...and she wasn't averting hers.

They were off on the road again shortly afterwards, this time with Bill riding in the back. Charles settled down next to him. “So, what did happen to you? Brett says you're not a wolf.”

“I can't really say. I mean, I'm not allowed to say,” he rambled. “That is, she won't let me say. I'm not supposed to say. I need to find someone who can change me back, but I've been so hungry, I haven't been able to focus on finding them. Wish I'd thought of eating something when I was at the castle. Do you think they'd feed a wolf in town? I don't want anyone else to try taking pot shots at me. I almost got buckshot in my buns! I wouldn't have been able to sit down for a month!”

The wolf continued nervously rambling all the way into town. Charles dozed off half-way through his chatter, which obscured Brett and Richard's softer voices. They sat together in the front, driving Cornelius, and as his heavy eyelids drooped, Charles vaguely wondered what they were talking about.

Fairy Tale Blank, Part 5

When he opened them again, Richard pulled in next to a group of small wagons on a green pasture. “Last stop, folks! All out for the village of Holly Woods, with exchanges at Columbia Eye, Peacock, Sesame Neighborhood, and Alphabetia Kingdom!”

He easily lifted Brett out of the carriage. “Thanks.” She dusted off her own brown cloak. “Need some help with those bags?”

“I'll be all right.” A thick black cloak with a wide hood covered the handsome bandit's features. It must have been beastly hot in this warm fall weather, Charles thought. “The two of you can go make inquiries in town while delivering the bags to the houses on the left. I'll do the ones on the right, and we'll meet my men in the tavern.”

“What about me?” Bill whimpered as he jumped away from a soldier on a horse. “I keep getting trampled on.” He dashed behind Charles. “And that lady with the jar on her head almost stepped on my tail!”

Brett made a face. “Just stick with us and keep your mouth shut. There's other animals roaming the streets, and I doubt most of them talk.”

“You could be a little nicer to the poor guy, you know.” Charles patted the wolf's faded brown fur. “You're not perfect.”

“I've had a lousy time lately. At least the worst that happened to you was losing a job!”

“It's how I make money, remember?” He sighed, stopping in front of a shop with dried herbs in the windows. “Look, why don't we just go deliver these. Maybe someone around here can tell us about Malade and the missing King and Queen.”

It was a lot cleaner and more elegant than Charles would have figured from the outside. The pale blue tiled walls were printed with the occupations of the townspeople, flowers for florists or a wheel for millers or an ale mug for the tavern. On closer inspection, the tiles were slightly cracked and the clay jars on the old wooden shelves were chipped and worn. Only the bundles of dried verbena and rosemary hanging from the windows and ceiling beams were fresh and sweet-smelling.

“Hello?” Brett dinged a bell as Charles admired the tiles and Bill sniffed around a jar of blackberry cordial. “Anyone in there? We have a delivery to make!”

“Yes?” The older lady who came to the counter sported a clean, if faded, red dress over a white blouse. It brought a glow to her golden cheeks and honey-blonde hair. A small heart pendant sparkled on her breast. “May I help you?” Her round face lit up when she saw Brett. “Snowy! You're all right! I'm so glad. I heard what happened to Jack and the royal family. How did you escape?”

Brett grinned and leaned into the hug. “I'm fine, Arlene. It would take a lot more than my stepmother in a bad mood to bring me down!” Charles wiggled his fingers at them. “I owe this man, and several others, my life. Which reminds me.” She tugged one of the little burlap bags from a basket on her arm. “We're here to do a favor for one of those men.” As she put down the bag, her eyes gazed quickly around the room. On seeing only Charles browsing and Bill slurping cordial, she continued in a whisper. “We brought money from Robin Hood.”

“Ahh, our town hero.” Arlene's wide gleaming smile was quite knowing. “One of his men usually deliver money or food here. Most of the supplies go to my few remaining clients.” The charming smile turned bitter. “I had more work when I was the healer for the queen and king. The new queen claimed she had her own healers and that my work was too light-oriented and fired me.”

“Arlene, that's why we're here.” Brett darted behind the counter, her voice dropping to a whisper. “You were close to the court. You knew the king, queen, and the Wizard Gene. If anyone would have any idea of what happened to them, it would be you.”

The blonde drew in a breath before continuing softly. “Gene's in the woods, imprisoned in a tree. Some little friends of mine will tell you which one. Betty and her children are...under protection. I wish I could tell you where Allen is. I wish I could tell Betty where Allen is. She's heartsick without him.”

“I wish I could too, Arlene.” Brett tugged sadly at her scarf. “I know what it's like to have someone torn out from under you.”

Charles brought a red clay jar to the counter. “Miss, I'd like to buy this. I think the ointment will be useful for sore feet after a long performance.”

“Thank you, young man.” Arlene quickly took his coin before returning to Brett. “When you find Gene, ask him about the Legendary Princesses.” She looked directly at Brett when she mentioned them. Brett frowned deeply, but said nothing.

“The Legendary Princesses and their champions?” Charles raised an eyebrow. “Lot of myths coming true around here. Find the Princesses and the other halves of their souls who are their champions, and you'll have the strongest power in the kingdom.”

“Trouble is,” Brett grumbled, “I heard Malade captured two of them, two left the kingdom years ago, and no one has ever found the remaining two.”

Arlene smirked. “You should know...and Gene will. You know how he is with the ladies. Find him, and he'll be able to tell you more about them.” She sighed, looking up at a window. “Wish that new apprentice of mine wasn't busy with her stepmother. I'm not sure I want her coming through town this afternoon, with the guards here and all.”

“I think we'd best be going.” Brett made a face at Bill in the barrel. “Come on. We'll get you water at the tavern.”

The little wolf finally dragged his face out of the liquor and staggered into her leg. “Awww! But that was so good! It was...really...smooooooth!”

She gazed down in the barrel and made a face. “Damn it. He drank it all. I don't have any money on me!”

“I'll pay for it.” Charles pulled out a few more coins. “Hope you weren't planning on drinking anything at the tavern. That was the last of my cash.”

Arlene pocketed the money. “You won't find my contacts. They'll know Brett right away.” Clanking metal and yelling outside made her wince. “You'd better get out of here, before the guards come in and ask what you're doing.” Pushing one of the cracked tiles revealed a narrow opening behind the counter. “Take the back way. Don't let them see you with those bags. They've been coming to town every few days, rounding up more taxes and searching every nook and cranny for the queen.”

“Thanks, Arlene. You always were a lifesaver.” Brett snagged Bill by the scruff of his neck and shoved him out the door, with Charles quickly following.

Fairy Tale Blank, Part 6

 They managed to avoid the guards long enough to deliver the remaining bags of gold, sticking to back doors and side entrances from there on in. Everyone they talked to, from the butcher to the baker to the candlestick maker, spoke highly of Robin Hood and how the money he brought them was often just enough to buy their land or feed their families. No one else knew about the whereabouts of the royal family or the Wizard Gene, and indeed, barely spoke of them in hushed tones. Even the mention of the kindly rulers could bring Malade's guards crashing through their doors.

The tavern, as it turned out, crawled with guards in yellow and orange questioning patrons. “Oh great, “ Brett groaned. “There's no way our contacts or our, er, friends are going to come in here with these jerks breathing down their necks!”

Charles grinned and pulled out his lute. “Watch and learn.” He stepped on the creaky old stage and launched into the lively tune “Brotherhood of Man” for the crowd. The guards danced and bawled, grabbing pretty barmaids and swinging them around the tables. Bill howled along, and even Brett jumped next to him and sang. Three tiny lights in red, green, and blue bobbed around Charles, giving the dark room a soft glow.

“Good work,” she manged to interject between choruses. A familiar short figure in a black cloak had already made his way into the room, settling at a table in a dark back corner. “Hey Charlie,” she grinned as three more figures wound their way to the back table, “I think we're a hit. We ought to start an act.”

The moment the music stopped, the guards turned on them, their swords raised. “Minstrel, in the name of the law, you're going to have to come with us.” The taller guard pointed his sword right at Charles' gullet. “You are under arrest for playing music and inciting a riot.”

“Boy, oh boy. You guys need to get your gatherings straight.” She wriggled her hips in her idea of a dance move. “This is dancing. And this,” she grabbed a bottle off the bar, “is starting a riot.” The bottle went down over the guard's head, just as Bill dove under a table. Charles swung his lute at another guard, hitting him in the stomach.

“Fight! Fight!” Donald threw off his cape and jumped on the bar. “I declare this a food fight!” He threw a bowl of pretzels at the nearest guard, hitting him dead in the face. Bobby emerged from another booth, dumping his drink on a guard's head.

“Such an idea is a lot of fun.” Nipsey pushed off his cloak and grinned from behind the counter. “I say, ale for everyone!” He smacked an ax into the barrels of ale, letting it slam into guards on their way to grab Donald.

“Hey Boss!” Orson grinned as he emerged from under the stage, his bow and arrow at the ready. “When was the last time we had a good bar brawl?”

“You know, it's been so long, I can't remember.” Richard's arrows pinned the hoods of four guards at once to the wall. Another went through the hand of a guard reaching for Brett's chest. “There. That ought to teach them to attack a lady.”

Brett smirked. “Thanks, Dickie. And as much as I hate to waste good liquor,” she added as she brought another bottle down on a guard's head, “I think this can be put to better use.”

Those three little lights were flashing around, too. Wooden vines crept in and seized guards, yanking them down and throwing them over the bar. Stuffed deer heads on the wall stretched out to poke guards or catch on their armor. Flowers grew out of the tops of their heads; blue lights flowed around their weapons, turning them to flopping fish.

Bill emerged from his table after Orson crashed into it. “Uh, folks?” He poked his head outside, then pulled it back in and darted to Charles. “I think it's time we headed for the hills, or at least the woods. There's monsters outside. Big ones! Trolls! The Queen's trolls. I don't want to be a meal for a troll! For one thing, they smell awful! Like dirty socks left outside in manure on a hot day.”

Charles wrapped his hand around Bill's muzzle. “We get the point. Let's find the others and get out of here. I hate trolls!”

Just as he swung his lute on his back, the green light fluttered down next to his ear. “Follow us!” squeaked a delicate little voice. “We know a back way out.”

Richard shot two more guards in the hands as they tried to grab Bill, who darted behind him. “As much as I'm enjoying the exercise, I think we'd best leave, before we end up cooling our heels in the local jail.”

Orson shot off another arrow at the head of the guards. “I'll cover you!”

They sloshed through the inch of ale remaining on the floor after the three lights. “Let me do it!” The blue light outlined a door in a dark recess of the back wall. “Hey!” It rammed into the wall three times before it opened, revealing the alley behind the stores. “Ok, everyone, let's go!”

“We thank you for getting us out of that,” Richard began as the lights led them back to Cornelius and the cart, “but...may I ask who you are? Or, more to the point, what you are?”

The red light fluttered against Richard's ear and actually nuzzled it. “We'll tell you who we are later, Richard of the Hood, when we're in the woods.”

“Uh, folks?” Donald pointed at three towering, hairy creatures lumbering in their direction, each the approximate size of the five of them put together. Two dragged Orson off towards town. “I don't think those guys want to hand us good conduct medals!”

“I'll take care of them!” Blue light soared into the late afternoon twilight, circling the troll's heads. “Come and get me, you hairy jerks!”

Brett slapped a hearty oak with her own green magic. “Let me give you a hand there.”

A little black cloud formed around one troll's head, soaking his hair and shooting lightning at his tush. Oak leaves and acorns rained down on the remaining trolls. As they threw their arms over their heads to protect themselves, they slipped on the hard round nuts piled under their big feet. The blue light flew so quickly around their fingers, they got all tied up and collapsed in the pile of nuts. It joined the others before the trolls could right themselves.

Richard tried to lunge towards Orson as he was thrown into a barred carriage. “Don't bother with me, Boss!” The slender bandit yelled over his shoulder as he struggled in the trolls' hairy arms. “Get everyone out of here!” The carriage disappeared down a narrow path before they could go after it.

“Don't worry, Rich.” Bobby glared over his shoulder at the retreating vehicle. “We'll get him back.”

“You know who we are, don't you?” It was the green light that flitted around Brett's ear now. “And we know you, too! We know everything that goes on in these woods.” It floated over to Richard's ear, her giggles merry like silver bells. “And we know you too, Robin Hood. Or Sir Richard Dawson, if you prefer.”

The green light moved slower around Charles as he drove. Almost...reverent. “And you...it's you. I knew she'd find you. You're the one. The champion we've been looking for!”

“I'm...what? Me?” Charles shook the reigns harder. “Whatever you are, you have the wrong guy. You're mistaking me for someone else. I'm a minstrel and actor, not anyone's champion.”

“You have the pure heart of a warrior.” The green light twinkled around him before landing in the cart. “I forgot, you can't see me when I'm like that.” Sparkles flashed at Charles' side for a few minutes...and when they subsided, a pretty young woman with short golden hair and a dimpled smile knelt next to him. “Here I am!” Green leaves fluttered around her brief skirt and clingy top. “Fairies know when they've found the right people. Call it a talent we have.” Emerald-edged wings allowed her to slightly hover over the wooden slats.

“Joyce, are you sure he's the champion?” Blue sparkles revealed a younger woman with fluffy chestnut curls and an aqua dress that flowed around her voluptuous body like rainwater. “He looks more like a nerd to me!”

“I don't think that's a nice thing to say, Debralee.” Flashes of scarlet brought a smaller, more slender woman with reddish-brown waves wound with primroses and a red silk dress that appeared to be crafted from flower petals. Her gossamer wings had a reddish hue that brought out the rose in her soft lips and the twinkling brown eyes.

Debralee wrinkled her nose. “Jo Ann, I've seen champions. Don't they usually have a sword, or something?”

“Champions come in all shapes and sizes, fairy miss,” Nipsey pointed out. “You don't need to be a warrior to free a princess with a kiss!”

The youngest fairy crossed her arms. “Well, we're going to need someone who can handle weapons,” she grumped. “The woods from here on in are corrupted. We can't do much with black magic!”

“Don't worry, Mistress Debralee.” Richard gave her his most charming smile. “This is where we warriors take over.”

The forest bore out their warning. Trees in this part of the woods were leafless black hulks, bowed over with eerie glowing fungus. Thick bramble bushes caught on Cornelius and scraped the sides of the carriage, leaving long scars. Vines hanging from skeletal branches wound wound their arms and legs, trying to pull them out. Dead leaves crunched under Cornelius' hooves. No light filtered through the heavy growth; all was dark as night.

“I don't like this,” Joyce whispered as she turned even paler than usual. “Malade's been here.”

Suddenly, Brett doubled over, gasping. “I can't...the trees...the woods...someone twisted them...the energy they give off...tainted...they're sick...”

Bill whimpered as a howl was heard in the distance. “I swear, that wasn't me! This place is giving me the willies!”

“I think we'd better shrink again,” Jo Ann added with a shiver, “before we can't use our magic at all.”

“Besides,” Joyce added as she waved her wand and turned a tree limb green and fresh, “we're here.”

Fairy Tale Blank, Part 7

Charles couldn't blame Cornelius for rearing up and trying to turn around. The tree in the center of the clearing was twisted and gnarled, its bent limbs resembling a man's arms as he tried to cover himself. Iron chains hung down from the limbs, reminding Charles entirely too much of the ones that bound Brett's wrists the day before. If he squinted, he could see the outlines in the bark of a face, one with high cheekbones and wide eyes, a face that was twisted in pain and betrayal. Scraps of blue and orange fabric that closely resembled the cloaks worn by the wizards of the Nerdocrumbesia court dripped down the limbs like tattered moss.

“My god.” Richard's eyes were wide as the group climbed out. “It's like something out of a nightmare.”

Donald made a face. “I haven't had a dream this bad since the time I ate that week-old pastrami sandwich that was sitting in the root cellar.”

“He's...he's trapped...” Brett stammered as she stumbled out, following by the trio of lights. “His magic...we have to release it...get the...the chains...”

Charles gently placed a hand on her shoulder. “Are you all right?”

“I'll be...all right...” she puffed “...once we've freed Gene...”

Nipsey reached for the trees first. “I'll get them! How hard could it be...hey!” The heavy old oak threw him into its roots, which wound around him until he nearly vanished.

“The trees are alive!” Bobby stabbed one in the trunk and reeled back when it emitted a horrible screeching sound. “Yeooowww! They're not singers, I can tell you that!”

Joyce darted over Cornelius, sending a soothing green light over him as Charles played a little bit of “It Only Takes a Moment” to calm the horse. “I'll stay with him,” the little fairy squeaked. “You help the others.” Her light flashed as a root whomped down in front of them, almost crushing her. “Nasty old tree!” Lights danced around a little wooden stick in her tiny fingers. “What did we ever do to you, you beast of an oak?”

“Beast? Soothing?” Charles strummed a high note on his lute. “Wait a minute. Music...”

Richard shot an arrow into an oak. “Charles, what are you doing?” His next arrow landed in one of the lower branches. The oak flailed, snatching the archer and wrapping its branches around his chest. “Bloody...bastard!” He puffed, struggling wildly. “Let...me...go! What...do I...look...like...a squirrel?”

“No...almost got them...” Brett tried to climb the tree and reach for the chains, but her movements were as sluggish as a snail's. “Sorry Gene...I couldn't think of another way...to break them...” Gene held his branch closer, but another tree swatted at her, trying to knock her off.

“Brett!” Charles darted into the clearing, hitting limbs reaching for him with his lute. “Hold on! I just need to calm them!”

“Well...do it...fast!” Her fingers stretched as far as they could go. “Can't reach...”

“I can help, Charlie. I'm a good singer.” Bill howled next to him. “Well, normally. We can do a duet.”

Charles nodded. “Follow along.” He took a deep breath and strummed the first notes of “It Only Takes a Moment.” At first, it seemed to have no effect. The trees continued to wrap their branches around Richard and the men and fling acorns at the fairies.

After a few minutes, a few trees began to sway along with the song. They dropped Richard and Bobby onto the leaves and unwrapped Nipsey. As soon as he could move, Richard yanked at the bottom of the branch to steady it. Donald shimmied up the branch and held Brett. Bobby crawled to the chains on the other side as three lights froze the branch while it danced.

“I've...got it!” The moment Brett placed her hand on the chains, her green light surrounded them, and they crumbled to ashes.

“I don't have magic...but maybe...” Lithe Bobby pulled a knife out of his pocket and worked them into the manacles. “Sorry if I splinter you a little bit here, sir, but it won't be for long.”

The second the chains fell away, the tree shrank and buckled. Everyone but the fairies were thrown against the carriage. Cornelius whinnied wildly and Bill let out a terrified howl as black mists blasted from every fold and bump in the bark. Twigs formed themselves into fingers; roots attached themselves to the trunk as toes.

When the mists faded, they left a gap of sunlight in the blackened forest that shined over a lanky figure barely covered by the shredded remains of an orange and blue star cape. The fairies brought a long stick of smooth silver-painted wood with a small sphere on the end to his hand and slid it into his tight grasp. An orange light glowed on its tip, surrounding the man. When the light subsided...he still wore a battered orange and blue cape and appeared half-naked, but at least now, he was awake.

“What in the hell happened?” Gene groaned on the ground. Nipsey and Richard rushed over and helped him to his feet. “Where is she?”

“She, sir?” Richard raised an eyebrow. “There's no one here but us and the fairies.”

“My beautiful Nimue. The woman who lead me out here. Told me she had something she wanted to show me.” He rubbed his left wrist, which had a shallow cut that dripped blood. “Then she clamped those cuffs on my wrists, threw my wand into a hole, and cursed me into that tree you saw.”

“Damn it to hell! My stepmother. Figures she'd do this.” She gave Charles a hand, tugging him onto his heels. “You know her better as Queen Malade of the Shadow Kingdom.”

“That's not possible.” Charles frowned as he dusted off his lute and checked it for cracks. “I heard Malade is young and beautiful. How can she be your mother?”

“She's thousands of years old,” Brett growled. “A shape-shifting demon and fire sorceress. She marries wealthy and titled men, then poisons their minds and bodies until there's nothing left but a shell...and then, she can move in and take over their lands and the magical energy within. She thrives on energy from negative emotions.”

“This is entirely too true,” Richard snarled angrily. “She tried to seduce my father, but he refused her advances. It did him no good. She had him killed and his lands taken by force.”

“She's the one who made me this way!” Bill whined from under the carriage. “Sure, she was cute, but I wasn't gonna marry her! She wasn't that cute! I already had someone I wanted to marry!”

“You...” Gene stumbled over to Bill, squinting at him like he was a rare flower specimen. “You're not a wolf. Your light...”

“We know,” Brett snorted. “He's a human soul in a wolf's body. I figured that out earlier.” She sighed and turned to the fairies. “Do you know a place we can stay for the night? It's too late to return to Holly Woods, and the town is probably crawling with trolls and soldiers by now anyway.”

Joyce bobbed over Cornelius' head. “Follow us. You can stay in the fairy realm. We already have a few human visitors. A couple more won't hurt.”

Gene let Jo Ann and Debralee help him into the carriage. “I owe all of you more than I could ever repay. I thought I was stuck like that until someone chopped me down or I rotted away. Helen...” He shook his head sadly. “I don't know what I'm going to tell my wife. She knows I have a bit of a roving eye, but I guess I lost my head.”

“It's not just you. Malade's done it to a lot of people.” Brett put an arm around him. “I saw Helen before I left the castle. She misses you, Gene. She and Lynne miss you a lot.”

Charles took his other side. “We'll get you back to her, Gene. I promise.”

“Don't I know you?” The older man pulled out a pair of half-moon spectacles and squinted. “Charles of Yorkalia?” He grinned and tucked the glasses in a pocket of his robe before giving him a hug. “You're back! I've missed your music and your company, old friend.”

“At least you have. I was thrown out of Password Palace before I could get in the door.” His fingers absently strummed across his lute strings. “I hope Sir Gautier and Sir Walden are all right. They sent me to Richard and his friends and released Brett. The queen can't be happy with them right now.”

Richard tugged at the reins as they trotted past trees that were greener and less twisted than the ones that attacked them. “Ladies, all I see are trees. Where is this fairy realm of yours?”

“Oh, I forgot!” Joyce buzzed over his head. “You're mortal. You can't see it.”

As she flew into the foliage, the trees unwound and separated. Curtains of earthy green hanging moss were pulled aside to reveal a path lined with trees of gold and pale greens. Flowers in every jewel shade of the rainbow lined the dusty yellow path as silky golden sunlight filtered through the trees. Red and yellow-spotted mushrooms sprouted in the spongy moss. Everything around them sparkled with the light of the late afternoon, from the stream that gurgled alongside the path to the glistening plums and pears nestles in the pink flowered branches.

“This is amazing!” Brett climbed out first after the carriage stopped in a sun-dappled clearing. Tiny lights flew all around her, kissing her hand and her hair. “I'd heard about the Fairy Realm, but I'd never actually been there.”

“Few humans have.” Debralee landed on a water lily that opened to admit her. “Except for the royal family. Jo Ann, do you know if she's still here?”

Jo Ann fluffed her chestnut locks while looking into a glistening water drop on a rose petal. “Huh? Oh. Well, she should be. Betty doesn't really have many other places to go right now.”

“Betty?” Charles gasped as he almost literally leaped out of the carriage. “The queen's here?”

Gene climbed out less easily, tripping over the sides. “I wondered what happened to her. She wasn't at the castle. Dick and Robert and I couldn't find hide nor hair of the royal family.”

“I'll take you to her!” Joyce waved her green-bark wand. “She's been here for weeks. We took her in. Fairies have no love for Malade and her forces.” The fairy's hydrangea-blue eyes turned unusually fierce. “There used to be more of us. Malade captures fairies, strips them of their magic, and turns them into mindless imps that do all her dirty work, just like she does to everything else.”

“Tell me about it, Mistress Joyce...whoa!” Bill's paw slipped on a slimy stone and nearly went in the stream. “I'm not normally like this, either. Did you see that?” He howled again, sending the lights around him scattering. “Oh, I'm stuck like this forever!”

Joyce's green light bobbed soothingly over Bill's head. “You'll be all right. You haven't quite gotten your footing yet.” She fluttered to Charles. “Your horse should be fine here. He can have a nice grass lunch, and we'll take good care of him.”

They followed her past a gurgling waterfall that flowed gently into the stream and fields filled with flowers, each the home to a fairy. As they got further in, the trees themselves now held tiny homes, with walls made from twigs and leafy roofs. The longer they walked, the larger the tree houses became, until they arrived at a clearing with several small huts.

“Your Majesty!” Joyce waved a wand and turned herself human-sized, then hurried into the largest hut. “Betty? There's people here to see you! I brought friends from the court!”

“You what?” Queen Betty of Nerdocrumbesia was a small woman with yellowing hair, a lively heart-shaped face, and snappy blue eyes. Her dress might have been fine blue silk and lace at one point, but it was torn in several places, and the lace hem was tattered. “Brett! How did you find us out here?”

Brett went right into her arms. “It's a long story. I had a little help from these gentlemen.”

Charles, Richard, and his men dropped to their knees the second the queen emerged. Bill tried to, but really appeared to be stretching his furry limbs. “Your Majesty.” Richard kissed her hand. “Our only concern is for your safety and that of King Allen.”

Gene bowed, but his dark eyes twinkled. “Hello, Betty. I'm glad you found that sanctuary we'd discussed.”

“I knew all along there was only one place the children and animals and I could go.” The corners of Betty's mouth dropped at the mention of her missing husband. “Allen. Have you found him?” She raised an eyebrow. “And what are you doing out here, Gene? I thought you were staying at the castle to keep an eye on Malade and do research on the Legendary Princesses and their champions.” As she spoke, she tossed a golden ball from hand to hand, sometimes twirling it around. The light glinted off the ball, giving it an odd, dim glow.

Gene turned as red as the little lights around him. “Malade, er, caught on. I might have said one or two things to her that were, um, slightly suggestive...”

“You hit on her.” Betty rolled her eyes as she caught the ball. “Are you crazy? With Helen there? Besides, you know darn well what she's like!”

The older wizard's dark eyes blazed. “She forced my wife and daughter to work in the kitchen, like common slaves! I figured the only way to keep us alive was to stay on her good side. I did the research when I thought she wasn't looking.”

“Research.” Charles looked up from the rather uncomfortable rock his knee ended up on. “You're not the only one interested in legends. A lady named Arlene talked about the Legendary Princesses in Holly Woods. I thought they were myths.”

“Myths? Of course not, Charles.” Betty took his hand and pulled him to his feet. “And you're going to hurt your knees if you stay down for much longer. I'm just plain Betty here.”

“You do remember me!” He strummed a short, happy tune on his lute. “Cornelius and I went to the castle yesterday. They told us singers and performers were no longer wanted in Nerdocrumbesia.”

Betty nodded. “That's why I want to find the other Legendary Princesses. We'll need all the magic we can get rid of that damn Malade.”

“How do you know Brett?” Bobby nimbly hopped to his feet. “We thought she was a lady of the court.”

An eyebrow on the Queen's expressive face almost went into her fluffy gold-brown hairline. “Snowy, you didn't tell them?”

“Snowy?” Charles looked over his shoulder at Brett. “Arlene called you that, too.”

She scrunched up her face in annoyance, then dropped into a curtsy. “Princess Brett of the Maine Woodlands, but most people call me Snow White.”

“You're one of them!” Donald scrambled to his heels. “You're one of the Legendary Princesses! Snow White is supposed to be the Princess of the Earth.”

“You're Snow White?” Charles snickered with a smirk. “You look younger in the pictures of you I've seen in books.”

“Oh, that was years ago.” She quickly continued before he could make jokes about her age. “But that's part of the reason I had to find Gene and the other women. Jack and I tried to fight her alone, but Malade turned him to stone and slapped the cuffs on me before I could touch a piece of wood. If we could find everyone, we'll have more of a chance to end her reign.”

Richard settled on a mossy log near the hut. “Tell us more about these Princesses. Who are they? Where are they now?”

“I know where one is.” Brett wrinkled her nose. “Malade kidnapped Princess Elaine from Tropicana Palace in Vegasia months ago. She's in some tower on the edge of Sherwood Forest, near Andersen Bay.”

Gene crossed his arms, his mouth turning up in a smug smile. “I know where the Princess of Water lives. Found a couple of books on mermaids at the palace library. She's in the Bay, in the Kingdom of the Merfolk.” He tapped his head. “It's all up here. We can take a boat to look for the kingdom after we rescue poor Elaine.”

“Sounds like fun to me.” Bobby grinned. “We've rescued treasure before, but never royalty.”

“We could be like knights!” Donald waved a long branch around. “Hiyo Silver, and all that stuff.”

“Some of you are already knights.” Betty turned to Richard on the rock. “I knew your father well, Sir Dawson. I'm sincerely sorry about what happened to him.”

“So am I.” The nobleman admitted with a hint of sadness in his voice. “I've devoted myself to stopping Malade's forces and aiding the poor in his honor. Finding those princesses could do more for the people than all the money in the world. If nothing else, it would be good for their morale.”

The queen petted Bill's furry head. “And what about you? There's something...familiar...about you.”

“Oooh...” Bill leaned into her hand as she scratched his ears. “Oh yeah...right there...that feels good...” He gave a little howl. “That's because I'm not a wolf...not really...” His wet nose nudged her hand. “A little lower...yeah, that's right...”

She got on her knees next to him. “You're human, aren't you?”

Big blue eyes gazed up at her in despair. “Yeah. I...I have to find my...my true love. Someone who knows me for who I am.”

“I'm sure you'll find her.” Betty gave him a hug, then looked up at the others. “What about the rest of you? Are you willing to help your queen and your kingdom?”

Nipsey bowed low. “Where our leader goes, I go, too. I'd move the world for him and you!”

“Count me in.” Brett raised her hand. “I have my magic, as long as I stay away from iron. It's the only way I'll get my children back and free Jack.”

Charles shrugged. “There's no job waiting for me at the moment. Besides, the fairies said something about me being a champion, or a knight, or something. I want to learn more about that.”

“It's settled.” Gene dusted off his tattered robes. “We'll start out tomorrow morning.”