Brenda was determined to keep her eyes closed and pretend to still be in a faint for as long as she possibly could. There was no way she could face the prince now after what she had done. That kiss. She felt the goosebumps climbing along her flesh just at the memory of it. It was as if it were still happening. She could feel everything... everything. And then for her to have passed out from their passion on top of everything else -- it made her never want to open her eyes again. But of course she would. She was not the kind of girl to crawl under rocks, but rather to oftentimes recklessly approach things head on. She just didn’t think she was ready to deal with what had occurred between them just yet.

     She dared to open one eye ever so slightly and shut it quickly as she saw Jax gazing down at her bewildered and bemused that she was still passed out after all this time.

     Finally, he decided to get her back to the palace.

     She felt him kneel over her, his shadow momentarily blocking out the sun that was shining down on her. His hand brushed against her face and she had to hold her breath to still the natural reaction to purr like a happy kitten at his touch.

     "Passing out from the first kiss? Normally that doesn’t happen until . . .well . . .one would think you had never been kissed before," she heard him say and through the thick fringes of the dark lashes of her almost fully-closed eyes she saw this very sexy and satisfied smile float across those lips she had spent so many unforgettable minutes tasting earlier. Never been kissed before?! She wanted to raise her knee and connect it with his stomach. Of all the arrogant ... did he really think he was the first man to ever kiss her? Well ... he certainly was the first who'd ever kissed her like *that,* she had to confess. And he was definitely the first and only man *she* had ever kissed in such a way. Even now she could feel that glorious sensation of her tongue doing a sensual dance with his. Who would have ever imagined such a thing could feel so heavenly?

     She remained as still as possible as she felt him lift her into his arms. He walked her out of the Secret Garden and back to the bench where the horses were tethered.

     "Home, Sheba," she heard him say, and through her slightly opened eyes she watched in amazement as Sheba began to trot back in the direction of the palace stables all by herself, just on Jax's soft-spoken command

     She heard him issue another command now, to the remaining horse. "Down Excalibur," he said. And the horse gracefully dropped on it's two front knees making it easier for Jax to climb up on the mighty steed while still holding Brenda.

     Brenda felt her body humming, so alive with feelings being in such close proximity to him. He was holding her so gently, it made her want to smile, but she kept her face serene and expressionless, her eyes closed as she sensed he was gazing down at her. That was confirmed a few moments later when she felt his lips touch the tip of her nose.

     "One day," she heard him say, "you will know what I already know about us."

     What on earth was he talking about? she wondered. She never understood him. He was impossible to comprehend! Her thoughts drifted back to the kiss and all of the things she had felt and done. She was stunned to realize that it was she who had initiated that kiss between them. It was she who had refused to let him go, who had pressed her mouth and body passionately against his. Yes, it was she who had made it all come about. But, she quickly reminded herself, it was *he* who had taken it from there! Taking her offered lips and turning her curious kiss into the wild and passionate thing it had evolved into -- the thing so overwhelmingly delicious it had made her pass out. How incredible that those scandalous rumors in the gossip papers about the prince’s passionately volatile kisses were actually true.

     Suddenly a tremendous wave of guilt hit her as she thought of Michael who had been so wary and angry about her coming to the palace in the first place. He didn’t trust the Prince, and yet Brenda realized *she* was the one who’s trust Michael should be questioning. She had only been here two days and already she had let him down by sharing a highly intimate kiss with another man. A man he hated, no less. A man who made her blood sizzle and her heart race in ways Michael never had, she realized. The guilt increased. Why had she never felt the irresistible urge to passionately kiss Michael the way she had kissed the Prince? Oh, this guilt was going to depress her to no end, she thought gloomily. And then all at once those emotions were shoved into oblivion as the feeling of being held in Jax’s arms, her body touching his, her undeniable attraction to him, combined with the relaxing movements of the horse and Jax idly toying with the tall dark curls of her hair, all conspired to fill her senses completely, leaving no room for anything else. Certainly not remorse . . .

     Jax had decided he would stop by the Enchanted Forest to tell Simon about the blue ladybugs he’d left crawling about. Since Brenda was seemingly still in the grip of her passion-induced faint, Jax didn’t think she would awaken while he was there, so he could bring her with him and not worry about her waking up and having a wild reaction to all that the Enchanted Forest held. He would take her there later in the week when he’d prepared her a bit for what she would discover in the magical place.

     The Prince dismounted from Excalibur carefully, making sure not to disturb her in any way as he slid to the ground holding her carefully.

     The guard at the gate greeted him. “Good afternoon, Your Highness,” he said. Then he gazed at the gorgeous creature in the prince’s arms and could not suppress a little grin. “A *very* good afternoon, I see.”

     “Yes it is Connor,” Jax agreed, giving him back a similar grin. Witnessing this very male interaction behind her slightly opened lids, Brenda wanted to hit them both. Oh, men! “As you can see I’ve got my hands full at the moment,” Jax continued, “would you grab my key and open the gates for me?”

     The still-grinning Knight of the Realm said, “Of course, Your Highness. I would not want you to drop so beautiful a bundle.”

     “Nothing would ever make me drop this particular bundle,” he assured the knight. “And I can assure you that if I did, she would try to pummel me into the ground for such clumsiness.”

     Brenda struggled not to laugh and give herself away.

     “Pummel, Your Highness? I can not envision such a sweet, young vision of ravishing beauty as this doing any such thing,” Connor insisted, with another grin as he removed the gold key from the chain around Jax’s neck and slid it into the keyhole, opening the gate. He replaced the key around the Prince’s neck and held the gate open as Jax went through, carrying Brenda.

     “Looks can be very deceiving, ” Jax told him. “No one knows that better than I do. Anyway, I said she would *try* to pummel me into the ground for dropping her, I never said he would actually be successful.”

     Connor laughed, as did Jax, and then Connor shut the gate.

     Brenda noticed Jax gazing at her curiously and shut her eyes fully closed again, therefore she did not witness the mind-boggling phenomenon of the trees speaking to the Prince, bidding him hello and then parting to expose the gold-brick path that led to the magnificent treasures that were held within Malvodio’s Enchanted Forest. Brenda assumed the voices she heard addressing Jax were either Knights or attendants greeting their passing royalty.

     Jax lay Brenda down on the grass in the shade of a flowering ruby tree. She was astonished by how soft this grass was beneath her. It felt like lying on a mattress of soft, quilted down. She felt the Prince’s fingertips glide across her cheek. He liked doing that, she noticed. Then he got up and she heard him walking away from her, heading in an eastward direction. Brenda kept her eyes closed for a few more moments giving him time to truly be gone. Then she slowly opened her eyes and her mouth fell open in awe at her surroundings. She was lying in the shade of a *huge* tree with leaves the color and glimmer of. . .well. . .rubies! Brenda’s hand brushed along the grass beneath her and it was the softest thing she had ever felt, not only that, but the grass itself was the color of emeralds! She blinked, wondering if her eye-color coordination was somehow off.

     She rose to her feet slowly, gazing around in wonder. The very air here seemed unusual. Different. It was lightly scented with jasmine for one thing. She shielded her eyes and gazed up at the late afternoon sun. Was she going mad or did the sun seem twice as bright here? She walked forward, her eyes gaping at the enormous flowers that surrounded the even more enormous trees. Brenda reached out and touched the petal of a huge sunflower. She heard tiny titters of laughter and whipped her head around wondering what or who had made the pretty noise? Then she gazed back at the flower suspiciously. But then she was distracted by more noise. This time it was singing. A man singing.

     Stately as princes the swans part the lilies and glide
     Over the river
     Are they enchanted men soon to be free again here
     Under the river

     The song was lovely, and Brenda followed it. She found herself approaching a gorgeous brook surrounded by beautiful glittering rocks that looked like enormous gem stones. Docile white swans were gliding gracefully atop the placid, crystal-blue waters. Brenda was amazed by the breathtaking sight! But her excited amazement turned to horrified shock at what she saw above the brook. It was a man! He was singing and he was . . . flying!

     Oh, how I’d love to be here when the wizard’s wand
     Touches the leader and changes his looks . .

     Brenda screamed and fled for her life. Simon, caught off guard by the sound of a female voice -- and a scream no less -- lost his concentration and went flying into a tree muttering a series of “ouches” as he tumbled to the soft grass below.

     Running like a mad woman and screaming for the Prince, Brenda stumbled and fell. A tree with leaves the color and glitter of green peridots bent to assist her to her feet.

     “My, but you’re just as pretty as His Highness bragged you were,” the tree chuckled as some lower branches gently helped set her upright.

     Brenda’s eyes widened to the size of saucers and she screamed at the top of her lungs, running even faster, desperate to find the Prince and escape this bedlam surrounding her.

     Jax had heard her screaming and had bolted out of Malvodio’s cottage with the wizard at his heels. They both headed towards the brook where the source of the screams had emerged.

     “Slow down, Jasper,” Malvodio cautioned, thinking the lad was racing fast enough to trip and break his royal neck.

     “But what if she accidentally heads towards the silver vines that lead to the Endless Forest?” Jax asked in concern.

     “Do not fear that, the trees would not allow her to enter into such danger. Besides, she is quite safe. She is heading towards the little hills,” Malvodio said.

     Jax changed direction to cut her off. If she entered the little hills running like that, they would think she wanted to play and would start their playful rolling which would likely scare Brenda out of her wits.

     Brenda, who’d never even known she could run this fast, found herself colliding hard with Jax. She grabbed him, as she babbled breathlessly. “Your Highness, Your Highness! I saw a man -- no not a man -- I don’t know what he was but, he was *flying!* I mean in the *air,* Your Highness! Up over a lake or something! He was singing and flying and then a tree spoke to me! A TREE! And then it picked me up and . . .” In the midst of her wild-eyed, nearly incoherent retelling of what she had seen, her eyes suddenly rolled back and she slumped forward where Jax caught her easily.

     “It just isn’t your day to remain conscious, is it, sweetheart?” the Prince murmured, gently lifting her into his arms. He took her back towards the cottage where Malvodio and Simon waited.

     “You were flying?” Jax asked of Simon, with a faint smile.

     “No, Your Highness. *Trying* to fly,” Simon corrected. “I have not quite perfected that particular spell as of yet, and the injured trees can vouch for that.” He glanced down at Brenda. “Are you sure *she* cannot fly? Surely she must have wings, for she looks like something utterly angelic to my eyes.”

     Jax smiled at that observation. “Believe me, Simon, she is far too stubborn, willful and contradictory to be an angel.”

     Simon grinned. “Ah, well those are the very best kind, you know. I always say there is nothing like a stubbon, willful, contradictory angel.”

     Malvodio reached forward and touched Brenda’s forehead. “She is a very stubborn and brave young thing, but the enchantments of the forest have startled her into this state,” he said. “She will be fine shortly after a brief rest. Although perhaps it would not be wise for her to awaken here,” he added. “Night shall soon be falling and you know how the forest comes alive with it’s magical splendor at that hour. I’m not sure if she would be in a frame of mind to appreciate the phenomenons of the forest after dark. . .”

     “Not to mention the singing trees,” Simon murmured. “It’s Saturday, so they will be singing tonight.”

     “You have a point,” Jax said. “I should take her from here before the sun sets. I only stopped by to tell you, Simon, that your blue lady-bugs are crawling about in the Secret Garden.”

     Simon gave Jax a ‘whoops’ look and shrugged apologetically. “I will turn them back,” he promised.

     Malvodio was still gazing at Brenda and Jax could tell that the Sorcerer was very pleased with her.

     “This child’s spirit is magnificent,” he said. “It is of equal splendor only to her physical beauty. A delightfully potent little package is she. Are you certain you can handle such a divine tempest, Jasper?” Malvodio asked, trying to hide his mirth.

     “I am the only one who can,” Jax said, a most excellent response as far as Malvodio was concerned. “And I am the only one who was ever meant to,” Jax added.

     “Yes, it is so,” the wizard agreed, pleased with Jax’s responses and certain that the prince could indeed handle all of the love, passion and throbbing migraines this beauty was bound to give him. “She will make a very worthy princess of this kingdom. I should like to be properly introduced to her at another time,” he told Jax. “I should very much like to converse with her.”

     “When?” Jax asked him.

     Malvodio smiled, a twinkle in his eye. “*She* will tell you when,” he said. “I sense it will be fairly soon.”

     Jax wondered how he could possibly know that. But then again, how was it that Malvodio could possibly know half of the things he did?

     Several minutes later Jax carried Brenda into the palace, taking her in through the back doors which were closer than walking all the way around to the front. He managed to carry Brenda to her bedchamber without being seen by anyone except three of the servants, all of whom assumed the Lady Brenda had somehow been kissed by the Prince and that was the cause of her unconscious state. The staff had heard so much titillating gossip about women passing out unable to handle the prince’s sizzling passions, that they took all such rumors as the gospel truth now.

     Jax stood above Brenda’s bed holding her in his arms and gazing down at her. Malvodio was right about her sprit. It was a thing of fiery beauty and was likely to give him as much grief as it would ceaseless joy, he was certain.

     Kayla, who had raced to Brenda’s room to see if she were back yet and find out what it was like to ride a horsy, stood in the doorway peeking with wide brown eyes at the scene before her. The Prince was holding her sister in his arms, gazing down at her with those oh-so-pretty blue eyes of his. He was holding her ‘as if he held his world in his arms’ as her Papa would say. As Kayla continued to watch, enchanted, Jax gently placed Brenda on the bed. He took off her riding jacket and her boots to make her more comfortable when she awoke and for a moment his eyes were riveted to her mouth as he recalled the intense pleasures those gorgeous lips had freely given to him earlier. A wave of desire rocketed through him.

     “I cannot wait to be married to you,” he said, flashing that wicked smile that always filled her with the most pleasing sense of fluster. “I would ask that you dream of me tonight, but I already know that you will,” he added wishing she’d have been awake to hear that one. He would have loved to hear her outraged response which probably would have led to some passionate encounter between them. He stole a kiss from her soft, sleeping lips and then got up to leave and saw six year old Kayla standing there her eyes wide and her mouth in a little ‘o’ of delight.

     “You are going to marry my sister?” she asked in a little child’s gasp of wonder. “You choose Brenda?”

     Jax smiled at the adorable little eavesdropper and put his finger to his lips to let her know this was their little secret.

     “Oh, I shall not tell!” she promised, grinning happily, showing off her tiny dimples which reminded Jax of Brenda’s.

     “Do not even tell Brenda, all right?” Jax said, getting down on one knee in front of the pretty little munchkin and tapping the tip of her nose fondly.

     Kayla covered her mouth and giggled. “You think if I tell her she shall shriek at the walls in a fury and then run away from you?”

     Jax grinned at her. “I won’t let her run away from me,” he promised.

     “I do not know why anyone would ever wish to run away from you at all,” Kayla said honestly. The Prince was so very nice and so funny! And he was ‘utterly glorious to look at’ as her mother would say.

     “Well, I’ll tell you a secret, Kayla. A very wise little birdie told me she will not wish to run away from me,” Jax shared with the child.

     “I think I would like this birdie,” Kayla said thoughtfully.

     Jax could not resist scooping the delightful pixie up in his arms. “I think the birdie would like you too. Shall we go downstairs and let your sister rest?” he suggested, walking out of the room and gently shutting the door.

     “Did you show Brenda how to ride a horsy today?” Kayla asked as she descended the staircase in the Prince’s arms.

     “Yes I did. She was very good.”

     “Was the horsy big?”

     “Fairly big,” Jax said nodding.

     “And Brenda was not afraid, was she?”

     Jax smiled. “No, not at all. I do not think anything scares her.”

     Kayla laughed and leaned towards him and whispered, “You do, I think.”

     Jax set her down at the bottom of the stairs. “Me?”

     “I think,” Kayla said, nodding. “She does not wish to like you, but I think she does, and I think that scares her because she is supposed to like somebody else – you see?” the child explained her reasoning. “And I think she likes you better.”

     “Ohhhh,” Jax said. “Well, you may have a point there, Munchkin,” he said thinking this little girl was intuitive beyond her young years. Either that or she just really knew her sister very well. At any rate the six year old was extremely precocious. “Why do you think she likes me?” Jax asked curiously.

     Kayla, chewed on her lip thoughtfully, another thing that reminded Jax of Brenda. Then Kayla said. “Do some people call you 'Jax?'”

     “It’s one of my names, yes,” he said. “Why do you ask?”

     “Well, I thought I heard your sister call you that, and then Brenda said that same word last night when she was asleep,” Kayla told him in a conspiratorial whisper. “I went to her room because my Papa was snoring and I couldn’t sleep with the noise,” she said making a face and covering her ears. “And when I came in Brenda was saying ‘Jax..’”

     Jax rose a dark golden-blonde eyebrow of interest. “Just ‘Jax’?” he asked, finding it curious that while Brenda refused to refer to him as anything but ‘Your Highness’ when they were together, she apparently was content to call him ‘Jax’ in the privacy of her subconscious.

     Kayla nodded in response to his question. “Yes, that was all she said. Just ‘Jax.’ She was whispering it softly so I had to stand *very* close to her to hear what she was saying,” the child pointed out, showing the Prince how clever she was to have stood so close and listened so carefully. Jax just smiled and nodded at her to continue. “She said it two times," she said holding up two fingers. "I thought she was telling me she wanted to play with my jacks,” Kayla said. “But I kept listening to her and that wasn’t what she was saying at all. No she did not want to play with my jacks, because she knows I left them at home. I think she wanted to play with *you* Jax.”

     Jax nearly burst out laughing at the child’s innocent words which could have such wild meanings in the adult world.

     “That is very interesting information, Kayla, Thank you for telling me that. We will just keep that between us as well, all right?”

     “All right!” she agreed, thinking it was great fun that she, little Kayla Noelle Barrett had the honor of sharing all of these lovely little secrets with the Prince himself!

     About half an hour later, Brenda came around, awakening to find herself in her bedchamber at the palace. She rubbed her eyes, disoriented for a moment to find herself in such lavish luxury, before recalling that she was indeed in the royal palace and would be here for another three months. She sat up on the bed, rubbing her temples and hoping against hope that her amazing, passionate encounter with a certain, sinfully sensual, rather infuriating blonde prince, followed by her witnessing the flight of a man, a giggling flower and a talking tree were all nothing more than a wild dream.

     Convincing herself it *had* to be a dream, Brenda got up and began to get dressed for dinner. She was grateful to not have any confrontational run-ins with her sisters who were obviously otherwise occupied. When she got downstairs she realized that they were occupied with Prince Jasper who had just come in from giving them a tour of the Secret Garden.

     Laughing gaily, Miranda, Victoria and Geneva were gushing and cooing to the Prince about what a gloriously magical place those gardens were, and the sisters were also madly pleased that Brenda had been left out of the trip to the wondrous place, having no idea that her trip to the garden had come long before theirs and had been far more eventful.

     “Oh Brenda, there you are! At last you are awake,” Miranda said. “It is a pity that your riding lesson tired you out so, you missed the *personal* tour of the Secret Garden that His Highness has just now finished showing *us,*” Miranda gloated.

     Jax’s eyes slowly met Brenda’s and he smiled at her ever so slightly and oh so attractively, and something in her could not resist returning the smile. The exchanged smiles left Miranda and Victoria feeling cold and feeling they had a hollow victory in seeing the gardens before Brenda, while Geneva wondered if they had indeed even seen the gardens before Brenda at all?

     “Ah good!” the Queen said, entering the grand hall. “Everyone is back from the gardens and Brenda is awake from her nap and all just in time for dinner. Shall we?” she said gesturing everyone to the dining hall. “The first ball of the season is tomorrow, and we can chat about that while we dine,” she said, eyeing Brenda with approval. The child looked simply enchanting in a simple soft blue gown. The Queen could only imagine how heart-stopping the young lady would look in the expensive array of gowns from Madame Sinclair that would be arriving for the Barrett sisters tomorrow morning.

     While her sisters went upstairs to quickly change for dinner, Brenda went ahead into the dining hall along with the royal family and her parents and youngest sister.

     Brenda wondered if she should sit next to the Prince so that she could whisper to him and ask him if the wild things she had imagined passed between them this day had actually happened. But, the part of her that was insisting it had all been a dream, decided against it, and she sat next to Kayla instead. Jax made sure to take his seat directly across from Brenda so he could have a perfect view of her throughout the meal.

     As the servants began serving beverages and appetizers, Brenda, who had been occupying herself with playful conversation with her sister, decided to slowly shift her eyes over to the man sitting across from her. Not surprisingly, he was looking at her. Gazing at her lips, she noticed, as if they were the most luscious thing on earth. Her blood suddenly ran very hot and she felt her eyes lowering to his lips as well, and looking at them in the same way he was looking at hers. Wanting to feel those lips against hers again more than anything. Oh drat, it wasn’t a dream, was it? It had really happened! That kiss had been real! But then was the rest of it real as well then? The flying man? The talking tree? The giggling sunflower? Surely all of *that* had to be part of some dream, even if the kiss had not been.

     Jax saw her looking at him questioningly. His response was merely to wrap her up in the sensual waves of his blue eyes. She felt captured by his gaze and could not tear her eyes away from him, something that did not go unnoticed by everyone at the table.

     When Miranda, Victoria, and Geneva entered the dining hall, changed into lovely dresses more daringly cut than the one Brenda wore, they were put out to see the smoldering gaze His Highness was leveling at their sister.

     Geneva made up her mind to get the Prince to talk to her tonight over dinner, instead of spending the meal staring adoringly at her twin. And for the most part, Geneva was successful as she regaled the Prince and the table with tales of growing up in the Barrett household.

     Jax found her tales humorous and enchanting, especially the ones where she would disclose Brenda’s mischievous, stubborn nature and the humorous consequences of it. Brenda, to her utter horror, found herself tingling with that nagging little feeling of jealousy as Geneva did an excellent job of captivating Prince Jasper’s attentions during the meal. Brenda had no idea that had she uttered one single word to him, his attention would have been completely hers. But instead, she remained silent, speaking only to her baby sister and her father and trying to ignore Jax, and her sister’s games of vying for his attentions, altogether.

     Noticing Brenda’s unusually quiet mood, Kayla asked her, “Brenda, are you still tired from riding the horsy today?”

     Jax heard the munchkin’s question and moved his eyes slowly over to the object of his complete desire to hear her response.

     “Ummm...yes,” Brenda said, thinking it was a wonderful excuse to get away from the table and these disturbing emotions, and seek the privacy of the huge bedchamber upstairs. “I really am feeling tired. Would you all excuse me please?”

     “Would you like some hot tea brought to you upstairs my dear?” The Queen asked.

     “No thank you, Your Majesty. I think I just need to lay down for a bit.” Brenda rose and gave the obligatory curtsies to the royal family and then exited.

     Jax’s eyes followed her as she left the room. Her sisters were ecstatic that she was gone, and their unhidden glee began to annoy the Prince.

     “I’m sure *I* would not be so easily exhausted after one simple horse ride,” Miranda declared with a roll of her eyes. “Would you consider teaching me how to ride, Your Highness?” she asked sweetly, with a bat of her eyelashes.

     “No,” Jax said.

    The table grew silent enough to hear a pin drop. But the Prince did not elaborate. His simple rejection of her request was all that he wanted to say and no one was going to push him for anything further. Miranda stuffed her mouth with hot buttered biscuits to cover her red flush of embarrassment as her sisters snickered at the way she had been put down.

     The Queen was rather pleased at her son’s not-so-subtle message that he would not allow anyone, not even her own family, to mock his Brenda in any way. She wondered with an amused smile, what kind of fireworks her son and the young Lady Brenda would inadvertently be setting off at the first ball tomorrow night?

     Having left the dining hall, Brenda walked over to one of the doors that opened up to a gold-railed balcony. One of the Knights of the Realm stood guard there, his brown eyes watching her as he tried to keep his expression unreadable.

     “Hello,” Brenda said.

     The Knight nodded at her, unable to resist giving the pretty young thing a smile. But he was not about to get overly friendly with her, for it was well known throughout the Realm that she was the chosen one of their Prince -- even if she did not know it yet.

     “Does this balcony overlook the Enchanted Forest?” Brenda asked.

     The Knight nodded.

     “May I go out there?” she asked, not sure if she was permitted.

     “You may go anywhere you wish within the palace, m’lady -- with the exception of the war room.”

     “Thank you,” Brenda said. “What is your name?”

     “Steven, m’lady. At your service.”

     She smiled at him. “At *my* service?” she said, sure he was teasing her.

     He smiled back at her. “At the command of His Highness we are all at your service,” Steven explained.

     Brenda looked at him, stunned. “Truly? Well that is very strange. Are you at the service of my entire family then?”

     Steven shook his head. “Only you,” he said and then he stepped aside to allow her to go out onto the balcony.

     Brenda wanted to ask him why only her? But she had a feeling that he would not elaborate. Already he was looking straight ahead, not encouraging her to engage in conversation with him any longer.

     “Thank you,” she said again as she went out onto the balcony. She stood there enjoying the brightness of the moon and the loveliness of the evening. She pursed her lovely lips together thoughtfully as she tried to figure out why she felt those annoying pangs of jealousy when Jax had been so attentive towards Geneva. She should be happy about such an occurrence, she chastised herself as she breathed in the wonderful scent of jasmine that the gentle breeze seemed to stir about. Yes, she should be happy about this, she tried to convince herself. Perhaps His Highness would even fall in love with Geneva? And that would be wonderful, wouldn’t it? Geneva would get her prince.

     No, she would get *your* Prince.

     Brenda gazed around right and left, startled. Had she not just heard those words carried on the wind in a hushed whisper? She shook her head, thinking perhaps she really did need to go and lay down again.

     “I thought you were tired?”

     This time when she turned around someone was there. It was the Prince looking far too tempting for her liking. She turned her gaze back to the vast back lawns of the palace and focused on the Knight standing guard in front of the Enchanted Forest.

     “I am,” Brenda responded.

     She thought she heard a very soft laugh escape the Prince’s lips. “No, you aren’t,” he said, and she rolled her eyes at the way he was always contradicting her.

     “You are rolling your eyes at me, aren’t you?” he guessed.

     She laughed and so did he.

     She felt his hands touch her hair from behind and she closed her eyes adoring the feel of his hands in her hair.

      “I only came to find you to wish you a good night and very sweet dreams,” he said, as he lifted her hair and his fingers ran along the back of her neck. “The sweetest of dreams, actually,” he murmured, his lips touching her cheek. She felt the soft moan of pleasure welling up inside of her and was sorely tempted to turn her head and make his lips collide with hers, but she felt her hair fall back into place as he let her go and she heard the sound of him leaving her. She stood there, her breathing accelerated, the all-too-familiar tingling traveling at warp speed throughout her body as she gazed out at the back of the palace thinking that her dreams would likely be very sweet indeed.

     And then she saw him below her, walking towards the Enchanted Forest, the jewel-encrusted handle of his sword scattering sparkling reflections on the smooth silver bricks.

     Picking up the hem of her dress, Brenda raced from the balcony, nearly toppling over the Knight, Steven, who had not expected her to be making a mad dash. He watched her as she raced out the back way, the same way the Prince had just gone. She passed another Knight who was guarding that back entrance and raced outside into the beautiful, jasmine-scented night.

     “Your Highness, wait!” she called to him.

     Jax stopped and turned around, surprised to see her. He smiled a little bit and waited for her to reach him.

     “Well, hello again . . .” he said, reaching forward and brushing his fingers gently across her cheek as he liked to do.

     “May I please have permission to speak freely with you?” she asked him, breathing hard from having raced after him.

     “You may speak freely with me whenever you wish,” Jax told her and Brenda’s eyes widened at being afforded such an honor.

     “Thank . . . you,” she said, still marveling that he had extended her such a privilege. Of course it was no less of an honor than his permission for her to call him ‘Jax,’ but *that* she still refused to do. “I think I may be losing my mind,” she said with a little laugh, “and I was hoping that you could help me ascertain whether or not that is true.”

     Jax ran his fingers through his hair and Brenda found herself wishing *she* could run her fingers through those rich waves of gold. But she wouldn’t stop there, she realized with some irritation. No, she would pull him to her and kiss him, wouldn't she? Yes, kiss him passionately and endlessly until they were both breathless. The very thought made her want to kick herself, but she still knew it was true just the same.

     “Why do you think you are losing your mind?” Jax asked her with a curious, little smile.

     “Well, I was in the Enchanted Forest with you earlier, wasn’t I?” she asked him, lowering her voice to a whisper.

     Jax nodded.

     “Did I, or did I not see . . . .er . . .a man flying in the air? Singing?”

     Jax gave her a dashing smile, not an appalled look as if she were ludicrous, which greatly relieved her.

     “His name is Simon, Jax told her. “He is a sorcerer’s son.”

     “*Sorcerer?* There are so such things!” Brenda declared.

     “You know, it is an offense to the crown to accuse the Prince of lying,” Jax said, and then took her by surprise by softly kissing her lips. “But I pardon you with that kiss.”

     She was momentarily too flustered and excited by his kiss to speak, but then she did manage to get hold of herself. “You are telling me there is a sorcerer who lives in the Enchanted Forest?” she asked incredulously. "Lives there? A sorcerer?

     “Yes, I am telling you that.”

     “So I really did see that man -- Simon -- fly? And as I recall . . .oh this sounds too ridiculous to even utter out loud, but yes a tree did in fact speak with me, didn’t it? And helped me to my feet when I fell?”

     Jax shrugged. “Well I was not with you when any of that happened, so I cannot really verify any of it for you now, can I?”

     He was toying with her, she realized. He was tantalizing her with hints of wonders that she had indeed seen, but he was refusing to either completely confirm or deny them. He was telling her there was only one way for her to know for certain if what she had seen was real.

     “Are you headed for the forest now, Your Highness?” she asked him.

     “Yes I am going there before I go back to my castle,” Jax verified.

     “Then I am going with you,” Brenda announced. “To the forest, I mean, not to your castle of course. Oh --and only if that is all right with you, of course,” she murmured quickly, thinking herself mad to think she could order the Prince about.

     “It is more than all right with me,” Jax murmured, raising her hand to his lips and kissing it in that way of his, his lips touching her palm and the tip of his tongue flickering breifly, sensually against it. And then he simply held her spellbound in his gaze. “As long as you promise me that you won’t pass out again. I really do prefer you fully conscious.” He gave her a devastatingly attractive smile that made her feel as if she were turning to molten mush. And with that he held onto her hand and shifted her somewhat in front of him as he led her towards the gold gates that led to a world of the enchanted.

     Michael Carruthers gazed at the row of gold bangles on the table of the bazaar, fingering them as he mulled over which one to pick for Brenda. He could not present her with an engagement ring until she won over the permission of her stupid, interfering father, but giving her one of these bangles would give her an item of jewelry to remind her that she belonged to him and that she had best not allow her heart or her lips or her body to stray in any other directions. The gift of the bangle along with passionate kisses he intended to give to her, would serve as reminders of their commitment, he decided.

     He wondered how she would react to his passion? It would alarm her, no doubt. She was hardly ready for such sensual emotions, and he had been so chaste with her in the past that he had not properly prepared her for a man’s lustful urges. He would rectify that now, however. He would kiss her the way he had always longed to, long and deep until he heard her moan into his mouth and beg him...yes beg him for more. He closed his eyes as he imagined her pleasure, and his.

     “Sir? Would you like to buy?” the merchant asked, seeing the short, dark-haired man fingering one of the gold bangles, his eyes shut.

     Michael opened his eyes. “I will take this one,” he said, tossing the gold bangle carelessly at the merchant. And he would present it to Brenda at the ball hosted by Earl Danvers tomorrow. Surely she would be there, as he had heard it through the grapevine that the young ladies currently staying at the palace would be in attendance at all of the well-known balls of the season. Michael would be there as well tomorrow eve, and would find a moment to drag Brenda away from the clutches of the Royals and get his precious moments alone with her out on some discreet terrace.

     He paid for his purchase and was walking through the merry night bazaar thinking that Fahrlane was just too damned happy of a place sometimes. He was walking over to the refreshment merchant to buy some ale when he saw two Knights of the Realm walking by. He recognized them as Arthur Fitzgerald and young Glenn Blanes.

     Michael felt the bitterness in his belly as he watched them moving about in their handsome black and gold uniforms -- attire that commanded awe and respect, identifying them as amongst the finest warriors of the throne -- their swords glittering in the moonlight. Once he was a part of this prized group of men. But the swine Prince had taken that glory away from him, just as he had taken Michael’s sister from him by making the girl so love-crazed she had tossed her skinny carcass to a watery grave swearing she could not live without the golden-haired heir to the throne. Not that he had ever been hers in any way. But she, like so many other school girls, had such vivid fantasies about him. When the rumor had begun to circulate some years ago that the Prince of Fahrlane was to be engaged to the Princess of Larith, the distraught Mona Carruthers had flung herself into the Lake of Sapphires. The rumor had been false of course. Just more typical gossip, but that revelation had come too late for Mona. And Michael put the complete blame on Prince Jasper.

     The man *made* woman crave him. He made them so wild with wanting and need, and fanciful, impossible dreams of having him in their lives that he should be the one held accountable for their irrational actions when their idiotic dreams were shattered. If he were a good ruler he would have married at eighteen to some prim and proper blue-blood princess and let it be known that he was not available to any girls of the kingdom and they should stop their foolish fantasies at once! But no, he remained elusive and available and more comely than a thousand Fahrlane rainbows; and he made their desires for him grow into madness. Yes, he was to blame, the arrogant swine!

     Michael, sickened by the festive moods of everyone in the merchant bazaar, left, heading for his home. Even the beautiful, starry night sickened him. He longed for dark gray skies and buckets of rain to match his mood. He longed for Brenda writhing passionately beneath him, screaming out her pleasure and then relaxing in his arms and laughing with him at what a joke the Prince was.

     Soon he would be rid of the Prince. Very soon. He had grown tired of the King of Kent's slow-moving plans which were going nowhere. Michael had plans of his own. But in the meantime, tomorrow would soon be here, he reminded himself as he continued towards his small house. And tomorrow he would see his Brenda at the ball, and he would begin to truly claim her at last.

     Brenda followed Jax into the forest, holding onto his hand with both of hers, as he noticed she seemed to like to do. She was looking all around, as if expecting all sorts of unusual things to leap out at her at any moment. Yet still she was not scared, Jax noticed in admiration, she was merely cautious.

     She walked with Jax as he approached the row of trees that hid the marvels beyond.

     “Well, good evening, Your Highness! How lovely to see you twice in one day,” the tree on the left said.

     Brenda gasped and ran behind Jax.

     “It's all right,” Jax said pulling her out from behind him. “All the trees speak here.”

     “They do?” she whispered. “So that tree with the glittering green leaves really did speak to me earlier?”

     Jax nodded as Brenda watched wide-eyed as the trees parted to reveal a glittering gold-brick pathway. Jax led her inside and she glanced behind to see the trees closing back as they originally had been.

     “Amazing!” she said in delight. Then she gazed up and saw beautiful colors flying about in the sky. “What is that?” she asked, pointing them out.

     “Those are nightbirds,” Jax explained. “They are black so you can’t really make them out except to see their wings, which are assorted colors and glow in the dark.”

     As they passed a tree Brenda decided to see if they all really could speak. “Hello,” she said softly, not wanting Jax to hear her speaking to the piece of wood.

     “Hello to you too,” the tree whispered back.

     Brenda jumped a bit and drew closer to Jax.

     Jax stopped for a moment and stood facing her. He cupped her beautiful face in his hands. “Relax, Brenda,” he said, gazing down at her. “Nothing will hurt you here, I promise. Nothing will hurt you ever. Not as long as I live,” he said and then he could not resist his urge to kiss her. It had been building all night and he didn't feel like ignoring it any longer. She was instantly breathless, and hot and tingling the moment his lips touched down upon hers. She responded to him immediately.

     His kiss burned her like some kind of sweet fire that could not possibly exist and she didn’t want him to stop. She held him to her, prolonging the kiss he had started. She stood up on her tiptoes to be closer to him, and he responded by dropping his hands from her face and wrapping them gently around her waist, slowly pulling her closer to him. He heard her soft moan of pleasure as his tongue sensually plunged into her mouth. Excitement shivered through Brenda as memories of their kiss in the garden flooded back to her and made her know what she had to look forward to -- only this time she refused to pass out and miss out on one single second of this delectation. Her arms slid from his shoulders and wrapped themselves around his neck, effectively pulling her body as close to his as it could be in it’s fully attired state. She was so responsive to him, it was a thing of wonder, truly.

     “Brenda,” the Prince murmured as his kisses all at once became very wild and highly sensual. Brenda could not get enough of him. The wildness of his response to her did not scare her or make her think twice about provoking him this way. It just made her want to kiss him for an eternity. Her tongue swirled around his, languorously making sensual contact as she closed her eyes and moaned at what incredible pleasure this was. The feverish, non-stop pace of the kiss forced them to break apart, breathless and craving one another. They gazed at each other, eyes blazing with their mutual desire for each other. “Don’t you know now?” Jax said quietly to her, his blue-eyed gaze enfolding her in a private world of passion with unspoken promises of a rapture that could be hers for the asking. It made her weak in the knees just to think about it.

     What did he mean by ‘don’t you know now?’ Brenda wondered. What was he talking about? All she knew was that she was not in her right mind right now. This place was entirely too bewitching and so was he. She leaned towards him intending to get another one -- or preferably several -- of those kisses, she would deal with the guilt over her desire for him and her lack of ability to even picture Michael’s face lately, later. Jax graced her with the wickedly handosome smile that so affected her, as he saw her leaning in towards him eager to resume their passion. But their lips were halted mid-way towards each other when they heard someone clearing his throat to get their attention. Brenda assumed it was a tree, but it was actually a person. It was the man with the pale-blonde hair that she had seen flying over the water. The one the Prince had referred to as the sorcerer’s son.

     “I’m sorry,” he said stepping between them and pushing them apart while flashing them both an adorable grin, “but you know, you could start a forest fire with those kind of sparks and this I cannot allow. I mean, I do

live

     Jax laughed. Brenda shocked herself by laughing too. She was sure she would be embarrassed and mortified to be discovered in the midst of such a passionate moment by a stranger, but she felt neither. She supposed she was as fearless about her physical passion as she was about just about everything else in her life. Of course she had never even realized the extent of her passions until earlier today.

     Then Simon extended his hand to her. “Hello, my name is Simon. It is nice to finally meet you in a conscious state. And I do apologize for frightening you earlier. Truly, I am sorry about that.”

     Brenda could not help but smile at him as she took his offered hand of friendship. “Hello,” she said. “Please do not feel you have to apologize to me, it was not your fault. I just did not know . . about you, that is.”

     “That I was a caster of spells you mean,” he said with a smile.

     Brenda nodded and then her eyes lit up. “Are you truly the son of a wizard?”

     “He is,” said a voice that sounded very familiar to Brenda. It was the voice of the wind that had whispered to her out on the balcony, she realized in amazement. “Hello, Brenda,” the wizard greeted her. “I am called Malvodio,” he bowed to her.

     Brenda stared at him in awe. He looked like a wizard all right. “Hello,” she said, smiling. This was so exciting!! Her eyes shot over to Jax who was regarding her with a warm smile, very much enjoying her excitement at being privy to the secrets of the forest.

     “Shall we walk, my dear?” the wizard said, offering her his arm. “I should be happy to show off my Enchanted Forest to you.”

     "*You* did all of this?" Brenda asked, gazing around at the impossible beauty that surrounded her on all sides.

     "Indeed I did," Malvodio said. "Would you like to see it all?"

     Brenda looked to Jax to see if it was all right for her to go off with the wizard.

     Jax nodded at her. She gave him a quick smile and linked her arm through the intriguing wizard's and began her walk with him.

     Jax and Simon stood together watching them walk away.

     “Why do you suppose he wants to be alone with her?” Jax asked.

     “I think he wants to speak with her,” Simon said.

     “About what?” Jax wondered.

     “In a roundabout way, I am sure it will be about you.”

     “Do you think he is going to tell her?”

     “That she is destined to be yours and nothing she can do will alter that? Not in so many words,” Simon said. “I think he wants her to come to that determination on her own. The same way you came to it on your own.”

     Jax nodded. “The difference, I think, is that I was happy to discover that I was destined to be hers. I do not think Brenda will have quite the same reaction. I think she will think it some sort of curse to be so destined for me," he said with a grin. "She still thinks she is going to marry someone else.”

     Simon shrugged. “We both know that is not to be, Jax. She will not fight it forever,” he assured the prince.

     “I know this. But I do not want her to fight it at all,” Jax murmured. “I want her to just *know*, as I do. I want her to know that it has always been me for her, as it has always been her for me, even when we never knew one another.”

     “Well she certainly didn’t seem to be fighting her attraction to you when I happened by,” Simon said. “I do not think she will fight the destiny of her heart very hard either when it reveals to her what you already know.”

     Well, Jax thought, they would all know soon enough how Brenda would react. Next weekend she would realize what his true intentions were concerning her when he publicly declared them at her birthday party. It gave him a headache just to think of what her reaction would be. He probably ought to wear body armor that day.

     Brenda was at a loss for words at all the wondrous things Malvodio had shown her as he walked her though the Enchanted Forest introducing her to trees that talked and flowers that laughed when tickled, and hills that rolled playfully beneath your feet. Everything glittered here! The grass, the leaves of the trees, the surface of the water, the rocks surroudning the water.

     Malvodio made her gaze up at the heavens and she saw how bright the stars were here, and how they would intermittently burst into colors -- ‘starbursts’, Malvodio identified them as. They were a normal nightly occurrence in the forest, he explained. He also explained to her the scents of the winds, and how tonight, as every Saturday night, was the jasmine wind. Tomorrow would be a hint of peach. As they walked and he pointed out wonder after wonder, he told her all about how he was imprisoned in the dungeons of the King of Kent, and how an eighteen year old Prince Jasper, visiting Kent with his father King John, had been his salvation.

     “I owe much to that boy,” Malvodio told her as they sat in the large swing in front of the cottage. “He is as dear to me as my own son in many ways.”

     Thinking about Jax caused Brenda to think about the scintillating kisses she had been sharing with him when Simon had interrupted them. She flushed -- very prettily, Malvodio noticed. And then she glanced over at the swans in the brook trying, unsuccessfully, to get her thoughts away from their sensual path.

     Malvodio gazed at her and smiled slightly. “Are you feeling all right, my dear? You know I am a bit of a healer as well.”

     Brenda turned to him. Maybe she really *was* just coming down with something? Maybe the breathlessness, the pleasant hotness and the lovely tingles were just a result of her being sick, not of her being so magnetically attracted to a certain breathtaking blonde male who’s kisses were the best thing on earth she had ever dared to taste.

     “It is funny you should ask me that Malvodio, because I *do* think I may be coming down with something,” Brenda said, turning to face him.

     “Really? Well tell me of your symptoms,” Malvodio offered, folding his hands in his lap.

     Brenda nodded, thinking this was great! If she were sick it would explain her uncontrollable attraction to the Prince and her outrageously passionate behavior toward him and perhaps this spectacular wizard could cure her of it? She felt relief wash through her. Soon everything would be back to normal!

     “Well, ever since I arrived at the palace,” Brenda began, “I have had occasion to feel breathless and hot and feel strange tingles invading my body. It is the most odd thing, a sensation I cannot explain it.”

     “Ahh,” Malvodio said nodding gravely. “I know these symptoms well, I am afraid. May I?" he asked, gesturing towards her forehead.

     Brenda nodded and the sorcerer placed his palm over her forehead. “Hmmm,” he said with a shake of his head.

     “What is it?” Brenda asked, becoming alarmed. “Am I sick?”

     “Oh yes,” he said with a sigh. “You are quite far along in this sickness, in fact."

     Brenda gasped. "I am? Oh drat, well what manner of sickenss is this? And does the cure taste awful?"

     "What you have is love sickness, my dear. And, I've actually heard that the cure is quite delicious."

     *LOVE* sickness? Surely he was jesting with her!

     “Tell me, my dear,” Malvodio said, “in who’s presence do you normally feel this ....affliction?”

     Brenda scowled at him. This was a trick! The crafty wizard was tricking her!

     "In who's presence?" she repeated innocently.

     “Yes. Perhaps the fellow that you told the Prince you wish to marry?” Malvodio continued. “Is it he that causes these symptoms?”

     No, Brenda thought miserably. It wasn’t Michael. She had *never* felt this way with Michael. Not even close, she thought glumly. It was a depressing truth that the man she was going to marry did not inspire that glorious, reckless passion within her that Prince Jasper so effortlessly did.

     “Ahh . . . no response. Well then, I can only deduce that it is His Highness himself who causes these peculiar symptoms in you. Am I correct?” Malvodio said.

     Brenda felt her heart racing and her stubborn ire rising at the same time. He *was* trying to trick her somehow, she was sure of it. And yet, it was only in Prince Jasper's presence that she got the *symptoms*, that was quite true. She did not feel like admitting that to the clever wizard, though. But she felt it was futile to lie outright to this man for she sensed he could decipher truth easily. He was a sorcerer after all.

     “I know you are trying to trick me into saying something,” she accused him. “Your diganosis, however, is quite flawed because it is imposible for me to have *love* sickness for a man I do not love,” she said, for she was sure that at least this much was the truth. “I like him. Very much, I must confess. And yes, I desire him, I will admit that,” she said reluctantly. “Yes, I suppose I desire him quite madly, to be entirely truthful,” she sighed, their passion-filled kisses consuming every inch of her memories. “But you called this a love sickness, and I do not *love* him, so that is absurd.”

     Malvodio nodded. “I see. And the man that you *do* love, this fellow Michael, you love him, but you do not desire him. Is that is? Quite a quandary, my dear girl. Quite a quandary, indeed," Malvodio said tapping his long, slender, magic-weaving fingers against his bearded chin. "To desire a man you do not love, and to love a man you do not desire -- what a fine pickle to be in, eh? That is a riddle that would take even me quite a long time to solve. Would you like some advice?”

     She wasn’t sure she ought to take advice from one who freely admitted to being so indebted and so fond of the Prince. She gazed at him warily.

     Malvodio took her silence as the go ahead to dispense his advice.

     “Do you believe in true love?" he asked her.

     Brenda was surprised at the question. She thought about it. “Yes," she decided.

     “Interesting. And yet you are willing to settle for far, *far* less than yours," he murmured, giving her a sympathetic look.

     Somehow she knew that was an insult against Michael. "Now, wait just a minute . . ."

     "And what of destiny? Do you believe in that?" the wizard asked next, cutting her off.

     “Well . . .no,” Brenda said. But then again she had not believed in sorcerers and talking trees either . . .

     "And yet destiny still exists despite your disbeleif, this I can assure you." Malvodio said to her.

     Brenda sighed, his words confusing her, his point escaping her. "When exactly does the advice part come in?"

     “Well it is up to you of course,” Malvodio said, letting her think she actually had a choice in the matter. “But your true love and your destiny are intertwined. So know this: if you do not sieze your destiny, you relinquish it to another. In your case the other is your sister - - -Geneva I believe is her name.”

     Malvodio wanted to chuckle at the bright glint of vehement protest he saw flash in the girl's lovely gold-flecked brown eyes. “With all due respect, Malvodio, what you say is utter nonsense! And on top of that you are simply wrong. If by my 'destiny' you are somehow making reference to Ja -- the Prince, you should be made aware that he is most certainly *not* my destiny. He does not even *want* to marry me, nor I him -- he and I have discussed this. And he certainly does NOT want to marry my sister,” she added adamantly.

     “Do not be so certain, Brenda. I repeat my advice to you; if you do not sieze your destiny, you relinquish it to your sister. It is so, child,” Malvodio insisted.

     Brenda was not at all sure she believed him, but the idea of Jax, Geneva and 'destiny' in any kind of combination whatsoever, did not sit well with her at all. In fact it was highly upsetting! And the fact that she was so upset about it, upset her even further!

     The trees beagn to sing, something Malvodio had told her would happen tonight so she was not startled to hear the sweet sounds:

     Oh is it only in dreams that we find our ideal love?
     are there lovers with real love?
     If you know how to feel love show me how...

     Brenda scowled feeling a conspiracy coming on. Oh, must everyone speak of love tonight?!

     “Excuse me,” Brenda said getting up and walking away, in a bit of a confused huff and wishing to be alone with her conflicted thoughts.

     Malvodio gazed up at the bright stars and quirked a silver eyebrow. Brenda’s passions for Jax had been awakened deeply today as the sorcerer had forseen. And now he had stirred up the pot further by dropping deliberately misleading suggestions to her that Jax may be hers to lose which he could see had distressed the stubborn beauty a great deal more than she would ever confess. A great deal more than even *he* had envisioned. It was clear from her reaction that the destined love had already laid claim to her heart without her knowledge. She was unaware of it, and determined to stubbornly ignore it as well -- but not for long. No sir, such an extraordiany thing could not be ignored for long at all.

      All in all a very eventful day indeed, the wizard nodded with satisfaction. And tomorrow eve at the ball -- oh yes, well the the pot would *really* stir then, now wouldn't it, he thought a pleased smile touching his lips.

Song Credit: "Storybook" written by Frank Wildhorn and Nan Knighton, available on the album entitled The Scarlet Pimpernel on Angel Records.