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19

In Princess Ginger's bridal suite, Tobias was spitting out silk as fast as he could. She stood on a small step in front of a mirror as he finished the hem of her wedding gown. Ava fanned him with a feather while Judy waited to feed him mulberry leaves to rebuild his strength.

When the tiny worm was finished, the White Witch turned Ginger to face the mirror as Rita straightened her train.

"Well, now. What do you think?"

"Oh, I think it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!" Ginger gasped. She danced a little on her toes while her eleven cousin-bridesmaids giggled.

The witch began to sniffle. "I always cry at weddings," she sighed. "For some reason I always laugh at funerals, but I always cry when I laugh so...everything works out, I guess." Two perfect tear drops rolled down both her cheeks to her ears to form perfect earrings dangling from her lobes. She removed them and offered them to Ginger.

"No thank you. I'm actually wearing my mother's. Family heirlooms."

The girls fawned over their loveliness. "Still," Ginger went on, "they're not half as dear as what Rita's now got on her finger."

"What?" the princesses screamed.

"It only took a year," Ginger smirked.

Betty and Marilyn managed to push everyone out of the way to be the first to examine Rita's ring finger. Never were two disappointed faces so in synch.

"Is it a diamond?" Betty asked.

"Is it on backwards?" asked Marilyn.

"It's what he could afford," Rita laughed.

"But he's a knight now!"

"And all our parents are rich!"

"There are just some things he likes to earn on his own."

"But when you get married next year, you'll live on the estate my parents gave you?" Ginger asked.

"Are you kidding? He's already got plans for something he's calling a 'man-cave'."

"I remember when your parents married, Rita. Richard and Marguerite were so in love they practically eloped. It was all the Hag of Hook's Quay could talk about. Not like Victor and Betina. Their celebration went on for five days. That's where most of your parents met. I remember Frederic got so drunk that on the way home he stumbled into my woods and – oh my goodness! We almost forgot your shoes!"

Ginger lifted her dress excitedly. Her bridesmaids did the same. The witch let her fingers dance in the air as clusters of sparkles floated towards the princesses.

"Lovely princesses of patient faith,

I gift you these indestructible shoes

To remind you good things come to those who wait

And that good girls do as good girls choose."

Pastel, pearlescent magical shoes now adorned all the ladies' lovely feet. The room's clock chimed one and the bridesmaids squealed for ceremony that would soon begin.

"Thank you so much, my lady," Ginger said. "You've made all of this happiness possible."

The witch shook her head and shooed the credit away, careful not to drop the earrings she still held. "Oh, I don't know," she said with a laugh. She then paused, a quizzical look on her face. "Or do I?"

She looked into her palm where her reflection in one earring said kindly, "You do," while the reflection in the other said sagely, "You have."

"Well that settles that! Come on, we've got to hurry!"

"My lady?" Rita asked. "What about her veil?"

The witch looked at Tobias munching mulberry in Judy's palm. The silkworm sighed and wiped his brow.

*****

In the cool, stained glass-coloured church, Danny wiped his own brow and smiled weakly as his soon-to-be royal in-laws. All twenty-four of them if you counted the extended ones. His best man, Francis, straightened the collar of his embroidered tunic and tried to calm his nerves.

"You love her don't you?"

"Of course I do. More than myself, and you know how I feel about me."

"You asked her to marry you, didn't you?"

"She made the best roast chicken I ever had."

" You'll never have to serve in the army again."

"Yeah, but look how long it takes me to make a decision. And I'm awful at public speaking. I'm allergic to ermine. I don't ever want to be King!"

"Buddy, you won't be King. She'll be Queen."

Just then, the heavy church doors opened and a small quartet picked up their instruments and played as Ginger and the princesses marched down the aisle.

Danny took one loving look at his beautiful bride, the most wonderful girl in the world as far as he was concerned, and his heart flapped its wings. He whispered to Francis, "You're right. It's going to be great. Fun even."

"It's going to be everything," Francis said, smiling as Rita took her place as Maid of Honour. Her smile for him said she knew it too.

*****

What became of Robert and Ivan? Well the White Witch heard from the Crone of Cayman who heard from the Hag of Hook's Quay who heard from the Red Baroness, who told the Well-Wisher, who told the Banshee who told the White Witch that Ivan's plan for a comeback did not go as well as he'd hoped.

Somewhere in an orchard, two apples, each with a set of eyes, hung from the bent arms of a tree, hoping they'd droop.

"I can't stand it anymore! Haven't I suffered enough indignity?" the not-so-rotten apple-form of Robert complained.

"If I hadn't turned us into apple seeds and blown us out here, we'd be in a dungeon or worse," Apple-Ivan said.

"Worse than spending a year as a sapling? When I return to my normal self I release you from service."

"As soon as we ripen and fall to the ground, which can't come soon enough for me."

Suddenly the branches began to shake.

Robert could barely contain his excitement. "I'm loosening! I feel it! Oh, could this be it??"

In between the rows of trees, whistling a jaunty little tune to himself, came Rupret the dragon to do his weekly shopping. He pushed a massive wagon already filled with fruits and vegetables and stopped by the blueberry bushes where he used a wheelbarrow to scoop a few of the plants whole. The farmer who owned the property ran out to him, pulling on his hair in frustration.

"Oh, please, dragon! Leave us something!"

"Not to worry," Rupret said. "I've gained a little weight recently and I have a reunion to go to, so I'm eating light. Fruit salads for me this week." He turned to Robert and Ivan's apple tree and asked the farmer. "How much for the whole tree. I'll plant it in my yard."

"Just take it," the farmer said.

Rupret plucked the tree gently, roots and all, placed it in his wagon, and rolled away.

And that's what happened. That's how I eventually became King, and how Francis sort of became uncle to Queen Ginger's and my children, and how we became like aunt and uncle to his and Rita's girls, and how all the parents and cousins and the kids get together to celebrate every holiday - Winnie and Fred included - and how we all enjoy reading our post-cards from Katherine touring the world, enjoying her freedom, knowing the Kingdom is at peace.

You knew it was me all along, didn't you? Sure, you did. I just kept it until now because I didn't want you thinking I was telling the story one-sided. Even though I think I've earned your trust, you're probably asking yourselves right now if it happened that way or happened at all. I don't blame you, but I want to assure you it did, and it was a blast. It happened like just like that, but it happened so fast.

Oh my gosh! BARLEY!

THE END