Castle of the House of White
Royal Gardens
15 years after King Wendell's Coronation

"Tag!" The young girl cried out, "You're it!" With a squeal she set off across the gardens dodging hedgerows, her burgundy tunic flying out behind her, barely concealing the auburn tail the poked out from beneath. Her brother gave chase, but at a slower pace as he stalked and tried to outmaneuver her, his own brown tail twitching in anticipation of the pounce.

"Oh Christy!" He called out, a mischievous grin on his face, "I'm gonna get you, just you wait!"

"You'd have to catch me first!" The girl chuckled, rounding the aviary and running smack into the chest of her brother. "No fair, Ren!"

"Very fair, Christy," He chuckled, "Not my fault you seem to take the same three routes when it's my turn to be 'it,' I had a one in three chance of being in the right place to catch you."

"Whatever," Christy huffed, "I'm tired of this game, why don't we play hide-and-seek… that is unless you are too old for such games."

"I'll never be too old for hide-and-seek, but I think it would be more fun if it wasn't just the two of us," Warren smirked, "Why don't you go see if Bianca is done with her schooling for the day, maybe she can join us."

"Not a bad idea," Christy grinned and set off for the school room in the eastern wing. No more than a few minutes later, she returned, dragging their cousin with her. "Okay, you both know the game, I'll start counting to one hundred and you two must hide. Whomever gets back to the aviary without being caught is safe. If I catch you, you're 'it.'"

Both Bianca and Warren nodded their agreement to the terms of the game and took off the moment Christy turned her back to start counting. Warren immediately set off into the hedgerow maze that was on the south side of the garden, knowing the scent of the bushes would throw off his sister's ability to sniff him out, thus making it harder for her to rely on the Wolven abilities they had both inherited from their father. Turning a blind corner, he ran straight into something, or rather, someone. Luckily, he had enough momentum to turn so that they landed on top of him rather than the other way around.

"Oof!" A soft voice huffed as their body impacted his. They had landed on the ground surrounded by the three books the other person had been previously carrying.

Slowly opening his eyes, Warren was met with a pair of the most beautiful aquamarine eyes he'd ever seen peering down at him from under a deep red hood. "Cripes! I'm sorry, I must not have been looking where I was going." He helped the girl to her feet, "Are you okay?"

"I think so," The girl brushed off the skirts of her dress before setting about retrieving the books that had fallen in the collision. "Or at the very least, I am very certain I will live."

Warren heard his sister's count come to an end as she called out that she was on the hunt, "Quickly, come with me." He grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her through the maze and into an oft overlooked side passageway of the labyrinth that he was almost certain his sister wouldn't check.

"I'm not sure this is entirely proper," She chuckled as she allowed herself to be pulled through alley after alley, slightly bemused at all that was happening until they came to a small alcove. With a quick look over his shoulder, he ducked in, pulling her with him as he pressed them both into the small space. "Now I know this isn't entirely proper," She joked.

"Shh," Warren pressed a finger to his lips to signal his request for silence. The pair stood stock-still and silent as the she-Wolf passed near the wall opposite them. As soon as he was sure that Christy was out of earshot, he spoke once more. "I figured the ivy would throw her off the scent," He smirked, "I'm Warren by the way."

"Roselynn," The young woman smiled softly up at him, playing with the edges of the books she held.

"It's nice to meet you Lynn," Warren allowed his eyes to linger perhaps a few moments longer than he should, but Roselynn voiced no complaint to him.

She was pretty, as many young girls throughout the kingdoms were, but there was something different about her that held him entranced as he took his time taking in all of her. Her hood, which clearly indicated who she was, or at least her station, had fallen back during the sprint through the hedgerows revealing blonde hair the color of freshly harvested wheat, some of which had fallen from the careful plating that ran down the back of her head.

Beneath her cloak, she wore a simple, blue day dress with short sleeves and a scooped neckline with lace edging along the collar and cuffs. The bodice cut off just below her developing bosom before flowing gently to just above her ankles. On her feet she wore a pair of brown leather boots that laced up to just over the notch of her ankles. All in all, she looked like every other girl from her Kingdom, but there was something different about her, something softer than her mother or elder sister.

Of course, Roselynn was, likewise, taking in the young man who had, literally, knocked her off her feet. The black boots on his feet were well-worn, but not scuffed, something that spoke of action, but still care. He wore tan trousers that were held up by a black leather belt which accented his trim waist. The ties of his green tunic were undone and hung loosely from the grommets through which they were threaded. He had a strong chin, and full lips which would look odd on some boys but on him it suited his face. His hair fell in dark waves that brushed the collar of his shirt. However, it was his eyes that held her attention. They were a warm hazel with hints of gold that seemed to glow in the shadowed corridor, or maybe just when he looked in her general direction, but she couldn't be sure.

"What are you reading?" Warren asked, pointing to the books she held in her arms.

"Just a few books from the castle's library," She shrugged, "Mama prefers we not interrupt our studies when she makes these diplomatic trips. I've already finished the assignments our governess laid out for us so she instructed me to 'Go find something to read,' So I did, and I must say it is quite fascinating what I found."

"How so?" Warren cocked his head to the side, reminding Roselynn of a puppy with the way his hair flopped with the movement.

"I'm from the Second Kingdom," She explained, as if he hadn't already figured that out, "So we never really studied the Four Who Saved the Nine Kingdoms because of the Wolf's involvement."

"It's just Wolf," Warren chuckled before nodding to one of the books, "May I?"

"Sure," Roselynn handed over one of the books, "I am so glad I found this book too; I've read up on the history of the Kingdoms many times over, but they were just as important, and it seems Wolf was a huge part of that. Sadly, that's something that would be downplayed at every turn if this was even allowed to be taught back home, which is doubtful."

"Second Kingdom policies being what they are, I can't say I'm surprised," Warren shrugged, thumbing through the tome.

"It doesn't mean that it's right," Roselynn huffed, "I mean a third of our citizens, perhaps less now that many of the other Kingdoms have opened their boarders since King Wendell's decree, are Wolves. We ought to be able to learn their history, and how it integrates with ours, preferably from their perspective."

"Good luck getting that past the queen," Warren rolled his eyes.

"You know, I'm not completely convinced that Wolves are as inherently evil as my mother and her court believe," Roselynn shrugged, "There has to be more to that story I mean, that's why I found that book so interesting, it portrayed Wolf as a hero rather than some grandmother-eating, chaos causing, murdering, savage."

"Well there was the chicken massacre in Little Lamb Village," Warren reminded her, "We can't overlook that."

"True, but I don't think that was completely his fault," Roselynn countered, "I mean, if it were, wouldn't we be hearing of other such instances every full moon?"

"You do have a point," Warren conceded, "There are even some theories that his lack of control that night was not of his own inability to control himself, but due to the influence the Evil Queen had over him."

"I would be interested to find out if the theory proved true," She mused, her head cocking to the side in thought before she noticed the long shadows surrounding them, "Oh dear, it's getting late, I really should head back before Mother gets worried."

"Why? Do you think she'll worry you are stuck in the labyrinth with a Wolf?" Warren teased, a slight smirk on his lips as the setting sun shadowed his face in sharp angles. Even in the lower light, he could see the slight blush rise to her cheek.

"N-no, but it wouldn't help at all if Mother found out I was alone with a boy," She stammered, "And she certainly wouldn't like it if she knew that on top of that, that the boy I was consorting with was a Wolf."

"We wouldn't want that, now would we?" Warren chuckled, "Do you need help finding your way out?"

"I probably should accept your offer to guide me," She consented, "I fear the game turned me about some."

"Then I pray you allow me to escort you through," Warren took her books and tucked them under an arm while offering the other in faux chivalry, "Mademoiselle?"

"Why thank you, kind sir," Roselynn giggled, taking his arm as he wove through the passages of the great maze before finally arriving at the edge of the garden. "I enjoyed meeting you."

"As did I," Warren smiled, his hazel eyes glowing gold in the twilight, "I hope we can meet again someday."

"I would very much like that," She agreed, "Too bad we are leaving at first light. Thank you for your help in the maze."

"Glad to be of service, but you best run along, Little Red," Warren grinned, "Wouldn't want to be caught alone with the big bad Wolf."

"I don't see any about," She shrugged, "I just see a kind boy who protected a girl from getting lost." With one last smile, she headed toward the main entrance to the castle.

Warren stood staring, a bemused smile on his lips, as he watched her cross the lawn before turning and dashing toward the staff entrance to make his way to his family's quarters. His uncle insisted they have their own space in the castle for times such as these when his parents were called to participate in matters of state.

"Where were you?" Christy demanded the moment he came through the door.

"I was hiding," He shrugged innocently, "Apparently you weren't a very good seeker."

"You cheated," She accused him.

"No, I didn't," Warren countered, "I just didn't allow you to use your sense of smell to an unfair advantage."

"You have the exact same senses," Christy pointed out.

"What is going on here?" Their mother entered, hearing the two bickering, her hand resting on her swollen stomach. She and her husband had found out a few months ago that they were expecting twins, which would make their pack grow from 5 to 7, once the two were born.

"Christy seems to think that me using the ivy in the labyrinth to hide my scent is cheating during hide and seek," Warren explained.

"I'm not even going to rule on that, I'll leave that to your father," She sighed, running her fingers through her dark brown hair which she was letting grow out again after having it short for over a decade. "All I want to hear is the sound of two kids cleaning up for dinner, your uncle is expecting us soon, Now, shoo."

"Yes, Mama," The pair acquiesced before turning toward the washroom.

"What was that about?" Her husband asked, coming up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, his thumbs tracing circles over her distended stomach as he playfully nuzzled her neck.

"Something about hiding in ivy during hide-and-seek," She sighed, leaning into his chest, allowing him to hold her up, "Figured it was more a Wolf thing than a Mama thing."

"Probably better to let them work it out themselves." Her husband shrugged.

"You just don't want to deal with it," She chuckled.

"Not in the slightest," He agreed, "I am, however very hungry. Let me see if I can't hurry those cubs of ours along."

She just nodded as she rebalanced onto her feet as he released his hold on her. Grabbing his hand as he passed, she got him to stop a moment, "Do you have any idea how much I love you?"

"I would say nearly as much as I love you," He stepped toward her, dropping a tender kiss that held all the passion of the past 15 years they'd been together in it, "My Virginia."

"How did I ever get so lucky?" She sighed, "To have fallen in love with the Wolf by whom all wolves are now measured."

"You weren't lucky," Wolf smiled, "I am the lucky one here, I mean huff puff, I had to journey into another dimension just to find you. And you were not an easy woman to pursue, but so well worth it."

"I love you," Virginia repeated.

"I love you too," Wolf smiled warmly at his bride, "My love for you is stronger than any enchanted moon." With one last kiss, he turned on his heel and headed toward the washroom to hurry his children along. It wouldn't have done to leave the ruler of the Fourth Kingdom waiting, even if the ruler was his brother-in-law.