Title: Waiting for a Star to Fall
Author: Cherie710
E-Mail: (cher710@eudoramail.com)
Rating: PG
Category: MSR, Alternate Universe
Summary: Fox Mulder is Prince William and Dana Scully is 
just a vegetable vendor. For the Prince and the seemingly 
penniless Dana Scully, is falling in love like waiting for 
a star to fall?

Dana Scully was up before dawn, gathering tomatoes, radish, 
pickles, and bell pepper and putting them into their 
respective baskets. Her long red hair has been tied up into 
a bun at the back of her head, a few disobedient strands 
covering her eyes as she grabs yet another handful of 
string beans. As she tucks the loose strand beneath her 
ear, she glances at the candle resting on top of a low 
cabinet.  Only a few minutes more and the candle will die 
out - darkening the very small kitchen where she stood 
segregating the produce.  She glanced at the slightly ajar 
window and saw that the sun was about to rise any moment.   
She sighed in relief.  They can no longer afford to buy 
extra candles.  Gas for the lamps was also too expensive.  
This was one of the reasons why she loved the sun, it 
always seemed to shine at the exact moment it is needed to.

Some people say that poverty is a social cancer. In 
Pandora's Hollow, it is a condition that eats away the 
defenses of weak individuals, burying them further in the 
scantiness of resources.  But to Dana Scully, whatever 
poverty may be to other people, it is not a sin.  Dana was 
born a poor girl and she had no objections, nor any 
grudges.  But she does not intend to be bonded to this 
state forever. She has gone through so much stress and 
strain just to be able to attend Father McCue's afternoon 
classes.  The old priest Father McCue has always been in 
awe of Dana's perseverance, strong will and determination 
to succeed - not to mention her fondness for science and 
literature.  Father McCue was once a young man who attended 
school and was very well-known for his intelligence and 
education.  Having visited Pandora's Hollow once, he saw 
the potential young Dana Scully had.  He then volunteered 
to tutor Dana every afternoon during weekdays about the 
arts, science, literature, and math.  

Selling vegetables in the morning till eleven, caring for 
her sick aunt during lunch time, cleaning the house & 
tending the garden at two in the afternoon, taking care of 
her cousin Emily till four, then going to Fr. McCue's 
classes at The Village was Dana's daily routine.  This was 
during weekdays.  On Saturdays, she has time to visit the 
wonderful river near their house.  There, she caught up on 
reading the books Fr. McCue has loaned her, she played with 
Emily and sometimes just wades her feet in the cold water.  
If she's lucky, she gets to bathe in the river. Sundays 
were for Mass and another round of house cleaning, caring 
for her Aunt, and taking care of Emily while her mother 
went off to sell produce at the towns surrounding The 
Village.

Life was a bit mundane, but somehow in her heart Dana hoped 
that it would not be so for the rest of her life.  She 
wished to bring her aunt to a doctor, to finally afford her 
medicine.  She wanted so much for Aunt Helen to try the new 
medicine discovered by the King's scientists and not to 
rely on the organic herbs she and her mother have been 
using for the past year.  She wanted Emily to leave 
Pandora's Hollow more often and visit The Village.  She 
wanted a lot of things.  But at the rate that things are 
going for her family, Dana knew, she just might need a 
miracle.

Realizing that in her hand was a rotten carrot, she snapped 
from her reverie and sighed.  Hearing her mother's 
footsteps in the living room, she said a little prayer that 
they may be able to sell more today than they did 
yesterday, and the day before.

She freed her red hair from the tight bun and shook her 
head slightly.  She looked around, for the seventh time 
that morning. The small kitchen had a table seemingly 
attached to the south wall.  Three steps from the table to 
the east, just below the window, was the stove - if it can 
even be called a stove.  Just a few stones piled up to hold 
a cauldron and a hollow opening beneath for the fire 
sticks. The stove did not extend to the far end of the 
wall.  On the south wall, there was a door leading to the 
very small bathroom.  There was no place for a tub.  The 
pail of water and any human could hardly fit inside.

On the west was a wooden door leading to the living room 
slash bedroom.  Again, just a small wooden table with two 
chairs on top of a very old Persian rug on one corner of 
the room.  On the south wall of the living room, there was 
a window, slightly bigger than the one in the kitchen.  
Dana's mother, Margaret, was opening the window, allowing 
faint sunshine rays to creep in.  A four yearold girl sat 
on the Persian rug, munching on a meager piece of biscuit.  
When the window was opened, the girl instinctively shielded 
her eyes with her thin palm.  Five steps from the window 
and then there is the bedroom. A bamboo divider separated 
the living room from the bedroom.  A thick dirty white 
cloth that hang from another stick served as the bedroom 
door. 

Inside the bedroom was Dana's Aunt Helen.  One big blanket 
was spread on the floor.  A coughing and sneezing woman in 
her late thirties lay on the blanket.  A thinner blanket 
covering her shaking body.  It was cold even if there were 
no windows in the bedroom.  

Dana got out of the kitchen, carrying the baskets of 
produce.  Emily gave Dana the best morning smile she could 
manage as the little girl lacked sleep. Aunt Helen was 
coughing too loudly and more often last night.  They had to 
move the table and chairs away and lay on the Persian rug 
to sleep.  They feared that Aunt Helen's coughing is 
contagious.  Moving to another room seemed the best option.

Dana placed the baskets down the floor and lifted Emily.  
She was getting bigger.  Emily squealed, Dana laughed.

"Dana?"  Margaret Scully was putting a shawl around her 
shoulders.  Dana need no more word from her mother telling 
her to move faster and get going.  A few more minutes in 
the house and the usual stall they occupied in The 
Village's market will no longer be "their usual stall."

With a kiss on the baby's forehead, Dana put Emily down.  
As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. Margaret 
opened the door.  It was their neighbor, Mrs. Newberry.  
She lived just a few paces away from the Scully house.  She 
had a small bungalow.  She was an old maid, and she loved 
the Scullys.  While off at the marketplace, Mrs. Newberry 
looked after Emily and Aunt Helen. Without Mrs. Newberry, 
Dana will never be able to help her mother at the market.
Mrs. Newberry was one of those persons Dana was most 
thankful to God for having.  

A good half an hour walk to the marketplace later, the 
usual stall was still standing and fortunately, unoccupied.  
In King William I's kingdom, the marketplace was one of the 
busiest, noisiest, most disorderly place.  Several laws and 
regulations have been passed, but none has been observed 
ever so strictly.  And so, the stalls were usually occupied 
by the vendors on a first-come-first-serve basis.  

After setting up the vegetables, hanging a few beans and 
laying the others on the table, Dana was ready to tie 
another bandana to shield herself from the scorching sun.

The sun has fully risen and the market streets were 
becoming more and more packed but none has bought from 
their stall.  Margaret kept on arranging the vegetables as 
though the arrangement would attract meticulous buyers.  
Dana was fanning herself with a stray cardboard she found 
on the way to the market.  A bit upset that after two hours 
of heat and exhaustion, no one has still bought from their 
stall, Dana barely noticed that the cardboard she was 
fanning herself with has fallen from her grip.  Quickly, 
she turned and looked at the ground.  Reaching down for the 
cardboard, her loose bandana fell - revealing the red hair 
that reached her shoulders.  As she picked up the 
cardboard, she found herself face to face with black boots.  
Dana knew that a man wore those boots.  Quickly, she stood 
up and reached to recover the bandana as it slipped down 
her shoulders, but to no avail.

Soon enough, she found herself staring up into hazel eyes.  
A tall man with brown hair, older than she is - Dana 
deduced.  He did not look like the indigent young men from 
Pandora's Hollow.  He looked intelligent, composed, almost 
filthy rich.  What was he doing in their vegetable stall?

Dana's eyes remained locked with the stranger's.  She was 
surprised to see him holding her bandana, saying "My lady, 
I believe this is yours."

No one has ever called Dana "my lady." Everyone in her 
household called her Dana, Mrs. Newberry called her "my 
dear," Fr. McCue called her "child."  This man, whoever, he 
is - he is different from everyone else that Dana has ever 
met.

"I'd like a dozen carrots, a basket of pickles and two 
dozen tomatoes, please." The strange man said with a smile.

Dana just stood there dumbfounded.  First, he calls her "my 
lady," obviously treating her with respect that seemed to 
equal reverence for a princess.  Now, he buys almost all 
the vegetables Dana and her mother had in their stall.

Dana still didn't move.  She was not even aware that her 
mother was quickly bundling up the strange young man's 
requests.  Without taking his eyes of Dana's, the man 
slowly moved his hand to touch Dana's face and asked, "Is 
there something wrong, my lady?"

His touch was gentle and warm, comforting and seemingly 
humble.  Dana's stare softened as she said, "Nothing, sir.  
It's probably the sun.  Too much heat."  Dana almost 
slapped her forehead from disappointment at her own words.  
Everyone she knew thought of her as a smart girl.  Why 
couldn't she come up with something witty?

"Not sir.  Mulder.  Call me Mulder."
 
------------------------

Sometimes in your life, you meet this one person that makes 
you feel alive when life has seemingly ceased to exist for 
you.  Sometimes, this person just bears within his being 
some sort of key that unlocks the prison cell incarcerating 
your heart and happiness.  Sometimes, this person is just 
so different from everybody else that you finally reach a 
conclusion pointing to three or four words later deduced to 
two single-syllable words "The One."  Seems perfect, it 
does.  But sometimes, you meet this person at the wrong 
place and the wrong time.  And for Prince William, this day 
at the market appears to qualify in the above-described 
"sometimes" category.

A petite redhead, big blue eyes and pouting cherry red 
lips...dangerous combination.  Add the tattered bandana, 
the tidy brown market dress, worn-out sandals, or basically 
the entire wardrobe screaming "Pandora's Hollow" and you 
get an even more dangerous combination.

Prince William stood there, transfixed by the beauty and 
aura of this woman who seemed to charm her way to the very 
depths of his sagacity.  His hand lingered on her face till 
she moved her head a looked at it.

"Nothing, sir.  It's probably the sun.  Too much heat."  
She said in a very soft voice, illuminating mildness and 
strength with her words and movement.

He then replied, "Not sir.  Mulder.  Call me Mulder."

No one will suspect that the king's son roamed around The 
Village Market.  A few vendors can attest that a tall young 
man with brown hair, hazel eyes, dignified stature, and 
decent wardrobe wandered around, but he is definitely not a 
prince.  He may pass off as just one of the educated men in 
The Village, but definitely not Prince William himself.  
Besides, he was called Mulder.

Mulder smiled at his own rationalization.  He did a nice 
job with his disguise.  Calling himself Mulder barely even 
took away his identity. Although the entire kingdom has 
referred to him as Prince William, he always mentally 
called himself Mulder....so did the three unusual yet only 
friends he had from The Village.  William was the King's 
name.  In truth he was just William II. The late Queen 
Christeena had given him the name Mulder.  She only called 
him Mulder when there were just the two of them.  No one 
else knew about the secret loving nickname the mother has 
bestowed upon her son.  "I had a childhood friend from the 
northern farms once.  He was a wonderful friend.  He ran 
about the farm doing mischief and executing his madcap 
plans for fun.  I always liked Mulder. In fact, I think I 
fell in love with him. But he was just a stable boy who 
worked for one of the northern knights, and I was the 
daughter of the King of the North....a princess by her own 
right."  Those were one of the bedtime stories Mulder has 
enjoyed during his childhood days.  He never once failed to 
listen intently at keep the envoy of sleep at bay.  To this 
day, his twenty-first birthday, he remembers every word and 
intonation of his mother's bedtime stories.  His mother has 
been gone for fourteen years.  Not a single bedtime story 
from his father, nor from his nanny, nor from any of the 
ladies-in-the-waiting court. Every birthday passed off as 
an ostensibly disguised curse....a string of bad lucks, 
depression, loneliness and unwanted solitude.  But today, a 
change of fate has befallen. The sun may have risen in the 
west instead of the east.

He had his own share of beautiful ladies and princesses.  
He had his own share of green & blue eyes, of black and 
blonde hair, of moon-bright skin and olive complexions.  
But this exquisite sight standing mystified in front him is 
certainly unique..far more different, more beautiful than 
anyone he has ever laid eyes upon.  

For what seemed like an eternity, Mulder the lady vendor 
stared into each others' eyes as though envisaging their 
souls.  Their eyes bore an invisible connection that seemed 
to flash so many wonderful dreams and hopes at the back of 
their minds.

The connection was broken when the woman wearing a frayed 
shawl spoke with a smile, "Here they are kind sir, as 
requested."

Unwillingly, Mulder took his gaze off the petite beauty who 
then looked down as the woman behind her smiled gratefully.  
Mulder then called for someone named "Frohike."  A short 
semi-stout man wearing a dark brown cloak and carrying a 
small market basket.  As he stepped behind Mulder the short 
man said, "Dragging me into this was bad enough, Mulder.  
But to let me carry this around this basket like your 
market lady, I think you'll be indebted to my for the rest 
of your life."  

Irritated, the short man handed the empty basket to Mulder 
who then handed it to the middle-aged woman behind his now 
favorite sight.  The older woman neatly packed the 
vegetables inside the basket while Frohike gazed sweetly at 
the young girl whose head was still bowed and was still 
under the sugary stare of his friend.

"Well hello there, young lady." Frohike greeted as Mulder 
glared at him.

The redheaded young lady looked up and gave a small smile 
of acknowledgment.  As the older woman handed the basket 
back to Mulder, the latter grabbed a piece of fresh-looking 
pickle and took a bite.  

"Hmmm.  These are very good pickles!" Mulder exclaimed, 
Frohike rolled his eyes.

"Why thank you, sir," replied the woman.

"Oh, please, call me Mulder.  Where are these pickles from, 
ma'am?"  Mulder subdued himself and thankfully succeeded in 
saying "these pickles" instead of "this young lady."  
Frohike rolled his eyes once more. Seeing this, the young 
woman fretted that the short man might get those eyeballs 
permanently stuck at his forehead if he did not stop.

"My daughter here, Dana, and I plant them ourselves at 
Pandora's Hollow."

Mulder's face lit up at a stunning new discovery.  The 
pickles, after all, are very good tools in harvesting 
information.  Not only did he know where the young lady 
resides, she also goes by the name Dana. *So, her name is 
Dana,* he thought.

"Oh really.  That's nice."  Mulder said as he nodded in 
appreciation of the woman's response.

Frohike nudged his elbow and whispered, "What are you 
doing, Mulder? I thought we're just here to look around, 
observe, notice, see, perceive.."

Mulder moved away from Frohike and stepped closer to Dana 
and her mother.  "Well, ma'am, my friend here just told me 
that he's interested in how these pickles are grown.  He 
says he wants to try growing some himself.  Would you mind 
if we come visit Pandora's Hollow one of these days and get 
some tips from your lovely daughter here?"

Frohike stiffened in horror and Mulder chose to ignore the 
20 different facial expressions he has made in 10 seconds.  
Dana, however, looked up in amazement and a bit of worry 
was evident in her eyes.

Dana's mother cleared her throat and said, "Not at all, 
sir.  You are our first and probably the only customer we 
have for the day.  You brought us good luck, you are most 
certainly always welcome.  When you do go to Pandora's 
Hollow, just ask around for Margaret Scully's residence.  
You'll find it in a jiffy."

So now, whilst Frohike made a thousand attempts to drag 
Mulder away from the vegetable stall, the latter knew the 
mother's name..Margaret.  Courting the mother first was 
always a very good idea, at least it was based on his 
experience with three ladies from Little Brook, River Bay, 
and Covington.  But of course, Dana is different.  

Mulder smiled contentedly at the Margaret's instructions. 
"I see.  I'll find it in a jiffy, huh?"

"Yes, Mister Mulder."

Frohike now decided to push Mulder away from the stall.  As 
Mulder eased away from the stall at a good 2 inches, he 
said to Dana, "Well, see you in a jiffy, Dana."

------------------------

If life were poetry, Dana Scully's will be a stanza-full of monotonous words, 
plain expressions and no flowery speech at all.  Rhyming took the form of either 
aaaa or bbbb, not abab, not aabb. Lines ended with periods and commas.   But 
when a man who claims to have the first name "Fox" leaned in and kissed her on 
the lips, the line ended with both an exclamation point and a question mark.

The door to their small house suddenly seemed so enormous as it if were castle 
doors.  The house no longer seemed dull and small, suddenly, it seemed fit for a 
princess.

The door creaked as she pushed it open.  Dana was greeted by the sight of her 
mother and Emily looking over some of the child's drawings.  A small candle was 
already lighted, resting on top of the living room table.  Dana's mind still 
lingered on the events that had Mulder as the main character.

Her mother looked up at her, so did Emily, and they both smiled.  "How was your 
study, dear?"

Dana took off the shawl she borrowed from her mother earlier and carefully 
placed it where she got it before.  "It was okay, Mother.  How is Aunt Helen?"

Margaret stood up and grabbed Emily as she did. They headed for the kitchen for 
dinner and Dana followed. "She's better now than she was this morning."  

Emily piped in, "That'sth bethaus talkin to Multher made hew sthmile."

Remembering Mulder and remembering the kiss, Dana stopped at the kitchen door.  
Seeing the unreadable expression on her daughter's face, Margaret asked, "What's 
wrong, dear?"

"Nothing, Mother.  Everything's fine.  I see we have tomato soup again. I wonder 
whose favorite that is.." Dana said, trying to change the subject.

To Dana's relief, Emily bought her line and said, "Me! Me! Me! Love tohmaytoh 
sthoup!"

Margaret laughed as she settled the four yearold child beside Dana at the table.  
She poured some of the soup in a small bowl, then grabbed a spoon and a glass of 
water as she headed for the bed room.

"When isth Mama gettin better?"  Emily asked.  Dana did not know exactly what to 
tell her cousin, and decided to divert her attention to the little girl's 
improving speech skills.

"Oh, Em! You pronounced the letter R!  Now, all we have to work on is your S."

The little girl grinned as she took another spoonful of the soup.  Dana patted 
Emily's hair, then kissed her head. Guilt crept up in her heart for not 
answering the child's question.  She set down the glass of water down after 
taking a sip, then said, "Mama will be better soon, sweetie."

"Multher told me that too!  He sthaid he'll bw-bring some bw-bwead-bread for 
Mama the next time he visthits."

Dana stared at the child.  Mulder.  He really is going to come visit again.  And 
soon.  It troubled Dana to think that she will once again see the young man who 
made every idealistic vision of a first kiss she had pale in comparison to the 
real thing.  What will she say to him when they meet again? Are they going to 
pretend that nothing happened?  Is he going to tell her that the kiss was just a 
very natural thing for him..perhaps, it happens everyday?

She tried to brush away those thoughts and concentrated on the soup which has 
started to get cold.

Dana was about to ask her more questions about Mulder when Margaret reappeared.  

"Helen's already sleeping.  Just took a few spoonfuls then dozed off."

"She's not hungry then?" Dana asked.

"I guess not.  She'll have to eat breakfast tomorrow though, or she'll weaken," 
Margaret told her daughter.  Then she turned to Emily and said, "Finish up your 
soup, Em.  It's almost time for bed."

The little girl complied.  Later, Dana was left alone in the kitchen as her 
mother tucked Emily to sleep in the living room. Although Aunt Helen seemed to 
be getting better, they chose to sleep in the living room for a few more days.  

When Margaret came back to the kitchen, Dana was already washing the bowls and 
utensils she, Emily, and Aunt Helen used.  Margaret's own share of the soup 
remain untouched at the table.  As she sat down, she said to Dana, "Mister Fox 
seems to be nice young man.  Did he ask you about the pickles already?"

Dana was wiping a bowl dry.  Hearing her mother's question, she almost dropped 
it.

"No, he hasn't, Mother.  And I also don't think Fox is his real name."

"Don't be ridiculous, Dana.  Why would he lie?"

"I don't know."

"Why hasn't he asked about the pickles?"

"He doesn't like pickles."

"What do you mean?"

"Mother, he only asked about them because he wanted to get to know me."

"And just how do you know this, Dana?"

"He told me."

"Ah."

Dana was expecting another question from her mother, but did not get one.  
Margaret ate in silence.  As Dana wiped her hands with the dishcloth, she turned 
to her mother and said, "He might come visit again soon."

"Oh, yes, I figured that would happen."  Margaret replied without looking up.  
When Dana was already at the kitchen door, Margaret called her.  "Sit down for a 
minute here with me, dear."

Dana did as she was told.  She did not know why her mother asked her to sit 
down.  They were going to talk for sure, but she did not know what about.

"Mister Fox.." Margaret began.

"Mulder," Dana corrected her.

"He asked me to call him Fox, so I will."

"Alright."

"Okay, then.  Mister Fox seems to be interested in you.  He seems to admire you 
very much."

Dana remained silent.  She was surprised with herself when a thought crossed her 
mind, *It's a mutual admiration.*

Her mother went on, "Dana, I told you before.  He's not our kind.  You already 
know what happens when our kind and theirs get together.  You know very well 
what happened to Aunt Helen.."

"Mother, I will not end up like Aunt Helen."

"Dana, I just don't want you to get hurt.  I'm only asking you to be careful.  
Aunt Helen has already set a lesson.  Don't go falling for looks that can 
deceive, Dana..Mr. Fox seems nice, and I hope he truly is.  But you'll never 
know.  Just be careful who you fall in love with, Dana."

"Mother, I am not in love with Mulder."

"You say that now.  You'll never know."

Dana shook her head.  Then, she rested her elbow at the table and propped her 
head on her palm.  "Don't you like Mulder, Mother?"

Seeing her daughter's pained expression, Margaret sighed.  She figured the truth 
can ease things up, it always does.

"He is kind, yes.  But we do not know him too well.  The fact that he is wealthy 
scares me, Dana.  Or maybe, I was just too traumatized with what happened to 
Aunt Helen and Emily's father that I am worried too much."

"Maybe you are.  But I promise, Mother, I'll be careful."

With that, Dana stood up.  Her mother touched her arm then asked, "What about 
you, Dana, do you like Mr. Fox?"

Dana pressed her lips into a thin line, then looked down on the floor before 
saying, "Yes."

---------

"King William, your highness, the men you sent to look for the prince are back.  
They wish to see you," announced one army leader as he entered the king's throne 
room.

The king opened his eyes, looking at the man, then closed them again.  Shaking 
her head, Queen Diana ordered, "Send them in!"

Four men wearing dark blue cloaks entered.  Queen Diana flashed them an angry 
stare, then shouted, "Idiots! Were you wearing those cloaks when you searched 
The Village?"

"No, your highness, we were in different disguises," answered one tall thin man 
meekly.

Queen Diana sighed, "Did you find him?"

The same man who gave the earlier response replied, "No, your highness.  There 
were no sightings of the prince in The Village."

Queen Diana stepped down from the throne chair and moved closer to the man 
answering her questions.  In a whisper she said, "The king is dying.  Prince 
William II is to step onto the throne any day now.  Bring him to me immediately 
and I shall raise your payment by 50 more gold pieces."

As the queen dismissed the four men, they bowed and left.  An old man, about the 
same age of the king, entered.  He was wearing dark green robes and around 
himself he had a black cloak.  He was dressed to leave the castle, for sure.

Queen Diana crossed her arms then tapped her left foot, asking, "What do you 
want, Cyrix?"

The man spoke, with the deepest voice known to the kingdom, "You do know that 
the prince has every right to roam around The Village as he pleases.  He does 
not need to be hounded by four of your men and be brought back to the castle by 
force.  Why can't you just let him be, Diana?"

"Address me as queen you old deep-throated man!  And, this castle is William's 
home.  He is to stare here and rule, not stray in The Village."

Shaking his head, Cyrix stepped out of the throne room.

------

Dana and Margaret just came home from the market when they saw Mrs. Newberry 
come out of their house.

"Oh! You're home, my dears!" Mrs. Newberry exclaimed.

"Mrs. Newberry, leaving so soon?" Dana asked.

"I hope it's alright if I leave early, Dana.  I wanted to catch up on my 
crocheting and I left some of the threads at home. And well, that young boy Fox 
volunteered to watch over Emily and Helen!"

Before Dana and her mother could react, Mrs. Newberry was already headed back to 
her home.  Margaret glanced at her daughter, but did not say a word.  When they 
entered their house, they saw Mulder on the floor with Emily.  He's brought her 
a new stack of paper, some crayons and a charcoal pencil.  

Mulder looked up and smile at the two.  "Oh, good afternoon Margaret, Dana."

Margaret smiled politely at Mulder then gestured him to remain seated when he 
moved to stand up.  Dana avoided his eye and chose to head straight to the 
kitchen.  Emily was so engrossed with her new crayons and paper that she did not 
mind her aunt and cousin at all.

When Dana reached the kitchen, she was even more surprised.  Loaves of bread, 
and some slices of meat were at the table.  Her mother was right behind her, 
although not looking as surprised as she was supposed to be.

"He already told me," Margaret explained. "He said it's a thank you gift for the 
hospitality we have shown him."

Dana nodded.  Her mother continued, "And he also asked that this not be taken 
the wrong way, nor be interpreted negatively."

Dana nodded.  Her mother continued, "And he also asked to talk with you.  I told 
him he may do so. He can walk you again to Fr. McCue's."

Dana shook her head violently.  Her mother chuckled.  "It's alright, Dana.  I 
know you want to talk to him to."

Dana sighed and said, "I don't know if I want to talk to him."

"Dana, what I told you last night..they are only to remind you to be cautious.  
To keep your eyes open to possibilities, to be reminded that life has harsh 
realities.  But I also want you to know, that life has many wonderful things to 
offer.  We may not know Mister Fox that well, but the more I see him and talk to 
him, the more my fear subsides."

"What are you saying, Mother?"

"I'm saying I still don't want you to get hurt.  I'm saying I want you to be 
careful.  But I'm also saying that you should not let fear hinder your 
happiness..not when you don't know anything for sure."

Dana looked at her mother, then walked closer and hugged her.  "I'm not going to 
lie to you," she whispered, "I like him, I really do."

----------------------------------

Dana still didn't speak a word to Mulder, nor did she even look at him.  It was 
still unknown to both of them how they managed to get out of the house and head 
for the road.  Maybe they had a mutual understanding, Mulder thought.  But as 
Dana was once again quickening her pace, he grabbed her arm gently.

"Dana, we need to talk."

She nodded, but still didn't look at him.  Mulder gently touched her chin and 
tilted her face upwards so her eyes could meet his.

"Talk to me," he pleaded. "Are you mad that I kissed you yesterday?"

"No," was her only reply.  Try as he might, Mulder could not read her eyes, nor 
her expression.  He had no idea what she was thinking.

"Then what is it?"

"Can we talk about this some other time, I'm running late for Fr. McCue's."

"I cancelled your classes," Mulder blurted out.  It was true.  Before setting 
off for Dana's, he dropped by the library and asked that Dana's class be 
cancelled.  Mulder told the priest that he wanted to bring Dana to her favorite 
riverside and talk to her.  

"You what?!" For a moment, Mulder knew the strong Dana he knew was back.

"I told Fr. McCue I needed to talk to you."

"I don't believe you."

"Then we'll go to the library, ask Fr. McCue if I'm telling the truth.  I'm 
telling you Dana, it's a long walk and I'm sure those sandals aren't very 
friendly with these roads."

"Leave me alone," she stomped off, slightly mad and headed for the other 
direction.  Good, Mulder thought, she's headed for the riverside.

When she noticed that Mulder was still walking after her, she turned to him and 
said, "I told you to leave me alone.  Go home to your friend's house."

"I can't.  I told you already, I need to talk to you.  But we can do that later, 
when we reach the riverside."

"The riverside?!  Just how do you know I'm headed for the riverside."

"I have a four yearold informant."

Dana rubbed her eyes tiredly then said, "Look, Mulder, I don't want to talk.  
There's nothing to talk about."  She turned away then continued her walk towards 
the riverside.

"We'll see," Mulder said silently.

A good twenty minutes later, they reached the riverside.  Dana sat down under 
one of the trees and gazed longingly at the running water, her face unreadable.

Mulder settled himself beside her, but not too close.  "I need to know if 
everything's alright with the two of us."

"We weren't exactly good friends before it happened so there's no point in 
worrying about how it'll ruin the friendship."

"I'm not worried about ruining the friendship.  I'm worried about me losing the 
*chance* for friendship with you."

"You want to be my friend?"

"Not really."

"I don't understand you, Mulder. You.."

Mulder cut her off, "I want to be more than your friend."

Dana looked at him, then back to the river, "Hence the kiss."

"Hence the kiss," Mulder echoed. "So can I?"

Dana looked at him once again, her eyes searching, "Can you what?"

"Dana, I'm serious about you.  I really am. I know it's hard to believe me, but 
that doesn't mean you don't have to believe me.  Yesterday was the best 
birthday, no, it was the best day of my entire life.  Seeing you gave me hope, 
it gave me a sign that life isn't really as messed up as I think it is.  Meeting 
you made me realize that no matter how dark everything seems to fall in on my 
existence, there's still light..a very bright light indeed."

Dana realized that as Mulder announced his feelings on her, he has moved closer 
to her. He was now holding her hand tenderly. She gazed into his eyes, 
discerning his sincerity.  Dana was looking for any sign of deceit, of angel 
tongue, of pretense, but found only honesty.

Dana locked eyes with Mulder. As she she whispered to him, "I want to believe 
you."  With that, Mulder touched her chin, and pulled her face close to his.  
Then, their lips touched.

-----

It has been a well known fact that secrets cannot remain as secrets forever.  
There will come a time when even the most clandestine of facts are to be 
revealed in ways unexpected to the people who hide it.  Secrets are bound to be 
discovered, it just takes time..when and how. And of course, why.

The Villagers have always viewed Prince William as a silent, yet influential 
young man who was very much different from his father.  He rarely attended the 
royal balls at the castle, and even if he did, you'll barely notice his presence 
for he was never in it for the limelight.  Ladies from well-off families must 
have gone through needle holes just to catch a glimpse of the Prince's handsome 
face.  The needle hole was luxury compared to what they will go through if they 
want to meet the Prince.  But even so, in his trips, Prince William was rumored 
to have gotten involved with several women. Especially in the North, where he 
went to a couple of times, he had relationships with ladies from wealthy clans.  
But he almost never socialized in the South which he was groomed to rule.

And now, rumors in the village has spread.  Prince William II has ran away from 
the palace.  There were a few strange men asking if they saw this man whose 
description neared the appearance of the Prince. But they never did specify that 
they were looking for the prince.  And with all the hype about Mrs. Rochertsen 
and Mr. Philip's affair, Juliana Christopher's relationship with his father's 
chauffeur, Mr. Goldberg's falling business, and Mrs. Stewart's loss of jewelry, 
a weak rumor about the Prince running away from the castle when there is no 
verifiable evidence to prove it makes it almost unnoticed. Besides, the men who 
went around looking for "the king's mischievous nephew who ran away" were always 
very careful with their questions. It has been ordered by the king that the 
matter be hushed.  And so far, the plan was working.  No one seemed to believe 
the rumor that Prince William II was roaming around The Village and the 
neighboring places.

Mulder knew there was a search team sent to look for him.  At first he thought 
they were already scraping The Village for any sign of him.  But later, he 
realized that the search may not be as intensified as he thought.  For if it 
was, he would have been caught already.  

---------- 
=Fourteen Days Later=

Richard Langly is the owner of the Sunway Inn.  It was a little outside The 
Village, north of Pandora's Hollow.  Travelers coming from Stone Creek and 
Laguna Cove going to The Village usually stopped by the Sunway Inn for a day's 
rest.  When he was seven, he met the ten yearold prince at The Village Park. The 
late Queen's mother from the North went for a visit and decided to take his 
grandson out of the castle to play with the other children. Alone and seemingly 
too distant from the world even as guards surrounded him, Prince William made an 
effort to befriend the skinny and odd-looking son of the Sunway Inn owner.  The 
Prince, who had two other friends with him..an older looking stout teenager and 
a modest looking boy about the same age as Langly, approached and offered to 
play with the loner Langly. There, a lifelong friendship began.  Suddenly, he 
was no longer "Loner Langly."

And now, eleven years later, the Prince, disguised as the simple Mulder, sat in 
the kitchen of the Sunway Inn.  Across him sat Frohike, beside him sat Langly.  
There were three cups of tea, and one plate of fresh-baked biscuits.

"So how's Byers? Any news?" asked Langly.

Mulder remained silent, a small smile playing on his lips.  The three of them 
have been seated there for almost an hour and he still seemed oblivious to the 
whole conversation.

"He went to visit me once, Byers did," Frohike narrated. "And, guess what, 
Mulder.."

"Mulder?" Langly asked, then he nudged the unaware bloke.

"Hmm?" was Mulder's only reply, a smile still visible on his lips.

"Mulder, are you even listening?" Frohike queried.

"Yes." Mulder replied.

Frohike sighed, resolved that he might not get Mulder's undivided attention for 
the moment.  "Byers told me that the king ordered for the search to lie low.  A 
bit of sense must have knocked into his head, and realized that it's not a crime 
for you to roam The Village."

Mulder stirred the tea with the spoon, still looking weird with the actions he 
displays.

Langly coughed, "And?"

Frohike coughed even louder, "And..or rather, But..the Queen wants this little 
loverboy here to be found immediately."

"Really now," Langly began, "And, I'm sure you both have heard that they're 
keeping the issue of his disappearance silent? The men looking for Mulder are 
spreading word that it is not the Prince who's missing but the king's 
mischievous nephew, who apparently came for a visit just last month."

"And the stupid villagers believe it, do they not?" asked Frohike.

"Yes, the do believe it, as a matter of fact," answered Langly. "There are too 
many newsworthy and gossip-worthy events in The Village right now that the 
unverified disappearing prince issue does not seem to warrant attention as much 
as it's supposed to." He said as though giving a report to a superior. "Heard 
all of that from the villagers leaving for Stone Creek."

Frohike nodded. "Well, it's good that most of the villagers think it's just a 
lame rumor.  However, Mulder here told me that Fr. McCue, the one with the 
library, has heard of 'troops being sent to look for Prince William.'  Who knows 
what other people have heard."

Then, seeing that Mulder seemed to be unmindful of the whole talk, he gave the 
latter a kick in the leg.

"Ow! What was that for?!" exclaimed Mulder, almost knocking off his cup of tea.

"You didn't hear a word, didn't you?" Langly asked.

"I did too." Mulder boasted.

"What?" Frohike challenged.

"That..that, the king's nephew is missing," realizing the absurdity of the 
statement, he asked, "I have a cousin? And he's missing?"

Shaking their heads, Frohike and Langly had to retell their stories once more.  
This time, they made sure Mulder listened and understood what they were saying.

"That makes me safe, a bit." Mulder sighed.

"You weren't in danger in the first place.  You're just hiding." Frohike 
explained.

"No, I mean I'm safer to wander around The Village now.  No fear of getting 
caught by those men looking for me.  I don't have to return to the castle at 
once.  At least, at my father's order, but not my stepmother, but I don't care 
about her anyway."

"So," asked Langly, "You're enjoying The Village, huh?"

"The Village?!" Frohike scoffed, "He's enjoying Pandora's Hollow *and* the 
riverside!"

"What? I thought your plan was just to see how life was at The Village? You 
never said you'd be venturing Pandora's Hollow."  Langly's brows were furrowed 
in confusion.

"That's before he met Dana." Frohike supplied.

"Dana? Another girl?!" Langly exclaimed.

Before Frohike could answer, Mulder straightened in his seat and yelled, "What 
do you mean another girl?!"

Frohike made a sound which sounded like a cross between "Yeah right" and "Duh!"

Mulder shook his head, then began, "Look I may have had relationships in the 
past, but I never loved any of them."

Another cough from Frohike which now sounded like, "Phoebe Pass-Out."

"Alright," Mulder sighed, "I had feelings for Phoebe, but they were never as 
strong as the feelings I have for Dana."

"Who's Dana?" Langly interrupted.

Mulder continued, "My father encouraged me to 'go meet those girls' and I did.  
They're just flings.  Nothing serious.  And before you cough again, Frohike, 
yes, I was serious about Phoebe before but that was before. Things have 
changed."

"Who's Dana?" was Langly's interruption once again.

"And I'm telling you," Mulder said, ignoring Langly's question, "I never had 
feelings as strong as these before.  Thinking of Dana, and just remembering her 
when she's not with me, it made me realize that those women in the past really 
meant nothing to me..now."

"Who's Dana?!" 

Standing up, Mulder grabbed his cloak and draped it around himself while saying, 
"The woman I'm going to marry."

Frohike coughed up the tea he was drinking, then shouted, "What do you mean 
marry?"

"What?" Mulder asked, "I am of age to marry already and I can choose whoever I 
want to marry."

"That's true..if you were just an ordinary citizen like me!" exclaimed Langly. 
"You're a prince! You should be marrying a princess!"

"Dana is a princess!" Mulder answered back.

"Yeah, of Pandora's Hollow! Look Mulder, you're supposed to marry off some rich 
girl from anywhere but Pandora's Hollow.  Everyone knows it's the poorest area 
of the kingdom.  Your father will certainly not approve." Frohike told his 
friend.

"I don't need my father's approval.  And if he doesn't, I'll leave and 
relinquish my crown," Mulder revealed.

As Mulder headed for the door to the Inn's main lobby, Langly called out to him, 
"Cyrix has sent word that he wishes to speak with you.  He says it's an urgent 
matter."

Mulder stopped, scratched the back of his head, then told Langly, "Alright. Tell 
him to meet me at the riverside.  It's a safe place, too far and complicated to 
be ventured by those morons they sent to look for me.  But be sure, Langly, to 
tell him that he may not go there on Saturdays.  Any other day of the week, but 
not Saturday."

Langly nodded in agreement.  Frohike stood up to follow Mulder.  They were 
headed back home.  Tomorrow, Mulder had plans to see Dana..just like he did 
everyday.

---------
Scully Cottage
Pandora's Hollow

It was almost dark. The crickets could be heard outside, and so was the soft 
rustling of the leaves brought about by the gentle breeze.  Margaret has already 
closed all the windows, much to Emily's dismay.  The little girl loved staring 
out into the dark, looking for insects, movements, and so many other things that 
interest her young inquisitive mind.

As Margaret busied herself in the kitchen, preparing dinner, Dana checked up on 
the little girl then headed to look after Aunt Helen.  Thanks to Mulder's liquid 
medicine which he claimed were only brewed drinks, Aunt Helen has gotten better.  
The coughing has ceased and she was now able to sit upright on the bed.  Seeing 
Dana enter the bedroom, she flashed her "healthy smile" to reassure her niece 
that things were all right.

Dana sat at the edge of the bed, "How are you feeling, Aunt Helen?"

"A lot better, dear.  How is Mister Fox?" The sickly lady asked back.

"Last I saw him, he was fine. I haven't seen him today though."

"You miss him already?!"

"Of course not, Aunt Helen!" A pause. "Well, yes, a little."

Dana's aunt smile in awe of her niece.  She was now a lady, a grown-up venturing 
in the dangerous yet equally exciting world of falling in love.

"He's an adorable young man, Dana.  But be careful of your heart.  Don't lose 
yourself entirely in love.  Love yourself too."

Dana chuckled, "Here we go again with your love lectures."

"I'm serious, Dana.  Mister Fox is from a different world.  He's older too."

"By only three years, Aunt Helen."

"Yes, but that sets him apart from you in such an aspect.  Has he ever told you 
how many relationships he's had in the past?"

Dana sighed loudly, then as if reciting a memorized poem, said "Two from a trip 
to East, one from the West, two from the North, and in the South..a girl named 
Phoebe, who meant a lot to him. 'Twas the first time he fell in love."

"And you believe him? Everything he said about his past relationships?"

"Yes."

"Has he asked about your past?"

"There's really nothing to tell, but yes, he did ask me once. I told him the 
truth..that I have never been in love before."

"It's not surprising, though, isn't it? There are very few people here in 
Pandora's Hollow and most of them are women and old men," laughed Aunt Helen.

"And even when I go to The Village, I'm barely noticed.  I told him so."

Nodding, Aunt Helen quipped, "It seems like you two are getting along so very 
well. Headed down somewhere?"

From the living room they could hear Emily talking to Margaret. Dana looked at 
her hands in nervousness, refusing to look her Aunt in the eye, "He told me once 
that he wants to take me home with him," she whispered.

"He implied marriage?!" Aunt Helen almost shouted that it caused Margaret and 
Emily to quiet down. Dana gently put her hands in her aunt's mouth with a 
"SShhh!"

Then, Dana said quietly, "He hasn't exactly implied marriage." Aunt Helen's 
brows met in confusion, her face asking "What do you mean?"

"He asked me to marry him four days after we kissed.  And with the words he 
used, I am certain it was not just an implication."

Aunt Helen's eyes widened in a mixture of shock and excitement, "What did you 
say, Dana?"

"I told him that I will think about it, and to ask me again someday.  He only 
ended up asking me the same question every two hours for the past two weeks," 
Dana told her aunt with a smile that radiated the happiness of a young lady very 
much in love. But her expression changed from joy to sadness when she said, "I 
already told Mother but she wasn't too happy with my decision."

Once again, her aunt was surprised at the fact that Dana already had a decision. 
Aunt Helen only asked, "What is your decision?"

"I wanted to say yes to Mulder on my nineteenth birtday."

Aunt Helen's jaw dropped, but she managed to whisper, "Dana, that's barely two 
months away.  Don't you think it's too early?"

"No," was Dana's quick response.  "I feel like I've known Mulder forever, and 
that whiling away time just seems to be wasting it."

"Well, I'm sure Maggie's just a bit upset that you'll be getting married, you 
know leaving us.  It's a bit upsetting for me too, but as long as you're happy, 
dear.  I'm at your side.  You deserve to be happy, Dana.  You really do."

Dana smiled a "Thank you, Aunt Helen."

"So will you?" Aunt Helen asked.

"Will I what?" asked Dana.

"Say yes to Mister Fox's proposal?"

A moment of silence.  A shine of bright blue eyes.  A smile.   Then, "Yes."

--------

"I just came to say goodbye." 

Six short words that foiled whatever wonderful plan Dana had for herself and for 
Mulder.  Truth be told, she expected to see Mulder's ecstatic expression the 
minute she showed her face at the door.  She expected Mulder to one again 
deliver his speech of apology and revelations of love.  She expected Mulder to 
ask again and again for things to go back the way they were before the so-called 
truth came out.

Slowly, Dana stepped outside of their small house.  She closed the door gently 
behind her, hearing Emily's muffled, "Isth that Misther Foxth?"

Mulder stepped backward, giving Dana some room.  When he still didn't talk and 
just stared at his hands, Dana led her out onto the back garden.  As they 
walked, she asked, "Goodbye?"  She meant to sound more calm and collected, but 
the word came out with a breaking voice.  Mulder nodded, then added calmly, 
"Cyrix, I think you've sort of met him already, has informed me that my step 
mother plans to send for another batch of men who will bring me back.  My father 
has already called in the previous guards she has dispatched, but next month or 
so, she's going to send out men again.  She's just bidding time."

Sighing heavily, Mulder added, "I have to leave for the North, where my 
grandparents live.  It's a quite a long travel, I have to leave in a few weeks 
so the men won't catch me before the borders."

Dana continued to walk towards the Garden, a few steps behind her was a very 
tense Mulder.  

Mulder cleared his throat, then gently reached out for Dana's shoulder.  If 
she's going to swat his hands away, it's fine with him, at least he took the 
chance.  He wanted some reassurance that the Dana who seemed to loathe him with 
every bone in her body a couple of days ago is the same one walking with him 
right now, concerned and worried.  To his delight, she did not jerk when he 
touched her.  She only turned to face him.

"Dana, I'm not leaving for the North till you forgive me," Mulder confessed, his 
eyes pleading.

Dana raised his eyes to meet his, saying, "I could easily tell you that you're 
forgiven so you can leave."

Shoulders slumping, Mulder sighed.  He took Dana's hand in his.  Mulder was even 
more surprised when Dana did not yank her hand away when he kissed her knuckles.

"Dana, I told you a million times before, and I can tell you a million times 
again.  I am deeply sorry....for what happened, for how you found out. I meant 
to tell you myself, but I was waiting for the right time to tell you.  Again, 
I'm sorry."

To Mulder's surprise, Dana nodded.  He expected some polite rebuttal from her.  
Some convincing rationalization that would make him even more sorry than he 
already was.  But she gave neither.  She just nodded, which meant she either 
understood or she was forgiving him.

When Dana bowed her head, Mulder gently touched her chin and tilted her face 
upwards to meet his gaze.  "I'm sorry," he whispered, a tear escaping his eye. 
"Forgive me, Dana."  And as Mulder pressed Dana's hand to his face, he let his 
tears flow.  

Tears brimming in her own eyes, Dana opened her palms and caressed his face.  
She could no longer hide the pain that she felt when she saw Mulder cry.  She 
had things to say, and holding them back will hurt *both* of them even more.  If 
she allowed Mulder to go on without letting him know her true feelings, then 
pride reigned in her heart.  They were both hurting, what's the point of 
prolonging the pain?  

"I forgive you, Mulder,"  Dana whispered close to  Mulder's face.

Mulder's closed eyes suddenly opened at what he just heard.  With his softest 
voice, he asked, "Did you say that because you really have forgiven me, or 
because you wanted me to leave already?"

Without tearing her gaze away from Mulder, Dana revealed, "I said that because I 
love you."  Her voice was soft but it was full of conviction.

Mulder's world did not stop.  It whirled around so quickly that he and Dana 
alone stood frozen in the middle.  His head was spinning, his heart throbbing, 
his hands shaking senseless, as his lips quivered in a mixture of surprise and 
ecstasy.  For the first time, after a million and one times that he has told 
Dana he loves her, she told him she loves him back.  He wanted to just stand 
there with her, to replay the moment repeatedly, to hear those words unendingly.  
And as he thought things could not get any better than this, he was proven 
wrong.  Cupping his face with her own cold shaking hands, Dana told him further, 
"I'm *in love* with you."

Mulder felt his knees weaken at her words.  If she weren't holding him, he would 
have collapsed right then and there.  When she smiled at him, a true beautiful 
heart-felt smile, his mouth hung open still from shock.  He looked as though he 
was going to faint.  Dana had to laugh at this.  Hearing her joyful giggles, 
Mulder managed to smile and to blink, most of all, to breathe.

Between giggles, she asked, "Haven't you ever heard those words before?"

Mulder was barely able to shake his head and open his mouth.  He croaked, "Never 
from someone I truly loved."

And with that, Dana dropped her hands to Mulder's shoulders.  She tiptoed to 
kiss him passionately on the lips.  When she pulled apart, she had to strengthen 
her grab on his shoulders to keep him from stumbling backwards.

"Why Mulder," Dana joked, "If my kissing you makes you faint, maybe you should 
reconsider...."

"Marry Me," Mulder interrupted her.  He was now standing steadily, finally 
regained composure, and dead set to get an honest answer from Dana.

Dana was used to hearing Mulder's proposals, but this time it was different.  
She has confessed her own feelings to Mulder.  Before, a "No" from her was 
really expected, but now, a "No" entailed pain, grief, and extreme 
disappointment.  She wanted nothing more than to say "yes." In fact, before the 
misunderstanding they had, she has planned to accept his proposal on her 
nineteenth birthday. 

Dana's laugh subsided.  She moved a few steps from Mulder, giving her a better 
view of the man she loved deeply.  Mulder was tensely awaiting her response.  
For fear that Mulder will collapse in suspense, Dana began, "Mulder, if I marry 
you, that would make me a princess."

Mulder nodded, but he could sense that the last thing Dana wanted to be was the 
princess of the Southern Kingdom.  To have King William as a father-in-law, and 
an infidel Queen Diana for a mother-in-law was an unbearable thought for any 
decent young lady, it was a slightly unsettling scenario for even the most 
ambitious of women.  The parents-in-law worried Dana as well, but it's not the 
whole bargain.  She had simple dreams of living with her husband and children 
near the riverside.  She did not want to go to the precious balls and dinners 
which everyone expected her to grace.  She wanted a simple life, and Mulder knew 
that very well.

Dana continued, "I don't want to be a princess.  I want to be your wife...." 
Both she and Mulder were surprised at this revelation.  She meant to tell 
Mulder, but not so soon. However, those words got Mulder's hopes up, and even if 
Dana said "no" today, he'll ask her still until the end of his days.

As Dana's eyes widened in shock at her own words, she stammered, "I mean, I, uh, 
if I we get married, I have to live with you in that castle.  You're going back 
home eventually, not now, fretfully soon, but you *are* going back to being 
Prince William."

Mulder decided to lighten the mood as he joked, "And you're going to be Princess 
Dana!"

Dana's brows furrowed and she shook her head, "I don't want that life, Mulder.  
I don't like the balls, the parties, the dinners, the gatherings.  I don't like 
the luxury.  I grew up like this," indicating her ragged clothes and the 
poverty-stricken area, "but I love this life.  I don't want to change into some 
lady who wears gowns whose cost could compensate for a family of five's month-
long lavish dinner."

Mulder stepped closer to her, putting his hands on her shoulder.  "Dana, if only 
I can, I'll give up my crown and my throne just so I could live here with you 
and Margaret, with Helen, and with Emily....but I can't Dana.  I want to, but I 
cant.  My father has no other heir, and if I turn my back on my responsibilities 
as crown prince, then the whole of the Southern Kingdom will be left without a 
ruler.  You do imagine the chaos and disorder that might occur if that happens, 
don't you, Dana?"

Dana nodded sadly.  She herself wouldn't want Mulder to abandon the kingdom just 
for her.  She wanted him to be a good ruler, to organize the already disorderly 
Southern Kingdom.  But still, she does not want to be part of all those politics 
and royal affairs.  She wanted to remain Dana."

Mulder pulled her into an embrace.  Dana rested her cheek onto his shoulder as 
Mulder stroke her hair.  "We can still make it work, we can meet halfway."

Mulder pulled back to look at her, Dana did the same.  With Mulder still holding 
Dana, she asked, "How?"

Mulder gave a teasing smile then said, "Say yes, first."

"Mulder..." she warned.

"It has been a rule in the Southern Kingdom that the prince's wife live with him 
at the castle.  But there are no documented rules that forbids you not to attend 
those stupid gatherings.  You can just stay in our bedchamber and wait till I 
successfully smuggle as many chicken legs and carrot sticks as I can."

His joke went unnoticed, "But Mulder, it's not just the gatherings.  There are a 
lot of other things..."

"I know.  But we'll work it out.  But, Dana, why don't you like parties? It's 
just maybe two nights a month, or less.  It doesn't go on forever."

Dana broke her gaze upon Mulder and stared at the ground.  In the softest of 
whispers, she said, "A princess by affinity who came from Pandora's Hollow is 
always a good show to watch."

Mulder gently lifted her face and asked her to look at him.  "Even if you're 
from the so-called poorest area of the kingdom, you're still the most wonderful 
woman I know and love.  You're poised and well-mannered.  Believe me, Dana, just 
wear a gown and you're a princess in an instant.  You don't need to pretend.  
You're a natural."

"Well, thank you for your flattering comments, Mulder, but I don't think the 
other women who have been hunting their precious Prince William will see it that 
way."

"You don't you have to care about what people will say."

Nodding in agreement, Dana added softly, "I know, I shouldn't."

Mulder kissed her lips just then and whispered, "The only thing that matters is 
that I love you and you love me.  I don't give a damn about what other people 
will say."

As Dana whispered "Thank you," Mulder got down on his knees, much to her 
surprise.

"Mulder?! What are you doing?!"

"Will you be my wife, Dana?"

Dana's heart was beating quickly, her whole mind and being were screaming "yes," 
but she still had reservations.  She still had fears of how fast things were 
running for them, and fears of what the future may bring.  But she knew that in 
order to reach happiness, success, and contentment, you have to go through 
chances and risks first.  Looking into the eyes of this young man who appeared 
as though no one else in the world existed for him, Dana said, "Yes."

Not believing what he heard, Mulder froze yet again, which made Dana laugh 
softly again.  Helping Mulder to his feet, Dana touched his face and said, "I 
love you, Mulder, and I'll marry you.  I'm willing to face whatever problem or 
discomfort might come my way, as long as I have you with me."

It sounded like her marriage vow, a promise of eternal love, which made Mulder 
even more determined to have her as his wife before he leaves for the North.  

After sharing a loving kiss, Mulder told Dana, "Cyrix suggested that I leave for 
the North week after next."

Dana nodded, although unsure of what will come next.

"I want us to be married before I go, Dana."

It took her by surprise, but Dana wanted the same thing.  Mulder was leaving for 
the North, and right now that he hasn't left yet, she was already missing him.  
At least, if they were married already, waiting for Mulder would present
something new for her.  She no longer would wait for just Mulder, she'd be
waiting for her *husband*

Before saying "Yes," Dana brushed her lips against Mulder's.  The now engaged 
prince gave a full bright smile.  He had everything he wanted right in his arms, 
and he wanted nothing more.

"If you want, Dana, we can ask Father McCue to do the ceremony for us.  We can 
get married here, in your house," Mulder was talking as if he were sharing a 
life-long dream that he wished to come true, "Margaret and Helen can be our 
witnesses, and Frohike and Langly too.  Emily's going to be the prettiest flower 
girl in the history of the Southern kingdom. And, then, we could fix the house 
tomorrow and get married the day after..."

Dana giggled at his rambling, then pressed her lips onto his lips to silence 
him.  The day after tomorrow, she was going to be Mulder's wife. And nothing 
else in the world appealed to her much than having Mulder as a husband.

Meanwhile, Margaret sat beside Emily as they sorted through the vegetables.  
Aunt Helen stood up to get a glass of water when she saw Mulder and Dana from 
the kitchen window.  As she saw the lovers kiss in joy, she was in awe at the 
happiness radiating from the couple. She said to her sister, "Soon, you'll be 
having a son-in-law."

Margaret smiled a happy smile. She was glad for Dana.  Her daughter deserved the 
best man, and that was Mulder, rather "Misther Foxth."

-----

Every one has his or her own idealistic vision of what the wedding 
ceremony would be like, a dream wedding, as they put it.  In a castle, 
in a vast garden, in a field of flowers, on a boat in the middle of a 
sea, were a few "suggestions" as to the venue of the ceremony.  From 
the bridal entourage to the reception, the evening ball, and the 
honeymoon, a royalty's wedding entailed at least six months of 
preparation.  At least, that's how they did it in the North, East, and 
West.  As for the Crown Prince of the South, his wedding barely had a 
day's preparation.  The venue wasn't the Throne Room, nor the greatest 
hall in the castle, nor in the widest garden carpeted with flowers.  
The ceremony was to be held in the smallest living room imaginable, 
inside Dana's house, the most comfortable place on earth for 
him..especially when Dana was in it.  The officiating priest was not 
the Cardinal, but simply Father McCue.  The witnesses and guests 
weren't foreign dignitaries nor the who's who of the kingdom, but only 
Dana's relatives, Frohike and Langly.  Byers could not leave the castle 
for he would arouse suspicion as to the whereabouts of Prince William.  
Mulder didn't care whether his wedding met the standards of a prince's.  
He was the luckiest and happiest man on earth for he was marrying Dana 
Scully, southern royal wedding traditions be damned.

It was still dark when Mulder got up from his bed, dashed out of his 
room and pounded on Frohike's bedroom door.

"Frohike!!! Wake up! It's my wedding day!"  Mulder sounded like a five 
yearold boy announcing his birthday, eager to see his presents.

Grunts and "Go away! It's too early" were the only replies Frohike 
gave.

Mulder pounded even more loudly on the door, resolute to wake him up, 
"Frohike! Get up! We need to see if Father McCue's all ready!!"

Giving up, Frohike dragged himself out of his comfortable bed and 
angrily opened the door.  He saw Mulder wearing the biggest grin on his 
face.  Sometimes, it was hard to believe that this young boy who used 
to love chasing frogs around the castle pond is already twenty one and 
was now getting married.  Mulder advanced to hug Frohike as his "Thanks 
for waking up" gesture, when the latter moved backwards and raised 
threatening finger.  "Mulder! Your wedding isn't till nine, and it's 
only four thirty! Goodness, man! Get some sleep!"

Mulder folded his arms across his chest and muttered in annoyance, "I 
can't sleep, Frohike! I'm too excited!" 

Frohike shook his head, almost shouting, "Fine! Then walk around the 
house if you want to, go to the backyard and run around, eat, drink 
some coffee or tea, dance, I don't care, just please, let me sleep for 
a few more hours!"  With that, he slammed the door shut and hurriedly 
set the locks.

Outside, Mulder sighed heavily.  He had more than four hours to waste.  
He wanted to rush towards Pandora's Hollow, knock on the Scully's door, 
drag Dana to The Village and just get married at Fr. McCue's library. 
Then, they'd head straight for the Sunway Inn, which was the designated 
substitute for a trip to the Green Islands as the honeymoon place.  
After that, he'd spend countless hours debating on whether he'd still 
go North or risk getting hauled back to the palace just to spend more 
time with Dana.  Honestly, right now, with the wedding literally fast 
approaching and the promise of happiness within an arm's reach for him, 
Mulder did not know whether he would still heed Cyrix's advice.

By five-fifteen, Mulder has exhausted himself in daydreaming about Dana 
and mulling over other possible alternatives to avoid being thrown back 
into the castle.  He fell asleep on the wooden rocking chair beside the 
fireplace.

Ensconced in an exquisite dream of his bride and himself by the riverside 
chasing each other, Mulder only awakened when Frohike nudged his shoulder and 
shrieked at his ear, "Wake up, loverboy! It's seven a.m.  We have to go fetch 
Father McCue *now*!"

As Mulder jumped, he almost fell out of the chair.  If he wasn't able to grab 
the chair's armrest, he would have fallen into the fireplace.  This made Frohike 
laugh.  He just stood there, all ready and watching the still sleeping-clothes 
clad Mulder.

Instead of arguing with Frohike as to why he wasn't woken up earlier, Mulder ran 
towards the bathroom.  Thirty minutes later, he had on his best trousers, new 
tailored black tights, the new boots Frohike got him from the village, and the 
dark blue cloak he loved so much.  Because he was already dressed up for the 
most important occasion of his life, he decided that he'll go straight to 
Pandora's Hollow instead of arousing suspicion at The Village.  He grabbed an 
even larger black cloak to cover his body and a large hat to hide his face.  
Then, he told Frohike, "If you and Fr. McCue are not at Dana's house by eight, 
I'll tell Madam Rosita that you're in love with her!"

Frightened, Frohike bid no goodbye to his friend and hurried off to fetch Fr. 
McCue.

------
Scully's Cottage
Pandora's Hollow

As Mulder reached the front yard of Dana's house, he was greeted by Aunt Helen, 
who was obviously just waiting for him.

Aunt Helen walked towards him, her arms open wide.  Mulder hugged her as she 
told the young man, "I knew it! You're an hour and fifteen minutes early.  Fo-
Mul-Pri, uh, what shall I call you, my boy?!"

"I'd prefer Mulder, Helen."

"Well then, Mulder, your wedding isn't till nine! You're early, *very* early, as 
Dana have predicted!"

Mulder's face lit up hearing Dana's name. "Where is she?"  His tone was jolly, 
hopeful, and longing altogether. 

Aunt Helen waved her forefinger in Mulder's face while giggling, "Uh-uh. I don't 
know about you royalties, but here, it's customary that the groom be forbidden 
to see the bride before the wedding!"

Mulder felt quite uneasy that he'd have to wait a hundred and five more minutes 
before he could see his bride.  But as they say, patience is a virtue and he was 
sure his bride will be worth every minute's wait.  Aunt Helen led him to the 
back garden where they had small talk about what were his and Dana's plans.   
Mulder was forbidden to enter the house for Dana was inside preparing.  Once in 
a while, Emily will come out to whisper "news" in Mulder's ears as to what the 
bride looked like.  Then, when Aunt Helen playfully dragged Emily back into the 
house, Margaret came outside.  She smiled at her soon to be son-in-law and gave 
him a warm embrace.

"Thank you," was all Mulder could say.

"I expect you to make my daughter happy, Mis-Fo-Mul-Pri, uh, what do I call you, 
son?"

Mulder wanted to say that the "son" was great already, but in the end he said, 
"Mulder is fine."

"Well, Mulder, I want my Dana to be happy with you, just as you will be blissful 
in her company.  She's a good and kindhearted lady, Mulder,"

"I know," Mulder interrupted her, then said a quick, "Sorry."

"Yes, I am glad you know.  Mulder, I am glad to have you as my son, I hope you 
feel the same as me being your mother-in-law."

"I am, Margaret, very glad and very thankful."

*********

Frohike and Father McCue arrived at the cottage five minutes before nine, Langly 
running from behind.  Before Mulder could open his mouth and ramble about how 
worried he was that the priest might be late, Frohike explained, "It's Langly's 
fault.  He met us at the intersection, and he was *supposed* to have brought a 
carriage that will serve as our transportation from there to my place.  But no, 
he had none!" Mulder was now glaring at Langly.

"I swear, Mulder, I had all the horses prepped up last night, but they just 
won't obey me this morning!  If I had done some persuasion, it would take 
another hour for those animals to 'comply'."

"And that was why we had to walk, or rather, run from the intersection to 
Pandora's Hollow," Father McCue said as he tried to catch his breath.

Just then, Aunt Helen opened the front door and summoned all of them to enter.  
Mulder hurried inside, expecting to find his bride.  But, as Emily has pointed 
out, Dana was still in the bedroom.

When the clock stroke nine, everyone went to their respective positions, which 
mean they only stood at the corners of the small house while Father McCue was at 
the other end beside Mulder. Before starting, Mulder had requested that he be 
addressed as "Mulder" and not as "Prince William" throughout the ceremony.  
Emily was wearing a clean white dress and in her hand was a recognizable 
vegetable basket filled with white flowers.  She went back to the bedroom.  Five 
seconds later, she re-emerged, now scattering the white flowers on the floor 
where she walked.  Following her was the most beautiful sight Mulder has ever 
beheld: Dana Scully in a wedding dress.  It was white, very simple yet very 
elegant.  Yesterday, Dana told him that she'll be wearing her mother's wedding 
dress, the one they kept at the only chest in the bedroom.  It had two layers of 
ruffles at the end, a silk ribbon encircling the waistline and tied at the back, 
and a lace collar.  On the top of her flaming red hair, which she wore down her 
shoulders, was a crown of white flowers..similar to the ones Emily was now 
throwing everywhere.  Mulder gazed at her lovingly, then took her hand and 
kissed it, whispering, "Beautiful."

Father McCue cleared his throat. The ceremony was about to begin.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of God to join this 
man and this woman in holy matrimony. As it was said in Galatians 5:31-33, 
'Scripture says: Because of this a man shall leave his father and mother to be 
united with his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.  This is a very great 
mystery, and I refer to Christ and the Church.  As for you, let each one love 
his wife as himself, and let the wife respect her husband.' And now, I solemnly 
ask, who giveth this woman in marriage?"

Margaret stepped forward and said, "I, Father."

The priest nodded in acknowledgment and jumped to the reading of the scriptures.  
It went on a haze for Mulder and Dana, who had to break their mesmerizing stares 
when the priest spoke again.

Mulder gave the priest a quick glance as Father McCue asked, "Mulder, do you 
take Dana whom you hold dearly to be your wife, and do you promise to remain 
faithful to her, to love, treasure, and protect her, under all circumstances 
that life may bring, until death do you part?"

Mulder smiled.  Then without taking his eyes off Dana, he said, "Yes, Father, I 
do."

The priest turned to Dana, who was still staring at Mulder, a smile radiating 
from her face.

"Dana, do you take Mulder whom you hold dearly to be your husband, and do you 
promise to remain faithful to him, to love, treasure, and protect him, under all 
circumstances that life may bring, until death do you part?"

Voice thick with love, she replied, "Yes, Father, I do."

The priest motioned for Frohike to approach.  In his hand was a small cushion 
which had a ring and a necklace resting atop of it.

Mulder was giving Dana his mother's ring.  It wasn't her mother's wedding ring, 
but it was the one she gave Mulder before she died. It was a gold band with 
three rubies and four diamonds side by side embedded on it.  It was simple, yet 
Mulder cherished it greatly.  He would not give it to anyone else but Dana. And 
so he decided that the ring become the token of his vow.  As for Dana, she 
treasured the one memory she had of her father, a necklace with a tiny gold 
cross as a pendant.  Her father before he left as an aid to a rich merchant 
whose ship later sank in the sea.  Dana loved her father dearly, for he was a 
great father, a great man.  And she long ago decided that she will only share 
the necklace with a great man as well.  And when she accepted Mulder's proposal 
she was resolved to not only share the necklace, but to give it to him 
wholeheartedly.  What a great man that makes Mulder.

Fr. McCue spoke again, "May this ring and necklace hereafter be the ultimate 
symbol of your eternal love for each other."

The priest took the ring from the cushion and handed it to Mulder.  Mulder then 
took Dana's shaking hands and carefully slipped the ring in her ring finger.  
Then, Fr. McCue handed the necklace to Dana.  She silently took the necklace and 
put it around Mulder's neck, who turned to kiss her wrist as she fastened the 
necklace's lock.  Then, they heard Emily giggle as Aunt Helen wiped happy tears 
from her eyes.

Fr. McCue continued, "As a minister of the Church, and by the authority vested 
in my by King William, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Ladies and 
Gentlemen, here now are Pri-Mulder and Dana."

The "witnesses" clapped their hands and Mulder moved to kiss his wife chastely 
on the lips.

Dana smiled as they pulled apart, they were now husband and wife.  

*****
After a small yet satisfying meal at the living room, for the kitchen was too 
small for everyone, Mulder cleared his throat.  Dana looked up at him with love 
overflowing from her eyes, everyone else just stared and wondered what he was 
about to say.

"I, uh, I'd like to thank all of you for making the most important event of my," 
he turned to look at Dana, "of our life, really special and absolutely 
beautiful."

Everyone smiled and raised their glasses to say, "Cheers!" "Best Wishes" and 
"Congratulations."

******
Mulder and Dana had planned to spend their honeymoon at the Sunway Inn.  They 
couldn't possibly stay at Pandora's Hollow, nor at Frohike's place.  Langly had 
volunteered to accommodate the newlyweds at his inn's "wedding suite."  They 
still wanted to keep the wedding hushed, for if the villagers found out that a 
girl from "Pandora's Hollow" married a certain rich young man, it would be 
another bit to talk about in the market.  And since it was the season where 
there were *very* few guests at the Sunway, it seemed like the perfect place.

"We'll go visit the Green Islands when everything's all right again," Mulder 
promised Dana.  He was still apprehensive that he couldn't bring his wife to the 
most famous vacation place at his kingdom.

"It's no problem, Mulder, the Sunway Inn is a beautiful place as it is.  Maybe 
when we have our own children, I'd agree to visit the islands."

"Our own children, huh?"  Mulder teased.

"Yes," Dana whispered as Mulder leaned in to kiss her.

*******

Daylight crept into the bedroom through a slightly ajar window from the suite's 
corner.  Mulder instinctively moved to rub his eyes with the balls of his palm, 
but stopped when he noticed the redhead beauty resting her head on his bare 
chest.  He still can't believe he was married, let alone to the most wonderful 
woman in the world.  She stirred, and Mulder smiled.

"Morning, my love."  Dana raised her sleepy eyes to Mulder and mumbled, 
"Mornin'" before resting her head on his chest yet again.

Mulder stroke her hair gently and whispered, "I don't want to go North, Dana."

Sleepily, Dana replied, "I don't want you to go either, but you need to."

Mulder moved to hug his wife tighter and said, "I'll stay a few more weeks with 
you.  I don't care if they catch me here, I'll just stay."

"Mulder, no, you said it yourself.  The men your stepmother has sent will be 
back in a month..."

"Then, I'll leave in three weeks.  That will give me a week-long headstart."

"Why don't I just go with you to North?"

"No, Dana, it's a dangerous journey and a very exhausting one.  You stay here 
and wait for me, I'll be back soon, whether or not those men have reemerged."

Dana nodded in understanding.  "So we still have three weeks together?"

"Yes, we do," Mulder told her.  "Three weeks and then the rest of our lives."

-----
Southern Castle
Throne Room

The large throne room doors, whose edges were entrenched with emeralds and 
rubies, flung open as the queen entered.  Her fur cloak bouncing as she 
sauntered.  The cloak was shade of deep bloody red that almost looked black at 
times, especially when the queen was feeling more wicked than she already is.

At thirty six, Queen Diana was proud that she had successfully gained what she 
had worked for all her life.  The daughter of a rich businessman in the village, 
she used her physical appearance and her cunning to lure men of high stature 
into her charms.  First, she captivated an old friend's of his father.  The old 
man, Peter Robertson, owned the largest jewelry shop and textile stores in the 
village.  Diana made sure that the old Peterson fall in love with her.  And 
lucky for her, he did. She then enjoyed the abundance of jewels, the socialite 
gatherings, the fame. However, Diana never consented to marrying the old man.  
To some, she was wise, to the others she was just plain shrewd. Moreover, she 
was never thought of as a wealthy woman by her own right. The who's who of The 
Village labeled her "gold digger."  When the old man neared his death,  Diana 
thought she'd be inheriting all the old man's establishments, the business and 
all the money.  

But on his deathbed, old Robertson revealed that he had a son out of wedlock, 
Philip Robertson.  And, Philip, was to share half the inheritance.  It was a big 
disappointment for her, until Philip came in from the East to collect his share.  
A foolish man, Philip fell into the clutches of Diana.  After getting him 
severely drunk and using every measure of deception she knew, Diana was able to 
make Philip sign the documents transferring all Robertson properties to her 
name.  She was already thirty-four.  She was unhappy with her current status, 
and time seems to be running out on her.

Barely two months after the so-called affair of Diana and Philip spread in The 
Village, Philip "just vanished."  "I woke up and he was no longer there! He took 
all his belongings with him!" was Diana's cry.  For three whole months, she 
played the role of a grieving woman, abandoned by a lover. Women from The 
Village thought ill of her even more for she stayed with Philip under the same 
roof without the blessing of marriage.  She never lived with old Peter, she was 
there everyday, but she was always seen leaving the mansion at night to go to 
her own house.  With old Peter, she was a bit discreet.  With Peter, she was a 
woman frowned upon by The Village.

And for the third time, fate seemed to be kind to her.  King William has invited 
the so-called "abandoned lover of Robertson" into the castle for the celebration 
of Prince William II's nineteenth birthday.

The other ladies of high status raised their eyebrows as Diana exclaimed, "I 
cannot refuse the king's invitation.  It will be disrespectful of me to do so!"

And so for the third time, her charms worked.  Like a magnet, the king was drawn 
to her.  And as if they were of the same poles, Prince William II "repelled."  
Diana was immediately attracted to the boy, besides, the king was old enough to 
be her father.  But she also cannot deny the fact that the Prince was young, 
gorgeous, but a lot younger.

If King William dies, Diana knew that her ill-captured throne will gradually or 
abruptly vanish.  Sooner or later, she might be dethroned.  Her infamy will take 
away her crown.  Plus, the king's heir seemed to despise her and she guessed 
that if the prince took over, he'll immediately banish her from the South.  

So there was only one great and seemingly option left for Diana.  Once the 
Prince has become king, he must marry her.  She remains Queen.  And, as soon as 
possible, she must bear him an heir.  That would safety her crown even more. And 
now, the king is weak.  If old age does not kill him, either the overly-
dissatisfied and hateful subjects or his severely damaged lungs will.  Diana 
needs to work her charms the fourth time.  She needs to ensnare the handsome 
prince.  She has to.

"Darling!" she greeted her king husband who was currently smoking pipe weed.  
"Don't you think we should send for William again? He's been gone for awfully a 
long time now! I'm getting worried."

Diana felt a strong urge to remove her jeweled shoes and throw it at the king's 
face.  He was drowsing off to sleep as the smoke covered his face.  He didn't 
seem to notice Diana.

"Darling!" Diana shouted.

"You don't have to shout, milady," a deep voice from behind her spoke.  Diana 
whirled around to see Cyrix.  Three of the advisers, who also happen to be very 
well-respected in the whole kingdom, were standing behind him.

"Oh, it's you, Cyrix," Diana said nonchalantly.  She bowed courteously to the 
men in front of her. 

"We have spoken to the king awhile ago," Cyrix began, "regarding the matter of 
Prince William's disappearance."

"And?" Diana asked.

"And he has forbidden any man to be sent to look for him.  He is certain that 
the prince can take care of himself and is in safety," Cyrix explained.  The man 
on his left added, "And he has every right to be out there as any of us.  He 
should not be kept prisoner in this castle. If he wishes to explore what is 
outside this castle, he may do so."

Diana opened her mouth to object but the third man spoke, "And, it has been 
ordered that no one should sent out for men to secretly look for him.  Prince 
William is to be left alone.  He may return to the castle when he wishes to.  
Failure to comply with this rule entails grave consequences."

The queen swallowed hard and glared at Cyrix, then turned to face the now 
sleeping king.  "I'll be at the bedchamber, Darling," was her cold goodbye 
message.

********
The Wedding Suite
Sunway Inn
*One Week After the Wedding*

Seated in the middle of the big four-poster bed, Mulder skimmed through the book 
of poetry Father McCue gave him and Dana as a wedding gift. Dana was taking a 
late-afternoon bath. Langly's wedding suite was not so bad at all, for it had 
its own bathroom.  Surely, Dana was enjoying herself in the big tub.  

Mulder was interrupted when he heard knocks on the door.  Before Mulder could 
ask who was outside, Langly spoke, "It's me, Langly. Sorry to bother you, but I 
have a package here for you."

Mulder walked slowly to the door and unlocked it. Langly stepped inside for 
awhile as Mulder closed the door behind him.

"Where's the beauty?" Langly asked.

"In the bathroom.  Been there for an hour now and I think it'll go on for a few 
more minutes. I'm beginning to feel jealous about that tub, actually."

Langly ignored his comment. "Frohike met with Cyrix this morning, and the old 
man asked that this be given to you.  He heard about the wedding through Byers."

"Oh," Mulder said as he reached to take the gift.  It was wrapped in thick brown 
paper.  Carefully placing the gift on top of the bed, Mulder walked over to 
Langly who was already headed for the door to get out.

"Uh, hey, Langly?" Mulder called, Langly turned to face him, "I know that your 
wedding gift for us was a 'weeklong stay at the wedding suite', but I, uh, I 
decided that I wouldn't go till week after next.  And I really want to spend as 
much time as possible with Dana as I can..."

"You lovers want to stay here till you go? Yeah, sure.  No, problem, Mulder.  
Don't worry about it."

Mulder hugged his friend in thanks.  As Langly grabbed the doorknob, he looked 
at Mulder and said, "Just, whatever you do, stay out of The Village.  You've 
done it successfully for a week.  Another two weeks won't hurt."

"Thanks, and we're also taking the Narrow Isle road to Pandora's Hollow and 
Riverside.  People still think it's dangerous, but Dana and I can prove 
otherwise. At least, no one ventures that road, so I think we'll be safe."

***
Dana emerged from the bathroom after an hour and a half's bath.  A thick yellow 
robe was wrapped around her, and her red hair was still dripping wet.  Mulder 
smiled contentedly as he sat on the bed, watching Dana dry her hair with the 
towel.

Then, Dana joined him in bed, excited to see what was the neatly wrapped gift.  
"Who is it from?" she asked.

Mulder took the package and placed it on his lap. "Cyrix.  Do you want me to 
open it, or will you?"

"You do the honor."

"Okay," Mulder said as he ripped the brown paper much to Dana's surprise.  She 
would have wanted to carefully unwrap it and save the paper, but Mulder was way 
too excited to pay attention to neatness. 

The gift was a light blue blanket, and the word "baby" was embroidered on one of 
the corners.  Dana marveled at the blanket.  She obviously liked it.  Mulder, 
however, took the small white paper that came with the gift.  There was a note.

"Is that a note?" Dana asked, finally noticing and still clutching the blanket.

"It's from Cyrix. It says, 'Prince William, Congratulations on your wedding with 
the beautiful maiden.  Just last week, I supervised the maids as they cleaned 
your mother's room.  It has been quite untidy with dust ever since you left.  
And so, I found this baby blanket in one of the cabinets, near to gathering 
dust.  I believe this was yours.  And now that you are a married man, soon 
you'll be having someone to give it to.  All the best, Cyrix."

Dana touched the blanket to her face, "So this is yours, Mulder?" she asked 
softly.

"Yes, when I was a baby" Mulder said, "and I peed on it."

Dana moved to swat his shoulder but Mulder gently caught her arm.  He brought 
her palm to his lips and kissed it.  Dana smiled.

*soon you'll be having someone to give it to*, the note said.  As the couple 
moved in closer, Dana whispered, "Soon."

-----

They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, and indeed it does.  

After three weeks of spending time as husband and wife, Mulder was finally 
persuaded by Dana to go along with his original plan. He has to leave for North 
and see his grandparents.  Not only was he hiding from the men out to look for 
him, he was also facing greater issues.  He was now a married man, and when he 
returns to the castle, his wife will be with him.  He does not know how his 
father will accept this news, or how the whole kingdom will accept it as well.  
But one thing's for certain, his stepmother's reaction wouldn't matter.  Dana 
was his wife, and the queen will have to accept it whether she likes it or not.

However, Mulder was sure that when he does return to the castle to play his 
princely part, there would have to be some changes.  He wants to stop the 
smuggling, the corruption, the theft, and all the other measures that make the 
poor poorer and the pockets of the foul buddies of his father even more stuffed 
with gold.  He wanted to lessen the holding of purposeless balls and parties 
that were paid for by the stolen money from little businessmen who overpaid 
taxes.  He wanted to review all the laws, repeal, add, and abolish if necessary.  
He wanted to raise the standards of security in the kingdom.  He wanted to do 
all those things and more. But he knew he could not do it alone and at once. He 
needed advice...advice from two of the best and most-loved rulers known to the 
North, South, East, and West...his grandparents.

And so, after much debate, Mulder went on with his initial plan, to move North 
for awhile. However, the "awhile" plan was changed to "four weeks maximum."  He 
wanted to go back to Dana as quickly as he could. Dana has proposed, thrice, to 
go with him on his travel.  But he refused, maintaining that it was a long and 
tiring travel.  Also, Mulder knew that Dana missed her family. She hasn't been 
with her family for the last three weeks.  She and Mulder went for visits, but 
they were only visits, they never stayed overnight.  And with Mulder leaving for 
the North, it would give Dana some time with her mother, Aunt Helen, and Emily.  
Even if she enjoyed every second of being with Mulder during the past weeks, 
Dana missed them greatly.

Now, they stood at the far bend south of Pandora's Hollow where Mulder's 
carriage awaited.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Mulder said as he caressed Dana's cheeks.  She 
pressed a kiss on her nose.

"I miss you already," Dana said as she moved to kiss his lips.

They pulled apart at the sound of a familiar cough, it was Frohike. "Uh, sorry 
to interrupt, but our carriage is already waiting, Mulder."

Mulder nodded.  Dana had suggested that Mulder travel with Frohike, just in 
case.  She feared that if the road might bring danger of any sort,
it will be safer if Mulder weren't alone with just the carriage driver.

The horse nearby neighed, signaling that he was ready for the seven-day travel.  
With one last passionate kiss, Mulder said "See you soon, my love," to Dana.

And as the carriage moved farther from where she stood, Dana whispered, "See 
you."

"C'mon, Dana, I have to walk you home.  Mulder will be furious if he found out I 
let you stayed out here long in the cold."

Dana smiled at Langly.  She was going back to Pandora's Hollow.

-----
Gordon's Inn
Shadow Valley
Twenty-eight Days after the Wedding, Last Day of Mulder's Travel

Mulder was quietly sipping from his cup of herbal tea.  One hand holding the 
mug, the other holding the pendant of the necklace Dana gave him.  

"Missing the lovely lady, already?" asked Frohike, who was digging into his own 
chicken soup, then munching on a loaf of bread.  Remnants of grapes and apples 
splattered on the left side of his table.

"Every second," Mulder answered him.

"Well, I'm sure she misses you too, so you don't have to think about it too 
much," Frohike began, "Think of what will happen tomorrow.  Tomorrow we'll be at 
the North Castle Grounds already! You'll be seeing old Henry and Louisa again!"

Mulder smiled, "Yes, I missed them. A lot."

Frohike lowered his voice, "Hey, aren't you a bit worried of seeing Phoebe Pass-
out again?"

Mulder placed the mug at the table and glared at Frohike, "How many times do I 
have to tell you? I don't care about Phoebe. It's been five years, it's all 
forgotten now."

Frohike took another spoonful of soup before saying, "Well, with a wife like 
Dana, Phoebe Pass-Out sure will be forgotten! You're a very lucky man, Mulder."

"Damn right, I am!"

"And you're even luckier because I let you make your moves on her.  If I 
fascinated her with my charms before you did, she'd be Mrs. Frohike now."

Mulder grabbed a roasted chicken leg and threw it at Frohike, who ducked and 
avoided it.  "Yeah, right! I saw her first, and besides, your charms are never 
going to work on her.  Deal with it!" For the first time that week, Mulder 
laughed.  Missing Dana was just wearing him down that the only thing he managed 
was smile a bit.  At this thought, Frohike was glad that he was able to make his 
friend laugh even for a few seconds.  At least he helped lessen the missing-
Dana-sickness.

****
Dining Room
North Castle

Over breakfast, the King and Queen were debating whether the ball was to a 
masquerade or not.  In the middle of butter, eggs, loaves, pros and cons of 
masquerade balls, the king's personal assistant entered the Dining Room.

"Pardon my intrusion, your highness," Monroe, the assistant bowed at the 
direction of the king then turned to the queen, "your majesty."

"Monroe! What is it?" the king asked, annoyed that the thin balding man in his 
late thirties interrupted him from biting the buttered loaf of bread.

"Your highness, you have a guest."

"A guest?!" exclaimed the queen, "this is not a scheduled visit, then! We have 
received no letter nor word that a guest will come, who is it, Monroe?"

"The only person who can beat Grandfather at fishing," Mulder said evenly as he 
appeared in the Dining Room.  Queen Louisa gasped at the sight of her grandson. 
King Henry dropped the buttered bread he so previously wanted to gobble up.  
Both of them stood up quickly and hurried over to Mulder.

"William! My boy! What are you doing here?! What I mean is, why did you not send 
word that you'll be visiting?! How are you, my son?" King Henry babbled.

Queen Louisa had tears in her eyes as she suffocated Mulder with her hugs, "Oh, 
William! We missed you so much! It's been too long!"

"I know," Mulder said as he kissed his grandmother's cheek, "but I did write you 
letters..."

"Yes! And we cherished every one of them!" the queen exclaimed.

"My boy, I hope you're not taking this the wrong way," King Henry began, "but, 
why did you not tell us beforehand that you'll be visiting?"

Mulder was led back to the dining table and the maids were ordered to serve 
another set of breakfast.  Monroe busied himself telling the maids and other 
helpers to serve this kind of butter, and pick that fruit and this and that.

As Mulder sat, he explained his sudden appearance at the Northern Castle.  "I, 
uh, Grandmother, promise me you won't get overly shocked."

The queen gasped yet again and then covered her mouth with her hands, nodding. 
"Promise."

Mulder looked from his grandfather to his grandmother and began, "I ran away 
from the Castle."

"What?!" shouted the queen.  "Louisa, calm down!!!" shouted the king.

One of the maid hurried to the queen's side and started fanning vigorously.

"Father and I had disagreements, and my stepmother wasn't very helpful either," 
Mulder continued.  His grandfather nodded, while his grandmother still kept her 
hand covering her mouth.

"I left to see what it was really like outside the Castle Grounds.  There have 
been too much complaints and I've been receiving negative comments.  Father 
obviously wasn't doing very well these past few months.  Anyway, I made 
proposals but he rejected them, and so I left."

Mulder's grandmother now grabbed the nearest goblet and drank its contents.  His 
grandfather glared at the queen.

Mulder continued, "I stayed at Frohike's. Father sent men to look for me, but 
later called them back.  Later he realized that I had every right to be out 
there.  I'm not some seven yearold who ran away from home and is needed to be 
hauled back.  I'm twenty one and if I choose to explore the world, I will."

"Good for you, my boy!" exclaimed the king proudly.

"..and if I choose to stay outside the castle and go North, I will!"   Mulder 
continued.

Another, "Damn right, you are, son!" from the king.

"..and if I choose to get married, I will!" Mulder continued.

"Of course, you will, dear boy!" exclaimed the king yet again.

"And I did!" Mulder revealed.

King Henry's proud smile vanished and asked slowly, "You did what, William?"  
His voice was almost a whisper.

"I got married.  To a lady named Dana Scully from Pandora's Hollow!"

The king snatched the goblet from the queen's hands, as the queen fainted in her 
seat.

******

Later that morning, Mulder went for a walk in the so-called Silver Lobby with 
his grandfather while the queen rested. She was just surprised, not upset nor 
unhappy, just surprised.

"So, you're married now?"

"Yes, grandfather, I am.  Is that so hard to believe?"

"No, it's just that, in Louisa's eyes and mine, you are still a young boy.  I 
can't seem to imagine you with a wife!"

"Well," Mulder began, "Dana says I'm a 'wonderful husband' before I left.  And 
the day before that, she said I was the best husband in the whole world.  Does 
that help?"

King Henry laughed and patted his grandson's shoulder.  "I am happy for you, 
William.  Congratulations."

"Thank you, Grandfather."

"So, where is your wife? I only saw Frohike..."

"She stayed behind at Pandora's Hollow. I did not want her to travel with us."

"Ah, I see.  A week's journey is really not very appealing.  But well, when will 
she visit us? When will we meet her?"

"As soon as things have smoothened out. I still have problems to solve.  But 
rest assured, you'll meet her.  Maybe not soon, but you will."

"That's good, then. Anyway, you have to get some rest.  I believe we have some 
matters to discuss.  We can talk tomorrow."

As the king moved to lead Mulder back into the Castle, Mulder spoke, "But, 
Grandfather, I was hoping we could talk already.  I don't want to waste anytime.  
I, uh, I want to go back to Pandora's Hollow as soon as I can."

The king smiled, "Your wife must be quite a lady! Well, then, come inside, we'll 
talk in my throne room."

When they reached the entrance to the hallway, Frohike came running towards 
them. He bowed politely in front of the King, muttering "King Henry, your 
highness."

Sensing a slight radiance of anxiety from Frohike, King Henry asked, "What is 
it, Melvin? Anything wrong?"

Frohike stammered, "I, uh, your highness, the queen wanted me to ask Prince 
William here if she could set up a welcome party tonight."

Mulder, hands on his hips, asked, "Tell Grandmother, no."

King Henry nodded at Mulder, then turned to Frohike, "Remind my wife that 
William wants to keep his presence here a secret.  Goodness, what will the 
southerners say if they found out we're having a welcome party for their prince 
whom they thought was in the South Castle?!"

The King continued walking towards the Throne Room and Mulder slowly followed 
behind him, leaving Frohike at the hallway, thinking of something to say to the 
queen without upsetting her.

*****

Garden
North Castle

"Your highness," Monroe greeted the queen, "Mr. Frohike is here."

The queen put down the dainty cup she was holding, and said, "Thank you, Monroe.  
You can go to Henry now."  Monroe bowed graciously and gestured for Frohike to 
approach the queen while he left for the Castle interior.

"Your majesty," Frohike began, "Both the prince and the king said no.  They need 
to keep Prince William's presence here a secret, they said."

The queen nodded slowly, then took another sip of her tea.  "I figured I'd get a 
no."

Still not being dismissed, Frohike just stood there.  Then, the queen stood up 
from her chair and moved closer to Frohike, her face glowing with excitement.

"Well then, the three of us, will just be having a special dinner tonight!  I'm 
cooking!"

With that, Frohike was left alone in the garden.

****
Scully Cottage
Pandora's Hollow
Thirty Days after the Wedding 

Mulder has been gone for more than a week already. By Dana's calculations, 
Mulder has been in the North Castle for two days already.  How she missed him 
so.  Everyday, for the past week, Langly has been bringing bread and fruits and 
meat to Dana's family. And everyday, Dana asks him if Mulder has sent a letter.  
Langly will only reply, "Dana, it takes three weeks for mail to be delivered to 
and from the North.  Surely, Mulder will be back faster than any letter."

Dana would only nod and go back to playing with Emily, or to tending the garden, 
then she'll be napping.  Lately, Margaret and Aunt Helen noticed that Dana was 
always pale and sleepy, she even craved for unripe mangoes last week.  She 
hasn't been talking much with her mother and aunt, but lately they noticed that 
Dana would sit in the living room with Emily and touch her wedding ring nonstop 
as though she was extremely nervous.  Each time they'd walk in on Dana tending 
the garden, she'd jump at their greetings.  Margaret and Aunt Helen has made it 
a point to tell Dana that "Mulder is okay, he's not in danger," seven times a 
day.

One night, after settling Emily down under blankets, Dana sighed heavily and 
stroke the child's hair.  Aunt Helen and Margaret patiently awaited for her to 
come out.  They needed to talk to Dana, and they needed to get straight answers 
instead of the usual, "I'm fine, Mother," "I'm just tired, Aunt Helen," and 
"I'll be okay."

When Dana emerged from the bedroom, she was surprised to see the two older women 
tensely sitting on a couple of stools.  Their eyes focused on Dana, as though 
she carried some heavy secret that was needed to be revealed.

"Dana, what is the matter with you, child?" Margaret asked, using up all her 
willpower to resist the urge of walking towards her daughter.  Aunt Helen 
suggested that they need to be *calm* and not frantic.

"What do you mean, Mother?" was Dana's response.

Aunt Helen shook her head, "Oh, cut it out Dana! You can tell us, you're a big 
girl-we know that already, but we're still family."

Dana sighed, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Is it Mulder?" her mother asked, "did you two fight before he went away?"

"No."

"Are you sick?" asked Aunt Helen.

"No," Dana replied quickly, then supplied a soft, "I don't know."

Quickly, Margaret stood up and went over to her daughter, grabbing her by the 
arms.  So much for being calm.

"What?! Fever?" Margaret asked as she felt her daughter's forehead. 

"I'm late," whispered Dana.

Margaret dropped her hands to her side and stepped back to have a better look of 
her daughter.  Aunt Helen also stood up and walked closer to Margaret, eyeing 
Dana.

"Honey, you're what?" whispered Aunt Helen.

"I am late," Dana began. "I haven't gotten my period yet."

Seeing the two women's widened eyes, Dana continued, "I have it regularly, as 
regular as you can imagine. And then," but she stopped, realizing that she was
starting to babble.  She breathed before adding, " I've never been delayed, 
well, maybe a day or two...but never for two weeks."

Margaret and Aunt Helen gasped simultaneously.  Dana refused to meet their eyes.  
Instead she went on, "I was supposed to have them on the fourteenth, but now 
it's the thirtieth and there's still none."

Margaret moved closer to her daughter and steadied Dana by the shoulder, "Then, 
Dana, you might be pregnant!"  Margaret's eyes were brimming with tears. "Oh, 
honey! I'm going to be a grandmother!"

Dana looked up at her mother and gave a small smile, "I'm not yet sure, Mother."

Aunt Helen piped in, "That would explain all your nausea, the sleeping habits, 
and those awful green mangoes! Oh! This is so exciting!"

Dana managed a bigger smile. Margaret lowered her voice, still concerned, "You 
were late for two weeks and you didn't tell us? Why?"

"I, uh, I, I really don't...know why," Dana shook her head.  "I wanted to tell 
Mulder, but he's not here." Margaret nodded and smiled at her daughter's 
honesty.

Aunt Helen spoke, "But Mulder left on the twenty-second of this month, why 
didn't you tell him then? You were, what, about a week late already?"

In a soft breaking voice, Dana replied, "I was not entirely certain that I was 
with child already.  If I told him, it would get his hopes up, and he would not 
have left."

Aunt Helen nodded, "Knowing Mulder, he wouldn't have left if he found out you 
were only a day late!"

"What do I do, Mother? I can't go The Village to see a doctor."

Margaret smiled in pride, "Ah, well, you don't need to go there, child! Didn't I 
ever tell you that Mrs. Newberry is a midwife?"

Dana's face lit up but she joked, "No, you didn't!"

Aunt Helen moved towards the bedroom and announced, "Well, you two go see Mrs. 
Newberry first thing in the morning." Then, she pressed a kiss on Dana's cheek, 
"Congratulations, Dana! Soon, you'll be a mother!"

The thought of being a mother greatly excited Dana that she pulled her aunt and 
her mother in a big embrace, "Thank you!" she said. "Love you both!"

*******
Next Day
Mrs. Newberry's Bungalow
Pandora's Hollow

After examining Dana, Mrs. Newberry invited her and Margaret for some coffee. 
She Margaret and Mrs. Newberry sat around the small table, the old midwife 
revealed, "Well, I'd say you're more than two weeks along the way Dana, probably 
going onto the third week."

Dana couldn't help but smile, she now carried a twenty-day old baby inside her, 
Mulder's baby. Margaret reached out to touch her daughter's hand.

Margaret took a sip before saying, "Oh, we figured as much Nelia!"

"I didn't know you and Mister Fox got married already!" exclaimed Mrs. Newberry.

Dana almost dropped the cup she was holding, "How, wha-?!"

"Oh, come on, dear," Mrs. Newberry waved Dana's surprise off, "I'll be blind if 
I didn't know you two were in love!  And now, a baby! That's wonderful! And I 
tell you, it's all right that you didn't invite me to your wedding, I'm just 
happy for the both of you."

Realizing that she could not really get herself out of it anymore, Dana looked 
at Mrs. Newberry and said, "Thank you."

*****

Opening the door to their house, Margaret and Dana were greeted by Aunt Helen's 
"So?!! What did she say?"

Dana only smiled as Margaret answered, "Well, I'm going to be a grandmother and 
you're going to be an aunt!" Immediately, Aunt Helen moved to embrace Dana.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.  Margaret moved to open it, it was 
Langly, with his daily supply again.  After taking the baskets with a thousand 
thanks, Margaret walked to the kitchen as Aunt Helen went back to teaching Emily 
how to hold crayons properly.

Dana turned to Langly and said, "Can we talk outside, please?" Langly nodded and 
opened the door for her.

Outside the house, Dana faced him.  "Langly, I need you to bring me to the 
North, to where Mulder is."

Langly felt as though he was going to faint.  "Dana, I can't do that.  Mulder 
doesn't want you to go there!"

"Did he specifically say that 'Langly, you must not let Dana go North'?"

"Well, no..."

"Then, you'll be in no trouble!"

"No, Dana, you don't understand, you can't just go travel on a carriage for one 
week and..."

"I need to see him, Langly."

"He'll be back in a few days, can't you wait for him a little longer?"

"No."

"Please, Dana?"

"Langly, if you won't go with me, I'll go alone."

At that moment, Langly really wanted to faint. From inside the house, Aunt Helen 
and Margaret heard the conversation.  They were just on the other side of the 
door, and their voices weren't exactly hushed.  From the tone of Dana's voice, 
they knew her heart and mind were set.  Disappointed, Margaret and Helen looked 
at each other.  Nothing they, or Langly for that matter, could say would change 
Dana's mind.  She was stubborn.  When she wants to do something, and her heart 
is all in it, she'll do it.  If she wants to go North and see Mulder, she will.

-----

Prince William's Bedchamber
North Castle
One week after the events at Pandora's Hollow (part 10)

Although Mulder hasn't been to the North Castle ever since his last 
visit when he was sixteen, the room allotted for him did not change the 
last time he saw it.  It still had the brass four-poster bed that was 
laden with blue silk bedcovers and fluffy white pillows.  On one corner 
of the room stood a big wooden cabinet, especially made for him by the 
Remayan Wooden Crafters-the leading in its field in the North.  But 
what Mulder loved most was the terrace.  The glass doors were almost 
always open, leading to the terrace which then gave Mulder a view of 
the most beautiful part of the castle: the garden.

Mulder was awakened from his deep slumber, having another sweet dream 
about Dana, when there was a knock on the door.  Instead of getting up, 
Mulder grabbed the large pillow and buried his head under it.

The pounding on the door became louder.  Then came a familiar voice, 
"Wakey-wakey Willie!"

Mulder tossed the pillow aside and sat up stiffly on the bed.  He knew 
that voice.  He *missed* that voice.  No one else called out "Wakey-
Wakey, Willie!" to him except for his Uncle Harold, his mother's 
younger brother and the only heir to King Henry's throne.

Hurriedly, Mulder got up from bed to open the door.  He was greeted by 
a man in his late forties, dressed in green trousers, black tights, 
black boots, and a dark green cloak wrapped around him.  The man was 
all smiles, exclaiming cheerfully, "Willie!"

"Uncle Harold!" Mulder greeted him back, returning the hug.

"My boy, it's been too long! I've missed you, son!"  Prince Harold has 
always been kind and loving to his older sister's son, Mulder was his only 
nephew.

"I've missed you too, Uncle Harold."

Without being invited into the bedchamber, Prince Harold moved past Mulder and 
let himself inside.

"I hear, this is a hushed matter, Willie," Prince Harold began.  

"Yes, yes it is," Mulder replied, "and I'm sure grandmother has already told you 
everything there is to know."

Prince Harold laughed, then said, "Definitely, especially the 'marriage' part! 
Congratulations Willie boy!"

Mulder smiled shyly, "Yeah, thanks."  

The Northern Crown Prince walked over to open the glass doors, moving towards 
the terrace.  Mulder followed him.  

"Father tells me you have lots of plans...and they're damn good ones! I'm really 
proud of you, William."

"Thanks, Uncle Harold."

"Although, they're not as easy to do as they may sound.  It'll take time, lots 
of time."

"I'm willing to wait..."

"I hear King William is already weak. Then why not wait till that bas-, sorry, 
father of yours uh, till you're finally in the throne?"

Mulder remained silent.  Prince Harold continued, "It'll be the safest, 
uncontroversial, not to mention, smartest move.  Plus, it'll be extremely 
acceptable. The changes you do with come with the change of ruler, totally 
understandable."

Mulder just looked out the garden, still wordless.  Prince Harold extended a 
hand to touch Mulder's shoulder.  "You have new responsibilities, Willie," he 
said with a smile, "you're married now.  I'm not saying you should heed my 
advice, I'm only suggesting what I think is wise."

Mulder nodded, "I shall think about it."

Just then, Monroe knocked on the already opened door, "Your majesties, my 
apologies for interrupting."

Mulder and Prince William walked back into the chamber. "Yes, Monroe?" asked 
Prince Harold.

"Prince Harold, your carriage is awaiting you,"  Monroe replied cordially.

"Where are you going?" asked Mulder, "Didn't you just come back home? 
Grandfather told me you went to the East to speak with their conveyance 
minister?"

"Oh, yes," replied Prince Harold, "I just dropped by the castle to tell Father 
what we have discussed. But, I'm sorry Willie boy, I need to leave yet again.  
Dolores and the children are waiting for me in Heaven's Valley.  We're 
vacationing there for three weeks."

Mulder went downstairs and saw his uncle to the carriage.  After a few hugs and 
words from his Grandfather, Mulder bid goodbye to Prince Harold.

******
Road to North Castle
Same Day

"Langly, how farther still?" Dana asked excitedly.

Shaking, for he feared Mulder's reaction at their arrival, "Just a few more 
minutes and we're there at the Castle already."

"I can't wait to see him!" exclaimed Dana.

"I can," Langly muttered silently.  

"What?" Dana asked, confused.

"Uh, I said, look at that gate over there...that's the entrance gate to the 
Castle."

******
Throne Room
North Castle
Same Day


After breakfast, Mulder went to the Library alone, hoping that he can find 
solace in the books that surrounded him.  He needed to think about what his 
uncle has said.  In a day or two, he shall be going back South, and he needed to 
make quick decisions.

As he sat down in the on a chair, a book of poetry in hand, the last person he 
wanted to see came barging in.  The doors swung open as Lady Phoebe Connery of 
Jerusca's Mound came in.

Mulder's jaw dropped in surprise.  Phoebe looked almost the same, she was older 
now.  Maturity creeping into her eyes, seduction prevalent in her aura.  She 
walked closer to Mulder.

"Hello, William."

Mulder stood up, gently putting the book down at the chair. "Phoebe?! What are 
you doing here? How did you know I was here?"

Phoebe smiled seductively, "It's nice to see you again too, William."

"I won't ask you again, what are you doing here and how did you know I was here? 
as Mulder uttered every word, Phoebe moved closer to him until their bodies 
almost touched.

"I was dropping off some documents that my father wanted the king to look at, 
and I saw good old Melvin Frohike coming out from the Throne Room."

Mulder sighed heavily.  Phoebe raised her hands to Mulder's chest and rested 
them there.  "And I thought, if Melvin Frohike is in the Northern Castle, then," 
Phoebe said, "Prince William must be here too!"

"Frohike denied that you're in here, but you know me, William," Phoebe said as 
she circled round Mulder, touching his shoulders as she did, "I sense you...and 
I thought, why not check out the Prince William's favorite place in the entire 
North Castle: the library."

"What do you want, Phoebe?" Mulder asked coldly.

"Why are you so eager to get rid of me, William?" she purred.

"I have more important things to do," Mulder retorted.

"Like reading poetry?" Phoebe laughed.  She was now standing in front of him, 
both hands resting on Mulder's chest, their faces inches apart from each other.

"Go home, Phoebe, and tell no one that you saw me...that's a royal order."

"Why, William! Why act as though we had no 'history'?"

"You said it yourself, it was history, the past, buried and forgotten."

"Maybe," Phoebe whispered as she leaned closer to Mulder's face, "you just need 
to remember." And with that, she pressed her lips onto Mulder's.

Mulder suddenly pulled away as he heard a woman gasp from the door.  His eyes 
widened in shock, and his hands shook in surprise.  It was Dana, she was 
standing at the door, Langly behind her.  Her own eyes were wide with 
astonishment, but they showed something besides surprise: pain.

Mulder stood frozen, he wanted to rush towards Dana, but his legs wouldn't move.  
Phoebe, thankfully, backed away from Mulder...wondering what was happening 
exactly, and who is that woman?  She placed her hands on her hips, narrowing her 
eyes at the woman who cut their kiss short.

"Mulder," Dana whispered as a tear slid down her cheek.  Then, she turned her 
back quickly and ran away. Langly stood there shocked as well, but not knowing 
how to deal with Mulder, he ran after Dana.

Finally, Mulder was able to move and run after them.  But he stopped at the 
doorway when something at the floor caught his eye.  He remembered it as the one 
Dana dropped when she whispered his name.

It was his blue baby-blanket.

-----

The sight of Mulder kissing another woman was the last scene Dana ever imagined 
she could come across.  On the way to the North Castle, Dana had one whole week 
to dream and daydream of her reunion with Mulder.  Although Dana has never been 
inside the North Castle, nor any other castle for that matter, she already has 
an idea of the layout of these structures, the books she read covered that.  And 
as she awaited the fateful day when she and Mulder will meet again, she lined up 
the possible places in the castle where Mulder might be. She imagined him in his 
room, standing immediately at the sight of his wife..a little confused as to 
what she was doing there, but still ecstatic that she was there.  She imagined 
him at the dining room, wolfing down his second breakfast, only to be 
interrupted by the announcement of his wife's arrival.  She imagined him in the 
garden, alone and ponderous, and his thoughts will be suspended when she calls 
his name in greeting.  She imagined him in all those scenarios, believing that 
they were the closest to what will actually transpire.  But she never imagined 
him in the library, kissing a tall brown-haired woman with green eyes whose 
clothes made Dana feel that she was the most underdressed woman in the castle.

Totally shocked and feeling utterly betrayed, Dana knew she could not handle 
being faced with Mulder any time soon...nor can she tell him that she was with 
his child.  Along with the daydreams, Dana has well-rehearsed how she was going 
to tell Mulder about the baby.  But as she ran aimlessly around the castle, 
Langly running after her and calling her name, she completely forgot her whole 
speech.  She just ran in a straight direction and soon enough, she found herself 
on the entryway towards the castle garden.  Dana just followed the light 
emanating from the opening of large doors, thinking that it was probably a 
backway outside the castle. Obviously, she was wrong.  For as she stepped 
outside the door, she was faced with the loveliest garden she has ever walked 
into.  For an instance, she just breathed in the beauty that surrounded her.  
But realizing how she got there, she turned to face the panting Langly, still 
calling out, "Dana! Please come back!"

She walked towards Langly, and looked behind him.  She saw that Mulder was 
calling out her name, running quickly towards their direction.  It will only 
take a minute or less before he finally caught up with them. Dana grabbed 
Langly's hand and decided to run farther towards the seemingly open garden.  She 
could not run as fast she would have wanted to, for she feared that it might be 
dangerous to her pregnancy. She appeared to be only jogging, and if she weren't 
ahead of Mulder by several strides, he would have caught up with her already.

Dana held Langly's hand so tight, "Is there a way out of here?" she asked.

Still out of breath, Langly replied, "The only exit I know...is the 
entrance...and you ran the opposite direction."

Dana made a sound of irritation, but did not stop to run...this time slower, for 
there were turns and a few curves that hid them from Mulder's sight.  Finally, 
at the end of the right bend, they were faced with one corner of the castle 
wall.  There was a door on the wall, and it was slightly opened.  Dana guessed 
that it might lead to the kitchen.  Quickly, for she heard Mulder's louder 
yells, she tugged Langly and they went inside, closing the door shut behind 
them.  Langly tried to catch his breath as Dana locked the door.  When she 
looked around, she realized that it was not the kitchen.  It was some sort of 
stock room. There were tables and shelves.  On the tables were piles and piles 
of textile, tin cans, chops of wood, bundled straw, baskets, and some other 
stuff which were probably used as primary materials in the manufacture of 
clothes, furniture, etc.

"You have to get me back to Pandora's Hollow!" Dana demanded to the breathless 
Langly.

"But," breathed Langly, "Dana, ha-how?"

"I don't know! Why are you asking me?! Just get me back South!" squealed Dana.  
Maybe it was the early hormones, or just an aftershock of seeing Mulder kissing 
another woman, or just Mulder's current loud banging on the door demanding for 
it to be opened.  But whatever it is, Dana was regally fuming mad.

"Dana!" Mulder called out as he pounded on the door. "Langly! Open this door 
now! I swear..."

"Leave me alone!" Dana yelled back.  "Leave me alone! I mean it!"  She sounded 
like a little girl, and Mulder felt his heart smile. Before, when she was angry, 
her voice made Mulder's knees buckle, but this time it sounded different. 
However, right now, he needed to talk with Dana, rather than admire the cuteness 
of her enraged voice.

"Dana, please," Mulder begged, "we need to talk. Please, open this door and talk 
to me..."

But as Mulder continued his pleas, thinking that the coaxing and begging will 
somehow soften Dana's heart and open the door, Dana was already moving out the 
front door of the stockroom, dragging Langly behind her.

As Dana and Langly stepped out of the stockroom, they found themselves inside a 
bigger room, this time with furniture all over the place, old ones and new.  On 
the farther east side was another door, which led to a stair. As they climbed 
up, Mulder gave up on knocking on the door-realizing that the silence indicated 
the room's emptiness. He ran towards the entryway again and onto the lobby.  He 
hasn't been to the castle in five years and he wasn't sure if the stockroom 
staircase still led to the empty second floor end room, but he had to take the 
risk and try.  

Meanwhile, Dana and Langly reached the end of the staircase and found themselves 
on a small and almost empty room.  A glass window emanated sunlight through the 
room, but the only things to be seen in the room were a wooden chair, a small 
table on top of a carpet, and an abstract painting that hung on the wall.  

"Dana? Where are we going?" Langly puffed.  He wanted to stay in the room to 
rest, but Dana seemed determine to get out of the castle.  Swiftly, she moved to 
open the door and stepped outside.  She was greeted by a large hallway, twenty 
doors or more lined up on both walls.  This must be where the bedchambers are, 
she thought.  There were curves and bends that Dana guessed must lead to other 
rooms and staircases.  The hallway walls had unlighted torches in between the 
doors, which had considerably large spaces between them.  Dana could not see 
where the other turns led, but she could see the main staircase from the far end 
of the hallway, probably twenty feet from her.  Quickly, she peeked inside the 
room where Langly sat on the wooden chair. "You coming?" she asked him, annoyed.

"I don't think I can move, I twisted my ankle a bit back there in the garden," 
Langly revealed.

Dana creased her forehead, irritated, "Fine then! Stay here and deal with that 
adulterous friend of yours!"

Dana got out and closed the door behind her.  She was about to walk towards the 
hallway when she caught sight of Mulder, just coming out of the main staircase.  
Quickly, she moved to the closest door and scrabbled for the knob, it was 
locked.  Mulder was already calling out her name and running towards her as fast 
as he could, but Dana kept her head bowed and busied herself groping for an 
opened door.  Finally, on the third attempt, just as Mulder was near, Dana found 
an open door.  Hurriedly, she stepped inside the room and locked the door as she 
got in.  Just as she was able to securely lock the door, she was surprised when 
Mulder pounded on the door screaming, "Dana! Dana! Open this door! Dana!"

Dana refused to reply, she was tired of screaming "Leave me alone." Dana stared 
at the door as she backed away.  It moved slightly as Mulder pounded on it, but 
judging from the size and thickness of the door, and the lock that secured it, 
he wouldn't be able to kick it open.  As Dana backed away, she came to a halt 
when she reached the foot of the bed.  She turned around quickly, surprised.  
When she saw that there was no one inside, she sighed in relief.  It must have 
been a guestroom, accidentally left opened by one of the cleaners.  The sheets 
were new, and the mirror on the vanity table was wiped clean and shiny.  The 
windows were washed too. The cabinets beside the door were also free of dust. 
Seeing a wooden door on the west of the bed, she walked over to it.  When she 
opened the door, Dana found that it was a small bathroom.  

When Dana returned to the bedroom, Mulder was still pounding on the door.  But 
this time, she heard Langly's and Frohike's voices.  She could not make out what 
exactly they were talking about, for their voices were low, but every now and 
then, Mulder would stop banging on the door and talk, maybe argue.  Then, after 
a few seconds, he resumes the pounding on the door as well as his pleads for 
Dana to open the door.

Dana moved to the bed and sat stiffly.  She remembered the scene she saw at the 
library, as well as the moment she dropped Mulder's baby blanket.  I should have 
picked it up before running away, she thought, now, Mulder has a clue as to why 
she followed him...and that made him even more determined to open the door.  
Suddenly, Dana noticed that tears were rolling down her cheeks.  She wiped them 
away with bare hands, then she moved one hand to her stomach, whispering, "What 
shall I do, my child, what shall I do?"

*****
Outside the Guest Bedroom

Mulder's hands were balled into fists, both resting on the door, her head bowed 
in between.  His hands were red from the pounding already, and they hurt.  His 
throat was hurting too, but Dana still ignored him.  He chose the word "ignore" 
instead of "hate", he likes to believe he still has hope.

Then, Mulder loosened his fingers and laid his hand on the door, palm open. 
Langly cleared his throat, "Mulder?"

Mulder moved from the door quickly and aggressively that Langly and Frohike 
backed away in fright simultaneously. "What the hell are you two doing here in 
the first place? I asked you to watch her till I got back, I didn't ask you to 
bring her here, Langly!" he snapped at Langly, voice a bit shushed for he did 
not want Dana to hear this conversation.

Langly, scratched his head, then took a step back from Mulder. "Mulder, she 
wanted to see you so badly, nothing I said could stop her...not even her family! 
And, and," Langly stammered.

"Langly! You could have done *something* to stop her! Do you have any idea why 
she wanted to see me, huh, Langly?"  Mulder asked, eyes narrowed.

"Uh, no, except that she was very excited to see you..." Langly told him, eyes 
downcast.

Mulder held up the baby blanket that was previously resting on his shoulder,
saying, "She might be pregnant, Langly."

Both Frohike and Langly looked up in surprise. They didn't know whether to 
congratulate him or to say they're sorry for the flow of events.  They chose to 
remain silent.

"She might me with child and yet you allowed her to travel for one week on those 
awful roads and highways! What were you thinking?! All because you *supposedly* 
couldn't change her mind?"

"Mulder," Langly stuttered, "she threatened to go North alone if I didn't come 
with her! I think you would have wanted me to accompany her, instead of letting 
her go alone."

That statement made Mulder stop from pacing in front of the bedroom door.  He 
rubbed his eyes with his fingers, then without looking up, he said, "Langly, 
could you please get me keys to this door.  Ask Monroe for it."

But Frohike didn't move.  He stood there, glaring at Mulder.  "So, she's with 
child?"

Mulder looked up, his facial expression greatly irritated.  "Yes, I think so," 
he retorted, "Now, please, just get the keys from Monroe!"

Frohike didn't head for the main staircase, and instead took a closer step 
towards Mulder.

"You know, Mulder," he said, "this would have been a happier reunion of Dana 
didn't catch you kissing Phoebe Pass-Out.  But she did, and now I ask you...What 
were you thinking?!"

Mulder shook his head, took a step closer to Frohike as well and said, "I didn't 
kiss Phoebe! She kissed me!"

Frohike snorted.  

Mulder pressed his lips into a thin line in anger, then put both hands on his 
hips.  "I did not kiss her, Frohike!" he began, "And why the hell did you let 
her go into the library anyway, you knew I was there!"

Frohike then took a step backward, "I tried to! I told her I was the only one 
here, but she didn't listen.  When she ignored me, I tried to follow her but 
Monroe dragged me to the throne room, claiming that the queen wanted to see me 
immediately."  

"And besides," Frohike added, "I didn't think that what happened will happen if 
she went into the library.  You told me it was over."

But before Mulder could retort, Frohike already walked out to get Monroe.  Just 
as he was to step down, the queen met him.  Monroe was behind her.

"Melvin? What is the commotion all about? The helpers tell me there's been some 
chasing around in the castle?!"

Frohike sighed, "I suggest, milady, that you ask Prince William. He's just over 
there," pointing to Mulder.  As the queen nodded, Frohike stopped Monroe from 
going after the queen and said, "I need the keys to the guest bedrooms, Monroe." 

Queen Louisa, walking quickly with poise, glared at his grandson as she neared 
him.  Langly bowed at the sight of the queen.

"Richard!" she exclaimed, "What are you doing here? When did you get here?"

Mulder remained silent, and instead turned his back on the two.  His arms were 
folded in his chest, and his face showed some deep pondering, but he was no 
longer pacing.  No sound, meanwhile, can be heard from Dana in the bedroom.

Langly glanced quickly at Mulder before speaking, "I, uh, I accompanied Prince 
William's wife, your majesty.  We just got here an hour ago."

The queen gasped, "William's wife?! William, where is she?!"

Mulder faced them slowly.  Without a word, he pointed to the bedroom door.  

"What is she doing there?" the queen asked, mightily confused.

Mulder remained silent, so did Langly.  The queen demanded, "William, answer 
me!"

Sighing heavily, then looking up to the ceiling, Mulder whispered, "We had a 
misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?! About what?"

"It's a long story, Grandmother, and right now all I need to do is to get in 
that room and see her."

"But she doesn't want to see you, does she?"

"No," Mulder breathed, "But I have to see her."

Shaking her head, the queen turned to Langly.  "Guard this door, Richard, and 
forbid *anyone* to go inside it!"

Mulder flared up, "What?!"

Queen Louisa ignored him and continued speaking to Langly, "Tell Monroe to have 
the maids bring her lunch and whatever she wants...extra pillows, blankets, 
clothes, then surrender the keys directly to me afterwards.  "

Mulder's "What?!" became louder. Finally the queen turned to Mulder, "If the 
young lady wants to be left alone, she will be as she pleases.  She'll come out 
when she wants to, and right now, I won't have you pounding on that door like a 
lunatic!"

"Grandmother," Mulder protested, "I need to speak with Dana. Right Now!"

"You will speak to me first!  You will tell me everything that has happened, and 
maybe then, I'll allow you to go inside that bedroom.  But as of now, that she 
obviously doesn't want to see you, you will come with me!"

Before Mulder could protest even more, the queen swished on her bouncy gown and 
headed for the main staircase.  Mulder made no move to follow her.

Without turning her head back, she said, "Follow me, William, or you'll go back 
South alone!"

Finally, Mulder walked slowly after his grandmother, gripping the baby blanket 
protectively.

-----

From inside the guest bedroom, Dana could hear the faint voices of Mulder, 
Langly, and a confident woman.  She wanted to come closer and press her ears to 
the door, but she could not.  She was tired and sleepy, again, and the bed was 
absolutely inviting.  As she sat on the bed, she turned to stare at the closed 
door.  She could not hear the voices anymore, but she didn't care.  She just 
wanted to sleep.  And as she lay down on the bed, she rearranged the pillows and 
looked at the door again.  When she was finally settled for sleep, she pulled 
the covers to herself.  Minutes before surrendering to slumber, she hoped that 
Mulder wouldn't come barging in the door, locks opened with the castle keys, and 
wake her up.  She knew they'd be able to open the locks, but right now, they 
still haven't, and that meant hope.

****
Outside the Guest Bedroom 

Monroe and Frohike arrived a few minutes after the queen and Mulder left.  
Langly has retrieved the chair from the room he came from earlier.  He now sat 
in front of the door.

"Where's Mulder?" asked Frohike.

"The queen wants to talk with him."

"The queen?!" exclaimed Monroe, "Well, where are they?"

"I don't know, she just told me to guard this door and not let anyone inside."

Frohike nodded. Monroe asked, "Then what are these keys for?", as he jingled 
them in front of Frohike.

"Oh," Langly began, "The queen wants you to surrender those to her, and she 
wants the maids to bring Dana lunch and extra pillows, blankets, or whatever she 
needs."

Monroe rolled his eyes, "How are the maids going to do that if I surrender the 
keys."

Langly rolled his eyes as well, "Surrender the keys afterward!"

With a "Hmpf!", Monroe turned to leave Frohike and Langly in front of the wall.  
When he was no longer in sight, Frohike turned to Langly.

"Can you believe it? Mulder's going to be a father."

"Yeah," breathed Langly, "we should be celebrating.  Not moping around the 
castle."

"We would be if Mulder didn't kiss that Phoebe Pass-Out."

"Frohike," Langly whined, "I really don't think Mulder was cheating on Dana.  
*We* know our friend better than that."

"Then why did he let it happen?!"

"Seriously, Frohike.  If Phoebe was standing in front of you right now, the two 
of you alone, and she just suddenly moved in to kiss you...would you have pushed 
her away with all your might?"

Frohike's eyebrows met, "Uh, no, that wouldn't be gentleman-like..."

"See? Frohike, Mulder is a prince.  He is a gentleman to the extreme, and I'm 
sure when Phoebe kissed him, he didn't push her away immediately, but he also 
didn't respond to the kiss."

"And how do you know this?"

"Because when Dana and I walked into them, I saw it.  Mulder did not look like 
he was enjoying the kiss, you know..."

"And Dana didn't see *that*?"

"Frohike, Dana was too excited to see Mulder to tell him her news, and when she 
stepped into that library...she was too hurt, too pained to see *that*."

Frohike remained silent. So did Langly.  

*****
At the Castle Tea Room

The queen and Mulder were still sitting across each other on a small brass 
table.  Tea pots and dainty cups in front of them.  

"So that was why I saw Lady Phoebe running out of the castle with that extremely 
irate look on her face?"

"Yes," breathed Mulder, "she was half-mad that Dana came in and foiled her 
plans, and half-mad that I warned her that if she came near me or Dana 
again...I'll have Grandfather tell Lord Connery that his daughter was having an 
affair with her bestfriend's husband."

The queen gasped, "Lady Phoebe is?!"

"Yes," Mulder replied tiredly, "Monroe told me."

Mulder had both elbows on top of the table, hands cradling his head.  The queen 
was about to speak when Monroe came into the room.

"Your majesties," Monroe greeted.  Mulder looked up immediately, eyes still red 
from crying.

"Monroe?" the queen asked.

"Your highness, I've already served lunch to Lady Dana..."

Mulder stood up quickly, asking, "Where is she?!"

Monroe ignored Mulder and continued speaking to the queen, "when I entered the 
room, I found her asleep so I just left the tray of food on the bedside table."

Mulder sighed, "Is she awake now?"

Again, he was ignored. "Your highness," Monroe told the queen, "I left a note at 
the tray saying that the food was from you and that she was welcome at the 
castle."

The queen stood up, "Very well! Now, where are the keys, Monroe?"

"Grandmother!" Mulder declared, "I already told you what happened, now please, 
let me speak to her."

As the queen walked towards the main staircase, she told Mulder, "I shall speak 
with her first."

*****
Dana woke suddenly at the knock on the door.  She opened her eyes tiredly and 
sleepily tired to sit on the bed.  She jerked when she heard, "Dana, this is 
Queen Louisa, William's grandmother."

Dana clutched the covers tightly, unaware of what she should say.

"Dana, I need to speak with you.  I am now going to open this door, alright 
Dana?"

Feeling extremely nervous, Dana called out weakly, "Yes, your majesty."

Then, she heard the lock being turned, the door being opened slightly, and 
Mulder's "Dana!"

The door closed again and after hearing muffled sounds from outside, Dana saw 
the door open again.  A woman in her late fifties came into the room. The queen 
had her corn-colored hair tied loosely at the back of her head.  She was 
elegantly dressed in a golden tan gown, with layers of white lace and various 
embroidery designs displayed at the hems.  She was holding a stack of towels.

"I brought extra towels, dear!"

Quickly, Dana got out of bed and bowed, "Your majesty," she began, "I am sorry 
to occupy your guest bedroom..."

"Oh, no dear, you are welcome here!" The queen replied as she settled herself at 
the foot of the bed and gestured for Dana to move and sit. Dana sat near the 
headboard.  The queen placed the stack of towels beside herself.

"Dana, my grandson wants to see you."  When Dana remained silent, and just 
looked down, the queen took something out from in between the stack of towels.

Dana saw that it was the blue baby-blanket.  She felt a sudden urge to cry, but 
ended up controlling herself with a sob-like sound.

"Is it true?" the queen asked.

Dana only nodded, she was still holding back her tears.  The queen folded the 
blanket neatly and placed it on the bed.

"You do know that my grandson loves you very much?"

Again, Dana nodded.  But this time she can no longer hold back the tears.  She 
cried as she said, "He...he..."  She was now hiccupping.

"He kissed another girl," the queen supplied.  "Another girl who meant nothing 
to him, and a kiss which meant nothing as well."

Dana looked up at the queen, tears still rolling down her cheeks.

"I talked to William, Dana.  And he told me the whole story.  I'm sure you'd 
like to know the whole truth as well?"

Tiredly, Dana sighed and nodded.

"Then, you must speak with your husband."

Quickly, Dana said, "I cannot face him right now, your highness, I can't!"

The queen stood up and walked over to Dana.  When she was settled beside her, 
the queen took Dana's hand and said, "My dear, if you prolong this so-called 
misunderstanding, things will not be as easy to solve as it was earlier.  The 
longer you wait to face him, the more painful it gets."  With that, the queen 
smiled at Dana then walked over to the door.  When her hand was on the knob 
already, she turned back to Dana.

"Shall I send him in?"

Mustering strength and confidence, Dana held back a sob as she said, "Yes, 
please." 

*****
Outside, Mulder was pacing aimlessly.  Langly and Frohike  were already getting 
headaches with his movement.  At last, Frohike stopped him.  

"Mulder! Stop that!"

"I cant," Mulder retorted.

"Look, uh, Mulder," Frohike began, "I'd like to apologize."

That stopped Mulder from pacing.  "What?"

"For accusing you of really being in on it with Phoebe Pass-Out."

Mulder smiled at the use of "Pass-Out" in a seemingly formal apology from 
Frohike.  "That's okay, Frohike.  Don't worry about it."  Then, he reached out 
to pat Frohike on the shoulder.

Just then, the queen stepped out of the room. Mulder hurried over to stand in 
front of her.

"What did she say?! Will she see me?" he babbled.

"Yes, William, she will see you," the queen told him calmly.  Mulder reached for 
the knob quickly but the queen swatted his hand away.

"William," she warned, "breathe!"

Mulder did as he was told. Then, slowly, he opened the door, and stepped inside.  
A bit quicker, he closed the door behind him.

The first thing he noticed was the blue baby blanket on Dana's hands.  Her eyes 
and nose were red, and her cheeks were damp, but she was no longer crying.

When he appeared, Dana looked at him calmly and remained silent.  Little by 
little, Mulder stepped closer to her.  When he noticed her stiffen, he stopped.

"Dana..." he began.

"I want to go back to my mothers," was Dana's quick response.  

Mulder bit his lip, then said, "Dana, please listen to me first."

"You still have more to say?!" Dana feigned surprise, "I thought the kiss said 
it all," she finished, irritated.

Mulder shook his head and walked over to the bed.  Dana moved back to the 
headboard, wanting to be as far away from Mulder as possible.

"Dana, it was nothing.  *She* kissed me, I didn't kiss her.  I didn't want to 
kiss her, nor did I want her to kiss me!" Mulder hated himself for his so-called 
explanation.  He sounded like a young boy without logic and composure.

Dana scoffed, "You didn't seem to protest..."

"I did! I pushed her away! But you ran away so you didn't see it..."

"Still, you *protested* after I *caught* you!"

Mulder shook his head again, closing his eyes in desperation.  Suddenly, he 
asked calmly, "How's the baby?"

Dana raised an eyebrow at the question.  It was like asking Mulder what his 
name, and having him reply with an address.  Seeing the misery and suffering in 
Mulder's face, she replied quietly, "The baby's okay."

His face suddenly lit up, and for a moment, he felt the clouds of hurt and pain 
melt away. But they all came back when Dana said, "I just want to back to 
Pandora's Hollow. Just let me go. Just let me leave this room, go back 
downstairs, and go back South.  Is that too much to ask for?"

"Yes," Mulder breathed. "I can't let you go, Dana.  If you're going back South, 
I'm going with you."

Dana stood up quickly, glaring at him, "Fine! You can tag along."

Mulder reached and gripped her wrist gently, "We're not leaving until we fix 
this."

Dana pulled her wrist away from Mulder's grip angrily. "Then we're not leaving 
at all," she said.  "This is the second time, Mulder.  First you lie to me, now 
you cheat on me.  What's next, you're kidnapping this baby leaving me alone to 
suffer in Pandora's Hollow?!"

That was harsh, very harsh...and Mulder rubbed his temples with both hands, 
before standing up and yelling, "How can you say that, Dana? How?!"

Dana took a few steps back, away from Mulder.  "You tell me!" she screamed back.

Mulder then walked over to Dana, as she backed away from him at the same time.  
She stopped when her back softly collided with the wall.  Mulder dropped onto 
his knees and encircled his arms around Dana's waist.  Dana tried to remove his 
arms from her waist, but stopped when she heard Mulder sobbing.  He buried his 
face in her stomach and cried.

"I love you, Dana," he wept, "I love you, and our baby."

Dana just stood there, tense.  She was staring at the top of Mulder's head, 
feeling the tears that were threatening to fall.

-----

"I'm sorry," Mulder sobbed, face still buried at Dana's tummy. 
 He tightened his embrace on Dana's waist.  

He expected her to pry his hands away from her waist, 
but she didn't. She just stood there, motionless, and hopefully 
listening to Mulder's words.

"I'm sorry that you had to walk into me and Phoebe standing together in 
the library...with that k-kiss, it wasn't even a kiss, Dana. She just 
pressed her lips on mine, that's all.  That's not a kiss.  A kiss is 
when I brush my lips against yours and I feel our love breathing into 
my mouth.  A kiss is when you press your lips against my forehead, and 
I feel it warm with happiness and love, something only you can do to 
me. A kiss is when I feel no other emotion but bliss and love as our lips 
touch.  That's a kiss, Dana, and I tell you...Phoebe and I did not 
kiss...A real kiss only happens with you."

Mulder moved his head and pressed a soft kiss on Dana's tummy.  Then, 
he buried his face on her stomach again, "I'm sorry, Dana.  I already told you 
the whole story, now I can only hope that you can forgive me. See past the shock 
and pain to realize that I never cheated on you...and never will."

Mulder has already told Dana about how he ventured into the library to 
read some poetry books, to look for something to give her when he got 
back.  He told her about how exactly he dealt with Phoebe, and how she 
kissed him, and how he ordered her not to even look at him and Dana again.

The silence and suspense tortured Mulder, that he was almost resigned 
that Dana wouldn't forgive him...at least not today.  But he was 
surprised when he felt her hand touch his head, and her fingers stroke 
his hair very slowly and very gently.  Mulder breathed, it felt as 
though he died, and was brought back to life again. 

Slowly, he loosened his embrace on Dana's waist and stared at her 
tummy. "Help me, my child," he mentally told the baby.  Then, slowly, 
he moved his eyes towards Dana, and he found her staring back at him.

Her eyes were watery, and she was sniffing as she said, "I forgive 
you."

*******

For Mulder, there was nothing better in the world than to wake up next 
to his wife as the sunlight peered through the open windows.  

He looked over at Dana, who was still resting on his chest, breathing evenly.
Carefully and slowly, he moved so that Dana was now resting on the 
pillows, instead of him.  She stirred a bit when she was moved, but 
didn't open her eyes.  She only opened them when she heard Mulder's 
voice. She looked down and saw that Mulder's head was resting on her 
tummy...he was talking to the baby. Gently, Dana ruffled Mulder's hair, 
whispering, "Morning."

Mulder looked up to meet her gaze, and whispered, "Mornin! We were just 
talking."

As Mulder moved nearer to Scully, hugging her close, he kissed her forehead.  
"The baby tells me you two are the reason why green mangoes are suddenly a 
scarcity in the Southern Village market."

Dana raised both eyebrows, "The baby told you that?"

Mulder gave a wide smile, kissed Dana's forehead again, and said, "Uh, not 
exactly."

Dana raised her eyes in warning, Mulder replied, "Okay, okay! Langly did."

"He told you of my cravings for green mangoes, huh?"

"And the fact that you're always asleep."

"I am not!"

Mulder let out a laugh as Dana pouted.  He leaned in to kiss her on the lips.  
As they pulled apart, he said, "We need to get back South."

Dana nodded, "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow."
 
*****

Ever since she was a little girl, Dana knew that she would not end up with some 
really old man who almost bought her as a wife, nor would she end up a mistress 
of some other rich man, nor would she end up in a marriage of convenience.  With 
her social status, those were the usual options she had.  But Dana was 
different, she never really went for the "usuals".

All Dana knew was that she would end up marrying the man she loves. She never 
thought she'd be married to a prince either, but she was eternally grateful that 
she was married to the man she loves.

And now, the man she loves is sitting at the foot of the bed, whining. 

At breakfast, the queen has suggested that Dana "get some fresh air" and "see 
the beauty of the North."  Despite Mulder's objections, the queen instructed 
five royal guards, two of her most trusted maids, and of course, Monroe, to 
accompany Dana during her "trip" to the North Town.  Realizing that Dana was 
actually interested to see the Town, and that he could not change his 
grandmother's mind, Mulder insisted on joining them.

"Come on, now, William! No one here knows Dana, she can roam freely.  You, on 
the other hand, look like the boy you were when you came for a visit five years 
ago.  Maybe if you maintained the appearance you had before you left the 
Southern Castle, you'd look different."

"Grandmother..."

"William, my point is...you can't come with Dana to the Town today.  I want her 
to enjoy herself without you asking how she's feeling, if she's hungry, or if 
she's sleepy every sixty seconds."

Mulder rolled his eyes, "It's not every sixty seconds, Grandmother, five minutes 
maybe. And besides, I just want to know if she's alright."

But three sandwiches, two goblets of apple juice, and lots of grapes later, 
Mulder lost his case.

Now, as he watched Dana ready herself for the Town-visit, he sat on the bed 
wearing the most miserable expression he had. 

"Dana, come on, how about I just meet you at the Town? Grandmother will not know 
that I went with you."

"Mulder, I know you're concerned..."

"Worried. Greatly worried!"

"Mulder, I know you're just greatly worried about me, but I have five royal 
guards with me! Plus, I'd really like to see the Town and enjoy myself."

"You won't enjoy yourself if I'm there?"

"Of course not! It's, it's...oh, come on, Mulder! You know what I mean. And can 
you please stop pouting?"

"Dana, please? I promise, I won't talk too much.  I'll just stay beside you."

"Mulder..." With her warning voice, Dana glared at her husband.

"Alright! Alright! I'll just stay here and wait for you..."

"Thank you!"

"But promise me that you wouldn't walk around the Town, just stay inside the 
carriage and look out through the window..."

"Mulder?!"

"And if you see something you like, or you'd like for Emily, your Mother, and 
your aunt, just tell Monroe to buy it for you."

"Mulder?!"

"I just don't want the townspeople crowding around you, especially in the 
market..."

"I'm leaving, Mulder."

"...can you just stick to all those big buildings and sights in the Town and 
leave the market alone?"

"I love you, Mulder.  I'll be back for lunch!"

"Dana, just stick to the main Town, okay?"

*Slam*  And the door closed shut.  

-------
Main Town
North Kingdom


The carriage Dana rode was large, really large that she, Monroe, and two of the 
guards, and the maids fit inside.  The other two guards sat at the outer back 
seat while the other one sat beside the driver.  As much as Dana wanted to heed 
Mulder;s suggestion, she could not.  The guards were seated beside the window, 
and she could not see a thing.  Moments later, Monroe announced, "We're at the 
Main Town now, Princess Dana."

Dana's cheeks blushed but she was also annoyed at the name, "Please, Monroe, 
call me Dana."

"Alright then, Lady Dana!"  

Dana smiled.  She settled for the "Lady Dana."  Asking Monroe to address the 
prince's wife so casually was like asking him to eat dirt for dinner.

As Dana stepped out of the carriage, she noticed that the North was certainly 
ahead of the South when it came to the buildings and other infrastructures.  The 
buildings had unique exterior designs, each presenting their own identity...and 
indicating just how rich the owner was.  The guards were soon at her side, and 
Dana couldn't see the other stores.  Monroe then took her hand and led her to 
the store standing in front of them.  It was large, four floors high.  The walls 
were covered with grayish white paint.  The front doors were open, and at the 
top, it was written: Kenneth Bookshop.

"It's the biggest bookshop in the world, Lady Dana," Monroe told her, with much 
pride in his voice.  "Lots of foreigners have come just to buy and sell books."

Dana stared in amazement at the bookshop as she walked inside.  Towers of 
bookshelves surrounded her.  But the shop did not have an antique-creepy aura, 
it had a classy-yet-trendy ring to it.

"Yes, I have heard about this place," Dana told Monroe.

Monroe smiled, "Prince William told me you love books, that's why I brought you 
here first."

Dana excused herself and went in search of the poetry section.  She found it on 
the second floor of the building. The whole eastern corner, complete with six 
huge shelves, were full of books on poetry and poets.  Dana's eyes widened in 
amazement.  She was like a young child who just saw the world's largest and most 
delicious candy.  Quickly, she walked over to one of the shelves and took out a 
silver book.  When she opened it, she found that the book was full of love 
poems.  It's the perfect gift for Mulder.

She already had four books in her arms when someone from behind her spoke.

"Good morning."

Dana turned to see who it was.  She almost dropped the books when she saw the 
speaker's face.  It was the woman who kissed Mulder.

"I don't believe we've met...properly," the woman spoke again, "I am Lady Phoebe 
Connery."  Phoebe extended her hand, but Dana backed away.

"I know who you are," Dana replied, glaring at the woman. 

"Oh really?! I'm famous then!" Phoebe laughed.  Dana shook her head and took a 
step to walk away from Phoebe.  But Phoebe stepped sidewards and blocked her 
way.

"Not fair. You know me, but I don't know you."

"Me knowing you was just an unfortunate occurrence, Lady Phoebe.  And believe 
me, you wouldn't want to know who I am."

Once again, Dana took a step forward, but Phoebe didn't move.

"Please get out of my way, Lady Phoebe," Dana said.

"You seem to mean something to William, that alone makes me want to know who you 
are."

Glaring at Phoebe, Dana took a single step backwards.  "Fine," she breathed.  
"My name is Dana Scully."

Phoebe rolled her eyes and made a "Duh" sound.  But she froze when Dana added, 
"I am William's wife."  

Phoebe's mouth opened, but at first no sound came.  Then, she placed both hands 
at her hips.

"You?! Wife?! William's wife?!"

Dana gave a small smile, then slowly raised her right hand.  Soon, Phoebe was 
eye level with Dana's wedding ring.

Dana was surprised when Phoebe swatted her hand away.  Dana stumbled backwards 
slightly, the books almost falling out of her arms.

"William will never marry someone like you...with those cheap gowns, your bare 
unmade-up face, your hair, you...you're not good enough for him."

"Try saying those words in front of a mirror, Lady Phoebe," Dana said.

Phoebe was ready to push Dana down the floor but stopped suddenly when she saw 
Mulder coming from the other end of the shelves.  Quickly, she stepped away from 
Dana.

"There you are! I've been...What the hell are you doing here Phoebe!?"  Mulder 
hurried to take Dana's hand and gently pulled her towards him.  He slid one arm 
protectively around her waist, his other hand unconsciously taking the books 
from Dana's arms.

"Mulder," Dana whispered.  

As Phoebe stuttered for her reply, Mulder gave Dana a quick kiss on the lips.

"I, uh, I was just..." 

"I warned you not to come near me or my wife!"  Mulder looked as though he 
wanted to throw the books at Phoebe that Dana retrieved them quickly.  It took 
her an hour to choose those books, she'd rather have other books fly towards 
Phoebe's now terrified face.

"William, I uh..."

"It's Prince William to you, Lady Phoebe...and I shall ask you one last time, 
what are you doing here? And, you better tell me the truth!"

"I just wanted to know who she was...I just got out of Jessica's store and I saw 
Monroe enter the bookshop with her..."

"So you followed my wife inside the bookshop and questioned her?"

Phoebe swallowed hard at Mulder's statement.  "Y-yes."

Mulder shook his head, arm still wrapped around Dana's waist.  "I warned you 
Phoebe, I did.  And you know damn well that I'm a man of my word."

"Will-Prince William, please, no. My father will disown me if he found out..."

"Then you should have followed my orders, and left me and my wife alone."

"I, I, I was only intrigued, I had...still have... no intention of hurting her."

Mulder ignored her and turned to Dana, "Let's go, my love."   As they walked 
towards the end of the shelves, Phoebe came running after them.

"Prince William, please! Lady Dana! Have mercy! My father cannot know!"  Phoebe 
know knelt at Mulder's and Dana's feet, weeping.  "My father must not know!  I 
am sorry for what I did, but please..."

Mulder looked at Dana who nodded, eyes filled with sadness for the woman who 
wailed at their feet.

"Get up," Mulder ordered.  "And I shall think about it."

As Mulder guided Dana out of the Poetry Section, they heard Phoebe's nonstop 
"Thank you."

****

Mulder ordered three of the guards to squeeze themselves fit at the outer back 
seat, another guard was still seated beside the driver.  He told Monroe and the 
two maids to get another ride back to the castle. 

Alone inside the carriage, Dana rested her head on Mulder's shoulder.  Mulder 
kissed the top of her head.

"Mulder, what is it that Phoebe's father 'must not know'?," Dana asked, 
imitating Phoebe.

Mulder laughed.  "She's having an affair with her bestfriend's husband."

"And how did you find that out?"

"Monroe."

"I see."

Silence.  Then, "I thought you were just going to wait for me? Why did you 
follow me?"

"You expected me to actually just wait?"

"No. Actually, you were just a bit early.  I expected you to sneak up behind me 
at the Science Section-which I never got to visit."

Mulder kissed the top of her head again, "We'll go visit again...after the 
baby's born."