"No offense, Tatum," Madisyn whispered. "This is a nice outfit and all, but it's not really appropriate for walking through the forest."

Tatum had dressed her in a long, flowing green gown and had curled her hair. The six of them were trudging through the Buckeye Forest, Vahl lighting the way with her magic.

"So have you thought about what you are going to say?" Tatum asked Madisyn, ignoring her comment.

"What do you mean?"

"Um, hello? You're about to confess to the one you love that...well, that you love him! You have to do this by the book!"

"I was just going to apologize for everything I said first and then tell him."

"You sure it was wise not to wait until morning?" Alyssa inquired. "This forest is even more dangerous after dark."

"The longer we wait, the lonelier he gets! I have to tell him now before something bad happens."

"Ooh, ooh!" Cwryen cried, bouncing up and down. "After you tell him, can we celebrate with a I-Found-My-True-Love Party?!"

Nichole Price rolled her eyes. "AJ's right. It's not safe out here. Who knows what could be lurking in those trees?"

"I don't care!" Madisyn declared. "I need to see him! I will do whatever it takes!"

"Wow," Vahl marveled. "You've really changed, Madisyn."

"How so?"

"For one thing, you're much braver. You haven't shuddered or squealed once since we entered the forest."

The marcher pondered on this and realized that her friend was right. She had not even thought of the dangers in the woods until Alyssa and Nichole had brought them up. She concluded that after spending a month with Loki, who had been the object of her nightmares for a long time, she was not so afraid of other creatures anymore.

"By the way, Alyssa," said Tatum, "at dinner, you said we 'didn't get it.' Did you know Madisyn was in love?" The cowgirl nodded. "How?"

"It was pretty obvious. She showed all the signs."

"Maybe, but...at the party...you said I knew nothing about romance..."

"Sorry, I just got upset, is all."

"But...you do?"

Alyssa blushed. "I, uh..." She halted suddenly. "Y'all  that?"

"Really, Alyssa, if you don't want to answer the question..."

"Shhh. Listen!"

Everybody stopped in their tracks and silenced. They heard a low growl behind them and then the snap of a twig. They spun around and saw a pair of yellow eyes glowing in the darkness of the trees. Alyssa took a sniff of the air and gasped.

"Run," she muttered.

Nobody thought twice. As soon as they took off, a pack of Wolverines leapt out of the trees and pursued the group.

"Why is it always Wolverines?!" Vahl shouted.

Alyssa abruptly stopped. "Y'all go on ahead. I'll lead 'em off."

"You mean we'll lead 'em off!" Nichole exclaimed, running over to her side. "I'm not leaving you hanging."

The cowgirl grinned. "On my signal, you go right and I go left." She waved her hands at the approaching pack. "Hey, ya big goons! Over here!"

"Yeah, you ain't so tough!" Nichole taunted, blowing a raspberry at them.

The hairy beasts roared in anger and sped up.

"Now," Alyssa muttered.

The two darted in opposite directions. A few followed after each of them, but three did not abandon their pursuit of the others. Tatum was the first to notice.

"How many of those things are there?!"

"I mean why couldn't it have been a manticore or an Ursa Minor?" Vahl raved. "At least those don't come in numbers!"

"Not to mention Madisyn knows how to defeat a manticore," Cwryen pointed out. "Plus a dragon, a bear, Cerberus, a cockatrice..."

"That's it! Madisyn, have you ever tamed a Wolverine?"

"You're kidding, right?!" the marcher squeaked, the fear returning to her. "I doubt they're angry because they have hair in their eyes! They're made of hair!"

"Vahl, can't you teleport us out of here?" Tatum demanded.

The dark elf stopped for a moment and gulped. "I'll try, but it takes a lot of work, plus AJ and Nichole..."

"We'll come back for them, but we need to save ourselves first!"

Vahl closed her eyes and concentrated. Her hands illuminated with light, but it dimmed when she saw that the Wolverines were only a few feet away.

"No time! Run for it!"

Meanwhile, Alyssa was attempting to shake off her third of the pack. She snapped a branch, shattering one of them and then got rid of another by ducking as it pounced. It fell apart as it hit the ground. The last Wolverine was still after her. Then she saw a pond of quicksand ahead. Thinking fast, she grabbed a vine in her mouth and swung to the other side. The Wolverine noticed the sand too late and sank like a rock.

It did not take long for Nichole to outrun the wolves, as she was the fastest marcher in all of Ohio. However, she was too busy taunting them that she did not pay attention to where she was going. She crashed into the side of a mountain, causing rocks to come tumbling down on herself and the Wolverine. When she finally crawled out from the rubble, her leg was broken.

"Darn it!"

The last three Wolverine were gaining on the four humans.

"Hey, I can levitate!" Vahl exclaimed, taking to the skies.

"But we can't!" Tatum complained.

The dark elf did not get high enough. One of the Wolverines jumped up and snapped at her leg. Vahl cried out as she plummeted to the ground. Cwryen broke her fall, but it made them both sitting ducks. Tatum and Madisyn bolted in opposite directions.

The latter reached a dead end. She turned around to face the beast closing in on her. She was so terrified she could not move her feet, or use her Stare. She was frozen in place.

Loki was in the garden, plucking petals off a daisy.

"She loves me not...still not loving me...and she still doesn't love me...she loves me not in a million years! Oh, and she loves me not, big surprise!"

His ears perked up as he heard a familiar high-pitched scream. "Madisyn?"

He thought he was imagining things when he heard it again: "Help!"

It is common knowledge that for most creatures, when one's mate is threatened, they will go into full protective mode. That is exactly what happened to Loki as he dropped the flower and gritted his teeth in fury.

Madisyn closed her eyes, waiting for the animal's jaws to sink into her skin. Suddenly, she heard a second growl and opened her eyes to see Loki in front of her.

"Don't you dare touch her!"

The Wolverine was surprised, but did not let his guard down and roared at the Frost Giant. He hissed in return.

"Hey, ugly! Why don't you go pick on someone your own size? Like a Cat!"

He snapped his fingers, reducing the Wolverine to the size of a kitten. The same happened to the other two as they were about to pounce on the humans. They ran into the forest, yipping in panic. Madisyn looked up at the Frost Giant in awe as he turned to her.

"What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?!" he demanded. "Do you have any idea what would have happened if I hadn't...?"

"You...saved me," she uttered.

"Well, of course I did! You think I would be able to live with myself if anything happened to...?"

He was cut off as the marcher flung her arms around his neck and burst into tears. He stared down at her in confusion.

"Madisyn!" cried Alyssa's voice. "Are you all...?"

She paused when she saw the Frost Giant. Tatum appeared behind her and gawked. Loki rolled his eyes.

"I know, I know. I shouldn't be here and blah, blah, blah, and..."

"You just saved our lives," Tatum marveled.

"Pardon?" Alyssa uttered.

Nichole Price came panting out of the bushes. "I ran as fast as I could. My leg was broken and..." She stopped at the sight of Madisyn embracing Loki. "What are you doing out here?"

"He saved our lives!" Tatum declared.

"Say what now?"

"It's true! He shrank the Wolverines to the size of Cats!"

"Well, I'll be darn," Alyssa muttered in wonder.

"Hey, where are Vahl and Cwryen?" Nichole Price asked, looking frantically in all directions.

"They're injured!" exclaimed Tatum. "One of the Wolverine snapped at Vahl's leg and she fell on top of Cwryen! They can't get up!"

Madisyn pulled away from Loki as she heard this. "Oh, that's terrible! Loki, could you...?"

"Anything for you," the Frost Giant said, snapping his fingers.

She was surprised that he did not roll his eyes or complain or anything.

Next thing they knew, they were in Madisyn's old room at the castle. Vahl, Cwryen and Nichole Price found themselves sprawled on the bed, which had been made wider for their convenience.

"What the...?" Vahl muttered in confusion. "Loki?"

"No time to explain," Madisyn said before turning to the Frost Giant. "Can you fix them?"

"One second," Loki said, making a doctor's uniform appear on his body. "Now, let's see what the damage is, shall we?"

He summoned an x-ray machine and examined the bones of the three humans.

"Uh huh," he muttered, stroking his chin. "Well, Nichole Champ and Vahl Books each have a broken leg, Vahl has a sprained hand and Cwryen has two broken ribs..."

Cwryen laughed. "Ha-ha! Vahl Books! Ouch!"

"Don't laugh. It will only increase the pain." He pushed the x-ray away. "Now hold still. This won't hurt a bit."

He snapped his fingers and the three sat up. Nichole lightly nudged her leg.

"Hey, you fixed it!"

"Amazing," Vahl marveled. "I can't even do healing spells!"

"Can I laugh now?" Cwryen asked. She did not wait for an answer and chortled. "Yeah, I think I'm good."

Nichole Price could not believe it. "What else can I say but...thanks!"

"You're welcome," Loki said with a grin. "Now that that's all settled," he turned to Madisyn, "Explain to me what you were doing out there! You could have been killed! Why, if I hadn't heard you..."

Madisyn quickly replied. "I came to see you."

He blinked. "W-what?"

She looked at her friends as she took Loki by the hand. "There's, um...something I need to tell you."

As soon as they were out of the room, the five rushed to the door. Cwryen won in the battle for the keyhole.

"You came back?" Loki uttered in disbelief. "To see...me?" Madisyn nodded. "Why?"

"I...I wanted to apologize..."

"Apologize? You? My dear, if anyone should be apologizing, it's me! I nearly forced you into doing something you didn't want to do and...and I hurt you! Not to mention I've treated you like...how did you put it? Right, a 'caged bird!' There's nothing you need to apologize for."

"Oh, but there is. I said some awful things the other day, things I didn't mean. How could I say those things after all you did for me? I'm the monster, not you."

He huffed. "Yeah, right. Madisyn, take a look at yourself and then at me. I think it's obvious who the monster is here. You should quit wasting your time with me and go home. No need to pity me."

"I do pity you, but that's not the reason I came. You see...I miss you."

He stared at her for a long time, still not believing this. "You miss being my prisoner?"

"I miss being your friend. Although...I take it you want it to be more than that..." She suddenly grew very nervous. "B-but...before I go on...I must, um, ask you something."

"Yes?"

She looked him directly in the eye. "Did you ever really love me?"

He choked up. "I...I..."

"You kept asking me if I loved you. I want to know whether it was because you wanted me to love you back, or was it all a game. Was I just some trophy to you?"

"No, Madisyn! You're more than that!"

"Well, did you?"

He turned his back to her, his brow sweating and his teeth grinding together. He pulled at his hair, trying to find the words.

"I...I...yes." He sighed. "I will admit. In the beginning, it was a game. I didn't expect you to come, but when you did...I came up with a scheme. I was going to make you fall in love with me so you would not use your Element against me. I only thought of you as an incentive. Although...you were right. I was lonely. That's the reason I asked for a bride.

"I spent many years watching the happy couples walk off into the sunset. It made me gag, seeing them making kissy faces and holding hands...but I was only disgusted because I could never have what they had. I was tired of being alone. I denied this, even to myself, and invented that scheme as an excuse for acting all gaga over you.

"But then...you started treating me differently, and I became so enthralled with you that I forgot the scheme entirely. I kept telling myself that it was just a slight attraction, but...the more time I spent with you, the better I felt. Sounds cheesy, I know."

He summoned a cheese plate for emphasis. "Want some?"

Madisyn took a slice of cheddar as he continued.

"Whenever I was with you, I felt...well, wonderful. Soon I realized that I was not trying to please you because I wanted a queen, but I wanted to see you happy. I...cared about you. A lot."

He chuckled. "Funny how love is quite similar to mischief. It drives you to do the craziest of things. The problem was I cared about you so much that I wanted you all to myself. That's why I did not let you visit your friends. I was afraid of losing you. Even if you would never love me, I wanted you with me always.

"You can guess how upset I was when I heard you say that you did not love me. I...I lost control. I toyed with your emotions in the end, tricked you into loving me. I just didn't want to lose you."

Loki then faced her.

"I didn't want to lose you," he repeated.

"But did you...?" Madisyn started to ask again.

He hung his head. "Not everything I said whilst corrupting you was a lie. I...I did love you." He looked up at her again. "I still do." He got down on his knees. "Oh, Madisyn, I love you more than mischief itself! You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. You're precious to me, and I would rather die a thousand deaths than to see you miserable. So when I realized how much pain I had caused you, I had to release you."

Madisyn was on the verge of tears. "Loki..."

"Let me finish! I had to let you go. I can only bring misery to humans, misery to you. I also know that even if you did marry me, you could never, ever love me. No matter what you think, no matter what you hope, I'm still a monster."

They locked gaze for a long while.

"Are you done?"

He looked away. "Yes."

She approached him and laid a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "Loki, don't you see? I'm miserable without you."

He turned to her skeptically. "You are?"

She nodded. "Why do you think I came back?"

"Out of pity?" he guessed.

She shook her head. "Now it's my turn. I thought you were a monster. I was more terrified of you than anything else, but that was before I got to know you. You may have done some horrible things, but we all make mistakes. Sure, sometimes I felt like a possession, but you were also kind and giving. You did your best to help me forget my imprisonment...and how you looked.

"I will admit...it became harder for me to answer your question each night. I thought I might have feelings for you, but I was scared. See, I wasn't ready for marriage. I'm still not. But it hurt me to see you so disappointed.

"Like I said before, I miss you. I miss seeing you every morning, I miss hearing your voice and feeling your touch. And you've proved to me that you're not all bad, especially after saving me and my friends. Now that I've met you, I...I can't imagine a life without you. What I'm trying to say is..."

She glanced away, her cheeks turning red. Loki's eyes widened in astonishment. Could this be it? Could this be the moment he had been waiting for? Then she looked into his eyes and gave a shy smile.

"I love you."

He said nothing for a while. Madisyn rubbed her arm awkwardly.

"It's true. It's taken me a long time to realize it, but I love you."

Loki did not waste a moment. He grabbed the girl by the shoulders and fiercely, but tenderly, pressed his lips against hers. Madisyn was shocked for a second, but then closed her eyes and returned the kiss as they both released all the passion they had been holding back for so long.

On the other side of the bedroom door, Cwryen gasped dramatically.

"They're kissing, they're kissing!"

"Gross," Nichole muttered.

"Guess we'll have to get used to that," Tatum grumbled.

Madisyn had never felt so happy. As Loki ran his fingers through her hair, she could have sworn she heard fireworks. She then broke the kiss and looked up to see stars exploding above them.

"What...?" she started to say.

"Magical reaction," Loki explained quickly. "Don't ruin the moment."

He returned his lips to hers and bent over, caressing her small body. After a while, he pulled away again.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked, moving a strand of hair away from her eye. "I'm not exactly Prince Charming, you know?"

Madisyn nodded. "I'm sure. I don't care."

He grinned. "You must marry me then! You must be with me always! You must never leave my... Oh, there I go again." He spoke in a gentler tone. "Would you marry me? I promise you can visit your friends whenever you like."

She smiled warmly and gently kissed his nose. "I appreciate it, but I told you. I'm not ready for marriage now."

"But...I love you and you love me. What are you waiting for?"

"I want you to make up with the humans, all of them. That includes the prince and princesses. Show them that you'll use your magic for good instead of evil. I want my friends to see that you make me happy."

"I thought you didn't care what they thought."

"I don't, but if they learn to appreciate you, then we can all be happy. I want things to be settled between you and Ohio before we take any big steps."

Loki sighed. "Well, if that's what you want, I just have one thing to ask you." The rest he said under his breath. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

"What's happening?" Tatum asked, trying to get a view through the keyhole.

Cwryen gasped. "He's kneeling down!"

"What?" Alyssa uttered. "Already?"

"Hush," Vahl whispered, opening the door a crack so they could listen.

"Madisyn," Loki said admiringly. "Will you...?"

"Oh my stars," Tatum muttered. "He's actually doing it! I'm going to have to make a wedding dress!"

"Shhh!" Vahl said again.

"...be my girlfriend?"

"Oh, come on!" Cwryen Caster swung open the door, startling the couple. "You meanie! We thought you were proposing! I was going to throw an engagement party! I had already planned on the decorations, the cake, the number of guests..."

"Ahem," Loki cleared his throat. "Do you mind?"

Cwryen giggled awkwardly. "Oops, sorry."

The Frost Giant turned back to his beloved. "Well?"

Madisyn grinned. "What do you think?"

He cried out for joy as he took her into his arms.

"We'll just, um, leave you two alone then," Alyssa said, heading for the exit.

"Yeah," Nichole cringed. "We'll just...wait. Are we really leaving them alone?!"

She yelped as the cowgirl grabbed her by the arm. "Come on, Nichole."

The marcher rolled her eyes. "Oh, fine! You better take care of her, you hear? Cuz if you don't..." She waved her fist at the Frost Giant before following Alyssa.

"You do realize I'll have to inform Auer and Harleen about this?" Vahl said as she passed the couple.

Loki waved her off. "Yeah, yeah. Just make sure they know that I didn't put her under a spell. Hold on. You're really okay with this?"

"Well...not really. We just want our friend to be happy. Though Nichole is right. If you don't keep your word, you'll have to answer to us."

"Yeah, whatever."

"And when you do get married," Cwryen chimed, "be sure to invite us to the wedding!"

"And let me make the dresses!" Tatum exclaimed.

"By the way," Vahl said, pausing at the doorway, "thank you for saving our lives. We owe you a debt of gratitude."

Once the humans were gone, the couple sighed.

"Now, where were we?" Loki held up a finger. "Oh, I remember."

Madisyn laughed as he dipped her to his side and welcomed him into another passionate kiss.