Thanks for voting on Shadows! Enjoy!

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Anthony:

"Alright. I'm off, have fun you two!"

Jokingly raising his eyebrows, Trey sprinted away once Anthony raised his own hand against his friend. It had been a long day, and Anthony had finally managed to acquire alone time with Danica (after all the parting farewells from their allies that took forever) till Trey soured the mood and spoiled it.

"He's teasing, you know," reassured Danica, placing her hand into Anthony's jacket pocket. As her dress originally belonged to the faeries, it could be seen as a bit on the translucent side. After the battle finished and Amir dragged his mother off, Danica whispered into his ear for a change of clothes.

Giving her his suit jacket, he shivered. The chilly weather along with the boggy fog seeped into his bones the more time they spent outside.

"Let's go home," Danica stated, pulling on his suit jacket.

"I agree." Noticing the witch in the distance, Danica greeted her, talked for a bit then retrieved permission to ride her pet animal back to the States.

"What did she say?", asked Anthony whom had not been present during the conversation.

"That she's sorry," Danica explained. Holding his hand until they reached the magical creature, a perplexed Anthony questioned her further.

"In all actuality, my family did not do anything wrong. Recently, she combed through historical records, after doubling down on my curse...turns out her parents really did commit treason and just...were horrible people really. There was no need for a curse after all."

He reminisced for a minute, then said, "Wow. That sucks for you."

"Sounds like something Trey would say," Danica teased.

"He would say that, wouldn't he?", Anthony responded. "Seriously, I am sorry that you have had to live life this way..."

"I am not," Danica said. "It made me a lot more appreciative of interactions with others, especially when they could not see me. Made me long for it...and I would not wish for my life to turn out any other way!"

"At least I met you this way," Anthony mused.

"You could say that," she answered. Riding the magical creature for a while, Anthony felt a bit sick to his stomach, but did not register a complaint as he preferred it over teleporting.

He would never admit it to Trey, of course.

Up in the clouds, gusts pressed on his cheeks while tiny icicles formed on his breath. Although it felt colder here than on the ground, he breathed cleaner air and tasted miniature snowflakes when he stuck out his tongue.

Danica saw what he was doing, and followed in his footsteps. Shrieking out loud, she found that her tongue froze solidly after a few attempts.

"Are you okay?", Anthony asked with concern laced in his voice.

"Yes, I'm fine," she said through gritted teeth after retreating the tongue, an ice dragon, back into its cave.

She would never try that again.

When they finally came back down, Anthony glanced around his surroundings, still only seeing wisps of greys and shades of white.

He might as well as see ghosts for the lack of color that existed in his line of vision.

"Do ghosts exist?"

"Yes, but they're spirits that have not moved on yet," Danica explained, taking her hand in his and bringing him along to a special meadow.

"We're not at home yet, are we?"

"Nope, I wanted to bring you on a picnic!"

"Danica..."

"Come on! After all that, I just wanted some decent rest and food..."

"Wouldn't you need a picnic basket..."

"She gave me one! The witch did!"

Anthony chuckled. "Of course, she did." Could he be mad at someone so spirited and adorable in her own way? No, at least not for long.

Giving her a peck on the wrist, he ran off into the darkness with an exasperated princess on his tail.

"Anthony, you'll trip! And...what did I say about giving me a peck..."

Finally caught up to him, Anthony turned around, saying, "A peck? When did you ever say anything about a peck?"

"I..."

"Danica, want to wear couple rings?", Anthony hurriedly asked before he could lose his resolve.

"Only if we get a proper engagement down the line," she joked.

"I'll have to get in touch with the Lesotho Royal Family first..."

"I was kidding...Anthony! Anthony!"

The moon rose to greet the best friends as they lay down on a blanket, which the witch had also generously provided, and gazed at the stars. (Well, one of them did, the other one just abashedly covered her face with her hands, obviously feeling a bit flushed.)

"Do you think the faeries will mess with you again?"

"Nah. My mom will put them in their place if they dare try pull a stunt like that again."

Anthony laughed. "Amir included?"

"Amir has his own life to live, and made his choice."

"Better not regret it," he muttered.

"Are you by chance jealous?"

"Nope."

"Liar."

"I'm blind, not a liar."

"Still...you never felt...angry at Amir?"

"For kidnapping you, yeah."

"Anything else?"

"No."

"Positive?"

"Want me to prove it?"

"Prove what?"

"What I feel about someone else?"

"Who?"

"You?"

"Me?"

"Yes, you. What else, the moon?"

"Speaking about that, is there really a lady on the moon? I read somewhere about this Chinese myth in a book..."

A quick peck on the cheek later, and the talkative princess shut right up.

"Well..."

"I'm tired. Want to go home now?"

"You know, we could just teleport?"

"Leave the creature?"

"She'll pick it up..."

"Where will you go?"

"My real home, the palace."

"Ok."

"You?"

"Wherever you go, I will follow...why are you blushing?"

"You can't see!"

"It's freezing, but there is a warmth underneath my hands right now."

"That is because you are touching my face!"

"My hands are freezing also..."

"You know what they say...cold hands, warm heart."

"Is that a no?"

"No..."

"You lead the way."

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The END!