Magical Princess
A Continuation of the story “The Princess Files"
by Roberta J. Cabot

Introduction:

Spoiler Warning – this introduction is a summary of “The Princess Files,” which this story is a sequel of. The purpose of the summary is so that there will be no need to read “The Princess Files” (but if you want to read it, click this link: https://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/fiction/85162/princess-files ). Needless to say – this introduction is one big spoiler.

It doesn’t come close to doing “The Princess Files” justice, however, so if you’re thinking of reading that story, and therefore do not want any spoilers, go ahead and read that first story, skip this introduction, and go directly to Part 1.

So, here goes…

Once upon a time, there was an FBI agent called Dan Shelton - a member of the FBI’s DSX unit. One fateful morning, everyone in the DSX was called in, including Dan: there was some sort of emergency, so he rushed to the office. But in his commute to Headquarters, on the train, he met a little eight or nine-year-old blonde girl in pigtails and a blue party dress named Titania. Since the little girl was all alone, Dan worried for her. After some small talk, where he tried to find out where her parents were, the girl said she had chosen him (chosen him for what, she didn’t say), and made some squiggly gestures in the air with her fingers. Dan thought the girl was sweet but a little… eccentric, to say the least.

As he got off the train, he lost sight of the little girl. Since he couldn’t spare the time to look for her, he left it to the Metro transit police and rushed to FBI HQ.

In the briefing conducted by the head of DXS, it was announced that six of the heiresses of the twelve remaining monarchies of Europe had been abducted by what appeared to be elves… All of Europe’s police forces, including Interpol, were on the job, but the royal families all asked for help from other nations. America responded by assigning it to the CIA and the FBI (though the FBI wasn’t supposed to operate internationally, the president made an exception for this)

The FBI’s DSX specialized in these types of… unusual cases, and was highly regarded besides, so the president left it to DXS.

So Dan, after comprehensive briefings and planning that afternoon, went home to get ready to go to Europe: DSX was sending teams to those European countries affected. His particular team was assigned to the sovereign state of Caledonia to protect their crown princess - Princess Lily - while other DSX teams were given similar assignments in the five remaining monarchies of Europe.

However, when he got home and was about to have an early takeout dinner, he found some slight physical changes in himself: he was a bit shorter and thinner than he remembered, and his face wasn’t exactly as it was before. They were subtle changes, to be sure, but he couldn’t help but notice them. This could only be because of Titania - the little girl was the one causing this. He was panicking, but he couldn’t really tell anyone without sounding crazy. Thank goodness no one else, except Dan’s supervisor, Special Agent-In-Charge Wolf Belker, and Dan’s partner, Special Agent Rachel Tailor, noticed the change.

On the long trip to Caledonia, his changes continued, slowly but inexorably. And by the time they landed, he looked totally different. He looked like a pretty blonde girl about his age, and, having gone to the aircraft’s head, he knew he was actually a bona fide female now. He remembered little Titania’s words: “By this time tomorrow,” she had said, “you’ll be as pretty as a princess, and you can smile all you like.”

The funny thing was, everyone assumed he had always been a girl, except Wolf and Rachel.

And, upon meeting Sir Alfred, the Master of the Household of the royal palace, they found that Dan was now the spitting image of Princess Lily of Caledonia.

Everyone just assumed that he was selected for this mission because of his close resemblance to the princess, so his looks were easily explained away, and they were able to continue with their assignment.

They accompanied the princess on her tour of the kingdom on the occasion of the country’s Jubilee Day, and as she waved to her subjects, kissed babies, and shook hands, a gang of assassins dressed like refugees from The Lord of the Rings attacked them and attempted to abduct the princess.

Largely because of Dan’s derring-do, they foiled the elf-assassins. The princess was grateful, actually more than grateful, towards her near-twin savior, and the beginnings of a romance between the two were obvious.

Despite the kidnap attempt, the princess was adamant to continue her activities for the country’s Jubilee Day, so the FBI and Interpol teams prepared for yet another day of keeping the princess safe, but when the elves attacked again, and Dan again heroically saved the princess, he and his fellow agents were able to capture or kill the attackers, and no other attempts were made afterward.

Subsequent investigations showed, based on the identities of the elves, that they were from the kingdom of Andorra, and they had undergone plastic surgery to give them pointed ears and upturned eyebrows. As to why, the DSX really didn’t know, nor did they know the reason behind these faux elves’ attempts to kidnap Princess Lily or the other princesses.

In the intervening weeks, the romance between the princess and the former Daniel Shelton (now Danielle) became more than just a rumor, and the couple openly admitted to the world their relationship, and they were celebrated as the latest LGBTQ heroes to come down the pike.

As for the kidnapped princesses, the rest of Europe, as well as the world, now knew who was behind it, and started diplomatic activities to peacefully get the six kidnapped royals back, but after three months, these efforts came to nothing. The long days of frustrated diplomatic work were wearing down the patience of the world, and everyone knew things would come to a head pretty soon.

Meanwhile…

 
Part 1: Aurora

“Hello!” Aurora said after I introduced Rachel, Wolf, and myself. She smiled widely as she opened her apartment door. “Welcome to my humble abode. Come in, come in!” She stepped aside and ushered us in.

I looked the woman up and down. She was beautiful, and seemed to be about thirty or so, though her eyes seemed to show a kind of knowledge and wisdom that was both ancient and ageless. The woman’s expression reminded me of my great-grandmother’s - wisdom borne of a life nearly a century-long, although this woman’s life could probably be counted in millenniums if she was indeed the person I thought she was.

She was wearing low-heeled pumps, a pair of form-fitting slacks, simple jewelry, and a loose, sleeveless burgundy-colored top that set off her long, subtly wavy silver-blonde hair and generous bosom. A very chic ensemble, yet casual but sexy as well, I thought.

As we stepped in, we looked around. Clearly, it was not just a “humble” abode. It definitely wasn’t just an “apartment” since it was so frigging big! The door, for example, was a heavy, ten-foot-tall carved mahogany twin door like from some castle or keep, and nothing as prosaic as a little doorbell button was on the side. Rather, it sported a simply enormous brass door knocker with the monogram “AA” on the plate - for Aurora Auberon, no doubt - the person we’ve come to visit. I had a bit of trouble earlier lifting the heavy knocker to announce our presence.

As we stepped through, she directed us into the living area that was at least fifty meters by fifty, furnished in a medieval-age kind of style, but it was clearly a modern room, with air-conditioning, modern lighting, and a large projection TV built into the far wall (currently off). I assumed it was a projection TV, since whoever heard of a 160-foot TV. And the place featured all the modern amenities one could ever want. But the furnishings were like an odd mixture of 16th-century Tudor-style tables, shelves, cabinets paintings, and other decorations, and 1950s-style American chairs and couches.

There was no house help in evidence, as well. I wondered at that.

“Apologies,” she said, noticing that I noticed – “I prefer to be alone. And though I do like the furnishings, fixtures, and styles of the Middle Ages, especially the Renaissance - they are awfully uncomfortable. Post-war furniture is so very comfy, however. So, I hope you do not mind the mixture of styles.”

She gestured for us to have a seat on the large, Ikea-looking orange leather sofa-couch with overstuffed cushions. Fifties Style couch, most definitely.

“Why the Middle Ages, if you don’t mind me asking, ma’am,” Wolf asked.

“I prefer those from my own time, Agent Belker” she grinned, “except when there are clear advantages to something else.” We looked at each other with eyebrows raised. “And these,” she gestured towards her Ikea-looking plush chairs, “are so much more comfortable.” She made a show of snuggling into her matching overstuffed chair.

Her turn of phrase sounded archaic, but if you paid attention, it was really not. It was mostly the fact that she didn’t use many contractions, and her word choices were sometimes unusual, and it made it sound… Shakespearean somehow.

“So...” she continued, and gestured to an elegant coffee service that we didn’t notice was on the low table in front of us. It was like it just appeared. She waited while we served ourselves. “What can I do for the Federal Bureau of Investigation?”

I eyed the really tasty-looking baklava on a plate beside the pot.

Aurora giggled as she saw my slightly predatory look. “Please, my dear!” she said to me. “Help yourself! I made these especially for you.” Especially for me? I wondered. “It is genuine fistikli baklava, just like they used to make in old Turkey” (she bizarrely pronounced it like “turkey-yay,” which, I found out later was how it really was meant to be pronounced).

I grabbed one of the little saucer-sized plates and got a slice of the delicate-looking pastry. The little green specks on top of the golden pastry were intriguing. Wolf and Rachel looked at me with disapproval. “What?” I whispered, defiantly cut a piece, and took a bite.

It was baklava - very tasty and honey-lemon sweet. The green specks were crushed pistachio, and they gave the pastry texture and a slightly salty and nutty note. Simply gorgeous.

“Please,” Aurora said again, and Wolf and Tailor looked at each other and, apparently, decided to grab some as well.

As we chowed down (Rachel in a lady-like way while Wolf and I less so), Aurora got a big tumbler of what looked like orange juice from somewhere and looked at us appraisingly while she sipped, and we enjoyed our little afternoon tea snacks.

“I take it that you are the one?” she asked me.

We looked at each other. “Excuse me me, ma’am,” I said. “What do you mean?”

“The one mother placed her magicks on.”

We looked at each other. “Excuse me, ma’am?” I repeated.

Aurora sighed. “She has been going by the name Titania for a few centuries now, and to you, she would appear to be a child of, perhaps, eight or nine years of age. Does that make things clearer?”

“Ohmigod!” Rachel whispered.

“Let us not bring Him into this,” she said and laughed. Her laugh was like crystal bells tinkling. “Let us keep it between us.” She looked at me. “Do not deny it, my dear,” she said. “I can feel her majicks on you still. When was it? Perhaps three score and a half days ago? Any longer and no one would be the wiser.” She looked me over. “I must say, Mother still does good work.”

Three score and a half… In my head, I computed – that’s seventy days – more than two months ago. Sounds about right.

I shrugged. “I still don’t know what, much less how, Titania did it.”

Aurora reached over and petted my knee. “Worry not, young one. A life of consequence may yet be lived. She did not do anything to you – she did something for you.”

She then looked at my boss. “So, again, what may I do to be of assistance to the FBI?”

“Well, ma’am,” Wolf said, “we don’t really know. We’re trying to help our friend, and she said we should come here and…”

Aurora held up a peremptory hand and then turned to me. “Young one, what led you and your friends to my door?”

I swallowed hard. “Ummm,” I began tentatively. My boss nodded in encouragement. “I researched Titania, and tried to suss out instances like mine, and was able to trace 999 events like mine. The name ‘Titania,’ though, only came out in the record as relating to events sometime in the fifteen-hundreds.”

Aurora smiled in delight. “Continue.”

“Because of the dates, and the first recognized attachment of the name Titania was with the fairies in William Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’…”

Aurora clapped in delight. “Brilliant!”

“… I looked for references in Shakespeare’s play, like Titania, and Puck and Oberon, and found a company established in the city of Boston in 1635 – the publishing company, Arthur Auberon Company, and its subsidiary, White Heart Press. ‘Arthur’ and ‘Oberon’ both meant bear and ‘Auberon’ was the anglicized version of Oberon, while White Heart was a printing company in the 1600s owned by one Thomas Fisher - the first owner of the publisher’s copyright to ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’

“Auberon and White Heart have been around since those times, dealing mostly in reprints of old Victorian-era books. So their volume of sales would not have accounted for their survival until the present. They should have gone under centuries ago. It was something suspicious.”

Aurora grinned. “Absolutely brilliant!”

“And I found out that the Auberon Company and White Heart have been owned by six successive women - all named Aurora Auberon, each one supposedly named after their mother – the previous owner, and each being ‘Aurora.’”

Aurora giggled. “You, my dear, are as clever as Sherlock Holmes!”

“Thank you, Ma’am,” I said.

“And your research was correct. I am indeed she, Aurora Auberon, princess and daughter of Titania, the Summer Queen and Liege of all Faeries, and the Empress of Light.”

She leaned towards a little side table, which we didn’t notice was there before, and picked up a thick sheaf of documents and handed it to me.

I perused it. Some of the documents were yellowed and stained by age and we saw old titles of property, several birth certificates, and other documents that proved she was the Aurora Auberon we were hoping she was. I passed it on to Rachel. She took out her smartphone and unabashedly took pictures of the documents. I quickly looked back to the princess and she didn’t seem bothered by it, making me conclude that it was all right for Rachel to take pictures.

“Yes,” I said, answering my team’s unasked question – yes, this woman was indeed the genuine article - and nodded to Wolf and Rachel, with a tinge of wonder in my voice. I waited for Rachel to finish, took back the folder, and handed it back to the woman.

She shook a finger at us. “Be warned, young mortals - if you repeat this to other souls, I will deny it, and you will be branded as brainsick and unbalanced, and I will ensure that you will be ruined and imprisoned, or at the very least committed.”

We looked at each other, not doubting she was capable of it.

“You needn’t worry, ma’am,” Wolf said. “Before coming over, we talked about it. We won’t tell anyone anything.”

“I know it. But it was my duty to forewarn you, at least.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Rachel said. “Thank you.”

“My dear Danielle,” she said to me and smiled. “your friends are a caution, as are you. Now, I repeat, what may I do for you?”

Well, ma’am,” Wolf started, “we came for two things – first is to ask if you can reverse what’s been done to Dannie, and…”

Aurora shook her head sadly.

“Ma’am?” Wolf asked.

“I am afraid my mother’s skills are beyond my own simple abilities, as they are to all those remaining of the elder races. And it is also beyond your own philosophy, I’m afraid.”

We looked at our boss. “She means our science,” Wolf explained.

We paused. “Ma’am,” I said, “what if we asked for Titania’s help? Maybe she can reverse it?”

She sadly shook her head again. “I am afraid not. In the first, you will not be able to find her if she does not wish to be found. In the second, though she would be loathed to admit it, she cannot undo her own magicks, as do all of us who still practice the wizardly arts.”

“But she was the one who… applied them – why wouldn’t she be able to reverse it?”

“Dear child, you know not what you speak. You do not understand the fundamentals of the building blocks of the universe. Such things are not like driving down a street, that you can just reverse track and return to where you started. It is more like that.” She gestured at my coffee cup. “Can you un-stir your cup and get the coffee out of the water?”

She reached out and delicately held my hand. “I am afraid, my dear,” she said kindly, “that this is permanent.”

She patted my hand. “But is it so terrible? You are young, still, and you are healthy, and your family and friends – indeed, the world - have been made to adjust to your new reality. You have a kind soul, a keen intellect, and skills that are nearly peerless in your FBI.” She gently touched my face. “And you are very beautiful and are the object of affection of your very own princess, I believe?” She giggled merrily.

“How did you know about…?”

“Oh, it is nothing at all – one just needs to look at social media, or tune in to CNN or BBC, or perhaps pick up a tabloid or two.” She giggled again, with a sound similar to tinkling bells.

The three of us laughed a bit at that admission.

“Maybe someone who also has skills in the… wizardly arts can cast her own -”

Aurora shook her head. “I am afraid, child, that even I cannot return you to what you were. In time, you will understand… The best that I can do is make you a man again – but a different man, and one not nearly as handsome as you were, and I doubt I nor anyone else would have the strength and the art to align the perception of the world to…”

“All right, ma’am – I understand.” Rachel was looking at me, and I looked back at her dejectedly.

Rachel reached out and gave me a hug. “It’s all right, Dannie. Besides, the princess is right – being Danielle ain’t too bad, right? Sure you’re a girl, but are you really stuck on wanting to be a boy?”

“I guess not. But…”

“And you’re still you – smart and kind and brave… And you’re pretty, too! And Lily loves you…”

I smiled wanly. “I guess…”

Aurora nodded, seemingly believing that the matter was already closed, and then faced Wolf. “You mentioned two things?”

“Yes, Ma’am. The second is, can we ask your assistance in resolving the present crisis involving the kidnapped royals?”

“There is an… injunction… that prevents us from interfering in such issues.” She mysteriously pointed upward. Instinctively we looked up and only saw the ceiling.

“Such matters must be divined by mortal hearts and minds,” she continued: “elders such as I must not interfere. However, let me give you this small boon: you three are wise and discerning. Do not doubt your own minds. Your analysis and conclusions so far are all on target. Continue on the path you are on, and it will lead you to success and the rescue of the royals.”

“Thank you, princess. Can we…”

She waved a dismissing hand. “I am afraid that is all I can say.” She gestured upward again, and we instinctively looked up but saw nothing again. “Do not doubt that you will achieve your goals,” she continued. “Especially you, my dear.” She smiled in my direction.

“Thank you, ma’am.”

From then on, she deliberately steered the conversation in other directions. She began to talk about Shakespeare and other genres, touching obliquely, but not directly, on the character Titania. I noted that she mentioned Sherlock Holmes, and if she had read the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. We had a lively discussion about turn-of-the-century fiction and touched on H.G. Wells and the science fiction genre. Incredibly, for whatever reason, the chat shifted to sci-fi movies and eventually went to the Marvel and DC superhero movies, of which she was fully conversant, and then moved on to other sci-fi. She mentioned the latest incarnation of Star Trek and said she so enjoyed the first musical in that series (“’ Subspace Rhapsody,’ indeed!” she exclaimed).

I think she deliberately stayed on pop topics and themes, didn’t touch on politics and current events for some reason, and didn’t delve into more, um, sophisticated literature and other entertainment – the first one perhaps to avoid us asking her opinions about them, and as for the second, I had this sneaking suspicion that it was largely because of me, and she was referring to my lack of… sophistication insofar as literature went.

All in all, it was a wonderful visit, leaving the three of us entertained, and with large take-home Tupperware containers of that wonderful baklava, too. Lol.

As she handed me my own container, she leaned over and hugged me.

“This is up to you, dear daughter” she whispered in my ear. “Your grandmother Titania and I believe in you, but you must believe in yourself, too. And when you do, there is no limit to the possibilities.”

“What do you…”

She let go. “May the light of all the eternals shine upon you,” she said to us like a benediction and closed her door.

 
Part 2: Dinner

The drive back from New York City to Washington DC was a little over four hours, even with Rachel at the wheel, and we got back to DC well past eight. Not too late, but Boss wanted to have dinner first. He wanted Italian plus some drinks, so I suggested Fiola’s – it was in Pennsylvania, so not too far from HQ. It was a little bit expensive, I warned, but Wolf waved me down, and said it was his treat.

Having ordered our food, we sat and rehashed the meeting.

“So I gotta ask the question,” Wolf said – “do we believe her? What she was saying was fantastic, to say the least. If it were a regular interrogation, heck, even just an interview with a subject-matter expert, her sanity would have been in question.”

“Well, duh!” Rachel said. “Of course, we believe her. It’s not as if we haven’t heard fantastic stories before.” She made air quotes when she said “fantastic,” and nodded in my direction. “Also, Dannie’s research dovetails, and Aurora –”

“Princess Aurora,” Wolf corrected her.

Rachel nodded. “… ‘Princess’ Aurora confirmed it. And she had documentation to prove it, too.” She pulled out her phone and showed it to Wolf again.

He looked the pictures over and handed the phone back.

“Verify that when we get back,” he said, “on the QT, of course. We promised. …Still…” he said, “the princess wasn’t helpful.”

“I disagree,” Rachel said. “She did say we were on the right track, and we should follow our… instincts, I guess, and if we do, we’ll be successful.”

“Just pep talk…”

“Not true. She was – what did she call them? Wizards? So, as a wizard, she knows things we don’t. I think we’ll resolve this hostage thing, somehow. We better get the Admiral to assign us to this full-time… Dannie? You’ve been awfully quiet. What’s wrong, honey?”

She reached out and put her hand on top of mine. I turned my hand around and brought her hand to my lips for a short sisterly kiss.

“I’m okay, Rache,” I said and smiled at her. “I was just thinking that I’m glad you guys decided to go with me today.”

Boss shrugged. “No big. What are teammates… and friends for.

“But,” he continued, “what a waste. We didn’t get anything out of her.”

“Not completely,” I replied

“You sound like her.” He pointed to Rachel.

“I do not!” I reacted. Rache giggled and stuck her tongue out at me.

I smiled at that. Such a thing would have probably irritated me several months ago. But now – it seems my changes weren’t purely physical as all of us thought it was: Now it’s obvious, at least to me, that I’m acting, well, more stereotypically girly. That would probably sound sexist to, um, “real” females, but I can’t help thinking it. To me, Rachel, for example, was being terribly cute, and I was feeling ridiculously, sentimentally grateful to her and our boss. In fact, I was just this side of crying. I am too sentimental these days.

“What do you mean, Dannie?” Wolf asked, not noticing any of it.

“Well, boss,” I said, “yes, Princess Aurora didn’t give us exactly what we were hoping for. But we agree that she knows things we don’t, and she did say we were on the right track. So I agree with Rachel – it wasn’t a total loss. We need to capitalize on that. Can we talk to the admiral and get us assigned to the case again?”

Wolf nodded. “When are you going back to Caledonia and visit Princess Lily?”

“Well, Lily’s expecting me to this weekend. She already sent me a plane ticket.” I brought it out. “I checked with the office first, of course.”

Rachel looked at my ticket. “First class, huh?” Rachel elbowed me in the ribs. “Pretty nice to be girlfriends with royalty, huh? “Huh? Huh? Huh?”

“Quit it, Rache,” I giggled.

“Admiral Greer told me that they need more people for the teams that they’re organizing to assault teams going to Andorra,” Wolf said (Admiral James Greer was the director of DSX). “There’s no lack of volunteers, but the Admiral was looking for specific personnel. I was able to talk to his assistant, and apparently, all three of us are on the shortlist. If we volunteer, I’m sure we’ll be part of his team.”

“Do you know what the plan is, Boss?” Rachel said.

“I was told that there would be a full-frontal assault from a team that will be airdropped over Andorra Castle, with several land-based assault teams coming from the surrounding forested areas and one from the beach on the western side of the castle. There will also be a covert infiltration team to come from the forest.”

“Sounds like a big operation.”

“Volunteers from the six kingdoms will make up the bulk of the assault teams, supplemented by US Marines, plus Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, and Indian commandos – these were the only countries who volunteered personnel - former Commonwealth - since they were invested in the idea of royalty. Equipment and budget were being footed by the European Parliament, but mostly by the US and Canada, and supplemented by the six kingdoms.

“There would be assault teams to approach from the surrounding forests, some landing teams coming from the beach to the west of the royal castle, and some to be airdropped.

“What the task force needs personnel for is the infiltration team. Or teams. It might be we’ll be assigned to this. Would you two be okay with this?”

Rache and I shrugged. “I don’t know, Boss,” I said. “I don’t know about Rache, I’m no soldier…”

“I don’t know what the specific plans are, so I guess we’ll have to see, then.”

 
Part 3: Meeting With The Admiral

It was six AM, and I was having a light breakfast just before I had to leave for work. It was about eleven in Caledonia so I thought it was okay to call Lily.

I had a long talk with Lily as well as the rest of her siblings and, it really was like I was part of the family now. Clementine and little Leon were really lovely children, although Leon was a little spoiled and bratty, but then he was the youngest of the three siblings. Clementine (or Tina, as she preferred to be called) was the middle child, and knowing her not getting much attention, I made an effort to befriend the shy pre-teen).

In any case, Lily sensed I wanted to talk to her alone, so after a while, she asked the two to leave her with me.

This gave me a chance to tell her about Agents Belker, Tailor and my intention to join the effort to rescue the kidnapped princesses.

Lily worried, of course, and asked what were the dangers involved, and I tried to tell her what I could without broaching any confidential information. What I couldn’t hide from her was that it would most likely be highly dangerous. Lily said something about how she’d prefer that I don’t join, but she said it was my decision, of course. Early on in our relationship, I told her there were times when my job put me in danger, but I needed to do my job. Lily agreed, and she wouldn’t make waves. I loved her for that.

- - - - -

I arrived at the office just before nine, and Rachel was just behind me.

Wolf went to our desks.

“I’m going to the boss now,” he said. “I’m going to tell him we’re in.”

Rachel and I nodded.

Wolf came back with Jennifer Stone, Admiral Greer’s personal assistant.

“Dannie, Rachel, I’m sure you know Jennifer, Director Greer’s right hand,” Wolf said. She shook our hands.

“Ladies,” Jennifer said, “the director wants you three. Follow me.”

We went with her to the Admiral’s office.

“Wolf, ladies,” the Admiral said and gestured for us to sit. He was a big man, with an even bigger voice. He inspires just with his voice.

“Thank you for volunteering. To be frank, we were all ready to deploy – we actually had enough people to fill up all the teams. But the families of the kidnapped royals have petitioned the government and the FBI to field your team. To be frank, everyone was impressed by Dannie’s actions in the rescue of Princess Lily over three months ago. Because of this, the families are insisting on you guys. Frankly speaking, I feel the same.”

“But, Admiral…” Wolf said.

Greer held up a hand. “I know, Wolf,” he said. “I could have ordered you. But I wanted you to volunteer on your own. To tell the truth, I was getting a lot of pressure so I was going to call you guys later this afternoon to assign you to this operation. I’m glad I didn’t have to.”

We then talked about the plan.

Apparently, all the assault, airdrop, and beach landing teams had full complements already, but the plan was we were to be part of the infiltration team, with Wolf as the team lead. The Admiral said the three of us had a free hand to recruit whoever we wanted from the DSX, but we had to include a token few from the volunteers.

I tapped Wolf on the shoulder. “Boss,” I whispered, “those volunteers…”

“Dannie,” the Admiral said, “please speak freely. You’re among friends.”

“Ummm… sorry, sir. I was thinking that the people who volunteer to be part of our team need to be vetted, sir.”

“That seems to be a bit over the top,” the Admiral said.

“I have to agree with Dannie, sir,” Wolf said. “In the attack in Caledonia, those faux elves seemed to have a lot of inside information. After the attack, Princess Lily’s people investigated their staff. They found a couple of ringers. They were investigated, found connections with the Principality of Andorra, and were promptly let go. They believed that these individuals were feeding information to Andorra. That means the people of Andorra have ways to get the information they need. Makes me think they might have ringers among the volunteers we were sent. In fact, I was going to suggest to check out all the volunteers, including the military volunteers. We can then let those people we suspect go and maybe replace them with our people.”

“Well, I may have a better idea about that,” he said cryptically. “Continue.”

“Well, sir, once the makeup of all the teams has been finalized, we’ll have to arrange for the timing of the assault, and then execute. We have to make sure the assault of the teams will provide sufficient distraction to give the infiltration team maximum opportunity to do its job.”

“Distraction?”

“Well, we are sure the Andorran government is waiting for some kind of reaction like this and are on red alert. But we can make sure that Andorra would be preoccupied with them, allowing the infiltration team to sneak in.”

“Sounds good. Be sure to talk to Jennifer when you have a plan. I’ll be contacting the families of the kidnapped royals and will tell them that you three are on the ball.”

“Thanks, Admiral.”

“We’ll start vetting all the volunteers – it will probably take a couple of days to do all that. We’ll have to ask for assistance from the CIA and NSA. So that’s the time you have to come up with a plan.”

“Right, sir.”

“Get to it, then.”

 
Part 4: Assault

The plan that we came up with was much as what we thought it would be. With one twist.

As Wolf and I feared, there were, indeed, plants among the volunteers. It took a few days, but the CIA found that eight of them, supposedly from two out of the six monarchies, were fake, and were actually Andorran nationals. As for the soldier volunteers, they were all the real thing. We also weren’t sure, though, since we couldn’t ask without giving away that we were on to them, but as best as the CIA could determine, none of them knew about each other.

The Admiral did, indeed, plan a little twist – the plan was to use these ringers to their advantage by putting them all in a single team to be led by one of our people, one of our best agents, Supervising Special Agent Alec Travalyan, to be specific. The remaining slots were to be filled by some other volunteers from the monarchies where the spies were supposed to have come from, specially briefed by Wolf about the purpose of this ersatz team, and the filler volunteers were not to let on to the spies that we knew. The volunteers were compartmentalized and told not to let on to the other legit volunteers who were spies, to not let on to the spies that someone knew (of course, none of them knew that each of them knew the truth). They were told that when the spies made their move, they should protect themselves and let the spies escape back to Andorra, while they were to make for a specific pick-up point so that they would be air-lifted out to safety.

In the team’s briefing, they were told of the day of the assault (Saturday), and that it was for midnight, Andorra time. This was, of course, inaccurate – the real attack would be thirty minutes later. They were also given landing locations and coordinates for the rest of the twelve teams. The coordinates weren’t the real coordinates, of course, and they were strategic – the coordinates were meant to lure Andorran forces away from the real coordinates (they were sure the spies would leak the information), and the number of teams was actually twenty teams. That way, all of the teams would be given the best chances of success.

Agent Trevalyan and his legitimate volunteers were the most in peril, though, since his ersatz team was going to be targeted, for sure. So Alec planned to move them to another set of coordinates. But even then, they couldn’t really be too far from the original coordinates. They could actually have deployed the ersatz team with just the spies, but Alec decided to accompany them to make sure nothing went amiss.

There was also another change. Wolf and Alec agreed that the infiltration team was converted to another airdrop team. But this was all dependent on how good our intelligence was.

The CIA, Interpol, the DGSE (which was the French secret service), MI6, and Scotland Yard were confident about their intel, and their intel showed the following -

All six of the kidnapped princesses were kept in newly constructed barracks on the top floor of the palace. Strategically, it should have been in the basement levels, but the royal family was trying to economize, and it was cheaper to make the princesses’ new quarters on the top floor.

The security and military forces inside the building weren’t too many. Most of the country’s military forces were in their two main garrisons several miles away from the castle. Rumor was that Queen Arwen was afraid of a coup, hence the lack of military people around her, though general sentiments of the Andorran population made that unlikely. Because of this, we thought that we wouldn’t encounter too much resistance. Provided, of course, that the bulk of their military was engaged elsewhere, which was the point of the land and sea-based teams – to distract the Andorrans from the “real” assault team.

 
Part 5: Arrival

Our stealth troop carrier came in undetected. At the appointed coordinates, we air-dropped over the castle, and keeping watch on our virtual beacon, all of us were able to parachute onto the roof deck of the castle. The roof wasn’t that large, so we timed it so that there’d be around five minutes separating each parachutist, allowing them to gather and put away their parachute. If the wind was a problem, or we couldn’t manage our chutes properly, we were instructed to cut ourselves from them so that we’d be able to get out of the way of the next parachutist.

All twenty-eight of us were able to get on the roof without incident. We had memorized the layout of the roof and the top floors of the building so we were able to make our way around the building with minimum light.

The first order of business was to gain entry. Wolf, Rachel, and I, plus five other agents, stationed ourselves at the door nearest to the prisoners’ quarters, while the rest divided themselves among the other two doors.

After doing our best to cut the alarms off the doors, we then broke down the doors at the same time. Despite our efforts, the alarm had probably been raised already. In any case, we assumed it was.

All of us had the proper training, so we didn’t do too badly. We only encountered a few roaming guards and they were quickly tranquilized: It seems like the arrival of our “fake” team thirty minutes earlier had drawn away the palace’s military and security personnel so the building didn’t have too many guards or soldiers left. And the assault of our “real” teams timed to be the same as our arrival, they were all busy. It was, in fact, comically easy for us.

After we broke down the door to the prisoners’ quarters, we found five of the kidnapped princesses. They were all innocently asleep. I brought out the possibility of the Helsinki hostage syndrome, where the captives would actually feel sympathy for their kidnappers. After all, it’s been almost three months since they were kidnapped. So, as a precaution, the hostages were sedated.

As I said, one of the princesses was missing, so half of our people split into four teams of three to look for the missing princess. We had made contingency plans for a situation like this so three of our teams went to the likely places they would be, based on our knowledge of the palace’s layout.

As for Wolf, Rachel, and me, we called in the situation. The US CIA had thermal detection equipment that could identify heat signatures of people within the building. The biometrics of all the princesses were known, so the CIA was able to extrapolate the possible heat signatures of all of them based on their height, build, weight, etc. It was, at best sixty to eighty percent accurate, but it was better than nothing.

Rachel, who was our designated tech, said there were four possible heat signatures. I asked to look at the FLIR console Rachel was looking at.

A calm feeling came over me, and I knew. It’s hard to explain the feeling, but it was like a feeling of deja vous – not exactly, but similar. “It’s this one,” I said.

My team looked at me. “I’m sure,” I said.

Wolf shrugged. “It’s as good as any,” he said and directed us to proceed to the target.

The location was actually at one of the underground levels. Per our map, it was supposed to be large underground parking facility, but our intel might not be that accurate.

We went down several flights of the fire escape stairwell, and we encountered the palace security forces.

They were all dressed in a uniform version of something an elf warrior from LOTR would wear, and had those high-tech mini-crossbows, swords, and knives the attackers we encountered in Caledonia had. Plus, they all sported long, bright hair, very much like the elves from the movies and books, but they were all just regular humans, not real elves.

As we did then, we were all sporting the Kevlar-based armor we wore during that time in Caledonia, but you wouldn’t have noticed since we wore them underneath our jumpsuits. But it seems the soldiers were similarly equipped so we didn’t have any great advantage, so there was some furious hand-to-hand in the fire escape stairways.

Wolf had our people do a holding action, allowing the three of us to continue.

At the end of the stairway, there was a large pair of double doors. Seeing it, I had that feeling again. “This is it,” I thought.

 
Part 6: Magical Battle

I took the lead from Wolf and was the first through the doors.

What greeted us was a kind of recreation of a large medieval stone hall. In the middle was the missing princess, tied to a big stone throne, her wrists loosely tied down. She seemed to be unconscious. To her right were several flags on poles, at the front of which was the Andorran flag.

The Andorran queen was standing over her, wearing something a medieval queen would be wearing. She was beautifully coiffed but in a kind of overdone way. Still, I guess you could say she was beautiful – just like someone who’s had a lot of work done.

She waved a long white staff over her head, gesturing to the unconscious princess, chanting words we couldn’t understand. And as she spoke, blue-white lightning arced from the metal tips of her staff. Rather, these lightning arcs were emanating from the princess towards the staff’s tips. You could feel the power that was pouring out, or rather being pulled out of the princess. At least I could. And it triggered something in me.

We looked at each other as we took in the incredible tableau.

“What’s happening?” Rachel said.

“I think I know,” I said. And I did. “As soon as I say ‘go,’ you guys grab the princess and high-tail it out of here.”

“What about you?”

“Don’t worry – I’ll be right behind you.”

I took out my sidearm and aimed for the head of the queen. Before they could respond, I fired in semi-automatic rapidity.

My shots didn’t hit the queen, though. It was as if the bullets hit a kind of invisible shield or barrier, and it glowed red as each bullet bounced off it.

I finished off my clip and snapped in another and kept on firing.

Though the queen was protected from the bullets, the invisible bubble around her, as well as her, was pushed back as each bullet hit. She was knocked backward and fell on her back.

“Go!” I exclaimed, and the two sprang into action: they ran to the princess, undid the ropes, and lifted the limp body. Wolf draped her over his back in a fireman’s carry, with Rachel assisting him. When the princess was secure, they ran from the throne room, with Rachel taking point.

As for me, I held my gun over the queen. A kind of feeling had come over me. I would have said a kind of epiphany. But it was probably the wrong word. It just felt like it was a kind of realization. A kind of answer to a question I didn’t know. I understood now that Grandmother said when she chose me… Now why did I think of Titania as a grandmother?

But I now felt things I didn’t feel before. What Arwen was doing – it triggered something in me.

She was stunned a bit but she struggled back up.

“It doesn’t matter now,” Arwen said. “I have enough.”

“Enough of what?”

“Don’t you know, changeling?”

“Explain it to me.”

She used her staff to gesture around us. “There are cameras all around us, and the whole of Andorra can see us now, and they will all see me come into my power. With this, I legitimize my reign, and Andorra takes its first steps in becoming Europe’s major power, and then the world!”

“How do you figure that?”

“This!” She gestured with her staff, and thick white bolts of light hurtled towards me. I ducked the bolts and ran. But she fired too fast and I couldn’t dodge everything. I used my sidearm and fired at the light bolts. As each bolt was hit by my bullets, they exploded, like grenades.

I made sure to hit the bolts as soon as they left Arwen’s staff, and the explosions knocked her back again. I had to equalize things, otherwise, I’m dead.

“Stand still, changeling!” She screamed and fired multiple bolts at me. I had run out of bullets so I dived behind the stone throne and the bolts hit the granite. But instead of the stone exploding into pieces, it seemed to absorb the bolts. I threw away my now useless sidearm.

It took a bit for Arwen to see what was happening, but she seemed to catch on and stopped firing. She was waiting for me to emerge from behind the throne.

I gingerly felt the rock, and what it seemed to have absorbed, it sent it through my hand. Oh, wow… Oh, wow!

And I suddenly knew what to do now.

I stood and gripped the corner of the stone throne’s backrest and, with a supreme effort, I cracked the corner like one would a saltine cracker. That gave me a hefty piece of stone.

Arwen looked at me with mouth agape, that I was able to do that, but she shook her shock away and fired again. I used the rock in my hand to block the bolts and the energy transferred to the rock, and then to me. I needed more to bring me over the top, so I inched a little closer. Arwen then continued to fire, and it gave me more of what I needed.

Eventually, I had enough and I threw the now-unnecessary rock away – I didn’t need it anymore. Arwen still fired but I didn’t block them anymore. The bolts hit me, and I seemed to be absorbing it fine.

The bolts weren’t like laser bolts or shots from a Star Wars blaster. Aurora Auberon explained it to me later - they were essentially bolts of magical power, and, its effect was like a sci-fi ray gun on normal non-magical things, and could blow things up and such. But after grandmother’s… I mean Titania’s spells, I, apparently, was magical now. I just needed a jumpstart with enough magical energy to transition. Without which, it’d be years and years before I generate enough magic on my own.

And the effect of magical things was that they store magical energy, like batteries. I found out later that the stone throne was hewn from the silcrete rocks of Stonehenge, so it was magical in its basic elemental state. But it was inanimate, so it was a passive battery, and it allowed the energy to be stored inside of itself, and to pass it on to me without destroying or killing me. And When I had enough, I now became really magical.

I looked at “Queen” Arwen with an evil smile. Arwen… really…

“You better watch out,” I said and waved a hand. I didn’t know if I could do anything, but it was enough to scare her. She threw the staff away and reached underneath her voluminous skirts and petticoats, bringing out a wicked-looking sword. I gulped. I reached down to my shin and brought out the baton which was stowed in a holster strapped to my shin.

Arwen brought her sword down on me, and I brought the baton up to parry it away.

She pressed the attack and, since she had the advantage of reach and being the aggressor, I was forced back. I needed something longer than the baton, otherwise I’m going to lose this. But there were no swords. As I continued to parry Arwen’s sword, I looked around and my eyes fell on the flag stands near the stone throne. I could use their metal poles.

I inched ourselves closer and closer to the stands. Surveying the flags from the corner of my eye, I found a few mini-flags or small triangular pennants on either side of the stands – there were twelve of them or six per side, and they were dipped and seemed to signify something. These may be the ticket for me – their poles were roughly three feet, maybe three-and-a-half.

When we were close enough, I grabbed the pole closest to me. It had a yellow and white pennant and, in the middle, had a stylized image of a woman with a crown or tiara, long golden hair, and a white staff in one of her hands.

I dropped my baton and pulled the metal pole out of its stand, just in time to parry Arwen’s sword.

The pole was light yet strong and didn’t bend despite Arwen’s powerful swing. The metal was nicked though, but that wasn’t too surprising.

With a longer reach, I was able to fight better. Clearly, “Arwen” was a talented amateur, but I was FBI-trained, and I remembered some of my faux memories as Dannie where I learned fencing (I was ranked third in my team in college), so now that we were more at par, weapons-wise, she didn’t have a chance.

I took off my cap and shook my hair out, and unzipped my vest, trying to loosen up and be more comfortable since this was going to be more of a sword fight.

Obviously, I couldn’t cut or anything (although the tip had a sharp arrow point), so I used it like a fencing saber. Parrying Arwen’s wild swings was easy enough, although her heavier weapon made it a little difficult, and the yellow pennant at the end of my pole made it a little unwieldy, I was actually making progress, and pushing her back.

Arwen did have a new move which was new to me: after hitting my “sword” with enough strength, Arwen would like almost bounce from that and spun around quick enough that she would hit me on the other side.

It was a good thing that all of us wore the same kind of special-issue protective clothes that we wore on that assignment to Caledonia, it included slim, armored coverings that we wore underneath our outer clothes. Part of these was a kind of vambrace, which prevented cuts, from being crushed, and protected our arms from bullets.

So, when Arwen swung around and tried to hit me from the left side, I instinctively lifted my left arm to block her sword, and, using my own strength, pushed the sword up and away from me, allowing me to get my own “sword” at the ready.

The first time I barred her sword with my arm made Arwen gasp. But she shook that off and continued with the fight.

“Where did you get that power, changeling?” she said.

“What?” I said and waved my arm. “It’s standard equipment.”

“’ Standard equipment,’ indeed,” she said, mocking me. “I suppose it was just another gift from Titania?”

“Say that with respect!”

“You are nothing but a poser, changeling,” she said, “not true Faye.”

“How about you? You’re not even a real royal”

“Enough!” she said. “Let’s end this!”

“Yes, let’s end this.”

Arwen started hitting me in earnest, and I had to keep my guard up. But this wasn’t sustainable – I could see her starting to tire. So I went on the offensive and started hitting her back. She did her best to parry my shots, but she was tiring. I lunged, and the tip of my pole hit her on the shoulder, wounding her grievously.

Having hit her, I got close, past her guard, and hit her with an uppercut to the jaw. And that knocked her out.

I looked at the knocked-out “queen” and breathed a sigh of relief. I looked around and tried to spot the cameras that Arwen said were there and, though I couldn’t see them, I could see the red status lights.

I looked back down at Arwen and worried that she might bleed to death, but I couldn’t hang around. Before I tried to leave, I noticed Arwen’s white staff. I picked it up, and as soon as I did, my hand glowed blue. And I felt the staff share its energy with me.

I turned to go back up the stairs we went down in, but then I heard the clattering of feet.

Several Andorran soldiers in their pseudo-LOTR uniforms came out. There were too many, so I knew I couldn’t fight my way out of this, so I just stood still.

The soldiers surrounded me and Arwen, with their high-tech mini-crossbows at their sides but at the ready.

A couple of the soldiers kneeled and checked out Arwen and her wound. They then lifted her and brought her out of the stone hall, presumably to bring her to an infirmary.

After a few moments, Arwen had been evacuated. No one spoke and it was eerily quiet in the hall. And at a shouted command from their leader, all of them kneeled to me and bowed their heads.

 
Part 7: After

After everything was done and over with, and all the kidnapped royals were returned to their families, the reality of the events was discussed in media and on the internet.

The reasons for the kidnapping were never established. The speculation was that the Andorran queen wanted to use the kidnapped royals as hostages, perhaps for ransom (the Andorran economy was on a current downturn), or perhaps to secure some kind of alliance or partnership (Andorra was not a member of the UN, NATO, the WTO and other regional alliances).

But exhaustive medical tests and interviews of the kidnapped princesses showed that they were none the worse for their ordeal. According to them, they were treated fairly well, and though they couldn’t leave or anything like that, their living conditions weren’t too bad.

What they did find unusual was that once a week, they were taken to the stone hall that I had my encounter with Arwen. But they didn’t remember anything. They were given a knockout shot and were unconscious the whole time. When they woke up, they were back in their “barracks.”

It was our understanding that Arwen also broadcast her weekly sessions with the royals, but none of those videos were saved, except the one with me.

As for Arwen herself, after our showdown, she was taken to an infirmary to be checked out and have her shoulder looked at, and after that, she was put under house arrest. By a declaration of their parliament and their government, they announced that the queen was deposed, although some of their assemblymen and women said that the queen voluntarily abdicated her throne. Her “daughter” was also unmasked as an imposter, and therefore was not qualified to take the throne.

Through official channels, the Andorran government contacted our government and me personally, inviting me to a meeting with the Andorran Commission Extraordinaire on Royal Ascension, to discuss the matter of Arwen’s abdication.

The Admiral and several people from the State Department had been talking with me, trying to find out what it was all about. The State Department has said that we couldn’t possibly turn down the invitation. So we fixed our schedules so that we could visit Andorra in six to eight weeks. When we let them know, we heard that their government was preparing something akin to a state visit, although that wasn’t confirmed.

As to the matter of my encounter with Arwen, we heard that the close-circuit video was actually recorded, and Arwen was right – it was actually broadcasted throughout Andorra, and under the auspices of the CIA, they were able to get a copy. It was kept secret, though, and after seeing what was on it, I guess I could understand.

The CIA washed its hands of that video, but since the DSX was used to such material, the one and only copy that the government had was in the DSX’s archive. No one really understood it, but they kept the video, in the hopes that someone could eventually understand it. In fact, the Admiral entrusted my team (Wolf, Rachel, and myself) to investigate it further.

 
Part 8: Explanations

After the FBI, CIA, and the State Department were through debriefing everyone, Wolf, Rachel, and I went to visit Princess Aurora. On my phone, I had a bootlegged copy so I could show it to Aurora.

So we told her all that we knew and all we did. I then showed Aurora the video (we linked my phone to her very, very large TV, and we watched it in its entirety, although we didn’t think it was necessary – Aurora seemed to know all about it already.

We didn’t know what it was that Arwen was doing, but this time, Aurora explained.

“What it was that this pretender to the throne was doing,” Aurora explained, “was gathering the magical powers of her prisoners.

“She was not magical herself but aspired to be. Her obsession with Faye and other magical beings made her want to be one, but it just was not possible. So, to wield magical power, she decided to steal it. Her kidnapping was to steal the magical power from the princesses.

“All beings generate their own magical energy, but for non-magical people, the amount they can generate is miniscule. And for royals, they generate more. And for queens and princesses, their magical energy is the closest to the magical energy from elves and such. The energy doesn’t dissipate, as would borrowed energy from other mortals.

“So this Arwen, using magical objects she has found or stolen, takes out these energies from the abducted princesses and stores them in these magical objects, which she can use to do what she will. Mortals cannot retain magical energies other than what they create on their own. In fact, it would be detrimental to them. So Arwen kept her stolen magicks in magical objects. For her, I believe she preferred her staff. Materials made from living things are the best at absorbing and storing energies.”

I brought out Arwen’s staff, which I brought back from Andorra, and handed the five-foot-long staff to Aurora.

She received it reverently. She stroked its length and then examined the metal tips. She held the staff in front of her, with her fist in the middle of the staff. She then murmured and her hand glowed blue. And after a while, the blue faded. She then returned the staff to me.

“What did you do?” I asked.

“Don’t you feel it?” she said. “I have imbued it with more power. I am sure you can make use of it until you can generate magicks on your own.”

“My lady,” I asked, “the Andorrans have invited me back. What do you think it’s about? What should I do?”

“My dear daughter, is it not obvious? They want you as their queen, to replace their fake one. You should go back and meet with them. Bring your friends.”

 
Part 9: Back In Andorra

Several weeks later, at the invitation of the Andorran government, we arrived at Andorra. The State Department got us our own jet, with enough room to accommodate me and my team, plus two diplomats from the state department, and half a dozen secret service personnel.

I told Lily about it and told her that the Andorrans might want me to be their queen. Lily didn’t understand, but I didn’t tell her my battle with Arwen, though I told her about the rescue of the princesses (though she already knew a lot about it because of the news), and that Arwen had been dethroned.

Lily could only assume it was connected to the rescue but didn’t speculate further than that. She wished me luck and asked that I call her when I knew.

When we arrived, a full reception met us, led by the Prime Minister. The day was a long one which featured a gala luncheon followed by a welcome address by the Prime Minister, and then we were invited to a special session of the parliament (which was long and boring), and then a long formal dinner hosted by the Prime Minister’s wife and the spouses of the kingdom’s parliamentarians.

During dinner, after the initial awkwardness, the people at my table got more at ease with me (the other people from my party were at different tables). And my host explained that it was their queen wasn’t doing well, and, if not for the gratitude that the people felt for Arwen for rescuing them from poverty, the people would have revolted.

I asked about what Arwen had been doing, and, according to her, the entire country had bought into Arwen’s ideas on magic, and elves and that she was the proper queen (I noted that all of them had elf ears). However, in recent years, it was a belief among the people that Arwen did not have the ascendancy to be their queen. And, after my and Arwen’s video, the people found their “proper queen.”

I didn’t really know how to react to that, so I just nodded politely.

After dinner, Wolf, Rachel, and I didn’t have much time to chat, and we were escorted to our own rooms. My temporary “lady in waiting” showed me my room, and laid out my sleeping clothes. I didn’t have much of a choice since my baggage with my clothes was not in the room, although the rest of my stuff was there.

She also showed me the clothes cabinet in the room, it was full of gorgeous gowns. She pointed out a white off-the-shoulder gown, and it would be appreciated if I would wear that tomorrow.

She then showed me a jewelry box the size of a narrow hatbox and inside was a gorgeous bejeweled tiara. She said the half-crown was specially commissioned for me, and if I would deign to wear it tomorrow. I asked about Rachel and Wolf and asked if they were being given the same treatment. She said no, but, from my request, they will be. I didn’t understand it but I just nodded.

The following day, I found myself being led to a large hallway in the castle, and Rachel joined me. She was wearing clothes similar to mine, and she wore a silver circlet on her head while I wore my tiara. Wolf then joined us, and he wore something similar to formal Coat and Tails. We were told the State Department people were already at the conference hall.

And, though I didn’t know it. this marked the beginning of my journey to becoming the queen – Danielle the First, the magical princess.

 

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