maderr | I need to stop reading fairytales.

Because then I write stuff like this, which can only be called a horrible bastardization. Deadly addictive, fairy tales.

Briar Rose

Her face was as pale and lovely as that as of a porcelain doll, long golden lashes lay gently against soft cheeks. Her hands rested gently against her breast, clasping a fair pink rose the exact shade of her full, pouty lips. She was dressed in a rich gown of pink and cream lace, lightly embroidered with roses worked in gold and silver thread. The skirt of the gown was full and wide, spilling over the edges of the extravagant bed to just brush the floor. So much fabric was there in the dress, no one had thought it necessary to cover her with a blanket. Rich, elaborate jewels adorned her neck and wrists, a tiara carefully arranged in the tumble of curls positioned to frame her flawless face to utmost perfection.

Heavy lace curtains were tied back to display her to any who entered the room, the scent of roses permeating the place. Pink and cream dominated the lavish bedroom, all of it trimmed in gold and silver. Sunlight spilled in from a tall window to fall upon the sleeping princess.

"She looks ridiculous."

Beside the bed, the queen looked up from gazing upon her sleeping daughter to frown gently at her son. "Briar, that's not a very nice thing to say about your sister."

"It's true, though. She looks like a creampuff in a ball gown."

The king looked confused, "Why would someone put a creampuff in a ball gown?"

Briar rolled his dark pink eyes, "Because they're as lacking in their intelligence as Princess Brilliant here."

The queen frowned again, tilting her chin up to indicated that she was starting to become offended. "It is not darling Pink's fault that an awful witch cursed her out of spite and jealousy."

"No, that was all your fault, mother. But maybe the next time we tell Princess Dim 'Do not under any circumstances touch the spindle of a spinning wheel because it will cause a curse to come true and make you sleep forever" she'll be good enough to not touch the damned spindle."

"You should be more respectful, son. It's not your sister's fault," the king admonished him.

Briar bit back whatever it was he wanted to say, "Now that Princess Creampuff is nicely settled, what do we do?"

The queen stroked her daughters perfect curls, "Why, we shall wait until True Love comes to break the spell of course."

"Right. Why do I bother asking? How about I just go find someone and bring him back here rather than waiting for him to stumble across us in happy coincidence? Because I really don't feel like waiting for Princess Spindle to wake up from her long nap."

"Stop calling your sister names, Briar. It isn't very princely to be mean like that," the queen said reprovingly. She gazed sternly at him a moment before once again dropping her gaze to her sleeping daughter.

"It isn't very princess-like to be abjectly stupid either, but there you have it. Now, shall I go hunting for a prince or do you really want to stand around doing nothing for the next 100 years or so?"

"We'll hardly stand around for one hundred years, son," the King said.

The queen pursed her lips, stroking her daughter's hand soothingly. "Of course not, we'll just put ourselves to sleep until she awakens again. That's the only solution. I refuse to live without my precious Pink."

Briar rubbed his forehead, willing away the headache he could feel forming. "Or I could just go out and find someone. In fact, that's what I'm going to do. Don't go to sleep all right, mother? Just give me some time and I will return with a prince to wake her, all right?"

"What makes you think, Briar, that you are capable of finding your sister's True Love? You can't even manage your own love life."

"Thanks so much, mother. Really. But I'm sure it won't be difficult to find Pink's supposed True Love. There's got to be a few poverty stricken nitwits left in the world. Give me some time, if I'm not successful by then we'll do it your way."

The queen was silent for so long, Briar did not think she was going to answer. At last she gave a long sigh, "Your way makes sense, even if it is somewhat unorthodox. Very well Briar, I will give you a fortnight to find your sister's True Love. See that you're careful not to get into trouble."

"Of course mother. Father." Bowing briefly to his parents, Briar departed.

*~*~*~*

"You know, it's not very smart to bathe in the middle of the Laughing Forest, pretty boy. Someone might steal your clothing."

Briar ignored the man snickering at the edge of the pond, choosing instead to duck once more beneath the water. Rising again, he ran his fingers ruthlessly through his dark, wet curls in an attempt to squeeze out all the water he could. Water ran down his fair skin, glistening where the afternoon sun peeked through the trees to catch it. His dark pink eyes stared hard at the man still laughing on the bank as Briar slowly made his way toward him. "The only thief stupid enough to try it is you, Reynard. And I already trounced you twice for it. Try it a third time and you won't live to attempt it a fourth."

Reynard smirked, "What can I say? Forcing you to wear clothing is a crime and a travesty. Society should be killed for it."

"What do you want?" Briar walked slowly from the pond and toward his clothing.

Reynard watched him, voice almost idle as he replied. "You? But that aside, can't a man drop by to tell a friend hello?"

"Do you always drop by to tell your friends hello while they're bathing?" Briar attempted to glare as he dressed, but the black shirt he was pulling over his head hid the expression.

Reynard shrugged, "Only when they're as luscious as you."

Briar sighed, pulling on his boots and standing to face the thief. "What did you really want?"

"There's a carriage headed this way with a royal crest. I thought you might care."

The prince rolled his eyes, "I sincerely doubt that I'm going to find my sister's True Love by assisting you in hijacking a carriage."

"Because you've had so much luck doing things the 'proper' way. Just admit it - you have no idea what you're doing."

"As if you know any better." Angrily Briar finished dressing, running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to tame the wild black curls inherited from his mother. "I hardly think a thief knows any more than I about breaking curses and finding True Loves."

Reynard shrugged again, "I'm good enough at handling cursed forests. At any rate I've never been stuck in one naked twice while a dashing thief made off with my clothing."

Briar's dark pink eyes turned even darker as he glared in frustration at the unrepentant thief, "I hate you. I mean really hate you."

Green eyes bright with laughter behind the strands of red hair that had fallen in his face, Reynard seemed unbothered by Briar's words. He snickered as he replied, "So you say. Yet still I find you time and again bathing in my pond. I can't help but feel that you're trying to tell me something."

"It's MY pond, you damnable thief. If I want to bathe it I will damn well do so. You should be grateful I've let you stay in the Laughing Forest this long. One of these days I'm going to get rid of you once and for all."

"Not if I keep helping you with the little problems that crop up from time to time. It really doesn't speak highly of a prince that he cooperates with a thief."

"Are we going to go investigate this carriage or not? I don't have the time to stand here bickering." Briar turned away from Reynard and the pond clearing, disappearing into the deep woods.

"I was having fun here..." Reynard sighed softly and trailed leisurely behind the quickly vanishing prince, running a hand through his leaf-red hair.

They stopped several yards later, coming upon a worn, barely-there path lacing through what was roughly the center of the massive section of forestland known as the Laughing Forest. Travelers often stumbled into the cursed forest by taking the wrong path while journeying through the uncursed sections of the forest.

Reynard lifted his arm, signaling to a band of men on the opposite side of the old road. Another arm waved briefly, then stillness settled. "It'll be a few more minutes."

"So which royal crest did you sight, exactly? Because I really can't afford to offend a few of them more than we already have. And don't you even touch me." Briar said the last sharply, not bothering to look at the man beside him.

The thief ignored him, settling his arm around the prince's shoulders and dragging the man closer. "I didn't recognize it. Neither did any of the men. Which means we haven't stolen from them before…" He seemed to be waiting for something.

Briar reached up to remove Reynard's arm, "Then do feel free to take what you like. After I make certain no one inside can save my sister. Any idea where they were originally headed before you got them lost in the Laughing Forest." The thief wasn't moving the arm, and with an angry huff Briar gave up.

"I think they were headed west, which made it really easy to set them on the wrong path. Don't worry; we know the drill. If you're sister's True Love is in there, we'll lead them toward Rose Castle. Otherwise…" his eyes gleamed, "We'll be eating rather well this month."

"Remind me again why I allow thieves to run rampant in my forest?"

Reynard sniffed, "We do not run rampant. And having us means you don't worry about anything else. Admit it, no one comes near your precious castle so long as we "haunt" the Laughing Forest."

"True enough."

"And you can't resist me."

"Yes, I can."

Reynard pouted, "You're just mean. What's a thief have to do to win a bit of affection?"

Briar turned his head to glare up at the other man, "I don't do affection."

"Fine time you're going to have explaining that to your True Love."

"Given that I've already scared off every princess in the land, I highly doubt that will ever be a problem."

"Whoever said it had to be a princess?"

"I'm a prince, it's always a princess."

Reynard dropped his arm, brushing his fingers lightly down Briar's back before letting the prince go completely. "Here comes the carriage. Do you recognize the crest at all?"

Briar was already staring at the approaching vehicle, frowning in confusion. "What a strange crest…I know every crest in the land but I don't recognize that one. Definitely royal though."

"That's what I thought. So you have no idea where it's from?"

"Not a one. Shall we then?" For the first time Briar smiled, pink eyes bright from thoughts of mischief.

Reynard grinned back, signaling to his men across the road. "We shall, Prince."

A black carriage traveled down the old, faded road. From time to time the coachmen cursed, the carriage jarring and jerking on the uneven path. The horses seemed not to notice, their black coats matching the carriage perfectly and lending the whole a vaguely gloomy air. An intricate crest decorated the doors and front of the vehicle, and intertwining of a vines and strange looking purple flowers.

Still cursing, the driver jumped as a strange sound began to echo through the deep, dark forest. Laughter, soft at first, seemed to travel through the trees and on the air. It was unpleasant laughter, as if the sources were laughing at some unfortunate fool. Cold laughter, meant to mock rather than to share joy. Gradually it grew in volume, until it seemed to be the source of the wind that shook the trees. His curses having ceased, the driver instead began to moan in dismay.

A sharp rap made him jump, and he jerked the horses to an abrupt stop. Thoroughly annoyed, the horses nevertheless subsided. The echoing laughter seemed not to bother them. A head leaned out the window of the carriage, "Driver, what is going on out there?"

"Sorry, sir. Seems we've become lost in the Laughing Forest."

"Oh, that's just splendid. You've traveled to and from Rose Castle hundreds of times, how in the King's name did you wind up in the laughing Forest? Give me a moment, I can fix this - and you'll be punished severely once we return home, understand driver?" The man climbed from the carriage, his heavy dark purple robes swirling around him. The gold circlet around his head brightened his dark brown hair and brought out his dark purple eyes.

Abruptly the laughter ceased, and there was a crashing sound - as if someone or something had fallen from a tree. A second later a black-haired man came darting from the trees. He was followed a heartbeat later by a tall, red haired figure.

"Fay!" Briar cried out. "What are you doing back so soon? And in that strange carriage?" He stopped in front of the taller, brown haired man. "I had no idea this carriage belonged to you."

"Prince Briar? But I had heard you had fallen under the sleeping curse! What are you doing here in the forest?"

Briar blinked, "Me? Why on earth would I be sleeping? The curse was always meant for my sister, you know that."

"I-of course, Highness. That was why I was so confused and came immediately home. I was worried something had gone horribly wrong. Oh - this is my mother's carriage. My own was damaged on the journey to visit her, so she lent me the use of her own since it was such an emergency."

"An interesting insignia."

"Does this mean we have to leave it alone, then?" Reynard sighed. "How boring. You got us all excited for nothing."

Briar drove his elbow back into Reynard stomach, smirking at the 'Oof' of pain the man made. "Enough out of you," he turned to look up at the wincing thief, "No mischief today."

"Prince! Consorting with thieves - do your parents know about this? Were you going to rob me?"

The prince shrugged, "It's their reward for keeping out the riffraff. And you won't be telling mother and father, understand?"

"They'll not hear a word of it from me. I had wondered…anyway, what do you in the forest prince? Should you not be at the palace with your family, caring for your sister? How on earth did she come across a spindle? I had thought we'd destroyed them all."

"Yes, well we were bound to miss at least one, weren't we? Anyway, I think the servant said he found her in one of the old towers. Who knows, with her? Mother suggested waiting until her True Love cam along, and wants to put everyone to sleep while we wait."

"Oh, my. That won't do."

"No kidding. So she permitted me a fortnight to find Princess Twit's True Love."

Fay frowned, "You really shouldn't call her names, Prince."

Briar waved his hand in dismissal, "Anyway, Fay. It's good to see you are back. I could use another sensible head. Mother and Father are utterly hopeless and I only have two days left."

"Just who is this guy, anyway?" Reynard frowned.

The prince gaped at him a moment, "Are you an idiot? He's our Head Advisor."

"Well excuse me, Highness. I don't get to spend much time at court." Reynard folded his arms across his wide chest, green eyes flashing as he stared at Briar.

Briar was unimpressed, "That's no excuse and you know it." He turned away from the thief, "Fay, I don't suppose you have any idea do you? I would really prefer not to sleep for god knows how many years before some idiot manages to wake my sister up"

"Erm…I'm somewhat at a loss prince. The dictates of the curse state that only True Love's Kiss can wake the unfortunate sleeper. Quite frankly I have no idea whom your sister's Love might be. That's a hard one."

The prince sighed, looking tired. "Yes, it is. Well, maybe you can at least talk some sense into mother and father. They usually are hard pressed to resist the two of us. I didn't even bother to go up against them solo."

Fay nodded, lost in thought. "Yes, we should return home and attempt to dissuade them."

"Let's get moving then, it will take the rest of the day to get home."

"You know your way through the Laughing Forest, Highness?"

"Not well enough to get us out, but he does." Briar pointed a thumb at Reynard, still frowning behind him.

"Oh, does that mean I get to come along? I had thought you were finished with me for now."

Briar turned to glare at the red head, "What's your problem? Stop being so sour. Yes, you're coming along. You've helped me this much, you may as well come along and see how it all ends."

Reynard was silent a moment, but his expression seemed to lighten. He turned to signal to the men that only he could ever see, hidden amongst the trees. After a moment, he turned back, "Let's get going."

"Would like to ride with me?" Fay waved a hand at his carriage.

The thief shook his head, "No thanks. I can't stand those things. I'll just go ahead…" he seemed about to say something more to Briar, but simply shook his head again, "I'll meet you at the edge of the forest. My man Oak will lead your coachman."

The coachman, all this time, had been with the horses. He seemed to jump slightly when they mentioned him, but said nothing.

Briar frowned, "What do you mean you'll meet me? I'm going with you, idiot. Those carriages are miserable on this road."

Reynard smiled.

Fay laughed, "I'll see both there then."

*~*~*~*

"Why, Lord Fay. We had not expected to see you back so soon. How is your mother?"

"She is well, Majesty. Thank you. But how fairs the dear Princess Pink? I returned the moment I heard about it." Fay rose from an elegant bow to gaze at the princes sleeping amongst a cloud of pink and cream fabric. "She…ah…looks well cared for."

"She looks ridiculous. But I've already tried to tell them that."

"Briar, is this young man here…he looks a little rough…" the Queen's face was clouded with worry as she looked at the tall, well built man standing just behind her son.

The prince stared at his mother, confused. "What? Oh! No, don't be ridiculous. Reynard isn't her True Love. He's been helping me look."

Reynard frowned, "I hadn't realized I was so abominable a catch."

Briar huffed impatiently, "That's not what I meant and you know it. Stop acting like such a brat. Besides, you really don't want to be Princess Featherhead's True Love. You'd pull your hair out."

"The Princess isn't that bad, Briar. You're just too impatient to deal with her…idyllic nature." Fay said quietly, standing over the princess, rubbing his chin in thought. "Where is the spindle responsible for her curse? Has it been destroyed?"

"Oh…no. I think we just left it where it was at." The king said, surprised. He yawned, "We'll have the servants burn it in the morning."

Fay shook his head, "No, I would like to examine it. There is something markedly strange about the Princess' state. If it pleases you, I would have a servant fetch it for me. Also, Majesties; you should rest. It will do neither you nor your daughter any good if you are too tired to oversee her well being. I am here now, between us Briar and I will care for her."

The queen frowned, "Oh, but I hate to leave her all alone…"

The advisor was firm, "She has us. She will be fine. I insist, Queen White, that you get some rest. Perhaps in the morning I will have some good news for you."

The king looked as if he might lend his own argument, but another yawn interrupted and he conceded defeat. "Very well, Fay. But I will be expecting that good news. I will send a servant with the spindle. Good night. And Briar, it is good to have you home. Even if you failed to bring home Pink's True Love."

"Yes, father."

The kind and queen departed, and as they went Fay breathed a sigh. "The Princess really doesn't do things by half, does she? Who chose this absurd dress?"

Briar made a face, "It was to be the gown for her coming of age ball. Obnoxious, isn't it? But she's the one that has to wear it, so whatever makes her happy I suppose."

Reynard was frowning again, eyes narrowed at the advisor. "What did you want to see the spindle for? And you said that you were told that the prince was asleep, not the princess."

"A miscommunication, and I felt no need to confuse their Majesties by trying to explain the mistake. The point is that the princess is asleep, and we need to fix that."

"Yeah well, I highly doubt you're her Love so unless there's someone else in this room I don't see a solution," the thief snapped.

"How do you know you're not? Maybe the Fates conspire to bring the princess her prince disguised as thief?" The advisor smiled mockingly at the thief.

Reynard didn't smile back, "I'm taken."

"You are not," Briar said. "Stop-" he broke off as a servant entered the bedchamber. "Ah, the spindle." Moving toward him, Briar held out a hand to accept the spindle that the servant held out for him to take.

"Briar, don't touch that thing. You don't know-" Reynard said shortly as he moved to stop the prince.

"What's wrong? It's not like it can curse - damn it!" Letting out a few more curses, Briar pressed his thumb to his lips, pulling it back to stare as a new drop of blood appeared. "That hurt! Damned spind…" his voice faded out as he crumbled suddenly to the floor.

Crying out, Reynard lunged forward to catch the fallen prince. "Briar!" He turned to glare at Fay, "You!"

Fay seemed unfazed, and shifted his own gaze to the servant. "You, boy. Forget all of this." His violet eyes shimmered.

The servant nodded vaguely, turning and wandering from the room.

Reynard hissed, "What's going on? What did you do to him?"

Fay looked bored, "I think you already know."

"He…was the one cursed the whole time. Wasn't he? That's why you seemed surprised to see him in the forest…but how did you know? The entire Kingdom thought that it was the Princess that has been cursed since birth."

Fay rolled his eyes, "No, my mother just made it out to look like the Princess was the cursed one. If anyone had actually been paying attention and not getting upset over mother's melodramatic display, they might have noticed the spell was for the Prince, not the Princess."

"This makes no sense. And what do you mean, your mother? Your mother is just some retired noblewoman recuperating in the mountains."

"…I thought you didn't know who I was."

"Of course I know who you are. I steal from the nobility; I don't have a choice except to know all about them. Plus Briar gets mad if I steal from certain ones," mentioning the prince seemed to melt some of Reynard's anger into concern as he remembered said prince was unconscious in his arms. He shifted his weight to sit more comfortably on the plush fabrics strewn across the stone floor, Briar resting in his arms with his head just brushing the thief's shoulder. Reynard brushed thick black curls from the sleeping prince's face. "He's not going to wake up anytime soon, is he?"

Fay shrugged, "That was always the general idea."

"But why? That's what I don't understand. Why Briar?"

The advisor moved toward them, heavy purple robes swishing softly around him. The dark color seemed to absorb the candlelight in the room, as well as the moonlight that poured in to fill the bedchamber. He bent to pick up the dropped spindle, examining it curiously. "How unfortunate that the princess got tangled up in all of this."

"Yes, why did the princess fall asleep if the prince was the one cursed?"

"I didn't have much faith in mother's curse, so as an added precaution I tipped the spindle in a sleeping potion - just enough to put one person to sleep for as long as I wished." Fay shrugged, "I had planned to 'find' the spindle one day and summon the prince to help me destroy it. For all that he professes to despise his sister he's very protective. Then he would have fallen asleep and I could contrive to marry the princess."

"I still fail to see the point."

Fay stared at the thief, "I want to rule the kingdom. My mother has been attempting to take it over for ages, to no avail. We struck upon a new idea when the princess was born. If I could marry her, I'd be free and clear. But there was the problem of the Crown Prince to deal with. Despite our reputation as evil fairies, we don't go around killing things. We thought that by putting him to sleep we could wrap things up rather neatly."

"That's stupid. What would have happened if his True Love came along and woke him up?"

"Don't be silly, by the time some woman came along to wake him the kingdom would already legitimately belong to me."

"You're a bastard."

"That's funny coming from a thief. You wouldn't care one whit if it had been anyone but Briar."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Reynard asked defensively, unconsciously tightening his grip on the oblivious prince.

Fay smirked, "It means that you're only dismayed that you no longer have a chance with Briar. Because as much as you adore him, we both know there's no way a lowly thief could ever be the True Love for one such as he. Given his abysmal record with women, you might have stood a chance. But with the curse…"

"Shows what you know. I'd be a better candidate than the selfish brats that send him running into my forest to hide."

"Perhaps, but the point is that you're not a candidate. Of course, you could always prove me wrong and kiss him. That is the only requirement to waking him. But…what if it doesn't work? Well, then you really would know that he's not meant for you. And really, if it were that simple we would never have had to bother with such a ridiculous scheme as the Curse of Eternal Sleep."

Reynard stared at the prince in his arms. His fingers again strayed to play with the curls that lay softly against a pale forehead, trailing down the prince's face to trace the lips that were just barely parted. The faintest of breaths stirred against the thief's fingertips, the only reassurance that Briar was not dead.

"Give it up thief. He's destined for a fine princess in 100 years or so, not you. But if you'd like to try and prove me wrong, by all means do so."

The look Reynard sent the advisor was black enough that the smirking fan fell into a startled silence. He dropped his gaze back down to the prince, hesitating briefly before dipping his head to brush a soft kiss against lips that were warm despite the deathly appearance of the prince. Raising his head, the misery once more returned to his face.

The advisor was smirking again, undaunted by the dark expression sent his away a second time. "I told you so. Thieves and princes do not mix."

"Shut up!" Reynard held the prince close, looking anywhere but at the gloating advisor.

The advisor laughed, and Reynard jerked his head up to tell the man off - when he felt movement against his chest. A soft groan followed and Reynard jerked in shock. He looked down at Briar, whose eyes were slowly opening.

Fay was sputtering, "But…that…impossible…you…"

Briar stared fuzzily up at the thief holding up, as gradually his eyes came into focus as his head cleared of the remnants of the spell. "Figures it would be you."

Reynard couldn't seem to form an immediate response. "You're awake."

"You're so observant," Briar pulled away and rose slowly to his feet. "Now would someone like to tell me what's going on? Fay, why don't we start with you?"

"He…he woke you up! How is that possible?"

"So it was the damned curse. I sort of wondered before it knocked me out. But why?"

Reynard smirked, "Because he wants you out of the way so he can marry your sister and take over the kingdom. He's an evil fairy, you know. His mother is the one that cursed you."

"Is that what all this is about?" Briar ran a hand through his hair, stepping toward the bed. "So why is she asleep? Kind of counterproductive to put your own bride to sleep, isn't it Fay?"

Fay seemed to have regained his composure, glaring at Reynard before venturing toward the prince, "An accident due to my concern that the curse wouldn't be enough to put you to sleep."

Shifting his gaze away from his sister, Briar looked curiously at Fay. "So how do we wake her up?"

"You don't seem very upset about all of this, Briar." Reynard said irritably. "The man put you to sleep so he could marry your sister and take over your kingdom. Aren't you even the slightest bit annoyed by that?"

"If anyone had bothered to consult with me, they might have realized that I was planning something similar the whole time. All I resent is my being cursed. That was uncalled for."

"What!" The thief and advisor exclaimed together, gaping at the frowning prince.

Briar shifted impatiently. "I don't want to be king. I realized a long time ago I wasn't even fit for it - I can't stand to look at most people, let alone deal with them every damn day as a Crown Prince. I'd have to kill them all if I were King. Once the curse was past and my sister safe, I was going to suggest she marry the one person that is genuinely kind to her. The one person that doesn't try to take advantage of her…idyllic nature did you call it Fay?"

"Yes…and you're trying to say that's me?"

"Yes. Unless you object horribly? I mean, I'd understand if you didn't want to but I always thought…"

"No! No, I wouldn't mind at…" the advisor looked as if he were recovering from a sudden blow. "I just hadn't expected you to be this…accommodating."

Briar sighed, "I really should punish you, but quite frankly if you're actually willing to marry my sister and take over the kingdom I'm willing to let you off the hook. Now, someone tell me how to wake her up."

Fay shook his head, stepping closer. "I can make the antidote, that's not really the problem. It just was rather awkward that you both were asleep. But if you're awake again…"

"Well then, I suggest you 'kiss' her and be done with it. But not right now, because I don't feel like dealing with her this late at night. And my parents. And the rest of the castle. I want to go to bed and sleep curse free. You can become her True Love in the morning."

Reynard was still seething, "Why are you so willing to trust your sister to him? What makes you think he's fit to care for her?"

Fay sneered, "What makes you think a thief is fit to Love a prince?" He turned his attention to Briar, "But I concede he has a point."

Briar smiled, amused. "Like I said, you treat her properly. Not like the other asses running amuck in the palace. And you've always done rather a splendid job of running things. I know for a fact it's not my parents managing things. You may as well continue the job if you actually want it."

"I see. Very well then, I shall take care of matters first thing in the morning."

"Good. Then I am going to my room." Spinning on his heal, the prince moved to leave. He paused at the door and turned to glare sharply at Reynard. "Are you coming or not?"

Reynard looked startled, but after a moment moved to follow. The pair traveled in silence as Briar led the way to his room on the opposite side of the palace. Wide eyed the thief spun slowly around, taking in the prince's room. "It…it looks like some fancified replica of the Forest…"

Where his sister's room was overdone in pink and cream, Briar's room was done in understated greens, the furniture carved from rich, dark wood. Tall windows spanned the far wall, each with a different woodland scene in stained glass. Moonlight spilled through them, muting the jeweled tones of the glass. Candlelight filled the chambers, the bulk of the light coming from a candelabra near the overlarge bed on a high platform at the back of the massive bedchamber.

"That was the general idea behind its design," Briar said dryly.

"Ah…" was all Reynard said.

Silence fell as Briar began to move around his chamber, removing the travel gear he still wore and stowing it away.

Reynard cleared his throat, "So were you serious about just giving up being king someday? What are you going to do instead?"

Briar looked at him, shrugging. "Not sure really. Travel maybe; I've never been able to leave the kingdom."

"…You should go visit my homeland. If you like the forest this much," Reynard waved a hand to indicated the room, "You would adore it. The forests there would put the Laughing to shame."

Briar was looking at one of the windows, "Perhaps I shall." He turned to face the thief, crossing the room "You've been awfully quiet since I woke up." He moved to stand in front of him, "Something wrong?"

Reynard shrugged, "Well - I don't know. I feel rather out of place. I guess."

The prince looked at him skeptically, "You guess? Don't be stupid, you never guess. You've been out of sorts since we left the forest."

"Like I said, out of place. I'm a dashing thief, and a great many people in this place would love to skin me alive. Sort of unsettling, really."

"Oh please, you couldn't care less about that. And you happen to be have the full support of the Crown Prince - which I still am at the moment. It's not even an issue. What's really bothering you?"

The thief opened his mouth, closed it. He tried again, "Well - you tell me."

"Tell you what?" Briar snapped, exasperated.

Reynard's expression darkened. "How would you feel after being utterly rejected? By the one you've just proven is your True Love? It kind of stings. A lot."

"Rejected? Rejected?" Briar's glare darkened, "Who's being rejected? Or do you think I often bathe in front of disrespectful thieves? And let them speak to me the way you do? And let them into my room? I hadn't realized you thought so little of me!"

Reynard gaped, "What? Are you insane? How the hell was I supposed to know you cared? The only thing more obvious than my wanting you was your cold brush-offs. Not to mention the first thing I hear after actually waking you up with a kiss is 'Figures it would be you.' What was I supposed to think?"

"I said that because I was honestly surprised it was you. I never thought my True Love would turn out to be the one person that really does drive me absolutely insane. That's what figures! And in regards to my 'brush-offs,' I was trying to focus on my job, not my pleasure you moron! I had a kingdom to look after and a sister to save, I could hardly justify running off to the woods to play with a lover! Besides--" Briar's words were effectively cut off by Reynard's sudden kiss, his startled protest melting swiftly into compliance as he leaned up into the unexpected embrace, hands gripping the front of the thief's rough shirt.

Pulling reluctantly away, Reynard stared down at the prince with intent green eyes. "Besides what?"

"Huh? Oh…I don't remember…I was rather hoping you would do that." Briar stared up at him.

Reynard blinked, "Do what? Kiss you?"

Briar glared, pulling away. "Yes. I would have done it myself but…I really didn't know how. And you seemed upset."

Shaking his head, red hair fiery in the candlelight, Reynard replied in disbelief. "And you call me an idiot. Of course I was upset - I though you didn't like me. Are you saying you've just been too busy and too shy to say or do anything?"

Gritting his teeth and looking very much like he wanted to hit something, Briar nodded. "Yes. All right? And stop saying that I don't like you, it's stupid."

"So you love me after all, gorgeous?" Reynard stepped closer to the prince, who had retreated a few steps back.

Frowning in annoyance, Briar attempted to ward the thief off. "Don't call me that. And clearly I do, if you woke me up."

"You do what?"

Pink eyes flashed in warning. "I love you. Satisfied?"

"Quite." Reynard leaned in for another kiss.