Chapter 4: Disco Dawn, Part 3 - Strange Magic

Bog felt he was in heaven as Marianne's bare thighs were straddling his neck and he was holding each one with his hands.  Every so often he would discreetly run his thumb gently on her bare skin.  He looked up to her and she smiled back down to him.  After a while he helped her down from his shoulders and everyone started to gather around her telling her how great the song was, how great her singing was and generally that she delivered a fantastic performance.  Goblins, fairies, and the elves came over.  Even Sugar Plum and Griselda came over to tell her how great she was.
 
Marianne had a bright look on her face as she said, “Thank you! Oh! Thank you all so much!”

Brutus even said, “Princess Marianne, you are going to win for sure.  I really liked that one.  Thank you for saving my ears.  You rock!”

Marianne burst out laughing and said, “I am glad you enjoyed it, Brutus.” 

Bog looked at Marianne and held her hands as he looked at her body up and down as he said, “You sang and performed beautifully.  You look amazing, my dear.  You look every bit like a Dance Warrior.

“Awww, thank you, my love, you are too kin to me.  I wish I could have done more, but I just didn't have the time.”
 
“More? You did great!  Your face makeup is incredible.  I love your eyes and your lips. I am afraid to kiss you to ruin it.”

“Oh, it is fine!  You can kiss me.  I want to thank you for being my dance partner anyway.”

Bog wanted to be careful not smudge her glistening reddish purple lips and so he moved forward to kiss her on the cheek that didn't have the gold scrolling design on it.  Marianne narrowed her eyes, took her hand and placed it on his cheek, and turned his lips towards hers and she planted a firm kiss on his lips.

Bog was very surprised at how aggressive Marianne was with her kiss and he let out a soft, “Hmmmphh!”

Just then most of the group erupted in an “Oooooooo!”  The goblins started to chant, “Go BK, Go BK, Go BK!”

Marianne suddenly came to and realized that it wasn't the right time for one of her deep kisses, so she let up on her kiss and gently pulled away.   She looked into Bog's eyes as she rested her hands on his chest.  He held her by her waist.

Alice said, “Awww, you two kiss so sweet.  Ahhhhh, I need a boyfriend.”

Both Marianne and Bog smiled at Alice's remark.  Marianne then looked to the chanting goblins and whispered to Bog, “I just know the goblins singing on backup was your doing, right?”

“Well, ummmm,”  Bog hesitated to answer as he lifted his arm and scratched the back of his head.

“Oh, come now, you can tell me,” Marianne said.

“Yeah, it was,” Bog finally answered.
“Thank you very much, it just made the song so much better.”
Suddenly a voice boomed out, “Make way for the king!”

As they parted way and made a path for their king, the din of the crowd started to die down.  As he approached, Marianne's eyes grew wide as she noticed her father had a stern look on his face and he was staring her down.

She whispered to Bog, “Uh oh, good feeling's gone.  I shouldn't have pulled my leggings off.”
Bog whispered, “I am more worried about how you were moving your body rather than what you are wearing.”

Marianne grimaced a bit as she pulled away from Bog knowing he was right.   She faced her father and as he approached her he crossed his arms over his chest.
Marianne put her hands out and said, “Daddy, I...I...know, you are probably not happy with the way I look.”
Her father kept quiet and let his daughter finish but he raised an eyebrow as a way of agreeing with what she said.

“I know I probably wasn't dancing in a proper way either, but I just felt so pretty when performing and the beat of the song just had me naturally moving my hips that way.  I just couldn't contain what I was feeling.  I just put my heart into that performance and gave it my all.”

The king's eyes narrowed further and he awaited more.

Marianne swallowed hard and said, “I'm sorry, Dad. I know you meant today to be a great day and you have done so much for me already.  I was thinking with my hormones and not my mind.   I just was showing off a bit.”

Her father then raised an eyebrow again
“Alright, I was showing off a lot.  I wanted to win over the goblins. They like it when I look pretty.”
Her father shook his head side to side and he held out his hand towards the boat and said, “A private word with you, my daughter.  On the boat, now.”
Marianne lifted her hand and was ready to say something.

“I said now, Marianne!”  He said in a more cross tone. He then turned to everyone else and said, “The rest of you disperse.  We will be having dessert shortly.”
“Yes, your majesty,” some of the people in the crowd said and they all started to walk away.

Marianne started to walk towards the boat hanging her head down.  She turned one more time to Bog and she had such a helpless look on her face.  Bog just placed his fingers to his lips and blew a kiss to her.  Marianne smiled and pretended to catch the kiss and placed her hand it to her mouth.

A goblin then hopped over to King Dagda, bowed and said, “Your majesty, what about the contest? Will you pick a winner?”

“Yes, but for right now I have to deal with my daughter...again.”

Bog watched as the two disappeared into the boat.  He was hoping that Marianne's father wouldn't be too harsh on her.  But he knew that her father didn't like it when she exposed her body too much, and certainly those sexy moves didn't help matters.  Worse, he knew that her father spoke to her earlier about the way she dressed and danced.  The thing he was fearing at the moment was that he was going to disqualify her.

Dawn flew over to Bog and almost landed into his chest.  Bog reached out his hands and grabbed her shoulders to stop her.   She looked up to him and all of her eye makeup was smudged.  It looked as if she had been crying heavily.

“I am going to lose, Bog.  I know it.  She totally creamed me.”

“I hate to say this, Dawn, and I am not going to sugarcoat it...you had it coming.  You rubbed your victory in her face and knowing Marianne, that is a dangerous thing to do.   She became so determined to win that not only did she pick a great song, she also won the goblins over just to spite you.”

Bog walked Dawn over to the closest table and grabbed a leaf napkin and gently wiped her tears and smudged makeup away to make her look more presentable.
“Thank you.”

“You're welcome,”  Bog said. He then looked around and asked. “Where's Sunny?  He was with you moments ago.”

“Oh, he went to try and listen in to what Dad and sis are talking about.”

Bog's eyes widened at what Dawn said and he, in turn replied, “Well, I am not one to eavesdrop but I am curious to know what is going on as well.  I just hope he doesn't get into trouble though.”

“I think he will be OK, but if he gets caught, I will take the rap for it saying I put him up to it,” Dawn said.

Bog looked down at her dress and said, “I meant to tell you earlier that your dress is beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

“Did your father say anything about you showing off your leg,”  Bog asked.

“Yeah, he did, but he clearly wasn't as upset about it as he was with Marianne.  He even said that my dress is a proper evening gown if it wasn't for this bit that it shows off my leg. I was hoping to show this dress to  Sunny tonight just for him, but when the contest was announced I wanted to wear something new and hot for everyone, especially the goblins.  I just to wanted to get them to like my performance.  But now it looks like Dad is going to pick my sister and I am not going to be Dance Warrior Dawn.”  Dawn said as she pouted.

Bog then thought for a moment and said, “Wait a second there. If you wanted to dress up to get everyone to like you...then it makes sense that Marianne did the same. Otherwise why else would she go against what your father said earlier.  Dawn you are a genius!”

“What? I am?” Dawn said in a surprised tone.
“I think we can help Marianne out, come with me,”  Bog said.
Both Dawn and Bog flew towards the boat deck.


Meanwhile, inside the lounge of Marianne's Pride:

Marianne's father shook his head and his voice became louder as he said, “We talked about this earlier, Marianne, and yet you made the same mistake all over again.  You had your leggings on and you took them off!   I told you about doing fancy dance moves and here you were gyrating your hips throughout the whole song!  I should disqualify you on indecency and declare Dawn the winner.  It is a shame too as you had the better song and sang it very well too.”

“Dad, please don't do that.  I admit I made the wrong choices in your eyes, but I was under pressure to pick a good song and I wanted to look good, so I started thinking with my hormones and...”

“Marianne, that is your excuse? Your hormones? You have a good head on your shoulders and you should know better than that.   I saw how you handled your earlier mishap with Gregory and you recovered beautifully and made me so proud of you.  But, what gets me is that right after our talk about your legs with the other dress and the way you danced on the bow of this boat earlier, you deliberately did the same thing again!”

“Dad, I am only showing a little leg.  It is only a little bit more than Dawn overall.  The other girls in the kingdom wear far less than I do and have completely bare legs.  I initially wasn't going to wear the boots...” she said before her father interrupted.

“Marianne!  It isn't just about just your legs.  I don't particularly care for this new dress you made as it so low cut that it exposes your whole sternum.
Marianne pointed to her bosom area and said, “Dad, I am still covered, nothing here is showing.”

  “You are not like the other girls, you are royalty.  Your mother and I raised you and Dawn as princesses and I expect you both to set a good example for the rest of the kingdom and act accordingly,”  he said with his voice escalated in anger.  “This is also not about the way you dressed, but also the way you danced.  I am shocked that my eldest daughter goes right against my wishes and prances around in front of the entire kingdom like a putana in heat!”

Marianne stood in shock for a moment. Her face became very sad and she held her hand to her chest.   Her father turned around and took his crown off his head he was ready to toss it aside, but he just swung it to his side.  His face turned from anger to sadness as well.

“I'm not a putana,” she said with tears welling up in her eyes. “You know I don't sleep around. Heck I have not even been intimate with Bog yet.  How could you call me that, Dad?”

“I said like one...”  He said in a calmer voice.   He paused for a bit and put his hand on his forehead and said, “I am sorry, Marianne, I shouldn't have even said that.”
“Daddy, I am not even remotely close to a putana, I was always a good girl.” Marianne said as tears started to fall from her eyes.

“Marianne please, I said I'm sorry, I didn't mean it,” he said as he tried to reach out for his daughter's arm.  She just pulled her arm away.

“No, father, you hurt me.  Why can't you let me be me.  Bog loves me for who I am with all my imperfections.  He doesn't care if I am not a perfect princess.  So what if I want to dance a little sexy for him.   I want to live and enjoy life, not live a stifled life following some ages old standard of being a prim and proper princess.”

“Well, maybe I am bit old fashioned and somewhat hard in my ways, but the fact remains that you disobeyed me and as such, for punishment, I am going to disqualify you based on indecency and Dawn will win the contest,”  her father said in a calmer, but stern voice.
“No! Please Dad.”

Marianne stepped back and slumped down into a lounge chair and started to sob.
Just then Dawn barged into the lounge and stood next her sister and she put her hands on her hips as she stared down her father.  Bog then walked in and stood beside her.

King Dagda said, “What is the meaning of you two barging in like this?”

“Father, your voice carried and I heard you call sis a putana,”  Dawn said in a cross tone.

“Oh, for crying out loud, not you too.  I said she danced LIKE a putana.  However, I do regret saying even that.  It slipped out of my mouth because I am angry.”
Bog slowly walked over to Marianne and sat down next to her. She immediately scrambled over to him and put her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder as she continued to cry.

“Daddy, I apologize for barging in like this with Bog, but I have something important to say,” Dawn said.
Her father looked to her and said, “Alright Dawn, you may speak.”

“Please take it easy on Marianne. It was I that egged her on,” Dawn said.
Her father's eyes narrowed and he said, “Go on.”

“I was so sure that I was going to win the competition by picking your favorite disco song that I rubbed it in Marianne's face.  The whole idea of Bog calling me 'Dance Warrior Dawn' just went to my head and I began to gloat that I was going to win to Marianne.   But she thought of something I totally didn't expect.  When it was her turn, I knew the song she picked out was great.  At the end I cried my heart out because I knew I wasn't good enough and I knew I made a complete donkey of myself.  Everyone was surrounding her, most of the goblins danced.  Most of them sang.  She outdid me in every way.  She was so determined to win...I saw it in her eyes.  She would do anything to do so and I think that is why she went against your wishes and danced the way she did and dressed this way.”

Dawn then walked to Marianne and said, “I owe you an apology, Marianne.”
Bog stood up and helped Marianne to her feet.  Dawn then reached her arms out and threw them around her sister and gave her a kiss on the cheek.  Marianne had an even more shocked look on her face as she looked into her sister's eyes. 

Dawn said, “I am sorry, I shouldn't have done what I did and I don't want a silly competition to get between us.  I don't want to fight with you.  I know I lost to you.  You performed your butt off out there and deserve to win.”

Marianne still had a shocked look on her face as she spoke through her tears, “Thank you sis.  I felt it too.  My anger towards you was building up and I knew that in the end one or both of us would end up hurt.  I don't want this competition to get between us, either.”
The two sisters embraced again.

King Dagda said to Bog, “What do you know about all this?”

“Dawn and I discussed this outside just before our rude entry and I apologize for that, but I, err rather, we felt it was warranted as Dawn explained to me why she dressed in a nice dress for her song.   So I believe that Marianne wanted to do the same.  She wanted to win the hearts of my goblins to ensure that they wouldn't run off.  It is survival instinct, your highness, she wanted to do her best, look her best and do what she needed to to entice the goblins to like her, which was one of the the goals of the competition, to ensure as few of the goblins would run away as possible.  Given that she was pressured so much for picking out a song on such a short notice, that also could have had an effect on her judgment and her performance ended up a bit...sexy.”  Bog explained.

“So that was it.  I was wondering why my dear Marianne would just go against my wishes,” He said.

“Furthermore, your majesty, and not to go against what you were saying about Marianne's dancing, but I saw things a bit differently.  Marianne was moving her hips side to side, very much like in a samba type dance.  She wasn't moving too and fro or undulating her body, which I would totally agree on that being inappropriate.  So I really don't think she was dancing indecently, but just a little enticing.  Same is true for her dress.  I don't think she is very much exposed at all.” Bog explained in an eloquent and careful manner.
  
King Dagda nodded and smiled at Bog and said, “Point well taken.”

He then walked over to Marianne and placed his arms around her.  Marianne, still in shock, just gently put her arms around her father and rested her head on his shoulder.  Bog could hear her start to cry again.

“Oh, I am so sorry, dearest Marianne.”  I should have never said what I said to you.  “You are a good girl and a wonderful daughter.”
Marianne held her father tighter and closed her eyes, squeezing a tear out which rolled down her cheek.
“Always know that I love both you and your sister equally as much and you both are the lights in my life.”

“Awwwww, Daddy,” both Marianne and Dawn said at the same time.  Marianne's voice was muffled as she still had her face partially in his shoulder.
The king then held one hand out and waved for Dawn to come join in.  Dawn ran over and put her arms around her father and Marianne.

Marianne lifted her head and her father took out his handkerchief and wiped Marianne's  wet and smudged eyes dry.  She meekly said, “So are you still going to punish me?”
“Yes, Marianne, I am sorry, but you were disobedient.”

Marianne started to breath heavy and her eyes started to well up again.
Her father then continued, “But I am not going to disqualify you.”

Suddenly Marianne's face lit up and then she threw her arms around her father once again and said, “Oh thank you, Dad!”
“Well, don't thank me yet.  You are not going to be happy when I tell you want you have to do.”
Marianne swallowed hard and asked, “What do I have to do?”

“You are going to clean up after this entire party.”
“What?  Alone?”
“No, Dawn is going to help you too.”
Dawn then said in a shocked voice, “What?! Why me?”

“You are the one that egged her on.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw what you were doing earlier.  I didn't say anything at first but you were asking for trouble and it came back to bite you in the rear end in the worst way,”  he said.  “Dawn, now that I know the truth, hadn't you egged Marianne on, she would have obeyed me and more then likely had chosen a better dance for her song.  So you are to partake in her punishment as well.”

“Yes, father,” Dawn said as she hung her head low.

Bog said, “Your highness,  I know it is not my business, but really is it necessary that the girls have to be punished like this?  They both helped out greatly today, they put on a good show and I can see they are tired.”

“Yes it is necessary.  When rules are broken they have to know there will be repercussions.”

“Well, then of my own accord I would like to help them,”  Bog said.

King Dagda said, “Bog, your excellency, the point of punishment is to instil the thought that if they did something wrong, there will be repercussions, so helping them...really isn't helping them.”

“Understood, but what I am getting at is that Marianne is an adult, and...
King Dadga interrupted, “...still needs guidance.  If she would think more before doing, then I would leave her to her own.”

“Dad, I am 23 years old now..." Marianne said, but then Bog interrupted her.
 
“What?”  Bog asked in a surprised tone. “When you said you were an adult, I thought you just turned 21.”
Marianne shook her head side to side.

Bog turned to her father and said, “You are punishing a 23 year old woman as if she was a teenager?  Why don't you let up on her?  I think if you cut her a bit of slack, she will appreciate it.”

“Or she would take advantage of it,” King Dagda said.

Bog shook his head and in a slightly angry tone he said, “Look, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have intruded into your family matters, and I don't want to question your judgment,  but you are going to have to eventually let her go and let her be herself.  Being a king myself I can tell you that I don't want a pompous priss for a wife.  I love your daughter for the woman she is now.”

Bog saw that Marianne's face lit up and she wore a bright smile on her face.  He also noticed that she suddenly started to breathe heavier.

He continued, “I am sorry, your majesty, I think I said too much and intruded on your family's affairs enough. If you will pardon me, I will leave you all to your privacy,”  Bog said as he started to walk off.  He looked to Marianne and she had a smitten look on her face and would not take her eyes off him.

“Bog wait,”  King Dagda said.
“Yes?”

The king sighed as he said, “You are right, I do have trouble letting go.  It just seems like it was yesterday I was holding them in my arms when they were babies.  Because she is an adult how, I am having a very hard time letting go of Marianne.  Both my girls grew up in the blink of an eye.  I guess I am a bit hard on Marianne because she reminds me so much of Evelyn.  I lost her and I...I just don't want Marianne to slip through my fingers too.”

“I understand, but like I said, I think if you let up on her just a bit, she will appreciate it,” Bog said.
Kind Dagda nodded his head in agreement.
 
Bog turned to Dawn and asked, “Dawn, how old are you?”
“19”

“She's almost an adult too, your highness,” Bog said.

“Yes, she is,” King Dagda replied as he  walked over to one of the glass windows and looked at his reflection as he placed his crown back on his head.  He then turned around and said to his daughters,  “Have the pixies clean you both up, both of your faces are a mess, dessert will be served soon.”

Both of his daughters hung their heads low and said together, “Yes father.”

He started to walk towards the door when he stopped and turned around. He put a smile on his face as he said, “I changed my mind, have the pixies fix your make up and come dressed as you are. I want to get a good close look at your outfits as when you performed.

“Really?”  Both of the ladies said together.
“Yes.”
“Do you mean I don't have to put my leggings on?” Marianne asked.
“I can keep my dress on too?”  Dawn asked.

“Yes.  I know I am being a bit hard on you about you dressing up as well.   I am just worried that if I allow you to dress a bit lighter for your boyfriends, that the clothing will get lighter and skimpier and all of a sudden you will start to parade around the palace wearing bikini's...that I will not allow.”

Marianne's eyes widened and Dawn stifled a giggle.

“Uhhh, I don't think we will ever go that far, Dad,” Marianne said.

“Well, if I told you the things your mother wore for me when we were just married, I don't think I would ever hear the end of it from either of you,”  King Dagda said.
Everyone started to laugh.

“So, shall we end this night on a good note?”
“Yes Dad,”  Marianne and Dawn said together.

There was a long pause before he continued, “Well, I guess I am going to let go a bit and allow you both to bare their legs like the other girls.”
Both Marianne and Dawn lit up and they both got ready to embrace their father.

He stopped them and said, “Wait wait!  I am not finished.  There are still rules and you both are not to wear anything higher than mid thigh.  Also...and this applies to you Marianne, no chest splits lower or wider than what you have on now.”

Both Marianne and Dawn said together, “Thank you, Dad.”

They  threw their arms around him and both kissed him on the cheek.
Bog said, “Wow!  That would make a nice family portrait.”

Marianne then ran over to Bog threw her arms around him, kissed him on the lips and whispered, “You're amazing. Thank you.”
“Why are you thanking me?” he whispered back.
“I will tell you later.”

Marianne's father said, “Well, then, all things considered this is going to be very difficult to judge this contest.”
Bog then suggested, “Why don't you make it easy on yourself, and let the people vote?”
Marianne nodded her head excitedly, but Dawn seemed somewhat less enthusiastic.

“Hmmmmm”,  King Dagda said as he put his finger on his chin. “I tell you what I will give it some thought and will make my decision at dessert.”
Suddenly a voice came at the door. It was Griselda.

“Knock, knock...Knock on wood!” she said putting her fist in the air.
Everyone laughed.

“You can come in, mother.”  Bog said. “We were just getting ready to join everyone outside.”
“Good! I am just letting you know, dessert is ready and will be served shortly,” she said.
“Oh, we have to hurry and get fixed up!” Dawn said to her sister.
Marianne nodded.

“Me first!” Dawn said as she shot out the door and up the stairs to her room.

Marianne stood with one arm holding the other and that arm hung straight down.  She looked to her father and said, “Thank you.  I don't mean to give you a hard time, Dad, especially after everything you have done for me.  But know that I do appreciate everything you do for me and I still can't believe you gave me this boat.  I know I don't deserve it. I am very sorry for disobeying you.”

“Marianne, I have been in your shoes when I was your age too.  I know what it is like when your hormones rage.  Heck, it is how both you and your sister were born.  I know how a new love in your life can sometimes affect your judgement.  But, my dear daughter, don't keep getting out of line.  As you see, I am not afraid to punish you.  But also know that you are my first born and you have a good head on your shoulders.  By and large, you are a wonderful daughter and usually do as I say.  You help me run the kingdom by standing in for your mother.  You are always there when I need you.  That is why I gave you the boat.”

“Well, thank you again for everything, Dad; the boat, the party, and for giving me a break when I messed up today.”

He walked over and put his arm around Marianne and said, “It is my pleasure, my darling.  Now get yourself fixed up and I will see you for dessert.”
“Yes, Dad.”

Bog watched father walked out the door to the rear deck and met up with Griselda on the dock.

Marianne walked to Bog and draped her arms around his neck and said, “Words cannot express alone what I am feeling right now.  You're amazing!  You stood up to my father for me.  I am so happy right now.” Marianne said as she wrapped her arms around his waist and brought her lips to his.  The two kissed for a long time.

After they kissed, Bog said, “Thank you.  I took what you said last night into consideration and you were right.”  
“You have no idea how much you have impressed me.”
“Well, I would like to add that he is allowing you to wear short skirts now.”
“Oh, indeed I will be wearing short skirts.  I want you to see my legs all day,” Marianne said seductively.
“I'd like that very much,” Bog said as he pulled her close to his lips and they kissed again.

Marianne then broke off the kiss and said, “Oh! I almost forgot to thank you for working things out with Dawn and me, I had a funny feeling that things were going to turn ugly between us and you stopped that from happening.   ….And  thank you for convincing my Dad not to disqualify me.”

“Well, I can't take credit for both.  Your sister came to me on her own and told me that she regretted taunting you.  I also picked up on something she said about looking her best for the goblins and I used that to my advantage with your father so he didn't think you were just purely showing off again.

“I still want to thank you,” Marianne said as she started to bring her lips close to Bog's again.

Bog put his two fingers up against her lips and stopped her.

“Marianne, listen to me.  I have to ask something of you now,”  Bog said.
“Anything, just let me know and I will do anything for you,” Marianne said.

“Thank you, but please, stop trying to show off for my goblins or I.  You are going to get in serious trouble.  I am worried that if your father figures it out he might not let me see you and I can't have that, so please, my dear Marianne for the sake of us, no more showing off for me.  I love you as you are and showing off isn't necessary.  Just listen to your father...if not for yourself, then do it for me,” Bog explained.

“Alright, but I am not kidding when I say it is my hormones going nuts.  I just want to make myself beautiful and sexy for you. I just have an insatiable urge to want to turn you on,”  Marianne said.

“I want to turn you on too, but  lets keep the showing off for when we are alone, together.  Then you can show off all you want.

Marianne smiled as she looked at him seductively.  She once again brought her lips close to his and ran her tongue over her mouth and started to purse her lips.
Bog smiled and he said, “I noticed that you do that with your lips every time you give me a big kiss.”
Marianne explained, “My lips have a tendency to get dry and I lick them before we kiss because I want them to be soft and luscious for you.”
“That is very sweet and considerate of you,” Bog said.
“Well, when it comes to kissing, I only want to give you the best.”
Bog just raised his eyebrows and smiled.  He watched her as she continued to lick her lips until they were nice and moist and were so shiny they reflected the light in the room.
“Your lips do look luscious in this light,” Bog said.
“Uh huh.”

They brought their lips together and the kiss started off soft and gentle at first, but then it became deeper and deeper. Marianne pulled herself tightly into Bog's body and he could feel her tongue starting to work it's way into his mouth.

Just then they heard Dawn coming down the steps and they broke off the kiss.
“Darn it!  She certainly has poor timing,” Bog said.
Marianne giggled.

Dawn came around the corner and caught her sister giggling and said, “Did I miss something?”

Just then a voice came from the direction of the boat deck.  It was Sunny as he said, “Yeah you missed the WHOLE thing!”

Everyone's eyes widened and looked in Sunny's direction.  He was leaning up against the boat deck door frame with his arms and legs crossed.  Bog totally forgot about what Dawn said about what Sunny was doing and apparently she had forgotten too.

Bog looked to Sunny and said, “Are you trying to tell me you were eavesdropping on everyone this WHOLE time?”

“Yep! Too bad Dawn walked in on you two, that kiss looked like it was getting really hot!”

“You!” Marianne shouted in an angry tone  She raised her hands and formed her fingers into claws and started to run after Sunny.

“Oh! Sugar Honey Ice Tea,”  Sunny said as he nearly stumbled getting out of his comfortable position on the door frame as he started to run off.

When Marianne got out to the deck she opened her wings and clenched her hands into fists.

Bog called to her, “Marianne! It is your turn to get fixed up.  Dessert, remember?”

She folded her wings and then came back into the boat still clenching her fists.  As she walked by Bog and Dawn she said, “I'll get him later.”
Marianne stormed up the steps to the upper deck of the boat.  Bog and Dawn then looked at each other.”

“Very nice,” Bog said as he looked at her face.
“What?  Oh!  My makeup, Thank you.”  Dawn said.

He looked down to her dress and said, “I commented earlier that I think your dress is beautiful.  I was wondering if you can get a dress like that made up for Marianne.”
“Oh the elves made this from fine silk, it took them a very long time to make it.”

“I don't care about the time or cost. I would like the same style but with a slightly different collar and with purple trim and the split all the way up the upper thigh.”

“Oh, you mean like this?”  Dawn said as she bent down and fiddled with something under the split of her skirt.  She did this two more times up the short side of the skirt.  She then shook her leg and now the slit that went to just above her knee went now right up to the belt on her waist.
Bog's eyes opened wide, “Whew! That is a little too high, but I like it.”

“Oh, wait!, There is more.”  Dawn then bent down to the other side and then undid a few more clips and another split ran down her other side, but it was cinched at the center and the hem, creating one split over the other on her other leg.  Now both of her legs were exposed.
“Three splits!”

“Uh huh and I am not finished, yet!”
“What? There's still more?”  Bog asked.

Dawn reached for two concealed buttons on her chest and then her collar moved outward a bit. When she moved her hands aside, the dress now had a plunging neckline that actually went right through her sternum down to her abdomen.  He could see the lower curved point where her lower most ribs met her sternum. It was clearly lower than Marianne's neckline.

Bog's mouth dropped and he said, “Wow, that's low!  This is becoming a rather 'mature' dress, don't you think?”
“Naw, I wouldn't wear it like this outside, of course.  Just for Sunny.”

“Now, I really want this dress for Marianne. It's gorgeous and very sexy.  You are really going to drive Sunny crazy over you with that dress.
Dawn raised her eyebrows a couple times and said, “That is my intention.”

They both started to laugh.

“You are starting to sound a bit like Marianne.”
“Well, I would be lying to you if I didn't admit that I do copy some of what she says and does.  She's my big sister after all.

Just then there was a noise upstairs and they both quickly turned their heads towards the hallway door.

“Uhhh, I think you better button up before Marianne comes down and sees us like this.  She might get the wrong idea,” Bog said nervously.
“Agreed.”  Dawn said nervously herself as she quickly started to button everything back up again.

As she was buttoning up the shorter side she explained, “Obviously, I set the dress up this way on purpose; buttoned up, it's for my father.  After my song, he commented on how this is a nice proper evening dress, but then he balked at how my knee was showing when I was sitting down.  Prior to our talk before, could you imagine if he saw the dress as I just showed you when I was performing my song?”

Bog said, “He would have instantly disqualified you AND punished you on top of it.”
“Probably,  After he fainted, of course.”
The two laughed.

“Did you come up with this design on your own?” Bog asked.
“Oh no.  I really don't know much about making dresses.  I had some ideas like the collar and split seam but the seamstress that worked on this gave me most of the other ideas.”
“I would like to work out the details with you in the morning on what I would like for Marianne's dress,” Bog said.

“Alright,”  Dawn said as she smiled, “I just want to let you know that I think it is very nice that you want to do this for my sister.  A guy never gave my sister anything nice to wear before and I think it's sweet.”

“Well, I liked the idea of seeing what she looks like in a beautiful dress and I will see that again and again whenever she puts the dress on.  So in a way, my gift to her becomes a gift to me.”

Dawn giggled and said, “Oh, I see now.  You just want to check out my sister's body, huh?”
“Uhhhhh. Well...I would be lying to you if I said no.  But yeah, I like her body very much.”

Dawn laughed and said, “I guess I don't blame you, she is more shapely than I am.   Okay, 'nuff talk now.  Let's go, it should be time for dessert anyway.”

Bog put out his arm for Dawn to take a hold of and he said, “Shall we, princess?”
Dawn smiled as she placed her hand in his arm and he escorted her out of the boat and to the dock. Dawn kept looking to Bog as he kept looking forward.
“I am very amazed at how you turned out,” she said.
“Oh, how so?”  Bog asked.
“You are completely changed guy from when I first met you,” Dawn answered. “Look at the way you are escorting me.  You are a complete gentleman now.”
“It is your sister, she brings out the best in me.  I know she had disappointments with past relationships and never had a gentleman that treated her well and so I want to be that gentleman for her,”  Bog explained.

Dawn smiled and they continued to walk to the table when. Sunny ran over, “Hey, that's my woman!”
“Easy there, Master Sunny, I bring your lady to you.”  Bog said as he took Dawn's hand and placed it in his.
Sunny looked up to Bog and his eyes widened at how Bog presented Dawn to him.

 “Uhhhh, thank you, your excellency.  Ya...Ya...You are not going to hurt me for listening in before, are you?”
“No. I am not going to come after you and hurt you, Marianne will.”

“WHAT?!?!”  Sunny shouted.
“You better start running, here she comes.”  Bog said as he looked up and pointed towards the boat.
Marianne walked out on to the balcony of the boat and took to wing.

Sunny started to run off and he let out a wild scream, “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

“Bog!”  Dawn exclaimed.  “Just when I complimented you on being a gentleman, you scared Sunny off.  That was mean!”
“What? I wasn't being mean, I was only warning him.”

Marianne landed in front of Bog and had an angered look on her face.  The angry look teamed up with her freshly redone makeup made her look very hot.  She was clenching her fists as she said, “Where is that little spying cretin?”

Dawn's eyes widened in that Bog wasn't being mean or kidding around, he was warning Sunny.

Bog changed the subject and said, “Ahhh, your eyes look beautiful, my dear.”
“You like the makeup around my eyes, huh?”  Marianne said softening the tone of her voice and the look on her face.
“Yes, you very much look like an exotic warrior.”
“Awwwww, Thank you.”  Marianne said with a smile as she moved closer to Bog.

Just then Griselda, Sugar Plum and a variety of other servants came out with various plates with dessert.  Griselda announced, “Take your seats please! Dessert is served!”

Marianne, Dawn and Bog took their places at the royal table.

As they sat down, Dawn looked to her father and said, “Dad, have you decided on the winner of the contest, yet?”

“No I have not, I have decided to take Bog's suggestion and let the people vote.”

“What?”  Dawn said as she got a worried look in her face.

King Dagda stood up and announced, “Good people of The Fairy Kingdom and The Dark Forest I have decided that you shall decide the outcome of our contest this evening.   It will be very simple as I am going announce the name of each of my daughters and those that cheer the loudest for the one whose name I call will win!”

Everyone smiled and started to cheer already at the king's decision to let them vote on their favorite contestant.   Griselda said, “Great idea, Your Majesty.”

“Before we vote I would like to say to all those present that this contest is based on the song lyrics, vocal quality and the overall performance of the contestant ONLY, not how the contestant looks or use of backup support.  You will base your vote accordingly.  Is that understood?”

Everyone nodded or called out, 'Yes'.

“Good, let us begin,”  King Dagda said.  “My daughters, please stand.”

Marianne stood up next to the left side of her father's throne, while Dawn stood on the right side.

King Dagda raised his hand to Dawn and said, “Those that would like Dawn to win, please applaud,”  
The crowd cheered and clapped.

He then raised his other hand to Marianne and said, “Those that desire Marianne to win, please applaud”  
The crowd cheered louder with more of the cheers coming from the goblin table.

“Once again, Dawn,”  he said as he held his hand out towards Dawn and this time the crowd grew a bit louder than the first time.
“Once again, Marianne,”  he said as he held his hand out to Marianne.

The crowd this time cheered very loudly and even whistled.  The goblins even started to stand up and chant,  “Marianne! Marianne! Marianne!”
King Dagda patted his hands down and everyone became quiet.

“At this time, based on the vote of the people, I declare the winner of our Disco-Love Song contest to be...” he said and then purposely paused for a few moments before announcing the winner.  He looked over to Dawn and she already had her head hanging low knowing that she had been defeated.  He then looked to Marianne and announced her name:
“Marianne!”

Everyone erupted into a loud cheer as they applauded.

Marianne's face lit up and she shook her fists in front of her chest as she bent down a bit and exclaimed loudly, “YESSSSSS!!!!”

Her father stood up and came over to her and embraced her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.  He said, “Congratulations, my darling, Marianne.”
“Thank you Dad,  Thank you so much!”

“Oh, don't thank me,  I had no say in picking the winner.  Thank the people that voted for you,” he said.

Marianne proceeded to put her fingers to her mouth and blew kisses out to the crowd and said, “Thank you everyone.  Thank you for picking me!  I had a great time performing for you!”

Marianne then ran to Bog and jumped into his lap.

“Oooff!”  Bog said as she landed in his lap.  She threw his arms around his neck and smiled as she looked into his eyes.  He said, “Congratulations, my dear!
She didn't say another word and just placed her lips on his.

Dawn still looked down and didn't say anything, but she had a very sad look in her eyes and she was flicking her wings as if she was getting ready to fly off.  Her father noticed and then came over to her and embraced her.

“Congratulations to you as well, Dawn,” he said as he held her.

“Daddy, I feel so embarrassed.”  Dawn exclaimed.  “Everyone probably saw what I did to sis and now I didn't win.  I feel like such an idiot!”

“Oh, don't feel that way, you did a beautiful job with the song you picked out.  Heck, I even got up and danced myself!” King Dagda said.  “But the gloating was your doing, I am sorry to say. You should know better than to wave a red flag in front of a bull.”

“I sang my heart out for him, I just was so sure that that my performance was strong enough...but it wasn't.  Now I am not going to be Dance Warrior Dawn,” Dawn said as she pouted a bit.

“It was for me, darling.  You know I like the 'soo hoo's and you sang them so beautiful and your voice was so powerful near the end of the song.  I and everyone else was so amazed with your performance,”  her father explained.

Suddenly Marianne, overhearing the conversation, came over and hugged her sister.  She said, “Dawn, I couldn't believe that was you singing.  Like Dad said, you just had so much strength in your voice, particularly near the end.  There was a point when I was dancing with Dad when you sang out loud and strong and I said, 'Where did THAT come from'.”

King Dagda and everyone around in ear shot laughed aloud.
Dawn giggled a bit and said, “So I was good then?”
Suddenly there was a bunch of “Yeah's and Yes' from a small group that formed around Dawn.”
“Absolutely,” her father said.

A smile appeared on Dawn's face as she turned to her sister and kissed her on the cheek.  She said, “I am so sorry for what I did before.  I will never do something like that to you again, sis.”

“Awww, Dawn.  You know in a way, it was nice seeing you become competitive.  You blown us all away with that performance,” Marianne said.

“I blown everyone away?!?” Dawn questioned.  “Look at you!  Look what you did.  You had lighting flying across the cavern and just about all the goblins dancing.  The way you danced your butt off just won everyone over.”

Marianne burst out laughing and said, “Yeah, I guess I was shaking my booty quite a bit.”
Everyone joined in laughing.

Just then Griselda brought out the special desserts...the Cherry Bombs.  There were only two plates.  One with a large helping and one with a smaller portion.  The larger one went to Marianne's seat and the smaller one was placed in front of King Dagda.

Marianne ran over and plopped herself down on the bench, closed her eyes, inhaled deeply and said, “Oh, that smells so heavenly!  Hot chocolate!”
 
She fisted her fork as she grabbed it and was ready to stab it into the confection when she realized that she wasn't minding her manners.  But she stopped and corrected herself, she sat up straight, placed her napkin on her lap and then held her fork in an elegant way and gently placed it into the chocolate covering and taking a small bit of it and placing it in her mouth and she savored it.  She rolled her eyes as she let out a soft, 'Mmmmm'. She was about to say something, but didn't want to talk with her mouth full, so she finished what was in her mouth.   Her father looked to her and waited for her to speak.

After a while, King Dagda said, “Well, my dear Dance Warrior Marianne, how do you like it?”
“Oh, Dad, it's wonderful.”

“Glad to hear it!” he said as he then took his fork and tried a bit.  “Oh my!  Sugar Plum you outdid yourself with this one.”

“Sugar Plum made this?” Marianne said in a surprise tone.
“Yes, I did!”  Sugar Plum said. “It sure was a long time since I made it for the royal family. No thanks to Bog!”

Bog cringed a bit and shrank lower in his seat.

Both Marianne and her father thanked Sugar Plum for her efforts in creating the coveted dessert.

Dawn sat down in her seat and was served what the others were having, which was a cinnamon apple torte.  While good in it's own right, it wasn't a chocolate cherry bomb.  She just sat in her seat and pouted as she looked at the large rounded portion on Marianne's plate.

“Mmmmmm, this very good,”  Bog said as he sampled his cinnamon apple torte.

Marianne broke off a large portion of her cherry bomb, with her fork and said, “Oh yeah, you think that's good, try this!”
  
Bog opened his mouth up and she practically shoved it his mouth.  He let out a, 'Hummmph' sound but then exclaimed with his mouth full.  “Easy there, love!  Mmmmmm, this IS really good.  I never tasted anything like this!”

Marianne laughed as she said, “Now you know why we love it so much.”

Bog swallowed and said. “I'll say!”

Marianne was giving Bog another large helping when she noticed her sister moving her mouth and running her tongue over lips.  Her eyes grew very wide and she had a wide doe eyed look on her face. Marianne dropped her fork, put her hand out to Dawn and said to Bog, “Oh, can those eyes get any bigger?”

Marianne pushed her plate over to Dawn, and said, “Here, take half of it, sis.”

Suddenly Dawn's face lit up and she shook her fists in front of her as she said, “Oh thank you, Marianne.  Thank you, Thank you.”

Before Dawn split the confection in half, she shoveled a good size portion of it into her mouth.  Unlike Marianne, she talked with her mouth full.

“Oh, soooooo good!  Hmmmmmmm!  Thank you!”

Her father than said, “Dawn, mind your manners!”

“Sorry,”  she said and then finished what she had in her mouth.

Dawn split the remaining part of the dessert in half and then pushed the plate back to her sister.  By now there was only about two bites left on each plate, which was gone in no time.

Marianne suddenly had a melancholy look on her face and said aloud, “I feel bad.  Poor sis only had three bites.  Who knows when we are going to have this again.”

“Naw, Marianne, she will have more than three bites,” her father said as he pushed the rest of his dessert towards Dawn.

Dawn lit up again and thanked her father.

Bog and Marianne watched Dawn eat and she was enjoying every bite even closing her eyes as she slowly chewed and savoured every bite.

Marianne giggled and said, “Look at her, she's in another world!”

“I don't blame her,” Bog said.

“It is a shame that it is so rare, we only have it about once a year...if that even.  And then it is gone in a flash,” Marianne said.

“Well it is very good,” Bog said.

“Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed it, I just have to watch when I eat that stuff, it goes right here,”  King Dagda said as he slapped his belly a few times.   Everyone at the table burst out laughing.

When the laughter subsided, Marianne said, “Dad, I want to thank you again for everything.  I know that today wasn't without it's rough edges and I know that was mainly my fault, but I have to say that all in all this has been the best day of my life.  I will remember today forever and I owe most of my thanks to you.”

Marianne got up from her seat and leaned over and gave her father a kiss on the cheek.   There were many, 'Awwws' from the guests.

“I am glad you enjoyed yourself today, darling.  It was my pleasure,” Her father said.