Just to get things moving a bit... an oldie but a goodie ;)

Author: Elizabeth Wilde
Title: Abyss
Distribution: Anyone who has my fic, anyone who asks for it,
http://www.biteyourtongue.net/wilde
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the 10th Kingdom characters, its story, or the
song
"Gunning Down
Romance" by Savage Garden. Just borrowing! Don't sue, k?
'Ship: hints of Wolf/Virginia
Classification: extreme angst, drama
Summary: An alternate ending where Wolf loses it after Virginia leaves him.
Rating: PG-13 [generally disturbing content]
Spoilers: the whole miniseries
Feedback: to velvet_wild@...

~Love and other moments are just chemical reactions in your brain, in your brain
And feelings of aggression are the absence of the love drug in your veins, in
your veins

Love come quickly
Cos I feel my self-esteem is caving in
It's on the brink
Love come quickly
Cos I don't think I can keep this monster in
It's in my skin~

"It took you long enough." The Queen watched Wolf as he entered the room. His
expression and
posture were those of a man who had no hope left, no will. She smiled. "But we
will
ignore that.
Tell me, where are they?"

He ducked his head and stepped closer to the Queen's chair. "I do not know,
Your
Majesty."

"Don't you? You'll have to find them, then." A cold smile adding false
kindness to her
face,
the Queen motioned for Wolf to kneel by her chair. "And you are prepared to do
whatever
it takes,
whatever I command you?"

"Yes, my Queen."

She searched his eyes, noting the hollow, naked pain and fought back a surge of
contempt. The
girl meant more to him than she at first surmised. No matter. If he truly
intended to
follow
her commands, all would be well and the girl would be a complication no longer.
"You will
not
betray me. If you do betray me for love of the girl, you will die along with
her. You have
potential, but I have no great fondness for you. You can be replaced easily
enough by
someone
with more ambition. Am I understood?"

Wolf nodded silently. With every ounce of his being, he tried to conceal from
the Queen
his pain,
but he knew he was failing by the predatory glint in her eyes. She had complete
control of
his
destiny and they both knew it. Some saner, more controlled part of his being
begged a
reassessment of the situation. Wolf swallowed hard and forced his heart to
cease its
constant
attempts to ply his mind. "Yes, Your Majesty. Clear as crystal."

"Good." She sat back in her chair and ran a hand over his hair as she might any
household
pet.
"Go. Search for them. When you find them, bring them here. How you get them
here is
your
business, but leave them alive. For now," the Queen finished softly, tinted
lips curving up.

"As you command." Wolf rose and crossed to the door, hesitating for only a
second before
stepping back out into the world. Some dark tendril in the core of his being
urged him
forward
while his heart cried again to wait, to think. But where had thinking gotten
him? He
growled
low in his throat and continued resolutely forward. He would find Tony and
Virginia and
he would
bring them to the Queen. He would obey.

~Love and other socially acceptable emotions are morphine, they're morphine
Cleverly concealing primal urges often felt but rarely seen, rarely seen

Love I beg you
Lift me up into that privileged point of view
The world of two
Love don't leave me~

Virginia had rejected him. Wolf could care less about the money and time
invested in the
venture,
but his heart belonged to her and she had rejected him. For her, perhaps it
meant nothing.
For
her, perhaps it was commonplace for men to throw themselves upon her mercy only
to be
crushed
under her heel. Maybe in her world such things happened all the time. In his
world,
happily
ever after meant all or nothing.

He had tried once to explain to Virginia that you either found true happiness in
the Nine
Kingdoms or you were as good as dead. Wolf fed his determined anger with the
thought
that
Virginia had stolen from him his chance for true happiness. They could have
found the
sort of
love lauded in song and story and whispered of throughout the ages. But
Virginia had
rejected
him.

Wolf clenched his fists. Wolves mate for life. Whether he liked it or not,
Virginia had his
heart for life. If she was unwilling to see that, to see how much he loved her
and needed
her,
Wolf reasoned, she would simply have to be dealt with as the Queen wished. Who
could
blame him
for following orders?

His heart wanted to try again, wanted to forgive Virginia and beg her again to
try to love
him as
he loved her. She had made it abundantly clear, however, that she did not share
his
feelings.
The black snake wound its way deeper into his heart. He would do as the Queen
asked.

As he entered the swamp, Wolf sniffed the air, knowing without question who
awaited him
there.
Virginia.

~I'm gunning down romance
It never did a thing for me
But heartache and misery
Ain't nothing but a tragedy

Love don't leave me
Take these broken wings
I'm gonna take these broken wings
And learn to fly
And learn to fly away~

"Your last wish is granted."

Wolf looked up to see the Queen standing in the doorway, typically icy smile
lending a
wintry
glow to her face. The Huntsman, who Wolf suspected was the Queen's lover as
well as
loyal
servant, stood behind her, a shadow. Wolf stepped forward obediently and bowed
to the
Queen.
"Did I do well, Your Majesty?"

"Excellent." She caressed his hair lovingly and smiled at Virginia and Tony.

Wolf noted how pale Virginia's face, how wide her eyes. She had not expected
this at all.
He
smiled. "I thought it would be safest to stay with them to make sure they
didn't spoil your
plans."

"What have you done?" The heartbreak in Virginia's voice sounded somehow
familiar. "No,
no, no,
not you."

"It's simple, Virginia," Wolf said as though explaining his actions to an
ignorant child. "I
obey the Queen." The stricken look on her face and the tears forming in her
eyes were all
the
answer he needed. Wolf half-listened as both Virginia and Tony attempted to
appeal to
the
Queen's memory, some shred of her former conscience. He almost laughed. The
Queen
no more had a
conscience than he had any longer.

The Queen ordered Tony taken away and Virginia to remain, but Wolf broke in,
"Your
Majesty, with
all respect, is it wise to remain with her? Already she has tried to sway you
from your
plans.
Perhaps it would be best to deal with her now?"

Smiling fondly at Wolf, the Queen inclined her head. "I see you are anxious to
do your
part.
That is to be commended." She studied Virginia for a moment, pleased at the
tears
running down
her face. "Yes, take care of her." As she left the room, the Queen called
back, "But try not
to get too much blood on the floor. The servants have a coronation to prepare
for."

With the Queen gone, Virginia looked hopeful, as if it were the Queen's presence
which
had caused
the change in Wolf's demeanor. "You-you didn't mean it, did you? We have to
get my
father and
leave. Now that we have the mirror-"

Wolf cocked his head to one side and peered at her with cold, depthless eyes.
"Why would
I let
you go? The Queen has ordered me to finish this." He moved forward a step and
Virginia
retreated, cursing when her path was blocked by a mirror. His voice sank to a
threatening
whisper. "Why should I show you mercy?" Another step closer.

Near panic, Virginia held up a hand and begged, "Please don't! I love you!"

"You say that now. It's convenient for you now. Why should I believe you?
I'll bet I'm not
the
first one you've said that to." Wolf moved closer, closer, enjoying the scent
of terror and
the
light of fear in Virginia's large blue eyes. "If you love me, why do you keep
trying to run?"

"You aren't acting like yourself," Virginia protested, ducking behind a mirror
and edging
toward
the door only to find Wolf already standing in her way. "This isn't you."

"How do you know that? How do you presume to know me at all?" Wolf could feel
the
sharpness of
his canines against his tongue and smiled, knowing it was a frightening sight.
"You're
shivering. Let me warm you up..." Nice, warm blood. The thought sent his
pulse racing.

Virginia shuddered and began again, "This isn't you! I do know you! I do!"

"Who are you trying to convince, Virginia?" Wolf had her cornered now. She was
backed
against a
wall and shook with fear, tears still falling unchecked down her pale cheeks.

He ran a hand down one cheek, watching as she flinched and choked back a sob.
Breathing
shallowly and putting every ounce of love she could managed, Virginia begged,
"Please
don't."

Wolf tried to force back a sudden surge of pity, to think only of what she had
done to him,
done
without thinking, without hesitation. His teeth were inches from her throat and
it would
only
take a second to tear the flesh and feel her blood filling his mouth. He
steeled himself,
knowing what he needed to know, knowing what he had to do. And then shoved her
halfway across
the room. "GO!" he yelled, squeezing his eyes shut. "Turn on the mirror and
go! Now,
damn it!"

"But my father!" She gasped, shocked at the revelation that she was still
alive.

Wolf looked up at her for a moment, allowing the full affect of his glowing eyes
and
protruding
fangs to settle in. "You can't save him dead, Virginia. Leave now." He backed
up further,
temptation calling at every step. "NOW!" Still shaking, Virginia darted to the
mirror and
activated it. She glanced back once, eyes wide, then stepped through.

Wolf watched the mirror for a heartbeat before crossing the room slowly to close
the
portal. His
hands twitched and his eyes burned. Virginia was gone.

THE END