Walt's Princess: Chapter Twenty Nine

A beast jumped out from the bushes in the forest on top of Rachel. She made a small scream the second the beast touched her. The next thing she knew she was somersaulting backwards and being pinned to the ground on her behind. When it ended, she got a better look at the beast. It was orange with black stripes like a tiger. Its tail was long, its chin was pretty long and its eyes were small, black and beady like tiny little marbles. Most tigers would be ferocious, but instead of getting eaten alive, this tiger looked very happy and cuddly. And it talks, too!

“Whoops, sorry little lady.” said the cuddly tiger, “I’m-”

“Tigger!” Rachel exclaimed.

“Why yes, I am Tigger! T-I-double ‘guh’- er. That’s spells Tigger! Now who are you?”

“I’m Rachel.”

“Oh sure you are! Hoo-hoo-hoo! Uh…what’s a ‘Rachel?” Tigger pressed his nose to Rachel’s while asking the question.

“You sitting on one.” Rachel giggled.

“I am? Oh, well excuse me for that.” Tigger bounced off of her and helped Rachel up to her feet.

“So, what are you doing around here?” Rachel asked.

“Why I’m looking for someone to go bouncing with me.” Tigger replied, “On that account, bouncing is what Tiggers do the best.”

“Have you tried asking Winnie the Pooh and Piglet?”

“Yeah, but Pooh and Piglet have already got better things to do. They’re already gathering honey up in of these trees.”

“What about Roo? Or Eeyore?” Rachel continued asking.

“Roo couldn’t play right now.” Tigger replied, “Ms. Kanga’s giving him a b-b- a bath! And then I destroyed Eeyore’s home and now he’s rebuildin’ it.”

“Should I even ask about Rabbit?”

“Perhaps not. But just in case, I’ll tell’ya that I ruined his vegebible garden and he kicked me out.”

“Again?”

“Actually, he swung a broom at me since he was also dealing with them black crowsies. Yeesh! Talk about me being responsibible.”

“You mean ‘crows?” Rachel corrected.

“That’s what I said, ‘Crowsies.” Tigger said receiving a rolling-eyes look from Rachel.
“Now, uh…what are you up to?”

“I’m heading over to the Gracey Manor to see Walt- I mean Retlaw! Retlaw.”

“Gracey Manor? Gasp’ed! You’re not really thinking about going over there. That place is full of heffalumps and woosels and spookables… *gasp*, or even worse,” Tigger gulped, “Jagulars! The most fear-sest of them all!”

“There are no heffalumps, woosels, or jagualrs in the Haunted Mansion,” said Rachel, “but I’ll admit there are spookables. But they’re happy and nice spookables. Trust me.”

“A-A-Are you sure?” Tigger stuttered with a shiver.

“As sure as I’m heading over there right now. Hey, you still need a bouncing buddy, don’t ‘ya?”

“Yeah, like I said, it’s what Tiggers do the best. And only the best-est of the best-est of Tiggers can perform it best!”

“But aren’t you the only one, Tigger?” Rachel smiled.

“Say there, little lady, you’re right! Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-ooo-ooo-ooo! So, what about a new bouncing buddy?”

“Well, what if you could come with me to the manor and bounce along the way?”

“Why that’s a splendiferous idea!” Tigger bounced around Rachel, “I wish I would’ve thought of that. But uh, would I have to go inside that spooky place with you?”

“Nah, you don’t have too.”

“Fine by me. Hoo-hoo. Come on! Bounce this way!”

As Tigger and Rachel started bouncing through the forest, Tigger began singing his song and ended it with his signature snarl:

The wonderful thing about Tiggers
Is Tiggers are wonderful things!
Their tops are made of rubber
Their bottoms are made out of springs!
They’re bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy,
Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!
But the most wonderful things about Tiggers is
I’m the only one!
I’m the only one!

The good and thing about bouncing in Rachel’s perspective was that it gives her a heck of a workout yet at the same time makes her brain bounce all over the inside of her skull making her dizzy. But at least it didn’t take too long to arrive at the mansion.

During the day, the mansion doesn’t seem so frightening. But that didn’t mean that Tigger was convinced enough to get close to it. It still had its gloomy dead trees, eroded tombstones, black crows perching on the trees like the crows from Rabbit’s vegetable garden, and the grass were somewhat grayish and overgrown.

“Whew, it’s a good thing I don’t spend my bouncy time or eat all my icy cream here.” said Tigger, “This place can not be anything but suspicerous!”

“You mean ‘suspicious?” said Rachel. “Yeah, it does. But it’s not so bad once you get used to it during the day.”

“Only during the day? But then what happens at night? All those creepy spookables come jumping out from nowhere; through the walls and the ceilings! They turn invisibible and then they grab you and choke you to death like ack-ch-aaaaackkk!”

“Tigger, breathe!” Rachel shouted.

Tigger took a long deep breath and tried to calm down for a bit. He said, “Gee, thanks. I’d be triggered in history if I kept it goin’. Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo. Now why in earth would you want to be here?”

“I have a friend who lives in there.” said Rachel. “He’s not expecting me now, but I’m sure I remember him saying I can drop by and see him whenever I want to.”

“Speaking of which, I’ve never really seen you around this doozy of a place of any place I know of next to the Hundred Acre Wood. Where do you come from anyway?”

“Outside Disney in the main world.”

“Say, I knew a friend who once lived up there,” Tigger bounced. “He always loved to come down here and have time for a good bounce. If only he were here right now. Now he’s enjoying a great bounce in the sky.”

“Would that happen be Rodney you’re talking about?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

“He’s my brother. I wish he was still here, too.”

“Wait a half-a-darn minute! You mean you’re his sister? So you’re the new princess of the all the Disney Worlds?”

“Correct.”

“Gasp! I’m in the presence of royalty! Gee, imagine if I was still King of the Beasties. That sure was fun while it lasted.”

“I’ll bet it was.” Rachel beamed.

“And I must say that it’s very brave of you to walk into that creepy-crawly place of a place and battle against those big bad ghosties!”

“Actually, you kind of missed out on that yesterday.” Rachel giggled, “But overall, these ghosts aren’t that bad.”

“Well, whatever you say. There’s no way I’m going in that dark thing.”

“Gangway! Help!” Suddenly, Rachel and Tigger heard a cry from behind them. It sounded like something or someone was chasing them. They turned around and found two familiar figures coming toward them. One of them a yellow teddy bear with a red shirt holding a pot while the one was small and pink. It was Pooh bear and Piglet!

“Oh dear! Oh d-d-d-d-d-deary-dear!” shouted Piglet.

“Help! The bees are after us!” Pooh cried.

Just as Pooh said: there was a swarm of bees chasing after them! They came in tens- no, hundreds! Their buzzing can be heard from miles away and could only be heard from their loudest upfront.

“Gasp!” Tigger gasped. “Bees! What do we do?”

“Quick! Into the mansion! Hurry!” Rachel shouted.

Rachel grabbed Tigger by the arm and then Pooh and Piglet and took off in a sprint into the front doors of the mansion. They all banged on the doors repeatedly hoping someone would answer before the bees would get to them. So far nothing and the bees were just a few feet away from them. Everyone started running a whole lap around the house until they got back to the front door. Rachel pounded the door harder than before but still no one answered. The bees darted straight at the foursome like an arrow shot from a bow.

But then Rachel got an idea. Sometimes whenever there’s an air current, the arrow would change course or slow down. But where was she going to get some air? That’s when she thought that since she’s pretty skilled with elemental magic such as fire, water, earth, and air, she could make her own air current. She stepped up front with Pooh, Piglet, and Tigger behind her, took the deepest breath she could possibly make, and then whoosh!  Rachel huffed, puffed, and blew all the bees away from her and the others! The bees flew back towards the forest where they came from and chased Pooh and Piglet.

“Yeah! That’s something I picked up from the Big Bad Wolf!” Rachel shouted with pride.

“Oh my, you saved us!” Pooh exclaimed.

“B-b-b-but, w-w-we’re here!” Piglet shivered.

Everyone turned behind them seeing that they were in front of the door at the haunted mansion! Piglet hid behind Pooh Bear in an instant while Tigger curled up his striped tail in a spiral. Despite that, Tigger wasn’t willing to give in to his fear of the place. But then they all heard a moaning sound from inside.

“Yikes!” Piglet shouted and hid into Pooh’s shirt.

“Don’t worry, Piglet.” said Winnie the Pooh, “Nothing will happen to us so long as we’re outside. Or would something happen outside while we’re not inside?”

“Gasp!” Tigger shouted, “That means anything can happen while we’re just standin’ around like little daffodidles in the field!”

“T-t-that’s where I’d like to be r-r-r-right now.” said Piglet.

“Never fear, Piglet ol’ pal!” Tigger perked up with a bounce, “I’ll protect ‘ya from the spookables and such with my awesome stripety fists and my simultunedeous bounces!

“S-s-s-spookables?” Piglet scrunched Pooh’s shirt over his head with extreme fright.

“There, there Piglet.” Rachel finally spoke, “Like Pooh bear said, ‘we are outside, not inside.’ Neither one of you won’t have to come inside with me if you don’t want to.”

“Oh good.” said a relieved Piglet.

“Uh, excuse me, miss.” Pooh began, “Just what is it in this large house that makes it all scary?”

Rachel thought for a moment creating a short silence. That was a good question especially when it became heard from a bear with very little brain. She remembered the grim that haunted her in her dreams. It seemed fear was always the most dominate in just about everybody. Finally, Rachel broke the silence.

“Well,” she started, “one would believe it would be because of ghosts and goblins and other monsters that creep around. Others find it scary when it’s dark inside. But really, the only reason of fact that makes this place so scary is because of our imagination; what we think of in our minds. If we picture this place to be very menacing and frightening, then that fear would engulf us and haunt us forever. But if we look at it in a much more kinder outlook, we can see that there’s nothing to be afraid of. This place may look gruesome, but it’s still just an ordinary old house. Do you three see what I’m talking?”

“So if we let this ‘fear’ try to get to us,” Pooh bear spoke, “then we should try to let it not get to us. We just have to face it and stand up to it.”

“That’s right.” Rachel smiled.

“Ah, now I think I’ve gotten it!” Tigger bounced, “Without that fear, them spookables will never touch us!”

“Yeah!” Rachel beamed.

“A-are you sure that even such a very small animal could face this, too?” Piglet asked.

“As sure as you believe in it yourself.” said Rachel, “You’ve just got to be brave.”

“Did you just say we don’t have to go in there?” Pooh asked.

“Yeah, why?” Rachel questioned Pooh.

Suddenly, a loud moaning cry was being heard from inside the building! The door swung open wide and a giant gust of wind blew out onto the mansion’s guests.

“Yikes!” Piglet screamed.

“Oh bother!” Pooh screamed also.

“Help! Get us out of here!” Tigger hollered.

Pooh, Piglet, and Tigger, terrified by the scene, began to start running away from the mansion and into the forest leaving Rachel behind on the doorstep.

Rachel sighed with her head down and arms crossed, “All that for nothing.”

Now the only thing Rachel has to do now is go see Walt again in morning’s light.

************************************************************************

The cushions of Rachel’s bed warmed up the young man to the core of both his heart and his stomach. The thoughts of his beloved flooded his mind like a clogged sink as he always does while his body lay motionless clutching onto a pillow tightly. To him, the pillow is Rachel and with it he’s slept happily and soundly. He didn’t really care how bright or dark the bedroom was nor did he care if anyone else was in there. The only thing in his mind was his queen.

Though Terrance finds this sensational, it, in a way, can get pretty dangerous for his self-esteem, as his senses were to become a little awry in his sleep. The elevator door made its ding-dong sound; someone was entering the bedroom. It opened and from the inside out, Master Yen Sid walked in.

He found Terrance still sleeping on Rachel’s bed with Rachel nowhere to be seen. The old wizard had assumed Rachel would be awake considering all the energy a silver spirit can have day in and day out. Focusing more on Terrance, Yen Sid tried shaking him back to his senses: nothing. Even speaking his name during the process wouldn’t help. But then Yen Sid’s eyebrow lifted with a weak smirk. He had some plan in mind.

“Terrance?” Yen Sid began, “Would you mind telling me what the square root of pie is?”

“Mmm…eternity?” Terrance murmured.

“Terrance, what’s the square root of pie?” the sorcerer spoke louder.

“Oh…1.7724…5385…” Terrance couldn’t even finish answering. He seemed too tired and too deep in his dream life to even speak.

“Terrance, you’re one page behind on writing your thesis on the philosophy of a man’s emotions.” Yen Sid teased still hoping Terrance would come to.

“…One page is…no big deal.” Terrance yawned clutching his pillow, “I’ll get it done…soon.”

There was only one more idea that Yen Sid had in mind. With magic, he made a sheet of paper appear. It looked somewhat like a report card that hasn’t been filled in yet. He took a pen in hand and started writing in it with a sort of mischievous look on his face. When he finished, he almost laughed at loud. His personality may show that Yen Sid surprisingly has a sense of humor, but he doesn’t usually show it off by pulling a prank on anyone. He held the paper in front of Terrance and pulled one of the eyelids open for him to see it.

“Oh Terrance,” Yen Sid spoke playfully, “do you know what this is?”

“…A report card?” Terrance shouted with shock, “With straight F’s, unsatisfaction marks and a low grade point average!” Terrance jolted up and screamed in horror like a little girl! He fell off the bed and crawled behind Yen Sid away from the fake report card.

“Be careful, Terrance. It can smell fear.” Yen Sid burst into laughter.

Terrance grabbed the fake report card, read it carefully, and then his face cringed with anger. He lifted himself off the ground and stared at his master coldly. Yen Sid continued laughing at the sight of his pupil’s face he almost choked and lost his breath. Finally, the old man started to calm down.

“There, there Terrance.” Yen Sid continued teasing, “I won’t let it give you a cut or put in your permanent record.”

“Sir, you are most terrible.” Terrance grumbled. “I hate it when you do that!”

“Good morning to you, too, Terrance.” Yen Sid chuckled.

“…Morning.” Terrance grumbled some more.

“I take that you have slept well last night, have you not?”

“Yes, I have.” Then Terrance smiled, “Best…night…ever.”

“Is that so?” Yen Sid asked, “I take that you and the princess are together now.”

“You would not believe how well it went last night! She was practically melting her heart out the minute she found out. I’m just finally glad I don’t have to hide my love from her anymore.”

“I am glad to hear this coming from you, my boy. Would all that explain why your ring is missing?”

“My ring?” Terrance looked at his fingers and saw that his amethyst ring was missing. But then he remembered, “Oh right! I slipped the ring into Rachel’s finger and made it official that we are together.”

“As a marriage proposal, I hope not.” Yen Sid spoke in a suspicious tone. “Because if it is, wouldn’t you think you would be pushing your relationship too swiftly?”

“Don’t worry, Master.” Terrance slightly raised his voice, “If I wanted to get things done as quickly as possible, marriage wouldn’t be one of them. I promise Rachel and I will take the time we have in our relationship to take our time and think about it for the future to come. At the very least until we finally handle Olin once in for all. I just hope that doesn’t take too long.”

“Without little doubt, it should not. But for now, I am more than happy for both and Rachel.”

“Thanks. By the way, you haven’t seen Rachel out there, have you?”

“No, I thought she would have still been up here. This is the time I am meant to tutor her with some more of her capabilities in magic.”

“I haven’t seen her since last night.” said Terrance, “The last thing I remember was while I was here in bed I heard her talking to someone. Probably her Moon spirit mistress.”

“It is assumable.” said the sorcerer, “A source and its host does not likely go its path without one or the other. In this case, the girl and the moon are inseparable…like yin and yang, fire and water, sunlight and moonlight.”

Sunlight and Moonlight. Those two words made Terrance think more about what had happened last night between him and his own encounter with the Moon spirit. That wonderful experience he had been given despite not having the freedom of watching her in person. Factoring that being said when the Moon spirit mentioned that ‘watching Rachel is like watching me.’  Terrance’s head sunk a little with his neck squeezed between his shoulders acknowledging his guilt of not speaking of it to his own master sooner.

“Yes, of course.” Terrance almost began breaking a small sweat.

“Terrance, what is it?” Yen Sid asked. “Is there something you must speak to me of?”

“Well…” Terrance was hesitant and didn’t want to finish, but seeing Yen Sid’s expression so stern, he had no choice but to continue, “I’m not entirely sure if you know something about this, but have you ever heard something much of some old legend fable about a golden…tear?”

“A golden tear?” Yen Sid wondered, “Hmm. That does spark a familiarity. Would you please care to clarify a little more?”

“Sure. It was something that had to do with a man with pure love with any, no necessarily just a silver spirit, but anyone in general and then at one point he would cry and shed a tear made with gold and form into a crown.”

Suddenly, Yen Sid perked up and with a snap of his fingers he spoke, “The Origins of a Sun spirit!”

“So I take that you do know about it?” Terrance asked.

“Know it? I remember long ago I’ve come to listen to my Clara and her father telling me the tale. Many who have heard of it back in my earliest days had assumed that there was only one Sun spirit that came into existence for so long. Unfortunately, that spirit was overthrown and put to death by the hatred of man who have farmed their crops and sheltered themselves due to a long lasting daylight…leaving its wife, the Moon, to its deepest despair. There has not been a man, mere mortal or immortal, who has ever had a heart as pure as the Sun spirit since then. But Terrance, I have never been familiar of telling you the story myself, haven’t I?”

“No sir, you have not.” Terrance replied.

“Then where have you heard of this? As far as I am concerned, I’m the only individual who still remembers this.”

“See…here’s the fun-ny thing.”

“Terrance,” Yen Sid took it slowly, “What happened last night exactly?”

“…” Terrance said nothing.

“Did…did you shed a golden tear last night?” Terrance still didn’t reply until Master Yen Sid spoke, “Terrance, you can speak to me of anything. Won’t you reply?”

Terrance sighed, “Yes, I shed the golden tear…and then it turned into this.” Terrance walked back over beside the bed. Off the side table, Terrance picked up his crown of gold, topaz, and rubies and showed it to his master. It, the gold, gleamed brightly from the sunrays that beamed from outside the balcony while the gems twinkled and shined in their places. “I wouldn’t put it on your head if I were you, sir.” Terrance added, “Anyone else who wears it will be cursed.”

Master Yen Sid, completely wide-eyed of the crown, could not believe what he was seeing. He took his precious time to observe it, checking to see whether or not the gold and the gems were real, which they were. Then he found his reflection in the topaz that sat in the middle while the rubies were spread out. His hands shivered and his mind shuddered at this tremendous occasion. Countless times, he’s faced the impossible and supernatural, but this just about covers it all.

“Dear God.” Yen Sid breathed fast, “Terrance…my boy. You, out of…then that means…oh dear.”

“What?” Terrance asked.

“Give me a moment, boy.” Yen Sid took a few steps away from Terrance and leaned onto one of the bedposts. This was unbelievable! “I’m afraid, Terrance, that your wedding maybe going on after all.”

“Huh?”

“Terrance, listen to me carefully. To be engaged with Rachel, not only would be marrying her but you’d also be marrying her mistress as well.”

“What are you saying?”

“When one man is given this crown, it immediately arranges a proposal for both sunlight and moonlight. You, Terrance, are given this to be the new Sun spirit. Rachel, however, is the Moon. If we were to join you both together, then both Sun and Moon will be-”

“Husband and wife!” Terrance finished.

“Indeed.” said the sorcerer.

“Is there a time limit before getting married in this case?”

“I am not sure. Does Rachel know of this?”

“I don’t know.” Terrance shrugged, “My guess is that was what she and her mistress were talking about last night. If not, then God should know. Why, have you suddenly told her that?”

“No, but I don’t think we will have a problem mentioning it to her.”

“Why?”

The sorcerer found a sheet of paper that was on the bed…a letter. And even from a short distance he can smell the scented perfume the paper was coated with: dendrobium orchids. Yen Sid read the letter quietly first and then handed it to Terrance. Terrance read it thoroughly with anxiety. Love, it bites a man so deep.

“To reiterate, you haven’t seen Rachel on your way up here, have you?” Terrance asked.

“No, I have not.” said Yen Sid.

“Damn.”