"The last golden ticket! It's mine!" Charlie shouted as he came to a stop by the bed the grandparents were always in. Charlie slowly handed the ticket to Grandpa Joe and Rhia watched as his eyes focussed upon the ticket. "Yippee!" He gurgled and leaped out of bed, something he had not done in years, and began to do a little jig. When he stopped, Grandpa Joe thrust the ticket towards Charlie's parents and he waved it a little. "Here, read it aloud!" Mr Bucket took it and gazed at the ticket in amazement, the wood and cabbage in his and his wife's arms long forgotten. "Let's hear what it says!"
"Greetings to you, the lucky finder of this golden ticket, from Mr Willy Wonka! I shake you warmly by the hand for now I do invite you to come to the factory and be my guest for one whole day." Rhia's mouth went dry at this news. Charlie gets to meet Mr Wonka himself and see the factory! Oh, I'm so happy for him! Charlie was grinning from ear to ear and Rhia winked at him.
"First of February… But that's tomorrow!" Mrs Bucket informed them. Rhia smiled again. In her opinion, Grandpa Joe deserved it completely. After all, he had met Mr Wonka before and he would love to see him again. Grandpa Joe turned quickly and confronted Charlie. "Then there's not a moment to lose, Charlie! Wash your face, comb your hair, scrub your hands, brush your teeth, blow your nose!"
"And get that mud off your pants!" Grandpa George butted in, pointing at the overwhelmed boy. Mrs Bucket managed to collect some order. "Now we must all try and keep very calm. First thing that we have to decide is this: Who is going, with Charlie, to the factory?" Rhia was about to stand to say that Grandpa Joe should but instead, Grandpa Joe pointed at her.
"Charlie's aunt Rhia will!" He said quickly. She frowned.
"What? No, Grandpa Joe, it should be you! You've already met the man! I'm sure you'd like to see how different the factory is now." She reasoned. Grandpa Joe shrugged.
"I'm getting old now, Rhia. I'm not going to live for much longer. Besides, we all know how much you love Willy Wonka's chocolates!" She grinned sheepishly.
"Fine, but only if no one else objects!" No one said anything so it was decided. Aunt Rhia would take Charlie to the factory. But Charlie had other ideas…
"No." Everyone spun around to look at the youngest Bucket. "We're not going." His voice was soft, as though he was reluctant, but he held his ground.
"But… Charlie…" Rhia said quietly. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and he didn't want to go? "A woman offered me five-hundred dollars for the ticket. I bet someone else would pay more. We need the money more than we need the chocolate." He explained. Rhia frowned. Money? Who cares about money when there's a factory, pretty much unexplored by the outside world? Grandpa George was thinking along the same lines. "Young man, come here." Charlie obliged and stood in front of him on the other side of the bed. Rhia prayed that Grandpa George could change his mind. "There's plenty of money out there. They print more every day. But this ticket, there's only five of them in the whole world, and that's all there's ever going to be. Only a dummy would give this up for something as common as money. Are you a dummy?" He was watching the child with a pointed look and an eyebrow rose.
"No, sir." Charlie said, already feeling the manipulation of the older man's words.
"Then get that mud off your pants. You've got a factory to go to." They all grinned. Though Grandpa George was a bit of a grouch, he was an inspiring man.
The snow was crisp under their feet as they stood outside the gates of the enormous factory. They were stood in a line, the public, photographers and police officers close behind them. Rhia immediately regretted not wearing a coat or jumper; her last one had many holes in it but it would have provided some warmth. She was wearing a simple white t-shirt with a swirling black and white pattern upon it. She also wore black trousers with simple black boots. As they waited, Rhia looked down the line. On the far left, a young boy and his father stood. The younger boy was Mike Teavee. The boy that Grandpa George had shamelessly insulted with profanity they made sure Charlie would not hear. His father was losing his hair, it was slicked down on the bald spot and his large glasses were easy to see though he was a little way away from the Buckets. Next to the Teavees, the arrogant Bauregardes had their hands in their pockets. Wearing matching jumpsuits and coats and having identical hair and facial expressions, you could tell Violet and her mother had the same personality; the same greed and contempt. Beside them was the Gloops. Augustus and his mother were the same size in appearance and they both had very rosy cheeks. On the other side of Rhia and Charlie, Mr Salt and his daughter stood proud. Veruca, a most unfortunate name, seemed to be very spoilt and she turned her nose up at Charlie. Rhia subtly narrowed her eyes at the young girl and looked at the father in sympathy. He didn't seem snobby at all; he seemed tired, weary even, of his daughter and her antics. She gave him a small smile and he nodded at her, accepting the comfort. Apart from the friendly gesture that Rhia and Mr Salt had made, the children, excluding Charlie who was too oblivious as he was watching the factory with glee, and their parents were eyeing each other with plotting and sinister glints in their eyes. The worst of the group seemed to be Veruca and Violet's mother. They were definitely competitive.
"Daddy, I want to go in." Veruca said in her small voice. Mr Salt sighed softly and checked his watch.
"It's 9:59, sweetheart." He said with a smile, hoping it would calm her. It didn't.
"Make time go faster." She demanded. Rhia frowned at the interaction.
"Do you think Mr Wonka will like us, Auntie?" Charlie asked hopefully. Rhia smiled softly at him. He only called her 'Auntie' if he was worried or nervous. Usually, it was 'Aunt Rhia' or even 'Rhia'. She ruffled his hair and put an arm around his shoulders. "He'll definitely like you, Charlie. I have no doubt about that." He smiled at the comfort and leaned into her, seeking warmth.
"Eyes on the prize, Violet. Eyes on the prize." Mrs Beauregarde said as her daughter chewed her gum viciously.
The gates began to open and very faintly, Rhia heard organs from within. All of the parents, or aunt in Rhia's case, smiled reassuringly at their children as glee and anticipation swelled within them. "Please enter." A loud voice sounded. Looking around, Rhia spotted the speakers on one side of the magnificent building. 8 of the 10 people ran in, too excited to care about how eager they looked. Charlie and Rhia walked in calmly, managing to keep their heads. Again, they stopped in the line. "Come forward." The line slowly walked forwards, unsure of where to stop. "Close the gates." The voice said and the gates slowly began to shut. When they were shut, the voice spoke again.
"Dear visitors. It is my great pleasure to welcome you to my humble factory. And who am I? Well…" The organs were becoming louder and Rhia felt the anticipation building within her every second. They all stopped at the foot of the steps and what appeared to be a solid wall with doors upon it opened by itself, revealing a large red curtain with gold embroidery at the bottom and two W's embellished on them. The curtains pulled back and Rhia held in a laugh.
There was what appeared to be a puppet show. It was cheesy and to make it even more hilarious, the puppets began to sing. "Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka, the amazing chocolatier. Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka, everybody give a cheer! Hooray! He's modest, clever and so smart, he barely can restrain it. With so much generosity, there is no way to contain it! To contain it! To contain, to contain, to contain! Hooray! Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka, he's the one that you're about to meet. Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka, he's the genius who just can't be beat. The magician and the chocolate whiz. The best darn guy who ever lived. Willy Wonka, here he is!" During the end of the song, a majestic chair had been rising out of the floor. Instead of the man they expected to see on it, they didn't see anything. The chair was empty. Fireworks went off and sparks flew. Unfortunately, the sparks caught fire and a few areas exploded. Rhia pulled Charlie to her a little bit to protect him from the spitting fire. They stood in silence as puppets melted and eyes dripped out of sockets. Rhia mushed her lips together to stop herself from smiling. What a greeting. Clapping could be heard to the right of the line and when Rhia looked over, a man in a suit, hat and goggles was giggling and clapping next to Mr Salt. This was Mr Wonka.
"Wasn't that just magnificent? I was worried it was getting a little dodgy in the middle part, but then that finale… Wow!" He exclaimed. His voice was pleasing to the ear and slightly dreamy and Rhia gulped when he walked up the steps to see them all face to face. He had a cane that was filled with Hundreds-And-Thousands sprinkles and a swirling black and white ball at the top, much like the pattern upon Rhia's top. His outfit was a large black coat and what appeared to be a mauve suit underneath, though Rhia could not be sure. His hat was made out of a hard material but the band seemed to be velvet as well, and had even been created to look like a bar of chocolate. "Who are you?" Violet asked with a little sneer upon her face.
"He's Willy Wonka." Rhia said with a look of respect upon her face. He was pale, deathly pale. Perhaps even a slightly silvery skin tone. It was obvious he had not seen sunlight for a long time. His auburn hair hung down to his mouth and his large purple sunglasses obscured his eyes from them. He stood tall, his hat accentuating his height, and Rhia noticed how white his teeth looked and how pink his lips looked compared to his skin. Rhia managed to hide the blush when she realized she was watching his lips. "Really?" Charlie muttered, fascination apparent upon his face. Aww, bless. Charlie's idol is standing right before him. The tall man looked down at them all and he seemed reluctant to speak. Or perhaps he didn't know what to say. His mouth twitched every time he made to speak but he stopped before he could make a sound. The rest of the group was watching him with confusion and what looked to be shock. Only Rhia and Charlie were smiling up at him, encouraging him.
"Good morning starshine! The earth says hello!" Everyone was definitely confused. Charlie and Rhia exchanged confused but amused glances. Rhia softly chuckled at his awkward position. He hadn't spoken to people, perhaps anyone, in a long time. Of course he wouldn't be very sane. Mr Wonka seemed to regret that and began to take out some cards. Rhia's smile grew larger when she realized that he was prepared in case he blundered. "Dear guests, greetings. Welcome to the factory. I shake you warmly by the hand." He stuck out his hand and grinned at us all. Rhia stepped forwards and shook it and then stood by Charlie again. All the adults and some of the children watched her in surprise as she did this. Mr Wonka's smile intensified and he looked to see if anyone else would shake his hand. When no one did, he pulled his hand back and he tensed it a little, rubbing the purple glove enough to make a noise. "My name is Willy Wonka." Rhia's smile never left her face as he managed to gain some confidence.
"Then shouldn't you be up there?" Veruca said, pointing at the chair upon the melted stage. Mr Wonka looked at her and seemed a little confused with her question. "Well, I couldn't very well watch the show from up there, now, could I, little girl?" He replied. Rhia decided to speak up for Grandpa Joe.
"Mr Wonka," He looked at her and his mouth opened a little though he didn't say anything (only Mr Wonka knew that he was in shock), "I don't know if you'll remember but Charlie's Grandpa Joe used to work for you." He stood still for a moment more and then replied.
"Was he one of those despicable spies who every day tried to steal my life's work and sell it to those parasitic copy-cat, candy making cads?" He obviously didn't appreciate that.
"No, sir. Grandpa Joe would never do a thing like that." She replied in earnest. He grinned at her.
"Then wonderful. I hope he's doing well. Let's get a move on kids." He turned around and continued into the stage. The contestants and their guardians followed him quickly. Rhia had to pull Charlie away quickly from a melting puppet. It spat at them and hit Rhia's cheek. She grimaced but ignored it. It would sting later and would probably leave a little burn. "Be careful Charlie. I don't want you to get hurt in here." She scolded gently and led him further in. The fat boy, Augustus, spoke up. "Don't you want to know our names?" His mouth filled with chocolate still.
"Can't imagine how it would matter." Mr Wonka responded without emotion, "Come quickly! There's far too much to see." They disappeared into the factory, the wall/door sliding shut behind them.
Yeah, I know. You hate me. I haven't updated in ages and when I do, it's revealing a new story. I'm a monster. But hey, I couldn't help it! This was just too good to miss! And this won't be one of those fics where something happens at the end of the plot or during it where the OC suddenly hates Willy or Willy does something wrong. It's going to be a simple fluffy story and I hope you enjoy it. Cheers folks. Adios.
Luna
