Disneyesque
By
Cold Nostalgia
Disclaimer: Don't own them. Don't Sue.
Summary: A fairy tale from the mind of a seven-year-old girl.
Author Notes: References to Case Study by Paul Dini if you squint hard enough.
***
When she was younger she used to believe in fairy tales….
When she was a little girl, and had so little understanding of the world beyond the bright garden where she spent much of her childhood, it seemed unthinkable to her under the gentle warmth of the sun and as busy bees buzzed by and around her head that such magic could not exist in the world.
And as a result of this, she spent many happy days in her magical kingdom, talking to the fairies that lived within the flowers; she told them of her hopes, her dreams for the future. And they listened. They listened in a way that no one ever had and no one ever would again.
She told them of a powerful wizard. An evil wizard who would soon arrive in the kingdom, bringing with him untold darkness, despair, and death upon the land for many years to come. All would fear him and tremble at the mere mention of his name. None would challenge his reign of terror - not the king or the bravest of his knights.
Years would pass, and the wizard's supremacy would remain uncontested. Until one day, a fearless young knight from a far away land with thick dark hair, dark eyes, and a voice as deep as the oceans, would arrive in the kingdom. With solemn eyes he would gaze upon the widows, the orphans, the devastated crops of the land and he would know instantly what must be done.
With steely determination he would ride out beyond the Forbidden Forrest towards the Castle of Doom where the evil wizard lived, intent on ending the dark lord's reign forever. They would battle ferociously, skilfully…but the wizard had age on his side, he was too wily, too wise, and much too powerful for the young knight to overcome, and he, like so many others before him would fall before the wizard's feet.
But the wizard, furious that someone had dared to oppose him, would not kill the knight, for there were some fates far worse than death, and so, the wizard in all of his anger and all of his rage, would place a terrible curse upon the knight: transforming him into a monstrous creature of the swamp; whose only purpose in life was serve at his wicked master's feet and carry out his malevolent will. A terrifying warning to all those would dare to try and oppose him again.
And time would pass…
And one day, she, a woman now, would stumble across the creature during one her walks near the Forbidden Forrest. While startled at the creature's appearance she would not run away in fear, or laugh, or mock, or jeer, like so many others before her that had claimed to have seen the servant. Because after one look into the creature's eyes, she, and she alone, would instantly know that without the wizard's direction, he was harmless and plagued by loneliness - just like her.
And every day after their first meeting, she would find herself returning to the same spot and more often than not, would find him there, and they would talk of many things like: philosophy, music, and art. As time passed he would slowly reveal to her his gentle and kind nature that had remained intact despite the curse, and despite all the acts of horrific cruelty he had witnessed and been part of. And he would listen to her. He would listen to her as she spoke of her fears, her hopes, and her dreams for the future as attentively as the fairies that lived in the flowers did, and he would understand her completely. Just as she understood him.
But it wouldn't be enough.
Their great friendship and the blossoming love they shared wouldn't be enough to ensure that they would always remain together. Her poor knight would not return to her village with her no matter how many number of times she begged him to.
The curse placed on him so long ago was too strong and too powerful for him to overcome on his own and invisible chains to his malicious master's side would forever bind him. With no little sorrow, she would have no choice but to accept this state of affairs, after all, seeing her love for a few hours a day was better than not seeing him at all. And so their routine would continue.
But then, one day the evil wizard would go too far and for no other reason other than for the sake of his own amusement would destroy a whole a village. Hundreds of people would die horribly, painfully in the attack. The scorched earth would never produce another rose or blade of grass or crop ever again. And the king who was responsible for the well being of the kingdom's citizens would do nothing to avenge their deaths, nor would his so-called brave knights, who had sworn an oath to protect them.
And she, she who was so very tired of living in fear, and tired of the endless, wanton destruction all around her, and most importantly, tired of living without her love, would grab her late father's crossbow and march toward the evil wizard's castle. She would overcome obstacles within the Forbidden Forrest and using her wits and her intelligence would defeat the many guards and traps within the castle.
Only after many hours of determined searching would she reach the wizard's throne room and it would be only then, and only then that she would falter. The sight of her love standing next to the cackling demon's throne; his usual placid features twisted into a wild demonic glee would make her forget to breathe, and the wizard's eyes would glow red and he would rise from his throne, chuckling merrily, casually disarming her with a wave of his hand. He would laugh at her foolishness; her weakness; mocking her pathetic attempt to end his rule.
And as he slowly approached her, one hand raised to send her into oblivion; her brave knight, because he loved her so very, very much, with all of the effort needed to move a mountain and with every ounce of strength he had; would rage against the curse that had left him a prisoner in his own body, his own mind for so many years, and then with an animalistic cry, would leap at the wizard and began pounding his mutilated fists against at the wizard's skeletal frame.
And she, with a heart full of hope would reclaim her wits, and grabbing a sword, which decorated the throne room walls, would then run to her true love's side and drive the weapon into the stomach of the dark wizard who had caused so much pain to so many people.
And moments after the mad man's death, her white knight would be engulfed in a pure, brilliant light and restored to the man he once was. It was then that he would turn to her smiling a beautiful smile, telling her that he loved her and that wanted to marry her.
And she would say yes…
And then they would live happily ever after….
Of course, Poison Ivy was no longer seven years old, she no longer believed in fairy tales.
The sheer passage of time had done that, and a monster wearing a mask of a kindly old professor had cured her of any remaining silly notions she may have clung to over the age of twelve.
Ivy closed her tired eyes, slowly reached up from under the covers, and once more ran her fingers along the small cut on her temple caused by a bullet from Joker's gun. All the while, trying to ignore the rapidly cooling, empty space beside her and banish the image of the Botanical Gardens in flames from her mind.
There were no happy endings. No radiant white knights and love couldn't break an evil spell…but there were moments of happiness and curses might not break, but they could be nudged... if only for a short time.
And for Poison Ivy it would just have to do.