Winter
~0~
Winter had come too soon.
Hours turned to days. Days turned to weeks. Weeks blended into the never-ending white. White, which stood up and around and around and around until color was almost forgotten. White, which crawled its way down to the bone, which bared and exposed all the underlying ignorance, all the unattainable skills for survival.
Winter had come too soon.
Winter was impossible to escape now. It had descended unforgivingly onto the land, harsher, almost to highlight its displeasure with recent events. Yet, adding to it.
Thumbelina couldn't recall a winter as harsh as this. Of course, it could very well be due to her being in the gist of it. Never had she been outside during the winter season. Always snug and cozy in her little blankets, sitting on her mother's shoulder or nose, Thumbelina had never had any desire to wonder out into the yard to have the chilling wind knock her off her feet. Yet, here she was, unwillingly crawling through the frozen Earth, lost and bewildered, hoping to spot a familiar face – a kind one – yet not wishing them to suffer the same misery bestowed upon her.
Winter had come too soon.
Thumbelina no longer had control over her body. How could she, when the cold has taken refuge in her skin and left her turned inside out, exposed to the elements? It shivered against her will, protesting over her environment.
She wondered how she was going to make it out.
Oh, how she wished Cornelius would miraculously fly by, calling for her, to embrace her and warm her and take her back home to her mother. It had been weeks since she had last seen him. Her only comfort now was she that she had not lost the ring he had bestowed upon her their last night together.
She rubbed her cheek on it to feel a sense of closeness with her beloved, but ended up flinching at the piercing cold of the gold.
She missed his warmth.
~0~
He couldn't blame his father. He couldn't blame his mother either. He had been asking a lot when he implored them to hold off the winter frost for as long as possible. And while they had been able to hold it off for a day, he knew fairies were born to aid Mother Earth, not compete with her. No, he couldn't blame them. But he could blame himself.
Sure, he wasn't the one to take his beloved from her home, nor was he the one to strand Thumbelina in this never-ending sea of frozen water, but he was the one to expose her to the occupants of the forest, to the ones who would forcibly whisk her away from all she had known. He knew that as the crown prince he shouldn't have been so frivolous and carefree in where he took his Thumbelina. After all, anyway who was discontent with the current fairy rulers would find any method to get back at the royals, and keeping the little human girl the prince had fallen for hostage was a good opportunity for them to do so, even if she wasn't the prince's fiancé as of yet, unlike what the rumors claim.
Oh yes, he knew the rumors all too well. He cringed upon first learning of them. Not because it was partly untrue – he wished it was all true already! – but that he had wanted his proposal to be a surprise for Thumbelina. He hoped she hadn't heard them yet.
He smirked to himself at the irony of his thoughts. Just a month – no, a week – before meeting Thumbelina he had scoffed at the idea of settling down with a future Queen when his parents suggested the idea. But look at him now, worrying over whether his princess had heard some flimsy rumors.
There were more important issues to worry about.
Like this blasted winter that had come too soon.
"Thumbelina! Thumbelina, can you hear me?" He called, desperate to find her before the frost threatened to freeze him into an icicle. "Thumbelina!"
He grunted went a particularly strong gust of wind threatened to blow them off course. Out of reflex, he tightened his hands around Buzzby's antennae, which had the bumble buzzing in protest. Cornelius loosened his hold. "I'm sorry, Buzz." He had to lean forward to the bumble's head so his voice wasn't lost to the wind. Not that it mattered as the wind shifted direction again and threw back in the direction they were originally going in. Cornelius and Buzzby took advantage of this for the few minutes it was in their favor, before it shifted again. Cornelius grit his teeth and called out "Don't worry, Buzz. We're going to make it!" encouragingly to the bumble, although a grand measure of doubt failed to ease its grip on the fairy prince's mind.
His worry wasn't unwarranted as they accidently flew through an obstacle in their path and he made the mistake of looking back to see what it is instead of where they were going. Without his passenger helping him steer, Buzzby soon lost control of his flight and both he and his cargo plummeted into the frozen land below. Buzzby was lucky enough to get stuck in a bank of snow, but Cornelius wasn't having the best day it seemed as a snowball hit his back and he plummeted into the icy waters of a pond.
It was a good thing fairies didn't always rely on flight as he oriented himself and started swimming for the surface.
It was a difficult task. The water was frozen over yet but it certainly wasn't completely fluid either. It was thick and dense, and he could feel heavy resistance against his limbs. His wings were stiff, his eyeballs burned from the water, his hair felt heavy on his head. He also felt like a thousand knives were pricking at his skin, it was so cold. His hearing was dull, his clothes were an uncomfortable wrapping, and his sword proved to be an annoying asset at this moment. He could feel the pressure of the water settling in to his bones. It swirled around his neck like a ring of death. His limbs didn't stroke as much anymore. The water wasn't as fluid anymore. The prickling knives ceased to poke but instead just held themselves there. His movement slowed more and more. It felt like eternity before his finger breeched the surface, followed by his wrist, his arm, head, shoulder, torso, leg, his other leg as the water grew denser and denser until it was a solid wall encasing his left foot, unwilling to let go of its first winter victim.
Cornelius grit his teeth at his uncomfortable predicament.
Buzzby, now having shaken off the snow preventing his flight, buzzed around the captured form of his master.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Cornelius growled in frustration, as he flung out his sword and began hacking at the ice around his foot. He barely made a dent with his first strike. He channeled fairy dust into the sword and tried again. A chip. He sighed sharply. It was going to be a while.
Two hours later and the fairy prince's arms felt like rubber. He had gotten most of the ice chipped away but his arms barely had the will to raise and strike again. The sole of his foot was still stuck in the ice. Right as Cornelius was going to cry out in anger, Buzzby – his ever faithful companion – nudged his head. The bumble lowered its head, indicating his antennae when the prince turned to look. It only took a second for the prince to understand what his friend was saying. Using all his might to fling his hands onto the antennae, the fairy prince grit his teeth as the bumble flapped his wings as fast as possible. He flapped his own in an effort to help, and it seemed as if their efforts paid off as Cornelius' foot popped out of the ice and he went stumbling onto the ice face first.
Cornelius groaned at the pain and sat up, clutching his nose. Eager to get his mistress back so they could return to the warmth of the Vale, Buzzby pushed against the prince's back, which flung him haphazardly onto the bumble. They took off once again.
After righting himself and rubbing his nose for a bit, Cornelius resumed his mission of calling for his lady. Having lost his helmet in the tumble from earlier, he had to shield his eyes using his arm.
He shivered.
"Thumbelina, where are you? Thumbelina!"
~0~
Even if it was an annoyance, it was a very good thing Cornelius got delayed at the frozen pond for not far away now was the very lady he has been looking for.
She thought she had found a site of haven when she found the little tree truck cavern. She saw a roof, a tree trunk on two sides, and some darkness signifying it was a long tavern. Unfortunately, it was a straight and true route, meaning the openings on either side created a steady and freezing draft that cut sharply into Thumbelina the moment she stepped close to it. She shuddered violently at the blast of cold air and whimpered. It wasn't what she thought it was but with no other route around, she grit her teeth and dashed through it.
She still couldn't figure out where she was, so she trekked on in a vain hope that she could spot her mother's house in the distance.
She didn't see the puddle fast enough.
Thumbelina gasped as the half-frozen water seeped into the folds of her dress and embraced her skin below. She coughed immediately after as the cold air harshly moved down her throat and chilled her insides. She dropped onto the snow next to the puddle and shivered violently. She would've cried had she been able to produce any tears. Thumbelina couldn't help but wonder if she would ever be able to find her way home.
"….na!"
Thumbelina didn't immediately react as the wind whistling through could have made the sound. But the sound came again a second later.
"….lina!"
Thumbelina looked around frantically. "Hello? Is anyone there?" She shouted before coughing.
"…belina!"
There was definitely someone there. "Hello?! Cornelius?! Is that you? Hello!"
"…you? Thumbelina!"
Thumbelina jumped up and started searching the sky. "I'm here! Cornelius? Anybody? I'm right here!" She started jumping around despite her feet getting soaked with the snow, before spotting an old shoe on a hill and deciding that a little elevation might help her. She continued shouting as she hiked to the shoe.
~0~
"….nelius!...ov…ere! Cor…lius!"
Cornelius' head shot up as the sweetest voice he ever heard cut through the unforgiving winter gust. "Thumbelina? Thumbelina, is that you?! Where are you?"
"O…here! Cornelius!" came the voice from his right. Cornelius didn't even have to prompt Buzzby over to the voice, before he was already coming upon his sweetheart. "Cornelius!" she cried out in relief, with a huge grin on her face.
Cornelius could almost cry in relief too. "Thumbelina, I found you! I'm never letting you out of my sight again!" He proclaimed, shooting off of Buzzby in order to twirl around his love. Thumbelina laughed cheerfully, before Cornelius' mouth covered her lips. Thumbelina was surprised but eagerly reciprocated and pulled him close. She shuddered at the feel of his warm chest pressed against her own, creating a sharp contrast against the biting cold against her back.
Cornelius' felt the shudder too, and the cold-water enveloping Thumbelina's form, so pulled back. "We need to get you out of here." Thumbelina nodded as Cornelius picked her up and settled her on Buzzby, her back to his front, and sighed contently. Feeling safe, her eyes started drooping. She blinked fiercely trying to remain awake now that she had Cornelius to keep her company but she lost the battle soon after.
When he spotted his beloved and had her in his arms, tension had left the fairy princes body. He had his girl, she was safe, and they both could finally escape the winter frost. However, a new tension was stiffening his body as he just started noticing just how gray the world looked now. Gray and white blended together to make a disorienting combo that would throw any weary traveler off. There was nothing to see for miles around. The only thing Cornelius could see nearby were the trees and the banks of snow littering the ground. "We have to find shelter, Buzzby! We're going to have to wait for morning!"
Buzzby buzzed in agreement and they booked it out of there, searching for any kind of shelter. It was difficult though. Not only was every crevice covered with snow or frozen over, but the very air they breathed continued to pelt them with snowballs which they had to dodge frantically. Feeling Thumbelina slipping out of his arms, Cornelius looked down and cursed at seeing her unconscious form. "Wake up, Thumbelina!" She was too cold for his liking. "Don't do this to me, Thumbelina!" He shook her a little, "Thumbelina!" No response. Cornelius grit his teeth and tried to keep his mind focused on getting out of the blizzard.
He gasped and dodged a low hanging branch. He didn't make the mistake of looking back this time. He tightened his grip on his sweetheart and began searching frantically for shelter. He tried and almost failed at keeping his mind sharp and positive until salvation arrived. Spotting a pile of rocks, Cornelius guided his bumble close to it and – while not the best shelter – deemed it suitably enough for their purposes.
He was quick to make his unconscious future bride comfortable in the meager dwelling. Feeling her face, he crinkled his eyebrows in worry at feeling no warmth seeping from her skin. Looking around he spotted some twigs on the ground and hastily went to work collecting all the twigs and piling them close to Thumbelina. Grabbing a pebble and pulling out his sword, Cornelius sent a mental thanks to his father for making him learn how to make a fire as he tried to ignite a flame on the makeshift fire pit. It took a few tries but Cornelius sighed in relief when the first signs of smoke began wafting to his face. He held his breath when the flame wavered for a moment before it got stronger. He was quick to return to Thumbelina.
"Oh Thumbelina…" Cornelius sighed when he moved to shift her closer to the fire and felt her trembling form. He frantically rubbed at her arms and hugged her form. "Please, please warm up Thumbelina. You need to wake up for me, please." He muttered to her.
A few minutes later, she was still trembling. She also started perspiring.
"Oh dear. Oh no, oh no." What should I do? How do I warm her – oh. Glancing down at her wet clothes, Cornelius blushed. He glanced at Buzzby almost looking for guidance but saw the bumblebee looking away, already snoozing. Shaking his head a little, Cornelius bit his lip and threw caution to the wind. Come on, boy. Thumbelina's life is in danger!
Still, keeping a sense of propriety, Cornelius made sure to keep his eyes only on his fingers as they unbuttoned the back of Thumbelina's dress and most definitely not on Thumbelina's smooth milky bare ba-Focus!
Cornelius grimaced as he pulled her dress away as quickly as possible, making sure to look at the rock wall, before turning around and laying her dress to dry next to the fire. He stood up on his knees and took off his top. It was made of various fabrics and patting the inside proved that it was not completely soaked through. He turned and spread the jacket across her back like a blanket before lying down next to her. He gathered her up and swallowed at feeling skin to skin contact. Oh dear, she's not wearing any-Leave it for the wedding!
Cornelius dropped his head onto Thumbelina's shoulder and sighed deeply. Now was not the time for him to be thinking of Thumbelina's state of undress. She was definitely showing signs of fever now.
He hoped his above normal-for-humans body temperature could help warm her up until morning.
Cornelius wouldn't get any sleep that night. Not just because he had to keep watch over Thumbelina, who was suffering the effects of being out in the snow with only a flimsy dress made for autumn – which was a big part of the reason – but because Thumbelina's little puffs of air were tickling his neck and running down his chest in a very pleasant way and there was no way he was going to be able to go to sleep with that sensation distracting him.
Cornelius sighed and prayed for morning.
~0~
Surprisingly, Cornelius' eyes opened when he felt sunshine upon his face. He had fallen asleep at some point that night. It seems the cold was affecting him too.
He shifted a little to relieve some ache in his body and smiled when he heard Thumbelina mumble into his neck. The smile turned into a frown when he looked down and saw her flushed face. Placing his hand on her forehead, Cornelius grimaced at how hot her skin was now.
"Buzzby," Cornelius hissed, looking toward his loyal companion.
No response.
"Buzzby, wake up. It's morning we need to go to Thumbelina's mother."
Slight stirring from the bumblebee.
"Buzzby!" Cornelius screamed in a whisper, finally getting the attention of his friend, though he had to rub Thumbelina's back when she mumbled and shifted slightly. "Come on, we have to go."
Buzzby buzzed.
"I promise we're going someplace warmer. Trust me."
Buzzby flailed his antennae in acquiesce.
"Ok, good." Cornelius smiled, pulling back to sit up, forgetting momentarily how he had to undress Thumbelina and receiving an eyeful accidently. He looked away sharply, blushing slightly, and adjusted his top over her body. Picking up her dress, he was grateful at seeing it dry – if not a little wrinkled and torn up – as he had no other clothes to give Thumbelina at the moment. He imagined Thumbelina's mother wouldn't be too happy if some boy she didn't know showed up with her unconscious and barely clothed daughter.
Redressing her again proved to be another battle with his eyes as the morning light revealed a few more contours of her body that he couldn't see the night before. As it was, he got a bit distracted when his fingers accidently grazed her back and he unconsciously caressed the skin for a few seconds more, his eyes fixed on that one spot, until a buzz brought his mind back to order. He was quick to finish after that.
Pulling his own top on, Cornelius hastily covered the fire pit with some dirt using his foot before bending down and picking up Thumbelina delicately. Hoping not to jostle her out of sleep, Cornelius chose to fly with her onto Buzzby and made sure she was comfortably positioned before signaling Buzzby to take off.
Once outside and slightly high in the sky, Cornelius sighed in relief at seeing that that day was much calmer and clearer than the previous. In fact, as Buzzby flew higher Cornelius let out a "Yes!" at spotting Thumbelina's house not too far off. He laughed in glee. At least the winter frost wasn't entirely against them if it drove them this close to her home.
~0~
In the same dwelling currently being stalked by a fairy prince and a bumblebee, one could hear the occasional clanging of pots and cutlery coming from the kitchen. If one paid closer attention, one could also hear the occasional sniffles coming from the person doing the cooking and an answering whimper from the old guard dog resting by the doorway. One could also not help but notice the oppressive silence coming from all around the property.
The silence was loud to Thumbelina's mother's ears. It had been months since her house had been missing the sounds of conversations and childish mutterings. Thumbelina had brought a light to the property when she left her little flower that day. There wasn't one morning that passed where Thumbelina couldn't be found asking her mother all about her days from before her existence or about the recipes being used for breakfast or even just slight humming as both ladies harmonized to a nice bedtime hymn.
The missing status of the little flower girl had hit everyone at the house hard. Hero no longer ran around in excitement, for he was ashamed that he couldn't have helped poor little Thumbelina when that disgusting toad woman took her. The farm animals no longer sang or did much of anything but drink, eat, and sleep. Mother went about her chores with half her mind far away with her daughter. The first thought she had upon waking was about the whereabouts of her daughter and the last thought of the day was whether her daughter was safe and warm.
She had no way of knowing that her daughter was approaching fast in the arms of a fairy boy until said fairy boy, upon his transported, quite literally crashed into the window of her daughter's room.
She almost jumped out of her skin when she heard the bang before literally running up the stairs with Hero yapping at her heel.
Quickly opening her daughter's bedroom door, Thumbelina's mother looked around franticly to see what had made the noise until Hero directed her attention to the window with his barking. "Oh my goodness!" She breathed out when she noticed the fairy rubbing at the head of the bumblebee he sat upon. It seems that the force of their crash was enough to slam the window closed, which was the source of the noise.
Seeing something blue moving in the fairy's arms, Thumbelina's mother looked closer before crying out and hurrying to let them in. "Thumbelina! Sweetheart!" The fairy prince and bumblebee were quick to look up at her.
When she swung the window open, the fairy boy wasted no time in flying over to the crib to let go of his precious cargo.
"How is she? Is she okay?" Thumbelina's mother asked, not really caring exactly who it was that brought Thumbelina home.
"She has a fever, Mrs… Madam. She was freezing last night. I tried my best to warm her up until the weather cleared." Cornelius said, brushing away some hair off Thumbelina's forehead. "I fear she has a fever."
"Oh dear. I'll be right back. Stay here, Hero."
Cornelius didn't look up as he continued to caress Thumbelina's face. He barely even looked up when Hero placed his two front legs on the crib to get a better look at his younger mistress.
A few minutes later, Thumbelina's mother came back in carrying a small wash cloth and a cup of water.
"She needs to be washed down," she commented, setting the materials on the table.
Cornelius looked up at that. "I'll do it."
Thumbelina's mother turned to him sharply. "What? I'll be doing the washing."
"It will be easier for me to do it."
"That's improper! How do you even know my daughter?"
Cornelius smiled and looked back to Thumbelina. "I hope to marry her."
"Oh!" Thumbelina's mother was surprised. "What is your name?"
"Cornelius."
"How long have you known my daughter?"
"I met Thumbelina on the windowsill the night she taken."
Thumbelina's mother's eyebrows rose. "You wouldn't happen to know about that, would you?"
Cornelius frowned. "All I know is what I heard from Hero, that a toad had taken her from here. I looked for her for days and only found her on accident." Cornelius shook his head and grit his teeth. "I heard she was being chased by one. If I ever find that toad I'm gonna-"
Rough coughing interrupted his voiced threat and both their attentions diverted to the sickly girl.
"She still needs to be washed down and she has to change that dress. It's not suitable for this weather." She looked at Cornelius, who gazed back at her frowning. "Son, you can't be in here for that."
Cornelius shook his head. "I'm not leaving her. The last time I did she got kidnapped." But meeting her halfway he flew to the window and sat with his back to the females. "I won't look," he promised.
Thumbelina's mother sighed but went to work.
A few seconds after the sound of dripping water stopped and the sound of clothes rustling started, a slight groan could be heard, followed by "Mother?", causing Cornelius to stiffen and forcibly stop himself from turning around.
"Shhh, Thumbelina. Shhh. You're safe at home." Thumbelina's mother told her, smiling in relief.
"Oh." Thumbelina muttered, her eyes fluttering as her head turned side to side. "Cornelius?"
"I'm here, Thumbelina. Go back to sleep." Cornelius piped up.
Not fighting his advice, Thumbelina fell back to a fitful sleep.
Two days later, Cornelius woke up to the wonderful discovery that Thumbelina's fever broke sometime in the night and her face was smoothed out with peace. He smiled at her and kissed her forehead affectionately, choosing to stay lying next to her a few minutes more before he went down to join Thumbelina's mother.
He found her preparing the recipes for a loaf of bread down in the kitchen.
He took a seat lotus style on a table away from her and just watched for a few moments, before calling out a greeting.
"Good morning, madam!"
Thumbelina's mother smiled at him. "Good morning, Cornelius. How is Thumbelina doing?"
Grabbing hold of his ankles, Cornelius rocked a little. "She's better. Sleeping. Her fever broke sometime last night, so I hope she's up and about tonight."
"That's wonderful. I've never seen my little girl so sick before. She gave me a fright." Thumbelina's mother sighed sadly.
Watching her for a moment, Cornelius frowned thoughtfully. "Madam-"
"Oh dear, you can call me Maman. You can get some practice for when you marry Thumbelina." Thumbelina's mother said cheekily.
Cornelius lightly blushed. "I haven't asked her yet," he muttered, looking down.
"Dearie, if she's as in love with you as you are of her, she'll say yes."
"Thank you, mada-Maman," Cornelius smiled shyly.
"What were you going to ask me, son?"
"Oh yes, well. I was wondering how a human as big as you had a human as small as Thumbeli-Wait! That didn't come out correctly. I mean, how did-"
Thumbelina's mother laughed lightly. "It's all right, son. I understand." Beginning to knead the dough, Thumbelina's mother continued, "I didn't give birth to Thumbelina if that's what you are wondering."
"You adopted her?"
"Not exactly." Giving the dough one last hit, Thumbelina's mother began folding the dough into shape. "You see, I had always dreamed of having children to tell stories to, to play with, to sing to. But I was never able to have children. When my husband passed, I had this whole farm to myself and no one to share it with. I longed to have a child to call my own so I paid a visit to a good witch I knew from my courting days and she gave me a barleycorn. She told me to plant it and when a flower bloomed, between the petals was my darling girl." She smiled.
Cornelius frowned thoughtfully again. "A barleycorn?" He could feel a little flutter in his memories about something to do with barleycorn but the memory was escaping him. He filed the information for later.
"So how exactly did you meet my daughter, Cornelius? You never elaborated."
Cornelius laughed. "Pure coincidence! I was on Buzzby, my bumble, trying to get away from my parents and I heard the most beautiful voice. I followed it and found Thumbelina dancing and singing on the windowsill. I went in, we talked, and then I took Thumbelina around the Val – meadow where we danced and sang." Going down memory lane the way he was, two and two got put together and he suddenly gasped and stood up. "The toad! We passed by a traveling toad show that night! Oh no!" He stomped his foot and hung his head. "This is my fault! They would have never known about Thumbelina if I never took her out that night!"
Thumbelina's mother shook her head. "You couldn't have known, dear. Now I don't know what Thumbelina went through out there in the cold but what matters is that you searched for her and found her. She's safe now in her bed and it's all because of you."
Cornelius shook his head. "She wouldn't have been out there in the first place if I hadn't taken her to the toads." He flopped down in shame.
"The way I see it, you didn't lead them to Thumbelina's window that night. No. Choosing to search for her and kidnap her was all on the toad." She smiled at him. "You can't control what other people do, Cornelius. You can only control what you do, and choosing to search for Thumbelina through this horrible winter is a big plus in my book. I'm positive Thumbelina won't blame you either."
Right as Cornelius' mouth opened to comment, Hero pounced down the steps barking excitedly. Cornelius flew up hurriedly as Thumbelina's mother straightened up. "What happened, Hero? Is it Thumbelina?"
Hero barked at him and wagged his tail.
"She's awake?" Cornelius exclaimed happily. "Thumbelina!" he cried out, flying to her room with Thumbelina's mother walking briskly behind him.
Upstairs, sitting up and looking around tiredly, sat Thumbelina, who was slightly disoriented as to what was going on. She clearly remembered being found by Cornelius out in the snow, and she vaguely got an impression of being taken somewhere on Buzzby, but she couldn't quite remember when they had gotten to her mother's house. Either way, she was happy finally being home. She grew even happier when Cornelius burst in through the door and barely held back from ramming into her with a hug.
"You're awake!" He cried out, before smacking lips with her. He pulled away and held her face in his hands. "Don't you ever do that to me again."
"Do what?" She asked, a little breathless.
"You've been asleep for two days, sweetie."
Turning to see her mother in the doorway, Thumbelina squealed and tried to stand up. Thumbelina's mother laid her hand down in front of her to lift her. "Mother! Mother, I've missed you," Thumbelina cried out, hugging her mother's thumb as she was brought up to her mother's eye line.
Thumbelina's mother's eyes crinkled at the corners as her smile grew. "Oh, Thumbelina. I've missed you too, baby girl. I'm glad you're ok now," she said lovingly. And having a burst of mischief, said: "We must thank Cornelius over there for bringing you back. He's been such a gentleman."
Cornelius flew onto her hand hearing his name and smiled at Thumbelina.
Remembering that her mother hadn't met her beau yet, Thumbelina hurried to explain. "Oh, Mother, I can explain…"
"No need, Thumbelina. Cornelius explained it all to me. I'm happy you both found each other. Although, I'm not happy with you leaving without telling me, Thumbelina. We'll have some words on that later."
"Mother-"
"Madam-"
Holding up a hand, she stopped their commentaries. "Nope. What's done is done. Besides, there are more important things to talk about now, like what exactly happened after you were kidnapped Thumbelina."
"You weren't hurt, were you?" Cornelius asked worriedly, grabbing hold of her hand.
Moving to get comfortable in the rocking chair, Thumbelina's mother set them down in the crib again.
"No, I wasn't hurt. I had lots of people helping me," Thumbelina assured him, smiling. "Uh-Where should I start?" she pondered to herself.
"We know a toad took you."
"Oh yes, those awful toads. Well, I woke up when I felt my bed close around me. I called for Hero and I heard him barking at someone but I lost consciousness after that. When I woke up, there was this toad woman telling me I could be famous if I joined their toad family. She had me perform with them that day and then she said I had to marry her son!"
"What?" Cornelius scowled.
"Oh my." Thumbelina's mother gasped.
"Yes, and then they just left me on a lily pad as they left to who knows where. And-and I didn't know how to swim so I started calling for help, when this nice bird heard me and-" Thumbelina gasped. "Jacquimo! Oh no, he's still out there looking for you, Cornelius!"
"Looking for me? Who's Jacquimo?"
"Jacquimo was helping me look for you. I knew you lived in the Vale of the Fairies but I didn't know where that was so he was asking around to see if anyone knew." Thumbelina dropped her head into her hands. "Oh no, he's stuck out there in the snow. I don't know where he is! What if something happened to him?!"
Cornelius hugged her. "Don't worry, Thumbelina. I'll send word through the Vale that I've found you. Look, if he hears that, he'll be sure to stop looking and find shelter. Ok?" Cornelius stroked her hair. "Don't cry."
Thumbelina sniffled as Cornelius wiped a tear away. "I suppose." She smiled at him and he smiled back.
Thumbelina's mother, forgotten for a moment, smiled at their little moment. Perhaps Thumbelina really had found herself a nice catch. The thought both gladdened her and saddened her, if only that her little girl was growing up and might be leaving soon.
Unwilling to dwell on that thought, she gently nudged for the rest of the story. "I'm sure he will be all right, Thumbelina darling. Now, what did he do when he found you?"
"Oh yes, well, Jacquimo heard me calling for help and he went under the lily pad and cut it by the stem. But the current was too strong and we couldn't stop the lily pad from going over the waterfall-"
Thumbelina's mother brought a hand up to her chest in slight fright. "Goodness!"
"-so we ended up calling for help again and two fishes and the Jitterbugs came over to help. They got me onto the shore and they encouraged me to look for my home or you, Cornelius. I went off with Gnatty, Lil' Bee, and Baby Bug but we got stopped by a beetle before the end of the day. I asked if he could take me up a tree because maybe I could see my house up there, but he would only take me up if I sang with him during his show." Wriggling her hands together, she muttered, "I never got to sing. He made a show about me being ugly."
Cornelius and Thumbelina's mother frowned, well scowled in the former's case. "Ugly? Thumbelina, you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen! How could anyone ever think you are ugly?"
Thumbelina smiled shyly. "Thank you. That's what Jacquimo said." She spent the next few minutes wrapping up the story of her kidnapping up until where Cornelius found her shivering in the cold.
"Well, that was quite the story there, sweetheart. I'm so glad you're safe and sound now…."
~0~
It was several days before Thumbelina felt energetic enough to get out of bed and out of her room, and all the while, Cornelius couldn't help but think about how much he wanted to pound the stupid toad and beetle for ever thinking of making a fool of his wonderful Thumbelina. How dare they try to force her to marry them or call her ugly?! Again, Cornelius couldn't help but wish he had come across one of the two so he could teach them a lesson or two on how to treat a lady.
At least, Thumbelina had no idea that the toad had been searching for her, if what the Jitterbugs said was true. It was a good thing too, otherwise Thumbelina might not have been as happy and carefree as she currently was now that she was back in her house.
Presently, Thumbelina was humming a sweet song she had heard from a passerby several months before they had met, and insisting to twirl around to the beat, had taken Cornelius in hand to dance with to the romantic tune. And not having much else to do in a house that towered over him by a thousand times, Cornelius went along with her little pastime.
Wanting to be certain that Thumbelina really was as happy as she seemed, Cornelius smiled down at her sweetly and reminded her, "You're beautiful, Thumbelina." He continued to dance with her even as she slipped a little in surprise and ceased her humming.
She burrowed her head into his shoulder and whispered, "Thank you, Cornelius" before kissing his cheek. He turned his head and gave her a proper kiss as she pulled away.
"I'm lucky to have found you, Thumbelina." He dropped his head on her shoulder and hugged her to him. "You don't know how scared I got the longer it took me to find you."
"Well, you found me. You can relax now, my prince." Thumbelina smiled at him and ran her hand through his hair. She began to sway and hummed to a familiar tune. She felt him smile into her shoulder as he hummed a few notes before whispered words joined the song.
Let me be your wings
Let me be your only love
Let me take you far beyond the stars-
Cornelius twirled Thumbelina around before going back to swaying next to the fireplace.
Let me be your wings
Let me lift you high above
Everything we're dreaming of
Will soon be ours
Thumbelina giggled as Cornelius dipped her.
Anything that you desire
Anything at all…
Wrapping her arms around his neck, Thumbelina didn't let him have all the fun as she too began to sing her verse of the song softly to her love.
You will be my wings
You will be my only love
You will take me far beyond the stars…
Cornelius grinned down at her and sang the next line.
Let me be your wings
You will life me high above
They harmonized on the next line.
Everything we're dreaming of will soon be ours…
Cornelius twirled Thumbelina around his arm again before bringing her close to him, her face barely a breath from his, as they continued to harmonize.
Everything that we desire
Anything at all
Pressing her hand to his cheek, Thumbelina sang her line-
Everyday you'll take me higher…
-and Cornelius finished with-
…and I'll never let you fall
-before giving her a kiss. Thumbelina giggled at this sweet moment.
Suddenly, Cornelius lifted her up and Thumbelina quickly threw her arms around his neck as she gazed down at him confusedly. "Thumbelina, will you marry me?"
Though surprised at the question, Thumbelina grinned in happiness and whispered, "I will."
They shared a kiss.