Dark Chocolate

Written by: canangelscry

Author's note & Disclaimer: Don't own any Characters except for Eden and Allie. Please don't take them from me…'twould make me rather sad.

What happened last time in Dark Chocolate: We were introduced to Eden Hamilton, a seventeen year old England gal, and with her, we found the last remaining golden ticket. Then we entered Willy Wonka's mind, and how he viewed each contestant. We left off with Eden on the night before the grand tour of the chocolate factory…

Chapter 2: Weird Introductions

The ever-eager seven-year-old Eden was anxiously waiting in her bed for her Grampa Jay to come and tuck her in. The old grandfather clock just rang nine o'clock, and the girls' wide brown eyes searched for him in the low light of her fairy nightlight. After a few moments, he came walking up to her room, the floorboards of the old farmhouse creaking with every step. "Good Evening Eden. What story would you like to hear about tonight?" he asked, sitting in a nearby armchair.

"The thstory about Willy Wonka and histh chocolate factory!" the girl lisped, hugging her small brown teddy bear.

The older gentleman chuckled, and pulled his chair closer. "You hear it every time you come. Why not some other story?"

"Becausthe grampa, Willy Wonka isth a geniousth. And when I grow up, I want to be justh like him."

"All right princess. Now, where should I begin?"

"When you thstarted working there thsilly!"

A smile glimmered in the old man's eye as he began the tale that captured his young granddaughter's heart.

The magic all began twenty years ago, in a small corner shop on Fifth and Ray. Mr. Wonka had opened his first shop three months before I was hired. Of course, I was much younger in those days.

I remember, once, I actually got to meet him. We needed more chocolate bars, but we were out of chocolate birds! I was extremely nervous; seeing that I was about to meet Mr. Wonka! Do you know what he did?

"What Grampa? What did he do?" Eden asked, her eyes as wide as her ear-reaching smile. "OH! And what did he look like?"

As he stood behind a line of enormous lollipops, the man, dressed in a top hat and red velvet coat, stuck a candy egg in my mouth, and out hatched a baby chocolate bird!

"However, I didn't get a good look at his face…seeing that he was behind a lollipop."

Eden gasped at the impossible. "Really grampa? A chocolate bird wasth in your mouth?"

He smiled at the young girls surprise. "Really Eden. Now, let's continue, shall we?"

At her nod, the story began to unfold.

Five years went by, and Mr. Wonka did so well in the chocolate business that he opened his own factory. The largest one in the world! All the workers, including myself, were transferred. Everything was going smoothly, and he captured the hearts…and stomachs, of the many people around the globe. He even built a castle for a prince in the Middle East, made completely out of chocolate. Mr. Wonka advised him to eat it quickly, but the spoiled man didn't listen, and decided to live in it.

"Why didn't he listhen grampa?"

"I'm getting there Eden."

However, as Mr. Wonka predicted, the castle melted on a very, very hot day, and of course, the spoiled prince asked for another. But it seemed that fate had a turning point for Mr. Wonka. Some of my colleagues told me that they overheard some unidentified workers stealing secret recipes. Other companies were jealous of Wonka's increasing sales, and the plummeting sales of their own, and I could see their reasoning for this, but it was wrong…and I knew I couldn't live with myself if I remained silent. I immediately went to Mr. Wonka, and told him of the news. He was mortified.

In one summer, three candy companies made products that Mr. Wonka had planned to reveal that fall. But instead, he used the press conference to announce that he was closing down his factory…forever…

"But grampa…the factory is open now. Thsee?" she interrupted, pointing to the window, where the smoke from the factory was easily seen, billowing up from the pipes.

"Let me continue Princess." He said, patting her head gently.

One day, shortly after you had just turned two years old, the smoke that you see outside your window returned to the pipes. The candy was made and shipped out, but no one ever got his or her job back.

No one has ever been inside that factory for years. What I would give to just have one more time inside…just one more time…

The sky was overcast on this fine first day of February, as the five ticket holders and their parents, or best friend…in the case of Eden, were standing in front of the chocolate factory's gates. A large crowd that consisted mostly of reporters was trying to get just a glimpse of the secluded man. However, they were held back from the police force, and some people actually had to be removed from the premises for tumbling an officer over.

The four other children, Eden had learned, were all much younger than her, as well as shorter, making her feel slightly uncomfortable. Their parent's were eyeing each other with glares, and some were pointed at Eden and Allie. However, Allie was too busy glaring at the fat boy who was stuffing his face with a bar of Wonka's chocolate. The girl on the end was getting on Eden's nerves as she impatiently wanted to go inside, telling her father to 'Make time go faster.'

Ungrateful wench. The seventeen year old thought, as the gates began to open slowly. A smile crossed her mouth as the gates opened slowly, and a voice came over the speakers, encouraging them to enter. Eden sighed in relief; Allie wouldn't tackle the fat boy any time soon.

Enthusiastically, the children pushed their way forward, parents following closely behind. A smile was present on Eden's face as she and Allie walked through them, her dream at last coming true. The light snow from early morning crunched beneath their feet, as they neared the doors, and the gates closed behind them. Eden turned to look at them, an ominous feeling crossing her mind. However, that was banished when the voice returned. "Dear visitors, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to my humble factory. And who am I? Well…"

Eden smirked. Those lines had to have been rehearsed, if not written on a card! She turned to say something to Allie, but suddenly, the large black doors were opened, revealing red curtains and some contraption behind them began to…sing!

As the song progressed, telling the visitors about the famous Willy Wonka, and how he was an amazing Chocolatier, Eden leaned over to her friend. "This is so cool!"

As the red and golden throne began to ascend from the depths of the stage, the brunette teenager became completely thrilled. She was about to meet Mr. Willy Wonka…in person! She giggled, but suddenly stopped, when the chair was empty…

Where is he?

Suddenly, the pyrotechnics went off, and the stage caught on fire, causing each of the participants to have a similar look on their faces…confusion. Except for Eden and Allie, who had been dancing along to the tune. "Al…I don't think that was supposed to happen." She whispered.

Then, just as soon as the stage had caught on fire, and the song had ended disastrously, someone was clapping…

Everyone looked toward Mr. Salt and his daughter, and standing there beside them was a man, dressed in top hat, flowing coat and awesome purple glasses and gloves, cheering on the ending. "Wasn't that just magnificent? I was worried it was getting a little dodgy in the middle, but then that finale…WOW!"

The group of ten looked up at the man, who had climbed the stairs and took his place in front of the melting stage. Suddenly Allie bursted out loud: "You're Willy Wonka!"

Everyone, needless to say, was rather shocked by the boyish behavior of the amazing, world-renowned chocolatier. However, Eden looked up at him smiling. He was everything she ever dreamed and more. He was almost the spitting image of the sketch she did last night outside the gates. And now, she felt for him, standing up there, looking like a lost boy who didn't know exactly what to say.

"Good Morning starshine…The Earth says Hello!"

…And apparently she was right. Everyone was a little thrown off, but once again, Eden was intrigued. She smirked and looked to Allie, who also had a little smirk upon her reddening face.

Pulling out flash cards, the chocolatier started once more. "Dear guests, Greetings. Welcome to the factory. I shake you warmly by the hand."

The teen's smile grew as he extended, then retracted his purple latex gloved hand. She had yet to see his eyes, but he was simply adorable in that weird kind of way.

"My name is Willy Wonka." He finished, with a slight chuckle. He's nervous.

"Shouldn't you be up there?" the little brat pointed toward the throne sitting on the now melting stage.

"If he was up there, little girl, he wouldn't have seen the awesome show!" Eden exclaimed, leaning forward to see the brat.

"Exactly. Now, let's get a move on kids." He said with a warm smile directed toward the tallest girl.

Allie looked at her friend, raising an eyebrow at the comment. "What?" Eden asked, innocence playing upon her face.

Knowing what her friend was doing as she had seen it before. "You are despicable." She retorted, sticking out her tongue and skipping up the stairs in pursuit of chocolate.

Eden rolled her eyes and followed the group, who was now talking to Mr. Wonka about their names and how he thought it wouldn't matter much. But, oh, how he longed to know the tall girl's name. She was amazing! Dressed in jeans, pink and black checkerboard sneakers, a red hoodie and a jean jacket on top. But the one thing that amazed Willy Wonka the most…was her large…white…sunglasses. Why, they almost matched his own!

"Drop your coats anywhere." He said, throwing his own on the floor.

While the others simply placed theirs on the nearby railings, Eden followed the candy man's advice, and threw hers near his. "Wow. Mr. Wonka. You do like it warm in here." She said, unzipping her hoodie and tied it around her waist, revealing a black tank top.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah, my workers are from an exotic climate and just can't stand the cold." He said, his smile from earlier never failing as he turned to continue.

But Eden's mind was far ahead of everyone else. "Who are your workers?"

"All in good time."

They continued forward, and Eden watched from behind at Mr. Wonka as he walked, his hand resting dependently on his candy filled cane. She thought it was adorable. "He's everything I imagined and more." She whispered, more to herself than to Allie.

"Is Eden Hamilton falling for the candy man? The same girl who swore off men because of a bad relationship?"

"I didn't swear off men. Just the stupid ones." She rebutted.

Suddenly, Eden watched in horror as the blonde girl's arms encircled Mr. Wonka's waist. She glared, and watched the scene unfold, ending badly for Violet, who was confident in winning the competition. Driven little thing.

Then the brat stepped in, introducing herself with a curtsey. The chocolatier didn't miss a beat though, and responded with a smart alack comment about her name…Veruca…a type of wart people often get on the bottom of their feet.

Then the fat chocolate boy stepped up, taking a bite. "Mr. Wonka, I'm Agustus Gloop. I love your chocolate."

He seemed amused. "I see. So do I. I never thought we would have so much in common."

Allie and Eden giggled as the fat boy moved back and the candy man turned to face the rest. "You. Mike Teavee. You're the little devil that cracked the code." He said, addressing the nine-year-old smarty of the group.

Then he faced Eden, and time stopped. Amethyst eyes met chocolate, and both seemed to stop breathing. Then Mr. Wonka remembered where he was. "And you. Aren't you a little older than all the others?"

She smiled and moved forward a little bit. "I'm seventeen, and my name is Eden Hamilton. I brought my best friend Allie with me though, instead of my parents. I do hope that's not a problem Mr. Wonka."

He grinned his perfect smile, turning Eden's insides to mush. "Of course not. The rest of you then, must be their…p-…er…p-…"

"Parents." The older gentleman that was the father of the brat that Eden officially hated for her selfishness said.

"Yeah…Mum's and Dads…"

Suddenly, Eden noticed his expression darken, and she knew he was thinking of his own. What happened to Mr. Wonka to have that look when he thought of the people who raised him? Why did he have that far away look when he said Dads?

He chuckled nervously, and began to move forward. "Let's move along."

As Eden followed Mr. Wonka closely, she couldn't help but look hopelessly at his long, lean legs encased in black slacks…his broad shoulders covered in a red velvet jacket…and that awesome black top hat sitting upon his auburn locks. She smiled slightly and looked over at Allie, who had a huge grin on her face. She leaned over slightly, and began to whisper. "I saw you! What on God's Green Earth do you think you are doing?"

"I don't know. And I want to find out."

They stopped, and Eden realized that the door was merely a few inches at the bottom of her feet. "An important room, this is. After all…this is a chocolate factory."

"Then why is the door so small?" the young Mike Teavee asked, annoying Eden…as well as Mr. Wonka.

"I know that. It's to keep all the awesome chocolate flavor inside." She said, grinning at the boy.

When she looked back at Mr. Wonka, who had yet to open the door, she caught him smiling at her. He quickly bent and unlocked the door. Smiling, he stood, and gently pushed the tall walls open…

Yeah, I know I'm evil, and I did mean to spell grandpa that way. I do know how to spell it. G-r-a-n-d-p-a. But give me some reviews, and I'll be nice and update quickly. (grins and walks away to snuggle with Willy)