Sips Co. Fairytale
Chapter Three - Xephos and the Seven Dwarves
Part 3
By: MPNFF/CAM
In his little position, Xephos sobbed silently. Why did nothing go right in his life? Everything was all perfectly fine before she came along. And now she was out to kill him! How much more messed up could this be?
As the Prince sobbed, the same bluebird came along, perching itself on a nearby tree with the rest of it's family. Deer followed their pursuit, lying down next to the tree. Rabbits came out of their homes in the ground, looking at the person in confusion. Duplicates gathered, staring at the human in awe. The young bluebird flew down to the ground, so it was right in front of Xephos' face. He simply tweeted, resulting in Xephos flinching and crying out. Quickly, the animals scurried away, leaving Xephos feeling guilty.
"Wait," he sniffed, "don't go. Sorry about that. I'm fine now.. I think."
Slowly, the animals came back, and the bluebird comes back to him. He puts out his hand, and the bird climbs aboard. He stands, looking at all the animals.
"What are you guys doing here, huh? If you were wondering what was going on... It's nothing. I'm fine, everything is fine..." Xephos sighed, kicking lightly at the dirt. "Except it's not," he sighed. The animals all looked at him, as if they were listening attentively. Xephos looked down to the ground.
"My stepmother, the Queen. Well, she hates me... wants me gone, basically. That's why I'm here... I'm not going back. I don't think I can, anyways." The Prince huffed.
"Everything is just bloody wrong!" He yelled to the sky, making all the animals jump.
"Sorry, sorry," he apologized "But, seriously..." he sighed. He hated the mood he was in then, and only wished it would go away. But it was hard, because nothing ever really made him happy anymore. He wasn't sure what would make him happy, anyways...
"... What do you do when you're down?" Xephos muttered, making himself smirk at the thought of asking animals the question. Surprising the Prince, the little bird chirped, almost as if wanting to sing. Was that his answer? Singing?
"You sing?" Xephos asked. The little bird nodded, making Xephos shake his head, smiling slightly.
"Of course," he muttered. He lifted his hand up, letting the bird get back with it's family on the branch.
"Well, I suppose it's worth a try..." He took a breath in, and began singing. The birds would mimic him, reciting every note he put out. The littlest bird of the bunch sung it's heart out with him, until he carried him to the highest note, that is. When his little chirp cracked, it made Xephos laugh, and he began to sing words that came to his head.
"With a smile and a song~
Life is just a bright sunny day~
Your cares fade away~
And your heart is young~
With a smile and a song~
All the world seems to waken anew~
Rejoicing with you~
As the song is sung ~
There's no use in grumbling~
When the raindrops come tumbling~
Remember, you're the one~
Who can fill the world with sunshine~
When you smile and you sing~
Everything is in tune and it's spring ~
And life flows along~
With a smile and a song~"
As Xephos finished, birds around him cheered and other animals looked to be smiling at him. This made Xephos snort, and his cheeks became slightly hot.
"Ah... um, that was good, anyways. I'm better now, thanks guys. So, um... yeah, anyways. Is there anywhere safe I can stay? 'Cause, you know..."
The animals exchanged glances, and then the birds took hold on parts of his leather jacket, leading him farther down the trail. Thank gosh it was lighter down there and much less scarier! As they pass a pond, Xephos stopped to look at his appearance. His hair was mostly out of place, and his OCD with it activated. He began to fix it into a position he thought was decent, and then he began wiping off dirt from his face. The animals grew slightly impatient, but waited until he was done. Shortly after they continued walking.
The end of the trail soon ended, and Xephos softly gasped at the view before him. In the opening lay a small cottage, growing sporadic vines on the sides. The little cottage made the Prince think of comforting thoughts, as if he could easily make the place his own home. Without thinking it over, Xephos basically floated over to the little home, knocking on the door politely.
"Hello? Anybody um, home?" Xephos called, slightly nervous now. What if somebody massive lived there, and they were extremely mean? When nobody answered, the Prince sighed. An urge to open the door entered his mind. He knew it was rather rude to do... but, was anybody even living in the place? There was only one way to find out. Holding his breath, Xephos pushed open the door with little effort.
The house was a disaster, and the smell made Xephos want to retch. There were dirty dishes everywhere, and he could already tell the floor had not been swept in ages. The smell of it all was so fresh that it was obvious somebody was living in the house.
"Jesus Christ..." Xephos coughed, mentally wishing his allergies would just piss off. Taking after a forced habit, he found himself dusting off a chair with his fingers, running them against it's hard slick surface. A large amount of dust came off, and Xephos shook it off his hand in disgust. Other than the dirt and dust, Xephos had noticed around the table, there were seven chairs that seemed smaller than normal ones.
"Hmm..." Xephos mumbled, wondering who lived their. Whoever they were either expecting company or just found great deals on chairs. Or, maybe there are seven people living in this house? Jeez, Xephos, get it together, his mind told him. Xephos shook his head. He just didn't seem to be on the ball then after that whole forest incident. What struck him out of his thoughts was the sound of the birds chirping. He took another look around, shaking his head.
"Okay- right. I have to." He gave in and stepped over the small piles of trash, going to a small closet and pulling out a broom. Noticing the animals still standing there, looking at him with their innocent eyes, Xephos smiled.
"What? You guys want to help?" To his surprise, they nodded. "Oh, well. Okay. Well, how about the smaller animals help with dishes and dusting and such... um, the bigger ones-no offence- can help with, uh..." He looked around, noticing laundry that he swore he could see flies floating around. "The laundry."
The animals looked at each other before bustling in, going to their stations. Xephos smiled. Maybe this wouldn't take ages after all. As he began sweeping the floor, he began to whistle. Soon whistling turned into a song.
"Just whistle while you work~
And cheerfully together we can tidy up the place~
So hum a merry tune~
It won't take long when theres a song to help you set the pace~"
Making it fun for himself as well, he twirled around with the broom, laughing slightly.
"And as you sweep the room~
Imagine that the broom is someone that you love~
And soon you'll find you're dancing to the tune~"
All around Xephos, chipmunks and squirrels busied themselves with the dishes, working together to get them clean. Noticing they weren't exactly using the tub provided, Xephos stopped them.
"What you doing! Use the tub!"
The animals stared at him, looked back to each other, and then scrambled on over to the tub, starting on the dishes in there.
"When hearts are high
the time will fly
so whistle while you work~"
Over where more tidying and sweeping was going on, two squirrels began sweeping dust under a rug.
"Not under the rug! Oh my God!" Xephos laughed. The two squirrels began taking the dust from the rug to a crack in the wall. The Prince shook his head and only went back to humming along the tune he had created.
After the sweeping up was finished, he moved onto dusting an old organ in the corner, humming as he did. Afterwards, the rag he was using for doing the dirty work began dusty itself, so he shook it out outside.
As he hummed, squirrels and chipmunks began clearing out the cobwebs and spiderwebs. Birds flew through the window gracefully and gingerly, holding flowers and placing them in a newly washed vase. By this time half the animals were done and helping Xephos with the leftover laundry. He placed other laundry on a buck's antlers, watching it hobble off with the large amount of clothing. Outside, racoons were washing away on washing boards by the pond, scrubbing to the melody Xephos had played out. Birds rung out clothing best they could and tied them neatly to the drying line that was conveniently up.
"So, whistle while you work~" Xephos finished, sweeping the outside steps of the cottage. The little bluebird arrived back on his hand and sung along with him. Xephos sighed happily. Now that the house was cleaned up... a part of him felt more at ease and safe.