Filling in the Empty Spots
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Chapter 10: Back to the Meadow
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"I don't know how you can be so calm, Ralph," remarked Felix, pulling on his tuxedo jacket. "I'm nervous and I'm not even the one getting married."
Ralph chuckled as he struggled with his bowtie. "I know. What's with that? Heck, you barely survived your own wedding. Could you fix this for me?" he requested, pointing at his throat.
"I never thought I'd see you go through this once, let alone twice," Felix said as he pulled up a chair, stood on it, and tied Ralph's bowtie for him.
"I only wanted it to be once. Fate is a funny thing."
"Jubileena's a sweet girl, and she loves you to no end."
"She is. She's no Vanellope—there's none of that craziness and edge-of-your-seat adventuring spirit. But she's adorable and I always feel happy to have her around. Marrying her just seemed like the right thing to do. And honestly, I'm surprised that she accepted."
Felix finished with the bowtie and stepped back to check it. "Looks good," he said.
"She still doesn't know that I married Vanellope. That's still our secret to keep."
"Will you ever tell her?"
"Probably not, and there's no need to." Ralph went to the thin cheval mirror and looked himself over. "Do I look all right?"
"You look fabulous. She's going to love it."
Ralph took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I think I'm ready."
"I'll let the others know."
Signals exchanged, Felix and Ralph took their places beside the officiant and waited for Jubileena to walk down the aisle. The wedding guests all sat around on blankets in the meadow, the affair being rather innocent and informal. On the groom's side, Calhoun sat up near the front in her dress uniform. Behind her were most of the Nicelanders. Several other friends from around the arcade had come as well, along with most of the Bad-Anon members. Zangief, predictably, was sniffling and wiping away tears.
On the bride's side, Princess Vanellope sat at the front, wearing a lacy pink dress and holding a matching parasol to shade herself. Sour Bill sat next to her looking exceptionally glum. Behind them sat the rest of the Sugar Rush racers, followed by Jubileena's candy fans. At the edge of the meadow, watching shyly from a distance, were the curious citizens of Sugar Rush who had come to see their Jubileena Bing Bing tie the knot with the big, loveable foreigner.
From the tent set up for the women to dress in, Jubileena stepped out, and everyone was astounded. She wore a marshmallow white gown with a high collar and long sleeves. Her candy-apple red hair hung in rolling curls beneath the sheer veil attached to her rhinestone tiara. In her hands she clutched a bouquet of cherry blossoms and baby's breath.
Out of the tent behind her came Adorabeezle and Snowanna, dressed in cherry-printed sundresses, and escorted her down the aisle. Jubileena's candy fans began cheering wildly and had to be told to quiet down as this was a wedding and not a race.
Reaching the place the three men stood, Jubileena climbed up the little stepladder that had been placed there for her, and then she turned to smile at Ralph through her veil. "I love you," she mouthed to him.
Ralph could only grin stupidly.
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There was a certain loss of social status that came from losing one's game and moving into another. Refugees were rarely granted citizenship, whether or not their Code blocks had been placed into their new homes or not. For Ralph, this loss of status simply meant that he took the name of Bing Bing on marrying Jubileena.
Felix found it hilarious and called him "Mr. Bing Bing" at every appropriate opportunity. In retaliation, Ralph began calling him "Mr. Calhoun" or "Mr. Sergeant". Unexpectedly, "Mr. Sergeant" caught on in Hero's Duty and soon everyone there was calling him that—even his wife.
The Bing Bing's lived happily in their new home. Their married life was quiet and peaceful, and Ralph did his best to keep his little bride content. It took very little to please her though. Jubileena asked for little from him, but Ralph never left her wanting for love and attention.
The former wrecker threw himself in to his cartography, dividing his time between drawing maps and exploring to create them. His knowledge of the game's geography and topography became well known, and soon he began producing printed maps for sale. Until his, there had never been any mapsof the land as a whole. There had only been a few of the various race courses. The first edition sold out quickly, much to his surprise, and a second edition was soon printed. With their popularity, he began to produce maps of specific areas, mostly the pretty places that suddenly became popular with the citizenry and a few tourists to Sugar Rush. When not drawing or publishing his maps, Ralph continued his wandering across the land, sometimes for days at a time to the furthest corners of the game. Not having to smash a building six days a week meant he had limitless time to explore.
Jubileena concentrated on her racing. She no longer needed Ralph right there to take the top spot on the roster if she wanted. In fairness to the others, her racing results began to take on a predictable pattern. If her husband was there cheering for her, she could be counted on to cross the finish line in first or second place. Without him present, she would usually contentedly glide in toward the bottom of the roster. At other times, Jubileena would simply take a week off of racing and spend time adventuring with her husband.
Sometimes, when Ralph was away exploring alone, the gingerbread cabin proved a bit too quiet and a bit to far away from the bustle in the village, and Jubileena would feel rather isolated. But to combat this, she would return to her Cherry Cabana and live there until he returned. And sometimes Adorabeezle and Snowanna would come to visit the cabin and sleep over with her. One memorable time Ralph had come home unexpectedly in the dark of night. He had tiptoed quietly about as not to wake his wife, and as he started to climb into his bed and found it full of candy, racing magazines, mushy romance novels, and the three sleeping Sugar Rush racers.
And so their days of married life went, the pair quite happy and cozy in their mountain home. Jubileena remained completely unaware that she was Ralph's second wife, and it seemed that the memory of the first Vanellope would remain supressed. But that would soon change as the burning fuse headed straight for a confrontation.
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Filling in the Empty Spots continues in:
Chapter 11: The Summer Solstice Ball
Chapter 12: The President's Legacy
Chapter 13: A Heavy Crown
Chapter 14: The Final Secret
Chapter 15: Filling in the Empty Spots Commentary
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Wreck-It Ralph and all related concepts, characters, worlds, and events are property of Walt Disney Pictures. Original characters and story elements are property of E. Potter, writing under the pen name of Miratete.