The Great Disney Adventure III: Heroes and Villains
A Disney story by talking2myself
DISCLAIMER: See Chapter 1.
Chapter 25. A Midnight Stroll
DISNEY SINGAPORE
The first time Elizabeth saw the sunrise over the sea in Singapore it was a truly magical sight (despite the fact that she was surrounded by rats in Hawaiian shirts enjoying the same view). The water practically glittered under the orange sky. By week two, the magic was lost and it was just another day. Elizabeth let out a heavy sigh before returning to the shack that qualified as a crude sort of inn.
They had arrived in Singapore two weeks ago and there was still no sign or word of Will or Rob. Everyone was getting a little anxious, except for perhaps the rats who were still taking in the sights. The inn was a rickety old place that wouldn't draw too much attention... or so she hoped. It was run by an elderly couple, the man was half blind and the woman half deaf. She wasn't too concerned about either of them giving anything away.
A figure emerged towards them dressed in traditional Singapore garb. A long dress clasped at the neck with a pointed straw hat with a wide brim, a strap tied under her chin nearly covering the figure's red hair.
"Anything?" she asked.
"Not a thing," Sophia grumbled, lifting the hat off her head and fanning herself with it. They had all adopted the traditional garb in an attempt to blend in. Though trying to hide a bunch of pirates was not exactly easy. Sophia had been out getting supplies from the local market. She always kept her ears open in the hopes that she would catch some shred of information about their missing companions. "No one's heard anything about them," Sophia sighed. Her eyes narrowed,"and the jerks in the market place raised the price of soap on me." Sophia scowled and Elizabeth struggled not to laugh.
"You can understand them?" Elizabeth asked.
"Meh," Sophia shrugged, "A few key phrases. Yes, No, Water. Soap. Pirate. Ship. Rice. No, I do not know Jack Sparrow. That sort of stuff."
"Of course," Elizabeth said after staring blankly trying to gauge whether Sophia was serious or not.
"Oh wait," Sophia cried as a merchant pushing his cart went by. "There he is. One second, I have a score to settle." Sophia stomped down the steps of the inn. The man glanced up and Sophia swore that she could see his shoulders slump at the sight of Sophia.
*"Hēi! Nǐ zěnme gǎn tígāo féizào de jiàgé! Nǐ yǎ guā! Shénme yàng de shǎguā nǐ bǎ wǒ de ma? Wǒ yīnggāi yǒu wǒ de yì nǚ, xīwàng nǐ dào róng yuán!" she yelled at the man.
"Bù! Zhè bùshì fēng nǚrén!" the man groaned.
"Wǒ píngshí de jiàgé gěi wǒ de féizào zhīqián, wǒ tuī nǐ de hóulóng!" Sophia screamed.*
Elizabeth stood there, utterly astonished, and watched as the two they engaged in a shouting match that she couldn't hope to understand. She shook her head before returning inside the inn. She began to wonder what Sophia considered "a few key phrases." If they had been here long enough for Sophia to learn enough of the language to pick fights with the merchants, it wouldn't be long before their odd little group to wear out their welcome
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Breakfast had just been served in the inn. Alice was sitting at the table picking absentmindedly at her morning breakfast of rice. As soon as Elizabeth came in sight she bounded to her feet. "Any news?" she asked nearly knocking aside her bowl.
"Nothing," Elizabeth sighed, "And we make need to seek out a new inn if Sophia continues to pick fights with the street vendors."
Jackie had been leaning on her hand listening with disinterest, but she perked up at that. "W-w-what?"
"Something about the price of soap," Elizabeth shrugged.
"I b-b-better go make sure she d-d-doesn't hurt someone," Jackie said quickly getting to her feet and scampering out into the streets. "SOPHIA! P-p-put that down!"
Elizabeth flopped onto one of the chairs. Mr. Arrow and Squire Trelawney were there as well while some crew members waited aboard the ship. "What's that Mr. Bimble?" Trelawney asked, "I see. Mr. Bimble says that there are many dangers are on the way to Singapore if you go by land. There are hundreds of ways that they could have been injured."
Alice gasped, "Hundreds?" Elizabeth glared at Trelawney.
"Don't look at me, he said it," he shrugged, pointing at his finger. "That wasn't the most tactful, Mr. Bimble."
"Calm down, Alice," Elizabeth said gently, "They're not going by land, they're going by air. Plus Rob is a Hatter and that family has a bizarre sort of luck that must be hereditary. And Will… Will will protect him." Elizabeth's voice broke for a few moments before turning to glare at Trelawney. "And if your finger says anything like that to Emma, I'll snap it off and feed it to the sharks. Am I clear?"
Trelawney let out a yelp and held his finger close to his chest, "Um… actually, Mr. Bimble just lives in my finger."
"My threat still stands," Elizabeth snapped.
"Mr. Bimble won't say anything!" Trelawney insisted, "Nothing at all."
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WU SHONG CAMP
Will was thoroughly enjoying the limited amount of sleep that he had received, despite the fact that he slept on a thin mattress on the lumpy ground with Honor tucked underneath his mattress. Getting a good night's sleep was difficult enough and he wasn't too happy when his sleep was interrupted. "Turner, Will." Captain Shang announced. Will sighed and sat up, pushing aside the tent flap. He sighed as he caught sight of Shang holding Rob by the collar. "I found this on the outskirts of the camp trying to find your vehicle."
"Rob," Will sighed.
"I was gonna come back for you!" Rob insisted.
"See to it that he doesn't try to make any more escapes," Shang scolded dropping Rob roughly on the ground. "Or he'll be brought up on desertion charges."
"Of course sir," Will said politely, "It won't happen again."
Rob grumbled as he sat up and Shang disappeared into the darkness. Will sighed, "Rob…"
"Spare me the lecture, Turner-san," Rob grumbled, "I had to do something."
"Deserting from the army?" Will cried, "That's your idea of something? Did it escape your notice that Shang is still three times your size?"
"I'm not that short," Rob grumbled, "Besides, I had a plan. I was going to sneak out and get The Spirit."
"Was this before or after you got caught?" Will asked.
"Will," Rob groaned, "Seriously! We need to do something! We're not going anywhere. The others are probably pretty close to Singapore by now." Will frowned and didn't bring up the fact that they were probably already there.
"What else can we do Rob?" Will sighed, "The army isn't moving. They don't need these troops. If you keep trying to escape they're going to give you a deserter's punishment."
"So?"
"That would be death," Will snapped pointedly.
"Eww," Rob cringed, "Yeeeeah, since you put it that way."
Will stretched out on his stomach letting his head flop back onto his thin pillow. "We have no choice but to be patient, and if you expect me to survive through tomorrow you'll let me go back to sleep now."
"Pah," Rob grumbled, "Survive? Yeah right, you'll outlive us all in this place at the rate you're going."
"Not if you don't let me get back to sleep," Will grumbled, "Now be a good boy and go back to your tent."
"You're not my dad," Rob grumbled.
"Thank God I'm not," Will muttered, "That would make me Kelsey's father as well. I don't think I could take it."
"Fine," Rob grumbled, "Pleasant dreams sweet prince." He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture before pushing open the tent flap.
"Rob." Will murmured into his pillow.
"Yeah?"
"I mean it," Will insisted, "Go back to your tent."
"I heard you the first time," Rob grumbled.
"Yes, just making sure that you didn't inherit your sister's selective hearing," Will sighed.
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Switch clanked against Rob's side. He scowled and shh-ed the scabbard. He had better luck the first time he had tried to make his way out, but Will's talk of death had made Rob nervous. Technically, I kept my promise to Will. I went back to my tent… and pulled Switch out from under my mattress. He's the dummy who didn't specify that I had to stay there.
Rob made it to the outer perimeter of tents that marked the edge of the camp. There was a wagon located just beyond the edge. It was filled with some of the equipment. Explosives kept away from the camps lest something accidentally explode. The Spirit was stored there. Normally, there was a guard, but tonight it was Ling. He usually fell asleep on his shifts. Tonight was no different.
"Success!" Rob whispered and inched closer to the wagon.
Then, just as the wagon was in his sight. Rob felt something kick him hard in the ankles. Rob toppled to the ground and felt a blow strike him roughly across the head. He lay there stunned on the ground and groaned.
"What did you think you were doing?" a voice demanded. Rob stared up and felt a brief feeling of relief. It was "Ping." If it was Shang again, Rob would probably already be dead.
"Going for a midnight stroll?" Rob shrugged.
Ping frowned, "I don't think so." She hauled Rob roughly to his feet by his collar. "You're a deserter."
"Well, not yet I'm not," Rob said. Ping's grip around his neck tightened. "Hey, hey, hey," Rob cried, "You don't want to turn me in."
"And why not?" she demanded.
"Because I'm not the only one out here with secrets, Mulan," Rob snapped.
Mulan's face went as white as chalk. "You know?" she whispered.
"Yeah, " Rob snapped, "I know about your gender, your sick father, your smart talking lizard and your defective lucky cricket." Mulan's eyes widened.
"You've been following me?" she cried before throwing him to the ground again, "Stalking me?"
"No," Rob groaned, "Oh God, don't flatter yourself honey. I don't date women who can beat me in hand-to-hand combat. I'm just more observant than the other idiots around here."
"Don't talk so loud," Mulan hissed, "If they find out they'll… they'll…"
"Kill you?" Rob asked, "Funny they have a similar policy with deserters."
Mulan sighed, "So what now?"
"I think we've reached an accord," Rob said, "We both go back to our tents, no one gets killed. How does that sound?"
Mulan sighed and offered Rob her hand hauling him to his feet. Rob dusted himself off and smiled at her. "Thanks, nice meeting you Mulan."
Mulan winced every time he spoke her name. "Just get out of here," she hissed.
"Fine," Rob shrugged making his way back to his tent, "Oh and Mulan." Mulan turned. "If anyone asks…"
"I'll tell them the truth. You were out for a midnight stroll," Mulan said simply.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
*Translation according to (yes I know translators are notoriously inaccurate I apologize if this is off. I don't mean to insult any speakers of the Chinese language.)
Sophia: "Hey! How dare you raise the price of soap? You dumb melon! What sort of fool do you take me for? I should have my goddaughter wish you into a newt!"
Merchant: "No! Not the crazy lady AGAIN!"
Sophia: "Give me my soap at my usual price before I shove it down your throat!"