…back in Fairy Tale Land…
Decades passed after her encounter with Rumplestiltskin. Decades of traversing to different realms, gathering strength from various followers she found herself guided by the Wind back to the Enchanted Forest again. When she landed, she found herself in an unfamiliar kingdom. But like any new area she moved to, she investigated, assimilated, and acclimated to the new environment.
On each day she visited the new village she observed the trafficking of its people. In the morning, before the sun would rise the merchants would make their way to the main road to set up their shop and sell their wares. Parents would rouse their children from a cold slumber to panhandle the royal staffers that would make their way down from the castle to purchase supplies. Other orphaned children would slyly evade capture and steal from the pockets of others. One day she discovered a young pick-pocket and she followed the child to its 'home' and to her horror discovered the child's deplorable living conditions. The child stole to survive and her discovery instantly changed her perspective on thieves and the poor. It broke Mary's heart to see these children each morning and felt compelled to do something.
She looked upon the hardened faces of the village children and felt obliged to soften their faces with small increments of kindness. Every once in a while an apple would fall off a cart and magically roll itself over to an emaciated child who had probably seen better days. Occasionally, the young pick-pockets would discover no room in their pockets to conceal the stolen loot because they were already filled with rolls of warm bread.
No matter how much she did these unrecognizable acts of kindness, it still didn't fill the void that ached her heart. She needed to see and feed all of the children all at once every day. She reasoned that if she could know that all the children had at least one good meal a day, then she could find solace in that knowledge and that ache in her heart could finally disappear. But how could she accomplish this without drawing attention to herself? Mary had to think of a clever plan and so she did.
The following early morning, she set up shop with the other merchants on the street and began selling bags of bread crumbs. The other villagers gawked and scoffed as they passed her spot on the road, but the children that passed weren't as dismissive like the other adults. They didn't take heed of the product she was selling because they were more enchanted by Mary's hidden beauty. Mary knew of adults inability to see pass the ends of their noses and she took advantage of that knowledge. However, with the children… she also knew they could see things most adults couldn't, possibly because of their short stature, but mostly because of their unbridled curiosity and unformed prejudice towards objects and people that were different from themselves.
Mary knew of children's instinctive ability to sense magic. Beneath the dirt and raggedly torn clothes Mary was wearing the children saw through the bags of crumbs what she was selling. They saw magic. Of the curious children that passed Mary by, only one little girl with golden locks and fair skin stepped forward.
"Excuse me?" asked a little girl curiously to Mary.
"Yes, my little duck. How can I help you?" Mary replied sweetly.
"Why are you selling these bags of bread crumbs?"
"I'm selling these so that you and I may feed the birds."
"Why would I want to feed the birds?"
"…Because the gods look kindly on those who care, especially with those who are most helpless."
"By selling these bags, how would you be feeding birds?"
"Birds come in all shapes and sizes, but typically, small. Like you, duck. And a duck is a kind of bird, is it not? And you like to eat, yes?"
"Oh yes!" said the little girl grinning excitedly.
"Well then, that's how I feed the birds. The money I get goes to feeding little ones like yourself."
"But there's no way you can feed others on tuppence alone," stated the girl.
"Ah, and how smart you are! If you wish to know of my secret, then you must take a friend that is less fortunate than you and bring them to the old oak tree at noon. There, I shall tell you a story and the three of us will share a meal together."
The little girl contemplated over the proposition and looked at Mary with great distrust. The little girl asked, "What's your name? How can I trust you if I don't even know your name?"
"Of course! How rude of me for not introducing myself. My name is Mary Poppins."
…
Days came and the weeks flew by. With every meeting, a new child came in attendance and the luncheon session got bigger and bigger. Word had spread successfully amongst the children of the villages and they would flock at noon to visit the infamous and mystical Mary Poppins. Not only was Mary able to successfully feed all the children of the village but she was also able to feed their minds with hope and imagination through the use of her magic and storytelling. The result of Mary's generosity brought them happiness which indirectly, brought joy to the other parents and adults and the village thrived happily.
The lessons that Mary taught through her storytelling involved the constant practice of generosity and the sharing, no matter how little you have. The children were so thankful that they didn't know how to the express their gratitude. When they brought their issue up with Mary she simply replied, "The best form of gratitude is kindness paid forward." And the children did just that.
The result of Mary's kindness was indeed paid forward and there was more camaraderie and sharing of blessings amongst the youth than ever before. Mary saw less pick-pocketing and more smiles amongst the villagers. She saw children assist the elderly and the children of privileged homes share the leftovers with the underprivileged. Not only were there more smiles, but the sound of laughter filled the streets and the happiness was so loud and infectious it could be heard from within the steps of the kingdom's palace.
One morning, Mary looked up into the sky at the still clouds. No gust of wind. She continued gazing curiously into the sky expecting her call to move on. The village was happy and she felt like she had accomplished what she had set out to do, but there was no wind; nothing. Not even a breeze. So she continued on with her day, going about business as usual. She took the usual path from out of the woods and made her way down to the village's main street.
When she came to her usual selling spot to sell bread crumbs, she was taken back in surprise by the glorious arrangement of flowers. She stepped closer to investigate and discovered a note attached to the flowers:
"Mary Poppins,
Your favorite flowers for our favorite lady. From your Secret Admirer."
Mary smiled as she lifted the bouquet of flowers and held them close to her bosom. She inhaled the wonderful fragrance and was delighted with the unexpected flattery. She sensed a person nearby, watching with great amusement and satisfaction of her floral discovery. Without looking up or turning around, she called out in a clear audible voice to the spectator, "Thank you dear person! These flowers are quite lovely. However, they are not my favorite."
On the following day, Mary discovered a different flower arrangement assembled at her selling spot and a note attached with the same message from yesterday.
"Your favorite flowers for our favorite lady. From your Secret Admirer."
This bouquet even more beautiful than the previous, but again Mary replied, "Thank you again! So gorgeous, but still… not my favorite."
Each morning Mary would arrive to her usual selling spot and upon each arrival a new arrangement of exotic flowers with the same note attached would be discovered sitting there waiting for her. Tulips, daisies, roses, gerberas, sunflowers, hydrangeas, carnations, pansies, lilies, orchids, all gratefully accepted, but none that were her favorite. Multiple mornings passed and her secret admirer grew frustrated, unable to successfully find Mary's favorite flower.
One morning, Mary arrived to her usual selling spot and discovered a different batch of flowers being held delicately by an athletically built man dressed in royal garb waiting for her. When she arrived at the scene she immediately bowed to the tall royal. The gentleman rushed to her side and lifted her up from her bow. "No, please," the royal begged, "you should bow to no one."
"Please sir, forgive me. I did not know that you were my secret admirer," Mary said, failing horribly at averting her eyes as she got up from her curtsy.
"You're not supposed to know. That's the point of a secret admirer. You, my lady, are a hard woman to please. I had traversed this entire kingdom to deliver you all the exotic flowers this kingdom had to offer. I had almost lost hope and thought that you didn't like flowers at all, but then I happened to come across a field of these," the tall royal said handing Mary a bouquet of tiny blue bell-shaped flowers, "I can now officially say, with great confidence, that I have given you every single kind of flower I could lay my hands on."
The royal handed over the bluebells kindly to Mary. When Mary received the royal's gift of flowers her face lit up instantly expressing genuine surprise and great satisfaction. Delighted, she exclaimed excitedly, "Bluebells! My favorite!"
"Really?"
"Mmhmm," Mary confirmed as she closed her eyes and sniffed the subtle fragrance of the bluebells. "But," she said opening her eyes again to look at the royal, "I don't understand. Why would you go through all of this effort to find my favorite flower?"
"I had to find out who this mysterious person was who shepherds and cares for my kingdom's children."
"Your kingdom? Are you the king?" she asked.
"No, at least not yet anyways. I'm Prince Maurice," the Prince said introducing himself. Prince Maurice gently took her hand and kissed the top of it.
"Prince Maurice. It is a pleasure to finally meet you," Mary said curtseying again with a smile.
"There it is," the Prince pointed out, smiling with relief.
"Where what is?"
"Your smile," the Prince sighed satisfactorily, "It was worth all of the flowers in the kingdom."
"Sir, I believe that you are the only one who appreciates it."
"That cannot be true. Though, it is quite unfortunate that you believe I am the only one to recognize such pure beauty."
At his words, Mary blushed for the first time. "Come," she requested of the Prince, "walk with me."
The Prince obliged and they walked together. Mary continued holding the flowers Prince Maurice gave her as they both walked back towards the edge of the forest. For the most part they walked in silence, tossing admirable glances at one another. She smiled every time he caught her looking at him, returning with a favorable smile of his own. They approached the field of bluebells and the Prince broke the silence.
"I have to ask," Prince Maurice began, "Why bluebells? What's so special about them?"
"Bluebells are like the children of your kingdom, and somehow so easily forgotten. However, if you only look closer to where they grow, you'll discover that they're the most beautiful creatures on Earth. And, like flowers, if you show them enough warmth and kindness they can make your kingdom blossom and prosper in ways unheard of. Your children needed to be fed and loved, sir, and I felt the need to care for them."
"And when was the last time anyone has loved you in that way? Like you, I felt the need to care and love you; this person who cares so much for these children and wishes for nothing in return. Forgive me for my ignorance and my poor guidance as a ruler. It is I who should be doing what you're doing. So for now on, I will take over your role as mother and become father to these children; to all my people who reside in my kingdom. I will listen more. I will do more to help those who can't help themselves."
At Prince Maurice's words, Mary felt overjoyed. She was so overwhelmed with happiness that she suddenly found herself kissing him without a second thought. As soon as she realized what she was doing, she immediately pulled back; unsure of the decorum of the situation. She pulled back away from him and apologized, "I'm so very sorry. That was inappropriate of me. I shouldn't have done that."
The prince stepped forward and confidently replied with a smile of his own, "I'm not sorry."
He leaned down again and when their lips met the entire flora around them blossomed and a sweet aroma christened the area matching the love that encompassed them.
…
Prince Maurice and Mary met every day for the next couple months, organizing and coordinating the kingdom's new children's hospice. At every sunset, they would meet at the bluebell fields and lie together against the oak tree. It was there that they talked about their dreams and visions for the people till nightfall.
"Maurice," Mary called informally. At Prince Maurice's insistence the formalities were dropped after the first week of getting to know each other. "I have to tell you something."
"What is it, my love?"
"I'm sorry I never told you before, but most never understood what I was. What I am. I… am a wind goddess. I have magic and have been using the faith of your kingdom's people to harness my powers. Please, you must not tell a soul!" she confessed nervously.
"You're a god? You can wield magic?"
"That's not all…" she continued and Maurice looked at her with grave concern, "the wind has stopped… it is the source of my magic and it has stopped. My magic… is gone. My magic is gone because… because I am with child, Maurice. Your child." Prince Maurice was speechless over the news and his silence made Mary incredibly nervous. "Please say something, because for the first time in my life I am frightened of what is to become of us."
The prince immediately grabbed Mary and brought her in for a joyous embrace. He kissed her on her head and replied, "This is the most glorious news of my life. Have no fear. Our child will want for nothing. You will live in the castle with me and we will rule this kingdom like the parents we were meant to be."
They kissed lovingly on the lips over the happy news. And although Prince Maurice was delighted over the news, Mary was filled with dread. She maintained her composure, but inside, her thoughts circled with anxieties. She never meant to fall in love. She only wanted to harness the power of love to fuel her magic. Mary never knew of her parents. She could only remember waking up and automatically knowing her mission in life. Harness the power of love. Survive. But deep down, she knew that there was more to living than living forever.
With her experience traversing the universe mingling with different societies, loving and missing the people she cared for and left, she was determined to change her fate and state of being by being one of them. Mary's experience with humanity made her even more determined to find the ingredients to her spell. She wanted to be mortal. She wanted to live as mankind did, but like this? Was this what being human was like? Was this her fate now? Dealing with uncertainty and handling chaos on a constant basis. In light of her expectancy and losing her magic, everything that was happening to her was all foreign and went against her very nature as a deity. With the absence of her magic things felt like they were slowly spinning out of control and for the first time ever, she was afraid because she was now vulnerable.
A life of royalty. Was that what was to become of her now? Wasn't this what she always wanted? And to have a child with a mortal man... What would that mean? How would that change her? What would that mean to the child? The thoughts that circled Mary's brain were most foreboding. She wasn't ready, but her prince was. Without her magic she decided to share her faith and give it to the man that would be her child's father.
I have to admit. This was one of my favorite chapters. As you may or may not have noticed, I've laced the entire chapter with elements of the Mary Poppins we know and love and gave it a bit of a OUAT twist along with my seasoning of love for the character. I always wondered why Maurice ran the flower shop in Storybrooke, so now, here's my OUAT reason for it. Hope you liked the flashback chapter!
And thank you to Imusicluver23, Grace5231973, BreathingintheSun and Montreat11 for your review on the previous chapter! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. See you guys next chapter!
