Chapter 19
Doc, Happy, Dopey, and Sneezy walked out of their cottage.
"Bashful, where are you?" said Doc.
"I'm not ready yet!" said Bashful from inside the cottage.
"You're never ready!" scolded Doc.
Doc counted the dwarfs that were with him again.
"And where's Sleepy?" he said. "Oh, what am I saying? He's asleep!"
Doc walked back into the cottage then pulled Bashful and Sleepy out by their ears.
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" said Bashful.
Sleepy yawned.
"Is it morning already?" he muttered.
Suddenly, they felt the ground shake under them.
"Oh, no! An earthquake! We should go back inside!" said Dopey.
"I second that!" said Bashful. "Let's just say inside...for the rest of the day...and the rest of our lives."
"That's not an earthquake," said Doc, pointing at a something deep in the forest. "It's horses."
"Oh, no!" said Sneezy. "I'm allergic to horses!"
"I'm not as worried about the horses as who they're carrying," said Doc.
Once the men on horses got to the cottage, one of the men jumped off his horse and removed his helmet to reveal that he was King Octavian.
"I'll make this quick," said Octavian, looking down at the dwarfs. "My army is about to conquer your lands, and instead of simply killing you, I will give you all a choice: return with us to our lands and be our slaves...or die."
"Well," said Doc. "That choice isn't much of a choice at all."
"We're going to be their slaves, right?" said Dopey. "Right?"
Doc shook his head.
"We've already escaped the tyranny of King Merlin and that awful pet of his. We shall cede our freedom to no one," said Doc.
Octavian nodded.
"Kill them," he said to the soldiers behind him.
Six of Octavian's soldiers jumped off their horses and pulled back their arrows at the same time.
"Hey, can't we just talk about this?" asked Happy. "I'm sure you don't want any blood on your hands."
"We've killed thousands of people already," said Octavian.
"Well, I'm sure you don't want any more blood!"
The soldiers released their arrows, but before the arrows could reach the dwarfs, another arrow broke all six of them at the same time.
Octavian turned to a bush to his right to find that the arrow came from none other than Prince Charming, who revealed himself from behind the bush holding a bow with a quiver of arrows around his shoulder.
"Son!" cried Octavian.
"Hello, father," said Charming.
"I...I can't believe that you're alive! I can't believe that you're here!"
"A little bird told me you were in the forest causing mayhem."
A bluebird landed on Charming's shoulder that didn't have the quiver around it.
"See!" chirped the bluebird. "I told you those jerks were messing everything up!"
"Our quarrel is not with the peaceful inhabitants of this forest," said Charming. "It is with the queen."
"And the queen's time will come," said Octavian. "But I've promised Livian an abundance of gold and slaves from our victory, and we won't get what's required from the castle alone."
"You're working with the traitor Livian?" said an astonished Charming.
"I had to," said Octavian. "I had to do whatever it took to bring you back, my son, my only son."
Charming nodded.
"Well, I'm here, so it's time for us to leave the forest and storm the castle," he said.
Octavian turned to one of his soldiers.
"Send word to Livian's forces that we're going to the castle," he said.
The soldier jumped on his horse and rode away. A massive sneeze by Sneezy startled everyone around him.
"Sorry," said Sneezy. "I couldn't hold it in anymore."
Charming looked down at the dwarfs.
"Didn't there use to be seven of you?" asked Charming.
"Eight, but who's counting?" said Sleepy.
"I know I'm not, 'cause I can't count!" said Dopey.
"I will find your brothers," said Charming.
"And I hope you find that girl, too," said Doc. "What was her name?"
Charming struggled to speak as several emotions flooded him at once.
"Snow," he finally said. "Snow White."
Li Shang knocked on the doors of Evelyn's palace with Soos beside him.
"It's General Shang!" he said.
Evelyn opened the doors a few minutes later and led Shang and Soos to the breakfast room, where Bert and Mabel were eating crumpets.
"Mabel?" said Soos.
A crumpet that was already in Mabel's mouth fell out as she realized who the queen brought in. She ran to Soos and hugged him.
"How did you get back? Where's Dipper? And who's that giant frog?" blurted Soos.
"I'll answer all of those questions! I swear," said Mabel. "I just need a little time to get my thoughts together first."
"Hi, I'm Frogbert, but most of my friends call me Bert," said Bert. "Did you happen to see any spiders out there? I don't think I can finish whatever this is the queen gave us without something to give it some flavor."
Evelyn rolled her eyes.
"So ungrateful," she said.
"My queen, I have news from the battlefront you really need to hear," said Shang.
"Oh, yes. How did our army do?" asked Evelyn.
"Poorly. All of our soldiers are dead."
"What?"
"Outside of me and the kid I brought back, all of them."
Evelyn began pacing back and forth.
"So, are they coming?" she said after what felt like half an hour to Shang.
"Of course," said Shang.
"What do we do?"
"We must flee these lands before they reach the palace. Otherwise, we're good as dead."
Evelyn stopped and thought about what Shang told her for what felt like another half an hour.
"No," she said. "I won't abandon my people."
"Your people are being killed and captured as we speak! There is nothing we can do to save them!" said Shang.
"If New Britain is to die, I shall die with it," said Evelyn.
Shang's tough exterior collapsed as he fell to his knees, crying.
"Please, my queen, don't let my failure to protect your kingdom cause you to give up on life!" he said.
"It wasn't a failure on your part," said Evelyn. "You did exactly what I told you to do. You kept the boy safe. As for my kingdom, its days were always numbered."
Evelyn whistled, and the Big Bad Wolf ran out the throne room.
"Take care of Big Bad," said Evelyn. "Despite his name, there is a lot of good in him."
"No," said Shang. "I can't leave without you."
"You must."
Evelyn hugged the wolf, and he whimpered.
"They're coming, aren't they?" said the wolf.
"Yes," said Evelyn. "Go with Shang. Our enemies can't reach you as far as China."
The wolf sniffed.
"Being part of a pack with you was...an honor," said the wolf.
"You aren't going to try to talk her out of it?" asked Shang.
"You clearly don't know her well enough if you think there's any chance of changing her mind," said the wolf.
Shang blushed. Before he could say anything else, Soos appeared from the breakfast room eating a crumpet.
"These things are delicious!" said Soos.
Soos noticed the somber looks on everyone's faces.
"What's going on?" he said.
"I must be taking my leave," said Shang.
"Now? But what about the castle?" asked Soos.
"The castle is a last cause. I simply came here to retrieve the queen so we could escape to other lands."
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to China. I suppose the wolf is coming with me."
"What about the queen?"
Nobody responded.
"What about the queen?" Soos said again.
"I'm not going with them," said Evelyn.
"No," said Soos. "You promised me you would try to live!"
"I promised you nothing," said Evelyn. "I'm the reason New Britain is about to fall. I'm the reason our soldiers and countless innocents are dead. If I leave now, anyone who's with me will be vulnerable. If I die at Octavian's hands, the war will be over, and if our citizens are lucky, there will be no further slaughter."
Soos grabbed Evelyn by the shoulders, and the wolf barked at him.
"Big Bad," whispered Evelyn. "It's okay."
Soos looked at Evelyn in the eyes and then hugged her.
"Well," said Shang. "I guess this is good-"
Soos ran to Shang and hugged him, too. Shang awkwardly patted Soos on the back.
"You're one of the best archers I ever had," said Shang. "For someone who had only been doing it for a day, anyway."
After Soos let go of Shang, Shang and Evelyn faced each other.
"Until next time?" said Evelyn.
"Until next time," said Shang.
Shang and the wolf left the palace, leaving Soos and Evelyn behind.
"The Blue Fairy should return at any moment," said Evelyn. "You and the girl will be returning home...with the frog, I suppose."
Soos and Evelyn walked into the breakfast room, where Bert and Mabel were now drinking tea.
"Oh, Miss Evelyn!" said Mabel. "A super cute, talking raven left this for you!"
Mabel gave Evelyn a piece of parchment that was rolled up and secured by a string. Evelyn broke the string and opened the parchment to find it had a letter written onto it by Octavian.
"Dear Queen Evelyn," she read. "We will be at your palace by nightfall to negotiate your surrender. Tell your guards that if any of them try to stop us, they will die. With love, King Octavian."
Evelyn rolled her eyes.
"Surrender? Who are you at war at?" asked Mabel.
"Some countries that wish to destroy us. Pay it no mind," said Evelyn, crumpling up the parchment.
"I have powers! I could end this war myself if I wanted to!" said Mabel.
"Wait," said Bert. "The last time you used your powers, you nearly died. I don't think it's a good idea for you to use them again."
"Don't interfere," said Evelyn. "It's between me and the kings."
Mabel shot a glance at Soos, and he shot one back.
"If that's what you want," said Mabel.
"You two aren't plotting anything, are you?" asked the queen.
"No, of course not!" said Mabel unconvincingly.
"Stay in your rooms," said Evelyn. "When the Blue Fairy shows up, I'll let you know."
The Blue Fairy hadn't appeared yet by the time the sun set on the kingdom, but Octavian, Livian, and Prince Charming did appear on their horses, galloping towards the palace as the castle guards pretended not to see them. Once they reached the palace doors, Octavian knocked.
"It's us!" said Octavian. "Don't make us wait longer than we need to!"
The palace doors opened in less than a minute, and Evelyn tried her best to hide her contempt as the enemy royals walked in with two armed guards behind them.
"Where shall we begin the negotiations?" asked Octavian.
"The chamber should do," said Evelyn.
Evelyn led Octavian, Livian, Charming, and their guards to the Council Chamber, and they all sat at a large table.
"You haven't brought a guard of your own with you?" observed Livian.
"I doubt he would help much if I needed him," said Evelyn.
Livian chuckled.
"You're right about that!" he said.
Suddenly, Soos stumbled into the Council Chamber wearing armor and holding a sword that was clearly too heavy for him.
"Sorry I'm late!" Soos said between pants.
"What are you doing?" asked Evelyn.
"As long as I'm your soldier, I'll do what I can to keep you safe," said Soos.
"You are hereby dismissed from the Royal Army. Now, get out of here!" said Evelyn.
"I reject your dismissal."
"You can't do that!"
"Tell your chubby soldier to sit down so we can get on with it!" said an annoyed Octavian.
Evelyn sighed.
"Have a seat," she said.
Soos sat down in the chair to the right of Evelyn's, and he immediately recognized Charming.
"Hey, I know you! You were in that dungeon with me!" said Soos.
"It's good to see you again," said Charming.
"Why are you with those two?"
"Octavian is my father."
"Dude, are you pulling my leg right now?"
"I don't...think so."
"Both of you be quiet!" said Octavian. "We are here to discuss one matter and one matter only: the queen's surrender."
"Since you came all this way, would you like some wine?" offered Evelyn.
"Like the wine you gave King Phillip before the scuffle with Merlin that killed him? I'll pass," said Livian.
"Besides, we've brought wine of our own," said Octavian, producing a bottle from a handbag he was carrying.
Octavian filled his, Livian's, and Charming's cups with wine, and Livian was the first to drink before they proceeded.
"Starting tomorrow, the kingdom of New Britain shall be no more," said Octavian.
"Do you seek to restore Germania?" asked Evelyn.
"No, I seek to expand Galacia," said Octavian. "These lands will become part of my kingdom, and my son shall look over them until he's ready to rule Galacia as a whole."
"What?" said Livian. "We didn't agree to any of this!"
"I said you could help me take these lands and take your share of the profits, and you've done that," said Octavian.
"You know I would never support an expansion as big as this one!"
"Too bad that's not your concern."
Furious, Livian stood up.
"Don't think you can get away with this!" he said. "My army is waiting outside for further orders, and if you continue on this path, I'll have them...I...I'll have them…"
Livian sat back down.
"Why do I feel dizzy?" he asked.
"The poison must finally be working," said Octavian.
"Poison?!"
Livian stared at the cup of wine he had just drunk from.
"You...you poisoned me?" he said.
"What a shocking turn of events!" said Soos.
Livian's guard stood up, and Charming immediately pointed an arrow at him. The guard clenched his fists then sat back down.
"Don't act so surprised," said Octavian. "You were the first to betray me, so I am simply returning the favor."
"The Visigoths...will not rest...until you're dead," said Livian, who was now sweating.
"Let me worry about the Visigoths," said Octavian. "You worry about getting right with the gods before the poison takes you."
Livian stood back up and his legs trembled as he left the chamber. Livian's guard stood up again and held his hands up as Charming focused his arrow on him. The guard followed Livian down the hallway and out of the palace. Once he was certain they were both gone, Charming lowered his arrow and nodded at Octavian. Octavian then turned to Evelyn.
"You are to announce to your subjects tomorrow morning that you will surrender these lands to me. After that, you are to leave these lands and never come back," said Octavian.
"Understood," said Evelyn.
"One more thing," said Charming. "Where is Snow White?"
"I was wondering when you would ask me that," said Evelyn. "She and the others Merlin banished so he could play his games are currently being held in Viking territory. I can't say where, but I believe that they're alive."
Charming studied Evelyn's face, but nothing about the weary, aging queen suggested that she wasn't telling the truth. He looked down at his cup of poisoned wine and pushed it away before looking back at Evelyn.
"I do hope you find peace wherever you go," he said.
"Count yourself lucky, soon-to-be-former queen," said Octavian. "I wanted to chop your head off, but my son convinced me to have mercy on you."
"I appreciate your mercy, but I'm not sure I deserve it," said Evelyn.
"Believe me," growled Octavian. "You don't."
Octavian and Charming stood up, prepared to leave the palace, and they were nearly blinded as the Blue Fairy appeared in a flash of blue light behind Soos and Evelyn.
"For the love of Jupiter!" cried Octavian.
"Sorry, is this a bad time?" said the fairy.
"No, go on. Do...whatever it is you're about to do. We'll be back tomorrow."
Octavian and Charming left the chamber with their guard.
"Hi, Miss Blue Fairy, ma'am," said Soos.
"Oh, it's you. I'm happy you aren't dead," said the fairy.
"Thanks! I'm happy you aren't dead, too!"
"Where's the girl?"
"Mabel!" shouted Soos.
"Her room is on the other side of the palace," said Evelyn. "There's no way she heard y-"
Mabel walked into the chamber.
"Hi there!" she said. "I totally wasn't outside eavesdropping on you, the king, and his handsome son!"
"Right," said Evelyn, who clearly didn't believe Mabel.
"I believe the frog man will want to hear what I'm about to say, too," said the fairy.
"Frog man!" shouted Soos.
"The name is Bert!" said Bert as he walked into the chamber.
"Really? You both were spying on us?" accused Evelyn.
"No! We just were in the area!" said Bert, faking outrage.
"Right," said the fairy. "Anyway, after much discussion, the Fairy Council agreed to have the green and pink fairies help me charge this box."
"That's great!" said Bert. "That means we can return with Mabel to her dimension!"
"About that...the other fairies agreed to help only on the condition that we use the box to send everyone back to their original dimensions."
"Their original dimensions? Does that mean…"
"Yes. You will have to return to Amphibia, and once Merlin is found, the box will send him back to Camelot where he will await punishment for his crimes."
Bert sighed.
"Well, Mabel, I guess this means goodbye," he said.
Bert turned to where Mabel was standing, but she was no longer there.
"Where did she go?" he asked.
"She ran out when I announced the other fairies would help me charge the box," said the fairy.
"What?" said Bert.
"Maybe she really had to use the bathroom," said Soos, who after an awkward silence, added: "Or maybe not."
Charming was preparing to get onto his horse when he saw Mabel come out of the palace.
"Hi, Mr. Prince Charming sir!" said Mabel.
"I'll catch up to you later, father," said Charming.
"Are you sure?" asked Octavian.
"Yes."
"All right. Stay safe."
Octavian climbed onto his own horse and rode off, leaving the guard with Charming. Mabel reached Charming and the guard moments later, out of breath.
"Why did you come all the way out here to see me?" inquired Charming.
"I just...wanted to apologize for lying to you," said Mabel.
"There's no need to do that. I know you were only trying to escape Merlin's curse."
"But I still couldn't help but feel bad about it! That's why I came back. To tell you that I never wanted to hurt you."
Charming looked down, unable to look at the face that tricked him into believing it was the face of somebody he loved any longer.
"I'm not hurt," he said. "Not anymore. I just want to set things right."
"So do I!" said Mabel.
"Then return home to the people who love you and stop Merlin once and for all."
"Don't you still love me? Even though what we had started from a lie, my feelings for you were real, and I think your feelings for me were real, too."
Charming struggled to respond, and after hesitating, he looked back up at Mabel.
"Nothing that we had was real," he said after a long pause. "You're not the girl I love, and what you feel for me is nothing more than a flight of fancy."
"I did not come all the way back for a 'flight of fancy'!" said Mabel defensively.
"You should not have come back at all," said Charming.
Before Mabel could respond, Charming turned to his horse and climbed onto it with the guard.
"Charming, please!" said Mabel.
"Goodbye," said Charming. "I do hope you kill Merlin."
Charming pulled his horse's reins, and he rode off, not looking back once as Mabel watched with tears in her eyes. She returned to the Council Chamber several minutes later and found that Bert was no longer there.
"Where...where did Bert go?" she asked.
Soos, Evelyn, and the fairy tried their hardest to hide their discomfort, but Mabel could tell something was wrong.
"Where did Bert go?" she repeated.
"Bert isn't here anymore," said the fairy. "If you hadn't left in the middle of our discussion, you'd have known that the other fairies only let me charge the box in exchange for sending everyone back to where they came from. Bert came to Amphibia, so I could only send him back to Amphibia."
"And he left without saying goodbye to me?"
"He said he wanted to return home thinking only of the happiest moments of your friendship, not the...less happy moments."
Mabel turned red, both with embarrassment and anger.
"This is so unfair!" she said. "Why can't we use the box to go where we want?"
"Having people in worlds where they don't belong upsets the balance of the universe," said the fairy. "The gems were entrusted to us many thousands of years ago so we could help keep that balance, but a corrupt king stole them from us and used them to conquer many worlds until he was thankfully stopped. We cannot allow the universe to fall out of balance again, so everyone, including you, Bert, and Merlin, must return to where you came from."
"No," said Mabel. "I could have charged the box myself! I could have…"
Tears continued to fall from Mabel's eyes, which were now green. Her hair became pink, and a blue aura appeared around her. Soos' eyes widened as he saw this.
"Is this, like, a puberty thing for girls?" he asked.
Mabel quickly returned to normal and fell to her knees weakly.
"I'm sorry," said the fairy. "I truly am, but we all have our responsibilities. Can I trust you to send Merlin back to Camelot with this box once you encounter him?"
Mabel sighed.
"Yes," she said. "You can trust me."
The fairy smiled and handed Mabel the box, which she planned to take back to Amphibia as soon as she got Soos home.
"Close your eyes and think about where you want to go," said the fairy.
"It's been nice knowing you dudes," said Soos.
"Good luck on your journey," said Evelyn.
Soos put a hand on Mabel's shoulder, and she closed her eyes. Seconds later, Mabel, Soos, and the box were gone.
Author's Note: So, we're just one chapter away from this story being completed! I actually started writing this chapter three weeks ago and planned to release it the next week, but real-life events made releasing a chapter about royals dying in a clone of Buckingham Palace seem to be in poor taste (it probably isn't in great taste today, either, but oh well). Our last visit to Fairy Tale World begins in the cottage of the seven dwarfs, the only major characters outside of Prince Charming from the first ten chapters who hadn't appeared in these ten chapters yet. I leave everyone mostly where I wanted them to end up, with Queen Evelyn in the process of being exiled and Charming being declared as her successor.
I recently started watching Gravity Falls from the beginning for the first time in ten years, and one thing I noticed about Mabel was that she likes to be in control, not just over what happens to her but over how people perceive her. Her bright and bubbly personality isn't just a front, but it is a convenient way for her to cover up her flaws and make it easier for her to get people to like her. Leaving Charming with him believing her to be evil and manipulative affected her enough to make her choose returning to Fairy Tale World over Gravity Falls for a chance make things right with Charming. Not only did she do little to change Charming's perception of her, however, but she hurt Bert's perception of her in the process. This story is named after Mabel because it is essentially about her journey, and her experiences with Bert and Charming are an important part of her journey to become a better person that will conclude in a few weeks.