Hello again! Sorry
it took so long to get part two up.
Special Thanks to everyone who gave a review! Now that My ego has been sufficiently fed lets go to part
two! If you don't know what is going on
read part 1! (Doi!)
Disclaimer: I do not
own Hey Arnold! Nor am I claiming I
do. I Don't.
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Stillness. The clouds rolled away and the morning
became warm and sunny.
They looked all over the
courtyard. Prince Arnold had vanished!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He
never showed. Helga waited all day, but
he never showed. When the wind picked
up she thought about going home. When
she heard the thunderclap she was scared.
But when the sky cleared up she decided to wait. She couldn't wait to see Arthur. She waited until the sun was low, but he
never showed. Her heart was
broken.
When she got
back to the village there was a crowd around the village square. She could hear the village crier (Sid) ring his bell and shout. Helga pressed closer until she could hear
what Sid was saying. "Hear ye, hear
ye!" Sid shouted. "I bringeth thee sad tidings from the castle
'Sunsete Armes'!" Sid cleared his
throat. "The curse foretold by King
Phil has taken place. Prince Arnold's
feet hath touched the ground this very morn.
And since such happened, the Prince is nowhere to be found." Gasps of horror are heard among the
crowd. Helga went home, looked to see
that nobody was watching and cried.
Queen Pookie
didn't take the Prince's disappearance well.
Every year She would make an outfit (Sizing it to account for the
growing up the Prince would have been doing), consisting of tunic, hose, and
new leather shoes for the missing lad.
And as she sewed she would cry "Now Kimba would be 13! Now Kimba would be 14! Now 15!
16! 17! 18!"
And time
passed for Helga as well. Her family
was a little better off now than they were when she was younger. She wore her hair in braids now (think Inga
takes over.) She was even apprenticed
to the local Apothecary (Who wasn't much older then herself.) Phoebe had taught her quite a lot about
which herbs cure what ailments. Helga
had once even made an herb delivery to "Sunsete Armes" castle!
While she was there Helga inquired if there was a
football-headed stable boy.
There never was.
When Arnold
disappeared, King Phil couldn't find it in his heart to fire Gerald.
It took a while but they finally found work for him in the stable. It was hard work but at least he could send
money to his family back home.
One night about
a week after what would have been Arnold's 18th birthday, Gerald had
to work late. On his way back to his
room he usually passed the locked bedroom built for Prince Arnold's birthday
(It had since been used for storage.)
Even though it was midnight, Gerald paused as he passed it. #Poor little guy…# Gerald thought. #On the
day before the danger was over too.#
Suddenly Gerald's blood ran cold.
He thought he heard footsteps inside.
#How can somebody be inside?
Nobody's been inside since Queen Pookie put the latest suit she made in
there!# But as he stood there he
distinctly heard footsteps. Then he
heard a crash as if somebody tripped over some boxes. Then he thought he heard mumbling. At this point Gerald was terrified. Queen Pookie was rarely up this late (Early to bed, Early to
rise!) Gerald ran.
First thing next
morning Gerald went to see The King.
"Whats'a matter boy? You look
like you've seen a ghost?" King Phil
asked him. "Your Majesty," Gerald said
bowing, "Was your wife the queen up late last night." "No, She went to bed before I did last night." Gerald gulped. He then proceeded to tell The King about what he had heard the night
before. Phil thought a minute before
saying "Well we could all use an adventure.
How about we both go tonight and see if it happens again?"
"Ggg.. go back?"
Gerald stammered.
"Well we're here
no sound let's go!" Gerald said.
"Nonsense! It's only Midnight
now! We should wait aminut before
we…." He stopped short. "Listen…."
He mouthed to Gerald. Footsteps
were heard coming from the room. Phil
quickly unlocked the door and threw it open.
"Aha!" He said. Nobody was in there. "Now that's odd." King Phil said quietly.
The next morning
Phil had the boxes removed. But the
phantom footsteps and the muttering continued.
This had continued for two weeks before King Phil had a dream.
In Phil's dream
he saw a woman. She spoke to him. "Your Grandson is alive. He is enchanted and is spellbound in that
room. A maiden can set him free, but
only if it's the right maiden…….."
The next morning
King Phil sent out a proclamation "Any maiden who spends a night in the haunted
room and stays there till mourning shall have 100 gold coins!" Harold the head of the royal guard
complained "Hey! How come only girls
can do it! I'm not chicken!" Phil then told everyone present about his
dream. When he was finished Harold said
"Yea, but why can't I try?" Phil
decided he could have his try first.
That night
Harold went into the room. But shortly
after midnight the door was flung open and Harold ran out screaming "WAAAAAA!
MOMMEEEEEE!" and he ran off.
They didn't find him until the next morning. He was curled up in stall in the stable.
"I.. I.. I ain't goin b-back in there! T-there's a G-G-ghost!"
One of the next
people to try was Princess Rhonda of Wellington-Lloyd.
"And I shall do it in my stylish new 'Burgundian Style' gown. There is no way I,
Rhonda of Wellington-Lloyd can fail!" She declared. But fail she did. She ran
screaming, and in the process got a tear in her gown.
And so it was for
weeks. Every day a new maiden came, and
every night they ran screaming. One
'maiden' with thick glasses had lost her wig in her/his flight from the room.
But the sad truth was nobody could free Prince Arnold.
Helga was mixing
herbs. Phoebe and her were talking as
they worked. "So what do you think
about the ghost at the castle Helga?"
"I don't know, I think it's a shame nobody's been able to score those
hundred gold coins! You think it's true
about the identity of the ghost?" "I think it's quite possible that he is The
Prince." "So why don't you try to sleep in the haunted room?" Phoebe
blushed. "No, not me. I'm not brave enough. Not even my Gerald is brave enough to go in
there. I still can't believe that
Gerald and I are to be married." "Me
neither." Helga sighed. "I think I'm
done mixing this cold remedy. Anything
else you need me to do before I go home?"
"No, you should go home. It's
getting late. I can finish up here."
"Where's Ruth!
It's her night to cook!" Helga
screamed. "Oh yeah honey, she went to
the castle to try her luck. She said
you'd do it." Miriam sighed from her seat.
"Like Wow! I'm like, at the 'Sunsete Armes'!" Ruth gushed. "You're to stay until morning, 100 coins, yadda yadda yadda!"
King Phil explained. By this time the
castle staff was pretty used to hearing all this, and they were pessimistic
about The Prince ever being freed. "But
like, wait your Highness! Can I have
some like, food and cooking stuff and firewood to cook (I forgot to make dinner
earlier.)" "hmm… Well okay. Gerald here
will show you to the room, I'll send somebody with some chow."
It was almost
midnight. Ruth had built a fire in the
fireplace, set the little table that was in there, and was cooking some stew
for herself. "Stew's up!" She said as
she poured it into one of the little bowels on the table (She was so used to
setting the table for four she had accidentally set the table for four.) She had just had two mouthfuls of stew
when she heard footsteps and moaning.
She just sat there eating her stew (It's hard to feel scared with warm
food in you.) Suddenly before her eyes a translucent young man appeared. He seemed to be wearing a blue tunic with
fine embroidery (Surly the queen's handwork!)
hose, (ditto.) and a crown. He
had a handsome football-shaped head, but oh!
How very sad he looked.
Ruth stared at
him. Then with a voice that seemed far
away he asked sadly "Please, for whom have you cooked?" "For myself, Duh!" This response seemed to make him sadder. "And, for whom is the table set?" "Like, for
myself alone!" This seemed to make him
sadder still. "For whom is the bed
made?" "Me! And don't let me catch you
in it!" Oh dear. Now he was crying. As he was ringing his hands he faded away.
And after that Ruth had a peaceful night.
The next morning
the guards were surprised to see Ruth walk out of the room. The night watchman said he didn't even hear
her scream. Somebody had finally spent
the whole night in the room. King Phil
was sad. Prince Arnold had not been
freed. But a proclamation is a
proclamation so he sent her home with 100 gold coins.
"It is ever
so nice you won the gold coins!" Lila exclaimed. "We could always like, get more!" "Whatever do you mean sister
dear?" "Duh!" Ruth said. "Like go to the castle, and spend the night
like I did!" "I see. It would be ever
so nice to have 100 gold coins of my own.
I think I shall go."
By that
evening the word had spread that somebody had slept the entire night. "And the hundred coins are still being
offered!" But that night the only one
to offer to sleep in the haunted room was a young redheaded maid.
"In order to
get the coins you must spend the night, so on and so forth." Phil instructed Lila. "My sister has instructed me. I will try my hardest sire." "So your sister was the one how did it
yesterday eh?" Phil mused. "Before I go, may I go borrow a few things
from your pantry?"
The room had
been cleaned since yesterday. The
dishes cleared and the bed made. Lila
made a fire in the fireplace and set the little table." "Oh dear!
In my haste I seem to have grabbed three bowls instead of one!" Lila
exclaimed. "Oh well, at least there'll
be a bowl for soup in case I break one."
Lila had made a wonderful chicken soup and a roll too!
At midnight
she heard the moaning and footsteps.
Lila quietly ate some soup.
She saw the translucent young man appear in front of her
like Ruth said. She gave him a
look. He looked so very sad. In a faraway voice he asked, "Please, for whom is the soup made?" "I made
it for myself, I am ever so hungry." He
seemed to be saddened by this. "And for
whom is the table made?" he asked sadly.
"For myself, myself alone." This
made him sadder still. "And for whom
is the bed made?" "For myself. I am ever so tired." Ah me!
Now he was crying and wringing his hands. He faded away. Lila
finished her soup and went to bed.
Early the next
morning Lila asked one of the guards to escort her to The King. He sat on his throne with sad smile. He gave her the gold coins as promised. But when she left he sighed. Arnold wasn't free.
"Welcome
home! Did you like get the coins?" Ruth
said enthusiastically. The whole family
was gathered around the table in the kitchen, with the exception of Miriam who
was in her seat. "All one hundred of
them! Whatever shall I spend them on?"
"Was it scary?" Asked Helga. "Not at all. And yes it's true, the ghost is The Prince." Helga thought a moment. * The Prince. Ar…nold. What sad fate
that thou is trapped.*
"I think I would
like to go too." Helga said. "What."
Miriam said from her seat. "Sorry
honey, you're to young." "What! I'm 18!
And besides you let Lila go and she is only ten months older than I
am!" "Let her go Mother. It would be ever so nice to have another
hundred coins." "I don't want the
stupid coins!" Helga said exasperatly.
"Huh?" Ruth asked. "If you don't
want the coins why go?" Lila asked. "I
want…. To set him free." Ruth exploded
(No not literally!) "Are You like,
nuts! As long as that enchanted
twerp stays where he is there is gold for the taking! Just do as we say and you'll have a peaceful
time of it!" And she and Lila proceeded
to instruct Helga on what she was to do.
That afternoon
Helga had put on her best. White
peasant blouse, pink dirndl (It's a kind of dress, Look it up!), and dark pink
apron. She did her hair in her braids
and started towards the castle. When
she got there she was escorted to The Kings presence by Gerald. She knew him both from when he was small and
lived in the village, and because he was engaged to her best friend. "So, You're the widow's youngest
right?" Gerald asked. She nodded.
"I thought you looked familiar."
When she was in
the throne room she looked around.
There was The King on the dais.
Queen Pookie was there too. She
had on a knight's helmet and was clutching a spear. King Phil glanced down.
"You're here to spend the night in the room yes?" He asked with a tinge of boredom. "yes sir."
"Well to get your coins blah blah blah." "Um… yea my sisters told me." "She's the widow's youngest."
Gerald piped up.
"Oh. Well let's see
if Boldness runs in the family." "Can I
have some food and stuff? Please?"
When Helga
went to the pantry she grabbed a lot. *Free food!*
She got help with firewood.
She built a warm toasty fire.
Over the fire she roasted a chicken, and made a large pot of vegetable
soup. She set the table (She had
brought two bowels and two plates in case she broke something.), and sat down
to wait.
Around midnight she began to nibble on a
chicken wing. Then she heard footsteps
and the softest moaning. Helga felt
terrified. She wanted to run but out of
terror just sat there. Then before her
eyes appeared….. *Oh god! It really is him!* Before her was a handsome, translucent, young man. Despite the fact he had aged a little Helga
recognized him. *It's true. He isn't a stable boy after all. My hasn't he grown though!*
He
spoke. "Please, for whom have you
cooked?" Though his voice had changed a
little this made Helga's realization solid.
*It is Arthur! He and the prince
are one in the same!* Minutes passed
silent. He sighed then asked even more
sadly "Please, will you not tell me?
For whom is this food made?"
Helga shook herself out of her thoughts and was about to reply as Ruth
had instructed when she stopped. She
couldn't bear to see her beloved so sad.
She then looked at the table of food.
There was a lot of food. Surely
she wouldn't eat it all.
"I made it for
myself, but you can have some too." Helga said. Arnold looked startled.
Then a tiny grin crept across his face.
"And for whom is the table set?" he asked. "Criminey! If you're
gonna eat you might as well sit!
Doi!" Oddly, this made him
smile. "And the bed? For whom is
it made?" he asked hopefully.
"If you'd like, you can sleep in it." And oh!
He was laughing with joy and clapping his hands. "I accept!
Both bed and meal! But first I
should bid farewell to friends who have been kind to me."
A huge, wide
crack opened up in the floor. This
scared Helga quite a bit. "I'll be
right back." He said to her before
floating down into the large hole in the floor. Helga couldn't decide wether to stay in this room alone, or
following The Prince into the hole.
She decided to take her chances with the hole.
As soon as she
stepped in the large crack she began to gently float downwards. After a minute the crack seemed to lead to
another world. She was now in the sky
of a very beautiful world. She could
see Arnold below her floating to the ground.
Helga quickly pushed her dirndl down and prayed *Please don't look up!
Please don't look up!*
They landed in a
field of flowers. Helga hid quickly so
he didn't see she was following him.
Arnold bent down and started to bid farewell to the flowers. They nodded their blossoms and waved their
leaves goodbye. Helga looked around her.
Far above she could barely see the crack in the sky. To her left she saw gorgeous mountains. To her right she a flowing river of crystal
water. She saw Arnold start to walk
towards a forest.
Helga followed
him from a short distance. When they
got to the forest Helga noticed the trees were pure silver! Birds of all sorts flew to The Prince. He spent a few minters bidding them
farewell. "I'll miss you all,
Especially you Chester." He said as he
softly patted a pigeon on the head.
Helga looked up
into the tree she was hiding behind. On
impulse she snapped a silver twig from the tree. The sound caused Arnold to look around. "Did you hear something?"
He asked his winged friends.
Then he shrugged. He bid the
birds farewell one last time, then walked further into the forest. Helga quickly shoved the twig into her
pocket and followed Arnold, being careful to hide behind trees in case he
should turn around.
A little
farther on the forest changed. Now the
trees were solid gold! After a very
short time they came to a small clearing.
Helga stayed in the trees being careful not to be seen. Animals of all sorts came to The
Prince. He spent a few minutes
caressing them and bidding them thanks for all their kindness.
Helga looked
up the trees. Again on impulse she
snapped a twig off the tree. The sound
made Arnold look around. "I'm sure I
heard something this time." He said to nobody in particular. He bid the animals a final goodbye and
started back the way he came. Helga
quickly hid behind a tree, shoved the golden twig into her pocket, then
followed Arnold back.
When he
passed the birds in the silver trees he thanked them and bid them goodbye a
final time. When he passed the flowers
he bid them thanks and farewell a final time.
Then he looked up to the crack in the sky and started to
rise up. Helga thought *Crud! How am I
supposta get back up?!* Throwing all
caution to the wind she ran to Arnold and was able to grab the hem of his
tunic. Luckily for her, he didn't
notice. They rose back up through the
crack. When he was back in the room the
crack started to close. Helga got out
in the nick of time. "Hello?" he
asked. "Behind you, just sitting here."
She responded. "Oh, there you are! Let's eat!"
Funny. She looks familiar. She sure is pretty though Arnold thought
as he sat across the table from her. During dinner they had pleasant conversation. Near the end of dinner he asked her "So,
what is your name?" "I am Helga, youngest daughter of the widow Miriam." She said not too bluntly. This caused Arnold to nearly choke on some
chicken. No wonder she looks so
familiar! "And you are?" *As if I
didn't already know!* After clearing
his throat he said, "I am Prince Arnold, also known as 'Arthur the really lousy
stable boy.' I honestly was going to
tell you who I really was but," He sighed.
"I fell off my horse on the way to meet you that day." "I kinda figured you weren't a stable
boy." *So I'm responsible for
this.* Helga felt sad at this thought
but didn't let it show.
So they spent
some time pleasantly reminiscing.
Arnold had found himself falling in love. It's too bad this can't last. *This probably won't last.*
He asked after his family and friends.
"So Gerald's getting married?
That's wonderful!" Arnold said when he heard how his old page was
doing. He yawned. "I'm tired. It must be at least 2 a.m. You sure I can have the bed?" "Go ahead.
It's no skin off of my nose!" "Okay.
Goodnight then." He lay in the
bed and was asleep within minutes.
Helga had
found herself falling in love all over again.
*I could have been nicer. I
probably won't even see him again.* she
thought as she sat down by the fire (Which at this point was only glowing
embers.) KLUNK! "Owch!"
Helga had forgotten all about the twigs in her pocket! They were now poking her behind. She stood up and removed the twigs from her
pocket. She studied them carefully in
the moonlight from the window.
They shone beautifully.
She walked
over to the bed and gazed into Arnold's face.
He seemed positively real now.
He was (if possible) even more handsome than she had remembered. He was still even wearing his crown. Helga laid the golden twig at his head, and
the silver twig at his feet. She took a
long look at his face. *Might as
well. Might be the last chance I ever
get.* Helga bent down and kissed
Arnold's lips. He was fast asleep. Helga sighed.
"Sweet dreams my beloved."
She said quietly as she sat back down on the floor near the
fireplace. She took one last glance at
the bed before lying down and falling asleep herself.
"Man that girl is lazy! 9:30 and she's still in bed!" Gerald complained. "I sure ain't seen her come out." The night guard for that
portion of the castle said. "By golly
she must still be in there." "Let's
give her another 20 minutes before we wake her up." Phil said to everyone
present. "We must be quiet, lest the
bear attack." Was all Queen Pookie had to say.
Twenty minutes passed without sign of the girl. They all decided to go wake her up.
Arnold was
woken up by a loud "What in blazes!" in his grandfather's voice. Then all of a sudden he heard many voices
talking at once to him. "Kimba's
home!" "My word! It's The Prince!" "Hey Arnold! Is it really
you man?" "I missed you so much
short-man! I guess you're not so short
now!" He opened his eyes and saw the
crowd of people around his bed.
"ugnn.. huh? Wha?" He stammered. He recognized his Grandparents, Gerald, and one of the former
stable boys Stinky. He bolted upright.
Yes, it was definitely them. He stared
at his hands to see if they were real.
"I… I.. I'm still here but how?!"
Then a slow realization dawned on his face. He looked in the corner at Helga, who had also been awakened by
the commotion.
"L.. last
night. You followed me didn't
you?" Arnold asked Helga. Now everyone was looking at her. Helga got up and stretched. "Yes." She said as she plunked down on a
stool. "But weren't you scared?" He asked with concern in his tender voice.
"Of course I was scared.
Doi!" Helga said as she looked
up briefly. "If you were scared then
why did you follow me?" Helga could not
control herself. She jumped up.
"Because I Love you Football head!" She yelled. "I'm completely nuts about you!
Wacko! Insane! Infatuated!
Have been since you rode into my life and…" Helga clapped her hand over her mouth realizing she had just
blurt out her deepest secret! She sat
back down.
"Helga! Do you know what you did?!" Helga shook her head with her hand still
over her mouth. "Because you followed
me, even though you were scared, I'm free!
Free! Oh happy day!!!" He jumped
out of his bed. The crowd around it
backed up to give him room for his exuberant joy. He turned around and saw the twigs lying on the bed. He smiled a big goofy grin. He swiftly gathered them together and threw
them out the window! When they landed
in the garden a wonder happened. From
the silver twig arose a beautiful silver fountain that gave forth sweet, clear,
refreshing water! And from the golden
twig grew a wonderful tree that bore golden apples!
Everyone
came up to Arnold to congratulate him on his newfound freedom.
Helga simply smiled at him from where she was sitting. He politely thanked them and then slowly
walked to where Helga was sitting.
"Helga?" "Yea?" "Last night, sharing those memories, I had a
really good time. And over the years
you have grown so beautiful…." "What are you getting at?" "Well… Last night I
realized I like you.
I mean 'Like you Like you'.
And now I know you like me too.
So I guess I'm trying to say….. Will you go out with me?" Helga fainted. "Uh.. Helga? Hello?"
Three
months later Arnold and Helga were married (He proposed on a date to the berry
bushes where they met.) The ceremony
at the church was beautiful, but not as beautiful as Arnold and his Princess. And after the ceremony King Phil was finally
able to throw a great banquet. The was
food, wine, more food, and of course….
Dancing!
"I cannot
believe you are a Princess now Helga!" Phoebe said. "Believe it Pheebs." "Oh
my Helga! Where is your husband going
with that!?!" Arnold was walking
towards Sir Thaddeus of Gamelthorpe with what appeared to be a blond wig. "No offence Curly, but you look horrid in
drag!" Arnold whispered in the noble's ear as he handed him the wig. Sir Thaddeus blushed beet red.
When Arnold
and Helga danced, she was amazed at how well he danced. As if reading her mind he said softly "I had
a lot of time to practice." Then he
kissed her softly. And when it came
time to throw the bouquet who should catch it but Sir Eugene (More accurately
the bouquet knocked him face first into his goblet of wine.)
During dessert King Phil came up to the bride and
groom. He said, "I just have one bit of
advice Arnold." "Yea? Whats that Grandpa?" The was a gurgling noise and Phil grabbed
his stomach. "Never eat
raspberries." The King said before
dashing in the direction of the privy.
Helga and
Arnold were the happiest couple. They
loved each other dearly.
When King Phil died a few years later Arnold and Helga were
coronated the new monarchs of the kingdom and the castle 'Sunsete Armes'. King Arnold appointed Gerald head
advisor. Helga and Arnold did have
children (That's another story though.)
And so it was that King Arnold and Queen Helga lived happily
ever after (Despite the occasional lover's spat, which every healthy
relationship has.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A mouse has run. My story's done.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That's it! I hope it
was worth the wait! You can convince me
to write again by giving a revue. But
this time the name of the game is 'Constructive Criticism'. If you like it,
Say why. If you
don't (Which I doubt you do judging the reviews from part 1) explain.
Did I get the characters right? Were the descriptions good?
Reviewing makes me happy.
If however, you so happen to be Craig Bartlett you could
make me very happy buy making my ficcy into a movie, and pay me as 'Creative
assistant'. Just publicly announce on
the television you wish to do so and I'll see what I can do. Until then I just write more fics in between
activities. :)
