Chapter 6
"Dukums," groveled a pint-sized ogre. "That Gummi airship is back."
"It is, is it?" replied an intrigued Duke Igthorn. He thoughtfully stroked his beard and tried to think of how he could use this new knowledge. So far all of his plan to capture the Gummi bears have failed in one way or another. "I need a fool-proof plan, one that even you can pull off, Toadwart."
"Yes your Dukiness," groveled Toadwart.
A cool breeze came in through one of the windows causing all documents and maps on the table to blow about the room. Toadwart races around the room trying to catch everything before it flew away while the Duke was lost in thought. The whistling of the wind almost sounded like words. "Magic, use magic. You will succeed with magic."
"Toadwart!" hollered the Duke, "take a letter! Write to Lady Bane and tell her that I need her help to capture the Gummi Bears. Tell her that when we succeed that she can have all the Gummi secrets she wants as long as I get the bears."
"Right away Dukie!" promised the Toadwart as he rushed to do his task.
~:~
The Lady Bane looked down at the miniature ogre after reading the letter from Duke Igthorn. "So he needs my help. Not a surprise, really. It takes a woman to get things done properly. Tell him that it will take time but I will come up with the kind of spell that he needs." She dismissed Toadwart and had her troggles escort him out. She valued her privacy and only let the strange long-legged toggles share it with her. They were ugly, vicious, and easy to train. To her they were the perfect pets.
"Let's see," she murmured as she made her way to her books of magic. She leafed through page after page carefully thinking out the pros and cons of each spell. After many hours she finally had a few that together should work beautifully. As she worked out the plan over and over in her head to make sure that it would work her confidence level rose. Finally she could contain it no longer and laughed triumphantly. "The Gummi Magic will finally be mine!"
~:~
Dinner at Gummi Glen was full of mixed emotions. Sadness mingled with excitement as the crew for the airship prepared to leave. Bears talked about how they would miss the Glen and how they Crew would be missed while others talked about the gummi colonists that would be coming to the Glen. Amongst the babbling voices Tummi stood up and waited for silence. One by one the gummies noted that he had something important to say and shushed those who were still talking. When he finally had everyone's attention he spoke.
"I have something to say," he stated the obvious as he worked up the courage he would need. "I am going back with Chummi on the airship. I will be coming back but it will be on a real ship so that I can sail the ocean once and for all. It's been my dream and I can't pass it up."
Stunned, Grammi, Zummi, and Gruffi just started at him while Chummi slapped him on the back.
"It will be good to have you will us, Tummi." said the Gummi Captain.
A small pink cub tugged on Tummi's leg. Cubbi had come around the table unnoticed to his brother-like friend. "Are you really going, Tummi?"
"I'm afraid so. I have to. But I'll be back."
"My stars Tummi!" exclaimed Zummi. "Why didn't you say anything before?"
"I really hadn't thought about it," answered the chubby bear. "Not until Marina told me that her Uncle could give me a job as a sailor. Up until then I didn't really think that I could ever be on a ship. Now that I can...I just have to."
"Forget it!" roared Gruffi. "No cub of mine is going to just up and leave because he wants to follow a silly dream. You don't know enough about sailing and don't know what you are getting into."
Grammi wiped the tears from her eyes with her apron and turned to Gruffi. "Gruffi Gummi, you can be so stubborn! Of course Tummi should follow his dream!" She then walked over to her eldest cub and hugged him tight. "I'll miss you, Tummi, but we can't keep you a cub forever. No matter how hard we try. You go and follow your dream and make us proud."
~:~
"Where is that blasted bear!" cursed Shelli as she paced back and forth in the Glen's common room. She had been waiting for Gusto for hours. Her stomach was growling almost as loudly as she was. She listened to the conversations going on in the Dinning Hall while she waited to try to distract herself. All it did was make her more impatient as she realized how much time was passing. Eventually, dinner finished and the plates were cleared away. Before anyone could notice that she was still there Shelli fled to her room.
Tears of embarrassment, anger, and sorrow flowed down her cheeks in tiny rivulets. She had hoped so much that Gusto would be there and that he truly cared for her. Once again it seemed that the one she cared for betrayed her. Her gypsy curse was never going to leave her.
"I might as well give up," she sobbed. "I'm not ever supposed to be happy or loved. I should just go home and let my father choose a husband for me." At that moment she felt that quest for freedom to do as she pleased had failed miserably. She had thought she was happy with the gypsies but after Sasha died things went bad. Here at Gummi Glen things had started out well but once again she had been let down. She was going to miss the Glen Gummies whom she had begun to think as family but she knew what she must do.
Shelli took a deep breath to calm herself down and to gather courage. The tears were still flowing down her cheeks while she packed. It only took a few minutes for her to gather her things - she didn't have much, after all. The small bag only confirmed her decision. If her entire life was able to fit into suck a little bag then she wasn't really leaving much behind.
~:~
"Hey Artie, how's my time doin'?" asked Gusto without taking his eyes off his painting. When he got no reply he asked again. "Arte?"
The sleepy toucan woke up to the call of us name and sleepily looked at the artist. "What are you still doing here?"
"I'm just about done. I was asking you how my time's doin'," replied the distracted bear.
Arte stared disbelieving at his friend. Could he really be so wrapped up in his work that he has absolutely no idea what time it is? "Gusto, the sun set hours ago. Don't you remember lighting the lantern?"
"WHAT?!" Gusto dropped his paintbrush in shock as he realized Arte was right. He had lit the lantern but he was concentrating so much on his painting that he really hadn't noticed what he was doing otherwise. He looked out the cave entrance and saw the stars shining brightly as his stomach tightened with guilt. "I screwed up big this time, Arte. I'm going over to apologize to Shelli now."
"She's probably asleep by now."
"Not likely after being stood up."
Gusto rushed over to the Glen as fast as he could. He only paused long enough to catch his breath before entering the Great Oak. It wouldn't do him any good to apologize if he was too winded to say anything. He quietly went through a door to the Glen careful not to wake anyone. In a few brief minutes he had made it to Shelli's door and stood nervously before he. He took a deep breath and rubbed his sweating palms on his tunic then softly knocked on her door.
Shelli opened the door and when she saw whom it was she slammed it shut again. Gusto wasn't going to give up that easy, though. "Shelli, I know I don't deserve it but please give me a chance. I came to apologize."
After a moment of silence the door opened again with an angry pink bear in the doorway. "You can make it over here to apologize but not for dinner? I don't understand you!" She turned her back on him and stormed back into the bedroom. Since she left the door open Gusto followed her in.
"I really had no idea what time it was, Shell. I came over as soon as I realized what I did."
"Just what were you doing that you couldn't look outside and see that it was pitch black? You couldn't have been painting, sculpting, or whatever in the dark."
"I was painting..."
"In the dark?!"
"No...I lit a lantern."
The glare Shelli gave him was lethal. "You realized it was getting dark enough to light a lantern but not to remember to meet me for the sunset? Well, don't you worry, Gusto Gummi. After tomorrow I won't be an inconvenience to your works of art anymore. I'm going home."
"You can't leave!" Gusto blurted out.
"Why not? My father sent your brother looking for me to give me a letter saying how much he misses me. I owe it to him to go back."
"I don't want you to leave, Shell. Can't you stay at least a little while longer? If things don't work out then you can return with the colonist ship. Please don't go."
"Give me one reason why I should stay," replied Shelli angrily. Gusto wasn't making this easy for her.
"Because I love you. I was afraid to tell you before because I didn't want you to leave."
Shelli was touched but confused but overall still angry. "Why would I have left?"
"I don't know! You left home because of all the suitors being thrown at you. I was afraid you'd just run away again."
Shelli sank down on her bed and began to cry again. Her conflicting emotions were overwhelming her. All she could think about was the mess she had gotten herself into. Gusto sat next to her and gently stroked her hair to comfort her. When her tears finally stopped Shelli shared with Gusto everything that she had been feeling and thinking that evening. Gusto, in return, shared his feelings that he had been keeping hidden from her. The two continued to talk well into the night while eating their picnic dinner. When morning finally came the two were passed out next to each other on the bed.
"Dukums," groveled a pint-sized ogre. "That Gummi airship is back."
"It is, is it?" replied an intrigued Duke Igthorn. He thoughtfully stroked his beard and tried to think of how he could use this new knowledge. So far all of his plan to capture the Gummi bears have failed in one way or another. "I need a fool-proof plan, one that even you can pull off, Toadwart."
"Yes your Dukiness," groveled Toadwart.
A cool breeze came in through one of the windows causing all documents and maps on the table to blow about the room. Toadwart races around the room trying to catch everything before it flew away while the Duke was lost in thought. The whistling of the wind almost sounded like words. "Magic, use magic. You will succeed with magic."
"Toadwart!" hollered the Duke, "take a letter! Write to Lady Bane and tell her that I need her help to capture the Gummi Bears. Tell her that when we succeed that she can have all the Gummi secrets she wants as long as I get the bears."
"Right away Dukie!" promised the Toadwart as he rushed to do his task.
~:~
The Lady Bane looked down at the miniature ogre after reading the letter from Duke Igthorn. "So he needs my help. Not a surprise, really. It takes a woman to get things done properly. Tell him that it will take time but I will come up with the kind of spell that he needs." She dismissed Toadwart and had her troggles escort him out. She valued her privacy and only let the strange long-legged toggles share it with her. They were ugly, vicious, and easy to train. To her they were the perfect pets.
"Let's see," she murmured as she made her way to her books of magic. She leafed through page after page carefully thinking out the pros and cons of each spell. After many hours she finally had a few that together should work beautifully. As she worked out the plan over and over in her head to make sure that it would work her confidence level rose. Finally she could contain it no longer and laughed triumphantly. "The Gummi Magic will finally be mine!"
~:~
Dinner at Gummi Glen was full of mixed emotions. Sadness mingled with excitement as the crew for the airship prepared to leave. Bears talked about how they would miss the Glen and how they Crew would be missed while others talked about the gummi colonists that would be coming to the Glen. Amongst the babbling voices Tummi stood up and waited for silence. One by one the gummies noted that he had something important to say and shushed those who were still talking. When he finally had everyone's attention he spoke.
"I have something to say," he stated the obvious as he worked up the courage he would need. "I am going back with Chummi on the airship. I will be coming back but it will be on a real ship so that I can sail the ocean once and for all. It's been my dream and I can't pass it up."
Stunned, Grammi, Zummi, and Gruffi just started at him while Chummi slapped him on the back.
"It will be good to have you will us, Tummi." said the Gummi Captain.
A small pink cub tugged on Tummi's leg. Cubbi had come around the table unnoticed to his brother-like friend. "Are you really going, Tummi?"
"I'm afraid so. I have to. But I'll be back."
"My stars Tummi!" exclaimed Zummi. "Why didn't you say anything before?"
"I really hadn't thought about it," answered the chubby bear. "Not until Marina told me that her Uncle could give me a job as a sailor. Up until then I didn't really think that I could ever be on a ship. Now that I can...I just have to."
"Forget it!" roared Gruffi. "No cub of mine is going to just up and leave because he wants to follow a silly dream. You don't know enough about sailing and don't know what you are getting into."
Grammi wiped the tears from her eyes with her apron and turned to Gruffi. "Gruffi Gummi, you can be so stubborn! Of course Tummi should follow his dream!" She then walked over to her eldest cub and hugged him tight. "I'll miss you, Tummi, but we can't keep you a cub forever. No matter how hard we try. You go and follow your dream and make us proud."
~:~
"Where is that blasted bear!" cursed Shelli as she paced back and forth in the Glen's common room. She had been waiting for Gusto for hours. Her stomach was growling almost as loudly as she was. She listened to the conversations going on in the Dinning Hall while she waited to try to distract herself. All it did was make her more impatient as she realized how much time was passing. Eventually, dinner finished and the plates were cleared away. Before anyone could notice that she was still there Shelli fled to her room.
Tears of embarrassment, anger, and sorrow flowed down her cheeks in tiny rivulets. She had hoped so much that Gusto would be there and that he truly cared for her. Once again it seemed that the one she cared for betrayed her. Her gypsy curse was never going to leave her.
"I might as well give up," she sobbed. "I'm not ever supposed to be happy or loved. I should just go home and let my father choose a husband for me." At that moment she felt that quest for freedom to do as she pleased had failed miserably. She had thought she was happy with the gypsies but after Sasha died things went bad. Here at Gummi Glen things had started out well but once again she had been let down. She was going to miss the Glen Gummies whom she had begun to think as family but she knew what she must do.
Shelli took a deep breath to calm herself down and to gather courage. The tears were still flowing down her cheeks while she packed. It only took a few minutes for her to gather her things - she didn't have much, after all. The small bag only confirmed her decision. If her entire life was able to fit into suck a little bag then she wasn't really leaving much behind.
~:~
"Hey Artie, how's my time doin'?" asked Gusto without taking his eyes off his painting. When he got no reply he asked again. "Arte?"
The sleepy toucan woke up to the call of us name and sleepily looked at the artist. "What are you still doing here?"
"I'm just about done. I was asking you how my time's doin'," replied the distracted bear.
Arte stared disbelieving at his friend. Could he really be so wrapped up in his work that he has absolutely no idea what time it is? "Gusto, the sun set hours ago. Don't you remember lighting the lantern?"
"WHAT?!" Gusto dropped his paintbrush in shock as he realized Arte was right. He had lit the lantern but he was concentrating so much on his painting that he really hadn't noticed what he was doing otherwise. He looked out the cave entrance and saw the stars shining brightly as his stomach tightened with guilt. "I screwed up big this time, Arte. I'm going over to apologize to Shelli now."
"She's probably asleep by now."
"Not likely after being stood up."
Gusto rushed over to the Glen as fast as he could. He only paused long enough to catch his breath before entering the Great Oak. It wouldn't do him any good to apologize if he was too winded to say anything. He quietly went through a door to the Glen careful not to wake anyone. In a few brief minutes he had made it to Shelli's door and stood nervously before he. He took a deep breath and rubbed his sweating palms on his tunic then softly knocked on her door.
Shelli opened the door and when she saw whom it was she slammed it shut again. Gusto wasn't going to give up that easy, though. "Shelli, I know I don't deserve it but please give me a chance. I came to apologize."
After a moment of silence the door opened again with an angry pink bear in the doorway. "You can make it over here to apologize but not for dinner? I don't understand you!" She turned her back on him and stormed back into the bedroom. Since she left the door open Gusto followed her in.
"I really had no idea what time it was, Shell. I came over as soon as I realized what I did."
"Just what were you doing that you couldn't look outside and see that it was pitch black? You couldn't have been painting, sculpting, or whatever in the dark."
"I was painting..."
"In the dark?!"
"No...I lit a lantern."
The glare Shelli gave him was lethal. "You realized it was getting dark enough to light a lantern but not to remember to meet me for the sunset? Well, don't you worry, Gusto Gummi. After tomorrow I won't be an inconvenience to your works of art anymore. I'm going home."
"You can't leave!" Gusto blurted out.
"Why not? My father sent your brother looking for me to give me a letter saying how much he misses me. I owe it to him to go back."
"I don't want you to leave, Shell. Can't you stay at least a little while longer? If things don't work out then you can return with the colonist ship. Please don't go."
"Give me one reason why I should stay," replied Shelli angrily. Gusto wasn't making this easy for her.
"Because I love you. I was afraid to tell you before because I didn't want you to leave."
Shelli was touched but confused but overall still angry. "Why would I have left?"
"I don't know! You left home because of all the suitors being thrown at you. I was afraid you'd just run away again."
Shelli sank down on her bed and began to cry again. Her conflicting emotions were overwhelming her. All she could think about was the mess she had gotten herself into. Gusto sat next to her and gently stroked her hair to comfort her. When her tears finally stopped Shelli shared with Gusto everything that she had been feeling and thinking that evening. Gusto, in return, shared his feelings that he had been keeping hidden from her. The two continued to talk well into the night while eating their picnic dinner. When morning finally came the two were passed out next to each other on the bed.