Disclaimer: The characters and relationships between the characters from the Tarzan books and the movies are copyright of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Disney. I only own any fanfiction characters.
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Category:
Disney (Tarzan)
Genre: Romance/Action/Adventure
Rating:
PG
Summary: More strangers encounter the African jungle,
but what do they want? One of the humans finds herself rather
attracted to Tarzan, but how can she remove Jane from the picture so
she can be with him?
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Part Three
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"Mmm..." Olivia groaned, rolling onto her back, feeling the dappled light shine warmly on her rosy cheeks. With her eyes clenched, her palms searched the surface that was holding her body. It certainly wasn't dirt. It was the wooden limb of a tree. She could feel the growing moss attached to the sides of it.
I...I'm
alive, Olivia thought, confusion blurring her mind. But,
but how is that possible? I fell hundreds of feet - how can I be
unharmed? And...how in heavens name did I become engaged in this
tree?
Olivia's eyelids began to flutter weakly. She opened
them wonderingly, pondering over the miraculous event of her
survival. She still couldn't imagine what had happened...until it all
came flooding back. She could remember the baby rhino and its mother,
how the female had become so furious and she had chased Olivia
through the jungle.
But
then... Olivia thought, thinking hard. I...I was falling, I
can remember. I was running, and then I fell off a cliff...I was
screaming, and now, here I am...alive. It sounded so
ridiculous.
All Olivia could see was an image of blurred teal.
At first she thought that it was the sky, but when her vision focused
properly, she saw that she was staring into two, strong, green-blue
eyes. Olivia's own sea emerald eyes snapped open in surprise. At
first there was a long silence. But it soon
shattered.
"MAAARRRGGGGHHHH!" Olivia squealed
shrilly, pulling herself up from the bough and sitting upright,
staring at her sight in terror. She saw what looked like a
man, except he was crouching, and he strongly reminded her of
a gorilla's posture, though she couldn't explain why. She suddenly
felt her cheeks turn scarlet as she gaped at him.
Good
heavens... she trailed. He's hardly even wearing
anything! He's only wearing a loincloth! Gracious, how
embarrassing...
Frightened and puzzled at the same time,
the girl began to back away using her palms and boots, seeing the
frowning face of the man. Her breathing sped up rapidly, her eyes
were wide with shock, and her thumping heart was pounding vigorously
in her throat. "No...no, noooo..." she moaned, as
she had finally reached the trunk of the tree, finding she had
nowhere else to go.
The man, she saw, had become to make his
way over to her, using his knuckles to walk on, his arched legs and
his straight back for balance, Olivia once again saw how much he was
acting like a gorilla, but now wasn't really the time. He was moving
closer...closer...nearer...
She
realised that he had her cornered, and she couldn't do anything to
prevent it. She saw his face looming in towards her, cocked to one
side, his face filled with confusion.
Olivia realised that
after everything that had just happened, she really couldn't take
anymore. Curling up her knees to her chest, placing folded arms on
top of them; she buried her face into the gap. She felt strong, salty
tears warming up again, shaking violently as she stared at the branch
beneath her. I'm about to die - I'm going to die...someone help
me, I'm going to die - Mummy, help me, help me...
She
began to sob pitifully, hot tears tickling down her already scorching
cheeks. She couldn't help herself. Her weeps sounded soulful, as if
she wanted someone to reach down from above and take her away.
Someone safe.
"Please," she choked out, still not glancing up from her arms. "Please...just leave me alone, don't hurt me...please..." She sobbed more quietly after that, as if waiting for something awful to happen. But instead, she felt something. A warm hand on her arm.
Oh
no, she thought, terrified. He's touching me...he's touching
me - what's he planning to do to me?
She pulled sharply
out of his hold with a choked gasp, her cheeks stinging from her hot
tears, and even more tears leaking out of her jade eyes. They were
now open in horror, as she stared up at the wild man. For a moment,
her heavy breathing flew in and out on the humid air, before she
finally managed to speak once again.
"Please,
please don't hurt me...please...just let me go." She
couldn't look away from his face, wondering, planning on what he was
going to do next. Olivia didn't know how a wild man happened to be
here in the jungle, either way, he positively terrified
her.
But then, a strange thing happened. The wild man's
features softened. His frown vanished, and now his eyebrows had
seemed to narrow, almost as if he were pitying her. He didn't look
cross or puzzled any longer. Now he looked rather sorry. Olivia
stopped begging instantly, making the silence between them present
once again.
Olivia ran her eyes across his face, seeing his
features, examining them properly, and inspecting his eyes. She
suddenly felt rather bashful, and could feel her cheeks burn as she
gazed at him. It was then that she noticed how handsome he was.
Compellingly, her eyes darted over his tanned body, his curved
posture, and his well-toned muscles. She thought that he appeared so
strong. Her shy eyes turned back onto his face again, and she
immediately felt a little less afraid. But the new fast-paced beating
of her heart was something to think about.
It was then
that she heard words escaping out of the blue, in a rich, deep voice
that gave her goose bumps at the very sound of it. "Are you
alright?"
Olivia stared at the wild man. It was then that
she realised what had just happened. She struggled to find her voice,
which was annoyingly lodged in her throat. "Did...did you
just...say something?" she asked, trying not to sound as
frightened as she still felt.
The wild man nodded, his face
still very worried. "Yes," he told her comfortingly.
Olivia felt herself shiver all over. His words always seemed to sound so wonderful, as if he were protecting her without even touching her, like he wanted her to be safe. The wild man repeated his question as before, still sounding anxious.
"Are
you alright?"
Olivia suddenly felt very horrid. She had
acted like that he was going to harm her, and yet here he was, being
so kind and supportive that she felt like that she had made a huge
fuss over nothing.
"Oh,"
she breathed, her tears drying instantly, her voice rather mellow.
"Y...yes. I'm alright." She almost felt like kicking
herself for sounding so ridiculous before.
The wild man moved
a little closer, taking her arm in his hand. "Why were you
crying?" he asked, his gorgeous blue eyes full of worry.
Olivia
felt herself grow warm at his touch, his fingertips against her pale
skin felt like tiny sparks of electricity running over her flesh. She
felt herself blush along her cheekbones as she stared back at him,
her green eyes locked on his.
"I...I...I..." she
started, but for a reason she couldn't finish. She didn't really know
why that she had been crying. She didn't want to tell this wild man
that he had terrified her. It might hurt his feelings. Instead,
another question slipped out through her lips.
"H...how
did I get here?"
The wild man still kept his grip on her
arm, which Olivia was thankful that he did. "You were falling,"
he explained simply. "I heard you scream, so I caught you. I
took you up here afterwards. I think you had fainted." His voice
sounded so soothing Olivia imagined that she was melting from the
tone of it.
"Oh,"
she whispered again, managing a weak smile, the heat from her cheeks
drying up her tears. "You rescued me. T-thank you."
The
wild man smiled warmly back at her, and Olivia felt a dreamy, dazed
look coming across her mind. He looked so much more handsome when he
smiled.
He's so beautiful, she thought to herself vaguely. And he's so kind. He's wonderful. But...there's so much I wish to know about him.
Olivia
broke out from her daydream, glancing up at the wild man, afraid to
move her arm in case it broke his contact with it. She murmured out
another question, lost in bewilderment and confusion. "Who...who
are you?" she uttered, her voice sloped.
The wild
man removed his hand from her shaking arm, pulling himself into an
easy crouch. "I'm Tarzan," he said plainly, his voice
making Olivia's heart pound with excitement.
Olivia's face
fell into confusion, her green eyes darting around, unsure of where
to look. She finally faced him again. "Your name
is...what-sorry?" she questioned politely.
"Tarzan,"
he said again, this time, with a sweet smile. Then he added; "Who
are you?"
"O-Oh," Olivia announced, feeling
automatically foolish. "Terribly sorry-excuse my poor manners."
She dangled a leg over each side of the tree, placing a hand to her
chest formally. "I'm Olivia," she pronounced graciously.
"Olivia Greenway."
Tarzan frowned in thought. He
could remember that name. Olivia Greenway...Greenway - where had he
heard that? Then he remembered.
Those men who were talking at the docks! Someone said that an 'Olivia' had gone missing, and someone was shouting to someone called 'Lord Greenway'. This must be the Olivia that went missing. And that man...must have been her father.
He
spoke up for her, telling her what he had heard. "Your father
was looking for you," he informed her. "He knows you are
missing."
Olivia blinked. "What do you know of my
father?" she asked pleasantly, though her features were tight
with confusion.
Tarzan didn't answer her. Instead, he placed
both of his strong, gentle hands on her shoulders. "I think I
should take you back," He told her kindly, looking her straight
in the eyes. "Your father is worried about you."
Olivia
felt her cheeks blush as she stared at him, so many more questions
left to ask. She didn't want to go back. She wanted to stay in this
tree. With Tarzan.
"No-no,"
she pleaded, shaking her head slowly. "Please, please don't take
me back." She lowered her head, foolish for sounding so
defiant.
Tarzan frowned mildly, trying to understand what she
meant. "Why?" he finally asked, taking his hands off her
shoulders, searching her face for answers.
"Well,
because..." Olivia started, biting her lip with worry, trying to
find a suitable explanation. She decided to use her emotions for her
own need. "My...my father...he doesn't...he doesn't want me
around."
Tarzan's thoughtful glower faded. He could
remember what it was like to have a father who didn't want you to be
around. He could imagine what it had been like. Kerchak had never
wanted him for a son, and he never wanted to be Tarzan's father. He
had looked upon him with loathing and disgust. Was this how Greenway
was treating Olivia?
"Oh," he said, pity once again
in his tone. By now, he was unsure of what to do. Greenway didn't
really sound very trusting, he thought to himself. Perhaps I
shouldn't take Olivia back to him. But she can't stay up in this tree
forever. Tarzan suddenly had an idea.
"Come back with
me," he said, making Olivia look up in surprise. "I'll take
you back to my treehouse. You'll be safe there."
Olivia
felt flattered by his suggestion and the way that he was being so
kind. She sighed at the beautiful, deep voice that was giving her
this invite. "Oh, would you?" she asked hopefully,
her face shining with the knowing that she would stay with him
longer.
Tarzan nodded with a satisfied smile. "Yes,"
he told her gently, pulling back into his gorilla posture again. "You
don't have to go back to your father."
Olivia smiled
sweetly at his charming face, the way that he so much wanted to help
her. First by saving her life, then by offering to take care of her
until she was ready to go back home. Maybe when we go back to his
treehouse I could ask him more questions, she thought. I
really wish to know why he moves like a gorilla so, and how he got
such a peculiar name.
"Thank you...Tarzan,"
she murmured, blushing once more.
