8. Morning Grumpiness
"I will skin him alive!"
No Heart paced angrily, eyes glowing in anger as Gentle Heart sat on the table on the balcony of the cauldron room. Her muscles almost felt weak she had been so worried of being caught. As soon as arriving home and assuring Playful Heart she was fine, she only took long enough to make a cup of relaxing tea, which she had abandoned, before leaving to his castle. If it was one person she could be truthful to, it would be No Heart. After all, it was he of all people who should have been informed at once.
"The little coward needs to come out of hiding," No Heart growled, "And show his face after his stunt… so I can electrocute him into oblivion!"
He stopped, tapping his foot on the stone ground impatiently, anticipating the return of Beastly, wherever Brave Heart taken him. He turned once again to Gentle Heart. "And you are sure that they didn't realize you had made the potion?"
"They only thought it was water in a bottle… they thought Beastly was just bluffing," Gentle Heart answered, fidgeting her leg nervously, though there wasn't much left to be nervous about.
No Heart tapped his claws on the table she sat on, still fuming. "He should feel lucky that both he and you weren't caught."
Gentle Heart looked down at her paws. It wasn't unobvious that she was being overwhelmed. Two major things happened within the same morning, all of them at least an hour apart. She just needed to relax… but there probably wasn't even any time for that. Then there was another thing… she couldn't stop thinking of what her family had said. She vividly remembered Cozy Heart's exact words of 'that was desperate of him to actually believe we'd think someone in our family would be messing around with potions.' Her family trusted her… and they really didn't have a clue of what she was doing, or what she was doing at this very time. She really was going behind their backs. Gentle Heart had convinced herself that she wasn't only saying anything so they wouldn't worry. Even though she was sure she was doing the right thing, in fact, she was nearly absolutely positive that this was the right thing… it still was a much different feeling than she was used to. Realizing this, she noted to use her magic to try and find out what she was really feeling now, after having been nearly caught. She was brought back in reality by No Heart clenching his hand into a fist, in the process scratching the wood of the table with his dagger nails.
"It's apparent Beastly will not show himself anytime soon," No Heart growled, "Therefore I will find him myself!"
He shifted to the form of a deep purple crow, perched on the edge of the table. Gentle Heart watched as he turned to her. "Your family must not suspect anything… you cannot stop what you have accomplished so far."
Gentle Heart was surprised that he made such a comment. It almost sounded like a command. She actually begun to think that something was amiss before No Heart unfolded his glossy wings and flapped into the air, calling behind him. "Best of luck with your family."
When he flew from the open windows of the cauldron room, she couldn't help but smile, surprised for even thinking he would really be plotting against her after being so helpful...despite what her family truly thought of him. Even though he wasn't completely generous, it still was enough to prove he wouldn't have been lying to her this entire time… right? She once again forced herself to smile. "That's stupid of me…"
Realizing she had to return to Care-A lot, she jumped from the table, landing on shaky legs and concentrated enough to form a cloud car. Climbing in, she just wanted to go where Noble Heart and True Heart thought she was it… home.
The bright Forest of Feelings sunlight shined in through open windows, a light breeze ruffling the fur of all of those in the Hall of Hearts. Gentle Heart carried her tray to one of the tables, stifling a yawn with her free paw, and took a seat next to Cheer Bear. The wind from the opened window blew on her, and she breathed in deeply, enjoying the fresh air of Care-A lot. Her taking a seat seemed to have made everyone at the table quiet.
Cheer Bear smiled as cheerfully as she could. "Have a good morning, Gentle Heart?"
"Mhmm," the lamb softly replied, opening her eyes to respond to Cheer Bear so it wouldn't appear as though she was ignoring her.
"Um… are you okay?" Birthday Bear blurted, only curious as what to happened the other day. The result was Playful Heart nudging him, hinting that it wasn't a very good subject.
She nodded, smiling as though to prove that if she was capable of doing that, she would be perfectly fine. She poked her fried egg with her plastic fork, causing the yolk to run. "Has True Heart or Noble Heart said anything about the ball?"
"No," Cheer Bear answered, aware that the lamb was only asking this to change the subject, "But I bet it's going to be fun! I can't wait to help out everyone make their dresses! I'm already helping out Harmony, Wish and Proud Heart. Do you think that green clashes with Proud Heart's fur? Because she doesn't think so and it really does!"
Everyone just shrugged, the majority of them not too interested in design or knowing what clashed with what. Playful Heart jabbed at his pancakes with his fork, trying to find a good place to lift them up by. "Shouldn't you wait until you actually know what the theme is?"
"What's wrong with you?" Birthday grinned, elbowing the monkey in the side, "You aren't doing handstands on the chair or burping every two seconds! Something must be terribly wrong!"
"I'm just asking," Playful Heart replied and shoved more pancakes in his mouth, talking through it. "Besides, the wind was really loud last night and I couldn't sleep."
"No, it wasn't!" Treat Heart pointed out.
Swallowing, Playful Heart just grumbled something about how she doesn't fall asleep in a tree house. Gentle Heart decided not to pay too much attention, minding her own business. The question she had asked everyone was now even making her think. Every year, she usually had help from True Heart to make her dress… she wasn't very talented when it came to sewing and matching colors. Maybe this year she could give True Heart a break and attempt to make her own dress. She couldn't help but groan as she realized that she couldn't… she'd probably be too wrapped up in learning magic and getting that under control. Gentle Heart rested her head in her paw. She was very well aware that she was being bitter lately, but just blamed it on lack of sleep. After all, it was usually in the mornings when she was acting this way. As if to answer the question that her table had been wondering about, Tender Heart walked into the Hall of Hearts, clearing his throat. "Um. Excuse me…"
Though he was fairly quiet and the Hall of Hearts was loud, he still managed to catch everyone's attention. "Since it's been concluded that we're able to do the theme this year we have first selected, there will be a meeting at the Hall of Hearts tonight at seven. You'll be told what the theme is."
"Perfect!" Love-A-Lot said, "Now we can think of our costumes. Well, I'm gonna see Tender Heart."
She left the table, and Gentle Heart couldn't help but curiously look at the two. She didn't know if they were dating or not, but Love-A-Lot had said that Tender Heart admitted to liking her. As the two spoke, she felt rude for being do intrusive and turned back to her tray. So far, she didn't have much planned for the day. She was considering attempting to remake the potion she had tried to make the day after last, but wasn't too sure of it. She had yet to completely flip through the book… maybe she could even go to No Heart's castle and try to look through any of those other spell and potions books, aside from the ones he had informed her not to use. She may be able to accomplish all of these before the Care Bear meeting if she didn't have any caring missions, which she most likely would.
Gentle Heart stood, tray in her paws. "I've got to… go to tummy symbol practice."
"But it's a Sunday," Cheer Bear reminded her, "We never have practices today."
"Oh," Gentle Heart said, not realizing this herself, "Then I might as well go home and relax."
"Have fun," Birthday Bear called, not able to see the fun in just laying around all day.
Gentle Heart arrived at home, her own windows open to also let the soft breezes flow throughout her house. She walked into her room to the closet, kneeling down to push aside several spare blankets inside to reach the two books No Heart had let her use. Even though not too many bears or cousins came to her house on a daily basis, she still wanted to be careful. Pulling them unto her lap, she sat back on the soft carpet. Though it hadn't been long since the Beastly incident, she still couldn't help but be interested in what No Heart was showing her. Opening the potions book, she flipped to the bookmarked page of the potion she had intended to give to Grumpy Bear. She stared for a long time at it. Should she really try to make the potion again? What were the chances of Beastly actually bothering to try and blow her cover? She was sure that No Heart had found Beastly wherever he had been hiding, and taught him a lesson.
Gentle Heart shut the book, determining that she might as well finish what she had already started later. She slid the first book back into the closet beneath the blankets, and then opened the much larger book with half of its contents being in other languages. She flipped through, not quite sure of what she was looking for. There were all types of magic, spells and potions in this book, but it all merely explained it. Though she had been told that learning magic took patience, she would rather be actually performing it than reading about it. Something caught her eye, and she stopped on a particular page. Gentle Heart wasn't sure why the page caught her attention compared to the others, it looking just like all of the others. She squinted to read the fading handwriting to make out the two words of Dream Walking. She used her finger to scan down the page, skimming the contents. From what small fragments she read, it was actually being able to enter your dreams. She flipped to the page before it, curious as to see what it might be related to. Oddly enough, it was the first form of magic that No Heart had ever taught her.
She turned back to the dream page, interested, for it must had some connect to the magic that No Heart had shown her. But then she looked up, hearing someone knocking at her door. She creased the upper right corner of the page, shutting the book and carefully hiding it under the spare blankets along with the other potions book. She went to the doors, opening it to see no other than Grams Bear. "Hi, Grams."
"Good morning, Gentle Heart," the gray bear answered sweetly, "I really hate to bother you so early, but I need someone to watch the cubs this morning… I have to have a talk with Noble and True Heart about the ball. I thought you were perfect for the job."
Although she was a bit frustrated that this would happen when she planned to spend time on learning, she couldn't refuse. "Sure. When should I go?"
"Actually, I learned of this little meeting a bit late," Grams explained, "Would it be too much to say that they need a babysitter this moment?"
Gentle Heart forced a smile. "Of course not. I'll go right now."
"Thank you so much, Gentle Heart, you're a real sweetie," Grams Bear said while waving as she walked to her cloud car.
The lamb sighed as she finally left, using her call to make a cloud car of her own. She hopped inside, shutting the door behind her. She shouldn't be getting annoyed of the favor Grams had asked her of, but couldn't help it. She was being irritable, like she had noticed this morning, but once again blamed it on having to get up so soon. She made her way to Care-A lot, thinking of what time she may have left to at least try to make the potion again.
Gentle Heart sat in a chair, but she couldn't stand. It may be because she was strapped to the chair by a jump rope. Hugs and Tugs walked over from the kitchen, Tugs dressed in a white vest that made him look like a doctor. Or in his case, a mad scientist. Hugs walked next to him in the same outfit, playing the role as the assistant. Tugs pointed at Gentle Heart still strapped to the arm chair in the living room. "I've finally done it! I've made a monster, and I can bring it to life!"
"Good goody gosh! Er… I mean, my goodness, how did you do it?" Hugs asked, feigning shock.
Gentle Heart swung her legs in the seat, not quite as into the game as Hugs and Tugs. The blue cub cleared his throat. "Um. Simple! I just… found it. And now I'll bring him – her to life!"
"But Frankenstein is a boy," Hugs pointed out.
"Not this one!" Tugs replied, "Fire up the henerator!"
"Generator," Gentle Heart couldn't help but say.
"Right, what she said!" Tugs answered, and Hugs went over to a lamp pulling the strong to indicate that she had 'fired up the generator.'
Then all three of them looked to once to see three Carebears walk inside. Gentle Heart had never been so thankful to see Grams and Noble and True Heart. The three smiled, looking at Gentle Heart strapped down into the arm chair. Much to her thanks, Noble Heart walked over and freed Gentle Heart. "I bet you three have been having fun!"
"Yep," Gentle Heart answered, sounding much more enthusiastic than she really was. In fact, her back was fairly sore from sitting in the same position for such a long time.
Hugs and Tugs took off their mad scientist jackets, trying to look innocent for Grams. The gray Carebear smiled. "And I'm sure that you two weren't doing anything you weren't supposed to be."
"That's right," Hugs nodded, "We were good and planned Frankenstein!"
"Sounds fun. Well, it's close to lunch time so we better get started on making some sandwiches," Grams Bear said, "Would you like to stay and join us?"
While Noble Heart and True Heart agreed to do so, Gentle Heart insisted that she would only be making Grams Bear work more at making lunch when it wasn't necessary. As she walked from the living room and after saying her goodbyes, she took a glance at the clock on the wall to see that she had spent two hours looking after Hugs and Tugs. Now it was noon, and it still gave her enough time for the day. Glad that her mission of looking after the cubs was complete, she headed outside and created a cloud car with her tummy symbol. Hopefully, she wouldn't have any distractions now.
As she was walking out of the door, True Heart tapped her on the shoulder. Gentle Heart turned around, expecting to be lured back into lunch. Instead, the white Carebear had a concerned smile. "Gentle Heart?"
"Yes…?" The lamb asked, almost immediately thinking that it may have had something to do with Beastly and the potion mix up. Her stomach almost did a flip when thinking about this.
"You may not realize this, or anyone else in the family, but Noble Heart and I are in fact aware of gossip," she said, "And I just want to say that sometimes ignoring others emotions can make conflict begin. Sometimes it's best to confront someone who sees you in a different way than you see him – them, I mean."
Gentle Heart blinked. She had no idea what she was talking about. "Huh?"
True Heart put a paw on her shoulder with a smile. "Love-A-Lot and Proud Heart, the infamous match-makers of the Kingdom of Caring can be right, you now. It's about time we begin to find new feelings inside ourselves, too. Even Carebears and cousins can be confused about their own feelings toward one another… so live up to your name and be gentle about it."
Now with more understanding, Gentle Heart thought intently of what she had said. "Thanks, True Heart."
True Heart smiled. "It's what I do best. Is it something uncomfortable to you?"
Gentle Heart shuffled her foot on the ground. "I guess so…"
"Just remember, patience is the key," True Heart said, "And remember, some things may turn out how you might not think they will."
The lamb blinked, not knowing the full meaning of the last sentence True Heart had said. Still, she had things to do today.
Grumpy Bear laid beneath the Rainbow Rescue Beam controls, working furiously. Gentle Heart kneeled down beside him. "Grumpy Bear?"
The blue Carebear jumped a mile high, banging his forehead against the controls, he pushed himself out from underneath on his scooter, and put a paw to his abused forehead. "How great to see you, too, Gentle Heart."
Despite the sarcastic tone Grumpy Bear had, Gentle Heart smiled, concluding that she was in fact doing him a favor. Oil was splattered all over his face, and she could make out darker spots beneath his fur from having hit his head many other times. "Is there something wrong with the beam?"
"Well, if Brave Heart was to come from the beam rather than Friend Bear, would you consider there was something wrong?" Grumpy Bear asked, grabbing a cloth to his side and wiping more oil off his face carefully, being sure not to jab any of his bruises.
Gentle Heart looked down at the bottle in her hand. "Well, I thought that you could use this. It's kind of hot in here."
"Hot? It feels like I'm on fire!" Grumpy complained, taking the water Gentle Heart was offering him.
Though it appeared to be water, it truly was what he would have least expected for it to be. Gentle Heart had spent less than an hour at least making it, and now she could finally see if she was at least capable of making potions work. As the book had said, if the potion itself didn't work, there luckily wouldn't be any side effects. Grumpy Bear had already finished half the bottle on his first swig and now set it down. Gentle Heart couldn't help but stare, smiling, waiting if there would be any noticeable signs that the potion was working. Grumpy raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Nothing," Gentle Heart quickly said, "I just lost my focus."
Rather disappointed, she stood and began walking out of the room. The lamb stared at the white and pink tiles. She was sure that it would work. She reached the door, hearing Grumpy continue to work on the gears and mechanics on the Rescue Beam behind her. She reached a paw forward, opening the door. Maybe potions just weren't meant to be used by her. Then she heard a bang, louder than the previous one, and she whirled around to see if Grumpy Bear was alright. Sure enough, he was leaning up against the controls, cradling his head in his paw with a dazed smile. She rushed to his side. "Grumpy Bear! Are you alright?"
He nodded, looking as though he was seeing stars. "That really hurt!"
"You sure sound very cheerful about it," she commented as she raised his paw from his forehead to see if he was alright. Then she thought of the words that had just escaped her lips. "Are you happy about it?"
"Why shouldn't I be?" He laughed, "At least you're here for company. Wow, this headache is so bad I think I might need some pain relievers!"
Though Grumpy was in obvious pain to the point where he needed medicine, she couldn't help but smile as she helped to pull him unto his feet. She draped an arm around her shoulder though there was quite a height difference. "You should go to Take Care Bear's office, then. I'll take you there."
"Thanks," Grumpy said, "And sorry for being mean earlier… I don't know what got into me!"
"Is your vision blurred?" Take Care Bear questioned Grumpy. When he shook his head, she put a paw to her chin, "Are you seeing double?"
Grumpy sat on the edge of one of the beds in Take Care's office. She was rather confused, unlike Gentle Heart, as to what made Grumpy so suddenly cheerful when he'd normally be complaining and whining. The red bear looked at Gentle Heart. "So he just sat up and hit the controls?"
She nodded. "I heard it."
Take Care once again rested her paw in her chin. "That's odd. Usually when people are hit bad enough that they are dazed, it's usually a sign of a concussion. Grumpy sure is acting different, but he doesn't have any other signs of a concussion at all, or anywhere near it."
She examined Grumpy Bear once again, who just smiled. "I'm just glad that Gentle Heart cared enough to walk me over here. That was very nice… and it's just so nice of you to have so much concern over my health!"
Take Care couldn't help it any longer. A smile appeared on her features. "That hit he had taken must have really rattled him up! I can't say I've ever seen him this cheerful!"
She soon left to get the pain relievers that Grumpy Bear had requested, heading to a cupboard in her office. Gentle Heart hadn't stopped smiling since she first saw Grumpy show any signs of being cheerful. Her potion had actually worked! Just months ago, she wouldn't have even thought of even trying to make anything like a potion, and here she was now actually performing magic! Grumpy Bear sat on the edge of the bed, twiddling his thumb while humming a joyful tune. Gentle Heart was already excited to seeing No Heart another time! Take Care Bear soon returned, a plastic cup in one paw with medicine in the other. "Here you go, Grumpy."
"Thanks!" Grumpy said rather affectionately, pausing from his humming to swallow the two pills.
"Here's the rest," Take Care said, handing him the bottle, "Take two every four hours if it's really bothering you that much. If you feel nauseas or you become dizzy, visit me. Try to get someone else to drive you here if you can."
"That's so nice of you!" Grumpy stated, soon trapping Take Care in a hug.
"I'm just doing my job…" Take Care said confusedly.
Grumpy Bear stood before the red bear insisted that he sat down. When doing so, Take Care Bear motioned Gentle Heart to join her in a storage room for medicine. Not exactly sure of what Take Care wanted to say, Gentle Heart followed. The red bear cleared her throat, scratching the back of her head. "I was being kind of funny about it earlier, but now I think of it, I think something might be a bit serious. He's acting much too out of character. I've hardly seen anyone act this way after hitting their head. Now, he might answer this wrong because he seems to care more for others than himself right now, so I want to ask you something instead. Do you know if there was anything in the room at the time, like paint or chemicals? Like window cleaners and things like that?"
"I'm pretty sure there wasn't," Gentle Heart asked, figuring that these were medical related things she would never understand.
"Alright," Take Care said, thinking. "Do you know if he ate or drank anything that just might have been around chemicals before he began work on the Rescue Beam?"
"No!" Gentle Heart answered, instantly regretting that she said it so hurriedly and in that particular tone. Because looking at Take Care Bear, she could tell that the bear wasn't sure of the answer. "…I mean, at least since I was there."
The red bear sighed. "If you say so. Would you mind offering Grumpy a ride home? I don't want to miss any other patients."
"Sure," Gentle Heart said.
She was lucky to have escaped that so easily. Not only did she do a good thing for herself by proving she was capable of making a potion, but she gave Grumpy a chance to finally be happy! She once again went to the infirmary, helping Grumpy stand and walk him outside to his home. The blue bear still had the same distant look in his eyes, and he seemed to stagger instead of walk. Gentle Heart still couldn't stop smiling though. It didn't matter that Grumpy Bear hit his head, he was probably too happy to think about the pain! Then Gentle Heart realized what she had thought, and she almost tripped in disbelief. However, from her small stagger, it was enough for Grumpy to fall completely into the clouds.
Grumpy sat up. "Hey, that kind of hurt, too!"
Gentle put a paw to his mouth and instantly helped him up. "I'm so sorry!"
He just chuckled. "It's alright, it was probably my fault anyway."
The entire walk to his home was silent. Gentle Heart continued to think of the awful thing she had thought of minutes ago about poor Grumpy Bear hitting his head. Suddenly, she felt terrible for even trying the potion on him in the first place. Grumpy finally reached his home, and slowly opened the door. "Thanks for walking with me," he grinned, "It wouldn't have been as fun without you."
With that said, he suddenly hugged her very tightly for a good few seconds then went inside without a word. Gentle Heart stood at his porch for a minute, thinking of what she had done to Grumpy Bear. She dreaded the time that the potion wore off and he actually would be feeling the full pain of hitting his head. The lamb slowly exhaled, and decided that she should spend the rest of the day at home.
It was another dull, dark spring day. The clouds were a bit squishy and damp from the own clouds of Care-A lot mixing with regular clouds. It wasn't very fun trying to walk in half dry and half wet clouds… it felt like wallowing through mud. To some Carebears and cousins, this is the most disgusting experiences, yet to others, it was actually fun. Gentle Heart lamb had an expression that looked like she was going to be sick as she made her way through the clouds, trying to find the driest spots. When she stepped down, her foot would sink into wet clouds with an unpleasant squish. She shuddered, suddenly wishing she had breakfast at home instead of going to the Hall of Hearts. Gentle Heart wasn't even sure herself why she decided to come… she had woken up a bit sour for no apparent reason and was annoyed by the smallest things, such as when her shower took a bit of time to change from cold to hot. Or maybe it was because the meeting scheduled for last night had to be cancelled and moved to early this morning on account of an urgent caring mission Noble and True Heart had to do.
Now, she had reached the door but suddenly felt the same feeling underneath her feet suddenly hit her directly on the back. She yelped, and whirled around. Funshine and Playful Heart had both decided to take advantage of the half and half clouds of Care-A lot. Now Funshine was laughing hard, rolling on the wet ground and sinking in farther with each roll, while Playful Heart just tired to subdue his giggles and pointed at Funshine. "It was his idea…"
Gentle Heart just shot them an agitated glare. "Why'd you do that?"
Playful Heart seemed to sink further into the clouds underneath her gaze. "It wasn't me…"
Funshine Bear sat upright, and only everything past his mid-stomach could be seen above the clouds. He still giggled a bit, but managed to stop. "I couldn't help myself… cheer up, Gentle Heart! You can join us in the clouds!"
With that said, he pulled a ball of the cloud out and rolled it, so it almost looked like a snowball dripping with rainwater. "We can have a round of rain-ball fighting!"
He hurled the rain-ball at Playful Heart, and it smacked him right in the face, exploding with water. The monkey shook his head to get the water off, and then began to form his own weapon of cloud and water. He aimed it, pausing. "Want to join us, Gentle Heart?"
"No!" She snapped, heading inside and slamming the door shut.
Both Playful Heart and Funshine dropped their jaws in shock at what Gentle Heart had done. Not once before had they seen her actually slam something that hard, or even slam anything to begin with, let alone talk so acidly to anyone. Inside, there was the same reaction as Gentle Heart walked into line, rainwater dripping into her eyes from where the water had exploded into her wool as a result from the rain-ball. She stood next to Good Luck Bear, and he blinked. "Did you trip?"
"No," she responded in the same tone as before, "Funshine hit me with a rain-ball from the clouds."
Good Luck Bear even jumped a bit, hearing her tone. "Gentle Heart, are you feeling alright?"
"Never been better," she answered dryly and hurriedly filled her tray.
She shook her head, attempting to get some rain water from her wool and then sat down at a table with the usual bears and cousins who preferred the spot. Only table, a few of the squeamish bears were at home, not wanting to walk through the rain clouds. So today, only a few were there, including Brave Heart lion, Treat Heart, Birthday Bear, Love-A-Lot and Cheer. Everyone said their 'good mornings' to Gentle Heart, who just looked at her eggs. "Whose turn was it to make the eggs this morning?"
"Um… Share Bear, I think," Cheer said, "Isn't she good when it's her turn?"
The lamb scooted the tray away from her. "Well, she undercooked the eggs so now I can go without breakfast. I knew I should have stayed home."
Everyone just blinked, not knowing what had gotten into her. Brave Heart cleared his throat. "Um, Gentle Heart? Are you feeling well?"
"Why is everyone asking me that?" Gentle Heart asked.
As she said this, they could hear the familiar sound of the caring meter drop one point. This was something that you grew used to in the Kingdom of Caring, and it wasn't their job at the time to see where it had come from. Love-A-Lot, trying to be cheerful, smiled. "You're beginning to sound like Grumpy Bear!"
"It's not funny." Gentle Heart mumbled sourly.
Brave Heart glanced as the caring meter went down another point. "Gentle Heart, are you sure you're alright? It looks like you need some rest."
"I'm fine," she answered quickly, "I have to wait for that meeting. How long until it starts?"
"Half an hour," Birthday said, "I just got the perfect idea! For the meeting, you should come in and just start yelling like you're really angry! Not only will it let you vent some anger, but it would be the perfect joke to do! No one would expect for Gentle Heart lamb to yell!"
She stood from the table. "But I'm playing a joke now! I'd be better off waiting in the Castle of Caring where people don't tease me. Bye."
As she said this, the reaction from her table was similar to that of Playful Heart and Funshine. She stood, and left the Hall of Hearts, not bothering to take her tray. It was odd, because before she had always taken her tray so she wouldn't have to make any others do any extra work by putting it away for her, let alone snap at her own family. Brave Heart was especially worried, for he knew just how shy and quiet she was, and how this was a drastic change. As Gentle Heart walked out of the room, she walked by Bright Heart experimenting with the mechanics of a hand-held caring meter with Grumpy Bear. However, as soon as she walked by it, the caring meter began to beep shrilly and loudly, causing her to jump.
Bright Heart seemed just as confused as she. "That's weird."
"Can you please turn that thing off?" Gentle Heart asked rather annoyingly.
Bright Heart blinked, turning the switch to 'off.' He gave her an odd look. "Sure, Gentle Heart. Sorry."
She walked from the Hall of Hearts and back into the rain clouds. She didn't take her time and just walked right through without showing any signs of disgust, and made her way past Playful Heart and Funshine. Playful Heart bounced to her side. "Are you okay?"
She looked at him like she didn't have any time to talk. "Why shouldn't I be?"
Gentle Heart walked away, leaving Playful Heart speechless. It wasn't long until she stopped walking, realization hurting her. She put both paws to her mouth, nearly horrified at what she had done. Gentle Heart turned around and began running, each footstep leaving a sinking squish, and she finally was back to Playful Heart and Funshine. She panted from running the short distance, for it required much more strength when the clouds were wet enough for your feet to sink in. "I'm…sorry!"
Playful Heart managed to smile. "It's okay. Everyone is like that when they first wake up."
Funshine rolled over, dripping with water. "Does this mean you'd join us in our rain-ball game?"
Gentle Heart couldn't help but smile, relieved that they would be kind enough to forgive her over something so hurtful. She shook her head. "I need to apologize to some others really fast. And I've been wet enough this morning."
She went inside, and spotted the table she had been sitting at. Along the way, she stopped Good Luck and also said her apologies for snapping at him in the line for breakfast. He also forgave her. Now, Gentle Heart made her way to the table she usually sat at and took a seat. Everyone seemed to be confused at why she had come back so soon. Softly, ashamed of herself, she mumbled out "I'm really sorry."
"Don't worry about," Brave Heart answered before all others, "It's just this weather. A lot of us get a bit cranky just by looking at those gray skies!"
Gentle Heart still didn't feel like she deserved to be forgiven so easily this time. She was shocked herself at what she had said. The scary thing was that at the time, she saw nothing wrong with it. Cheer Bear smiled. "Do you want to try and have breakfast with us again? I bet Share Bear did a bit better on the eggs this time."
Gentle Heart nodded with a small smile. "Thanks…"
She stood and once again headed for the line, also suddenly realizing how hungry she was. Maybe it was both this and having to wake up early that made her so cranky. As she thought this, Bright Heart motioned her over to him. She walked to his side and opened her mouth to also apologize to him, but he spoke first. "Can you stand like that for just a second?"
The lamb blinked. "Uh… sure."
Bright Heart had the hand-held caring meter in one paw, and used the other to flip the switch so it was on. As soon as he did so, the arrow began to flick back and forth, and it once again began to beep loudly. Gentle Heart winced at the piercing sound, and it alone grabbed the attention of a few Care Bears and cousins. Bright Heart put a paw to his chin. "Alright… can you walk just a bit over to the breakfast line?"
She nodded and did so. Only after a few paces, the meter stopped beeping so loudly and suddenly seemed to die out. Gentle Heart watched as Bright Heart scratched behind his ear thoughtfully. "Okay… come back to where you were."
The lamb suddenly realized a few of her family members were looking on in interest, causing her to swallow, yet she still walked back to where she had once stood. Only within feet of where she was, the meter beeped loudly. Bright Heart nodded. "I think I know what's going on!"
Gentle Heart once again gulped nervously. "What is it?"
"In that necklace of yours," Bright Heart motioned to her magic amulet, "There might be some properties or minerals in it that set off the meters. I don't know why or how, but they might be picking up on some of them. Do you think I could have a look at it sometime?"
He turned the beeping meter off, and Gentle Heart thought carefully. Finally, she decided it would be okay as long as she hadn't used it to hold magic so far and agreed to let him do so. She took it off from around her neck and handed it to Bright Heart. It's only because it's been around No Heart, Gentle Heart thought as Bright Heart thanked her for lending the necklace to him, Things turned weird and uncaring when Dark Heart was around, so why not No Heart?
"Thank you all for attending this meeting so early in the morning," True Heart said as she stood at the head of the table, "We have two things to discuss!"
The Hall of Hearts table was completely full, no one having missions at the time. Everyone began to talk to one another, wondering what the theme could be for the Spring Ball. True Heart raised her paws to settle everyone down, and took her seat. "First of all, we'd like to thank for all of your participation, and all of your ideas were creative and would be just as fun as any other. Noble Heart, would you like to do the honors?"
The horse nodded, cleared his throat and also stood. "This Spring Ball, we are happy to say that the theme is…"
Playful Heart started a drum roll on the table, others soon joining in. Noble Heart took his time, drawing out the suspense and finally motioned for the drum roll to end. "…Renaissance!"
"PERFECT!" Cheer Bear bounced up. "The dresses will be great!"
Everyone began to talk excitedly, all ready planning out what their costumes might be for the ball. Though everyone was very excited and talkative, True Heart still stood. "Alright, calm down for just a moment… remember! The decorations are going to be kept a secret, so I just want to advise that you don't harass the helpers about what might match with your costumes and so on…"
Proud Heart nudged her in the side. "Did you choose that idea?"
She shook her head. "I think Harmony chose it."
The cat then smiled. "So, now do you think you'll know who you're going with?"
Gentle Heart exhaled, amazed at just how determined Proud Heart was. "No, not yet. Do you?"
"Brave Heart," she purred, "I think you should go with Playful Heart?"
Gentle Heart opened her mouth to respond, but now Noble Heart calmed everyone down. The horse once again stood to have everyone's attention. "I know everyone is excited, but we mustn't waste time. We have one last issue to discuss. As you might have noticed, No Heart isn't being as hostile as before."
Gentle Heart didn't say anything, but looked at everyone's reactions. It looked like they had been noticing recently. Still, Noble Heart continued, "There had only been one shadow attack this entire month when there are usually a couple! Beastly has only been here once, also, when he usually pesters us everyday. Shrieky had left No Heart's castle, I presume, because she usually caused trouble every minute of day and night in the Kingdom of Caring."
"Isn't that a good thing, though?" Swift Heart asked, "I bet he's finally given up! It's about time!"
The purple horse sighed. "I wish it was that way, but knowing No Heart, he doesn't give up without a fight. I'm just pointing out that he may be spending time planning for an attack, and that we should all be on our toes and not take it too easy and assume that everything will go along just fine."
"So what do we do?" Loyal Heart asked.
True Heart then stood. "Just be aware of things happening around you, we have no idea what No Heart is up to, so be cautious. You're all dismissed… it won't be long until caring missions start."
Everyone stood, beginning to talk. Gentle Heart noticed that almost every conversation was on the ball, and luckily not No Heart. She breathed a sigh of relief. She knew that at the time, No Heart was probably just a joke to the Carebears and cousins, and then even a Spring Ball was more important. They were more concerned about things having to the ball, not things that No Heart could do. As Gentle Heart walked outside, she almost wished that her family had more respect for No Heart. It didn't have to be positive respect… almost like people deciding to live beneath a volcano and now show any respect until that volcano erupts. As she thought this, Cheer Bear bounced over her to ask her about her dress and already begin to plan it out.
It was going to be a long while until the ball…