9. Little Lies
Gentle Heart stood in the flickering light of many torches, looking up at the many shelves and rows of thick books of magic. She probably would never be able to walk into the study of No Heart's castle and not have her jaw drop. She suddenly thought of the bad idea of all of the shelves just falling forward at once, and shuddered at the thought. The room was too pretty for it, even though it wasn't exactly glamorous with fashion.
"What is it you wanted to learn of?"
Gentle Heart blinked, realizing she had been staring. She turned to No Heart, a slight blush on her cheeks. "It was called 'Dream Walking' in the book you had given me."
"Ah," No Heart replied.
The lamb, much to her embarrassment, was very short and could hardly even reach the fourth shelf. She would have to be standing on her toes to even reach that shelf. Luckily, No Heart just happened to walk in during her time of need, though it did at first scare her incredibly. Sometimes she wondered how it was possible he could just conveniently show up where she was when she needed him, but didn't say anything. She watched as No Heart waved his hand, and two books floated out from the shelves. They hovered in front of her.
"Thanks," she whispered, reaching out and taking them into her arms.
She had paused, raising a paw to stifle a yawn. It had to be nearing the time she would usually be fast asleep… her eyes were very droopy, and she was only becoming sleepier from staring at the dancing light of the torches. Still, she hadn't been able to do this in quite a while and planned to do it this moment. She walked to the single, long table in the study and set her books on the throne-like chair at the head. Then a thought just happened to cross her mind. "What ever happened to Beastly, No Heart?"
The sorcerer scoffed. "He has learned his lesson. The little fool will not be bothering you again."
Gentle Heart climbed into the chair, then setting the two books on the table. "…What did you do to him?"
"Nothing, sadly," he sighed, "I just used a tree in your Forest as an example of what I would do to him if he ever attempted to try that again. The fire probably died down at least half an hour later."
"Oh," Gentle Heart blinked, not exactly sure if she wanted to know what he did in fact do to the tree. At least it didn't burn down the entire forest, or she would have known of it days ago.
She instead attempted to focus on what was in front of her. She was acting as though what she was looking at was homework when it was really her choice at the time if she wanted to continue. But she had to make this a part of her schedule now. She was becoming too wrapped up lately to even have been at his castle. Once you got used to the darkness at night and the shadows floating by, it actually wasn't that bad of a place. She liked to imagine it used to be a beautiful castle used in the medieval times before No Heart got his claws on it. She read a paragraph, but couldn't comprehend a thing. She was just too tired. Gentle Heart slowly looked up from the book. At least she could stand asking things now. "No Heart?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"
"Can you explain this to me?" Gentle Heart asked, "I really want to learn about it, but I just can't concentrate."
He walked over. "Perhaps you are coming to my castle much later than you should be."
First she wanted to say something along the lines of 'unlike some people, I'm not an insomniac' but only smiled wearily. She rubbed her eyes tiredly. "But everyone knows where I'm always at during the day. They won't know where I am at this time."
"True," No Heart replied, "But if it is magic you wish to learn, you cannot learn it half-asleep."
The lamb let out a sigh, running her paw through her wool. "What should I do? I want to keep learning magic… but I don't want my family to worry. They don't know I'm okay."
He shifted to a cat, pouncing on to the table to thoughtfully sit. The tip of his tail flicked, seeming to spend much time on deciding something. Finally, he made his decision. "It may be possible for me to go to you, rather than you come to my castle."
Gentle Heart blinked. "What?"
"Tell me," he purred, inspecting his claws, "Would it be more suspicious to your family that you would be willingly visiting my home or that I would willingly 'visit' your own home."
She tapped her fingers on the table. It was possible… "My family is being extra careful now, because they think that you're-"
"Plotting something against you," No Heart cut her off, "I'm aware of the family meeting you went to, and all about it. Perhaps you do not realize just how careful I am. When I do not want to be seen, I am not seen."
Gentle Heart knew that this was true. He was probably very sneaky, and most likely, it wouldn't be too much of a challenge for him to only appear in her home then leave. Some of her friends did occasionally visit her, but not enough for them to disrupt anything. She softly cleared her throat, staring down at the books in front her. "If it's okay with you."
He smirked, leaping down from the table and landing gracefully. "It will be easy… in my case."
He then shifted to his true form. "I will be at your home within the morning. I advise that you do not visit your little friends in the Hall of Hearts… in the meantime, grab your books and I shall take you to your home."
Gentle Heart pulled the two books into her arms and hopped down from the chair. She was dreading that No Heart would appear in her home early in the morning and scaring her to death by waking her. Then the lamb realized she was not only afraid for this, but her home would be too small for him to stand in… after all, he was very tall and she was very short. But then she smiled it off; her ceiling wasn't that low.
Soon, No Heart had taken her to the entrance of her home. The lamb recollected herself, still not able to stand straight after the lightning trips. She turned to thank him, but once again, he already managed to leave without her even noticing. Crickets chirped all around her as she opened the door to her house quietly. "He sure is careful…"
Gentle Heart awoke with a start to hear her alarm clock beeping loudly. She sat upright, opening her eyes and instantly regretting it when the morning rays shone brightly into her room. The lamb closed her eyes, using one paw to rub her now aching eyes and the other to press the 'snooze' button on her alarm clock. She breathed a sigh of relief when the only noise in her room was birds chirping from outside. She stretched, hearing her back pop loudly, and then walked to the window to open it. A flood of light rushed to her eyes when she opened the curtains, but a refreshing breeze soon greeted her as she opened the window. With a yawn, she rested her elbows against it. Slowly blinking, she could almost feel the bags beneath her eyes and was grateful No Heart was visiting her rather then she going to him late at night. Realizing this, she stood and decided she should use her time before he arrived to do her normal morning routines.
Breakfast only consisted of one slice of toast, which wasn't very filling. Gentle Heart hopped into the shower, hoping that she still had enough time. Minutes later she stepped from the shower, towel drying her wool thoroughly. The bathroom was steamy from all of the hot water, and it felt like she was burning up on the inside. Still, she sat on the edge of the bathtub, staring at the soft floor. She exhaled, feeling incredibly dehydrated, but deciding not to do anything to solve the problem. The lamb buried her face into her hands, suddenly feeling not up to anything. But she had to, no matter how much she was or wasn't looking up to what she had planned to do. Gentle Heart stood once again, toweling her hair fully. She stopped to look in the mirror, taking note of her tired eyes. Somehow, she looked entirely different. She stared longer, trying to see what was different and finally pinpointed it. Her eyes just weren't sparkling with that famous Carebear expression. Now, they were dull and weary, tired and exhausted.
"It's nothing wrong," Gentle Heart whispered to herself, running her eyes to make herself focus more. She was only tired.
The lamb left the bathroom, feeling relieved when she met the much cooler air and made her way into the room to brush her wool. Standing before her dresser, she took her brush and ran it through her soft wool, already feeling much better. The mirror in front of her stirred, and she set the brush down quickly, knowing what was to come next. No Heart's image soon rippled into the mirror, and he looked down at her. "I see you have been prepared?"
"Um, I guess," Gentle Heart looked down, her first instinct.
No Heart shifted to the cat once again, stalking on to her dresser and pouncing down. He sat on his haunches, raising an eyebrow as he seemed to inspect her room. It was too bright for his liking. "Shall we begin?"
"Yes," she replied softly, walking to her closet and opening it.
No Heart shifted to his true form, standing behind her as she kneeled down, pulling the spare blankets away. Gentle Heart couldn't help but blush in embarrassment as she heard an aggravated growl coming from the sorcerer open knowing where his precious books were being kept. She pretended to be taking her time, only so her blushing could fade by the time she had to face No Heart again. Having that accomplishing, she sat on her bed, book in lap to the bookmarked page.
"What is it you'd like to learn of?" No Heart asked, already beginning a pace.
Gentle Heart blinked, noticing how little he even sat down or rested. She cleared her throat softly. "Um. It's this… something called Dream Walking. I don't think I really get it."
"Ah," No Heart replied, "Dream Walking… it is when one uses to magic to enter dreams, control your actions and even speak to characters within the dream."
"But… don't you already control what you do in dreams?" Gentle Heart questioned.
"Not necessarily. As you sleep, you only make subconscious actions. However, using magic, you can have complete control over what you do. And within dreams, your environment is actually considered real," No Heart informed the lamb, "Also! Since dreams are all subconscious things, based off of things you may not have been aware of in life, the dream environment usually your subconscious."
Gentle Heart thought in silence, trying to make any sense of his last sentence. Slightly blushing, the toyed with the side of the page. "The environment is the subconscious?"
"Yes," No Heart answered, "Much is based off of emotions and personality within magic, so not all things are alike for those who use magic. Your subconscious involve both of these… and in dreams, it only displays all of these as your environment. Understand?"
"Yeah," Gentle Heart answered, staring down at the page, "Have you ever done this?"
There was a long silence from No Heart, and Gentle Heart couldn't help but look up to see what was stalling him. Instead, he raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you plan to use Dream Walking?"
"Um. I don't know," Gentle Heart answered, completely aware he had changed the subject, "Do you think I can?"
"I do not advise it," No Heart replied, "It isn't exactly the safest form of magic for a beginner. Though I believe you have the capability to use it. It would take time for you learn, only weeks, if you desired it."
She sighed, suddenly feeling the overwhelming sense of weariness. She once again rubbed her eyes, trying to make herself feel awake. "I can't… there is something that my family does every year in a few weeks."
"Oh?" the sorcerer seemed to show great interest in this.
Gentle Heart nodded. "It's something we started doing a while back. It was just an excuse for a second Halloween at first, but somehow turned into a masquerade ball."
"…And you are stressed over who your partner shall be."
"Huh?" Gentle Heart looked up, wondering if she heard correctly.
No Heart chuckled. "Though I'm not fond of the initial idea, I am aware of the issues that many people have when it comes to selecting 'partners.' Also, I may have an idea of who it may be that is troubling you."
Gentle Heart only blinked. How was it possible that he knew everything that even she couldn't tell sometimes about herself? If someone like No Heart could notice these things, did that mean her family could easily tell, too? She only blinked, wondering if the sorcerer could even tell who was particularly causing stress for her. No Heart had a grin in his eyes. "I believe his name is Playful Heart?"
Hearing this made her blush insanely, and she once again looked down at her paws. She didn't really know what to say if she did want to say anything to begin with. She felt the bed shift under weight as No Heart shifted to a cat and walked to her side, sitting down. "You know that stress isn't a good thing when it comes to magic. Avoiding problems doesn't solve much… it may only create more trouble."
She was surprised to hear this come from his mouth. It sounded like something True Heart would have said to her. She swallowed, her dry throat feeling a bit relieved. "I can't do anything. I'll only hurt everyone's feelings."
How was it that she could admit these things to the enemy of her family rather than to them? No Heart purred, stretching his claws on the sheets of her bed. "If you do not want to harm feelings, there's always an option. Lying… it doesn't hurt anyone. It can save them."
She didn't looked up from her paws. "Lying?"
"Yes. It's either sparing someone and their emotions or only hurting them," No Heart replied, sitting upright again, "Would you truly want to see Playful Heart suffer heartache? Or just save him the trouble by lying?"
"But… what's there to lie about?" Gentle Heart slowly questioned, not knowing how she could avoid Playful by lying.
No Heart smirked. "Many things. You spent too much time arranging other things to think of a partner. You cannot go with him because you've never gone alone before and want to try that. You do not have the proper attire. Or… you can not go and suddenly change your mind at the last minute. He would have found another partner by then."
That does make sense, Gentle Heart thought, And it's only doing Playful Heart a favor…
No Heart waited for her reaction, still smiling deviously. She was in deep thought, still staring down at her paws, not yet blinking. "Being a Carebear Cousin, I'm sure you're considerate of the emotions of others... anyway! Back to this dream walking! I'm sure I can help prepare you, if you really do desire to perform it."
Gentle Heart snapped back into reality by his words and softly nodded. "Oh. Right."
"Dream Walking is quite similar to the first magic I have ever shown you," he informed her, "Like it, Dream Walking can expose true emotion. This can be achieved by many means within the dream."
She looked down at the long page of ingredients. "I've never heard of any of this before."
He pounced from the bed, skillfully landing and shifting to his original form. "This would be because the ingredients are actually many potions. Therefore, there are many steps to Dream Walking. But, you can achieve it much faster without having to constantly go through the ingredients by putting it within your amulet."
With that said, he glanced at where the amulet would have normally rested around her neck. "…Have you lost it?"
"No!" she answered quickly, knowing it would have been horrible if she had lost something so pretty. Then she remembered where it really was… with Bright Heart. She instead thought quickly. "Cheer Bear is fixing a tangle in the chain."
No Heart had a grin showing in his eyes as he heard this. "See… lying is not that difficult, now is it?"
"Oh, you're going to look absolutely gorgeous!"
Gentle Heart watched as Cheer Bear hunted through her closet. Gentle Heart sat on the bear's bed next to Share Bear. The two exchanged glances. "We're not even sure what we're going to be!"
Cheer Bear momentarily poked her head from her closet, waving her paw in dismissal. "Don't worry about! Every girl in the Renaissance dressed the same. And really, who was actually famous that came from there?"
The door opened as Bright Heart and Grumpy Bear walked in, carrying in armfuls of cloth that they were requested to get. The two set it on the bed, which the pink bear moved on to it, searching frantically through the cloth. Bright Heart laughed. "Lots of people from the Renaissance became famous! Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Galileo, you name it!"
Cheer shrugged, pulling out a pink cloth sample. "I'm sure they aren't that important… Share, this pink will match your tummy symbol! Oh, wait… it will be covered up. Never mind!"
Bright Heart shook his head in disbelief, sitting on the bed, too. "You know, we have lots of time to be planning all of this. Aren't you going to worry about a partner first?"
"Worry about a partner? We only have one and a half weeks to plan out what we're wearing! That's not enough time!" Cheer exclaimed, "I'm lucky to have made my dress already!"
"So that's what you were doing instead of going to tummy symbol practice," Grumpy stated.
The pink bear shrugged. "It's for a good cause. I'm loaded with making a lot of dresses, so I have to space everything out!"
As they debated over whether she could be excused, Bright Heart raccoon suddenly seemed to remember something. "Oh! Gentle Heart, here."
He handed her the amulet No Heart had given her. Gentle Heart placed the amulet around her neck, being sure not to gat any wool caught in the chain. She was successful in this, and looked to the raccoon. "Was there something wrong?"
He shrugged. "I'm not sure… the caring meter reacted to it for no apparent reason. I was thinking some of the properties in it might set something off, but I'm not sure how a caring meter could do that. It would take a rocket scientist to figure that out."
"Then shouldn't you be able to know?" Gentle smiled.
He grinned. "I would if I have the right equipment."
They were interrupted as Cheer Bear suddenly squealed, holding up a cloth sample high into the air. "This is perfect!"
"Hmmm… teal. I guess that would work," Share said, "Thanks!"
"My pleasure! All I have to do is go to earth for all the supplies. I'll get back to you on that, because I have to start finding stuff for these three," Cheer said, motioning to Gentle, Grumpy and Bright Heart.
Share thanked Cheer Bear once again and soon moved on to her next victim. She pulled Grumpy Bear over to her, whipping out a flexible measurer and began taking measurements. Grumpy Bear stood still as she began measuring his head. "Um… is that necessary?"
"No, but just to be careful!" Cheer hummed, soon measuring his tummy, and soon his arms and legs, "Now, what did guys wear back then?"
"They wore a lot of things, Cheer. It depended on what kind of job you had, how much money you owned…" Bright Heart trailed off.
"Oh," Cheer answered, "Well, who do you want to be, Grumpy?"
"Shakespeare," he answered with a tint of a blush of his deep blue cheeks.
Gentle Heart leaned over to Bright Heart. "Who are you going to be?"
"Easy," Bright Heart grinned, "I'm going to be one of the brightest minds of the Renaissance! Leonardo Da Vinci!"
Gentle Heart knew that he was an artist, and many things more, but decided not to question him about it. She herself hadn't figured out who she wanted to be. She didn't know much about history, and not much about the people inside either. She wouldn't be here if she wasn't dragged into coming by Cheer Bear, so now she had no choice but to pick a persona. "Bright Heart, do you think you can help me with who I could be?"
"Sure," Bright Heart replied, "What were you thinking of?"
The lamb shrugged. "It doesn't really matter… something that wouldn't be too hard for Cheer Bear to make, I guess."
Bright Heart soon start talking as fast as water running out of an upside down jug. She only blinked as he easily began naming dozens of women from the Renaissance. Amidst all of the words that spilled from his mouth, she heard something she liked. "Queen Elizabeth?"
"Well, not the original, really," Bright Heart added.
"A queen?" Cheer squealed, "Perfect! I can already imagine what everything will look like…"
Grumpy Bear coughed, causing Cheer to go back to measuring his tummy. Gentle Heart could see the wheels turning in her head, though, as she plotted out what her dress would be. Grumpy Bear scratched the back of his neck. "Cheer, can I talk to you?"
"Sure! What is it," she asked rather hastily, now wanting to move on to the next costume.
"In private?" Grumpy Bear added.
Gentle Heart could only assume that he was going to ask her to the ball. Without question, she and Bright Heart walked into the hallway outside of the door. The lamb didn't say anything, pretending to be very interested in a picture on the wall of everyone as they were only cubs. She couldn't help but smile, seeing how little and innocent Brave Heart looked compared to how he is now, and Noble Heart and True Heart standing over everyone. It was Bright Heart that caught her attention.
"Who are you going with?" he asked.
She blinked. "Um… I don't know…"
See… lying is not that difficult, now is it?
No Heart's words worked its way into her thoughts, and she almost considered saying that she didn't plan on going. But she realized she had no reason to lie. "…I have a lot of time, anyway."
"It's only a week away," Bright Heart said, "You better hurry!"
Not replying, she once again looked to the picture. It wasn't as interesting anymore, but it was the only thing that she could rest her eyes on. Sighing longingly, she couldn't seem to take her eyes off of it. To her left, the door suddenly opened, and Grumpy Bear walked out with a sad expression. Bright Heart opened his mouth to ask if he was alright, but the blue bear already reached the end of the hallway and crossed into the living room, past hearing range. The raccoon and lamb exchanged glances, assuming the worst had happened. Then Cheer soon walked out, with two color samples in her paw.
She handed them to Gentle Heart. "Here you go, Gentle. You can fix up your make up to match with these. Bright Heart, can I help you out tomorrow? I feel a bit overwhelmed suddenly."
"Sure, Cheer," Bright Heart said, "It's best to relax."
The two cousins quietly left her home, Gentle Heart looking down at the two colors in her paw. White and a sky blue. The two were pretty together, but it suddenly felt as though both the bears she had just encountered rubbed their sadness on her. Bright Heart looked at her with a wondering expression. "Well, I should get going and help out Grumpy. Bye!"
With a wave, he ran off, leaving her standing on the porch to Cheer Bear's home. Gentle Heart wrung the cloth samples between her paws as she stared into the skies slowly turning orange and pink from the sunset. Reality was far from her at the time. She could only think of one thing that felt as though it may attach her back to the world. She looked up at skies were it was always darker than the rest, where the castle of No Heart hid. She would go there tonight. Everyone was too caught up in getting ready for the ball, anyway… she nodded to herself. "I'll go."
She looked down at her paws, and raised her eyebrows. She had twisted the cloth a lot more than she had expected. Shrugging it off, she concentrated on making a cloud car instead.
Gentle Heart followed the clicks of Beastly's sharp toenails scraping against the stone floor of the castle. It was completely dark in front of the lamb, and she hoped that Beastly wouldn't quietly step over something that would cause her to trip. So far, she was lucky. The brown, furry creature exhaled loudly for the hundredth time. "Right over here… you should really get familiar with these halls."
"It's hard when it's dark," she answered in a tone that even surprised her.
"Sheesh! I shouldn't have asked! Well, I, on the other hand, have memorized these halls like the back of my hand! I don't need light!" Beastly proudly boasted, then tripped over something.
Gentle Heart rolled her eyes, being careful not to step on whatever Beastly had. She made her way around it, and then when there was a flash of lightning, she could see familiar double doors ahead of her. "I know where I am, Beastly. You can go."
"You didn't have to tell me," he scoffed, heading off.
Gentle Heart glared at where she heard his voice. "Then you should have just left in the first place!"
Beastly once again grumbled to himself about her tone of voice, and this time, she ignored it herself and made her way to where she had last seen the doors. Extending her arms, she felt the doors and pushed with all of her strength. The heavy doors slowly opened, and she was surprised to see the cauldron room in a light that she had never seen before. Stepping in cautiously, she looked around. "No Heart?"
"Yes?" a voice called, "Come to the cauldron."
Lightning boomed in the thunder pit, and she looked around as she walked forward. The room was lit with an eerie green light, which seemed to be coming from the cauldron. Shadows watched her intently as she walked, observing her every move and making her nervous. Walking up the stairs, she walked to the side of No Heart, who stood over the cauldron. He waved his hand around, and as he did, the green mist the cauldron was producing swirled hypnotically. She stared. "What is it?"
"The beginning of a spell," No Heart stated, "That you will soon learn."
"Me?" she asked.
He nodded, still not looking away from the cauldron. "You are much more advanced than other beginners. I am going to grant you the privilege of using this spell, for I have belief in you, that you can do it."
"Wow," she breathed, "What does it do?"
He finally stopped moving his hand, and the smoke faded, the green liquid within the cauldron suddenly turning a pleasant pink. Gentle Heart could feel the warmth radiating from it as the sorcerer spoke, "It is a spell specifically for placing within your amulet. As you may know, both I and my shadows are not what one would call caring. If you spend too much time around either me or my shadows, your caring meter may indicate that you are uncaring. So this spell will prevent that."
She nodded, "How long will it take?"
"Not long," No Heart answered, "Only days if you spend enough time on it. I suggest that you complete this long before the ball, or the caring meter may interrupt it when you walk near. I'm sure you've had similar experiences."
"Once," Gentle Heart said, "What does the stuff in the cauldron do for the spell?"
"It's just a small portion. The ingredients used within it may not be very safe for a Carebear to handle. So I took the liberty," No Heart said, opening his hand so a bottle could float into it from a desk.
Though the cauldron was nearly full to the brim with the odd mixture, No Heart only filled the small bottle with it and handed it to Gentle Heart. Into his other hand floated a sheet of paper that looked more like parchment. "Here are the rest of the ingredients and steps. This spell cannot be found in a book."
He handed both items to her. Gentle Heart read down the paper, and opened her mouth to ask a question before No Heart answered her. "All of the ingredients can be found in my castle… now, I have business to attend to, and I cannot have you within the castle."
He then shifted to a crow, and stretched his glossy wings. Flapping into the air, he glided past her without another word. The lamb stood for a moment, simply watching the pink liquid in the vial hypnotically wave back and forth. It was when there was a boom of thunder she snapped back into reality. Rubbing her eyes, she realized that she didn't even spend five minutes learning magic this time. Still, she was given something new to work on. She stared at the door that No Heart had flown out of. "Thanks…"
Though he was long gone, it felt like that was the only thing she could do to thank him for actually being kind. Her family would never believe her if she was to tell them this, but it wasn't as if they would know. Rather than wasting time standing in the middle of the cauldron room, she went to the double set of doors that served as both the entrance and exit. Shadows still floated on either side of the room, and as she walked by, she couldn't help but notice something. Just by the look in their red eyes, it was almost as though they were laughing at her.
A/N: Sorry for not updating in an eternity and this chapter being so short. I'm having the problem where you have over 500 ideas for stories, and have trouble concentrating on all of them. Plus, I've finally fully planned out my one-shot series coming up after this story… there will be 13 and up, all chapter-less, starring some OC's of mine. In the meantime, I may be awhile about updating, because everyone right about now is suffering from spring fever, and those crazy freshmen EOC schedules are being crazy again. Review if you liked!