10. Uncontrollable smiling
Gentle Heart sleepily stood over the stove, only watching the pancake that rested in the pan bubble. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew this meant it was time to flip it. Using one paw to yawn, she used the other to poke her spatula underneath. It was then she learned the hard way that she had forgotten to butter the pan. Attempting to wake up more, Gentle Heart blinked her eyes a few times, then placed both her paws on the handle of the spatula. The pancake was glued to the pan, not budging no matter how hard she tried to lift the spatula. Finally, she pulled so hard the pancake dislodged itself. The lamb fell backwards, and the pancake flew through the air.
On the floor, Gentle Heart rubbed her eyes. "Whoops…"
All eyes were on her in the Hall of Hearts kitchen, including Grumpy Bear. The pancake hung from his right ear, and the blue bear pulled it off annoyingly. "Good job, Gentle Heart."
"Sorry," she whispered, looking at her feet, "I forgot to butter the pan."
Grumpy Bear just tossed the burnt pancake into the nearest trash can and grumbled, going back to his own station in the kitchen.
Gentle Heart watched as everyone went back to their own cooking, and exhaled softly. She hadn't cooked for breakfast in an eternity, let alone wake up so early for the task. She grabbed the butter stick that sat next to her on the counter and buttered the pan quietly. She knew she deserved being so tired. The previous night, she spent an overall two hours working on the spell No Heart had given her. It wasn't easy, because she only had a few of the ingredients that were required, and had to go to his castle twice to get them all. Gentle Heart grabbed the bowl of pancake batter and spooned some of it on to the pan. It began to sizzle, and she took the time to rest standing up. Closing her eyes, she rested his chin on her paw and leaned against the counter. She was getting hungrier and hungrier with each passing second, but knew she wasn't going to eat until she made the right amount of pancakes. Her family could eat a lot. Resisting another yawn, she finally folded her arms on the counter and rested her nose inside. Hoping she wouldn't fall asleep on the job, she closed her eyes once again.
"BOO!"
Gentle Heart jumped a mile high with a yelp, and once again fell flat on her haunches. Looking up, she saw no other than Playful Heart and Birthday Bear. She couldn't help but put on a sour expression as she stood up. Birthday Bear was trying to control his laughing, and Playful just weakly smiled. Gentle Heart brushed off her shoulders. "What are you doing here?"
"It's our turn, too!" Birthday exclaimed, then giggled, "Sorry… I couldn't help it. You don't have to be acting like Grumpy Bear or anything…"
"I heard that," Grumpy called over his shoulder, then managed to break his third egg of the day.
Gentle Heart exhaled. She didn't like the sound of both Playful and Birthday in the same place at once. Especially in a room filled with sharp utensils. Not saying anything, she just turned back to her pan and flipped the pancake. Behind her, she heard both of them shuffle away to get to work and smiled in relief. At least she didn't have to worry about Playful Heart talking to her. She always got too nervous around her, now knowing how he really felt.
She heard a bang as something was set on the burner next to her, and she felt her heart dropped. So much for her luck.
"Um, mind if I come over here? This is the only spot left," Playful Heart asked, tail swishing back and forth.
Gentle Heart only nodded, not saying anything. She really didn't know what to say, really. Playful Heart looked around him at all of the ingredients. "Um. I really don't know how to cook."
She just shrugged, flipping the pancake on to a plate that would later be taken to the breakfast line. She pretended to be preoccupied pouring more batter on to the pan, as if it needed great attention. Out of the corner of her eye, she could tell that he was getting nervous again, because his tail was still swishing around. He weakly grinned. "I probably sound really stupid right now, but what do you do first?"
"Make the batter," Gentle Heart replied quickly, "The instructions are on the box."
"Oh. Right," Playful Heart grabbed the box and scratched the back of his head as he read the instructions. He was taking his time, and then began to go along with the instructions.
"Hey, Gentle?" he fumbled with the eggs he was trying to crack against the edge of the bowl.
Gentle Heart inhaled sharply. She was hoping she would have to talk too much. "Need any help?"
"Um. No, I think I got this right," Playful began, and began using a towel next to him to wipe all of the slime that had dripped from the egg. "I wanted to ask you something…"
Gentle Heart stared at the pancake intensely, hoping that it would somehow save it. "Yeah?"
"Do you have a partner to go with to the ball?" Playful asked, now slightly blushing.
Gentle Heart snatched the spatula up and began flipping the pancake. She didn't know why she was getting so nervous! It was just a question, everyone was being asked this, so why was it such a big deal to her? "No…"
"Well… I was wondering… Would you wanna go with me?" Playful asked, now too caught in thinking what to say instead of acting distracted, "I mean… I thought it would be pretty fun going with the nicest cousin in the Forest of Feelings…"
Gentle Heart actually found herself flattered at the last comment. Looking up, Playful Heart was looking down at his feet innocently, blushing. Still, his tail was moving back and forth and back and forth, Gentle Heart felt tempted to grab it so he could stop. Then there was a clatter as someone leapt over towards them. Gentle Heart looked up to see no other than Love-A-Lot Bear. She wanted to scream in frustration at this point.
The magenta bear had flour all over her paws, and she rested one of them on Gentle Heart's shoulder. "Playful Heart, you need to understand that a girl isn't the fastest thinking creature in the world."
The monkey just blinked. "…Huh?"
"What I'm saying, you have to give her time to think," Love-A-Lot smiled, "So don't expect an answer right away."
Playful Heart looked at the two girls, and he seemed to relax a bit, finally. "If you say so…"
Gentle Heart felt the bear lightly elbow her side, and she whispered into her ear. "Your cue!"
"Oh! Um, I'll think about it, Playful," she gave him the best smile she could muster that might have looked reassuring.
Before he even had the chance to answer, Love-A-Lot had turned off the heat on the oven after flipping the pancake on to a plate, then dragged Gentle Heart away. The lamb didn't protest, being dragged along for the ride. Finally, Love-A-Lot led her outside, where the sun was still rising. Gentle Heart squinted, holding up a paw to block the sunrays. "Thanks for saving me…"
Love-A-Lot squealed with a bounce. "What are you gonna say?"
Gentle Heart ruffled her wool. "I don't know… it isn't that big of a deal…"
"Not that big of a deal? Pfft! Yes, it is!" Love-A-Lot grabbed the lamb's paws and looked into her eyes, "So, yes or no?"
"I said I don't know," Gentle Heart replied much more softly. At least she wasn't blushing as much as last time.
The magenta bear let go of her paws and sighed, closing her eyes. "Are you thinking about giving him a chance?"
Gentle Heart was already feeling much too pressured. She didn't know an answer. The one year she went with him, she had a really good time, so why not? But he liked her more than that, and she didn't feel the same way. Or at least she thought so. Gentle Heart blinked at her last thought, then looked up to see a waiting Love-A-Lot. She remembered No Heart telling her that it was easy lying. She could do that now to get out of this if she wanted to. Love-A-Lot smiled. "He said you were the nicest person in the Forest of Feelings, remember!"
"But-" Gentle Heart began to spoke before Love-A-Lot interrupted.
"If you refuse, the next thing you know, there isn't gonna be any free guy in all of the Kingdom of Caring, and you'll end up going alone!" she squeezed her paws again, "And you'll make Playful really happy!"
She could make two people happy. She still wanted to learn magic, so she could also see if that would be successful. She could go with Playful Heart, too. She didn't want to hurt any feelings. As much as she had battled with herself about answering for so long…
Gentle Heart finally closed her eyes. She felt she was going to regret this. Sincerely. "Well… okay."
Love-A-Lot nearly screamed and jumped out. "Perfect! This year is going to be the best!"
Gentle Heart then felt the blush beginning to crawl to her cheeks. She looked to Love-A-Lot with pleading eyes. "You're being loud…"
"Oh, I'm sorry." Love-A-Lot lowered her voice sheepishly, "So, I'll go tell him!"
The magenta bear turned to leave, but Gentle Heart whirled her around with force that even surprised herself. "What?"
"Oh. Would you rather say it?" she asked.
Gentle Heart put a paw to her forehead. "Sorry, I'm getting really worked up and it's just over a dance."
Love-A-Lot slowly grinned. "Just a dance? You didn't realize, did you?"
"Realize what?"
"That he was asking you out, too!"
"What?" Gentle Heart felt her jaw drop, "How do you know that?"
Love-A-Lot smiled even more. "I know this stuff. All of my caring missions are getting to people together, rescuing them from splitting, helping boys and girls with crushes… I just know these things. Guys get so nervous sometimes about asking girls out they just forget to say something. Or the real blunt ones think the girls know what they're talking about. So, you still gonna say yes?"
Gentle Heart sat down in the soft clouds, both paws on her forehead. "This is so annoying…"
"Don't worry," Love-A-Lot sat down next to her, "Everyone goes through it at some point. And it's always good to take a chance…"
"I must have bad luck. I've been worse than Grumpy for weeks," Gentle Heart found herself explaining this for no apparent reason. "Everything is so confusing… I just need some time to myself."
"Are you sure?" Love-A-Lot asked, "I can tell Playful you just said no, before it gets too close to the ball."
Gentle Heart stood up quickly and began walking away. "Just say yes."
She didn't know why she was just leaving. She knew it was her turn to be cooking breakfast for the week. But she had better things to do. Behind her, Love-A-Lot stood up. "Are you mad?"
"Yes," she called over, glad it didn't sound as mean as her others comments have been in the past.
Love-A-Lot cocked her head to the side. "Why?"
Gentle Heart looked over her shoulder, mouth open and ready to reply. But then she thought about the question. Why was she mad? She didn't even have a reason. Instead of answering the question, she just began walking again. "I forgot I had plans."
What was once a four days to the ball was now only two days, including this very one. Gentle Heart sat in her room, her only company being several ingredients and mixtures of a spell. With tired eyes, she looked down at the single paper that listed all of the instructions. She leaned back with a yawn, ruffling her wool and looking to the clock on her bedside table. It was eleven. She'd normally be in bed and asleep by nine, because she was an early riser. Most of her family stayed up later than that, but now they were all most likely asleep. Bedtime Bear would be awake by now.
She rubbed her tired eyes and looked in front of her. Her amulet laid on the ground along with the other ingredients. She was almost done. Maybe in another hour, maybe. Gentle Heart read down the instructions all again, making sure she had everything. Of all the ingredients, they were combined to make three separate ones. Now, all she had to do was say a few things, mix the three separate potions. Then she would finally be finished. Gentle Heart yawned for the third time, then grabbed the nearest potion. She needed something to hold it all. Gentle Heart stood, her leg muscles tingling from sitting so long. She rubbed her eyes as she walked though the hallway of her small home, and went into the kitchen. The light above her was bright, and she attempted to awaken herself from her dazed and tired state. She lightly hit herself in the face. "Wake up."
No good. Wandering to the sink, she turned on the faucet and waited until the water ran ice cold. Dipping her paws underneath the running water, she gathered a handful and splashed in on to her face. She shivered, then turned off the water with a blink. She was beginning to get very desperate to stay awake lately.
"It's finished! It's finished!"
Gentle Heart instantly woke up when hearing the voice, then looked around her quickly. Where was she? Then realizing just exactly where she laid, she saw the spell ingredients around her. Without a second thought, she began to hurriedly hide them. The one last ingredient still laid on the floor along with her amulet, and she shoved it all beneath her bed. Luckily, nothing was blocking the way, and she stood straight. No other than Cheer Bear came running into her room, a bag slung over her shoulder. "I finished it!"
Gentle Heart felt her head swimming from standing so quickly, and answered in a raspy morning-voice. "What's finished?"
"Your dress, what else?" Cheer smiled victoriously as she dropped it on the bed, "You look like you just woke up!"
"I did," Gentle replied dryly, blinking groggily.
Cheer Bear raised her eyebrows. "Wow, you must have been up late last night. In that case then, you're going to bed early if you want to look alright for the ball tomorrow night!"
Hearing herself say this, she squealed. Gentle Heart raised a paw to rub her sore eyes. She must have fallen asleep last night while finishing up her spell. She had gotten pretty far. She had said the words, and mixed the ingredients. There was only one last thing to do. Thinking this, she heard rustling as Cheer Bear took something from the bag and held it up. "So, how do you like it?"
Gentle Heart looked up and gasped. "It's beautiful…"
Cheer Bear smiled successfully as the lamb held it in wonder. For a handmade one, this had to be the most beautiful dress she had ever seen. It was all white, and perfectly resembled dresses she had seen in Renaissance pictures. There weren't any straps, it was held in the back like a corset and the bottom fluffed out. The strings that held everything in place on the back and kept it tight was covered by a white bow with long tails, and the tops portion ended in a V-shape in the front. Gentle Heart saw that she was just staring. "You made this?"
Cheer nodded, "Yep! I actually got a bit inspired by some Halloween costumes I saw. The only really hard part was making all of the strings in the back a pattern. Can you tell I used different cloth textures on the bottom? So it kind of looks uneven… sorry."
"Cheer Bear, it's perfect!" Gentle Heart couldn't stop staring.
All of this… for her? She wanted to say something but couldn't before Cheer Bear walked to the door and began closing it. "Well, let's see what it looks like! Try it on… you might need some help with the strings so call me when you need it!"
Then she closed the door. Gentle Heart stared at the closed door for a long while, then looked down at the dress. It was so pretty. How could someone make something so beautiful and just give it away? Especially to her? Gentle Heart ran a paw down the soft cloth. She felt she didn't deserve it. Still, she followed Cheer's instructions and began dressing into it.
Gentle Heart stared at herself in the full-length mirror in her closet at Cheer Bear tightened the strings. It was a perfect fit, even though every time Cheer pulled on a string she had to inhale. The pink bear stopped, and then stepped back to admire her work with a smile. "You look gorgeous! But you didn't need to have the dress for me to tell you that…"
"Thanks," Gentle Heart breathed.
She did as she was instructed, turning at certain angles so Cheer Bear could comment on every one. Gentle Heart looked once again into the mirror as Cheer Bear stood behind her, paw to her chin. "I'm already imagining what we could do to your hair… you're so lucky that you can style yours."
Gentle Heart ran a paw through her wool. She never really thought of styling it before… all she did was brush it. After all, most sheep wool was a bit coarse, so she was lucky to have hers soft. Then Cheer Bear seemed to remember something. "Oh, I need to go give Share Bear her dress! Well, don't wear out your dress before tomorrow night!"
"Okay," Gentle Heart softly answered.
Cheer Bear soon left in a hurry. For one last moment, Gentle Heart stared at herself in the mirror. She had to admit, most of Cheer Bear's comments were pretty accurate. But there was still one thing missing from her face. She stared into her own eyes. They still were dark and tired. There wasn't any sign of life inside. She closed her eyes as she turned away from the mirror and carefully removed the dress. She still had things to do.
She carefully set the dress on her bed, then fished out her potions beneath along with her amulet. Though hours had passed since she had fallen asleep, the potion had still kept. The vial No Heart had given her filled with the pink liquid also rolled out from beneath the bed, and she scooped it up to lay next to everything else. She sat Indian-style, nervously biting her lower lip. She had worked hours and hours to make this. She hoped she would do it right.
Lifting up her amulet by the chain, she read the instructions over and over again at least a dozen time. Finally, she carefully suspended it above the thick pot she had to use as a cauldron substitute. The potion inside was deep purple, and light. Not oozing and sliming like the kind in witch movies. She held her breath as she lowered the amulet into the potion. Soon, the entire blue gem was submerged. She waited, wishing for the best. Everything was working. The potion began to grow lighter and lighter, swirling like bathwater going down a drain. It all swirled around the amulet, the amount in the pot decreasing with every second. Then, it was finally gone. It vanished, and the pot sat empty while the amulet had changed colors to that of the potions. Gentle Heart swallowed. The first step was done. Grabbing the vile of pink liquid No Heart had made specifically for her, she lightly set the amulet inside the pot so there would be spills.
Pulling the cork from the vile, a light mist drifted from inside, the same color as its contents. She carefully poured the mixture over her amulet, being sure not to miss. It didn't drip off or roll to the side. Instead, it just vanished into the amulet. The gemstone switched colors from the deep purple to light pink, then returned to the original color of light blue. Gentle Heart blinked. Nothing happened. Upon closer inspection, the amulet was completely dry. She slowly put it on and looked around her room, expecting something to happen. But it didn't.
Gentle Heart jumped to her feet was a victorious smile. "I did it!"
She forgot about all of her thoughts of attempting Dream Walking, knowing that she would concentrate on what she just did instead. No Heart said that this was a difficult spell, and she did it just fine! It was because he said he believed she could do it. Gentle Heart looked down at her amulet, still smiling. "No Heart said he believed I could…"
"And you did."
Gentle Heart looked up to see No Heart in her mirror. She couldn't stop smiling. "I finished it! Did I do it right?"
"Yes, you did," No Heart replied, "And you did a very good job of it, at that. You truly are a good sorceress."
Gentle Heart still couldn't stop her smiling. She felt she looked fairly stupid, but didn't mind. "Sorry I had to use a pot instead of a cauldron…"
"It was a good example of improvising and thinking quickly," No Heart replied, "You didn't do anything wrong. But remember to wear your amulet to the masquerade. You wouldn't want the caring meter to go off and to be caught."
She nodded. "I'll remember."
No Heart's image slowly began to fade away. "Good luck."
Soon, the mirror was back to normal. Gentle Heart clasped on to her amulet once again, smiling. Despite her good mood, she was still feeling boxed in after spending so much time in her room. Looking outside her window, she could see that the weather was very nice. Deciding she would take a walk, she once again pushed the instructions, vial and pot beneath her bed and hurried to get outside.
The Forest of Feelings hinted that spring was coming to an end and summer was arriving. For the past few months, the flowers, plants and trees had been soft pastels. Now they were beginning to grow bolder and much more bright and radiant. Gentle Heart strongly breathed in the clear Forest of Feelings air, feeling as though she could never be better. She assumed the reason why the Forest was so empty was because everyone was preparing for the masquerade tomorrow night. She was pretty much doing okay. She had her dress, and Cheer Bear offered to do her makeup. After all, Gentle Heart never wore makeup, never really seeing a use for it. But being a masquerade, she needed to look her part and wear some. There was a rustle in the trees, and she looked up to see a familiar monkey cousin hopping from branch to branch while eating a banana at the same time.
Playful Heart noticed Gentle and hopped over to her, hanging from his tail on a tree branch. He gave her a shy smile. "Hi!"
"Hi Playful," Gentle Heart greeted him. She was in too much of a good mood to worry about things of all times.
Playful Heart relaxed his tail to hop out of the tree and throw his banana peel behind his shoulder. "I haven't seen you in some time…"
"I'm sorry, I've been preoccupied with the ball," Gentle Heart explained and began walking with him down the Forest of Feelings.
Playful Heart nodded. "I'm pretty lost when it comes to that, like looking the part. I don't think I'm going to fit in with everyone else's costumes. But it's still going to be a lot of fun."
"You're right. Who are you going to be?" Gentle Heart questioned.
Playful shrugged. "I dunno… just some random person from back then. I don't know any famous people from back then. Bright Heart told me how they dressed, so that was my only option."
"Okay," Gentle Heart responded.
"…What's so funny?" Playful Heart grinned, raising his eyebrows.
The lamb just blinked. "Huh?"
"You've been smiling forever. What's so funny?" he repeated.
Gentle Heart tried to stop, but couldn't. She finally gave up on attempting to do so. "It's just been a really good day."
A/N: Okay, this just might be the second to last chapter. I'm on my fifth day of summer break over here, so I have more time to be updating. I just finished this entire chapter for two days, so there's still hope! The 'Scarlet' series will be up in no time!