Sophia's Story
A Disney crossover by talking2myself
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any recognizable Disney characters. All original characters are my own creations.
CHAPTER 41. Land of the Northern Lights
Mickey was easily the most chipper member of their little party. Not really surprising considering that he had spent much of his time guarding a cursed altar followed by an extended stay with a grouchy old wizard. He was quite happy to offer any assistance he could including urging the wind and waves to cooperate. Sophia hated to admit it, but he was perhaps a bit better at it than Kelsey had been. All that unbridled enthusiasm was paying off.
She was surprised to see just how eager everyone was for a new adventure. After all they had been through with the Thirteen, she had expected her companions to be a bit more reluctant to jump into a new expedition, but it seemed that none of them were quite accustomed to the quiet life anymore and were equally happy to see their companions again. Even Merlin and Mim seemed to be settling into the new system. If anyone was not enjoying their time aboard the ship it was Archimedes the owl who seemed content to lurk in the corners of Merlin's cabin.
The weather took a noticeably chillier turn the closer they got to the Wild Lands. None of them had particularly pleasant memories of the Wild Lands, particularly Will who seemed to be on a constant lookout for any ship that could possibly be carrying Ratcliffe. This time they were going further north, into the more remote portions of the wild land. It didn't take long for the crew to start grumbling. "No body said anything about cold," Pintel muttered to Ragetti as they both huddled under their coats.
"Stop whining, we've seen worse than this," Sophia scolded, but she did wrap her cloak a bit tighter around her shoulders as she moved to join Will and Gibbs at the helm. "So where will we make berth?" she asked.
"An excellent question," Gibbs remarked. "There's no harbors nearby, at least not the type we're used to. It's too remote. We're going to have to drop anchor and take the rowboats to the shore."
"Wonderful," Sophia said drily. "Then what?"
"Then, we've got ourselves a delightful walk until we find some sort of civilization," he said. "Hopefully the Inuits will be able to offer us some direction…and you know… we won't be eaten by bears along the way."
"You are so upbeat and optimistic, Gibbs," Sophia said.
"We'll manage," Will said. "What's a bear compared to Chernabog?"
Sophia bit her lip. If she had to choose between the two, she would take a bear, but both were fully capable of ripping them apart. She pulled the hood of cloak up over her head anxiously, trying to keep the wind out and not dwell on the numerous animals that were out there ready to eat her.
Days passed and the weather grew colder and the winds grew stronger. The mood did sour a bit, apart from Mickey. Mickey didn't seem to have the ability to despair. Sophia had to sternly order Mickey to head into the cabin on occasion to sleep and warm up, but even without him they were making progress.
One night, Sophia was scrubbing the galley, a comforting activity that had become habit for her by now, when was alerted by Jack calling out to her. Sophia sprang out onto the deck, barely tugging on her cloak. "What's wrong? Who's attacking? How many are there?"
Jack was hanging from one of the shrouds, hanging onto a rope in one first. He looked at her in amazement. "Love, we really need to work out some of those issues of yours."
"MY issues?" Sophia cried incredulously. She shook her head. "What is it then, Jack?"
"Take a look at that!" Jack gestured towards the night sky. Sophia gazed at the sight in wonder. Against the jet black were splashes of green, blue and purple sprinkled with the sparkle of twinkling stars.
"Wow," Sophia whispered.
Jack grinned. "You have to admit, we live in a remarkable world."
"That we do," Sophia agreed. "We must be getting close."
"Let's hope I have better luck with the local people than I did with the cannibals," Jack said conversationally.
Sophia's shoulders slumped. "Just in case, maybe I should handle the talking, Jack."
-888-
Several days later, Gibbs deemed them "close enough" to shore to disembark. Sophia would have preferred her goddaughter to stay on the ship with Gibbs, both for her own safety as well as to monitor the crew. But Jackie was having none of it and clambered into the longboat along with Sophia, Jack, Will, Elizabeth, Mim, Merlin, and Mickey. Archimedes on the other hand was more than happy to stay on The Pearl.
The area was densely forested and remarkably still and calm as they approached. It felt very much like walking into an oil painting. The trees were exceptionally beautiful in the morning light.
"Where to now?" Jack asked as he pulled the longboat ashore with Will.
"The maps don't help us much now," Will said. "They're not particularly detailed."
"We're looking for a mountain, yes?" Elizabeth asked.
"The mountain where the lights touch the earth, yes," Will agreed.
Elizabeth shrugged and pointed, "There's mountains over there? I'd say that's a good start."
Sophia glanced up at the beautiful white capped mountains in the distance. She prayed that the spirits would make it obvious if they were in the neighborhood. Sophia shrugged, "Seems like a logical start."
"I could have told you that," Jack muttered under his breath to Will before the two of them followed Elizabeth and Sophia with Jackie and Mickey trailing after them and Mim and Merlin taking up the rear.
They marched through the forests, gingerly stepping over fallen logs and rocks as they went. There were no real paths or roads so the branches tugged at Sophia's skirts and cloak. Worries about getting lost flashed through her mind as Sophia walked. She had never worried about such things in the past.
Suddenly, Sophia froze in place. She stared at the ground and watched as the pebbles shifted slightly on the ground. "Do you feel that?" Sophia asked. A slight pulsing seemed to shake the ground beneath her.
"An earthquake?" Will asked. "Do earthquakes happen here?" he asked Elizabeth. She shrugged helplessly.
"Doesn't feel nearly strong enough to be an earthquake," Jack said.
Sophia was looking around when suddenly Jackie's shrill scream shattered the silence. "G-GET OUT OF THE WAY!" In the next second, Sophia was toppled to the ground as Jackie lunged into her knocking her into a nearby brush pile. Sophia could hear the panicked cries of her friends as they scrambled right and left. Sophia couldn't tell what they were running from.
Then, the ground started shaking in earnest. It didn't seem like an earthquake. It was a rhymic THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! Finally, Sophia managed to untangle herself from Jackie and the branches of the underbrush. Once she got herself upright, Sophia's eyes widened in alarm.
A herd of what appeared to be exceptionally hairy elephants was leisurely making their way through the forest. They didn't seem alarmed or even aware of their presence. They simply strolled through the trees as if they were out for a walk. If a tree was in their way, they simply wrapped their trunk around the tree trunk and casually tossed them out of their way. The trees landed with a mighty crash and the mammoths just continued on their way.
After a few moments of silent terror, Sophia slowly lifted her head up. The mammoths were gone, but they could still feel the dull shaking of the ground beneath their feet. Sophia stumbled to her feet. "Is everyone okay?" she asked in a shaky voice.
There was a collective groan as the others slowly emerged, a bit battered but unharmed. Jack wobbled to his feet and placed his hands on his hips, examining the trail of broken trees that they had left in their wake. "Well, that's interesting." he remarked.
"What… w-what are those things?" Jackie cried.
"Mammoths," Elizabeth said gently. When Jackie stared at her blankly, she added, "Like elephants only bigger."
"B-b-bigger," Jackie squeaked, her face went pale.
"We probably won't see those creatures anywhere else but here," Will mentioned with awe.
"Yeah," Sophia grumbled. "Lucky us." She shook out her skirts. "Is everyone okay?" she asked again. A series of nods answered her.
"Do you two want a moment alone?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow. Merlin and Mim were clutching each other in a terrified embrace. The two of them seemed to realize what they were doing and immediately broke apart.
"Ugh! You touched me!" Mim cried. "I'm going to need a bath!"
"Good," Sophia said, struggling to keep her voice calm and choosing to ignore the sorcerers. "Does… does anyone want to go back to the ship?" she asked. She was partially afraid of the answer. What if they were all ready to leave? Fortunately, no one said anything. "Very well then," Sophia said, swallowing hard. "I think it's best that we press on. Now, if anyone sees or hears… or feels anything please say so." Sophia requested.
"Hey, look on the bright side," Jack said with a grin. "We've got a path now!" He gestured to the cleared area that the mammoths had left in their work. Sophia groaned and pressed a hand to her forehead. This was going to be harder than she had anticipated.