Chapter Seven: Save a Friend
Inside the dark, ruined castle, Diesel stormed in pure frustration as he told his assistant, Mavis, that he found out about Caitlin and the panning she had for the royal ball. Though he felt one step ahead, he knew that if Caitlin made her vow, even if Emily flew in as a swan, would put his plan in jeopardy. As he thought awfully hard about his plan, he then had a wicked idea. He told Mavis that he can be Emily in disguise so Caitlin will make a wrong vow and when she does it, Emily will die from heartbreak, which means, he would have the chance to take King Mitchell's kingdom with force.
Mavis liked that idea as she said what a great idea it was. There, Diesel started to sing to himself while using his dark magic, explaining his evil plot. As he caused chaos and discord, he turned Mavis into Emily as she now looks, and sounds like her. Diesel was pleased with it and when he finished his singing, he knew what to do with Emily as she's a swan and that she could fly away by any chance.
…
The next day and Caitlin entered inside the ballroom to see her mother having her hair done with red roses on it as everyone prepared for tonight's ball. Caitlin was looking for her friend Henry as she hasn't him for a while. So, she went to her mother and asked where Henry was. However, Queen Lillian didn't listen to her question as she butted in and exclaimed, "Oh, Caitlin! There you are!"
When she exclaimed, Caitlin looked at the roses and asked, "Why do you have red roses, mother?"
"Because red represents royalty and dignity of course!", Queen Lillian replied as she smiled at her daughter.
"But I don't want the roses red!", cried Caitlin, "I want the roses white, like a swan!"
Queen Lillian was surprised that her daughter didn't want red roses as she thought she would like red roses. However, Caitlin then remembered what to ask her mother, "Have you seen Henry?"
"No.", replied Queen Lillian honestly, "No one had seen him since yesterday."
That got Caitlin upset and frustrated as she had planned something for her friend. As she wandered around the ballroom areas, she spotted a servant with a purple outfit named David, who was carrying a roast chicken. Caitlin was horrified to see it as chickens are birds and Emily was under a spell to be a swan. So, she went to David and asked him, "David, would you feed this to a swan?"
"Uh… no.", David replied as he shook his head.
"Then take it back! I want something light, fresh, and green, just like what swans would eat!", cried Caitlin as she pushed David away to make him go back to the kitchen area.
Just then, she music playing that was conducted by Spencer, who the musicians were recovered by their injuries. As Spencer conducted them, Caitlin shouted, "Spencer! Stop! I don't want that music played at the ball! The music must be played soft and gracefully, like a swan!"
"A swan?", asked Spencer as he was very confused about Caitlin's request.
Caitlin nodded as she then makes her right hand a beak shape and she kept pecking at Spencer while asking if he knew what a swan was. Spencer knew what a swan was as he huffed in annoyance. Caitlin then grinned as she asked Spencer if he played a swan song, what would it sound like. When Spencer made Ryan played the tuba hard as a joke, Caitlin reminded him again that the music must be played soft and gracefully. There, Spencer began to conduct the musicians as they played a soft yet graceful piece of music.
Caitlin was pleased by it but was frustrated as she wanted to know where Henry was. When Spencer shook his head no, Caitlin then began to explain that the reason why she wanted to find Henry was that she wanted him to be her best man. When Caitlin mentioned it, her mother gasped in joy as she asked if she meant it, to which her daughter replied with a smile and a wink. Queen Lillian was overjoyed as Caitlin spun her around, which made her landed on red wine, which splashed on Spencer as he was composing the music. When Queen Lillian asked her who the person was, Caitlin replied that she will know that person right away. With that, her mother screamed in delight as Caitlin grabbed some roses and tossed them in the air as she laughed in joy.
…
Meanwhile, inside a watery dungeon room, as night-time came, Diesel threw some roses to Emily as he said cruelly at the window, "It hurts me to lock you up, Emily. Hurts me deep. But then, a king's day is full of tough decisions. You understand."
While he said that, Emily glared at him as she frowned at him with hatred and disgust, but when she noticed the roses were going near her, she used her beak as she ripped the rose violently as she then looked away. With that, Diesel slammed his fist on the concrete window as he said, "Oh, now you're mad at me again. Doggone it, I can't do anything right! Head full of pudding. That's me."
Just then, he remembered what he had to say to Emily, "Well, I can't leave you like this. If you're not happy, I'm not happy. Hmm… I know! If you can't attend the ball, then I'll bring the ball to you! Let's see… the first thing you need is a partner. The princess is busy, of course, but I think I can arrange a substitute."
With that, he clicked his finger as Mavis held Henry. Emily gasped in shock as she realised that they caught Caitlin's best friend. There, Mavis pushed him into the dungeon as Emily immediately dragged Henry to the edge where a chain was hanging. After that, Diesel then told Emily that he would love to stay but he had another plan in his mind as he said that since Emily dragged Caitlin into this, he said he was fine with it as he slammed the window door shut violently as he stormed off. When he was gone, Emily began to look down as she lost hope. What she didn't know was that outside the castle, Duck, Toby, and Percy were planning to rescue her.
…
At Queen Lillian's castle gate, many princes and princesses came by either a carriage ride or by boat. They were all looking forward to the royal ball as they hope that Caitlin would choose one of them as their bride or groom. All the footmen welcomed the royalties as they led them to the ballroom, where the room was huge, and all the things were swan related theme. It looked so elegant as everyone wowed about it. Everyone wore a fine suit or gown as they knew it was a big night.
…
Inside of the changing room, Queen Lillian just had her hair done as Caitlin put her cape on as the finishing touch. Once they were ready, they heard a knock at the door. When the queen said to come in, Philip popped his head in as he told his royal highnesses that everyone has arrived. Queen Lillian was delighted as she told the messenger that she and her daughter would be on their way. Philip understood as he left them, so they can be ready for the ball.
However, once Philip had left, Queen Lillian looked at her daughter as she asked, "Promise me to tell me who your special someone is."
"Oh, don't worry mother.", Caitlin assured as she was done putting her cape on, "When you see that person, you'll know right away."
…
Back at the Swan Lake, Duck, Toby, and Percy were planning on how to set Emily free. With that, Duck then said that to rescue Emily, they needed someone small, green, and was a great swimmer. However, when he mentioned all the descriptions as Percy gulped, "Umm… are you talking about me?"
Duck nodded and he replied, "Yes, Percy! You're the right animal that can save Emily, and after all… you're very brave and if you prove yourself that you're a hero, you will get the honour award! You want that do you?"
Percy thought for a moment as he did indeed want the honour award so he can make his family proud, but he still felt scared as Arry and Bert were in the lake and he knew that if he tried to save Emily, he would most likely get eaten by them. After thinking to himself, he took a deep breath and he spoke with courage, "Yes! Yes, I do! I do want to prove to my family that I'm brave, and I do want the honour award!"
"Then it settled!", said Duck loudly, "It's now the time to take action! Are you ready Toby?"
"Ready!", replied Toby as he saluted him as he went to the edge of the lake slowly.
Once he got to the lake, he dived into the water and swam extremely fast, which caught the alligators' attention. With that, Toby led the alligators away from the castle's tower on where Emily was held captive. When everything seems to go smoothly, Duck grinned as he prepared Percy to get him to dive into the water as Duck reminded the frog, "Remember, find a large crack, dig a hole, and set Emily free!"
"I know.", Percy replied as he gulped.
With that, Duck count to three for Percy to dive into the water. When he finished counting, Percy hopped as fast as he could to the water. Duck kept telling him to go faster and faster. Percy panted as he tried to go as fast as he could. Once he got to the edge of the lake, he slipped into the water below, which made a splashing noise, causing Arry and Bert to turn their heads to see Percy. They licked their tongue in anticipation as Percy screamed. Just before the alligators got him, Percy ducked as he swam to the tower wall as fast as possible. As he got there, Toby went past him amazingly fast as the alligators tried to chase him. Percy was impressed by Toby's speed, but he knew it was no time for that as he needed to dig a hole where a large crack was.
Once he got to the tower wall, he looked at every crack possible until he found a large one. While searching, Toby swam to him and ask if he had any luck. When Percy shook his head, Toby then swam off to get Arry and Bert to chase after him. After a minute of looking for one, Percy managed to find a large crack as he swam to it. However, the crack wasn't that large enough for Emily to fit in and when he tried to get in, Bert spotted him as he charged at him. As a result, the crack got bigger to the point that Emily could fit as Percy went flying in the air. Emily saw the whole ordeal along with Henry as she exclaimed, "Percy?"
Percy waved at her while dazed as he said, "Hey."
…
Meanwhile, Duck saw that Toby was getting tired and decided to help as well. He knew that he was an excellent swimmer as he was a puffin. So, he flew to a tree branch, preparing himself to dive and once he felt confident enough to do so, he dove into the lake and he shouted at the alligators, "Yoo-hoo! Want some white meat? Then come and get me if you want a good heart!"
With that, Duck swam away as the alligators chased after him as Toby swan to the giant hole to see how Emily and Percy were going. Once he got there, he asked them if they were alright. Emily said that she was alright as Percy jumped back into the water. When he was in the water, he began to spin around in joy as he felt brave for his action. Emily could see how heroic Percy was and she said, "Oh, Percy! You're a hero! When the spell is broken, I'll tell your family about this!"
Percy screamed in delight as Emily swam to Henry, trying to get him to come with her. However, Henry didn't understand what she was doing and when Toby asked her if she was coming, Emily nodded as she and Percy dove into the water as they swam to the hole. When they got to the hole, Toby stopped them as he checked that everything was clear. There, he saw Duck swam to them as gave them thumbs up. With that, he swam off as Arry and Bert went after him. When they were out of sight, Toby said it was safe to go. There, they swam out of the hole. However, as Emily swam, Arry spotted the swan as he licked his tongue as he went after her. Emily screamed in horror as she tried to swim as fast as she could.
Luckily, Percy summoned his courage and swam to Arry's tail and bit it hard. Arry yelped in pain as he went to try to eat him, only to get bumped by Bert when he tried to get Duck. When the alligators got out of their stunned mode, they swam to Emily, but Toby blocked them by saying, "My nickname is Speed!"
With that, the alligators went after them and Emily got out of the lake just in time. She flew away as she went to find Caitlin's castle. Once she was out of sight, the trio got out of the lake as they wished her luck and that to have a safe flight.
…
Meanwhile, at the ballroom of Queen Lillian's castle, Philip and Spencer sang a song about every prince and princess in every kingdom. This made Caitlin annoyed as she ended up having to dance with them, even though she wanted Emily to get there. Once the song was finished, everyone heard a knock at the door. Everyone turned their heads to the door as Philip gulped. He did remember that every prince and princess were there and when the queen told him to open the door, he hoped that it was the milkman. However, when he opened the door, stood a woman with chestnut brown hair, emerald green eyes with a black dress with a single emerald on the chest part. Everyone gasped in horror except for Caitlin as she smiled widely. When the woman entered, she winked at Philip as she headed downstairs.
As she walked downstairs, everyone commented about her beauty and that she looked like Emily. Out of all the people, Queen Lillian the most shocked of all as she couldn't believe her eyes. The more she looked at her, the more she shook as it had been three months since she last saw her and when she asked Spencer if she looked familiar to him, he at first denied until he said that it does look like Emily. Once she got downstairs, the woman went to Caitlin as she exclaimed at the woman, "Emily! Oh, I was so worried about you… I thought that…"
However, before she could finish her sentence off, "Emily" placed her finger on Caitlin's lips as she shushed her. Caitlin blushed in a cherry red colour as "Emily said, "Don't worry. Nothing can keep me away."
With that, Caitlin grinned as she snapped her finger to tell Spencer to conduct the music. Spencer did immediately as Caitlin and "Emily" waltz around the ballroom with grace and beauty. Caitlin was so happy to see her but was unaware that "Emily" was Mavis in disguise as she was helping Diesel's plan to get her to make a vow to the wrong person so that Emily would die from heartbroken.
As they danced to the music for the past thirty minutes, Caitlin said, "You know… there's something about you that seems… I don't know… different."
With that, "Emily" showed a swan imprinted golden heart necklace as she replied calmly, "Don't worry. After tonight, everything will be perfect."
Caitlin nodded as she agreed. With that, Caitlin cried, "Spencer, I want to make an announcement! Stop the music!"
Spencer obeyed as he halted the music. Once everything went quiet as they were ready for the announcement from Caitlin as they all knew that she found her true love. What Caitlin didn't know was that the real Emily was headed to the castle as she could so she can prevent Diesel's plan and get Caitlin to vow for her and kiss her so she can break the spell and get rid of Diesel for good.
