Chapter Two: With a Smile and a Song

Shortly after Jean met Scott, Emma was talking to the American ambassador, Warren Worthington, who had sworn to serve her as part of a pact she made to help the Americans with their cold war with Genosha.

"Take her far into the forests of America." Emma said. "Find a nice secluded place where she can pick wild flowers."

"Yes your majesty." Warren said.

"And there, my faithful friend, you will kill her." Emma said with a mad glint in her eyes.

"But your majesty, the little princess-" Warren argued before Emma stood up, and her eyes glaring at him.

"SILENCE!" Emma ordered. "You know the penalty if you fail."

The penalty would be that Warren's parents and the rest of his family would all be executed, and Warren would be forced to watch.

"Yes… Your majesty…" Warren said in a defeated voice.

"And just to make sure that you don't fail, bring back her heart in this." Emma pulled out a red box with golden trim. The lock was a golden heart with a golden dagger cutting into it.

()()()()()

A few days later, Warren took Jean to America, where he was known as Angel for the wings sprouting out of his back. Jean was walking through a forest on America that she had never been to, and she was excited about all the lovely flowers there. She also hoped that she'd meet Scott there before she had to go back home.

One song, I have but one song.

One song, only for you.

She hummed the song he sang to her, their song, to herself as she picked as many wild flowers as she could carry, which was quite a lot thanks to her telekinesis. Suddenly, she saw a small blue bird chirping not far off.

"Oh hello there." Jean said as she turned to the baby bird. "What's the matter?"

The bird chirped fearfully, and Jean recognized it as the fears of a lost child.

"Where are your mother and father? Are you lost?" Jean asked, and the bird began to cry. "Oh, please don't cry. Come on, cheer up. Won't you smile for me?"

The bird chirped happily.

"That's better." Jean said encouragingly. "Your mother and father cannot be far away. Oh, there they are. Good-bye little one. Good-bye."

The bird flew off to his parents as Jean smiled.

()()()()()

Warren meanwhile, pulled out his sword and held it loosely as he walked to Jean. Just after Jean helped the bird find his parents, Warren raised his sword as Jean turned around and screamed. She prepared to defend herself as best she could against the sword, but she knew it was no use when Warren dropped his sword.

"I can't." Warren said. "I can't do it. Forgive me, your highness. I beg you."

Warren fell to his knees and bowed his head.

"I don't understand." Jean said in a confused voice.

"She's mad." Warren said. "Jealous of you! She'll stop at nothing!"

"Who?" Jean asked.

"The queen!" Warren said.

"The queen?" Jean said. Her eyes filled with tears. How could her step-mother do such a terrible thing?

"Run for it, child!" Warren said. "Run! Go away and hide in the woods! Anywhere, just never come back! Go!" Jean still stood there nervously. "GO!"

Jean flew off low into the forest as Warren picked up his sword and walked to a nearby wild boar. He'd give the queen something alright.

()()()()()

Jean ran into the woods, and in her panicked state, every tree seemed to have eyes, and their branches were clawed hands trying to reach out and grab her! She eventually fell down into a pond, and when she got up, she saw two logs that seemed to be alligators and ran out where she was surrounded by frightening trees that starred at her darkly before she screamed and fell crying.

()()()()()

As she cried, she realized something, no one was attacking her. She looked up to find that it was still daylight, and the eyes were simply the animals of the forest. She recognized the squirrels, the dear, and the birds. When a rabbit came up to her, she startled at the creature rubbing its nose next to her face, and they scattered.

"Oh, don't go away." Jean said as she felt her confidence return. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. I was just surprised. I was very frightened, and all because I was being afraid of things that weren't really scary. I'm so ashamed over the fuss that I've made. What do you do when things go wrong?"

The birds tweeted.

"Ooh!" Jean said happily. "You sing a song!"

The birds chirped a yes.

"Ah-ha-ha, ha, ha." Jean sang, and the baby bird she'd helped before sang along.

Ah-ha-ha, ha, ha.

Ahhh… Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha.

The bird tried to follow along again, but he failed to hit Jean's high notes, but Jean just chuckled happily.

With a smile and a song,

Life is just like a bright sunny day.

Your cares fade away.

And your heart is young.

With a smile and a song,

All the world seems to waken anew,

Rejoices with you.

As the sung is sung.

More animals came out to listen to Jean's singing. A chipmunk came up and rested on Jean's lap.

There's no use in grumbling

When raindrops come tumbling.

Remember, you're the one

Who can fill the world with sunshine.

She then petted a faun that had come up, and the rabbit who had come up to her before laid his head down on her legs.

When you smile and you sing,

Everything is in tune and it's spring

And life flows along,

With a smile and a song.

The animals then all cheered, and Jean felt that maybe things would not be so bad for her now.

That was fun.