Chapter Six: History
Walking was boring, but it was easier than taking another train once Mabel absolutely refused to get on another one. She also refused to let Bill keep any kind of weapon that resembled a gun, despite how he argued with her for hours about how they needed protection. Mabel had quickly argued back that a real man wouldn't need a gun to save her, and that had quickly put an end to any argument that Bill could think of.
Still, they had gotten new clothing, they had gotten a few essentials, and spent almost all of their time together. Before she knew it, they were traveling to a new area where the snow didn't decorate the path they walked on, and Bill still wouldn't tell her anything about the fall of what could have been her family . Tad was understanding at times, but Mabel could honestly say that she was tired of walking and tired of talking.
"What, are we walking all the way there?" Mabel asked sarcastically, Waddles padding after her and sniffing at random things he came across.
"We'll be taking a carriage when we get to town, and then a boat to Paris, your majesty." Bill had started to call her that, and at first it had made her uncomfortable, but now it just seemed natural. Tad was the only one who actually called her by name anymore.
They encountered a covered bridge, which made the scenic route a bit more enjoyable. Apparently it was only a day's walk away from the carriage they would take to the boat. Bill had no interest in it, but Mabel stopped underneath it for a small break and to stare at the pond underneath the bridge. It seemed as though a while ago it had been a river, but now it was nothing more than a still pond, the dried out riverbank going along the path they were walking down.
"You've really got to start acting the part of a princess, Mabel." Bill leaned against the railing, playing with a flower and plucking the petals off of it and throwing them in the water below. "No one's going to even be able to believe you could be the princess if you don't play the part."
"I thought you actually believed I was the princess." Mabel retorted, saving the poor flower from his hands. "Are you serious right now, Bill? You just told me I had to go and see him, not pretend to be someone I'm not."
Bill's expression showed surprise before it faded to irritation, and Tad awkwardly chuckled before stepping between them. Bill stepped down from the bridge, shaking his head at the two of them as Mabel went to twirling the flower between her fingers.
"He doesn't think I'm her, does he?" Mabel asked Tad, staring down at their reflections in the water. Tad was staring at her, not at the water.
"Bill...he's a bit different." Tad took the flower from her hands before she could destroy it by accident. "He was there during the fall, but the things he saw...I'm sure it would change anyone. He's like this pond."
"He's like the pond?" Mabel noticed how Tad avoided her first question. "Do you think I'm the princess?"
"He's just like this pond." Tad took a coin from his pocket. "Reflective, almost shallow looking, but then you throw something-" Tad tossed the coin into the water, causing ripples "-and you see the depth it has to offer."
She didn't say anything, laying her head against his arm and wondering if she could really do this right now. It just seemed so mean, seeing this old man who probably had given up on seeing his niece, Mabel didn't want to take any hope away from the man.
"For what it's worth, Mabel, I really think you could be the princess." Tad tossed the flower into the water this time, letting it float across the water. "He just...I don't really know what Bill thinks anymore. He wouldn't have done this if he thought you were faking. Just indulge him a little, he just wants to make sure you find your way."
Mabel watched the flower float across the surface, eventually hitting the shore where it rested amongst the mud, and Mabel wondered if she was more like the dirt or the flower resting there. Did she even want to know the truth? It was everyone's dream as an orphan that they really had family waiting for them, always searching and never giving up hope of finding them.
"I guess, if he does care, then I can learn to do it." Mabel eventually laughed. "But Bill better start being nicer!"
"No promises!" Tad laughed, grabbing her hand and hauling her forward.
It was rather strange to learn about her past when Bill told her what it was, with how he spoke of such passion and knowledge on something that he refused to talk about otherwise. It was amazing to see that he obviously cared about the royal family, but he still refused to talk on the fall that happened that night.
"You were born in a palace by the sea." Bill said, showing her a map. "Five minutes before your twin brother, Dipper. No one ever knew his real name, since he hated to go by it. He loved to read, and you two were hardly ever seen apart."
She looked over the pictures, that Bill had taken from his bag that he had bought at the last town they visited. Dipper was a bright young man, and Bill pointed out little things he remembered as Tad settled in for a night underneath the stars. Tonight they would stay out in the wilderness, but tomorrow they would have a carriage and then board the ship . Bill and Mabel sat close together, shoulders almost touching as they went over everything. This could really be her family, and she wanted to know everything.
"You had your uncles, your grandfather, other cousins that you never actually met, but your parents died when you were young. About a year before the raid on the castle, they perished and your uncles came out from their vacation home to watch over the kingdom and your family." Bill explained. Mabel stared at the pictures, the faces just barely brushing against her memories but nothing quite clicking.
"You were shown how to ride on horseback, how to do anything a royal would know." Bill looked at her as she watched the pictures sitting in their laps.
They sat in silence, long enough for the stars to come out, and for Tad to build a fire and lay down across them and fall asleep. Mabel stared up at the stars when she couldn't stand to look at what might be dead members of her family. All of this, looking around, all it did was make guilt build up inside of her.
"I know you don't want to talk about it, but eventually, I will have to know what happened that night." Mabel said softly. "Please tell me."
He was silent for a long time, long enough for Mabel to relax and think he was never going to answer. Eventually, she laid her head on his shoulder, staring down at the image of her brother, but both Dipper or Bill were silent.
"I was a servant in the palace." Bill eventually started, his voice so soft that Mabel almost didn't hear it at first. "It was your and your brother's birthday, and it was a grand ball to celebrate that. Gideon Gleeful walked in, interrupting everything to curse your family. He wasn't older than we were at the time, he said he would get his revenge and ruin your family. I don't think Stanley or Stanford took him seriously."
Mabel flipped through the pages to find her uncle's, already able to tell the subtle differences between the two of them. Bill's gaze remained on the stars above them, and all Mabel could do for comfort was place her hand on his own.
"It was a cold night, I remember that. People broke in, fed up with the way that your uncles were ruling and they just wanted a change. They stormed the castle, and I was right there as Stanford met them in the hall. For a moment, nothing happened, and then they just...slaughtered him. It was so bloody, it was like they were possessed.
"I ran upstairs, right to your room because I had to at least help, but they followed me. I helped you escape, but I wasn't fast enough . One of the men slammed the butt of his gun against my head, and I heard gunfire ring out right as I passed out. I woke up the next morning there, with your brother's dead body still beside me. I buried him for you."
Bill went quiet, staring up at the sky up at that held nothing but carefree stars,each with their own lives and worries . Mabel scrambled to say something, but came up blank. His actions had saved one life, but why couldn't she say that?
"Thank you, Bill." Mabel eventually whispered, looking up just in time to see a shooting star go sailing across the sky. "Make a wish."
They were still sitting in silence as Mabel made a wish, thinking to herself that it probably never going to come true, that even if she was the princess of a fallen kingdom, Bill wouldn't be interested in her. She wasn't the same princess he had adored for so many years ago, and she never would be.
