Chapter Seven: Nightmares


That night, when Mabel finally set aside some of the pictures and took to watching the stars, she drifted off to sleep still curled up against Bill's side as he stayed awake, haunted by memories that would never truly leave him alone. Though , he was distancing himself from her. This wasn't Mabel, this wasn't the princess, but all that mattered was that she believed him.

The next day it was a short carriage ride into the city and Mabel finally saw a boat for the first time in her life. It wasn't a passenger boat, but a cargo boat that Tad had bribed his way on with the rest of the crew, and they were off sailing into the sea before evening hit.

While they had been in the city, Mabel had gone shopping with Bill, finally getting clothes that made her look like something other than a girl who seemed to grow up on the streets. As soon as they were on deck, and sailing out to sea, Mabel rushed downstairs to change into something new, taking her time to figure out the new clothing and see what she liked best.

When she came back, wearing a red dress that billowed out at the bottom, only coming down to her knees. It capped at her shoulders, with a straight neckline that showed off her necklace, the only thing she had never lost through all of the years. She had never worn a summer dress before, but instantly Mabel decided she loved it. As she walked up to Bill and Tad, Bill had his back to her but Tad didn't, and he instantly came up to greet her.

"You look just like a princess!" Tad cooed, spinning her around to see the whole dress. Mabel giggled, turning to Bill to see what he thought. Waddles finally followed in after her, going over and plopping himself back on the deck where Tad had just been sitting.

"Y-you do." He stumbled over his words for just a moment, which made Mabel even happier. "It looks good on you."

"Oh, this is the perfect chance." Tad pulled away from Mabel and gently moved her in front of Bill. "You've got to learn how to dance properly!"

"You know how to dance?" Mabel teased Bill, but all he did was nod and place his hand on her waist, showing her the proper places to put her hands on him.

"Just look at me, not your feet. It should come naturally to you." Bill said softly, and all Mabel could think about was how close they were and how his blue eyes seemed familiar in a way she couldn't place.

Tad started humming, and Bill led her through the steps of a dance that she already knew. It almost made her feel as though she was floating, and never once did she look away from Bill, even when he would just stare back at her with the same intensity, searching her for something she wasn't sure she could even offer.

"One, two, three. One, two, three."

Bill counted softly under his breath for her, but even then she didn't need it. For a moment, she felt like she could actually be the princess he obviously cherished.

"I think that's enough dancing." Bill paused, letting the dancing come to a stop as Tad's humming faded into nothing. Mabel nodded, but didn't pull away, and neither did Bill.

"Thank you for showing me." Mabel leaned just a little closer to him, not sure what she wanted, but she couldn't seem to pull away.

Bill didn't have any problems pulling away though, leaving her standing on the deck alone as he cleared his throat. Mabel excused herself to go downstairs, leaving Bill and Tad to be alone once more and figure out her own feelings.

"Ah, seems I forgot the most important lesson." Tad said to Waddles, who was more interested in finding food rather than following Mabel. "How could I forget romance?"


It was late when they finally retired. The crew said a storm was brewing, and Bill could just barely see it on the horizon as they went downstairs for bed. Mabel was a bit nervous about going through a storm, but Tad assured her that she would sleep right through it.

The room Tad had bribed off of the crew was small, just big enough to hold a bunk bed and their luggage as well. Mabel had instantly claimed one of the bunks, while Tad and Bill fought over who was going to sleep on the floor. Eventually Mabel had intervened and told Bill to sleep on the floor and let Tad have the top bunk.

"You guys are plotting against me, that's what this is." Bill made a small bed for himself, using the luggage to create a barrier for himself. "Jerks."

"I love you too, buddy. Now go to sleep." Tad yawned, while Bill still grumbled and kicked to get comfortable, knocking over his own bag and the contents inside of it.

Mabel couldn't help but laugh a little at his childish antics, leaning off her own bed to hand him things. Bill accepted them without a word, though they both paused when Mabel came across a small object, a finely decorated item that looked more valuable than anything else in their cabin. It seemed to fit perfectly in her hand, decorated in gold and blue and almost as fancy as what she has seen in the palace.

"It's a nice jewelry box, isn't it?" Bill didn't take it from her, but he did reach out for it, obviously waiting for her to hand it back.

"It's not a jewelry box though." Mabel whispered, tilting her head to the side. "Where did you get this?"

Bill snatched it out of her hand, placing it back into his bag and completely ignoring the way she still sat on her bed feeling strange and completely uncertain about why such a small object could affect her so much.

Mabel yawned as the ship rocked underneath her, something about the motion reminding her of the train as she fell into sleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. Waddles was curled up against her side, Tad was snoring above her, and the only one who laid awake was Bill.

Sleep found him eventually though, and the rocking of the boat seemed to enter Mabel's dreams. She was walking along a lit path in the woods, still wearing the same dress she had worn to dance with Bill, and someone was waving at her, far along the path and encouraging her to come forward. He looked so familiar, a young child who looked ready to tumbling down the path before her.

Waddles woke up as Mabel stood in her sleep . He nudged her hand, wanting attention but only getting brushed off. Mabel never brushed him off. He made soft noises as she stumbled to the door, and the pig realized something was very wrong. Following after her, he whined when she closed the door behind her and he was left to worrying.

Scrambling back on the bed, he took a flying leap off of the bed and landed right on Bill's stomach, waking the blond who. Bill groaned, tossing Waddles off him and turning on his side.

"Goddamn pig." Bill mumbled. "What's wrong with you?"

The pig raced towards the door, and Bill finally saw the empty bed where a certain princess was missing.

The path was warm underneath her feet, and every time she got closer to the boy, who she finally realized was her brother, he would gesture for her to follow along and disappear further. Mabel raced over a broken log and stones, only just catching up to him when he stopped at the edge of the cliff.

"About time you caught up, Mabes. I missed you." He said, laughing before jumping over the edge. Mabel looked down to see a crystal clear lake, her brother laughing, and her parents there as well. Even her uncle! Mabel laughed in excitement at her family being so close.

"There's our princess!" Her uncle swam to the edge, waving her in. "Jump on in! The water's so nice and warm!"

She waved, but couldn't seem to form words. It was already so hard to hear him, but Mabel only thought that was because the lake was so far down. She leaned a bit further over the edge.

"Jump, Mabel! Jump!" Her brother's voice was so familiar, and Mabel's eyes snapped to him as he spoke. "Forget everything, just jump!"

"Jump, and finish the curse!"

The water looked so dark underneath them now, not like the crystal water it had just been before. Mabel leaned back, but her family only frowned, and Dipper was the worst, his eyes glowing a dark orange color that could almost be called red.

"Darlin' jump, finish everything right now, be with your family." A man Mabel felt like she had only ever seen in her nightmares before was standing before her, reaching out to take her hand. "You won't ever have to worry about life or impressing your uncle, just jump and join them down there."

He had white hair on his head, a bit chubby around the waist, and his hand was latched around her wrist and already starting to pull. Below, her family was still waving her down, trying to encourage her to jump a distance that seemed so much further than before, but Mabel refused to budge, pulling back.

"Mabel!" The voice didn't seem to come from anywhere. Bill scrambled on deck, trying to get closer to Mabel even through the storm that rocked the ship from side to side and left him covered in saltwater. It was almost impossible to see far in the darkness and find Mabel, but when he did, he felt true fear clawed at his heart.

"Mabel!"

She was standing on the edge of the ship, one hand holding a rope and looking as though she was fighting with herself to not go over the edge. Bill slipped and slid over the deck, trying to reach her before something terrible happened and she didn't even have a chance to see what life had to hold for her.

"All you have to do is let go, join your family and you won't ever have to worry again." Gideon, she knew that was his name despite never being introduced to him. "Finish the Pines curse."

"Mabel!"

Sturdy arms wrapped around her as the dream seemed to fade into fire and screams as Mabel was sure it was a demon holding her or something as equally terrible, because nothing in her life had ever been easy. She couldn't even jump and finish things that way, she felt herself being pulled back from the edge.

"Mabel! Wake up!" Bill turned her to face her as the boat still rocked dangerously. He wouldn't even be able to carry her downstairs with how hard she was fighting against him. "It was just a dream."

Hazel eyes snapped open as her breathing was still panicked, staring up at Bill with nothing but fear and regret and tears in them. He held her close as her tears fell and blended in with the salt water that dripped down.

"The curse, the curse, I can't escape it." Mabel choked out, wrapping herself around Bill and burying herself into his chest. His arms wrapped around her as well, chin pressing against her head as he felt her sobbing against him.

"It was just a nightmare." Bill reassured softly, gently picking her up to take her back to their cabin. "I won't let anything happen to you."