Episode 21: Ducks on Vacation

August had arrived, the last month of vacation time for everyone around the United States. Somewhere in the California countryside, the Migrator had arrived at the Ducks' private lake, known to them as DuCaine Lake, named after Puckworld's hero.

"I really needed a vacation and what a perfect day to be here," Nosedive said to himself, while sail-gliding with the wind.

Under the water, Pearl and Wildwing were admiring the aquatic life of the lake and they surfaced.

"I feel so lucky today, back home, I wasn't allowed to swim at the lake and neither were any of the women, but here, I feel like I'm free," Pearl said, while gazing up at the sky.

"I feel the same way, but I imagine myself being back home and such," Wildwing informed.

"I thought you said Puckworld had short summers?" the princess asked as they got up onto the dock.

"Well, I remember that we had several heat-waves and that really messed up our hockey routine," the mallard said to her.

"I really want to go to Puckworld, see the…inhabitants, the cities, and I would like to play hockey with you, if you have the time to teach me," Pearl replied, looking down on Wildwing with her sparkling brown eyes.

The mallard realized that he couldn't hold in his true feelings for Pearl any longer.

"Pearl, do you remember that one night when you called and I said something to you?" he asked and she nodded.

"Well, now I think it's the perfect time to tell that I-" but before Wildwing could finish the sentence, he spotted Nosedive and his sail-glider heading towards them.

"Heads up, bro!" the young brother called out as the glider leapt onto the dock.

Both Pearl and Wildwing jumped into the water, just in time as the glider slid passed them.

"Whoa, that was awesome!" the young mallard exclaimed, but then noticed his brother coming towards him.

"I have one thing to say, that was *not* awesome!" Wildwing angrily bellowed and gave chase after his prankster brother. Pearl watched in amusement as the two ran around the shore and swam back to the group.

"Hey guys, I found something interesting about the cave that is near here," Tanya said and explains, "There have been unexplained disappearances of people who entered in there."

"And they never came back," Duke replied, giving a creepy tone in his voice, just as Wildwing and Nosedive returned.

"How about we do some cave exploring, just to see if the facts are true," Subria said.

"That sounds like fun, why don't we go there tonight after dinner?" Mallory asked the group.

"Oh no, there's no way you're going to make me go in a dark cave with you loony bins!" Nosedive replied.

"Oh come on baby bro, where's your sense of adventure?" Wildwing asked and adds, "Hey if you go with us into the cave, we can have s'mores when we get back."

Nosedive's eyes widened and asks, "Can I have two…no three!"

"How about one s'more with three extra marshmallows?" his brother dealt.

"Can I have three extra chocolate bars, too?" Nosedive pleaded.

"Two marshmallows and two chocolate bars," Wildwing replied.

"Deal," the young mallard said, but realized his mistake.

"Once you say deal, it's a deal, kid," Duke replied and the others laughed.

"Can I ask you something?" Pearl asked Wildwing, "What are s'mores?" The leader chuckled and explained the strange food to the princess while she was preparing dinner.

()()()()()()()

That evening, the sun had set, and the Ducks and the two princesses had finished eating their dinner, cleaned up, and headed towards the cave. When they got there, there was a plaque that explained the cave's history and the possibility of it being haunted.

"Okay, I made it to the cave and that's the deal," Nosedive said, but Wildwing looked at him.

"I said 'go with us into the cave', that means you have to walk with us," the older brother replied and Nosedive gave a frown.

"It says here that there's a shrine for the people who got lost in here," Mallory read from the plaque.

"Hey kid, if you come with me and Subria first, we'll go in there and head back to camp before they do," Duke said to the young mallard.

"All right, I will," Nosedive replied.

"Grin, do you mind going with them, just to make sure that Dive doesn't get lost or get into trouble?" Wildwing asked the giant Duck.

"I gladly accept, but the young one must learn how to go on his own," Grin replied, but the leader gave a look, and the girls chuckled under their breaths. Duke, Nosedive, Subria, and Grin went in first, using their flashlights to light the way in the dark cave.

A half-hour later, the group didn't return, "They're taking a long time, maybe we should go find them," Tanya said in a worried tone.

"Mallory, you and Tanya go in, we'll stay behind for a little bit," Wildwing said to the two female Ducks and they obeyed.

Awhile later, Pearl and Wildwing entered in and they couldn't see Tanya and Mallory. They came across a bridge and at that moment, they heard Tanya screaming and the two hurried towards her.

Tanya was frozen in place in the middle of the bridge and she had a look of terror on her face.

"Tanya, where's Mallory?" Pearl asked.

"She just vanished!" the smart Duck replied.

"Vanished? What do you mean 'vanished'?" Wildwing asked.

"I don't know, she was in front of me, and then all of a sudden, she just disappeared, like a ghost!" Tanya exclaimed.

Just then, Pearl noticed that Tanya's body was becoming transparent, "Oh my gosh! Tanya, you're disappearing!" In no time, the smart Duck vanished into thin air!

"What the heck is going on?!" Wildwing exclaimed and at that moment, Pearl's senses went haywire.

"There's a spell page in here, c'mon, I think I know where it is!" the princess commanded and they hurried towards the end of the bridge, where they spotted the shrine.

"It's in there, I know it is," Pearl replied and began to think.

"Pearl, there's no time to think, look!" Wildwing exclaimed and the princess saw that he was disappearing!

The princess took out her spell book and rushed to the shrine, opening its tiny door. Suddenly, a flash of light came out and it stood in front of her. "Spell page, I command you to return to the spell book from where you came!" she ordered. The spell obeyed and it took residence in an empty page, featuring itself as the 'Erase'.

Then, one by one, the Ducks and Subria all came back, in solid form.

"Am I all here?" Nosedive asked, checking himself to see if there was something missing, "Yeah, I'm good."

"I believe we found the culprit on those disappearances," Pearl said, featuring the 'Erase' page. It had the features of an imp dressed in a jester's outfit and holding up a cape.

"Okay, let's get out of here," Nosedive demanded, but Pearl went up to the shrine.

"I hope that all of the lost souls will finally rest in peace," she prayed and bowed her head. Grin did the same and the others followed suit and exited out of the cave.

()()()()()()

Back at the Ducks' camp, they surrounded the campfire as it blazed with bright light. The group watched in amusement as Nosedive struggled to eat his s'mor that had two marshmallows and two chocolate bars.

Subria was playing with her pan-flute and Pearl took a deep breath and began to sing.

*Good morning, pretty maid,

Where are you going?

To range these fields so fair,

There's no man knowing

I think too bold you are,

To range these fields so fair,

In danger everywhere,

Thou charming maiden.

A charming maid I am,

Sir, she replied.

Without any guile or care,

To no man tied;

My recreations are, to range

These fields so fair;

To take the pleasant air,

Thou boasting stranger.

A farmer's son I see,

The nighest neighbor,

Great store of wealth he hath

By honest labour;

So if he will agree,

Soon married we will be,

For I'm in love with thee,

Thou handsome stranger.

A farmer's wife must work,

Both late and early,

Like any foreign Turk,

Therefore believe me.

I don't intend to be

A servant bound to thee.

To do thy drudgery,

Thou boasting maid.

When she finished, she realized that everyone was staring at her, wide-eyed and jaws dropped. Tanya was the first to clap and the others followed suit, making Pearl blush.

"Beautiful, you never told us that you can sing," Duke replied.

"No, tell me the truth, it was awful," Pearl suddenly became defensive.

"What? How can you say that?" Wildwing asked and adds, "Every other singer would die to have a voice that like."

"And maybe put them out of business," Nosedive said and the others nodded. Pearl's face slumped and tears began to form in her eyes.

"Hey, there's nothing to be ashamed of, you showed us one of your brilliant talents," Wildwing replied, but Pearl began to sob. The leader took the crying princess into his arms and started to rub her back and shoulders.

"I know I put my heart into it, but there's so much I don't know about myself," Pearl said as she buried her face into Wildwing's chest.

Subria took out a tea kettle and a pouch that had different kinds of tea leaves and poured some water into the kettle and sat it by the fire. When the water was finished boiling, the African princess poured some into a cup of tea leaves and offered it to her mistress.

"Does that make you better?" Tanya asked and Subria nodded.

"It's a family secret recipe, works on everything from headaches to stomach cramps," she said and watched as her princess took a few sips.

"The first time she made this tea was when I was presented at court and my tutor insisted that I sing in front of everyone, including my mother and father," Pearl explained.

"After that, she left the throne room in tears, and it took her, I say, three cups of tea to calm her down, but everyone loved her singing and the nobles insisted that she come every day, but the king refused that invitation," Subria told the group, as she poured more water for Pearl.

Awhile later, the girls, excluding Subria, went into their tent.

"Hey Pearl," Mallory whispered to her, "Don't feel bad, I actually never found my true talent until I was a few years older than you. Between you and me, your singing is way better than my karate."

The male Ducks were about to turn themselves in, but Subria stopped Wildwing from entering his tent. "Can I speak to you in private?" she asked and he nodded and they walked along the moonlit shoreline.

"I want to know, are you in love with Pearl?" Subria asked.

Wildwing became nervous, but he replies, "Don't tell the others, but I am."

"Oh, I believe the others know because I feel it, but I want to know, why haven't you told her yet?" Subria questioned him, again.

"I want to tell her, with all my heart I do, but there's this feeling inside that's telling me to wait until the right time, I just don't know when," the mallard replied and Subria looked at him.

"I hope you realize that Pearl has expressed her feelings for you," the African princess said, but Wildwing gave a confused look.

"When she sang; pretend that you are the farmer and she is the maid. When she sang 'Soon married we will be, for I am in love with thee, thou handsome stranger', she was talking about her feelings for you. She's in love with you," Subria explained and Wildwing gave a shocked look.

"I know it's sudden, but she told me and now, she wants to hear it from you, so I advise you to tell her as soon as possible," she said to him and she headed back to camp.

"Subria, I will tell her, and thanks," he replied and followed her back.

Unbeknownst to them, a dark figure had spied on them in the blackness of the forest floor. "This keeps getting better and better," Wraith had whispered to himself, "So the leader does have a weakness and I'll be able to cut him down like a tree."

The Saurian gave an evil laugh and he teleported away to tell Louran of what he learned of Wildwing and Pearl.

*'Good Morning, Pretty Maid' is an Old English song from Gloucestershire. It is clearly unknown of the exact age of the rhythm.